Mercurial > emacs
diff man/indent.texi @ 25829:ac7e9e5e2ccb
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author | Dave Love <fx@gnu.org> |
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date | Wed, 29 Sep 1999 15:17:24 +0000 |
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children | 898561c41ba0 |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/man/indent.texi Wed Sep 29 15:17:24 1999 +0000 @@ -0,0 +1,205 @@ +@c This is part of the Emacs manual. +@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. +@node Indentation, Text, Major Modes, Top +@chapter Indentation +@cindex indentation +@cindex columns (indentation) + + This chapter describes the Emacs commands that add, remove, or +adjust indentation. + +@c WideCommands +@table @kbd +@item @key{TAB} +Indent current line ``appropriately'' in a mode-dependent fashion. +@item @kbd{C-j} +Perform @key{RET} followed by @key{TAB} (@code{newline-and-indent}). +@item M-^ +Merge two lines (@code{delete-indentation}). This would cancel out +the effect of @kbd{C-j}. +@item C-M-o +Split line at point; text on the line after point becomes a new line +indented to the same column that it now starts in (@code{split-line}). +@item M-m +Move (forward or back) to the first nonblank character on the current +line (@code{back-to-indentation}). +@item C-M-\ +Indent several lines to same column (@code{indent-region}). +@item C-x @key{TAB} +Shift block of lines rigidly right or left (@code{indent-rigidly}). +@item M-i +Indent from point to the next prespecified tab stop column +(@code{tab-to-tab-stop}). +@item M-x indent-relative +Indent from point to under an indentation point in the previous line. +@end table + + Most programming languages have some indentation convention. For Lisp +code, lines are indented according to their nesting in parentheses. The +same general idea is used for C code, though many details are different. + +@kindex TAB + Whatever the language, to indent a line, use the @key{TAB} command. Each +major mode defines this command to perform the sort of indentation +appropriate for the particular language. In Lisp mode, @key{TAB} aligns +the line according to its depth in parentheses. No matter where in the +line you are when you type @key{TAB}, it aligns the line as a whole. In C +mode, @key{TAB} implements a subtle and sophisticated indentation style that +knows about many aspects of C syntax. + + In Text mode, @key{TAB} runs the command @code{tab-to-tab-stop}, which +indents to the next tab stop column. You can set the tab stops with +@kbd{M-x edit-tab-stops}. + +@menu +* Indentation Commands:: Various commands and techniques for indentation. +* Tab Stops:: You can set arbitrary "tab stops" and then + indent to the next tab stop when you want to. +* Just Spaces:: You can request indentation using just spaces. +@end menu + +@node Indentation Commands, Tab Stops, Indentation, Indentation +@section Indentation Commands and Techniques + +@kindex M-m +@findex back-to-indentation + To move over the indentation on a line, do @kbd{M-m} +(@code{back-to-indentation}). This command, given anywhere on a line, +positions point at the first nonblank character on the line. + + To insert an indented line before the current line, do @kbd{C-a C-o +@key{TAB}}. To make an indented line after the current line, use +@kbd{C-e C-j}. + + If you just want to insert a tab character in the buffer, you can type +@kbd{C-q @key{TAB}}. + +@kindex C-M-o +@findex split-line + @kbd{C-M-o} (@code{split-line}) moves the text from point to the end of +the line vertically down, so that the current line becomes two lines. +@kbd{C-M-o} first moves point forward over any spaces and tabs. Then it +inserts after point a newline and enough indentation to reach the same +column point is on. Point remains before the inserted newline; in this +regard, @kbd{C-M-o} resembles @kbd{C-o}. + +@kindex M-^ +@findex delete-indentation + To join two lines cleanly, use the @kbd{M-^} +(@code{delete-indentation}) command. It deletes the indentation at the +front of the current line, and the line boundary as well, replacing them +with a single space. As a special case (useful for Lisp code) the +single space is omitted if the characters to be joined are consecutive +open parentheses or closing parentheses, or if the junction follows +another newline. To delete just the indentation of a line, go to the +beginning of the line and use @kbd{M-\} +(@code{delete-horizontal-space}), which deletes all spaces and tabs +around the cursor. + + If you have a fill prefix, @kbd{M-^} deletes the fill prefix if it +appears after the newline that is deleted. @xref{Fill Prefix}. + +@kindex C-M-\ +@kindex C-x TAB +@findex indent-region +@findex indent-rigidly + There are also commands for changing the indentation of several lines +at once. @kbd{C-M-\} (@code{indent-region}) applies to all the lines +that begin in the region; it indents each line in the ``usual'' way, as +if you had typed @key{TAB} at the beginning of the line. A numeric +argument specifies the column to indent to, and each line is shifted +left or right so that its first nonblank character appears in that +column. @kbd{C-x @key{TAB}} (@code{indent-rigidly}) moves all of the +lines in the region right by its argument (left, for negative +arguments). The whole group of lines moves rigidly sideways, which is +how the command gets its name.@refill + +@findex indent-relative + @kbd{M-x indent-relative} indents at point based on the previous line +(actually, the last nonempty line). It inserts whitespace at point, moving +point, until it is underneath an indentation point in the previous line. +An indentation point is the end of a sequence of whitespace or the end of +the line. If point is farther right than any indentation point in the +previous line, the whitespace before point is deleted and the first +indentation point then applicable is used. If no indentation point is +applicable even then, @code{indent-relative} runs @code{tab-to-tab-stop} +@ifinfo +(@pxref{Tab Stops}). +@end ifinfo +@iftex +(see next section). +@end iftex + + @code{indent-relative} is the definition of @key{TAB} in Indented Text +mode. @xref{Text}. + + @xref{Format Indentation}, for another way of specifying the +indentation for part of your text. + +@node Tab Stops, Just Spaces, Indentation Commands, Indentation +@section Tab Stops + +@cindex tab stops +@cindex using tab stops in making tables +@cindex tables, indentation for +@kindex M-i +@findex tab-to-tab-stop + For typing in tables, you can use Text mode's definition of @key{TAB}, +@code{tab-to-tab-stop}. This command inserts indentation before point, +enough to reach the next tab stop column. If you are not in Text mode, +this command can be found on the key @kbd{M-i}. + +@findex edit-tab-stops +@findex edit-tab-stops-note-changes +@kindex C-c C-c @r{(Edit Tab Stops)} +@vindex tab-stop-list + You can specify the tab stops used by @kbd{M-i}. They are stored in a +variable called @code{tab-stop-list}, as a list of column-numbers in +increasing order. + + The convenient way to set the tab stops is with @kbd{M-x +edit-tab-stops}, which creates and selects a buffer containing a +description of the tab stop settings. You can edit this buffer to +specify different tab stops, and then type @kbd{C-c C-c} to make those +new tab stops take effect. @code{edit-tab-stops} records which buffer +was current when you invoked it, and stores the tab stops back in that +buffer; normally all buffers share the same tab stops and changing them +in one buffer affects all, but if you happen to make +@code{tab-stop-list} local in one buffer then @code{edit-tab-stops} in +that buffer will edit the local settings. + + Here is what the text representing the tab stops looks like for ordinary +tab stops every eight columns. + +@example + : : : : : : +0 1 2 3 4 +0123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678 +To install changes, type C-c C-c +@end example + + The first line contains a colon at each tab stop. The remaining lines +are present just to help you see where the colons are and know what to do. + + Note that the tab stops that control @code{tab-to-tab-stop} have nothing +to do with displaying tab characters in the buffer. @xref{Display Vars}, +for more information on that. + +@node Just Spaces,, Tab Stops, Indentation +@section Tabs vs. Spaces + +@vindex indent-tabs-mode + Emacs normally uses both tabs and spaces to indent lines. If you prefer, +all indentation can be made from spaces only. To request this, set +@code{indent-tabs-mode} to @code{nil}. This is a per-buffer variable; +altering the variable affects only the current buffer, but there is a +default value which you can change as well. @xref{Locals}. + +@findex tabify +@findex untabify + There are also commands to convert tabs to spaces or vice versa, always +preserving the columns of all nonblank text. @kbd{M-x tabify} scans the +region for sequences of spaces, and converts sequences of at least three +spaces to tabs if that can be done without changing indentation. @kbd{M-x +untabify} changes all tabs in the region to appropriate numbers of spaces.