User Commands EMACS(1) NAME emacs - GNU project Emacs SYNOPSIS emacs [ _c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_n_e _s_w_i_t_c_h_e_s ] [ _f_i_l_e_s ... ] DESCRIPTION _G_N_U _E_m_a_c_s is a version of _E_m_a_c_s, written by the author of the original (PDP-10) _E_m_a_c_s, Richard Stallman. The primary documentation of GNU Emacs is in the GNU Emacs Manual, which you can read on line using Info, a subsystem of Emacs. Please look there for complete and up-to-date documentation. This man page is updated only when someone volunteers to do so; the Emacs maintainers' priority goal is to minimize the amount of time this man page takes away from other more useful projects. The user functionality of GNU Emacs encompasses everything other _E_m_a_c_s editors do, and it is easily extensible since its editing commands are written in Lisp. _E_m_a_c_s has an extensive interactive help facility, but the facility assumes that you know how to manipulate _E_m_a_c_s win- dows and buffers. CTRL-h (backspace or CTRL-h) enters the Help facility. Help Tutorial (CTRL-h t) requests an interactive tutorial which can teach beginners the fundamen- tals of _E_m_a_c_s in a few minutes. Help Apropos (CTRL-h a) helps you find a command given its functionality, Help Char- acter (CTRL-h c) describes a given character's effect, and Help Function (CTRL-h f) describes a given Lisp function specified by name. _E_m_a_c_s'_s Undo can undo several steps of modification to your buffers, so it is easy to recover from editing mistakes. _G_N_U _E_m_a_c_s'_s many special packages handle mail reading (RMail) and sending (Mail), outline editing (Outline), com- piling (Compile), running subshells within _E_m_a_c_s windows (Shell), running a Lisp read-eval-print loop (Lisp- Interaction-Mode), and automated psychotherapy (Doctor). There is an extensive reference manual, but users of other Emacses should have little trouble adapting even without a copy. Users new to _E_m_a_c_s will be able to use basic features fairly rapidly by studying the tutorial and using the self- documentation features. Emacs Options The following options are of general interest: _f_i_l_e Edit _f_i_l_e. SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 1 User Commands EMACS(1) +_n_u_m_b_e_r Go to the line specified by _n_u_m_b_e_r (do not insert a space between the "+" sign and the number). -q Do not load an init file. -u _u_s_e_r Load _u_s_e_r'_s init file. -t _f_i_l_e Use specified _f_i_l_e as the terminal instead of using stdin/stdout. This must be the first argument specified in the command line. The following options are lisp-oriented (these options are processed in the order encountered): -f _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n Execute the lisp function _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n. -l _f_i_l_e Load the lisp code in the file _f_i_l_e. The following options are useful when running _E_m_a_c_s as a batch editor: -batch Edit in batch mode. The editor will send messages to stderr. This option must be the first in the argument list. You must use -l and -f options to specify files to execute and functions to call. -kill Exit _E_m_a_c_s while in batch mode. Using Emacs with X _E_m_a_c_s has been tailored to work well with the X window sys- tem. If you run _E_m_a_c_s from under X windows, it will create its own X window to display in. You will probably want to start the editor as a background process so that you can continue using your original window. _E_m_a_c_s can be started with the following X switches: -name _n_a_m_e Specifies the name which should be assigned to the initial _E_m_a_c_s window. This controls looking up X resources as well as the window title. -title _n_a_m_e Specifies the title for the initial X window. -r Display the _E_m_a_c_s window in reverse video. -i Use the "kitchen sink" bitmap icon when iconifying the _E_m_a_c_s window. SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 2 User Commands EMACS(1) -font _f_o_n_t, -fn _f_o_n_t Set the _E_m_a_c_s window's font to that specified by _f_o_n_t. You will find the various _X fonts in the /_u_s_r/_l_i_b/_X_1_1/_f_o_n_t_s directory. Note that _E_m_a_c_s will only accept fixed width fonts. Under the X11 Release 4 font-naming conventions, any font with the value "m" or "c" in the eleventh field of the font name is a fixed width font. Furthermore, fonts whose name are of the form _w_i_d_t_hx_h_e_i_g_h_t are gen- erally fixed width, as is the font _f_i_x_e_d. See _x_l_s_f_o_n_t_s(1) for more information. When you specify a font, be sure to put a space between the switch and the font name. -b _p_i_x_e_l_s Set the _E_m_a_c_s window's border width to the number of pixels specified by _p_i_x_e_l_s. Defaults to one pixel on each side of the window. -ib _p_i_x_e_l_s Set the window's internal border width to the number of pixels specified by _p_i_x_e_l_s. Defaults to one pixel of padding on each side of the window. -geometry _g_e_o_m_e_t_r_y Set the _E_m_a_c_s window's width, height, and position as specified. The geometry specification is in the standard X format; see _X(1) for more information. The width and height are specified in characters; the default is 80 by 24. -fg _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, sets the color of the text. See the file /_u_s_r/_l_i_b/_X_1_1/_r_g_b._t_x_t for a list of valid color names. -bg _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, sets the color of the window's background. -bd _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, sets the color of the window's border. -cr _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, sets the color of the window's text cursor. -ms _c_o_l_o_r On color displays, sets the color of the window's SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 3 User Commands EMACS(1) mouse cursor. -d _d_i_s_p_l_a_y_n_a_m_e, -display _d_i_s_p_l_a_y_n_a_m_e Create the _E_m_a_c_s window on the display specified by _d_i_s_p_l_a_y_n_a_m_e. Must be the first option specified in the command line. -nw Tells _E_m_a_c_s not to use its special interface to X. If you use this switch when invoking _E_m_a_c_s from an _x_t_e_r_m(1) window, display is done in that window. This must be the first option specified in the com- mand line. You can set _X default values for your _E_m_a_c_s windows in your ._X_r_e_s_o_u_r_c_e_s file (see _x_r_d_b(1)). Use the following format: emacs.keyword:value where _v_a_l_u_e specifies the default value of _k_e_y_w_o_r_d. _E_m_a_c_s lets you set default values for the following keywords: font (class Font) Sets the window's text font. reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo) If _r_e_v_e_r_s_e_V_i_d_e_o'_s value is set to _o_n, the window will be displayed in reverse video. bitmapIcon (class BitmapIcon) If _b_i_t_m_a_p_I_c_o_n'_s value is set to _o_n, the window will iconify into the "kitchen sink." borderWidth (class BorderWidth) Sets the window's border width in pixels. internalBorder (class BorderWidth) Sets the window's internal border width in pixels. foreground (class Foreground) For color displays, sets the window's text color. background (class Background) For color displays, sets the window's background color. borderColor (class BorderColor) For color displays, sets the color of the window's border. cursorColor (class Foreground) For color displays, sets the color of the window's text cursor. SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 4 User Commands EMACS(1) pointerColor (class Foreground) For color displays, sets the color of the window's mouse cursor. geometry (class Geometry) Sets the geometry of the _E_m_a_c_s window (as described above). title (class Title) Sets the title of the _E_m_a_c_s window. iconName (class Title) Sets the icon name for the _E_m_a_c_s window icon. If you try to set color values while using a black and white display, the window's characteristics will default as fol- lows: the foreground color will be set to black, the back- ground color will be set to white, the border color will be set to grey, and the text and mouse cursors will be set to black. Using the Mouse The following lists the mouse button bindings for the _E_m_a_c_s window under X11. MOUSE BUTTON FUNCTION left Set point. middle Paste text. right Cut text into X cut buffer. SHIFT-middle Cut text into X cut buffer. SHIFT-right Paste text. CTRL-middle Cut text into X cut buffer and kill it. CTRL-right Select this window, then split it into two windows. Same as typing CTRL-x 2. CTRL-SHIFT-left X buffer menu--hold the buttons and keys down, wait for menu to appear, select buffer, and release. Move mouse out of menu and release to cancel. CTRL-SHIFT-middle X help menu--pop up index card menu for Emacs help. CTRL-SHIFT-right Select window with mouse, and delete all other windows. Same as typing CTRL-x 1. MANUALS You can order printed copies of the GNU Emacs Manual from the Free Software Foundation, which develops GNU software. See the file ORDERS for ordering information. Your local Emacs maintainer might also have copies avail- able. As with all software and publications from FSF, everyone is permitted to make and distribute copies of the SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 5 User Commands EMACS(1) Emacs manual. The TeX source to the manual is also included in the Emacs source distribution. FILES /usr/local/info - files for the Info documentation browser (a subsystem of Emacs) to refer to. Currently not much of Unix is documented here, but the complete text of the Emacs reference manual is included in a convenient tree structured form. /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/src - C source files and object files /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/lisp - Lisp source files and compiled files that define most editing commands. Some are preloaded; others are autoloaded from this directory when used. /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc - various programs that are used with GNU Emacs, and some files of information. /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc/DOC.* - contains the documentation strings for the Lisp primitives and preloaded Lisp functions of GNU Emacs. They are stored here to reduce the size of Emacs proper. /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc/OTHER.EMACSES discusses GNU Emacs vs. other versions of Emacs. /usr/local/share/emacs/$VERSION/etc/SERVICE lists people offering various services to assist users of GNU Emacs, including education, troubleshooting, porting and customiza- tion. These files also have information useful to anyone wishing to write programs in the Emacs Lisp extension language, which has not yet been fully documented. /usr/local/com/emacs/lock - holds lock files that are made for all files being modified in Emacs, to prevent simultane- ous modification of one file by two users. /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt - list of valid X color names. BUGS There is a mailing list, bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu on the internet (ucbvax!prep.ai.mit.edu!bug-gnu-emacs on UUCPnet), for reporting Emacs bugs and fixes. But before reporting something as a bug, please try to be sure that it really is a bug, not a misunderstanding or a deliberate feature. We ask you to read the section ``Reporting Emacs Bugs'' near the end of the reference manual (or Info system) for hints on how and when to report bugs. Also, include the version number of the Emacs you are running in _e_v_e_r_y bug SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 6 User Commands EMACS(1) report that you send in. Do not expect a personal answer to a bug report. The pur- pose of reporting bugs is to get them fixed for everyone in the next release, if possible. For personal assistance, look in the SERVICE file (see above) for a list of people who offer it. Please do not send anything but bug reports to this mailing list. Send requests to be added to mailing lists to the special list info-gnu-emacs-request@prep.ai.mit.edu (or the corresponding UUCP address). For more information about Emacs mailing lists, see the file /usr/local/emacs/etc/MAILINGLISTS. Bugs tend actually to be fixed if they can be isolated, so it is in your interest to report them in such a way that they can be easily repro- duced. Bugs that I know about are: shell will not work with pro- grams running in Raw mode on some Unix versions. UNRESTRICTIONS _E_m_a_c_s is free; anyone may redistribute copies of _E_m_a_c_s to anyone under the terms stated in the _E_m_a_c_s General Public License, a copy of which accompanies each copy of _E_m_a_c_s and which also appears in the reference manual. Copies of _E_m_a_c_s may sometimes be received packaged with dis- tributions of Unix systems, but it is never included in the scope of any license covering those systems. Such inclusion violates the terms on which distribution is permitted. In fact, the primary purpose of the General Public License is to prohibit anyone from attaching any other restrictions to redistribution of _E_m_a_c_s. Richard Stallman encourages you to improve and extend _E_m_a_c_s, and urges that you contribute your extensions to the GNU library. Eventually GNU (Gnu's Not Unix) will be a complete replacement for Berkeley Unix. Everyone will be free to use, copy, study and change the GNU system. SEE ALSO X(1), xlsfonts(1), xterm(1), xrdb(1) AUTHORS _E_m_a_c_s was written by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation. Joachim Martillo and Robert Krawitz added the X features. SunOS 5.7 Last change: 1995 December 7 7