annotate man/killing.texi @ 45048:6bd149ec8b77

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author Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
date Tue, 30 Apr 2002 22:48:27 +0000
parents a093cd4ed690
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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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2 @c Copyright (C) 1985,86,87,93,94,95,97,00,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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3 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
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4 @iftex
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5 @chapter Killing and Moving Text
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6
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7 @dfn{Killing} means erasing text and copying it into the @dfn{kill
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8 ring}, from which it can be retrieved by @dfn{yanking} it. Some systems
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9 use the terms ``cutting'' and ``pasting'' for these operations.
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10
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11 The most common way of moving or copying text within Emacs is to kill it
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12 and later yank it elsewhere in one or more places. This is very safe
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13 because Emacs remembers several recent kills, not just the last one. It
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14 is versatile, because the many commands for killing syntactic units can
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15 also be used for moving those units. But there are other ways of
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16 copying text for special purposes.
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17
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18 Emacs has only one kill ring for all buffers, so you can kill text in
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19 one buffer and yank it in another buffer.
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20
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21 @end iftex
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22
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23 @node Killing, Yanking, Mark, Top
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24 @section Deletion and Killing
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25
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26 @cindex killing text
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27 @cindex cutting text
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28 @cindex deletion
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29 Most commands which erase text from the buffer save it in the kill
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30 ring so that you can move or copy it to other parts of the buffer.
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31 These commands are known as @dfn{kill} commands. The rest of the
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32 commands that erase text do not save it in the kill ring; they are known
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33 as @dfn{delete} commands. (This distinction is made only for erasure of
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34 text in the buffer.) If you do a kill or delete command by mistake, you
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35 can use the @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) command to undo it
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36 (@pxref{Undo}).
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37
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38 @vindex kill-read-only-ok
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39 @cindex read-only text, killing
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40 You cannot kill read-only text, since such text does not allow any
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41 kind of modification. But some users like to use the kill commands to
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42 copy read-only text into the kill ring, without actually changing it.
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43 If you set the variable @code{kill-read-only-ok} to a non-@code{nil}
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44 value, the kill commands work specially in a read-only buffer: they
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45 move over text, and copy it to the kill ring, without actually
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46 deleting it from the buffer. When this happens, a message in the echo
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47 area tells you what is happening.
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48
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49 The delete commands include @kbd{C-d} (@code{delete-char}) and
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50 @key{DEL} (@code{delete-backward-char}), which delete only one
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51 character at a time, and those commands that delete only spaces or
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52 newlines. Commands that can destroy significant amounts of nontrivial
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53 data generally do a kill operation instead. The commands' names and
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54 individual descriptions use the words @samp{kill} and @samp{delete} to
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55 say which kind of operation they perform.
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56
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57 @cindex Delete Selection mode
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58 @cindex mode, Delete Selection
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59 @findex delete-selection-mode
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60 Many window systems follow the convention that insertion while text
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61 is selected deletes the selected text. You can make Emacs behave this
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62 way by enabling Delete Selection mode, with @kbd{M-x
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63 delete-selection-mode}, or using Custom. Another effect of this mode
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64 is that @key{DEL}, @kbd{C-d} and some other keys, when a selection
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65 exists, will kill the whole selection. It also enables Transient Mark
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66 mode (@pxref{Transient Mark}).
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67
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68 @menu
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69 * Deletion:: Commands for deleting small amounts of text and
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70 blank areas.
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71 * Killing by Lines:: How to kill entire lines of text at one time.
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72 * Other Kill Commands:: Commands to kill large regions of text and
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73 syntactic units such as words and sentences.
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74 @end menu
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75
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76 @need 1500
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77 @node Deletion
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78 @subsection Deletion
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79 @findex delete-backward-char
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80 @findex delete-char
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81
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82 Deletion means erasing text and not saving it in the kill ring. For
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83 the most part, the Emacs commands that delete text are those that
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84 erase just one character or only whitespace.
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85
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86 @table @kbd
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87 @item C-d
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88 @itemx @key{Delete}
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89 Delete next character (@code{delete-char}). If your keyboard has a
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90 @key{Delete} function key (usually located in the edit keypad), Emacs
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91 binds it to @code{delete-char} as well.
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92 @item @key{DEL}
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93 @itemx @key{BS}
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94 Delete previous character (@code{delete-backward-char}). Some keyboards
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95 refer to this key as a ``backspace key'' and label it with a left arrow.
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96 @item M-\
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97 Delete spaces and tabs around point (@code{delete-horizontal-space}).
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98 @item M-@key{SPC}
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99 Delete spaces and tabs around point, leaving one space
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100 (@code{just-one-space}).
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101 @item C-x C-o
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102 Delete blank lines around the current line (@code{delete-blank-lines}).
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103 @item M-^
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104 Join two lines by deleting the intervening newline, along with any
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105 indentation following it (@code{delete-indentation}).
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106 @end table
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107
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108 @kindex DEL
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109 @kindex C-d
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110 The most basic delete commands are @kbd{C-d} (@code{delete-char}) and
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111 @key{DEL} (@code{delete-backward-char}). @kbd{C-d} deletes the
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112 character after point, the one the cursor is ``on top of.'' This
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113 doesn't move point. @key{DEL} deletes the character before the cursor,
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114 and moves point back. You can delete newlines like any other characters
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115 in the buffer; deleting a newline joins two lines. Actually, @kbd{C-d}
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116 and @key{DEL} aren't always delete commands; when given arguments, they
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117 kill instead, since they can erase more than one character this way.
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118
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119 @kindex BACKSPACE
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120 @kindex BS
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121 @kindex DELETE
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122 Every keyboard has a large key, labeled @key{DEL}, @key{BACKSPACE},
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123 @key{BS} or @key{DELETE}, which is a short distance above the
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124 @key{RET} or @key{ENTER} key and is normally used for erasing what you
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125 have typed. Regardless of the actual name on the key, in Emacs it is
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126 equivalent to @key{DEL}---or it should be.
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127
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128 Many keyboards (including standard PC keyboards) have a
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129 @key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above @key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a
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130 @key{DELETE} key elsewhere. In that case, the @key{BACKSPACE} key is
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131 @key{DEL}, and the @key{DELETE} key is equivalent to @kbd{C-d}---or it
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132 should be.
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133
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134 Why do we say ``or it should be''? When Emacs starts up using a
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135 window system, it determines automatically which key or keys should be
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136 equivalent to @key{DEL}. As a result, @key{BACKSPACE} and/or @key{DELETE}
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137 keys normally do the right things. But in some unusual cases Emacs
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138 gets the wrong information from the system. If these keys don't do
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139 what they ought to do, you need to tell Emacs which key to use for
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140 @key{DEL}. @xref{DEL Does Not Delete}, for how to do this.
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141
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142 @findex normal-erase-is-backspace-mode
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143 On most text-only terminals, Emacs cannot tell which keys the
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144 keyboard really has, so it follows a uniform plan which may or may not
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145 fit your keyboard. The uniform plan is that the ASCII @key{DEL}
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146 character deletes, and the ASCII @key{BS} (backspace) character asks
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147 for help (it is the same as @kbd{C-h}). If this is not right for your
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148 keyboard, such as if you find that the key which ought to delete backwards
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149 enters Help instead, see @ref{DEL Does Not Delete}.
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150
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151 @kindex M-\
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152 @findex delete-horizontal-space
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153 @kindex M-SPC
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154 @findex just-one-space
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155 The other delete commands are those which delete only whitespace
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156 characters: spaces, tabs and newlines. @kbd{M-\}
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157 (@code{delete-horizontal-space}) deletes all the spaces and tab
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158 characters before and after point. @kbd{M-@key{SPC}}
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159 (@code{just-one-space}) does likewise but leaves a single space after
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160 point, regardless of the number of spaces that existed previously (even
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161 if there were none before).
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162
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163 @kbd{C-x C-o} (@code{delete-blank-lines}) deletes all blank lines
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164 after the current line. If the current line is blank, it deletes all
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165 blank lines preceding the current line as well (leaving one blank line,
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166 the current line).
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167
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168 @kbd{M-^} (@code{delete-indentation}) joins the current line and the
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169 previous line, by deleting a newline and all surrounding spaces, usually
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170 leaving a single space. @xref{Indentation,M-^}.
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171
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172 @node Killing by Lines
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173 @subsection Killing by Lines
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174
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175 @table @kbd
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176 @item C-k
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177 Kill rest of line or one or more lines (@code{kill-line}).
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178 @end table
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179
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180 @kindex C-k
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181 @findex kill-line
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182 The simplest kill command is @kbd{C-k}. If given at the beginning of
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183 a line, it kills all the text on the line, leaving it blank. When used
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184 on a blank line, it kills the whole line including its newline. To kill
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185 an entire non-blank line, go to the beginning and type @kbd{C-k} twice.
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186
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187 More generally, @kbd{C-k} kills from point up to the end of the line,
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188 unless it is at the end of a line. In that case it kills the newline
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189 following point, thus merging the next line into the current one.
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190 Spaces and tabs that you can't see at the end of the line are ignored
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191 when deciding which case applies, so if point appears to be at the end
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192 of the line, you can be sure @kbd{C-k} will kill the newline.
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193
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194 When @kbd{C-k} is given a positive argument, it kills that many lines
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195 and the newlines that follow them (however, text on the current line
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196 before point is not killed). With a negative argument @minus{}@var{n}, it
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197 kills @var{n} lines preceding the current line (together with the text
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198 on the current line before point). Thus, @kbd{C-u - 2 C-k} at the front
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199 of a line kills the two previous lines.
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200
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201 @kbd{C-k} with an argument of zero kills the text before point on the
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202 current line.
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203
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204 @vindex kill-whole-line
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205 If the variable @code{kill-whole-line} is non-@code{nil}, @kbd{C-k} at
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206 the very beginning of a line kills the entire line including the
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207 following newline. This variable is normally @code{nil}.
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208
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209 @node Other Kill Commands
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210 @subsection Other Kill Commands
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211 @findex kill-region
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212 @kindex C-w
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213
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214 @table @kbd
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215 @item C-w
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216 Kill region (from point to the mark) (@code{kill-region}).
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217 @item M-d
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218 Kill word (@code{kill-word}). @xref{Words}.
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219 @item M-@key{DEL}
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220 Kill word backwards (@code{backward-kill-word}).
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221 @item C-x @key{DEL}
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222 Kill back to beginning of sentence (@code{backward-kill-sentence}).
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223 @xref{Sentences}.
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224 @item M-k
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225 Kill to end of sentence (@code{kill-sentence}).
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226 @item C-M-k
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227 Kill the following balanced expression (@code{kill-sexp}). @xref{Expressions}.
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228 @item M-z @var{char}
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229 Kill through the next occurrence of @var{char} (@code{zap-to-char}).
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230 @end table
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231
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232 A kill command which is very general is @kbd{C-w}
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233 (@code{kill-region}), which kills everything between point and the
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234 mark. With this command, you can kill any contiguous sequence of
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235 characters, if you first set the region around them.
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236
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237 @kindex M-z
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238 @findex zap-to-char
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239 A convenient way of killing is combined with searching: @kbd{M-z}
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240 (@code{zap-to-char}) reads a character and kills from point up to (and
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241 including) the next occurrence of that character in the buffer. A
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242 numeric argument acts as a repeat count. A negative argument means to
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243 search backward and kill text before point.
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244
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245 Other syntactic units can be killed: words, with @kbd{M-@key{DEL}}
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246 and @kbd{M-d} (@pxref{Words}); balanced expressions, with @kbd{C-M-k}
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247 (@pxref{Expressions}); and sentences, with @kbd{C-x @key{DEL}} and
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248 @kbd{M-k} (@pxref{Sentences}).@refill
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249
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250 You can use kill commands in read-only buffers. They don't actually
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251 change the buffer, and they beep to warn you of that, but they do copy
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252 the text you tried to kill into the kill ring, so you can yank it into
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253 other buffers. Most of the kill commands move point across the text
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254 they copy in this way, so that successive kill commands build up a
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255 single kill ring entry as usual.
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256
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257 @node Yanking, Accumulating Text, Killing, Top
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258 @section Yanking
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259 @cindex moving text
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260 @cindex copying text
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261 @cindex kill ring
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262 @cindex yanking
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263 @cindex pasting
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264
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265 @dfn{Yanking} means reinserting text previously killed. This is what
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266 some systems call ``pasting.'' The usual way to move or copy text is to
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267 kill it and then yank it elsewhere one or more times.
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268
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269 @table @kbd
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270 @item C-y
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271 Yank last killed text (@code{yank}).
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272 @item M-y
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273 Replace text just yanked with an earlier batch of killed text
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274 (@code{yank-pop}).
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275 @item M-w
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276 Save region as last killed text without actually killing it
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277 (@code{kill-ring-save}).
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278 @item C-M-w
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279 Append next kill to last batch of killed text (@code{append-next-kill}).
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280 @end table
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281
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282 @menu
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283 * Kill Ring:: Where killed text is stored. Basic yanking.
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284 * Appending Kills:: Several kills in a row all yank together.
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285 * Earlier Kills:: Yanking something killed some time ago.
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286 @end menu
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287
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288 @node Kill Ring
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289 @subsection The Kill Ring
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290
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291 All killed text is recorded in the @dfn{kill ring}, a list of blocks of
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292 text that have been killed. There is only one kill ring, shared by all
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293 buffers, so you can kill text in one buffer and yank it in another buffer.
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294 This is the usual way to move text from one file to another.
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295 (@xref{Accumulating Text}, for some other ways.)
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296
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297 @kindex C-y
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298 @findex yank
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299 The command @kbd{C-y} (@code{yank}) reinserts the text of the most recent
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300 kill. It leaves the cursor at the end of the text. It sets the mark at
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301 the beginning of the text. @xref{Mark}.
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302
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303 @kbd{C-u C-y} leaves the cursor in front of the text, and sets the
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304 mark after it. This happens only if the argument is specified with just
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305 a @kbd{C-u}, precisely. Any other sort of argument, including @kbd{C-u}
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306 and digits, specifies an earlier kill to yank (@pxref{Earlier Kills}).
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307
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308 @kindex M-w
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309 @findex kill-ring-save
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310 To copy a block of text, you can use @kbd{M-w}
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311 (@code{kill-ring-save}), which copies the region into the kill ring
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312 without removing it from the buffer. This is approximately equivalent
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313 to @kbd{C-w} followed by @kbd{C-x u}, except that @kbd{M-w} does not
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314 alter the undo history and does not temporarily change the screen.
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315
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316 @node Appending Kills
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317 @subsection Appending Kills
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318
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319 @cindex appending kills in the ring
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320 @cindex television
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321 Normally, each kill command pushes a new entry onto the kill ring.
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322 However, two or more kill commands in a row combine their text into a
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323 single entry, so that a single @kbd{C-y} yanks all the text as a unit,
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324 just as it was before it was killed.
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325
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326 Thus, if you want to yank text as a unit, you need not kill all of it
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327 with one command; you can keep killing line after line, or word after
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328 word, until you have killed it all, and you can still get it all back at
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329 once.
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330
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331 Commands that kill forward from point add onto the end of the previous
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332 killed text. Commands that kill backward from point add text onto the
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333 beginning. This way, any sequence of mixed forward and backward kill
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334 commands puts all the killed text into one entry without rearrangement.
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335 Numeric arguments do not break the sequence of appending kills. For
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336 example, suppose the buffer contains this text:
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337
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338 @example
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339 This is a line @point{}of sample text.
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340 @end example
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341
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342 @noindent
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343 with point shown by @point{}. If you type @kbd{M-d M-@key{DEL} M-d
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344 M-@key{DEL}}, killing alternately forward and backward, you end up with
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345 @samp{a line of sample} as one entry in the kill ring, and @samp{This
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346 is@ @ text.} in the buffer. (Note the double space between @samp{is}
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347 and @samp{text}, which you can clean up with @kbd{M-@key{SPC}} or
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348 @kbd{M-q}.)
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349
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350 Another way to kill the same text is to move back two words with
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351 @kbd{M-b M-b}, then kill all four words forward with @kbd{C-u M-d}.
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352 This produces exactly the same results in the buffer and in the kill
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353 ring. @kbd{M-f M-f C-u M-@key{DEL}} kills the same text, all going
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354 backward; once again, the result is the same. The text in the kill ring
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355 entry always has the same order that it had in the buffer before you
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356 killed it.
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357
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358 @kindex C-M-w
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359 @findex append-next-kill
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360 If a kill command is separated from the last kill command by other
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361 commands (not just numeric arguments), it starts a new entry on the kill
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362 ring. But you can force it to append by first typing the command
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363 @kbd{C-M-w} (@code{append-next-kill}) right before it. The @kbd{C-M-w}
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364 tells the following command, if it is a kill command, to append the text
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365 it kills to the last killed text, instead of starting a new entry. With
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366 @kbd{C-M-w}, you can kill several separated pieces of text and
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367 accumulate them to be yanked back in one place.@refill
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368
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369 A kill command following @kbd{M-w} does not append to the text that
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370 @kbd{M-w} copied into the kill ring.
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371
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372 @node Earlier Kills
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373 @subsection Yanking Earlier Kills
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374
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375 @cindex yanking previous kills
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376 @kindex M-y
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377 @findex yank-pop
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378 To recover killed text that is no longer the most recent kill, use the
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379 @kbd{M-y} command (@code{yank-pop}). It takes the text previously
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380 yanked and replaces it with the text from an earlier kill. So, to
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381 recover the text of the next-to-the-last kill, first use @kbd{C-y} to
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382 yank the last kill, and then use @kbd{M-y} to replace it with the
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383 previous kill. @kbd{M-y} is allowed only after a @kbd{C-y} or another
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384 @kbd{M-y}.
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385
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386 You can understand @kbd{M-y} in terms of a ``last yank'' pointer which
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387 points at an entry in the kill ring. Each time you kill, the ``last
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388 yank'' pointer moves to the newly made entry at the front of the ring.
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389 @kbd{C-y} yanks the entry which the ``last yank'' pointer points to.
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390 @kbd{M-y} moves the ``last yank'' pointer to a different entry, and the
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391 text in the buffer changes to match. Enough @kbd{M-y} commands can move
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parents:
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392 the pointer to any entry in the ring, so you can get any entry into the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
393 buffer. Eventually the pointer reaches the end of the ring; the next
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
394 @kbd{M-y} loops back around to the first entry again.
25829
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parents:
diff changeset
395
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
396 @kbd{M-y} moves the ``last yank'' pointer around the ring, but it does
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
397 not change the order of the entries in the ring, which always runs from
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
398 the most recent kill at the front to the oldest one still remembered.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
399
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
400 @kbd{M-y} can take a numeric argument, which tells it how many entries
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
401 to advance the ``last yank'' pointer by. A negative argument moves the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
402 pointer toward the front of the ring; from the front of the ring, it
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
403 moves ``around'' to the last entry and continues forward from there.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
404
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
405 Once the text you are looking for is brought into the buffer, you can
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
406 stop doing @kbd{M-y} commands and it will stay there. It's just a copy
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
407 of the kill ring entry, so editing it in the buffer does not change
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
408 what's in the ring. As long as no new killing is done, the ``last
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
409 yank'' pointer remains at the same place in the kill ring, so repeating
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
410 @kbd{C-y} will yank another copy of the same previous kill.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
411
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
412 If you know how many @kbd{M-y} commands it would take to find the
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
413 text you want, you can yank that text in one step using @kbd{C-y} with
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
414 a numeric argument. @kbd{C-y} with an argument restores the text from
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
415 the specified kill ring entry, counting back from the most recent as
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
416 1. Thus, @kbd{C-u 2 C-y} gets the next-to-the-last block of killed
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
417 text---it is equivalent to @kbd{C-y M-y}. @kbd{C-y} with a numeric
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
418 argument starts counting from the ``last yank'' pointer, and sets the
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
419 ``last yank'' pointer to the entry that it yanks.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
420
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
421 @vindex kill-ring-max
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
422 The length of the kill ring is controlled by the variable
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
423 @code{kill-ring-max}; no more than that many blocks of killed text are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
424 saved.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
425
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
426 @vindex kill-ring
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
427 The actual contents of the kill ring are stored in a variable named
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
428 @code{kill-ring}; you can view the entire contents of the kill ring with
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
429 the command @kbd{C-h v kill-ring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
430
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
431 @node Accumulating Text, Rectangles, Yanking, Top
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
432 @section Accumulating Text
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
433 @findex append-to-buffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
434 @findex prepend-to-buffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
435 @findex copy-to-buffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
436 @findex append-to-file
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
437
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
438 @cindex accumulating scattered text
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
439 Usually we copy or move text by killing it and yanking it, but there
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
440 are other methods convenient for copying one block of text in many
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
441 places, or for copying many scattered blocks of text into one place. To
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
442 copy one block to many places, store it in a register
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
443 (@pxref{Registers}). Here we describe the commands to accumulate
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
444 scattered pieces of text into a buffer or into a file.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
445
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
446 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
447 @item M-x append-to-buffer
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
448 Append region to the contents of a specified buffer.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
449 @item M-x prepend-to-buffer
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
450 Prepend region to the contents of a specified buffer.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
451 @item M-x copy-to-buffer
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
452 Copy region into a specified buffer, deleting that buffer's old contents.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
453 @item M-x insert-buffer
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
454 Insert the contents of a specified buffer into current buffer at point.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
455 @item M-x append-to-file
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
456 Append region to the contents of a specified file, at the end.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
457 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
458
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
459 To accumulate text into a buffer, use @kbd{M-x append-to-buffer}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
460 This reads a buffer name, then inserts a copy of the region into the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
461 buffer specified. If you specify a nonexistent buffer,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
462 @code{append-to-buffer} creates the buffer. The text is inserted
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
463 wherever point is in that buffer. If you have been using the buffer for
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
464 editing, the copied text goes into the middle of the text of the buffer,
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
465 starting from wherever point happens to be at that moment.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
466
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
467 Point in that buffer is left at the end of the copied text, so
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
468 successive uses of @code{append-to-buffer} accumulate the text in the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
469 specified buffer in the same order as they were copied. Strictly
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
470 speaking, @code{append-to-buffer} does not always append to the text
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
471 already in the buffer---it appends only if point in that buffer is at the end.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
472 However, if @code{append-to-buffer} is the only command you use to alter
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
473 a buffer, then point is always at the end.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
474
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
475 @kbd{M-x prepend-to-buffer} is just like @code{append-to-buffer}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
476 except that point in the other buffer is left before the copied text, so
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
477 successive prependings add text in reverse order. @kbd{M-x
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
478 copy-to-buffer} is similar, except that any existing text in the other
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
479 buffer is deleted, so the buffer is left containing just the text newly
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
480 copied into it.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
481
38415
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
482 To retrieve the accumulated text from another buffer, use the
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
483 command @kbd{M-x insert-buffer}; this too takes @var{buffername} as an
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
484 argument. It inserts a copy of the whole text in buffer
38745
5464ee1ba8e2 Minor cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38481
diff changeset
485 @var{buffername} into the current buffer at point, and sets the mark
38415
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
486 after the inserted text. Alternatively, you can select the other
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
487 buffer for editing, then copy text from it by killing.
80b960104fbd Minor clarification about insert-buffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38206
diff changeset
488 @xref{Buffers}, for background information on buffers.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
489
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
490 Instead of accumulating text within Emacs, in a buffer, you can append
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
491 text directly into a file with @kbd{M-x append-to-file}, which takes
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
492 @var{filename} as an argument. It adds the text of the region to the end
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
493 of the specified file. The file is changed immediately on disk.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
494
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
495 You should use @code{append-to-file} only with files that are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
496 @emph{not} being visited in Emacs. Using it on a file that you are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
497 editing in Emacs would change the file behind Emacs's back, which
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
498 can lead to losing some of your editing.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
499
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
500 @node Rectangles, Registers, Accumulating Text, Top
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
501 @section Rectangles
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
502 @cindex rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
503 @cindex columns (and rectangles)
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
504 @cindex killing rectangular areas of text
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
505
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
506 The rectangle commands operate on rectangular areas of the text: all
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
507 the characters between a certain pair of columns, in a certain range of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
508 lines. Commands are provided to kill rectangles, yank killed rectangles,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
509 clear them out, fill them with blanks or text, or delete them. Rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
510 commands are useful with text in multicolumn formats, and for changing
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
511 text into or out of such formats.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
512
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
513 When you must specify a rectangle for a command to work on, you do it
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
514 by putting the mark at one corner and point at the opposite corner. The
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
515 rectangle thus specified is called the @dfn{region-rectangle} because
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
516 you control it in much the same way as the region is controlled. But
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
517 remember that a given combination of point and mark values can be
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
518 interpreted either as a region or as a rectangle, depending on the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
519 command that uses them.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
520
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
521 If point and the mark are in the same column, the rectangle they
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
522 delimit is empty. If they are in the same line, the rectangle is one
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
523 line high. This asymmetry between lines and columns comes about
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
524 because point (and likewise the mark) is between two columns, but within
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
525 a line.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
526
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
527 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
528 @item C-x r k
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
529 Kill the text of the region-rectangle, saving its contents as the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
530 ``last killed rectangle'' (@code{kill-rectangle}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
531 @item C-x r d
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
532 Delete the text of the region-rectangle (@code{delete-rectangle}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
533 @item C-x r y
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
534 Yank the last killed rectangle with its upper left corner at point
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
535 (@code{yank-rectangle}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
536 @item C-x r o
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
537 Insert blank space to fill the space of the region-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
538 (@code{open-rectangle}). This pushes the previous contents of the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
539 region-rectangle rightward.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
540 @item M-x clear-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
541 Clear the region-rectangle by replacing its contents with spaces.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
542 @item M-x delete-whitespace-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
543 Delete whitespace in each of the lines on the specified rectangle,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
544 starting from the left edge column of the rectangle.
27749
986871288b53 *** empty log message ***
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 25829
diff changeset
545 @item C-x r t @var{string} @key{RET}
37447
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
546 Replace rectangle contents with @var{string} on each line.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
547 (@code{string-rectangle}).
37447
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
548 @item M-x string-insert-rectangle @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET}
37572
956f7346b171 (Rectangles): Remove redundant and erroneous name of replace-rectangle
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 37486
diff changeset
549 Insert @var{string} on each line of the rectangle.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
550 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
551
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
552 The rectangle operations fall into two classes: commands for
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
553 deleting and inserting rectangles, and commands for blank rectangles.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
554
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
555 @kindex C-x r k
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
556 @kindex C-x r d
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
557 @findex kill-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
558 @findex delete-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
559 There are two ways to get rid of the text in a rectangle: you can
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
560 discard the text (delete it) or save it as the ``last killed''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
561 rectangle. The commands for these two ways are @kbd{C-x r d}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
562 (@code{delete-rectangle}) and @kbd{C-x r k} (@code{kill-rectangle}). In
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
563 either case, the portion of each line that falls inside the rectangle's
38461
23f63206a867 Proofreading fixes from Chris Green <chris_e_green@yahoo.com>.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38415
diff changeset
564 boundaries is deleted, causing any following text on the line to
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
565 move left into the gap.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
566
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
567 Note that ``killing'' a rectangle is not killing in the usual sense; the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
568 rectangle is not stored in the kill ring, but in a special place that
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
569 can only record the most recent rectangle killed. This is because yanking
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
570 a rectangle is so different from yanking linear text that different yank
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
571 commands have to be used and yank-popping is hard to make sense of.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
572
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
573 @kindex C-x r y
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
574 @findex yank-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
575 To yank the last killed rectangle, type @kbd{C-x r y}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
576 (@code{yank-rectangle}). Yanking a rectangle is the opposite of killing
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
577 one. Point specifies where to put the rectangle's upper left corner.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
578 The rectangle's first line is inserted there, the rectangle's second
38481
33c054df8f9f Add a missing word.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38461
diff changeset
579 line is inserted at the same horizontal position, but one line
33c054df8f9f Add a missing word.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38461
diff changeset
580 vertically down, and so on. The number of lines affected is determined
33c054df8f9f Add a missing word.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 38461
diff changeset
581 by the height of the saved rectangle.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
582
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
583 You can convert single-column lists into double-column lists using
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
584 rectangle killing and yanking; kill the second half of the list as a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
585 rectangle and then yank it beside the first line of the list.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
586 @xref{Two-Column}, for another way to edit multi-column text.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
587
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
588 You can also copy rectangles into and out of registers with @kbd{C-x r
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
589 r @var{r}} and @kbd{C-x r i @var{r}}. @xref{RegRect,,Rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
590 Registers}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
591
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
592 @kindex C-x r o
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
593 @findex open-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
594 @findex clear-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
595 There are two commands you can use for making blank rectangles:
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
596 @kbd{M-x clear-rectangle} which blanks out existing text, and @kbd{C-x r
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
597 o} (@code{open-rectangle}) which inserts a blank rectangle. Clearing a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
598 rectangle is equivalent to deleting it and then inserting a blank
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
599 rectangle of the same size.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
600
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
601 @findex delete-whitespace-rectangle
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
602 The command @kbd{M-x delete-whitespace-rectangle} deletes horizontal
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
603 whitespace starting from a particular column. This applies to each of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
604 the lines in the rectangle, and the column is specified by the left
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
605 edge of the rectangle. The right edge of the rectangle does not make
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
606 any difference to this command.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
607
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
608 @kindex C-x r t
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
609 @findex string-rectangle
37585
d44c87635f6e (Rectangles): Remove the description of replace-rectangle.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 37572
diff changeset
610 The command @kbd{C-x r t} (@code{string-rectangle}) replaces the
37447
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
611 contents of a region-rectangle with a string on each line. The
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
612 string's width need not be the same as the width of the rectangle. If
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
613 the string's width is less, the text after the rectangle shifts left;
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
614 if the string is wider than the rectangle, the text after the
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
615 rectangle shifts right.
33805
7d3fd66a3ac3 Fix string-rectangle doc.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 30895
diff changeset
616
37447
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
617 @findex string-insert-rectangle
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
618 The command @kbd{M-x string-insert-rectangle} is similar to
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
619 @code{string-rectangle}, but inserts the string on each line,
0bc52782144f Adapt to the change of string-rectangle back to 20.x behaviour.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37357
diff changeset
620 shifting the original text to the right.