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annotate man/commands.texi @ 38212:6b14cc47a4f2
Major rewrite. Sections Tags, Emerge, Change Log and Authors
moved to maintaining.texi. Some sections reordered.
Node Misc for Programs moved to just before the language-specific sections.
New node Defuns contains an intro plus the old
Defuns node (now renamed Moving by Defuns)
as well as Imenu, Which Function, and a node
Left Margin Paren to explain the convention about this.
New node Parentheses now documents M-x check-parens.
It contains subnodes Expressions, Moving by Parens, and Matching.
Expressions and Moving by Parens contain the material
formerly in Lists and List Commands, but divided up differently.
The section Balanced Editing has been deleted.
Most of the C indentation customization (all except c-set-style),
has been replaced with a reference to the C Modes manual.
Documentation now is divided into three subsections.
Some rewrites in the Program Indent section about
C-u TAB and C-M-q.
author | Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org> |
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date | Tue, 26 Jun 2001 13:43:32 +0000 |
parents | aad260e72f97 |
children | 41ebc22562e0 |
rev | line source |
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25829 | 1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc. | |
3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. | |
4 @iftex | |
5 @chapter Characters, Keys and Commands | |
6 | |
7 This chapter explains the character sets used by Emacs for input | |
8 commands and for the contents of files, and also explains the concepts | |
9 of @dfn{keys} and @dfn{commands}, which are fundamental for understanding | |
10 how Emacs interprets your keyboard and mouse input. | |
11 @end iftex | |
12 | |
13 @node User Input, Keys, Screen, Top | |
14 @section Kinds of User Input | |
15 @cindex input with the keyboard | |
16 @cindex keyboard input | |
17 @cindex character set (keyboard) | |
18 @cindex ASCII | |
19 @cindex C- | |
20 @cindex Control | |
21 @cindex control characters | |
22 | |
23 GNU Emacs uses an extension of the ASCII character set for keyboard | |
24 input; it also accepts non-character input events including function | |
25 keys and mouse button actions. | |
26 | |
27 ASCII consists of 128 character codes. Some of these codes are | |
28 assigned graphic symbols such as @samp{a} and @samp{=}; the rest are | |
29 control characters, such as @kbd{Control-a} (usually written @kbd{C-a} | |
30 for short). @kbd{C-a} gets its name from the fact that you type it by | |
31 holding down the @key{CTRL} key while pressing @kbd{a}. | |
32 | |
33 Some ASCII control characters have special names, and most terminals | |
34 have special keys you can type them with: for example, @key{RET}, | |
35 @key{TAB}, @key{DEL} and @key{ESC}. The space character is usually | |
36 referred to below as @key{SPC}, even though strictly speaking it is a | |
37 graphic character whose graphic happens to be blank. Some keyboards | |
38 have a key labeled ``linefeed'' which is an alias for @kbd{C-j}. | |
39 | |
40 Emacs extends the ASCII character set with thousands more printing | |
41 characters (@pxref{International}), additional control characters, and a | |
42 few more modifiers that can be combined with any character. | |
43 | |
44 On ASCII terminals, there are only 32 possible control characters. | |
45 These are the control variants of letters and @samp{@@[]\^_}. In | |
46 addition, the shift key is meaningless with control characters: | |
47 @kbd{C-a} and @kbd{C-A} are the same character, and Emacs cannot | |
48 distinguish them. | |
49 | |
50 But the Emacs character set has room for control variants of all | |
51 printing characters, and for distinguishing between @kbd{C-a} and | |
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52 @kbd{C-A}. The X Window System makes it possible to enter all these |
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53 characters. For example, @kbd{C--} (that's Control-Minus) and @kbd{C-5} |
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54 are meaningful Emacs commands under X. |
25829 | 55 |
56 Another Emacs character-set extension is additional modifier bits. | |
57 Only one modifier bit is commonly used; it is called Meta. Every | |
58 character has a Meta variant; examples include @kbd{Meta-a} (normally | |
59 written @kbd{M-a}, for short), @kbd{M-A} (not the same character as | |
60 @kbd{M-a}, but those two characters normally have the same meaning in | |
61 Emacs), @kbd{M-@key{RET}}, and @kbd{M-C-a}. For reasons of tradition, | |
62 we usually write @kbd{C-M-a} rather than @kbd{M-C-a}; logically | |
63 speaking, the order in which the modifier keys @key{CTRL} and @key{META} | |
64 are mentioned does not matter. | |
65 | |
66 @cindex Meta | |
67 @cindex M- | |
68 @cindex @key{ESC} replacing @key{META} key | |
69 Some terminals have a @key{META} key, and allow you to type Meta | |
70 characters by holding this key down. Thus, @kbd{Meta-a} is typed by | |
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71 holding down @key{META} and pressing @kbd{a}. The @key{META} key |
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72 works much like the @key{SHIFT} key. Such a key is not always labeled |
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73 @key{META}, however, as this function is often a special option for a |
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74 key with some other primary purpose. Sometimes it is labeled |
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75 @key{ALT} or @key{EDIT}; on a Sun keyboard, it may have a diamond on |
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76 it. |
25829 | 77 |
78 If there is no @key{META} key, you can still type Meta characters | |
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79 using two-character sequences starting with @key{ESC}. Thus, you can enter |
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80 @kbd{M-a} by typing @kbd{@key{ESC} a}. You can enter @kbd{C-M-a} by |
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81 typing @kbd{@key{ESC} C-a}. @key{ESC} is allowed on terminals with |
25829 | 82 @key{META} keys, too, in case you have formed a habit of using it. |
83 | |
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84 The X Window System provides several other modifier keys that can be |
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85 applied to any input character. These are called @key{SUPER}, |
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86 @key{HYPER} and @key{ALT}. We write @samp{s-}, @samp{H-} and @samp{A-} |
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87 to say that a character uses these modifiers. Thus, @kbd{s-H-C-x} is |
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88 short for @kbd{Super-Hyper-Control-x}. Not all X terminals actually |
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89 provide keys for these modifier flags---in fact, many terminals have a |
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90 key labeled @key{ALT} which is really a @key{META} key. The standard |
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91 key bindings of Emacs do not include any characters with these |
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92 modifiers. But you can assign them meanings of your own by customizing |
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93 Emacs. |
25829 | 94 |
95 Keyboard input includes keyboard keys that are not characters at all: | |
96 for example function keys and arrow keys. Mouse buttons are also | |
97 outside the gamut of characters. You can modify these events with the | |
98 modifier keys @key{CTRL}, @key{META}, @key{SUPER}, @key{HYPER} and | |
99 @key{ALT}, just like keyboard characters. | |
100 | |
101 @cindex input event | |
102 Input characters and non-character inputs are collectively called | |
103 @dfn{input events}. @xref{Input Events,,, elisp, The Emacs Lisp | |
104 Reference Manual}, for more information. If you are not doing Lisp | |
105 programming, but simply want to redefine the meaning of some characters | |
106 or non-character events, see @ref{Customization}. | |
107 | |
108 ASCII terminals cannot really send anything to the computer except | |
109 ASCII characters. These terminals use a sequence of characters to | |
110 represent each function key. But that is invisible to the Emacs user, | |
111 because the keyboard input routines recognize these special sequences | |
112 and convert them to function key events before any other part of Emacs | |
113 gets to see them. | |
114 | |
115 @node Keys, Commands, User Input, Top | |
116 @section Keys | |
117 | |
118 @cindex key sequence | |
119 @cindex key | |
120 A @dfn{key sequence} (@dfn{key}, for short) is a sequence of input | |
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121 events that are meaningful as a unit---as ``a single command.'' Some |
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122 Emacs command sequences are just one character or one event; for |
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123 example, just @kbd{C-f} is enough to move forward one character in the |
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124 buffer. But Emacs also has commands that take two or more events to |
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125 invoke. |
25829 | 126 |
127 @cindex complete key | |
128 @cindex prefix key | |
129 If a sequence of events is enough to invoke a command, it is a | |
130 @dfn{complete key}. Examples of complete keys include @kbd{C-a}, | |
131 @kbd{X}, @key{RET}, @key{NEXT} (a function key), @key{DOWN} (an arrow | |
132 key), @kbd{C-x C-f}, and @kbd{C-x 4 C-f}. If it isn't long enough to be | |
133 complete, we call it a @dfn{prefix key}. The above examples show that | |
134 @kbd{C-x} and @kbd{C-x 4} are prefix keys. Every key sequence is either | |
135 a complete key or a prefix key. | |
136 | |
137 Most single characters constitute complete keys in the standard Emacs | |
138 command bindings. A few of them are prefix keys. A prefix key combines | |
139 with the following input event to make a longer key sequence, which may | |
140 itself be complete or a prefix. For example, @kbd{C-x} is a prefix key, | |
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141 so @kbd{C-x} and the next input event combine to make a two-event |
25829 | 142 key sequence. Most of these key sequences are complete keys, including |
143 @kbd{C-x C-f} and @kbd{C-x b}. A few, such as @kbd{C-x 4} and @kbd{C-x | |
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144 r}, are themselves prefix keys that lead to three-event key |
25829 | 145 sequences. There's no limit to the length of a key sequence, but in |
146 practice people rarely use sequences longer than four events. | |
147 | |
148 By contrast, you can't add more events onto a complete key. For | |
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149 example, the two-event sequence @kbd{C-f C-k} is not a key, because |
25829 | 150 the @kbd{C-f} is a complete key in itself. It's impossible to give |
151 @kbd{C-f C-k} an independent meaning as a command. @kbd{C-f C-k} is two | |
152 key sequences, not one.@refill | |
153 | |
154 All told, the prefix keys in Emacs are @kbd{C-c}, @kbd{C-h}, | |
155 @kbd{C-x}, @kbd{C-x @key{RET}}, @kbd{C-x @@}, @kbd{C-x a}, @kbd{C-x n}, @w{@kbd{C-x | |
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156 r}}, @kbd{C-x v}, @kbd{C-x 4}, @kbd{C-x 5}, @kbd{C-x 6}, @key{ESC}, and |
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157 @kbd{M-g}. But this list is not cast in concrete; it is |
25829 | 158 just a matter of Emacs's standard key bindings. If you customize Emacs, |
159 you can make new prefix keys, or eliminate these. @xref{Key Bindings}. | |
160 | |
161 If you do make or eliminate prefix keys, that changes the set of | |
162 possible key sequences. For example, if you redefine @kbd{C-f} as a | |
163 prefix, @kbd{C-f C-k} automatically becomes a key (complete, unless you | |
164 define it too as a prefix). Conversely, if you remove the prefix | |
165 definition of @kbd{C-x 4}, then @kbd{C-x 4 f} (or @kbd{C-x 4 | |
166 @var{anything}}) is no longer a key. | |
167 | |
168 Typing the help character (@kbd{C-h} or @key{F1}) after a prefix | |
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169 key displays a list of the commands starting with that prefix. |
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170 There are a few prefix keys for which @kbd{C-h} does not |
25829 | 171 work---for historical reasons, they have other meanings for @kbd{C-h} |
172 which are not easy to change. But @key{F1} should work for all prefix | |
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173 keys. |
25829 | 174 |
175 @node Commands, Text Characters, Keys, Top | |
176 @section Keys and Commands | |
177 | |
178 @cindex binding | |
179 @cindex command | |
180 @cindex function definition | |
181 This manual is full of passages that tell you what particular keys | |
182 do. But Emacs does not assign meanings to keys directly. Instead, | |
183 Emacs assigns meanings to named @dfn{commands}, and then gives keys | |
184 their meanings by @dfn{binding} them to commands. | |
185 | |
186 Every command has a name chosen by a programmer. The name is usually | |
187 made of a few English words separated by dashes; for example, | |
188 @code{next-line} or @code{forward-word}. A command also has a | |
189 @dfn{function definition} which is a Lisp program; this is what makes | |
190 the command do what it does. In Emacs Lisp, a command is actually a | |
191 special kind of Lisp function; one which specifies how to read arguments | |
192 for it and call it interactively. For more information on commands and | |
193 functions, see @ref{What Is a Function,, What Is a Function, elisp, The | |
194 Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. (The definition we use in this manual is | |
195 simplified slightly.) | |
196 | |
197 The bindings between keys and commands are recorded in various tables | |
198 called @dfn{keymaps}. @xref{Keymaps}. | |
199 | |
200 When we say that ``@kbd{C-n} moves down vertically one line'' we are | |
201 glossing over a distinction that is irrelevant in ordinary use but is vital | |
202 in understanding how to customize Emacs. It is the command | |
203 @code{next-line} that is programmed to move down vertically. @kbd{C-n} has | |
204 this effect @emph{because} it is bound to that command. If you rebind | |
205 @kbd{C-n} to the command @code{forward-word} then @kbd{C-n} will move | |
206 forward by words instead. Rebinding keys is a common method of | |
207 customization.@refill | |
208 | |
209 In the rest of this manual, we usually ignore this subtlety to keep | |
210 things simple. To give the information needed for customization, we | |
211 state the name of the command which really does the work in parentheses | |
212 after mentioning the key that runs it. For example, we will say that | |
213 ``The command @kbd{C-n} (@code{next-line}) moves point vertically | |
214 down,'' meaning that @code{next-line} is a command that moves vertically | |
38172 | 215 down, and @kbd{C-n} is a key that is normally bound to it. |
25829 | 216 |
217 While we are on the subject of information for customization only, | |
218 it's a good time to tell you about @dfn{variables}. Often the | |
219 description of a command will say, ``To change this, set the variable | |
220 @code{mumble-foo}.'' A variable is a name used to remember a value. | |
221 Most of the variables documented in this manual exist just to facilitate | |
222 customization: some command or other part of Emacs examines the variable | |
223 and behaves differently according to the value that you set. Until you | |
224 are interested in customizing, you can ignore the information about | |
225 variables. When you are ready to be interested, read the basic | |
226 information on variables, and then the information on individual | |
227 variables will make sense. @xref{Variables}. | |
228 | |
229 @node Text Characters, Entering Emacs, Commands, Top | |
230 @section Character Set for Text | |
231 @cindex characters (in text) | |
232 | |
233 Text in Emacs buffers is a sequence of 8-bit bytes. Each byte can | |
234 hold a single ASCII character. Both ASCII control characters (octal | |
235 codes 000 through 037, and 0177) and ASCII printing characters (codes | |
236 040 through 0176) are allowed; however, non-ASCII control characters | |
237 cannot appear in a buffer. The other modifier flags used in keyboard | |
238 input, such as Meta, are not allowed in buffers either. | |
239 | |
240 Some ASCII control characters serve special purposes in text, and have | |
241 special names. For example, the newline character (octal code 012) is | |
242 used in the buffer to end a line, and the tab character (octal code 011) | |
243 is used for indenting to the next tab stop column (normally every 8 | |
244 columns). @xref{Text Display}. | |
245 | |
246 Non-ASCII printing characters can also appear in buffers. When | |
247 multibyte characters are enabled, you can use any of the non-ASCII | |
248 printing characters that Emacs supports. They have character codes | |
249 starting at 256, octal 0400, and each one is represented as a sequence | |
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250 of two or more bytes. @xref{International}. Single-byte characters |
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251 with codes 128 through 255 can also appear in multibyte buffers. |
25829 | 252 |
253 If you disable multibyte characters, then you can use only one | |
254 alphabet of non-ASCII characters, but they all fit in one byte. They | |
27219 | 255 use codes 0200 through 0377. @xref{Single-Byte Character Support}. |