@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
@node Basic, Undo, Exiting, Top
@chapter Basic Editing Commands

@kindex C-h t
@findex help-with-tutorial
  We now give the basics of how to enter text, make corrections, and
save the text in a file.  If this material is new to you, you might
learn it more easily by running the Emacs learn-by-doing tutorial.  To
start the tutorial, type @kbd{Control-h t} (@code{help-with-tutorial}).

  To clear the screen and redisplay, type @kbd{C-l} (@code{recenter}).

@menu
* Inserting Text::     Inserting text by simply typing it.
* Moving Point::       How to move the cursor to the place where you want to
		       change something.
* Erasing::	       Deleting and killing text.
* Files: Basic Files.  Visiting, creating, and saving files.
* Help: Basic Help.    Asking what a character does.
* Blank Lines::        Commands to make or delete blank lines.
* Continuation Lines:: Lines too wide for the screen.
* Position Info::      What page, line, row, or column is point on?
* Arguments::	       Numeric arguments for repeating a command.
@end menu

@node Inserting Text
@section Inserting Text

@cindex insertion
@cindex graphic characters
  To insert printing characters into the text you are editing, just type
them.  This inserts the characters you type into the buffer at the
cursor (that is, at @dfn{point}; @pxref{Point}).  The cursor moves
forward, and any text after the cursor moves forward too.  If the text
in the buffer is @samp{FOOBAR}, with the cursor before the @samp{B},
then if you type @kbd{XX}, you get @samp{FOOXXBAR}, with the cursor
still before the @samp{B}.

@kindex DEL
   To @dfn{delete} text you have just inserted, use @key{DEL}.  @key{DEL}
deletes the character @emph{before} the cursor (not the one that the cursor
is on top of or under; that is the character @var{after} the cursor).  The
cursor and all characters after it move backwards.  Therefore, if you type
a printing character and then type @key{DEL}, they cancel out.

@kindex RET
@cindex newline
   To end a line and start typing a new one, type @key{RET}.  This
inserts a newline character in the buffer.  If point is in the middle of
a line, @key{RET} splits the line.  Typing @key{DEL} when the cursor is
at the beginning of a line deletes the preceding newline, thus joining
the line with the preceding line.

  Emacs can split lines automatically when they become too long, if you
turn on a special mode called @dfn{Auto Fill} mode.  @xref{Filling}, for
how to use Auto Fill mode.

@findex delete-backward-char
@findex newline
@findex self-insert
  Customization information: @key{DEL} in most modes runs the command
@code{delete-backward-char}; @key{RET} runs the command @code{newline}, and
self-inserting printing characters run the command @code{self-insert},
which inserts whatever character was typed to invoke it.  Some major modes
rebind @key{DEL} to other commands.

@cindex quoting
@kindex C-q
@findex quoted-insert
  Direct insertion works for printing characters and @key{SPC}, but other
characters act as editing commands and do not insert themselves.  If you
need to insert a control character or a character whose code is above 200
octal, you must @dfn{quote} it by typing the character @kbd{Control-q}
(@code{quoted-insert}) first.  (This character's name is normally written
@kbd{C-q} for short.)  There are two ways to use @kbd{C-q}:@refill

@itemize @bullet
@item
@kbd{C-q} followed by any non-graphic character (even @kbd{C-g})
inserts that character.
@item
@kbd{C-q} followed by three octal digits inserts the character
with the specified character code.
@end itemize

@noindent
A numeric argument to @kbd{C-q} specifies how many copies of the
quoted character should be inserted (@pxref{Arguments}).

  If you prefer to have text characters replace (overwrite) existing
text rather than shove it to the right, you can enable Overwrite mode,
a minor mode.  @xref{Minor Modes}.

@node Moving Point
@section Changing the Location of Point

@cindex arrow keys
@kindex @key{LEFT}
@kindex @key{RIGHT}
@kindex @key{TOP}
@kindex @key{BOTTOM}
  To do more than insert characters, you have to know how to move
point (@pxref{Point}).  The simplest way to do this is with arrow
keys or the left mouse button.

  There are also control and meta characters for cursor motion.  Some
are equivalent to the arrow keys (these date back to the days before
terminals had arrow keys, and are usable on terminals which don't have
them).  Others do more sophisticated things.

@kindex C-a
@kindex C-e
@kindex C-f
@kindex C-b
@kindex C-n
@kindex C-p
@kindex C-t
@kindex M->
@kindex M-<
@kindex M-r
@findex beginning-of-line
@findex end-of-line
@findex forward-char
@findex backward-char
@findex next-line
@findex previous-line
@findex beginning-of-buffer
@findex end-of-buffer
@findex goto-char
@findex goto-line
@findex move-to-window-line
@table @kbd
@item C-a
Move to the beginning of the line (@code{beginning-of-line}).
@item C-e
Move to the end of the line (@code{end-of-line}).
@item C-f
Move forward one character (@code{forward-char}).
@item C-b
Move backward one character (@code{backward-char}).
@item M-f
Move forward one word (@code{forward-word}).
@item M-b
Move backward one word (@code{backward-word}).
@item C-n
Move down one line, vertically (@code{next-line}).  This command
attempts to keep the horizontal position unchanged, so if you start in
the middle of one line, you end in the middle of the next.  When on
the last line of text, @kbd{C-n} creates a new line and moves onto it.
@item C-p
Move up one line, vertically (@code{previous-line}).
@item M-r
Move point to left margin, vertically centered in the window
(@code{move-to-window-line}).  Text does not move on the screen.  A
numeric argument says how many screen lines down from the top of the
window (zero for the top line).  A negative argument counts lines from
the bottom (@minus{}1 for the bottom line).
@item M-<
Move to the top of the buffer (@code{beginning-of-buffer}).  With
numeric argument @var{n}, move to @var{n}/10 of the way from the top.
@xref{Arguments}, for more information on numeric arguments.@refill
@item M->
Move to the end of the buffer (@code{end-of-buffer}).
@item M-x goto-char
Read a number @var{n} and move cursor to character number @var{n}.
Position 1 is the beginning of the buffer.
@item M-x goto-line
Read a number @var{n} and move cursor to line number @var{n}.  Line 1
is the beginning of the buffer.
@item C-x C-n
@findex set-goal-column
@kindex C-x C-n
Use the current column of point as the @dfn{semipermanent goal column} for
@kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} (@code{set-goal-column}).  Henceforth, those
commands always move to this column in each line moved into, or as
close as possible given the contents of the line.  This goal column remains
in effect until canceled.
@item C-u C-x C-n
Cancel the goal column.  Henceforth, @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} once
again try to avoid changing the horizontal position, as usual.
@end table

@vindex track-eol
  If you set the variable @code{track-eol} to a non-@code{nil} value,
then @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} when at the end of the starting line move
to the end of another line.  Normally, @code{track-eol} is @code{nil}.
@xref{Variables}, for how to set variables such as @code{track-eol}.

@vindex next-line-add-newlines
  Normally, @kbd{C-n} on the last line of a buffer appends a newline to
it.  If the variable @code{next-line-add-newlines} is @code{nil}, then
@kbd{C-n} gets an error instead (like @kbd{C-p} on the first line).

@node Erasing	
@section Erasing Text

@table @kbd
@item @key{DEL}
Delete the character before the cursor (@code{delete-backward-char}).
@item C-d
Delete the character after the cursor (@code{delete-char}).
@item C-k
Kill to the end of the line (@code{kill-line}).
@item M-d
Kill forward to the end of the next word (@code{kill-word}).
@item M-@key{DEL}
Kill back to the beginning of the previous word
(@code{backward-kill-word}).
@end table

  You already know about the @key{DEL} key which deletes the character
before the cursor.  Another key, @kbd{Control-d} (@kbd{C-d} for short),
deletes the character after the cursor, causing the rest of the text on the
line to shift left.  If @kbd{C-d} is typed at the end of a line, that line
and the next line are joined together.

  To erase a larger amount of text, use the @kbd{C-k} key, which kills a
line at a time.  If @kbd{C-k} is done at the beginning or middle of a line,
it kills all the text up to the end of the line.  If @kbd{C-k} is done at
the end of a line, it joins that line and the next line.

  If you delete or kill text by mistake, you can use the undo command to
get it back.  @xref{Undo}.

  @xref{Killing}, for more flexible ways of killing text.

@node Basic Files
@section Files

@cindex files
  The commands above are sufficient for creating and altering text in an
Emacs buffer; the more advanced Emacs commands just make things easier.
But to keep any text permanently you must put it in a @dfn{file}.  Files
are named units of text which are stored by the operating system for you to
retrieve later by name.  To look at or use the contents of a file in any
way, including editing the file with Emacs, you must specify the file name.

  Consider a file named @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}.  In Emacs, to begin editing
this file, type

@example
C-x C-f /usr/rms/foo.c @key{RET}
@end example

@noindent
Here the file name is given as an @dfn{argument} to the command @kbd{C-x
C-f} (@code{find-file}).  That command uses the @dfn{minibuffer} to
read the argument, and you type @key{RET} to terminate the argument
(@pxref{Minibuffer}).@refill

  Emacs obeys the command by @dfn{visiting} the file: creating a buffer,
copying the contents of the file into the buffer, and then displaying
the buffer for you to edit.  Then you can make changes, and @dfn{save}
the file by typing @kbd{C-x C-s} (@code{save-buffer}).  This makes the
changes permanent by copying the altered contents of the buffer back
into the file @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}.  Until you save, the changes exist
only inside Emacs, and the file @file{foo.c} is unaltered.

  To create a file, just visit the file with @kbd{C-x C-f} as if it
already existed.  This creates an empty buffer in which you can insert
the text you want to put in the file.  The file is actually created when
you save this buffer with @kbd{C-x C-s}.

  Of course, there is a lot more to learn about using files.  @xref{Files}.

@node Basic Help
@section Help

  If you forget what a key does, you can find out with the Help character,
which is @kbd{C-h}.  Type @kbd{C-h k} followed by the key you want to know
about; for example, @kbd{C-h k C-n} tells you all about what @kbd{C-n}
does.  @kbd{C-h} is a prefix key; @kbd{C-h k} is just one of its
subcommands (the command @code{describe-key}).  The other subcommands of
@kbd{C-h} provide different kinds of help.  Type @kbd{C-h} three times
to get a description of all the help facilities.  @xref{Help}.@refill

@node Blank Lines
@section Blank Lines

  Here are special commands and techniques for putting in and taking out
blank lines.

@c widecommands
@table @kbd
@item C-o
Insert one or more blank lines after the cursor (@code{open-line}).
@item C-x C-o
Delete all but one of many consecutive blank lines
(@code{delete-blank-lines}).
@end table

@kindex C-o
@kindex C-x C-o
@cindex blank lines
@findex open-line
@findex delete-blank-lines
  When you want to insert a new line of text before an existing line, you
can do it by typing the new line of text, followed by @key{RET}.  However,
it may be easier to see what you are doing if you first make a blank line
and then insert the desired text into it.  This is easy to do using the key
@kbd{C-o} (@code{open-line}), which inserts a newline after point but leaves
point in front of the newline.  After @kbd{C-o}, type the text for the new
line.  @kbd{C-o F O O} has the same effect as @kbd{F O O @key{RET}}, except for
the final location of point.

  You can make several blank lines by typing @kbd{C-o} several times, or
by giving it a numeric argument to tell it how many blank lines to
make.  @xref{Arguments}, for how.

  If you have a fill prefix, then @kbd{C-o} command inserts the fill
prefix on the new line, when you use it at the beginning of a line.
@xref{Fill Prefix}.

  The easy way to get rid of extra blank lines is with the command
@kbd{C-x C-o} (@code{delete-blank-lines}).  @kbd{C-x C-o} in a run of
several blank lines deletes all but one of them.  @kbd{C-x C-o} on a
solitary blank line deletes that blank line.  When point is on a
nonblank line, @kbd{C-x C-o} deletes any blank lines following that
nonblank line.

@node Continuation Lines
@section Continuation Lines

@cindex continuation line
@cindex wrapping
@cindex line wrapping
  If you add too many characters to one line, without breaking it with
@key{RET}, the line will grow to occupy two (or more) lines on the screen,
with a @samp{\} at the extreme right margin of all but the last of them.
The @samp{\} says that the following screen line is not really a distinct
line in the text, but just the @dfn{continuation} of a line too long to fit
the screen.  Continuation is also called @dfn{line wrapping}.

  Sometimes it is nice to have Emacs insert newlines automatically when
a line gets too long.  Continuation on the screen does not do that.  Use
Auto Fill mode (@pxref{Filling}) if that's what you want.

@vindex truncate-lines
@cindex truncation
  Instead of continuation, you can display long lines by
@dfn{truncation}.  This means that all the characters that do not fit in
the width of the screen or window do not appear at all.  They remain in
the buffer, temporarily invisible.  @samp{$} is used in the last column
instead of @samp{\} to inform you that truncation is in effect.

  You can turn off continuation for a particular buffer by setting the
variable @code{truncate-lines} to non-@code{nil} in that buffer.
(@xref{Variables}.)  Truncation instead of continuation also happens
whenever horizontal scrolling is in use, and optionally whenever
side-by-side windows are in use (@pxref{Windows}).  Altering the value
of @code{truncate-lines} makes it local to the current buffer; until
that time, the default value is in effect.  The default is initially
@code{nil}.  @xref{Locals}.@refill

  @xref{Display Vars}, for additional variables that affect how text is
displayed.

@node Position Info
@section Cursor Position Information

  Here are commands to get information about the size and position of
parts of the buffer, and to count lines.

@table @kbd
@item M-x what-page
Print page number of point, and line number within page.
@item M-x what-line
Print line number of point in the buffer.
@item M-x line-number-mode
Toggle automatic display of current line number.
@item M-=
Print number of lines in the current region (@code{count-lines-region}).
@item C-x =
Print character code of character after point, character position of
point, and column of point (@code{what-cursor-position}).
@end table

@findex what-page
@findex what-line
@cindex line number commands
  There are two commands for printing the current line number.  @kbd{M-x
what-line} computes the current line number and displays it in the echo
area.  @kbd{M-x line-number-mode} enables display of the current line
number in the mode line; once you turn this on, the number updates as
you move point, so it remains valid all the time.  @xref{Mode Line}.

  Line numbers count from one at the beginning of the buffer.  To go to
a given line by number, use @kbd{M-x goto-line}; it prompts you for the
line number.

  By contrast, @kbd{M-x what-page} counts pages from the beginning of
the file, and counts lines within the page, printing both numbers.
@xref{Pages}.

@kindex M-=
@findex count-lines-region
  While on this subject, we might as well mention @kbd{M-=} (@code{count-lines-region}),
which prints the number of lines in the region (@pxref{Mark}).
@xref{Pages}, for the command @kbd{C-x l} which counts the lines in the
current page.

@kindex C-x =
@findex what-cursor-position
  The command @kbd{C-x =} (@code{what-cursor-position}) can be used to find out
the column that the cursor is in, and other miscellaneous information about
point.  It prints a line in the echo area that looks like this:

@example
Char: x (0170)  point=65986 of 563027(12%)  x=44
@end example

@noindent
(In fact, this is the output produced when point is before the @samp{x=44}
in the example.)

  The two values after @samp{Char:} describe the character following point,
first by showing it and second by giving its octal character code.

  @samp{point=} is followed by the position of point expressed as a character
count.  The front of the buffer counts as position 1, one character later
as 2, and so on.  The next, larger number is the total number of characters
in the buffer.  Afterward in parentheses comes the position expressed as a
percentage of the total size.

  @samp{x=} is followed by the horizontal position of point, in columns from the
left edge of the window.

  If the buffer has been narrowed, making some of the text at the
beginning and the end temporarily off limits, @kbd{C-x =} prints
additional text describing the currently accessible range.  For example, it
might display this:

@smallexample
Char: x (0170)  point=65986 of 563025(12%) <65102 - 68533>  x=44
@end smallexample

@noindent
where the two extra numbers give the smallest and largest character
position that point is allowed to assume.  The characters between those
two positions are the accessible ones.  @xref{Narrowing}.

  If point is at the end of the buffer (or the end of the accessible
part), @kbd{C-x =} omits any description of the character after point.
The output looks like this:

@smallexample
point=563026 of 563025(100%)  x=0
@end smallexample

@node Arguments
@section Numeric Arguments
@cindex numeric arguments
@cindex prefix arguments
@cindex arguments, numeric
@cindex arguments, prefix

  Any Emacs command can be given a @dfn{numeric argument} (also called a
@dfn{prefix argument}).  Some commands interpret the argument as a
repetition count.  For example, giving an argument of ten to the key
@kbd{C-f} moves forward ten characters instead of one.  With these
commands, no argument is equivalent to an argument of one.  Negative
arguments tell most such commands to move or act in the opposite direction.

@kindex M-1
@kindex M-@t{-}
@findex digit-argument
@findex negative-argument
  If your terminal keyboard has a @key{META} key, the easiest way to
specify a numeric argument is to type digits and/or a minus sign while
holding down the the @key{META} key.  For example,
@example
M-5 C-n
@end example
@noindent
would move down five lines.  The characters @kbd{Meta-1}, @kbd{Meta-2}, and
so on, as well as @kbd{Meta--}, do this because they are keys bound to
commands (@code{digit-argument} and @code{negative-argument}) that are
defined to contribute to an argument for the next command.

@kindex C-u
@findex universal-argument
  Another way of specifying an argument is to use the @kbd{C-u}
(@code{universal-argument}) command followed by the digits of the argument.
With @kbd{C-u}, you can type the argument digits without holding
down shift keys.  To type a negative argument, start with a minus sign.
Just a minus sign normally means @minus{}1.  @kbd{C-u} works on all terminals.

  @kbd{C-u} followed by a character which is neither a digit nor a minus
sign has the special meaning of ``multiply by four''.  It multiplies the
argument for the next command by four.  @kbd{C-u} twice multiplies it by
sixteen.  Thus, @kbd{C-u C-u C-f} moves forward sixteen characters.  This
is a good way to move forward ``fast'', since it moves about 1/5 of a line
in the usual size screen.  Other useful combinations are @kbd{C-u C-n},
@kbd{C-u C-u C-n} (move down a good fraction of a screen), @kbd{C-u C-u
C-o} (make ``a lot'' of blank lines), and @kbd{C-u C-k} (kill four
lines).@refill

  Some commands care only about whether there is an argument, and not about
its value.  For example, the command @kbd{M-q} (@code{fill-paragraph}) with
no argument fills text; with an argument, it justifies the text as well.
(@xref{Filling}, for more information on @kbd{M-q}.)  Just @kbd{C-u} is a
handy way of providing an argument for such commands.

  Some commands use the value of the argument as a repeat count, but do
something peculiar when there is no argument.  For example, the command
@kbd{C-k} (@code{kill-line}) with argument @var{n} kills @var{n} lines,
including their terminating newlines.  But @kbd{C-k} with no argument is
special: it kills the text up to the next newline, or, if point is right at
the end of the line, it kills the newline itself.  Thus, two @kbd{C-k}
commands with no arguments can kill a nonblank line, just like @kbd{C-k}
with an argument of one.  (@xref{Killing}, for more information on
@kbd{C-k}.)@refill

  A few commands treat a plain @kbd{C-u} differently from an ordinary
argument.  A few others may treat an argument of just a minus sign
differently from an argument of @minus{}1.  These unusual cases will be described
when they come up; they are always for reasons of convenience of use of the
individual command.

  You can use a numeric argument to insert multiple copies of a
character.  This is straightforward unless the character is a digit.  To
prevent the digit from becoming part of the argument, type another
@kbd{C-u}.  That terminates the argument.  If you then type another
digit, then the digit acts as a self-inserting character and uses the
argument as a repeat count.

  We use the term ``prefix argument'' as well as ``numeric argument'' to
emphasize that you type the argument before the command, and to
distinguish these arguments from minibuffer arguments that come after
the command.

@c section Autoarg Mode
@ignore
@cindex Autoarg mode
@cindex mode, autoarg
  Users of ASCII keyboards may prefer to use Autoarg mode.  Autoarg mode
means that you don't need to type C-U to specify a numeric argument.
Instead, you type just the digits.  Digits followed by an ordinary
inserting character are themselves inserted, but digits followed by an
Escape or Control character serve as an argument to it and are not
inserted.  A minus sign can also be part of an argument, but only at the
beginning.  If you type a minus sign following some digits, both the digits
and the minus sign are inserted.

  To use Autoarg mode, set the variable Autoarg Mode nonzero.
@xref{Variables}.

  Autoargument digits echo at the bottom of the screen; the first nondigit
causes them to be inserted or uses them as an argument.  To insert some
digits and nothing else, you must follow them with a Space and then rub it
out.  C-G cancels the digits, while Delete inserts them all and then rubs
out the last.
@end ignore


