Unix editors: emacs
The
emacs editor is always in the edit mode, in a similar manner to the normal
PC word processors like Word Perfect, Ami Pro, and Microsoft Word. Control
of other functions is always accomplished by pressing either the control
key along with another key, or by preceding another keystroke with the
escape key (symbolized in this handout by <M>). Emacs has an on-line
tutorial, which can be accessed by pressing ^H^H^Ht (control H, 3 times,
followed by a lower case t). Note that each time one presses ^H, there
is help information appearing on the bottom line of the screen, and that
reminder may be sufficient for the current situation.
Note that some of the Vi commands do not exist in emacs. These commands
have no command keystrokes preceding the command description. For example,
there is no command to move the cursor to the end of the current word.
Emacs
Commands
Cursor
Movement:
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^b
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Cursor
left (Backward)
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^n
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Cursor
down (Next line)
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^p
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Cursor
up (Previous line)
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^f
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Cursor
right (Forward)
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^a
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Cursor
to beginning of line
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^e
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Cursor
to end of line (End of line)
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<M>f
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Cursor
forward to next word
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<M>b
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Cursor
to beginning of current word
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There
is no emacs command equivlaent to these next 3 commands, but the same
effect can be had using a numeric prefix for the number of lines up or
down you which to move the cursor. See the Extra Commands section for
a more complete explanation.
Cursor to top of screen
Cursor to middle of screen
Cursor to last line on screen
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^v
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Scroll
forward 1 screen
Scroll
down 1/2 screen (Control-D in vi - no emacs equivalent)
Scroll
up 1/2 screen (Control-U in vi - no emacs equivalent)
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<M>v
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Scroll
back 1 screen
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^l
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Repaints the screen and centers
it around the line containing the cursor.
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<M><
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Move
cursor to top line of file
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<M>>
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Move
cursor to last line of file
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Deletion
Commands
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^d
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Delete
character under cursor
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<M>d
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Delete
word under cursor
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^k
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Delete
from cursor position to end of line
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^k^k
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Delete
current line of characters and the remaining blank line
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Editing
Commands
Note
that the next group of commands is not needed in emacs, since one is always
in the edit mode.
Append
text after cursor
Append
at end of line
Insert
text at current cursor position
Insert
at beginning of line
Replace
character under cursor
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^o
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Open
a new line above current line.
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Exiting
from Emacs
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^x^s
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Save
the current buffer
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<M>x
save-buffer
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Alternative
method if the ^S key is blocked by your terminal emulator.
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^x^c
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Exit
from emacs. If you have changed the buffer, you will be asked if
you want to save the changes. If you do not want to save the changes,
you will also need to type yes in response to the are-you-sure prompt.
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Saving
Files
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^x^s
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Save
the current buffer
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<M>x
save-buffer
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Alternative
method if the ^s key is blocked by your terminal emulator
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Getting
a new file
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^x^f
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Read
a file. You will be prompted for the filename.
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Extra
Commands
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<M>nn
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Where
nn stands for some number, <M>nn causes the next command or
keystroke to be repeated nn times. Thus, <M>9 ^p causes the
cursor to go up 9 lines, and <M>9 a causes 9 'a's to be put
into the text.
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<M>x
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This
causes emacs to provide you with a command line from which other
commands can be entered as words. Thus <M>x save-buffer causes
the current buffer to be saved. This is the same as ^x^s, but is
useful when connected through a modem or through a program such
as CrossTalk (Synapse) which does not allow a ^s to be transmitted
to the computer at the other end of the connection.
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<M>x
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apropos
provides help on any topic in the help index. It will prompt you
for a single word topic, and attempt to find anything relevant to
that topic. It may present you with a list of multiple topics from
which you will have to decide which one is what you are looking
for.
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<space>
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On
the <M>x command line, if you have typed the beginning of
a command, and press the space bar, emacs will attempt to figure
out the command you were trying to enter, and will fill in the appropriate
text until it finds an ambiguity, at which point it will show you
a list of possibilities.
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