annotate man/search.texi @ 52247:9e07217c006b

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author Markus Rost <rost@math.uni-bielefeld.de>
date Tue, 19 Aug 2003 03:01:06 +0000
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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, 2000, 2001
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3 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
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5 @node Search, Fixit, Display, Top
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6 @chapter Searching and Replacement
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7 @cindex searching
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8 @cindex finding strings within text
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9
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10 Like other editors, Emacs has commands for searching for occurrences of
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11 a string. The principal search command is unusual in that it is
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12 @dfn{incremental}; it begins to search before you have finished typing the
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13 search string. There are also nonincremental search commands more like
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14 those of other editors.
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15
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16 Besides the usual @code{replace-string} command that finds all
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17 occurrences of one string and replaces them with another, Emacs has a
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18 more flexible replacement command called @code{query-replace}, which
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19 asks interactively which occurrences to replace.
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20
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21 @menu
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22 * Incremental Search:: Search happens as you type the string.
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23 * Nonincremental Search:: Specify entire string and then search.
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24 * Word Search:: Search for sequence of words.
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25 * Regexp Search:: Search for match for a regexp.
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26 * Regexps:: Syntax of regular expressions.
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27 * Search Case:: To ignore case while searching, or not.
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28 * Replace:: Search, and replace some or all matches.
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29 * Other Repeating Search:: Operating on all matches for some regexp.
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30 @end menu
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31
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32 @node Incremental Search, Nonincremental Search, Search, Search
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33 @section Incremental Search
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34
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35 @cindex incremental search
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36 An incremental search begins searching as soon as you type the first
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37 character of the search string. As you type in the search string, Emacs
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38 shows you where the string (as you have typed it so far) would be
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39 found. When you have typed enough characters to identify the place you
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40 want, you can stop. Depending on what you plan to do next, you may or
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41 may not need to terminate the search explicitly with @key{RET}.
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42
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43 @c WideCommands
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44 @table @kbd
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45 @item C-s
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46 Incremental search forward (@code{isearch-forward}).
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47 @item C-r
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48 Incremental search backward (@code{isearch-backward}).
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49 @end table
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50
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51 @kindex C-s
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52 @findex isearch-forward
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53 @kbd{C-s} starts a forward incremental search. It reads characters
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54 from the keyboard, and moves point past the next occurrence of those
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55 characters. If you type @kbd{C-s} and then @kbd{F}, that puts the
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56 cursor after the first @samp{F} (the first following the starting point, since
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57 this is a forward search). Then if you type an @kbd{O}, you will see
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58 the cursor move just after the first @samp{FO} (the @samp{F} in that
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59 @samp{FO} may or may not be the first @samp{F}). After another
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60 @kbd{O}, the cursor moves after the first @samp{FOO} after the place
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61 where you started the search. At each step, the buffer text that
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62 matches the search string is highlighted, if the terminal can do that;
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63 the current search string is always displayed in the echo area.
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64
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65 If you make a mistake in typing the search string, you can cancel
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66 characters with @key{DEL}. Each @key{DEL} cancels the last character of
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67 search string. This does not happen until Emacs is ready to read another
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68 input character; first it must either find, or fail to find, the character
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69 you want to erase. If you do not want to wait for this to happen, use
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70 @kbd{C-g} as described below.
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71
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72 When you are satisfied with the place you have reached, you can type
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73 @key{RET}, which stops searching, leaving the cursor where the search
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74 brought it. Also, any command not specially meaningful in searches
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75 stops the searching and is then executed. Thus, typing @kbd{C-a}
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76 would exit the search and then move to the beginning of the line.
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77 @key{RET} is necessary only if the next command you want to type is a
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78 printing character, @key{DEL}, @key{RET}, or another character that is
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79 special within searches (@kbd{C-q}, @kbd{C-w}, @kbd{C-r}, @kbd{C-s},
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80 @kbd{C-y}, @kbd{M-y}, @kbd{M-r}, @kbd{M-s}, and some other
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81 meta-characters).
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82
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83 Sometimes you search for @samp{FOO} and find one, but not the one you
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84 expected to find. There was a second @samp{FOO} that you forgot
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85 about, before the one you were aiming for. In this event, type
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86 another @kbd{C-s} to move to the next occurrence of the search string.
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87 You can repeat this any number of times. If you overshoot, you can
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88 cancel some @kbd{C-s} characters with @key{DEL}.
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89
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90 After you exit a search, you can search for the same string again by
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91 typing just @kbd{C-s C-s}: the first @kbd{C-s} is the key that invokes
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92 incremental search, and the second @kbd{C-s} means ``search again.''
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93
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94 To reuse earlier search strings, use the @dfn{search ring}. The
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95 commands @kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n} move through the ring to pick a search
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96 string to reuse. These commands leave the selected search ring element
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97 in the minibuffer, where you can edit it. Type @kbd{C-s} or @kbd{C-r}
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98 to terminate editing the string and search for it.
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99
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100 If your string is not found at all, the echo area says @samp{Failing
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101 I-Search}. The cursor is after the place where Emacs found as much of your
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102 string as it could. Thus, if you search for @samp{FOOT}, and there is no
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103 @samp{FOOT}, you might see the cursor after the @samp{FOO} in @samp{FOOL}.
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104 At this point there are several things you can do. If your string was
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105 mistyped, you can rub some of it out and correct it. If you like the place
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106 you have found, you can type @key{RET} or some other Emacs command to
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107 remain there. Or you can type @kbd{C-g}, which
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108 removes from the search string the characters that could not be found (the
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109 @samp{T} in @samp{FOOT}), leaving those that were found (the @samp{FOO} in
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110 @samp{FOOT}). A second @kbd{C-g} at that point cancels the search
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111 entirely, returning point to where it was when the search started.
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112
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113 An upper-case letter in the search string makes the search
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114 case-sensitive. If you delete the upper-case character from the search
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115 string, it ceases to have this effect. @xref{Search Case}.
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116
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117 To search for a newline, type @kbd{C-j}. To search for another
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118 control character, such as control-S or carriage return, you must quote
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119 it by typing @kbd{C-q} first. This function of @kbd{C-q} is analogous
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120 to its use for insertion (@pxref{Inserting Text}): it causes the
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121 following character to be treated the way any ``ordinary'' character is
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122 treated in the same context. You can also specify a character by its
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123 octal code: enter @kbd{C-q} followed by a sequence of octal digits.
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124
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125 @cindex searching for non-ASCII characters
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126 @cindex input method, during incremental search
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127 To search for non-ASCII characters, you must use an input method
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128 (@pxref{Input Methods}). If an input method is enabled in the
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129 current buffer when you start the search, you can use it while you
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130 type the search string also. Emacs indicates that by including the
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131 input method mnemonic in its prompt, like this:
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132
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133 @example
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134 I-search [@var{im}]:
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135 @end example
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136
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137 @noindent
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138 @findex isearch-toggle-input-method
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139 @findex isearch-toggle-specified-input-method
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140 where @var{im} is the mnemonic of the active input method. You can
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141 toggle (enable or disable) the input method while you type the search
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142 string with @kbd{C-\} (@code{isearch-toggle-input-method}). You can
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143 turn on a certain (non-default) input method with @kbd{C-^}
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144 (@code{isearch-toggle-specified-input-method}), which prompts for the
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145 name of the input method. The input method you enable during
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146 incremental search remains enabled in the current buffer afterwards.
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147
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148 If a search is failing and you ask to repeat it by typing another
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149 @kbd{C-s}, it starts again from the beginning of the buffer.
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150 Repeating a failing reverse search with @kbd{C-r} starts again from
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151 the end. This is called @dfn{wrapping around}, and @samp{Wrapped}
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152 appears in the search prompt once this has happened. If you keep on
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153 going past the original starting point of the search, it changes to
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154 @samp{Overwrapped}, which means that you are revisiting matches that
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155 you have already seen.
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156
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157 @cindex quitting (in search)
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158 The @kbd{C-g} ``quit'' character does special things during searches;
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159 just what it does depends on the status of the search. If the search has
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160 found what you specified and is waiting for input, @kbd{C-g} cancels the
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161 entire search. The cursor moves back to where you started the search. If
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162 @kbd{C-g} is typed when there are characters in the search string that have
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163 not been found---because Emacs is still searching for them, or because it
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164 has failed to find them---then the search string characters which have not
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165 been found are discarded from the search string. With them gone, the
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166 search is now successful and waiting for more input, so a second @kbd{C-g}
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167 will cancel the entire search.
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168
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169 You can change to searching backwards with @kbd{C-r}. If a search fails
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170 because the place you started was too late in the file, you should do this.
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171 Repeated @kbd{C-r} keeps looking for more occurrences backwards. A
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172 @kbd{C-s} starts going forwards again. @kbd{C-r} in a search can be canceled
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173 with @key{DEL}.
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174
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175 @kindex C-r
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176 @findex isearch-backward
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177 If you know initially that you want to search backwards, you can use
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178 @kbd{C-r} instead of @kbd{C-s} to start the search, because @kbd{C-r} as
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179 a key runs a command (@code{isearch-backward}) to search backward. A
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180 backward search finds matches that are entirely before the starting
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181 point, just as a forward search finds matches that begin after it.
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182
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183 The characters @kbd{C-y} and @kbd{C-w} can be used in incremental
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184 search to grab text from the buffer into the search string. This
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185 makes it convenient to search for another occurrence of text at point.
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186 @kbd{C-w} copies the character or word after point as part of the
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187 search string, advancing point over it. (The decision, whether to
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188 copy a character or a word, is heuristic.) Another @kbd{C-s} to
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189 repeat the search will then search for a string including that
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190 character or word.
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191
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192 @kbd{C-y} is similar to @kbd{C-w} but copies all the rest of the
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193 current line into the search string. Both @kbd{C-y} and @kbd{C-w}
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194 convert the text they copy to lower case if the search is currently
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195 not case-sensitive; this is so the search remains case-insensitive.
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196
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197 The character @kbd{M-y} copies text from the kill ring into the search
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198 string. It uses the same text that @kbd{C-y} as a command would yank.
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199 @kbd{Mouse-2} in the echo area does the same.
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200 @xref{Yanking}.
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201
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202 When you exit the incremental search, it sets the mark to where point
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203 @emph{was}, before the search. That is convenient for moving back
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204 there. In Transient Mark mode, incremental search sets the mark without
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205 activating it, and does so only if the mark is not already active.
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206
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207 @cindex lazy search highlighting
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208 @vindex isearch-lazy-highlight
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209 When you pause for a little while during incremental search, it
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210 highlights all other possible matches for the search string. This
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211 makes it easier to anticipate where you can get to by typing @kbd{C-s}
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212 or @kbd{C-r} to repeat the search. The short delay before highlighting
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213 other matches helps indicate which match is the current one.
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214 If you don't like this feature, you can turn it off by setting
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215 @code{isearch-lazy-highlight} to @code{nil}.
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216
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217 @vindex isearch-lazy-highlight-face
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218 @cindex faces for highlighting search matches
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219 You can control how this highlighting looks by customizing the faces
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220 @code{isearch} (used for the current match) and
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221 @code{isearch-lazy-highlight-face} (for all the other matches).
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222
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223 @vindex isearch-mode-map
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224 To customize the special characters that incremental search understands,
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225 alter their bindings in the keymap @code{isearch-mode-map}. For a list
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226 of bindings, look at the documentation of @code{isearch-mode} with
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227 @kbd{C-h f isearch-mode @key{RET}}.
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228
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229 @subsection Slow Terminal Incremental Search
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230
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231 Incremental search on a slow terminal uses a modified style of display
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232 that is designed to take less time. Instead of redisplaying the buffer at
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233 each place the search gets to, it creates a new single-line window and uses
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234 that to display the line that the search has found. The single-line window
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235 comes into play as soon as point moves outside of the text that is already
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236 on the screen.
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237
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238 When you terminate the search, the single-line window is removed.
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239 Emacs then redisplays the window in which the search was done, to show
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240 its new position of point.
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241
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242 @vindex search-slow-speed
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243 The slow terminal style of display is used when the terminal baud rate is
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244 less than or equal to the value of the variable @code{search-slow-speed},
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245 initially 1200. See @code{baud-rate} in @ref{Display Custom}.
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246
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247 @vindex search-slow-window-lines
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248 The number of lines to use in slow terminal search display is controlled
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249 by the variable @code{search-slow-window-lines}. Its normal value is 1.
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250
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251 @node Nonincremental Search, Word Search, Incremental Search, Search
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252 @section Nonincremental Search
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253 @cindex nonincremental search
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254
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255 Emacs also has conventional nonincremental search commands, which require
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256 you to type the entire search string before searching begins.
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257
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258 @table @kbd
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259 @item C-s @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET}
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260 Search for @var{string}.
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261 @item C-r @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET}
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262 Search backward for @var{string}.
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263 @end table
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264
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265 To do a nonincremental search, first type @kbd{C-s @key{RET}}. This
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266 enters the minibuffer to read the search string; terminate the string
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267 with @key{RET}, and then the search takes place. If the string is not
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268 found, the search command signals an error.
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269
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270 When you type @kbd{C-s @key{RET}}, the @kbd{C-s} invokes incremental
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271 search as usual. That command is specially programmed to invoke
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272 nonincremental search, @code{search-forward}, if the string you
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273 specify is empty. (Such an empty argument would otherwise be
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274 useless.) But it does not call @code{search-forward} right away. First
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275 it checks the next input character to see if is @kbd{C-w},
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276 which specifies a word search.
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277 @ifinfo
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278 @xref{Word Search}.
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279 @end ifinfo
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280 @kbd{C-r @key{RET}} does likewise, for a reverse incremental search.
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281
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282 @findex search-forward
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283 @findex search-backward
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284 Forward and backward nonincremental searches are implemented by the
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285 commands @code{search-forward} and @code{search-backward}. These
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286 commands may be bound to keys in the usual manner. The feature that you
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287 can get to them via the incremental search commands exists for
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288 historical reasons, and to avoid the need to find key sequences
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289 for them.
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290
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291 @node Word Search, Regexp Search, Nonincremental Search, Search
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292 @section Word Search
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293 @cindex word search
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294
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295 Word search searches for a sequence of words without regard to how the
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296 words are separated. More precisely, you type a string of many words,
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297 using single spaces to separate them, and the string can be found even
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298 if there are multiple spaces, newlines, or other punctuation characters
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299 between these words.
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300
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301 Word search is useful for editing a printed document made with a text
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302 formatter. If you edit while looking at the printed, formatted version,
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303 you can't tell where the line breaks are in the source file. With word
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304 search, you can search without having to know them.
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305
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306 @table @kbd
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307 @item C-s @key{RET} C-w @var{words} @key{RET}
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308 Search for @var{words}, ignoring details of punctuation.
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309 @item C-r @key{RET} C-w @var{words} @key{RET}
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310 Search backward for @var{words}, ignoring details of punctuation.
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311 @end table
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312
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313 Word search is a special case of nonincremental search and is invoked
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314 with @kbd{C-s @key{RET} C-w}. This is followed by the search string,
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315 which must always be terminated with @key{RET}. Being nonincremental,
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316 this search does not start until the argument is terminated. It works
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317 by constructing a regular expression and searching for that; see
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318 @ref{Regexp Search}.
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319
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320 Use @kbd{C-r @key{RET} C-w} to do backward word search.
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321
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322 @findex word-search-forward
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323 @findex word-search-backward
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324 Forward and backward word searches are implemented by the commands
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325 @code{word-search-forward} and @code{word-search-backward}. These
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326 commands may be bound to keys in the usual manner. They are available
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327 via the incremental search commands both for historical reasons and
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328 to avoid the need to find suitable key sequences for them.
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329
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330 @node Regexp Search, Regexps, Word Search, Search
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331 @section Regular Expression Search
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332 @cindex regular expression
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333 @cindex regexp
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334
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335 A @dfn{regular expression} (@dfn{regexp}, for short) is a pattern
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336 that denotes a class of alternative strings to match, possibly
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337 infinitely many. GNU Emacs provides both incremental and
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338 nonincremental ways to search for a match for a regexp.
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339
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340 @kindex C-M-s
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341 @findex isearch-forward-regexp
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342 @kindex C-M-r
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343 @findex isearch-backward-regexp
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344 Incremental search for a regexp is done by typing @kbd{C-M-s}
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345 (@code{isearch-forward-regexp}), or by invoking @kbd{C-s} with a
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346 prefix argument (whose value does not matter). This command reads a
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347 search string incrementally just like @kbd{C-s}, but it treats the
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348 search string as a regexp rather than looking for an exact match
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349 against the text in the buffer. Each time you add text to the search
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350 string, you make the regexp longer, and the new regexp is searched
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351 for. To search backward for a regexp, use @kbd{C-M-r}
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352 (@code{isearch-backward-regexp}), or @kbd{C-r} with a prefix argument.
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353
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354 All of the control characters that do special things within an
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355 ordinary incremental search have the same function in incremental regexp
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356 search. Typing @kbd{C-s} or @kbd{C-r} immediately after starting the
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357 search retrieves the last incremental search regexp used; that is to
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358 say, incremental regexp and non-regexp searches have independent
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359 defaults. They also have separate search rings that you can access with
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360 @kbd{M-p} and @kbd{M-n}.
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361
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362 If you type @key{SPC} in incremental regexp search, it matches any
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363 sequence of whitespace characters, including newlines. If you want
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364 to match just a space, type @kbd{C-q @key{SPC}}.
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365
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366 Note that adding characters to the regexp in an incremental regexp
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367 search can make the cursor move back and start again. For example, if
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368 you have searched for @samp{foo} and you add @samp{\|bar}, the cursor
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369 backs up in case the first @samp{bar} precedes the first @samp{foo}.
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370
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371 @findex re-search-forward
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372 @findex re-search-backward
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373 Nonincremental search for a regexp is done by the functions
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374 @code{re-search-forward} and @code{re-search-backward}. You can invoke
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375 these with @kbd{M-x}, or bind them to keys, or invoke them by way of
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376 incremental regexp search with @kbd{C-M-s @key{RET}} and @kbd{C-M-r
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377 @key{RET}}.
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378
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379 If you use the incremental regexp search commands with a prefix
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380 argument, they perform ordinary string search, like
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381 @code{isearch-forward} and @code{isearch-backward}. @xref{Incremental
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382 Search}.
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383
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384 @node Regexps, Search Case, Regexp Search, Search
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385 @section Syntax of Regular Expressions
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386 @cindex syntax of regexps
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387
50604
f37984f93151 (Regexps): Ref to Lisp manual for more regexp features.
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388 This manual describes regular expression features that users
f37984f93151 (Regexps): Ref to Lisp manual for more regexp features.
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389 typically want to use. There are additional features that are
f37984f93151 (Regexps): Ref to Lisp manual for more regexp features.
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390 mainly used in Lisp programs; see @ref{Regular Expressions,,,
f37984f93151 (Regexps): Ref to Lisp manual for more regexp features.
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391 elisp, the same manual}.
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392
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393 Regular expressions have a syntax in which a few characters are
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394 special constructs and the rest are @dfn{ordinary}. An ordinary
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395 character is a simple regular expression which matches that same
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396 character and nothing else. The special characters are @samp{$},
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397 @samp{^}, @samp{.}, @samp{*}, @samp{+}, @samp{?}, @samp{[}, @samp{]} and
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398 @samp{\}. Any other character appearing in a regular expression is
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399 ordinary, unless a @samp{\} precedes it. (When you use regular
6dee6cc113a5 (Regexps): Say up front that backslashes must be doubled in a Lisp program.
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400 expressions in a Lisp program, each @samp{\} must be doubled, see the
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401 example near the end of this section.)
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402
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403 For example, @samp{f} is not a special character, so it is ordinary, and
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404 therefore @samp{f} is a regular expression that matches the string
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405 @samp{f} and no other string. (It does @emph{not} match the string
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406 @samp{ff}.) Likewise, @samp{o} is a regular expression that matches
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407 only @samp{o}. (When case distinctions are being ignored, these regexps
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408 also match @samp{F} and @samp{O}, but we consider this a generalization
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409 of ``the same string,'' rather than an exception.)
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410
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411 Any two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b} can be concatenated. The
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412 result is a regular expression which matches a string if @var{a} matches
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413 some amount of the beginning of that string and @var{b} matches the rest of
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414 the string.@refill
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415
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416 As a simple example, we can concatenate the regular expressions @samp{f}
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417 and @samp{o} to get the regular expression @samp{fo}, which matches only
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418 the string @samp{fo}. Still trivial. To do something nontrivial, you
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419 need to use one of the special characters. Here is a list of them.
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420
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421 @table @asis
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422 @item @kbd{.}@: @r{(Period)}
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423 is a special character that matches any single character except a newline.
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424 Using concatenation, we can make regular expressions like @samp{a.b}, which
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425 matches any three-character string that begins with @samp{a} and ends with
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426 @samp{b}.@refill
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427
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428 @item @kbd{*}
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429 is not a construct by itself; it is a postfix operator that means to
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430 match the preceding regular expression repetitively as many times as
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431 possible. Thus, @samp{o*} matches any number of @samp{o}s (including no
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432 @samp{o}s).
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433
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434 @samp{*} always applies to the @emph{smallest} possible preceding
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435 expression. Thus, @samp{fo*} has a repeating @samp{o}, not a repeating
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436 @samp{fo}. It matches @samp{f}, @samp{fo}, @samp{foo}, and so on.
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437
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438 The matcher processes a @samp{*} construct by matching, immediately,
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439 as many repetitions as can be found. Then it continues with the rest
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440 of the pattern. If that fails, backtracking occurs, discarding some
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441 of the matches of the @samp{*}-modified construct in case that makes
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442 it possible to match the rest of the pattern. For example, in matching
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443 @samp{ca*ar} against the string @samp{caaar}, the @samp{a*} first
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diff changeset
444 tries to match all three @samp{a}s; but the rest of the pattern is
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445 @samp{ar} and there is only @samp{r} left to match, so this try fails.
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446 The next alternative is for @samp{a*} to match only two @samp{a}s.
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447 With this choice, the rest of the regexp matches successfully.@refill
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448
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449 @item @kbd{+}
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450 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it must match
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451 the preceding expression at least once. So, for example, @samp{ca+r}
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diff changeset
452 matches the strings @samp{car} and @samp{caaaar} but not the string
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453 @samp{cr}, whereas @samp{ca*r} matches all three strings.
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454
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455 @item @kbd{?}
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456 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it can match the
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457 preceding expression either once or not at all. For example,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
458 @samp{ca?r} matches @samp{car} or @samp{cr}; nothing else.
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459
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632746dc04e4 (Regexps): Convert the main table into @table @asis.
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460 @item @kbd{*?}, @kbd{+?}, @kbd{??}
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a9508422287d Improve markup for the description of non-greedy operators.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
461 @cindex non-greedy regexp matching
27094
6500fd0a7d8e *** empty log message ***
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462 are non-greedy variants of the operators above. The normal operators
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463 @samp{*}, @samp{+}, @samp{?} are @dfn{greedy} in that they match as
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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diff changeset
464 much as they can, as long as the overall regexp can still match. With
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465 a following @samp{?}, they are non-greedy: they will match as little
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parents: 36058
diff changeset
466 as possible.
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467
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468 Thus, both @samp{ab*} and @samp{ab*?} can match the string @samp{a}
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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diff changeset
469 and the string @samp{abbbb}; but if you try to match them both against
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470 the text @samp{abbb}, @samp{ab*} will match it all (the longest valid
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471 match), while @samp{ab*?} will match just @samp{a} (the shortest
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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diff changeset
472 valid match).
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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473
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32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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474 Non-greedy operators match the shortest possible string starting at a
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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475 given starting point; in a forward search, though, the earliest
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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476 possible starting point for match is always the one chosen. Thus, if
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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parents: 40929
diff changeset
477 you search for @samp{a.*?$} against the text @samp{abbab} followed by
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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478 a newline, it matches the whole string. Since it @emph{can} match
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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479 starting at the first @samp{a}, it does.
32211007711c Clarify non-greedy repetition in searching.
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diff changeset
480
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481 @item @kbd{\@{@var{n}\@}}
36177
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diff changeset
482 is a postfix operator that specifies repetition @var{n} times---that
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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483 is, the preceding regular expression must match exactly @var{n} times
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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484 in a row. For example, @samp{x\@{4\@}} matches the string @samp{xxxx}
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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diff changeset
485 and nothing else.
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6500fd0a7d8e *** empty log message ***
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486
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487 @item @kbd{\@{@var{n},@var{m}\@}}
36177
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
488 is a postfix operator that specifies repetition between @var{n} and
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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diff changeset
489 @var{m} times---that is, the preceding regular expression must match
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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490 at least @var{n} times, but no more than @var{m} times. If @var{m} is
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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parents: 36058
diff changeset
491 omitted, then there is no upper limit, but the preceding regular
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
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parents: 36058
diff changeset
492 expression must match at least @var{n} times.@* @samp{\@{0,1\@}} is
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parents: 36058
diff changeset
493 equivalent to @samp{?}. @* @samp{\@{0,\@}} is equivalent to
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
494 @samp{*}. @* @samp{\@{1,\@}} is equivalent to @samp{+}.
27694
5c14849aee4c documented \{n,m\} intervals
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parents: 27217
diff changeset
495
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632746dc04e4 (Regexps): Convert the main table into @table @asis.
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496 @item @kbd{[ @dots{} ]}
25829
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diff changeset
497 is a @dfn{character set}, which begins with @samp{[} and is terminated
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
498 by @samp{]}. In the simplest case, the characters between the two
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diff changeset
499 brackets are what this set can match.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
500
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diff changeset
501 Thus, @samp{[ad]} matches either one @samp{a} or one @samp{d}, and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
502 @samp{[ad]*} matches any string composed of just @samp{a}s and @samp{d}s
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
503 (including the empty string), from which it follows that @samp{c[ad]*r}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
504 matches @samp{cr}, @samp{car}, @samp{cdr}, @samp{caddaar}, etc.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
505
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
506 You can also include character ranges in a character set, by writing the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
507 starting and ending characters with a @samp{-} between them. Thus,
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parents:
diff changeset
508 @samp{[a-z]} matches any lower-case ASCII letter. Ranges may be
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
509 intermixed freely with individual characters, as in @samp{[a-z$%.]},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
510 which matches any lower-case ASCII letter or @samp{$}, @samp{%} or
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
511 period.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
512
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diff changeset
513 Note that the usual regexp special characters are not special inside a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
514 character set. A completely different set of special characters exists
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
515 inside character sets: @samp{]}, @samp{-} and @samp{^}.
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parents:
diff changeset
516
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
517 To include a @samp{]} in a character set, you must make it the first
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
518 character. For example, @samp{[]a]} matches @samp{]} or @samp{a}. To
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
519 include a @samp{-}, write @samp{-} as the first or last character of the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
520 set, or put it after a range. Thus, @samp{[]-]} matches both @samp{]}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
521 and @samp{-}.
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parents:
diff changeset
522
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
523 To include @samp{^} in a set, put it anywhere but at the beginning of
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
524 the set. (At the beginning, it complements the set---see below.)
25829
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parents:
diff changeset
525
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
526 When you use a range in case-insensitive search, you should write both
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
527 ends of the range in upper case, or both in lower case, or both should
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
528 be non-letters. The behavior of a mixed-case range such as @samp{A-z}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
529 is somewhat ill-defined, and it may change in future Emacs versions.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
530
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diff changeset
531 @item @kbd{[^ @dots{} ]}
25829
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parents:
diff changeset
532 @samp{[^} begins a @dfn{complemented character set}, which matches any
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
533 character except the ones specified. Thus, @samp{[^a-z0-9A-Z]} matches
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
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parents: 37069
diff changeset
534 all characters @emph{except} ASCII letters and digits.
25829
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diff changeset
535
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
536 @samp{^} is not special in a character set unless it is the first
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
537 character. The character following the @samp{^} is treated as if it
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
538 were first (in other words, @samp{-} and @samp{]} are not special there).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
539
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
540 A complemented character set can match a newline, unless newline is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
541 mentioned as one of the characters not to match. This is in contrast to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
542 the handling of regexps in programs such as @code{grep}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
543
49984
632746dc04e4 (Regexps): Convert the main table into @table @asis.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 48533
diff changeset
544 @item @kbd{^}
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
545 is a special character that matches the empty string, but only at the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
546 beginning of a line in the text being matched. Otherwise it fails to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
547 match anything. Thus, @samp{^foo} matches a @samp{foo} that occurs at
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
548 the beginning of a line.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
549
49984
632746dc04e4 (Regexps): Convert the main table into @table @asis.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 48533
diff changeset
550 @item @kbd{$}
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
551 is similar to @samp{^} but matches only at the end of a line. Thus,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
552 @samp{x+$} matches a string of one @samp{x} or more at the end of a line.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
553
49984
632746dc04e4 (Regexps): Convert the main table into @table @asis.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 48533
diff changeset
554 @item @kbd{\}
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
555 has two functions: it quotes the special characters (including
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
556 @samp{\}), and it introduces additional special constructs.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
557
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
558 Because @samp{\} quotes special characters, @samp{\$} is a regular
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
559 expression that matches only @samp{$}, and @samp{\[} is a regular
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
560 expression that matches only @samp{[}, and so on.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
561 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
562
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
563 Note: for historical compatibility, special characters are treated as
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
564 ordinary ones if they are in contexts where their special meanings make no
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
565 sense. For example, @samp{*foo} treats @samp{*} as ordinary since there is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
566 no preceding expression on which the @samp{*} can act. It is poor practice
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
567 to depend on this behavior; it is better to quote the special character anyway,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
568 regardless of where it appears.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
569
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
570 For the most part, @samp{\} followed by any character matches only that
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
571 character. However, there are several exceptions: two-character
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
572 sequences starting with @samp{\} that have special meanings. The second
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
573 character in the sequence is always an ordinary character when used on
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
574 its own. Here is a table of @samp{\} constructs.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
575
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
576 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
577 @item \|
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
578 specifies an alternative. Two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
579 with @samp{\|} in between form an expression that matches some text if
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
580 either @var{a} matches it or @var{b} matches it. It works by trying to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
581 match @var{a}, and if that fails, by trying to match @var{b}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
582
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
583 Thus, @samp{foo\|bar} matches either @samp{foo} or @samp{bar}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
584 but no other string.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
585
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
586 @samp{\|} applies to the largest possible surrounding expressions. Only a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
587 surrounding @samp{\( @dots{} \)} grouping can limit the grouping power of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
588 @samp{\|}.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
589
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
590 Full backtracking capability exists to handle multiple uses of @samp{\|}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
591
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
592 @item \( @dots{} \)
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
593 is a grouping construct that serves three purposes:
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
594
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
595 @enumerate
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
596 @item
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
597 To enclose a set of @samp{\|} alternatives for other operations.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
598 Thus, @samp{\(foo\|bar\)x} matches either @samp{foox} or @samp{barx}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
599
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
600 @item
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
601 To enclose a complicated expression for the postfix operators @samp{*},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
602 @samp{+} and @samp{?} to operate on. Thus, @samp{ba\(na\)*} matches
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
603 @samp{bananana}, etc., with any (zero or more) number of @samp{na}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
604 strings.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
605
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
606 @item
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
607 To record a matched substring for future reference.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
608 @end enumerate
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
609
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
610 This last application is not a consequence of the idea of a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
611 parenthetical grouping; it is a separate feature that is assigned as a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
612 second meaning to the same @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct. In practice
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
613 there is usually no conflict between the two meanings; when there is
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
614 a conflict, you can use a ``shy'' group.
28063
f1b33463506d *** empty log message ***
Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
parents: 27694
diff changeset
615
f1b33463506d *** empty log message ***
Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
parents: 27694
diff changeset
616 @item \(?: @dots{} \)
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
617 @cindex shy group, in regexp
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
618 specifies a ``shy'' group that does not record the matched substring;
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
619 you can't refer back to it with @samp{\@var{d}}. This is useful
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
620 in mechanically combining regular expressions, so that you
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
621 can add groups for syntactic purposes without interfering with
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
622 the numbering of the groups that were written by the user.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
623
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
624 @item \@var{d}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
625 matches the same text that matched the @var{d}th occurrence of a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
626 @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
627
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
628 After the end of a @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct, the matcher remembers
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
629 the beginning and end of the text matched by that construct. Then,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
630 later on in the regular expression, you can use @samp{\} followed by the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
631 digit @var{d} to mean ``match the same text matched the @var{d}th time
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
632 by the @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
633
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
634 The strings matching the first nine @samp{\( @dots{} \)} constructs
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
635 appearing in a regular expression are assigned numbers 1 through 9 in
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
636 the order that the open-parentheses appear in the regular expression.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
637 So you can use @samp{\1} through @samp{\9} to refer to the text matched
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
638 by the corresponding @samp{\( @dots{} \)} constructs.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
639
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
640 For example, @samp{\(.*\)\1} matches any newline-free string that is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
641 composed of two identical halves. The @samp{\(.*\)} matches the first
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
642 half, which may be anything, but the @samp{\1} that follows must match
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
643 the same exact text.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
644
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
645 If a particular @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct matches more than once
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
646 (which can easily happen if it is followed by @samp{*}), only the last
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
647 match is recorded.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
648
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
649 @item \`
40929
feea30bbbf13 Minor clarification.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40521
diff changeset
650 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of the string or
feea30bbbf13 Minor clarification.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40521
diff changeset
651 buffer (or its accessible portion) being matched against.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
652
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
653 @item \'
40929
feea30bbbf13 Minor clarification.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40521
diff changeset
654 matches the empty string, but only at the end of the string or buffer
feea30bbbf13 Minor clarification.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40521
diff changeset
655 (or its accessible portion) being matched against.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
656
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
657 @item \=
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
658 matches the empty string, but only at point.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
659
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
660 @item \b
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
661 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
662 end of a word. Thus, @samp{\bfoo\b} matches any occurrence of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
663 @samp{foo} as a separate word. @samp{\bballs?\b} matches
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
664 @samp{ball} or @samp{balls} as a separate word.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
665
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
666 @samp{\b} matches at the beginning or end of the buffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
667 regardless of what text appears next to it.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
668
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
669 @item \B
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
670 matches the empty string, but @emph{not} at the beginning or
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
671 end of a word.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
672
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
673 @item \<
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
674 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of a word.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
675 @samp{\<} matches at the beginning of the buffer only if a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
676 word-constituent character follows.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
677
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
678 @item \>
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
679 matches the empty string, but only at the end of a word. @samp{\>}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
680 matches at the end of the buffer only if the contents end with a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
681 word-constituent character.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
682
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
683 @item \w
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
684 matches any word-constituent character. The syntax table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
685 determines which characters these are. @xref{Syntax}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
686
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
687 @item \W
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
688 matches any character that is not a word-constituent.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
689
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
690 @item \s@var{c}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
691 matches any character whose syntax is @var{c}. Here @var{c} is a
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
692 character that designates a particular syntax class: thus, @samp{w}
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
693 for word constituent, @samp{-} or @samp{ } for whitespace, @samp{.}
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
694 for ordinary punctuation, etc. @xref{Syntax}.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
695
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
696 @item \S@var{c}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
697 matches any character whose syntax is not @var{c}.
35904
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
698
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
699 @cindex categories of characters
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
700 @cindex characters which belong to a specific language
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
701 @findex describe-categories
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
702 @item \c@var{c}
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
703 matches any character that belongs to the category @var{c}. For
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
704 example, @samp{\cc} matches Chinese characters, @samp{\cg} matches
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
705 Greek characters, etc. For the description of the known categories,
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
706 type @kbd{M-x describe-categories @key{RET}}.
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
707
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
708 @item \C@var{c}
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
709 matches any character that does @emph{not} belong to category
250691f20cec (Incremental Search): Document C-\ and C-^.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 35876
diff changeset
710 @var{c}.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
711 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
712
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
713 The constructs that pertain to words and syntax are controlled by the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
714 setting of the syntax table (@pxref{Syntax}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
715
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
716 Here is a complicated regexp, stored in @code{sentence-end} and used
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
717 by Emacs to recognize the end of a sentence together with any
37607
2f80188cbbd6 Typo: "we show it Lisp syntax" --> ... its LIsp ..
Francesco Potortì <pot@gnu.org>
parents: 37235
diff changeset
718 whitespace that follows. We show its Lisp syntax to distinguish the
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
719 spaces from the tab characters. In Lisp syntax, the string constant
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
720 begins and ends with a double-quote. @samp{\"} stands for a
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
721 double-quote as part of the regexp, @samp{\\} for a backslash as part
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
722 of the regexp, @samp{\t} for a tab, and @samp{\n} for a newline.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
723
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
724 @example
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
725 "[.?!][]\"')]*\\($\\| $\\|\t\\| \\)[ \t\n]*"
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
726 @end example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
727
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
728 @noindent
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
729 This contains four parts in succession: a character set matching
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
730 period, @samp{?}, or @samp{!}; a character set matching
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
731 close-brackets, quotes, or parentheses, repeated zero or more times; a
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
732 set of alternatives within backslash-parentheses that matches either
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
733 end-of-line, a space at the end of a line, a tab, or two spaces; and a
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
734 character set matching whitespace characters, repeated any number of
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
735 times.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
736
40521
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
737 To enter the same regexp in incremental search, you would type
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
738 @key{TAB} to enter a tab, and @kbd{C-j} to enter a newline. You would
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
739 also type single backslashes as themselves, instead of doubling them
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
740 for Lisp syntax. In commands that use ordinary minibuffer input to
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
741 read a regexp, you would quote the @kbd{C-j} by preceding it with a
549e09fb7907 Clarify how to enter regexps in isearch and in the miniubuffer.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 40302
diff changeset
742 @kbd{C-q} to prevent @kbd{C-j} from exiting the minibuffer.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
743
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
744 @ignore
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
745 @c I commented this out because it is missing vital information
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
746 @c and therefore useless. For instance, what do you do to *use* the
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
747 @c regular expression when it is finished? What jobs is this good for?
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
748 @c -- rms
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
749
31072
e500b247bb59 Document re-builder.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 31062
diff changeset
750 @findex re-builder
e500b247bb59 Document re-builder.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 31062
diff changeset
751 @cindex authoring regular expressions
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
752 For convenient interactive development of regular expressions, you
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
753 can use the @kbd{M-x re-builder} command. It provides a convenient
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
754 interface for creating regular expressions, by giving immediate visual
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
755 feedback. The buffer from which @code{re-builder} was invoked becomes
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
756 the target for the regexp editor, which pops in a separate window. At
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
757 all times, all the matches in the target buffer for the current
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
758 regular expression are highlighted. Each parenthesized sub-expression
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
759 of the regexp is shown in a distinct face, which makes it easier to
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
760 verify even very complex regexps. (On displays that don't support
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
761 colors, Emacs blinks the cursor around the matched text, as it does
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
762 for matching parens.)
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
763 @end ignore
31072
e500b247bb59 Document re-builder.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 31062
diff changeset
764
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
765 @node Search Case, Replace, Regexps, Search
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
766 @section Searching and Case
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
767
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
768 Incremental searches in Emacs normally ignore the case of the text
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
769 they are searching through, if you specify the text in lower case.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
770 Thus, if you specify searching for @samp{foo}, then @samp{Foo} and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
771 @samp{foo} are also considered a match. Regexps, and in particular
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
772 character sets, are included: @samp{[ab]} would match @samp{a} or
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
773 @samp{A} or @samp{b} or @samp{B}.@refill
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
774
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
775 An upper-case letter anywhere in the incremental search string makes
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
776 the search case-sensitive. Thus, searching for @samp{Foo} does not find
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
777 @samp{foo} or @samp{FOO}. This applies to regular expression search as
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
778 well as to string search. The effect ceases if you delete the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
779 upper-case letter from the search string.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
780
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
781 Typing @kbd{M-c} within an incremental search toggles the case
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
782 sensitivity of that search. The effect does not extend beyond the
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
783 current incremental search to the next one, but it does override the
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
784 effect of including an upper-case letter in the current search.
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
785
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
786 @vindex case-fold-search
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
787 If you set the variable @code{case-fold-search} to @code{nil}, then
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
788 all letters must match exactly, including case. This is a per-buffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
789 variable; altering the variable affects only the current buffer, but
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
790 there is a default value which you can change as well. @xref{Locals}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
791 This variable applies to nonincremental searches also, including those
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
792 performed by the replace commands (@pxref{Replace}) and the minibuffer
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
793 history matching commands (@pxref{Minibuffer History}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
794
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
795 @node Replace, Other Repeating Search, Search Case, Search
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
796 @section Replacement Commands
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
797 @cindex replacement
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
798 @cindex search-and-replace commands
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
799 @cindex string substitution
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
800 @cindex global substitution
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
801
38127
eb0f8509d107 Rewrite the texts that explain basic incremental search,
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38049
diff changeset
802 Global search-and-replace operations are not needed often in Emacs,
eb0f8509d107 Rewrite the texts that explain basic incremental search,
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38049
diff changeset
803 but they are available. In addition to the simple @kbd{M-x
eb0f8509d107 Rewrite the texts that explain basic incremental search,
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38049
diff changeset
804 replace-string} command which is like that found in most editors,
eb0f8509d107 Rewrite the texts that explain basic incremental search,
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38049
diff changeset
805 there is a @kbd{M-x query-replace} command which finds each occurrence
eb0f8509d107 Rewrite the texts that explain basic incremental search,
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38049
diff changeset
806 of the pattern and asks you whether to replace it.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
807
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
808 The replace commands normally operate on the text from point to the
46193
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
809 end of the buffer; however, in Transient Mark mode (@pxref{Transient
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
810 Mark}), when the mark is active, they operate on the region. The
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
811 replace commands all replace one string (or regexp) with one
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
812 replacement string. It is possible to perform several replacements in
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
813 parallel using the command @code{expand-region-abbrevs}
d76b60f898fc (Replace): Add a cross-reference to Transient Mark mode.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 44858
diff changeset
814 (@pxref{Expanding Abbrevs}).
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
815
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
816 @menu
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
817 * Unconditional Replace:: Replacing all matches for a string.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
818 * Regexp Replace:: Replacing all matches for a regexp.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
819 * Replacement and Case:: How replacements preserve case of letters.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
820 * Query Replace:: How to use querying.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
821 @end menu
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
822
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
823 @node Unconditional Replace, Regexp Replace, Replace, Replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
824 @subsection Unconditional Replacement
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
825 @findex replace-string
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
826 @findex replace-regexp
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
827
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
828 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
829 @item M-x replace-string @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
830 Replace every occurrence of @var{string} with @var{newstring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
831 @item M-x replace-regexp @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
832 Replace every match for @var{regexp} with @var{newstring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
833 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
834
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
835 To replace every instance of @samp{foo} after point with @samp{bar},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
836 use the command @kbd{M-x replace-string} with the two arguments
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
837 @samp{foo} and @samp{bar}. Replacement happens only in the text after
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
838 point, so if you want to cover the whole buffer you must go to the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
839 beginning first. All occurrences up to the end of the buffer are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
840 replaced; to limit replacement to part of the buffer, narrow to that
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
841 part of the buffer before doing the replacement (@pxref{Narrowing}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
842 In Transient Mark mode, when the region is active, replacement is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
843 limited to the region (@pxref{Transient Mark}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
844
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
845 When @code{replace-string} exits, it leaves point at the last
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
846 occurrence replaced. It sets the mark to the prior position of point
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
847 (where the @code{replace-string} command was issued); use @kbd{C-u
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
848 C-@key{SPC}} to move back there.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
849
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
850 A numeric argument restricts replacement to matches that are surrounded
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
851 by word boundaries. The argument's value doesn't matter.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
852
48533
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
853 What if you want to exchange @samp{x} and @samp{y}: replace every @samp{x} with a @samp{y} and vice versa? You can do it this way:
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
854
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
855 @example
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
856 M-x query-replace @key{RET} x @key{RET} @@TEMP@@ @key{RET}
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
857 M-x query-replace @key{RET} y @key{RET} x @key{RET}
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
858 M-x query-replace @key{RET} @@TEMP@@ @key{RET} y @key{RET}
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
859 @end example
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
860
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
861 @noindent
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
862 This works provided the string @samp{@@TEMP@@} does not appear
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
863 in your text.
2eca4c95c2bf (Unconditional Replace): Explain how to replace two strings
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46242
diff changeset
864
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
865 @node Regexp Replace, Replacement and Case, Unconditional Replace, Replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
866 @subsection Regexp Replacement
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
867
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
868 The @kbd{M-x replace-string} command replaces exact matches for a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
869 single string. The similar command @kbd{M-x replace-regexp} replaces
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
870 any match for a specified pattern.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
871
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
872 In @code{replace-regexp}, the @var{newstring} need not be constant: it
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
873 can refer to all or part of what is matched by the @var{regexp}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
874 @samp{\&} in @var{newstring} stands for the entire match being replaced.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
875 @samp{\@var{d}} in @var{newstring}, where @var{d} is a digit, stands for
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
876 whatever matched the @var{d}th parenthesized grouping in @var{regexp}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
877 To include a @samp{\} in the text to replace with, you must enter
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
878 @samp{\\}. For example,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
879
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
880 @example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
881 M-x replace-regexp @key{RET} c[ad]+r @key{RET} \&-safe @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
882 @end example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
883
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
884 @noindent
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
885 replaces (for example) @samp{cadr} with @samp{cadr-safe} and @samp{cddr}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
886 with @samp{cddr-safe}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
887
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
888 @example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
889 M-x replace-regexp @key{RET} \(c[ad]+r\)-safe @key{RET} \1 @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
890 @end example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
891
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
892 @noindent
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
893 performs the inverse transformation.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
894
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
895 @node Replacement and Case, Query Replace, Regexp Replace, Replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
896 @subsection Replace Commands and Case
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
897
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
898 If the first argument of a replace command is all lower case, the
38016
51351cf9de04 Fix a typo.
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 37607
diff changeset
899 command ignores case while searching for occurrences to
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
900 replace---provided @code{case-fold-search} is non-@code{nil}. If
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
901 @code{case-fold-search} is set to @code{nil}, case is always significant
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
902 in all searches.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
903
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
904 @vindex case-replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
905 In addition, when the @var{newstring} argument is all or partly lower
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
906 case, replacement commands try to preserve the case pattern of each
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
907 occurrence. Thus, the command
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
908
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
909 @example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
910 M-x replace-string @key{RET} foo @key{RET} bar @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
911 @end example
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
912
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
913 @noindent
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
914 replaces a lower case @samp{foo} with a lower case @samp{bar}, an
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
915 all-caps @samp{FOO} with @samp{BAR}, and a capitalized @samp{Foo} with
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
916 @samp{Bar}. (These three alternatives---lower case, all caps, and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
917 capitalized, are the only ones that @code{replace-string} can
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
918 distinguish.)
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
919
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
920 If upper-case letters are used in the replacement string, they remain
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
921 upper case every time that text is inserted. If upper-case letters are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
922 used in the first argument, the second argument is always substituted
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
923 exactly as given, with no case conversion. Likewise, if either
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
924 @code{case-replace} or @code{case-fold-search} is set to @code{nil},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
925 replacement is done without case conversion.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
926
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
927 @node Query Replace,, Replacement and Case, Replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
928 @subsection Query Replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
929 @cindex query replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
930
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
931 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
932 @item M-% @var{string} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
933 @itemx M-x query-replace @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
934 Replace some occurrences of @var{string} with @var{newstring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
935 @item C-M-% @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
936 @itemx M-x query-replace-regexp @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET} @var{newstring} @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
937 Replace some matches for @var{regexp} with @var{newstring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
938 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
939
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
940 @kindex M-%
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
941 @findex query-replace
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
942 If you want to change only some of the occurrences of @samp{foo} to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
943 @samp{bar}, not all of them, then you cannot use an ordinary
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
944 @code{replace-string}. Instead, use @kbd{M-%} (@code{query-replace}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
945 This command finds occurrences of @samp{foo} one by one, displays each
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
946 occurrence and asks you whether to replace it. Aside from querying,
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
947 @code{query-replace} works just like @code{replace-string}. It
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
948 preserves case, like @code{replace-string}, provided
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
949 @code{case-replace} is non-@code{nil}, as it normally is. A numeric
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
950 argument means consider only occurrences that are bounded by
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
951 word-delimiter characters.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
952
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
953 @kindex C-M-%
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
954 @findex query-replace-regexp
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
955 @kbd{C-M-%} performs regexp search and replace (@code{query-replace-regexp}).
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
956
37235
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
957 The characters you can type when you are shown a match for the string
a60e4b9d5ba3 Mention there are other search-terminating Meta chars.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 37069
diff changeset
958 or regexp are:
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
959
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
960 @ignore @c Not worth it.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
961 @kindex SPC @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
962 @kindex DEL @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
963 @kindex , @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
964 @kindex RET @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
965 @kindex . @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
966 @kindex ! @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
967 @kindex ^ @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
968 @kindex C-r @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
969 @kindex C-w @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
970 @kindex C-l @r{(query-replace)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
971 @end ignore
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
972
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
973 @c WideCommands
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
974 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
975 @item @key{SPC}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
976 to replace the occurrence with @var{newstring}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
977
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
978 @item @key{DEL}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
979 to skip to the next occurrence without replacing this one.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
980
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
981 @item , @r{(Comma)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
982 to replace this occurrence and display the result. You are then asked
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
983 for another input character to say what to do next. Since the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
984 replacement has already been made, @key{DEL} and @key{SPC} are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
985 equivalent in this situation; both move to the next occurrence.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
986
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
987 You can type @kbd{C-r} at this point (see below) to alter the replaced
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
988 text. You can also type @kbd{C-x u} to undo the replacement; this exits
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
989 the @code{query-replace}, so if you want to do further replacement you
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
990 must use @kbd{C-x @key{ESC} @key{ESC} @key{RET}} to restart
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
991 (@pxref{Repetition}).
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
992
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
993 @item @key{RET}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
994 to exit without doing any more replacements.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
995
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
996 @item .@: @r{(Period)}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
997 to replace this occurrence and then exit without searching for more
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
998 occurrences.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
999
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1000 @item !
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1001 to replace all remaining occurrences without asking again.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1002
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1003 @item ^
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1004 to go back to the position of the previous occurrence (or what used to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1005 be an occurrence), in case you changed it by mistake. This works by
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1006 popping the mark ring. Only one @kbd{^} in a row is meaningful, because
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1007 only one previous replacement position is kept during @code{query-replace}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1008
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1009 @item C-r
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1010 to enter a recursive editing level, in case the occurrence needs to be
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1011 edited rather than just replaced with @var{newstring}. When you are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1012 done, exit the recursive editing level with @kbd{C-M-c} to proceed to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1013 the next occurrence. @xref{Recursive Edit}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1014
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1015 @item C-w
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1016 to delete the occurrence, and then enter a recursive editing level as in
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1017 @kbd{C-r}. Use the recursive edit to insert text to replace the deleted
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1018 occurrence of @var{string}. When done, exit the recursive editing level
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1019 with @kbd{C-M-c} to proceed to the next occurrence.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1020
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1021 @item e
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1022 to edit the replacement string in the minibuffer. When you exit the
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1023 minibuffer by typing @key{RET}, the minibuffer contents replace the
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1024 current occurrence of the pattern. They also become the new
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1025 replacement string for any further occurrences.
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1026
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1027 @item C-l
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1028 to redisplay the screen. Then you must type another character to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1029 specify what to do with this occurrence.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1030
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1031 @item C-h
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1032 to display a message summarizing these options. Then you must type
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1033 another character to specify what to do with this occurrence.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1034 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1035
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1036 Some other characters are aliases for the ones listed above: @kbd{y},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1037 @kbd{n} and @kbd{q} are equivalent to @key{SPC}, @key{DEL} and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1038 @key{RET}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1039
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1040 Aside from this, any other character exits the @code{query-replace},
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1041 and is then reread as part of a key sequence. Thus, if you type
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1042 @kbd{C-k}, it exits the @code{query-replace} and then kills to end of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1043 line.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1044
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1045 To restart a @code{query-replace} once it is exited, use @kbd{C-x
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1046 @key{ESC} @key{ESC}}, which repeats the @code{query-replace} because it
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1047 used the minibuffer to read its arguments. @xref{Repetition, C-x ESC
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1048 ESC}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1049
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1050 See also @ref{Transforming File Names}, for Dired commands to rename,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1051 copy, or link files by replacing regexp matches in file names.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1052
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1053 @node Other Repeating Search,, Replace, Search
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1054 @section Other Search-and-Loop Commands
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1055
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1056 Here are some other commands that find matches for a regular
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1057 expression. They all ignore case in matching, if the pattern contains
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1058 no upper-case letters and @code{case-fold-search} is non-@code{nil}.
44823
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1059 Aside from @code{occur} and its variants, all operate on the text from
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1060 point to the end of the buffer, or on the active region in Transient
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1061 Mark mode.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1062
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1063 @findex list-matching-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1064 @findex occur
44823
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1065 @findex multi-occur
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1066 @findex multi-occur-by-filename-regexp
32035
396b07cf1395 (Other Repeating Search): Describe `how-many'
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 31072
diff changeset
1067 @findex how-many
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1068 @findex delete-non-matching-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1069 @findex delete-matching-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1070 @findex flush-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1071 @findex keep-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1072
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1073 @table @kbd
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1074 @item M-x occur @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1075 Display a list showing each line in the buffer that contains a match
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1076 for @var{regexp}. To limit the search to part of the buffer, narrow
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1077 to that part (@pxref{Narrowing}). A numeric argument @var{n}
36383
d26ad6e1f13f Change "filename" to "file name" or "file-name".
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 36263
diff changeset
1078 specifies that @var{n} lines of context are to be displayed before and
d26ad6e1f13f Change "filename" to "file name" or "file-name".
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>
parents: 36263
diff changeset
1079 after each matching line.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1080
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1081 @kindex RET @r{(Occur mode)}
46213
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1082 @kindex o @r{(Occur mode)}
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1083 @kindex C-o @r{(Occur mode)}
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1084 The buffer @samp{*Occur*} containing the output serves as a menu for
46213
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1085 finding the occurrences in their original context. Click
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1086 @kbd{Mouse-2} on an occurrence listed in @samp{*Occur*}, or position
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1087 point there and type @key{RET}; this switches to the buffer that was
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1088 searched and moves point to the original of the chosen occurrence.
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1089 @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} display the match in another window; @kbd{C-o}
cb646c9b4af6 Document o and C-o in Occur mode.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 46193
diff changeset
1090 does not select it.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1091
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1092 @item M-x list-matching-lines
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1093 Synonym for @kbd{M-x occur}.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1094
44823
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1095 @item M-x multi-occur @key{RET} @var{buffers} @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
44858
b0768ec46559 Fix Texinfo usage in previous change.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 44823
diff changeset
1096 This function is just like @code{occur}, except it is able to search
44823
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1097 through multiple buffers.
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1098
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1099 @item M-x multi-occur-by-filename-regexp @key{RET} @var{bufregexp} @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
44858
b0768ec46559 Fix Texinfo usage in previous change.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 44823
diff changeset
1100 This function is similar to @code{multi-occur}, except the buffers to
44823
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1101 search are specified by a regexp on their filename.
230b150398fa Document `multi-occur' and `multi-occur-by-filename-regexp'.
Colin Walters <walters@gnu.org>
parents: 44062
diff changeset
1102
32035
396b07cf1395 (Other Repeating Search): Describe `how-many'
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 31072
diff changeset
1103 @item M-x how-many @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1104 Print the number of matches for @var{regexp} that exist in the buffer
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1105 after point. In Transient Mark mode, if the region is active, the
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1106 command operates on the region instead.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1107
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1108 @item M-x flush-lines @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1109 Delete each line that contains a match for @var{regexp}, operating on
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1110 the text after point. In Transient Mark mode, if the region is
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1111 active, the command operates on the region instead.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1112
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1113 @item M-x keep-lines @key{RET} @var{regexp} @key{RET}
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1114 Delete each line that @emph{does not} contain a match for
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1115 @var{regexp}, operating on the text after point. In Transient Mark
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1116 mode, if the region is active, the command operates on the region
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1117 instead.
25829
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
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1118 @end table
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1119
36177
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1120 You can also search multiple files under control of a tags table
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1121 (@pxref{Tags Search}) or through Dired @kbd{A} command
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1122 (@pxref{Operating on Files}), or ask the @code{grep} program to do it
548a3aac5d5d Comment out description of re-builder.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 36058
diff changeset
1123 (@pxref{Grep Searching}).