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Emacs Commands
Created Thursday 03 March 2011 Description emacs command key sequence Note getting into emacs N/A emacs [ filename] typed at UNIX prompt leaving emacs save-buffers-kill-emacs ctrl-x ctrl-c stopping emacs ctrl-z N/A resuming a stopped emacs fg N/A typed at UNIX prompt save contents of file in current window save-buffer ctrl-x ctrl-s Note: If ctrl-s locks up your keyboard, type ctrl-q to release it. Type ctrl-x s (NOT ctrl-x ctrl-s) to save buffers in that case. Editing Commands Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic insert character self-insert-command any char to insert, just type delete character delete-char ctrl-d Delete delete word kill-word esc d esc for word; ctl for char delete line kill-line ctrl-k Kill stop what you are doing, emacs! keyboard-quit ctrl-g undo previous command undo ctrl-x u Undo Note: Unlike other editors, the undo command undoes many commands. If you type ctrl-x u twice, you will undo the last command, and then the command before that. You will not, like most editors, be back at the same place. Moving Around Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic go to next line next-line ctrl-n Next line go to previous line previous-line ctrl-p Previous line go forward one screenful scroll-up ctrl-v go backward one screenful scroll-down esc v go to beginning of line beginning-of-line ctrl-a A is beginning of alphabet go to end of line end-of-line ctrl-e End line go forward one character forward-char ctrl-f go backward one character backward-char ctrl-b Backward char go forward one word forward-word esc f esc for word; ctl for char go backward one word backward-word esc b esc for word; ctl for char go to beginning of buffer (file) beginning-of-buffer esc-$<$ go to end of buffer (file) end-of-buffer esc-$>$ go to line number goto-line line Number Search and Search and Replace Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic search for text isearch-foward ctrl-s Search search backwards isearch-backward ctrl-r Reverse query search and replace query-replace esc \% Note: if ctrl-s locks up your keyboard, then an easy solution is to go to the end of the file and do a reverse search (ctrl-r). Cutting and Pasting Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic mark beginning of block set-mark-command ctrl-@ mark end of block (done implicitly by placing cursor at desired position) put back deleted text command-yank ctrl-y Yank kill block of text kill-region ctrl-w Note: ctrl-y works for any deleted text except text delete with ctrl-d. So, you can ``yank'' deleted words or lines (i.e., text deleted with esc d or ctrl-k) Handling Buffers and Windows Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic get file; put into current window find-file ctrl-x ctrl-f Find file change to buffer buf switch-to-buffer ctrl-x b Buffer split current window into 2 split-window-vertically ctrl-x 2 2 windows make one emacs window delete-other-windows ctrl-x 1 1 window change to other window other-window ctrl-x o Other window Note: A buffer is a named area that emacs has reserved for you. It may or may not be displayed currently. A window is a buffer that is being displayed on the screen. When I say window in this document, that means a frame within your emacs session, not a separate window on your screen. Using two windows, one with your compile session and one with your edit session might be very helpful, but if you find it frustrating, don't do it until you feel more comfortable. Getting Help Description emacs command key sequence Mnemonic general help command (this is a prefix) ctrl-x ctrl-h Help do emacs tutorial help-with-tutorial ctrl-x ctrl-h t help command + Tutorial what's the command for word command-appropos ctrl-x ctrl-h a Appropriate command getting to the on line manual info ctrl-x ctrl-h i Information
