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view man/m-x.texi @ 75179:b414cb68e99e
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author | Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org> |
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date | Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:20:16 +0000 |
parents | 78e1e4fcd148 |
children | 4ad431d8e164 138ce2701550 |
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@c This is part of the Emacs manual. @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, @c 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. @node M-x, Help, Minibuffer, Top @chapter Running Commands by Name Every Emacs command has a name that you can use to run it. For convenience, many commands also have key bindings. You can run those commands by typing the keys, or run them by name. Most Emacs commands have no key bindings, so the only way to run them is by name. (@xref{Key Bindings}, for how to set up key bindings.) By convention, a command name consists of one or more words, separated by hyphens; for example, @code{auto-fill-mode} or @code{manual-entry}. Command names mostly use complete English words to make them easier to remember. @kindex M-x To run a command by name, start with @kbd{M-x}, type the command name, then terminate it with @key{RET}. @kbd{M-x} uses the minibuffer to read the command name. The string @samp{M-x} appears at the beginning of the minibuffer as a @dfn{prompt} to remind you to enter a command name to be run. @key{RET} exits the minibuffer and runs the command. @xref{Minibuffer}, for more information on the minibuffer. You can use completion to enter the command name. For example, to invoke the command @code{forward-char}, you can type @example M-x forward-char @key{RET} @end example @noindent or @example M-x forw @key{TAB} c @key{RET} @end example @noindent Note that @code{forward-char} is the same command that you invoke with the key @kbd{C-f}. The existence of a key binding does not stop you from running the command by name. To cancel the @kbd{M-x} and not run a command, type @kbd{C-g} instead of entering the command name. This takes you back to command level. To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with @kbd{M-x}, specify the numeric argument before @kbd{M-x}. The argument value appears in the prompt while the command name is being read, and finally @kbd{M-x} passes the argument to that command. @vindex suggest-key-bindings When the command you run with @kbd{M-x} has a key binding, Emacs mentions this in the echo area after running the command. For example, if you type @kbd{M-x forward-word}, the message says that you can run the same command by typing @kbd{M-f}. You can turn off these messages by setting the variable @code{suggest-key-bindings} to @code{nil}. In this manual, when we speak of running a command by name, we often omit the @key{RET} that terminates the name. Thus we might say @kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode} rather than @kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode @key{RET}}. We mention the @key{RET} only for emphasis, such as when the command is followed by arguments. @findex execute-extended-command @kbd{M-x} works by running the command @code{execute-extended-command}, which is responsible for reading the name of another command and invoking it. @ignore arch-tag: b67bff53-9628-4666-b94e-eda972a7ba56 @end ignore