Essential Emacs Tips v0.1

T. Cucinotta

Conventions

[C-a]	Press [Control]+[a]
[C-x] [C-f] or [C-x C-f]	Press [Control]+[x], then [Control]+[f]
[A-x]	Press [Alt]+[x], or press [Esc] then [x]
[A-x] [name]	Press [Alt]+[x], then write 'name' (press [n][a][m][e]), then press [Enter]
[C-x] smth. to type	Press [Control]+[x], then type something depending on the specific command
[Tab]	Press the [Tab] key
[Tab] [Tab]	Press the [Tab] key twice
[Spc]	Press the Space bar
[Ent] or [Ret]	Press the [Enter] or [Return] key

1 Editing files with Emacs

1.1 Don't panic

[C-g]	Cancel current action. Sometimes you must retype sequence multiple times
[C-_]	Undo last editing action. Repeat sequence to keep undoing as many times as you need
[C-x] [C-c]	Exit Emacs

• After some undo actions, you can make redo actions by moving the cursor, then using [C-_] again (you undo the undo actions).

1.2 Loading and saving files

[C-x] [C-f]	Open file: use minibuffer window to specify file name. Create a new file if it does not exist.
[C-x] [C-s]	Save file
[C-x] [C-w]	Save As: use minibuffer window to specify file name
[Tab]	While in minibuffer window, completes automatically incomplete file names
[Tab] [Tab]	While in minibuffer window, shows all possible file name completitions if multiple ones available

• File names are specified in the minibuffer window, at the bottom of the Emacs window.
• After a [Tab] [Tab] sequence, the choice can be made with the mouse, too, by pressing middle button on the wanted name.
• It is possible to load multiple files and to switch among them.
• Emacs handles each file in a separate buffer. Each buffer can be displayed on a separate sub-window.
• It is possible to cut and paste among different buffers and among different Emacs instances.
• A buffer can also be used to store programs output, like gcc or latex output during compilation

1.3 Walking through buffers

[C-x] [b] [Ret]	Cycle through the two last used buffers
[C-x] [b] buf-name	Switch to buffer: use minibuffer to specify new buffer to be displayed on the current window
[Tab]	While in minibuffer, autocompletes incomplete buffer names
[Tab] [Tab]	While in minibuffer, shows all possible buffer name completitions if multiple ones available
[C-x] [k] [Ret]	Kill current buffer
[C-x] [k] buf-name	Kill buffer: use minibuffer to specify name of buffer to be killed

• If multiple sub-window are being used, the current window is the one where the cursor resides.
• Note: when switching to another buffer, the old one is still kept in memory
• If you prefer, you can switch among loaded buffers by clicking [Control]+[Left Mouse Button]. A pop-up buffer selection menu will appear.

1.4 Using the clipboard (cut and paste)

[C-Spc]	Mark begin of region; move cursor to end of region and use one of [C-w] or [A-w]
[C-w]	Cut region
[A-w]	Copy region
[C-y]	Paste last copied region from the current cursor position
[C-y] [A-y]	Cycle through copied regions, pasting from the current cursor position
[C-k]	Cut current line from cursor to the end. Repeat to cut multiple lines. You can paste them altogether with a single paste [C-y]

• If you prefer, you can mark region by using the mouse, then copy/cut using either [C-w]/[A-w] or the Edit menu
• Each time you copy or cut a region, Emacs also stores previously copied regions. While pasting with [C-y], press [A-y] multiple times to cycle through other regions in the clipboard.

1.5 Search and replace

[C-s] smth to search	Start a forward search, interactive: use minibufer to specify search word
[C-r] smth to search	Start a backward search, interactive: use minibuffer to specify search word
[A-x replace-string]	Search and replace: use minibuffer to enter search string first, then replace string

• Interactive searches are case insensitive if you don't type any uppercase letters in the search string
• Interactive searches become case sensitive as soon as you type an uppercase letter

1.6 Managing multiple windows

[C-x 2]	Split horizontally current window in two sub-windows on the same buffer
[C-x 3]	Split vertically current window in two sub-windows on the same buffer
[C-x 1]	Expand the current sub-window to the entire Emacs window
[C-x o]	Switch to the other sub-window
[C-x 0]	Kill the current sub-window

2 Programming with Emacs

2.1 Special editing modes

• Emacs automatically switches to the mode specific to a programming language, based on file name extension: .c/.h for C, .cpp/.hpp for C++, .java for Java, .sh for BaSh, .pl for Perl, .py for Python, .htm/.html for HTML, ...
• The mode affects the mode Emacs helps you in indenting the code, and highlighting syntax

[A-x] [c-mode]	Explicitly switch to C mode
[A-x] [c++-mode]	Explicitly switch to C++ mode
[A-x] [java-mode]	Explicitly switch to Java mode
[A-x] [sh-mode]	Explicitly switch to Shell programming mode
[Tab]	Indents the current line, if Emacs is in a programming mode
[Esc] [i]	Inserts a Tab charachter
[A-x comment-region]	Comment out a region. An active region must be marked
[A-x uncomment-region]	Uncomment a region. An active region must be marked
[A-x c-backslash-region]	Add backslashes at the end of all lines of the marked region (useful when writing multiline macros)
[A-x global-font-lock-mode]	Enable syntax highlighting

• To enable automatic syntax highlighting, insert into the ``.emacs'' configuration file in your home directory a line with: (global-font-lock-mode t).

2.2 Invoking the compiler

[A-x] [compile]	Invoke make on the current directory: use minibuffer to supply arguments to make
[A-x] [compile] [Up] ...	Cycle through last make invocations
[C-x] [`]	Go to the next compilation error. Cursor is positioned on the line of the source file that caused the error.

• When invoking make, the compilation buffer shows compilation results. You can also middle-click on the error line to go to the line of the source file causing the error.
• The minibuffer stores a history of last make invokations. You can cycle through them by pressing [Up] while in the minibuffer.

2.3 Invoking platform documentation pages

[A-x] [man] name	Invoke man: use minibuffer to enter arguments to the man command
[A-x] [man] [Ret]	Invoke man on the identifier under the cursor
[A-x] [info]	Invoke info

• The invoked documentation is loaded on a separate buffer, and shown on a separate sub-window. You can move, search and copy text in the new buffer as usual.
• In the info sub-window, you can use Info commands to navigate: [u] to go to the upper node, [Tab] to go to the next info link, [Ret] to follow a link, ...

2.4 Invoking the source navigator (Speedbar)

• Speedbar can be used to navigate through variable, class and name declarations and definitions trough the sources in the current directory
• It can also be used to navigate through info pages

[A-x] [speedbar]	Display source navigation Speedbar
[A-x Info-speedbar-browser]	Display Info navigation Speedbar

2.5 FTP remote editing

• Emacs allow you to edit a remote file through FTP, in a transparent way. You browse the remote file hierarchy and download a file with the [C-x f] command. After editing, the [C-x s] command just uploads the file again on the server

[C-x f] [/]user[@]host[:]path/to/file	Connect to an FTP server for opening a remote file
[C-x f] [/]user[@]host[C-q Spc]port[:]path/to/file	Connect to an FTP server on a non-standard FTP port
[C-x C-s]	Upload modified file to the server

2.6 Invoking the shell

[A-x] [shell]	Invoke a shell within an Emacs sub-window

3 Relaxing with Emacs

3.1 Invoking the psychotherapist

• If you're getting crazy with Emacs shortcuts, you can talk a little bit with the embedded psychotherapist

[A-x] [doctor]	Invoke Emacs doctor (psychotherapist)

About this document ...

Essential Emacs Tips v0.1

This document was generated using the LaTeX2HTML translator Version 2002 (1.62)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, Nikos Drakos, Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds.
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, Ross Moore, Mathematics Department, Macquarie University, Sydney.

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The translation was initiated by Tommaso Cucinotta on 2003-04-09