This is ../../info/efaq, produced by makeinfo version 4.11 from faq.texi. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Reuven M. Lerner Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers ("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS), and updated with new information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. [This version has been heavily edited since it was included in the Emacs distribution.] INFO-DIR-SECTION Emacs START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY * Emacs FAQ: (efaq). Frequently Asked Questions about Emacs. END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY  File: efaq, Node: Top, Next: FAQ notation, Prev: (dir), Up: (dir) The GNU Emacs FAQ ***************** This is the GNU Emacs FAQ, last updated on 7 May 2010. This FAQ is maintained as a part of GNU Emacs. If you find any errors, or have any suggestions, please use `M-x report-emacs-bug' to report them. This is the version of the FAQ distributed with Emacs 23.2, and mainly describes that version. Although there is some information on older versions, details about very old releases (now only of historical interest) have been removed. If you are interested in this, consult either the version of the FAQ distributed with older versions of Emacs, or the history of this document in the Emacs source repository. Since Emacs releases are very stable, we recommend always running the latest release. This FAQ is not updated very frequently. When you have a question about Emacs, the Emacs manual is often the best starting point. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Reuven M. Lerner Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 Steven Byrnes Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992 Joseph Brian Wells This list of frequently asked questions about GNU Emacs with answers ("FAQ") may be translated into other languages, transformed into other formats (e.g. Texinfo, Info, WWW, WAIS), and updated with new information. The same conditions apply to any derivative of the FAQ as apply to the FAQ itself. Every copy of the FAQ must include this notice or an approved translation, information on who is currently maintaining the FAQ and how to contact them (including their e-mail address), and information on where the latest version of the FAQ is archived (including FTP information). The FAQ may be copied and redistributed under these conditions, except that the FAQ may not be embedded in a larger literary work unless that work itself allows free copying and redistribution. [This version has been heavily edited since it was included in the Emacs distribution.] * Menu: * FAQ notation:: * General questions:: * Getting help:: * Status of Emacs:: * Common requests:: * Bugs and problems:: * Compiling and installing Emacs:: * Finding Emacs and related packages:: * Major packages and programs:: * Key bindings:: * Alternate character sets:: * Mail and news:: * Concept index::  File: efaq, Node: FAQ notation, Next: General questions, Prev: Top, Up: Top 1 FAQ notation ************** This chapter describes notation used in the GNU Emacs FAQ, as well as in the Emacs documentation. Consult this section if this is the first time you are reading the FAQ, or if you are confused by notation or terms used in the FAQ. * Menu: * Basic keys:: * Extended commands:: * Emacs manual:: * File-name conventions:: * Common acronyms::  File: efaq, Node: Basic keys, Next: Extended commands, Up: FAQ notation 1.1 What do these mean: `C-h', `C-M-a', , ` a', etc.? =============================================================== * `C-x': press the key while holding down the key * `M-x': press the key while holding down the key (if your computer doesn't have a key, *note No Meta key::) * `M-C-x': press the key while holding down both and * `C-M-x': a synonym for the above * : Linefeed or Newline; same as `C-j' * : , sometimes marked ; same as `C-m' * : , usually *not* the same as ; same as `C-?' (see *note Backspace invokes help::, if deleting invokes Emacs help) * : Escape; same as `C-[' * : Tab; same as `C-i' * : Space bar Key sequences longer than one key (and some single-key sequences) are written inside quotes or on lines by themselves, like this: `M-x frobnicate-while-foo RET' Any real spaces in such a key sequence should be ignored; only really means press the space key. The ASCII code sent by `C-x' (except for `C-?') is the value that would be sent by pressing just minus 96 (or 64 for upper-case ) and will be from 0 to 31. On Unix and GNU/Linux terminals, the ASCII code sent by `M-x' is the sum of 128 and the ASCII code that would be sent by pressing just . Essentially, turns off bits 5 and 6 and turns on bit 7(1). `C-?' (aka ) is ASCII code 127. It is a misnomer to call `C-?' a "control" key, since 127 has both bits 5 and 6 turned ON. Also, on very few keyboards does `C-?' generate ASCII code 127. *note Keys: (emacs)Keys, for more information. (*Note Emacs manual::, for more information about Info.) ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) DOS and Windows terminals don't set bit 7 when the key is pressed.  File: efaq, Node: Extended commands, Next: Emacs manual, Prev: Basic keys, Up: FAQ notation 1.2 What does `M-x COMMAND' mean? ================================= `M-x COMMAND' means type `M-x', then type the name of the command, then type . (*Note Basic keys::, if you're not sure what `M-x' and mean.) `M-x' (by default) invokes the command `execute-extended-command'. This command allows you to run any Emacs command if you can remember the command's name. If you can't remember the command's name, you can type and for completion, for a list of possibilities, and `M-p' and `M-n' (or up-arrow and down-arrow) to see previous commands entered. An Emacs "command" is an "interactive" Emacs function. Your system administrator may have bound other key sequences to invoke `execute-extended-command'. A function key labeled `Do' is a good candidate for this, on keyboards that have such a key. If you need to run non-interactive Emacs functions, see *note Evaluating Emacs Lisp code::.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs manual, Next: File-name conventions, Prev: Extended commands, Up: FAQ notation 1.3 How do I read topic XXX in the Emacs manual? ================================================ When we refer you to some TOPIC in the Emacs manual, you can read this manual node inside Emacs (assuming nothing is broken) by typing `C-h i m emacs m TOPIC '. This invokes Info, the GNU hypertext documentation browser. If you don't already know how to use Info, type from within Info. If we refer to TOPIC:SUBTOPIC, type `C-h i m emacs m TOPIC m SUBTOPIC '. If these commands don't work as expected, your system administrator may not have installed the Info files, or may have installed them improperly. In this case you should complain. If you are reading this FAQ in Info, you can simply press on a reference to follow it. *Note Getting a printed manual::, if you would like a paper copy of the Emacs manual.  File: efaq, Node: File-name conventions, Next: Common acronyms, Prev: Emacs manual, Up: FAQ notation 1.4 What are `etc/GNU', `src/config.h', `site-lisp/default.el', etc.? ===================================================================== These are files that come with Emacs. The Emacs distribution is divided into subdirectories; e.g. `etc', `lisp', and `src'. Some of these (e.g. `etc' and `lisp') are present both in an installed Emacs and in the sources, but some (e.g. `src') are only found in the sources. If you use Emacs, but don't know where it is kept on your system, start Emacs, then type `C-h v data-directory '. The directory name displayed by this will be the full pathname of the installed `etc' directory. (This full path is recorded in the Emacs variable `data-directory', and `C-h v' displays the value and the documentation of a variable.) The location of your Info directory (i.e., where Info documentation is stored) is kept in the variable `Info-default-directory-list'. Use `C-h v Info-default-directory-list ' to see the value of this variable, which will be a list of directory names. The last directory in that list is probably where most Info files are stored. By default, Emacs Info documentation is placed in `/usr/local/share/info'. For information on some of the files in the `etc' directory, *note Informational files for Emacs::.  File: efaq, Node: Common acronyms, Prev: File-name conventions, Up: FAQ notation 1.5 What are FSF, LPF, GNU, RMS, FTP, and GPL? ============================================== FSF Free Software Foundation LPF League for Programming Freedom GNU GNU's Not Unix RMS Richard Matthew Stallman FTP File Transfer Protocol GPL GNU General Public License Avoid confusing the FSF and the LPF. The LPF opposes look-and-feel copyrights and software patents. The FSF aims to make high quality free software available for everyone. The word "free" in the title of the Free Software Foundation refers to "freedom," not "zero cost." Anyone can charge any price for GPL-covered software that they want to. However, in practice, the freedom enforced by the GPL leads to low prices, because you can always get the software for less money from someone else, since everyone has the right to resell or give away GPL-covered software.  File: efaq, Node: General questions, Next: Getting help, Prev: FAQ notation, Up: Top 2 General questions ******************* This chapter contains general questions having to do with Emacs, the Free Software Foundation, and related organizations. * Menu: * The LPF:: * Real meaning of copyleft:: * Guidelines for newsgroup postings:: * Newsgroup archives:: * Reporting bugs:: * Unsubscribing from Emacs lists:: * Contacting the FSF::  File: efaq, Node: The LPF, Next: Real meaning of copyleft, Up: General questions 2.1 What is the LPF? ==================== The LPF opposes the expanding danger of software patents and look-and-feel copyrights. More information on the LPF's views is available at the LPF home page (http://progfree.org/).  File: efaq, Node: Real meaning of copyleft, Next: Guidelines for newsgroup postings, Prev: The LPF, Up: General questions 2.2 What is the real legal meaning of the GNU copyleft? ======================================================= The real legal meaning of the GNU General Public License (copyleft) will only be known if and when a judge rules on its validity and scope. There has never been a copyright infringement case involving the GPL to set any precedents. Although legal actions have been brought against companies for violating the terms of the GPL, so far all have been settled out of court (in favour of the plaintiffs). Please take any discussion regarding this issue to the newsgroup `news:gnu.misc.discuss', which was created to hold the extensive flame wars on the subject. RMS writes: The legal meaning of the GNU copyleft is less important than the spirit, which is that Emacs is a free software project and that work pertaining to Emacs should also be free software. "Free" means that all users have the freedom to study, share, change and improve Emacs. To make sure everyone has this freedom, pass along source code when you distribute any version of Emacs or a related program, and give the recipients the same freedom that you enjoyed.  File: efaq, Node: Guidelines for newsgroup postings, Next: Newsgroup archives, Prev: Real meaning of copyleft, Up: General questions 2.3 What are appropriate messages for the various Emacs newsgroups? =================================================================== The file `etc/MAILINGLISTS' describes the purpose of each GNU mailing list (*note Informational files for Emacs::). For those lists which are gatewayed with newsgroups, it lists both the newsgroup name and the mailing list address. The Emacs mailing lists are also described at the Emacs Savannah page (http://savannah.gnu.org/mail/?group=emacs). The newsgroup `news:comp.emacs' is for discussion of Emacs programs in general. The newsgroup `news:gnu.emacs.help' is specifically for GNU Emacs. It therefore makes no sense to cross-post to both groups, since only one can be appropriate to any question. Messages advocating "non-free" software are considered unacceptable on any of the `gnu.*' newsgroups except for `news:gnu.misc.discuss', which was created to hold the extensive flame-wars on the subject. "Non-free" software includes any software for which the end user can't freely modify the source code and exchange enhancements. Be careful to remove the `gnu.*' groups from the `Newsgroups:' line when posting a followup that recommends such software. `news:gnu.emacs.bug' is a place where bug reports appear, but avoid posting bug reports to this newsgroup directly (*note Reporting bugs::).  File: efaq, Node: Newsgroup archives, Next: Reporting bugs, Prev: Guidelines for newsgroup postings, Up: General questions 2.4 Where can I get old postings to `news:gnu.emacs.help' and other GNU groups? =============================================================================== The FSF has maintained archives of all of the GNU mailing lists for many years, although there may be some unintentional gaps in coverage. The archive can be browsed over the web at the GNU mail archive (http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/). Raw files can be downloaded from `ftp://lists.gnu.org/'. Web-based Usenet search services, such as Google (http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?q=gnu&), also archive the `gnu.*' groups. You can also read the archives of the `gnu.*' groups and post new messages at Gmane (http://gmane.org/). Gmane is a service that presents mailing lists as newsgroups (even those without a traditional mail-to-news gateway).  File: efaq, Node: Reporting bugs, Next: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists, Prev: Newsgroup archives, Up: General questions 2.5 Where should I report bugs and other problems with Emacs? ============================================================= The correct way to report Emacs bugs is to use the command `M-x report-emacs-bug'. It sets up a mail buffer with the essential information and the correct e-mail address, which is for the released versions of Emacs. Anything sent to also appears in the newsgroup `news:gnu.emacs.bug', but please use e-mail instead of news to submit the bug report. This ensures a reliable return address so you can be contacted for further details. Be sure to read the "Bugs" section of the Emacs manual before reporting a bug! The manual describes in detail how to submit a useful bug report (*note Reporting Bugs: (emacs)Bugs.). (*Note Emacs manual::, if you don't know how to read the manual.) RMS says: Sending bug reports to (which has the effect of posting on `news:gnu.emacs.help') is undesirable because it takes the time of an unnecessarily large group of people, most of whom are just users and have no idea how to fix these problem. reaches a much smaller group of people who are more likely to know what to do and have expressed a wish to receive more messages about Emacs than the others. RMS says it is sometimes fine to post to `news:gnu.emacs.help': If you have reported a bug and you don't hear about a possible fix, then after a suitable delay (such as a week) it is okay to post on `gnu.emacs.help' asking if anyone can help you. If you are unsure whether you have found a bug, consider the following non-exhaustive list, courtesy of RMS: If Emacs crashes, that is a bug. If Emacs gets compilation errors while building, that is a bug. If Emacs crashes while building, that is a bug. If Lisp code does not do what the documentation says it does, that is a bug.  File: efaq, Node: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists, Next: Contacting the FSF, Prev: Reporting bugs, Up: General questions 2.6 How do I unsubscribe from a mailing list? ============================================= If you are receiving a GNU mailing list named LIST, you should be able to unsubscribe from it by sending a request to the address . Mailing lists mails normally contain information in either the message header (`List-Unsubscribe:') or as a footer that tells you how to unsubscribe.  File: efaq, Node: Contacting the FSF, Prev: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists, Up: General questions 2.7 What is the current address of the FSF? =========================================== For up-to-date information, see the FSF contact web-page (http://www.fsf.org/about/contact.html). E-mail info@fsf.org Telephone +1-617-542-5942 Fax +1-617-542-2652 World Wide Web `http://www.fsf.org/' Postal address Free Software Foundation 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA For details on how to order items directly from the FSF, see the FSF on-line store (http://shop.fsf.org/).  File: efaq, Node: Getting help, Next: Status of Emacs, Prev: General questions, Up: Top 3 Getting help ************** This chapter tells you how to get help with Emacs. * Menu: * Basic editing:: * Learning how to do something:: * Getting a printed manual:: * Emacs Lisp documentation:: * Installing Texinfo documentation:: * Printing a Texinfo file:: * Viewing Info files outside of Emacs:: * Informational files for Emacs:: * Help installing Emacs:: * Obtaining the FAQ::  File: efaq, Node: Basic editing, Next: Learning how to do something, Up: Getting help 3.1 I'm just starting Emacs; how do I do basic editing? ======================================================= Type `C-h t' to invoke the self-paced tutorial. Just typing `C-h' enters the help system. Starting with Emacs 22, the tutorial is available in many foreign languages such as French, German, Japanese, Russian, etc. Use `M-x help-with-tutorial-spec-language ' to choose your language and start the tutorial. Your system administrator may have changed `C-h' to act like to deal with local keyboards. You can use `M-x help-for-help' instead to invoke help. To discover what key (if any) invokes help on your system, type `M-x where-is help-for-help '. This will print a comma-separated list of key sequences in the echo area. Ignore the last character in each key sequence listed. Each of the resulting key sequences (e.g. is common) invokes help. Emacs help works best if it is invoked by a single key whose value should be stored in the variable `help-char'.  File: efaq, Node: Learning how to do something, Next: Getting a printed manual, Prev: Basic editing, Up: Getting help 3.2 How do I find out how to do something in Emacs? =================================================== There are several methods for finding out how to do things in Emacs. * The complete text of the Emacs manual is available via the Info hypertext reader. Type `C-h r' to display the manual in Info mode. Typing immediately after entering Info will provide a short tutorial on how to use it. * To quickly locate the section of the manual which discusses a certain issue, or describes a command or a variable, type `C-h i m emacs i TOPIC ', where TOPIC is the name of the topic, the command, or the variable which you are looking for. If this does not land you on the right place in the manual, press `,' (comma) repeatedly until you find what you need. (The `i' and `,' keys invoke the index-searching functions, which look for the TOPIC you type in all the indices of the Emacs manual.) * You can list all of the commands whose names contain a certain word (actually which match a regular expression) using `C-h a' (`M-x command-apropos'). * The command `C-h F' (`Info-goto-emacs-command-node') prompts for the name of a command, and then attempts to find the section in the Emacs manual where that command is described. * You can list all of the functions and variables whose names contain a certain word using `M-x apropos'. * You can list all of the functions and variables whose documentation matches a regular expression or a string, using `M-x apropos-documentation'. * You can order a hardcopy of the manual from the FSF. *Note Getting a printed manual::. * You can get a printed reference card listing commands and keys to invoke them. You can order one from the FSF for $2 (or 10 for $18), or you can print your own from the `etc/refcards/refcard.tex' or `etc/refcards/refcard.pdf' files in the Emacs distribution. Beginning with version 21.1, the Emacs distribution comes with translations of the reference card into several languages; look for files named `etc/refcards/LANG-refcard.*', where LANG is a two-letter code of the language. For example, the German version of the reference card is in the files `etc/refcards/de-refcard.tex' and `etc/recards/de-refcard.pdf'. * There are many other commands in Emacs for getting help and information. To get a list of these commands, type `?' after `C-h'.  File: efaq, Node: Getting a printed manual, Next: Emacs Lisp documentation, Prev: Learning how to do something, Up: Getting help 3.3 How do I get a printed copy of the Emacs manual? ==================================================== You can order a printed copy of the Emacs manual from the FSF. For details see the FSF on-line store (http://shop.fsf.org/). The full Texinfo source for the manual also comes in the `doc/emacs' directory of the Emacs distribution, if you're daring enough to try to print out this several-hundred-page manual yourself (*note Printing a Texinfo file::). If you absolutely have to print your own copy, and you don't have TeX, you can get a PostScript or PDF (or HTML) version from `http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/' *Note Learning how to do something::, for how to view the manual from Emacs.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs Lisp documentation, Next: Installing Texinfo documentation, Prev: Getting a printed manual, Up: Getting help 3.4 Where can I get documentation on Emacs Lisp? ================================================ Within Emacs, you can type `C-h f' to get the documentation for a function, `C-h v' for a variable. For more information, the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual is available in Info format (*note Emacs Lisp: (elisp)Top.). You can also order a hardcopy of the manual from the FSF, for details see the FSF on-line store (http://shop.fsf.org/). (This manual is not always in print.) An HTML version of the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual is available at `http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/elisp-manual/elisp.html'  File: efaq, Node: Installing Texinfo documentation, Next: Printing a Texinfo file, Prev: Emacs Lisp documentation, Up: Getting help 3.5 How do I install a piece of Texinfo documentation? ====================================================== Emacs releases come with pre-built Info files, and the normal install process places them in the correct location. This is true for most applications that provide Info files. The following section is only relevant if you want to install extra Info files by hand. First, you must turn the Texinfo source files into Info files. You may do this using the stand-alone `makeinfo' program, available as part of the Texinfo package at `http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/' For information about the Texinfo format, read the Texinfo manual which comes with the Texinfo package. This manual also comes installed in Info format, so you can read it from Emacs; type `C-h i m texinfo '. Alternatively, you could use the Emacs command `M-x texinfo-format-buffer', after visiting the Texinfo source file of the manual you want to convert. Neither `texinfo-format-buffer' nor `makeinfo' installs the resulting Info files in Emacs's Info tree. To install Info files, perform these steps: 1. Move the files to the `info' directory in the installed Emacs distribution. *Note File-name conventions::, if you don't know where that is. 2. Run the `install-info' command, which is part of the Texinfo distribution, to update the main Info directory menu, like this: install-info --info-dir=DIR-PATH DIR-PATH/FILE where DIR-PATH is the full path to the directory where you copied the produced Info file(s), and FILE is the name of the Info file you produced and want to install. If you don't have the `install-info' command installed, you can edit the file `info/dir' in the installed Emacs distribution, and add a line for the top level node in the Info package that you are installing. Follow the examples already in this file. The format is: * Topic: (relative-pathname). Short description of topic. If you want to install Info files and you don't have the necessary privileges, you have several options: * Info files don't actually need to be installed before being used. You can use a prefix argument for the `info' command and specify the name of the Info file in the minibuffer. This goes to the node named `Top' in that file. For example, to view a Info file named `INFO-FILE' in your home directory, you can type this: C-u C-h i ~/INFO-FILE Alternatively, you can feed a file name to the `Info-goto-node' command (invoked by pressing in Info mode) by typing the name of the file in parentheses, like this: C-h i g (~/INFO-FILE) * You can create your own Info directory. You can tell Emacs where that Info directory is by adding its pathname to the value of the variable `Info-default-directory-list'. For example, to use a private Info directory which is a subdirectory of your home directory named `Info', you could put this in your `.emacs' file: (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "~/Info") You will need a top-level Info file named `dir' in this directory which has everything the system `dir' file has in it, except it should list only entries for Info files in that directory. You might not need it if (fortuitously) all files in this directory were referenced by other `dir' files. The node lists from all `dir' files in `Info-default-directory-list' are merged by the Info system.  File: efaq, Node: Printing a Texinfo file, Next: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs, Prev: Installing Texinfo documentation, Up: Getting help 3.6 How do I print a Texinfo file? ================================== You can't get nicely printed output from Info files; you must still have the original Texinfo source file for the manual you want to print. Assuming you have TeX installed on your system, follow these steps: 1. Make sure the first line of the Texinfo file looks like this: \input texinfo You may need to change `texinfo' to the full pathname of the `texinfo.tex' file, which comes with Emacs as `doc/misc/texinfo.tex' (or copy or link it into the current directory). 2. Type `texi2dvi TEXINFO-SOURCE', where TEXINFO-SOURCE is the name of the Texinfo source file for which you want to produce a printed copy. The `texi2dvi' script is part of the GNU Texinfo distribution. Alternatively, `texi2pdf' produces PDF files. 3. Print the DVI file `TEXINFO-SOURCE.dvi' in the normal way for printing DVI files at your site. For example, if you have a PostScript printer, run the `dvips' program to print the DVI file on that printer. To get more general instructions, retrieve the latest Texinfo package (*note Installing Texinfo documentation::).  File: efaq, Node: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs, Next: Informational files for Emacs, Prev: Printing a Texinfo file, Up: Getting help 3.7 Can I view Info files without using Emacs? ============================================== Yes. Here are some alternative programs: * `info', a stand-alone version of the Info program, comes as part of the Texinfo package. *Note Installing Texinfo documentation::, for details. * Tkinfo, an Info viewer that runs under X Window system and uses Tcl/Tk. You can get Tkinfo at `http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/tkinfo/'.  File: efaq, Node: Informational files for Emacs, Next: Help installing Emacs, Prev: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs, Up: Getting help 3.8 What informational files are available for Emacs? ===================================================== This isn't a frequently asked question, but it should be! A variety of informational files about Emacs and relevant aspects of the GNU project are available for you to read. The following files (and others) are available in the `etc' directory of the Emacs distribution (see *note File-name conventions::, if you're not sure where that is). Many of these files are available via the Emacs `Help' menu, or by typing `C-h ?' (`M-x help-for-help'). `COPYING' GNU General Public License `DISTRIB' Emacs Availability Information `GNU' The GNU Manifesto `INTERVIEW' Richard Stallman discusses his public-domain UNIX-compatible software system with BYTE editors `MACHINES' Status of Emacs on Various Machines and Systems `MAILINGLISTS' GNU Project Electronic Mailing Lists `NEWS' Emacs news, a history of recent user-visible changes More GNU information, including back issues of the `GNU's Bulletin', are at `http://www.gnu.org/bulletins/bulletins.html' and `http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~trent/gnu/gnu.html'  File: efaq, Node: Help installing Emacs, Next: Obtaining the FAQ, Prev: Informational files for Emacs, Up: Getting help 3.9 Where can I get help in installing Emacs? ============================================= *Note Installing Emacs::, for some basic installation hints, and see *note Problems building Emacs::, if you have problems with the installation. The GNU Service directory (http://www.fsf.org/resources/service/) lists companies and individuals willing to sell you help in installing or using Emacs and other GNU software.  File: efaq, Node: Obtaining the FAQ, Prev: Help installing Emacs, Up: Getting help 3.10 Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ? ==================================================== The Emacs FAQ is distributed with Emacs in Info format. You can read it by selecting the `Emacs FAQ' option from the `Help' menu of the Emacs menu bar at the top of any Emacs frame, or by typing `C-h C-f' (`M-x view-emacs-FAQ'). The very latest version is available in the Emacs development repository (*note Latest version of Emacs::).  File: efaq, Node: Status of Emacs, Next: Common requests, Prev: Getting help, Up: Top 4 Status of Emacs ***************** This chapter gives you basic information about Emacs, including the status of its latest version. * Menu: * Origin of the term Emacs:: * Latest version of Emacs:: * New in Emacs 23:: * New in Emacs 22:: * New in Emacs 21:: * New in Emacs 20::  File: efaq, Node: Origin of the term Emacs, Next: Latest version of Emacs, Up: Status of Emacs 4.1 Where does the name "Emacs" come from? ========================================== Emacs originally was an acronym for Editor MACroS. RMS says he "picked the name Emacs because was not in use as an abbreviation on ITS at the time." The first Emacs was a set of macros written in 1976 at MIT by RMS for the editor TECO (Text Editor and COrrector, originally Tape Editor and COrrector) under ITS (the Incompatible Timesharing System) on a PDP-10. RMS had already extended TECO with a "real-time" full-screen mode with reprogrammable keys. Emacs was started by Guy Steele as a project to unify the many divergent TECO command sets and key bindings at MIT, and completed by RMS. Many people have said that TECO code looks a lot like line noise; you can read more at `news:alt.lang.teco'. Someone has written a TECO implementation in Emacs Lisp (to find it, see *note Packages that do not come with Emacs::); it would be an interesting project to run the original TECO Emacs inside of Emacs. For some not-so-serious alternative reasons for Emacs to have that name, check out the file `etc/JOKES' (*note File-name conventions::).  File: efaq, Node: Latest version of Emacs, Next: New in Emacs 23, Prev: Origin of the term Emacs, Up: Status of Emacs 4.2 What is the latest version of Emacs? ======================================== Emacs 23.2 is the current version as of this writing. A version number with two components (e.g. `22.1') indicates a released version; three components indicate a development version (e.g. `23.0.50' is what will eventually become `23.1'). Emacs is under active development, hosted at Savannah (http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs/). The source code can be retrieved anonymously following the instructions (http://savannah.gnu.org/bzr/?group=emacs). The repository is GNU Bazaar. Because Emacs undergoes many changes before a release, the version number of a development version is not especially meaningful. It is better to refer to the date on which the sources were retrieved from the development repository. The development version is usually quite robust for every-day use, but if stability is more important to you than the latest features, you may want to stick to the releases. The following sections list some of the major new features in the last few Emacs releases. For full details of the changes in any version of Emacs, type `C-h C-n' (`M-x view-emacs-news'). As of Emacs 22, you can give this command a prefix argument to read about which features were new in older versions.  File: efaq, Node: New in Emacs 23, Next: New in Emacs 22, Prev: Latest version of Emacs, Up: Status of Emacs 4.3 What is different about Emacs 23? ===================================== * Emacs has a new font code that can use multiple font backends, including freetype and fontconfig. Emacs can use the Xft library for anti-aliasing, and the otf and m17n libraries for complex text layout and text shaping. * The Emacs character set is now a superset of Unicode. Several new language environments have been added. * Emacs now supports using both X displays and ttys in the same session (`multi-tty'). * Emacs can be started as a daemon in the background. * There is a new NeXTSTEP port of Emacs. This supports GNUstep and Mac OS X (via the Cocoa libraries). The Carbon port of Emacs, which supported Mac OS X in Emacs 22, has been removed. * Directory-local variables can now be defined, in a similar manner to file-local variables. * Transient Mark mode (*note Highlighting a region::) is on by default. Other changes include: support for serial port access; D-Bus bindings; a new Visual Line mode for line-motion; improved completion; a new mode (`DocView') for viewing of PDF, PostScript, and DVI documents; nXML mode (for editing XML documents) is included; VC has been updated for newer version control systems; etc. As always, consult the `NEWS' file for more information.  File: efaq, Node: New in Emacs 22, Next: New in Emacs 21, Prev: New in Emacs 23, Up: Status of Emacs 4.4 What is different about Emacs 22? ===================================== * Emacs can be built with GTK+ widgets, and supports drag-and-drop operation on X. * Emacs 22 features support for GNU/Linux systems on S390 and x86-64 machines, as well as support for the Mac OS X and Cygwin operating systems. * The native MS-Windows, and Mac OS X builds include full support for images, toolbar, and tooltips. * Font Lock mode, Auto Compression mode, and File Name Shadow Mode are enabled by default. * The maximum size of buffers is increased: on 32-bit machines, it is 256 MBytes for Emacs 23.1, and 512 MBytes for Emacs 23.2 and above. * Links can be followed with `mouse-1', in addition to `mouse-2'. * Mouse wheel support is enabled by default. * Window fringes are customizable. * The mode line of the selected window is now highlighted. * The minibuffer prompt is displayed in a distinct face. * Abbrev definitions are read automatically at startup. * Grep mode is separate from Compilation mode and has many new options and commands specific to grep. * The original Emacs macro system has been replaced by the new Kmacro package, which provides many new commands and features and a simple interface that uses the function keys F3 and F4. Macros are stored in a macro ring, and can be debugged and edited interactively. * The Grand Unified Debugger (GUD) can be used with a full graphical user interface to GDB; this provides many features found in traditional development environments, making it easy to manipulate breakpoints, add watch points, display the call stack, etc. Breakpoints are visually indicated in the source buffer. * Many new modes and packages have been included in Emacs, such as Calc, TRAMP, URL, IDO, CUA, ERC, rcirc, Table, Image-Dired, SES, Ruler, Org, PGG, Flymake, Password, Printing, Reveal, wdired, t-mouse, longlines, savehist, Conf mode, Python mode, DNS mode, etc. * Leim is now part of Emacs. Unicode support has been much improved, and the following input methods have been added: belarusian, bulgarian-bds, bulgarian-phonetic, chinese-sisheng, croatian, dutch, georgian, latin-alt-postfix, latin-postfix, latin-prefix, latvian-keyboard, lithuanian-numeric, lithuanian-keyboard, malayalam-inscript, rfc1345, russian-computer, sgml, slovenian, tamil-inscript, ucs, ukrainian-computer, vietnamese-telex, and welsh. The following language environments have also been added: Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chinese-EUC-TW, Croatian, French, Georgian, Italian, Latin-6, Latin-7, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, Tajik, Tamil, UTF-8, Ukrainian, Welsh, and Windows-1255. * In addition, Emacs 22 now includes the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual (*note Emacs Lisp documentation::) and the Emacs Lisp Intro.  File: efaq, Node: New in Emacs 21, Next: New in Emacs 20, Prev: New in Emacs 22, Up: Status of Emacs 4.5 What is different about Emacs 21? ===================================== Emacs 21 features a thorough rewrite of the display engine. The new display engine supports variable-size fonts, images, and can play sounds on platforms which support that. As a result, the visual appearance of Emacs, when it runs on a windowed display, is much more reminiscent of modern GUI programs, and includes 3D widgets (used for the mode line and the scroll bars), a configurable and extensible toolbar, tooltips (a.k.a. balloon help), and other niceties. In addition, Emacs 21 supports faces on text-only terminals. This means that you can now have colors when you run Emacs on a GNU/Linux console and on `xterm' with `emacs -nw'.  File: efaq, Node: New in Emacs 20, Prev: New in Emacs 21, Up: Status of Emacs 4.6 What is different about Emacs 20? ===================================== The differences between Emacs versions 18 and 19 were rather dramatic; the introduction of frames, faces, and colors on windowing systems was obvious to even the most casual user. There are differences between Emacs versions 19 and 20 as well, but many are more subtle or harder to find. Among the changes are the inclusion of MULE code for languages that use non-Latin characters and for mixing several languages in the same document; the "Customize" facility for modifying variables without having to use Lisp; and automatic conversion of files from Macintosh, Microsoft, and Unix platforms.  File: efaq, Node: Common requests, Next: Bugs and problems, Prev: Status of Emacs, Up: Top 5 Common requests ***************** * Menu: * Setting up a customization file:: * Using Customize:: * Colors on a TTY:: * Debugging a customization file:: * Displaying the current line or column:: * Displaying the current file name in the titlebar:: * Turning on abbrevs by default:: * Associating modes with files:: * Highlighting a region:: * Replacing highlighted text:: * Controlling case sensitivity:: * Working with unprintable characters:: * Searching for/replacing newlines:: * Yanking text in isearch:: * Wrapping words automatically:: * Turning on auto-fill by default:: * Changing load-path:: * Using an already running Emacs process:: * Compiler error messages:: * Indenting switch statements:: * Customizing C and C++ indentation:: * Horizontal scrolling:: * Overwrite mode:: * Turning off beeping:: * Turning the volume down:: * Automatic indentation:: * Matching parentheses:: * Hiding #ifdef lines:: * Repeating commands:: * Valid X resources:: * Evaluating Emacs Lisp code:: * Changing the length of a Tab:: * Inserting text at the beginning of each line:: * Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column:: * Forcing Emacs to iconify itself:: * Using regular expressions:: * Replacing text across multiple files:: * Documentation for etags:: * Disabling backups:: * Disabling auto-save-mode:: * Going to a line by number:: * Modifying pull-down menus:: * Deleting menus and menu options:: * Turning on syntax highlighting:: * Scrolling only one line:: * Editing MS-DOS files:: * Filling paragraphs with a single space:: * Escape sequences in shell output:: * Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows::  File: efaq, Node: Setting up a customization file, Next: Using Customize, Up: Common requests 5.1 How do I set up a `.emacs' file properly? ============================================= *note Init File: (emacs)Init File. In general, new Emacs users should not be provided with `.emacs' files, because this can cause confusing non-standard behavior. Then they send questions to asking why Emacs isn't behaving as documented. Emacs includes the Customize facility (*note Using Customize::). This allows users who are unfamiliar with Emacs Lisp to modify their `.emacs' files in a relatively straightforward way, using menus rather than Lisp code. While Customize might indeed make it easier to configure Emacs, consider taking a bit of time to learn Emacs Lisp and modifying your `.emacs' directly. Simple configuration options are described rather completely in *note Init File: (emacs)Init File, for users interested in performing frequently requested, basic tasks. Sometimes users are unsure as to where their `.emacs' file should be found. Visiting the file as `~/.emacs' from Emacs will find the correct file.  File: efaq, Node: Using Customize, Next: Colors on a TTY, Prev: Setting up a customization file, Up: Common requests 5.2 How do I start using Customize? =================================== The main Customize entry point is `M-x customize '. This command takes you to a buffer listing all the available Customize groups. From there, you can access all customizable options and faces, change their values, and save your changes to your init file. *note Easy Customization: (emacs)Easy Customization. If you know the name of the group in advance (e.g. "shell"), use `M-x customize-group '. If you wish to customize a single option, use `M-x customize-option '. This command prompts you for the name of the option to customize, with completion.  File: efaq, Node: Colors on a TTY, Next: Debugging a customization file, Prev: Using Customize, Up: Common requests 5.3 How do I get colors and syntax highlighting on a TTY? ========================================================= In Emacs 21.1 and later, colors and faces are supported in non-windowed mode, i.e. on Unix and GNU/Linux text-only terminals and consoles, and when invoked as `emacs -nw' on X, and MS-Windows. (Colors and faces were supported in the MS-DOS port since Emacs 19.29.) Emacs automatically detects color support at startup and uses it if available. If you think that your terminal supports colors, but Emacs won't use them, check the `termcap' entry for your display type for color-related capabilities. The command `M-x list-colors-display' pops up a window which exhibits all the colors Emacs knows about on the current display. Syntax highlighting is on by default since version 22.1.  File: efaq, Node: Debugging a customization file, Next: Displaying the current line or column, Prev: Colors on a TTY, Up: Common requests 5.4 How do I debug a `.emacs' file? =================================== Start Emacs with the `-debug-init' command-line option. This enables the Emacs Lisp debugger before evaluating your `.emacs' file, and places you in the debugger if something goes wrong. The top line in the `trace-back' buffer will be the error message, and the second or third line of that buffer will display the Lisp code from your `.emacs' file that caused the problem. You can also evaluate an individual function or argument to a function in your `.emacs' file by moving the cursor to the end of the function or argument and typing `C-x C-e' (`M-x eval-last-sexp'). Use `C-h v' (`M-x describe-variable') to check the value of variables which you are trying to set or use.  File: efaq, Node: Displaying the current line or column, Next: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar, Prev: Debugging a customization file, Up: Common requests 5.5 How do I make Emacs display the current line (or column) number? ==================================================================== By default, Emacs displays the current line number of the point in the mode line. You can toggle this feature off or on with the command `M-x line-number-mode', or by setting the variable `line-number-mode'. Note that Emacs will not display the line number if the buffer's size in bytes is larger than the value of the variable `line-number-display-limit'. You can similarly display the current column with `M-x column-number-mode', or by putting the form (setq column-number-mode t) in your `.emacs' file. This feature is off by default. The `"%c"' format specifier in the variable `mode-line-format' will insert the current column's value into the mode line. See the documentation for `mode-line-format' (using `C-h v mode-line-format ') for more information on how to set and use this variable. The `linum' package (distributed with Emacs since version 23.1) displays line numbers in the left margin, like the "set number" capability of `vi'. The packages `setnu' and `wb-line-number' (not distributed with Emacs) also implement this feature.  File: efaq, Node: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar, Next: Turning on abbrevs by default, Prev: Displaying the current line or column, Up: Common requests 5.6 How can I modify the titlebar to contain the current file name? =================================================================== The contents of an Emacs frame's titlebar is controlled by the variable `frame-title-format', which has the same structure as the variable `mode-line-format'. (Use `C-h v' or `M-x describe-variable' to get information about one or both of these variables.) By default, the titlebar for a frame does contain the name of the buffer currently being visited, except if there is a single frame. In such a case, the titlebar contains Emacs invocation name and the name of the machine at which Emacs was invoked. This is done by setting `frame-title-format' to the default value of (multiple-frames "%b" ("" invocation-name "@" system-name)) To modify the behavior such that frame titlebars contain the buffer's name regardless of the number of existing frames, include the following in your `.emacs': (setq frame-title-format "%b")  File: efaq, Node: Turning on abbrevs by default, Next: Associating modes with files, Prev: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar, Up: Common requests 5.7 How do I turn on abbrevs by default just in mode MYMODE? ============================================================ Abbrev mode expands abbreviations as you type them. To turn it on in a specific buffer, use `M-x abbrev-mode'. To turn it on in every buffer by default, put this in your `.emacs' file: (setq-default abbrev-mode t) To turn it on in a specific mode, use: (add-hook 'MYMODE-mode-hook (lambda () (setq abbrev-mode t))) If your Emacs version is older then 22.1, you will also need to use: (condition-case () (quietly-read-abbrev-file) (file-error nil))  File: efaq, Node: Associating modes with files, Next: Highlighting a region, Prev: Turning on abbrevs by default, Up: Common requests 5.8 How do I make Emacs use a certain major mode for certain files? =================================================================== If you want to use a certain mode FOO for all files whose names end with the extension `.BAR', this will do it for you: (add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.BAR\\'" . FOO-mode)) Alternatively, put this somewhere in the first line of any file you want to edit in the mode FOO (in the second line, if the first line begins with `#!'): -*- FOO -*- The variable `interpreter-mode-alist' specifies which mode to use when loading an interpreted script (e.g. shell, python, etc.). Emacs determines which interpreter you're using by examining the first line of the script. Use `C-h v' (or `M-x describe-variable') on `interpreter-mode-alist' to learn more.  File: efaq, Node: Highlighting a region, Next: Replacing highlighted text, Prev: Associating modes with files, Up: Common requests 5.9 How can I highlight a region of text in Emacs? ================================================== You can cause the region to be highlighted when the mark is active by including (transient-mark-mode 1) in your `.emacs' file. Since Emacs 23.1, this feature is on by default.  File: efaq, Node: Replacing highlighted text, Next: Controlling case sensitivity, Prev: Highlighting a region, Up: Common requests 5.10 How can I replace highlighted text with what I type? ========================================================= Use `delete-selection-mode', which you can start automatically by placing the following Lisp form in your `.emacs' file: (delete-selection-mode 1) According to the documentation string for `delete-selection-mode' (which you can read using `M-x describe-function delete-selection-mode '): When Delete Selection mode is enabled, Transient Mark mode is also enabled and typed text replaces the selection if the selection is active. Otherwise, typed text is just inserted at point regardless of any selection. This mode also allows you to delete (not kill) the highlighted region by pressing .  File: efaq, Node: Controlling case sensitivity, Next: Working with unprintable characters, Prev: Replacing highlighted text, Up: Common requests 5.11 How do I control Emacs's case-sensitivity when searching/replacing? ======================================================================== The value of the variable `case-fold-search' determines whether searches are case sensitive: (setq case-fold-search nil) ; make searches case sensitive (setq case-fold-search t) ; make searches case insensitive Similarly, for replacing, the variable `case-replace' determines whether replacements preserve case. You can also toggle case sensitivity at will in isearch with `M-c'. To change the case sensitivity just for one major mode, use the major mode's hook. For example: (add-hook 'FOO-mode-hook (lambda () (setq case-fold-search nil)))  File: efaq, Node: Working with unprintable characters, Next: Searching for/replacing newlines, Prev: Controlling case sensitivity, Up: Common requests 5.12 How do I search for, delete, or replace unprintable (eight-bit or control) characters? =========================================================================================== To search for a single character that appears in the buffer as, for example, `\237', you can type `C-s C-q 2 3 7'. Searching for *all* unprintable characters is best done with a regular expression ("regexp") search. The easiest regexp to use for the unprintable chars is the complement of the regexp for the printable chars. * Regexp for the printable chars: `[\t\n\r\f -~]' * Regexp for the unprintable chars: `[^\t\n\r\f -~]' To type these special characters in an interactive argument to `isearch-forward-regexp' or `re-search-forward', you need to use `C-q'. (`\t', `\n', `\r', and `\f' stand respectively for , , , and `C-l'.) So, to search for unprintable characters using `re-search-forward': `M-x re-search-forward [^ C-q C-q C-q C-l -~] ' Using `isearch-forward-regexp': `C-M-s [^ C-q C-q C-l -~]' To delete all unprintable characters, simply use replace-regexp: `M-x replace-regexp [^ C-q C-q C-q C-l -~] ' Replacing is similar to the above. To replace all unprintable characters with a colon, use: M-x replace-regexp [^ C-q C-q C-q C-l -~] :  File: efaq, Node: Searching for/replacing newlines, Next: Yanking text in isearch, Prev: Working with unprintable characters, Up: Common requests 5.13 How do I input a newline character in isearch or query-replace? ==================================================================== Use `C-q C-j'. For more information, see *note Special Input for Incremental Search: (emacs)Special Isearch.  File: efaq, Node: Yanking text in isearch, Next: Wrapping words automatically, Prev: Searching for/replacing newlines, Up: Common requests 5.14 How do I copy text from the kill ring into the search string? ================================================================== Use `M-y'. *note Isearch Yanking: (emacs)Isearch Yank.  File: efaq, Node: Wrapping words automatically, Next: Turning on auto-fill by default, Prev: Yanking text in isearch, Up: Common requests 5.15 How do I make Emacs wrap words for me? =========================================== Use `auto-fill-mode', activated by typing `M-x auto-fill-mode'. The default maximum line width is 70, determined by the variable `fill-column'. To learn how to turn this on automatically, see *note Turning on auto-fill by default::.  File: efaq, Node: Turning on auto-fill by default, Next: Changing load-path, Prev: Wrapping words automatically, Up: Common requests 5.16 How do I turn on `auto-fill-mode' by default? ================================================== To turn on `auto-fill-mode' just once for one buffer, use `M-x auto-fill-mode'. To turn it on for every buffer in a certain mode, you must use the hook for that mode. For example, to turn on `auto-fill' mode for all text buffers, including the following in your `.emacs' file: (add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'turn-on-auto-fill) If you want `auto-fill' mode on in all major modes, do this: (setq-default auto-fill-function 'do-auto-fill)  File: efaq, Node: Changing load-path, Next: Using an already running Emacs process, Prev: Turning on auto-fill by default, Up: Common requests 5.17 How do I change `load-path'? ================================= In general, you should only add to the `load-path'. You can add directory /DIR/SUBDIR to the load path like this: (add-to-list 'load-path "/dir/subdir/") To do this relative to your home directory: (add-to-list 'load-path "~/mysubdir/")  File: efaq, Node: Using an already running Emacs process, Next: Compiler error messages, Prev: Changing load-path, Up: Common requests 5.18 How do I use an already running Emacs from another window? =============================================================== `emacsclient', which comes with Emacs, is for editing a file using an already running Emacs rather than starting up a new Emacs. It does this by sending a request to the already running Emacs, which must be expecting the request. * Setup: Emacs must have executed the `server-start' function for `emacsclient' to work. This can be done either by a command line option: emacs -f server-start or by invoking `server-start' from `.emacs': (if (SOME CONDITIONS ARE MET) (server-start)) When this is done, Emacs creates a Unix domain socket named `server' in `/tmp/emacsUSERID'. See `server-socket-dir'. To get your news reader, mail reader, etc., to invoke `emacsclient', try setting the environment variable `EDITOR' (or sometimes `VISUAL') to the value `emacsclient'. You may have to specify the full pathname of the `emacsclient' program instead. Examples: # csh commands: setenv EDITOR emacsclient # using full pathname setenv EDITOR /usr/local/emacs/etc/emacsclient # sh command: EDITOR=emacsclient ; export EDITOR * Normal use: When `emacsclient' is run, it connects to the socket and passes its command line options to Emacs, which at the next opportunity will visit the files specified. (Line numbers can be specified just like with Emacs.) The user will have to switch to the Emacs window by hand. When the user is done editing a file, the user can type `C-x #' (or `M-x server-edit') to indicate this. If there is another buffer requested by `emacsclient', Emacs will switch to it; otherwise `emacsclient' will exit, signaling the calling program to continue. There is an alternative version of `emacsclient' called `gnuserv', written by Andy Norman (*note Packages that do not come with Emacs::). `gnuserv' uses Internet domain sockets, so it can work across most network connections. The most recent `gnuserv' package is available at `http://meltin.net/hacks/emacs/'  File: efaq, Node: Compiler error messages, Next: Indenting switch statements, Prev: Using an already running Emacs process, Up: Common requests 5.19 How do I make Emacs recognize my compiler's funny error messages? ====================================================================== Customize the `compilation-error-regexp-alist' variable.  File: efaq, Node: Indenting switch statements, Next: Customizing C and C++ indentation, Prev: Compiler error messages, Up: Common requests 5.20 How do I change the indentation for `switch'? ================================================== Many people want to indent their `switch' statements like this: f() { switch(x) { case A: x1; break; case B: x2; break; default: x3; } } To achieve this, add the following line to your `.emacs': (c-set-offset 'case-label '+)  File: efaq, Node: Customizing C and C++ indentation, Next: Horizontal scrolling, Prev: Indenting switch statements, Up: Common requests 5.21 How to customize indentation in C, C++, and Java buffers? ============================================================== The Emacs `cc-mode' features an interactive procedure for customizing the indentation style, which is fully explained in the `CC Mode' manual that is part of the Emacs distribution, see *note Customization Indentation: (ccmode)Customizing Indentation. Here's a short summary of the procedure: 1. Go to the beginning of the first line where you don't like the indentation and type `C-c C-o'. Emacs will prompt you for the syntactic symbol; type to accept the default it suggests. 2. Emacs now prompts for the offset of this syntactic symbol, showing the default (the current definition) inside parentheses. You can choose one of these: `0' No extra indentation. `+' Indent one basic offset. `-' Outdent one basic offset. `++' Indent two basic offsets `--' Outdent two basic offsets. `*' Indent half basic offset. `/' Outdent half basic offset. 3. After choosing one of these symbols, type `C-c C-q' to reindent the line or the block according to what you just specified. 4. If you don't like the result, go back to step 1. Otherwise, add the following line to your `.emacs': (c-set-offset 'SYNTACTIC-SYMBOL OFFSET) where SYNTACTIC-SYMBOL is the name Emacs shows in the minibuffer when you type `C-c C-o' at the beginning of the line, and OFFSET is one of the indentation symbols listed above (`+', `/', `0', etc.) that you've chosen during the interactive procedure. 5. Go to the next line whose indentation is not to your liking and repeat the process there. It is recommended to put all the resulting `(c-set-offset ...)' customizations inside a C mode hook, like this: (defun my-c-mode-hook () (c-set-offset ...) (c-set-offset ...)) (add-hook 'c-mode-hook 'my-c-mode-hook) Using `c-mode-hook' avoids the need to put a `(require 'cc-mode)' into your `.emacs' file, because `c-set-offset' might be unavailable when `cc-mode' is not loaded. Note that `c-mode-hook' runs for C source files only; use `c++-mode-hook' for C++ sources, `java-mode-hook' for Java sources, etc. If you want the same customizations to be in effect in _all_ languages supported by `cc-mode', use `c-mode-common-hook'.  File: efaq, Node: Horizontal scrolling, Next: Overwrite mode, Prev: Customizing C and C++ indentation, Up: Common requests 5.22 How can I make Emacs automatically scroll horizontally? ============================================================ In Emacs 21 and later, this is on by default: if the variable `truncate-lines' is non-`nil' in the current buffer, Emacs automatically scrolls the display horizontally when point moves off the left or right edge of the window. Note that this is overridden by the variable `truncate-partial-width-windows' if that variable is non-nil and the current buffer is not full-frame width. In Emacs 20, use `hscroll-mode'.  File: efaq, Node: Overwrite mode, Next: Turning off beeping, Prev: Horizontal scrolling, Up: Common requests 5.23 How do I make Emacs "typeover" or "overwrite" instead of inserting? ======================================================================== `M-x overwrite-mode' (a minor mode). This toggles `overwrite-mode' on and off, so exiting from `overwrite-mode' is as easy as another `M-x overwrite-mode'. On some systems, toggles `overwrite-mode' on and off.  File: efaq, Node: Turning off beeping, Next: Turning the volume down, Prev: Overwrite mode, Up: Common requests 5.24 How do I stop Emacs from beeping on a terminal? ==================================================== Martin R. Frank writes: Tell Emacs to use the "visible bell" instead of the audible bell, and set the visible bell to nothing. That is, put the following in your `TERMCAP' environment variable (assuming you have one): ... :vb=: ... And evaluate the following Lisp form: (setq visible-bell t)  File: efaq, Node: Turning the volume down, Next: Automatic indentation, Prev: Turning off beeping, Up: Common requests 5.25 How do I turn down the bell volume in Emacs running under X? ================================================================= On X Window system, you can adjust the bell volume and duration for all programs with the shell command `xset'. Invoking `xset' without any arguments produces some basic information, including the following: usage: xset [-display host:dpy] option ... To turn bell off: -b b off b 0 To set bell volume, pitch and duration: b [vol [pitch [dur]]] b on  File: efaq, Node: Automatic indentation, Next: Matching parentheses, Prev: Turning the volume down, Up: Common requests 5.26 How do I tell Emacs to automatically indent a new line to the indentation of the previous line? ==================================================================================================== Such behavior is automatic (in Text mode) in Emacs 20 and later. From the `etc/NEWS' file for Emacs 20.2: ** In Text mode, now only blank lines separate paragraphs. This makes it possible to get the full benefit of Adaptive Fill mode in Text mode, and other modes derived from it (such as Mail mode). in Text mode now runs the command `indent-relative'; this makes a practical difference only when you use indented paragraphs. If you want spaces at the beginning of a line to start a paragraph, use the new mode, Paragraph Indent Text mode. If you have `auto-fill-mode' turned on (*note Turning on auto-fill by default::), you can tell Emacs to prefix every line with a certain character sequence, the "fill prefix". Type the prefix at the beginning of a line, position point after it, and then type `C-x .' (`set-fill-prefix') to set the fill prefix. Thereafter, auto-filling will automatically put the fill prefix at the beginning of new lines, and `M-q' (`fill-paragraph') will maintain any fill prefix when refilling the paragraph. If you have paragraphs with different levels of indentation, you will have to set the fill prefix to the correct value each time you move to a new paragraph. There are many packages available to deal with this (*note Packages that do not come with Emacs::). Look for "fill" and "indent" keywords for guidance.  File: efaq, Node: Matching parentheses, Next: Hiding #ifdef lines, Prev: Automatic indentation, Up: Common requests 5.27 How do I show which parenthesis matches the one I'm looking at? ==================================================================== Call `show-paren-mode' in your `.emacs' file: (show-paren-mode 1) You can also enable this mode by selecting the `Paren Match Highlighting' option from the `Options' menu of the Emacs menu bar at the top of any Emacs frame. Alternatives to this mode include: * If you're looking at a right parenthesis (or brace or bracket) you can delete it and reinsert it. Emacs will momentarily move the cursor to the matching parenthesis. * `C-M-f' (`forward-sexp') and `C-M-b' (`backward-sexp') will skip over one set of balanced parentheses, so you can see which parentheses match. (You can train it to skip over balanced brackets and braces at the same time by modifying the syntax table.) * Here is some Emacs Lisp that will make the <%> key show the matching parenthesis, like in `vi'. In addition, if the cursor isn't over a parenthesis, it simply inserts a % like normal. ;; By an unknown contributor (global-set-key "%" 'match-paren) (defun match-paren (arg) "Go to the matching paren if on a paren; otherwise insert %." (interactive "p") (cond ((looking-at "\\s\(") (forward-list 1) (backward-char 1)) ((looking-at "\\s\)") (forward-char 1) (backward-list 1)) (t (self-insert-command (or arg 1)))))  File: efaq, Node: Hiding #ifdef lines, Next: Repeating commands, Prev: Matching parentheses, Up: Common requests 5.28 In C mode, can I show just the lines that will be left after `#ifdef' commands are handled by the compiler? ================================================================================================================ `M-x hide-ifdef-mode'. (This is a minor mode.) You might also want to investigate `cpp.el', which is distributed with Emacs.  File: efaq, Node: Repeating commands, Next: Valid X resources, Prev: Hiding #ifdef lines, Up: Common requests 5.29 How do I repeat a command as many times as possible? ========================================================= As of Emacs 20.3, there is indeed a `repeat' command (`C-x z') that repeats the last command. If you preface it with a prefix argument, the prefix arg is applied to the command. You can also type `C-x ' (`repeat-complex-command') to reinvoke commands that used the minibuffer to get arguments. In `repeat-complex-command' you can type `M-p' and `M-n' (and also up-arrow and down-arrow, if your keyboard has these keys) to scan through all the different complex commands you've typed. To repeat a set of commands, use keyboard macros. Use `C-x (' and `C-x )' to make a keyboard macro that invokes the command and then type `C-x e'. (*note Keyboard Macros: (emacs)Keyboard Macros.) If you're really desperate for the `.' command in `vi' that redoes the last insertion/deletion, use VIPER, a `vi' emulation mode which comes with Emacs, and which appears to support it.  File: efaq, Node: Valid X resources, Next: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code, Prev: Repeating commands, Up: Common requests 5.30 What are the valid X resource settings (i.e., stuff in .Xdefaults)? ======================================================================== *note X Resources: (emacs)X Resources. You can also use a resource editor, such as editres (for X11R5 and onwards), to look at the resource names for the menu bar, assuming Emacs was compiled with the X toolkit.  File: efaq, Node: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code, Next: Changing the length of a Tab, Prev: Valid X resources, Up: Common requests 5.31 How do I execute ("evaluate") a piece of Emacs Lisp code? ============================================================== There are a number of ways to execute ("evaluate", in Lisp lingo) an Emacs Lisp "form": * If you want it evaluated every time you run Emacs, put it in a file named `.emacs' in your home directory. This is known as "your `.emacs' file," and contains all of your personal customizations. * You can type the form in the `*scratch*' buffer, and then type (or `C-j') after it. The result of evaluating the form will be inserted in the buffer. * In `emacs-lisp-mode', typing `C-M-x' evaluates a top-level form before or around point. * Typing `C-x C-e' in any buffer evaluates the Lisp form immediately before point and prints its value in the echo area. * Typing `M-:' or `M-x eval-expression' allows you to type a Lisp form in the minibuffer which will be evaluated once you press . * You can use `M-x load-file' to have Emacs evaluate all the Lisp forms in a file. (To do this from Lisp use the function `load' instead.) The functions `load-library', `eval-region', `eval-buffer', `require', and `autoload' are also useful; see *note Emacs Lisp documentation::, if you want to learn more about them.  File: efaq, Node: Changing the length of a Tab, Next: Inserting text at the beginning of each line, Prev: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code, Up: Common requests 5.32 How do I change Emacs's idea of the character's length? ================================================================== Set the default value of the variable `tab-width'. For example, to set stops every 10 characters, insert the following in your `.emacs' file: (setq-default tab-width 10) Do not confuse variable `tab-width' with variable `tab-stop-list'. The former is used for the display of literal characters. The latter controls what characters are inserted when you press the character in certain modes.  File: efaq, Node: Inserting text at the beginning of each line, Next: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column, Prev: Changing the length of a Tab, Up: Common requests 5.33 How do I insert at the beginning of every line? ================================================================ To do this to an entire buffer, type `M-< M-x replace-regexp ^ your text '. To do this to a region, use `string-insert-rectangle'. Set the mark (`C-') at the beginning of the first line you want to prefix, move the cursor to last line to be prefixed, and type `M-x string-insert-rectangle '. To do this for the whole buffer, type `C-x h M-x string-insert-rectangle '. If you are trying to prefix a yanked mail message with `>', you might want to set the variable `mail-yank-prefix'. In Message buffers, you can even use `M-;' to cite yanked messages (`M-;' runs the function `comment-region', it is a general-purpose mechanism to comment regions) (*note Changing the included text prefix::).  File: efaq, Node: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column, Next: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself, Prev: Inserting text at the beginning of each line, Up: Common requests 5.34 How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor should stay in the same column even if the line is too short? ========================================================================================================================================= Use `M-x picture-mode'. See also the variable `track-eol' and the command `set-goal-column' bound to `C-x C-n' (*note Moving Point: (emacs)Moving Point.).  File: efaq, Node: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself, Next: Using regular expressions, Prev: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column, Up: Common requests 5.35 How do I tell Emacs to iconify itself? =========================================== `C-z' iconifies Emacs when running under X and suspends Emacs otherwise. *note Frame Commands: (emacs)Frame Commands.  File: efaq, Node: Using regular expressions, Next: Replacing text across multiple files, Prev: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself, Up: Common requests 5.36 How do I use regexps (regular expressions) in Emacs? ========================================================= *note Regexp Backslash: (emacs)Regexp Backslash. The `or' operator is `\|', not `|', and the grouping operators are `\(' and `\)'. Also, the string syntax for a backslash is `\\'. To specify a regular expression like `xxx\(foo\|bar\)' in a Lisp string, use `xxx\\(foo\\|bar\\)'. Note the doubled backslashes! * Unlike in Unix `grep', `sed', etc., a complement character set (`[^...]') can match a newline character ( a.k.a. `C-j' a.k.a. `\n'), unless newline is mentioned as one of the characters not to match. * The character syntax regexps (e.g., `\sw') are not meaningful inside character set regexps (e.g., `[aeiou]'). (This is actually typical for regexp syntax.)  File: efaq, Node: Replacing text across multiple files, Next: Documentation for etags, Prev: Using regular expressions, Up: Common requests 5.37 How do I perform a replace operation across more than one file? ==================================================================== Dired mode (`M-x dired ', or `C-x d') supports the command `dired-do-query-replace-regexp' (`Q'), which allows users to replace regular expressions in multiple files. You can use this command to perform search/replace operations on multiple files by following the following steps: * Assemble a list of files you want to operate on with either `find-dired', `find-name-dired' or `find-grep-dired'. * Mark all files in the resulting Dired buffer using `t'. * Use `Q' to start a `query-replace-regexp' session on the marked files. * To accept all replacements in each file, hit `!'. Another way to do the same thing is to use the "tags" feature of Emacs: it includes the command `tags-query-replace' which performs a query-replace across all the files mentioned in the `TAGS' file. *note Tags Search: (emacs)Tags Search.  File: efaq, Node: Documentation for etags, Next: Disabling backups, Prev: Replacing text across multiple files, Up: Common requests 5.38 Where is the documentation for `etags'? ============================================ The `etags' man page should be in the same place as the `emacs' man page. Quick command-line switch descriptions are also available. For example, `etags -H'.  File: efaq, Node: Disabling backups, Next: Disabling auto-save-mode, Prev: Documentation for etags, Up: Common requests 5.39 How do I disable backup files? =================================== You probably don't want to do this, since backups are useful, especially when something goes wrong. To avoid seeing backup files (and other "uninteresting" files) in Dired, load `dired-x' by adding the following to your `.emacs' file: (add-hook 'dired-load-hook (lambda () (require 'dired-x))) With `dired-x' loaded, `M-o' toggles omitting in each dired buffer. You can make omitting the default for new dired buffers by putting the following in your `.emacs': (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'dired-omit-toggle) If you're tired of seeing backup files whenever you do an `ls' at the Unix shell, try GNU `ls' with the `-B' option. GNU `ls' is part of the GNU Fileutils package, available from `ftp.gnu.org' and its mirrors (*note Current GNU distributions::). To disable or change the way backups are made, *note (emacs)Backup Names::. Beginning with Emacs 21.1, you can control where Emacs puts backup files by customizing the variable `backup-directory-alist'. This variable's value specifies that files whose names match specific patters should have their backups put in certain directories. A typical use is to add the element `("." . DIR)' to force Emacs to put *all* backup files in the directory `dir'.  File: efaq, Node: Disabling auto-save-mode, Next: Going to a line by number, Prev: Disabling backups, Up: Common requests 5.40 How do I disable `auto-save-mode'? ======================================= You probably don't want to do this, since auto-saving is useful, especially when Emacs or your computer crashes while you are editing a document. Instead, you might want to change the variable `auto-save-interval', which specifies how many keystrokes Emacs waits before auto-saving. Increasing this value forces Emacs to wait longer between auto-saves, which might annoy you less. You might also want to look into Sebastian Kremer's `auto-save' package (*note Packages that do not come with Emacs::). This package also allows you to place all auto-save files in one directory, such as `/tmp'. To disable or change how `auto-save-mode' works, *note (emacs)Auto Save::.  File: efaq, Node: Going to a line by number, Next: Modifying pull-down menus, Prev: Disabling auto-save-mode, Up: Common requests 5.41 How can I go to a certain line given its number? ===================================================== Are you sure you indeed need to go to a line by its number? Perhaps all you want is to display a line in your source file for which a compiler printed an error message? If so, compiling from within Emacs using the `M-x compile' and `M-x recompile' commands is a much more effective way of doing that. Emacs automatically intercepts the compile error messages, inserts them into a special buffer called `*compilation*', and lets you visit the locus of each message in the source. Type `C-x `' to step through the offending lines one by one (starting with Emacs 22, you can also use `M-g M-p' and `M-g M-n' to go to the previous and next matches directly). Click `Mouse-2' or press on a message text in the `*compilation*' buffer to go to the line whose number is mentioned in that message. But if you indeed need to go to a certain text line, type `M-g M-g' (which is the default binding of the `goto-line' function starting with Emacs 22). Emacs will prompt you for the number of the line and go to that line. You can do this faster by invoking `goto-line' with a numeric argument that is the line's number. For example, `C-u 286 M-g M-g' will jump to line number 286 in the current buffer.  File: efaq, Node: Modifying pull-down menus, Next: Deleting menus and menu options, Prev: Going to a line by number, Up: Common requests 5.42 How can I create or modify new pull-down menu options? =========================================================== Each menu title (e.g., `File', `Edit', `Buffers') represents a local or global keymap. Selecting a menu title with the mouse displays that keymap's non-`nil' contents in the form of a menu. So to add a menu option to an existing menu, all you have to do is add a new definition to the appropriate keymap. Adding a `Forward Word' item to the `Edit' menu thus requires the following Lisp code: (define-key global-map [menu-bar edit forward] '("Forward word" . forward-word)) The first line adds the entry to the global keymap, which includes global menu bar entries. Replacing the reference to `global-map' with a local keymap would add this menu option only within a particular mode. The second line describes the path from the menu-bar to the new entry. Placing this menu entry underneath the `File' menu would mean changing the word `edit' in the second line to `file'. The third line is a cons cell whose first element is the title that will be displayed, and whose second element is the function that will be called when that menu option is invoked. To add a new menu, rather than a new option to an existing menu, we must define an entirely new keymap: (define-key global-map [menu-bar words] (cons "Words" (make-sparse-keymap "Words"))) The above code creates a new sparse keymap, gives it the name `Words', and attaches it to the global menu bar. Adding the `Forward Word' item to this new menu would thus require the following code: (define-key global-map [menu-bar words forward] '("Forward word" . forward-word)) Note that because of the way keymaps work, menu options are displayed with the more recently defined items at the top. Thus if you were to define menu options `foo', `bar', and `baz' (in that order), the menu option `baz' would appear at the top, and `foo' would be at the bottom. One way to avoid this problem is to use the function `define-key-after', which works the same as `define-key', but lets you modify where items appear. The following Lisp code would insert the `Forward Word' item in the `Edit' menu immediately following the `Undo' item: (define-key-after (lookup-key global-map [menu-bar edit]) [forward] '("Forward word" . forward-word) 'undo) Note how the second and third arguments to `define-key-after' are different from those of `define-key', and that we have added a new (final) argument, the function after which our new key should be defined. To move a menu option from one position to another, simply evaluate `define-key-after' with the appropriate final argument. More detailed information--and more examples of how to create and modify menu options--are in the `Emacs Lisp Reference Manual', under "Menu Keymaps." (*Note Emacs Lisp documentation::, for information on this manual.)  File: efaq, Node: Deleting menus and menu options, Next: Turning on syntax highlighting, Prev: Modifying pull-down menus, Up: Common requests 5.43 How do I delete menus and menu options? ============================================ The simplest way to remove a menu is to set its keymap to `nil'. For example, to delete the `Words' menu (*note Modifying pull-down menus::), use: (define-key global-map [menu-bar words] nil) Similarly, removing a menu option requires redefining a keymap entry to `nil'. For example, to delete the `Forward word' menu option from the `Edit' menu (we added it in *note Modifying pull-down menus::), use: (define-key global-map [menu-bar edit forward] nil)  File: efaq, Node: Turning on syntax highlighting, Next: Scrolling only one line, Prev: Deleting menus and menu options, Up: Common requests 5.44 How do I turn on syntax highlighting? ========================================== `font-lock-mode' is the standard way to have Emacs perform syntax highlighting in the current buffer. It is enabled by default in Emacs 22.1 and later. With `font-lock-mode' turned on, different types of text will appear in different colors. For instance, in a programming mode, variables will appear in one face, keywords in a second, and comments in a third. To turn `font-lock-mode' off within an existing buffer, use `M-x font-lock-mode '. In Emacs 21 and earlier versions, you could use the following code in your `.emacs' file to turn on `font-lock-mode' globally: (global-font-lock-mode 1) Highlighting a buffer with `font-lock-mode' can take quite a while, and cause an annoying delay in display, so several features exist to work around this. In Emacs 21 and later, turning on `font-lock-mode' automatically activates the new "Just-In-Time fontification" provided by `jit-lock-mode'. `jit-lock-mode' defers the fontification of portions of buffer until you actually need to see them, and can also fontify while Emacs is idle. This makes display of the visible portion of a buffer almost instantaneous. For details about customizing `jit-lock-mode', type `C-h f jit-lock-mode '. In versions of Emacs before 21, different levels of decoration are available, from slight to gaudy. More decoration means you need to wait more time for a buffer to be fontified (or a faster machine). To control how decorated your buffers should become, set the value of `font-lock-maximum-decoration' in your `.emacs' file, with a `nil' value indicating default (usually minimum) decoration, and a `t' value indicating the maximum decoration. For the gaudiest possible look, then, include the line (setq font-lock-maximum-decoration t) in your `.emacs' file. You can also set this variable such that different modes are highlighted in a different ways; for more information, see the documentation for `font-lock-maximum-decoration' with `C-h v' (or `M-x describe-variable '). Also see the documentation for the function `font-lock-mode', available by typing `C-h f font-lock-mode' (`M-x describe-function font-lock-mode '). To print buffers with the faces (i.e., colors and fonts) intact, use `M-x ps-print-buffer-with-faces' or `M-x ps-print-region-with-faces'. You will need a way to send text to a PostScript printer, or a PostScript interpreter such as Ghostscript; consult the documentation of the variables `ps-printer-name', `ps-lpr-command', and `ps-lpr-switches' for more details.  File: efaq, Node: Scrolling only one line, Next: Editing MS-DOS files, Prev: Turning on syntax highlighting, Up: Common requests 5.45 How can I force Emacs to scroll only one line when I move past the bottom of the screen? ============================================================================================= Customize the `scroll-conservatively' variable with `M-x customize-variable scroll-conservatively ' and set it to a large value like, say, 10000. For an explanation of what this means, *note Auto Scrolling: (emacs)Auto Scrolling. Alternatively, use the following Lisp form in your `.emacs': (setq scroll-conservatively most-positive-fixnum)  File: efaq, Node: Editing MS-DOS files, Next: Filling paragraphs with a single space, Prev: Scrolling only one line, Up: Common requests 5.46 How can I edit MS-DOS files using Emacs? ============================================= As of Emacs 20, detection and handling of MS-DOS (and Windows) files is performed transparently. You can open MS-DOS files on a Unix system, edit it, and save it without having to worry about the file format. When editing an MS-DOS style file, the mode line will indicate that it is a DOS file. On Unix and GNU/Linux systems, and also on a Macintosh, the string `(DOS)' will appear near the left edge of the mode line; on DOS and Windows, where the DOS end-of-line (EOL) format is the default, a backslash (`\') will appear in the mode line.  File: efaq, Node: Filling paragraphs with a single space, Next: Escape sequences in shell output, Prev: Editing MS-DOS files, Up: Common requests 5.47 How can I tell Emacs to fill paragraphs with a single space after each period? =================================================================================== Add the following line to your `.emacs' file: (setq sentence-end-double-space nil)  File: efaq, Node: Escape sequences in shell output, Next: Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows, Prev: Filling paragraphs with a single space, Up: Common requests 5.48 Why these strange escape sequences from `ls' from the Shell mode? ====================================================================== In many systems, `ls' is aliased to `ls --color', which prints using ANSI color escape sequences. Emacs version 21.1 and later includes the `ansi-color' package, which lets Shell mode recognize these escape sequences. In Emacs 23.2 and later, the package is enabled by default; in earlier versions you can enable it by typing `M-x ansi-color-for-comint-mode' in the Shell buffer, or by adding `(add-hook 'shell-mode-hook 'ansi-color-for-comint-mode-on)' to your init file. In Emacs versions before 21.1, the `ansi-color' package is not included. In that case, you need to unalias `ls' for interactive shells running in Emacs; this can be done by checking the `EMACS' variable in the environment.  File: efaq, Node: Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows, Prev: Escape sequences in shell output, Up: Common requests 5.49 How can I start Emacs in fullscreen mode on MS-Windows? ============================================================ Use the function `w32-send-sys-command'. For example, you can put the following in your `.emacs' file: (add-hook 'term-setup-hook #'(lambda () (w32-send-sys-command ?\xF030))) To avoid the slightly distracting visual effect of Emacs starting with its default frame size and then growing to fullscreen, you can add an `Emacs.Geometry' entry to the Windows registry settings (see *note (emacs)X Resources::). To compute the correct values for width and height, first maximize the Emacs frame and then evaluate `(frame-height)' and `(frame-width)' with `M-:'.  File: efaq, Node: Bugs and problems, Next: Compiling and installing Emacs, Prev: Common requests, Up: Top 6 Bugs and problems ******************* The Emacs manual lists some common kinds of trouble users could get into, see *note Dealing with Emacs Trouble: (emacs)Lossage, so you might look there if the problem you encounter isn't described in this chapter. If you decide you've discovered a bug, see *note Reporting Bugs: (emacs)Bugs, for instructions how to do that. The file `etc/PROBLEMS' in the Emacs distribution lists various known problems with building and using Emacs on specific platforms; type `C-h C-p' to read it. * Menu: * Problems with very large files:: * ^M in the shell buffer:: * Problems with Shell Mode:: * Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs:: * Errors with init files:: * Emacs ignores X resources:: * Emacs ignores frame parameters:: * Editing files with $ in the name:: * Shell mode loses the current directory:: * Security risks with Emacs:: * Dired claims that no file is on this line::  File: efaq, Node: Problems with very large files, Next: ^M in the shell buffer, Up: Bugs and problems 6.1 Does Emacs have problems with files larger than 8 megabytes? ================================================================ Old versions (i.e., anything before 19.29) of Emacs had problems editing files larger than 8 megabytes. In versions 19.29 and later, the maximum buffer size is at least 2^27-1, or 134,217,727 bytes, or 132 MBytes. The maximum buffer size on 32-bit machines increased to 256 MBytes in Emacs 22, and again to 512 MBytes in Emacs 23.2. Emacs compiled on a 64-bit machine can handle much larger buffers.  File: efaq, Node: ^M in the shell buffer, Next: Problems with Shell Mode, Prev: Problems with very large files, Up: Bugs and problems 6.2 How do I get rid of `^M' or echoed commands in my shell buffer? =================================================================== Try typing `M-x shell-strip-ctrl-m ' while in `shell-mode' to make them go away. If that doesn't work, you have several options: For `tcsh', put this in your `.cshrc' (or `.tcshrc') file: if ($?EMACS) then if ("$EMACS" =~ /*) then if ($?tcsh) unset edit stty nl endif endif Or put this in your `.emacs_tcsh' or `~/.emacs.d/init_tcsh.sh' file: unset edit stty nl Alternatively, use `csh' in your shell buffers instead of `tcsh'. One way is: (setq explicit-shell-file-name "/bin/csh") and another is to do this in your `.cshrc' (or `.tcshrc') file: setenv ESHELL /bin/csh (You must start Emacs over again with the environment variable properly set for this to take effect.) You can also set the `ESHELL' environment variable in Emacs Lisp with the following Lisp form, (setenv "ESHELL" "/bin/csh") The above solutions try to prevent the shell from producing the `^M' characters in the first place. If this is not possible (e.g., if you use a Windows shell), you can get Emacs to remove these characters from the buffer by adding this to your `.emacs' init file: (add-hook 'comint-output-filter-functions 'shell-strip-ctrl-m) On a related note: if your shell is echoing your input line in the shell buffer, you might want to customize the `comint-process-echoes' variable in your shell buffers, or try the following command in your shell start-up file: stty -icrnl -onlcr -echo susp ^Z  File: efaq, Node: Problems with Shell Mode, Next: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs, Prev: ^M in the shell buffer, Up: Bugs and problems 6.3 Why do I get an error message when I try to run `M-x shell'? ================================================================ This might happen because Emacs tries to look for the shell in a wrong place. If you know where your shell executable is, set the variable `explicit-shell-file-name' in your `.emacs' file to point to its full file name. Some people have trouble with Shell Mode on MS-Windows because of intrusive antivirus software; disabling the resident antivirus program solves the problems in those cases.  File: efaq, Node: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs, Next: Errors with init files, Prev: Problems with Shell Mode, Up: Bugs and problems 6.4 Where is the termcap/terminfo entry for terminal type `emacs'? ================================================================== The termcap entry for terminal type `emacs' is ordinarily put in the `TERMCAP' environment variable of subshells. It may help in certain situations (e.g., using rlogin from shell buffer) to add an entry for `emacs' to the system-wide termcap file. Here is a correct termcap entry for `emacs': emacs:tc=unknown: To make a terminfo entry for `emacs', use `tic' or `captoinfo'. You need to generate `/usr/lib/terminfo/e/emacs'. It may work to simply copy `/usr/lib/terminfo/d/dumb' to `/usr/lib/terminfo/e/emacs'. Having a termcap/terminfo entry will not enable the use of full screen programs in shell buffers. Use `M-x terminal-emulator' for that instead. A workaround to the problem of missing termcap/terminfo entries is to change terminal type `emacs' to type `dumb' or `unknown' in your shell start up file. `csh' users could put this in their `.cshrc' files: if ("$term" == emacs) set term=dumb  File: efaq, Node: Errors with init files, Next: Emacs ignores X resources, Prev: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs, Up: Bugs and problems 6.5 Why does Emacs say `Error in init file'? ============================================ An error occurred while loading either your `.emacs' file or the system-wide file `site-lisp/default.el'. Emacs 21.1 and later pops the `*Messages*' buffer, and puts there some additional information about the error, to provide some hints for debugging. For information on how to debug your `.emacs' file, see *note Debugging a customization file::. It may be the case that you need to load some package first, or use a hook that will be evaluated after the package is loaded. A common case of this is explained in *note Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun::.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs ignores X resources, Next: Emacs ignores frame parameters, Prev: Errors with init files, Up: Bugs and problems 6.6 Why does Emacs ignore my X resources (my .Xdefaults file)? ============================================================== As of version 19, Emacs searches for X resources in the files specified by the following environment variables: * `XFILESEARCHPATH' * `XUSERFILESEARCHPATH' * `XAPPLRESDIR' This emulates the functionality provided by programs written using the Xt toolkit. `XFILESEARCHPATH' and `XUSERFILESEARCHPATH' should be a list of file names separated by colons. `XAPPLRESDIR' should be a list of directory names separated by colons. Emacs searches for X resources: 1. specified on the command line, with the `-xrm RESOURCESTRING' option, 2. then in the value of the `XENVIRONMENT' environment variable, - or if that is unset, in the file named `~/.Xdefaults-HOSTNAME' if it exists (where HOSTNAME is the name of the machine Emacs is running on), 3. then in the screen-specific and server-wide resource properties provided by the server, - or if those properties are unset, in the file named `~/.Xdefaults' if it exists, 4. then in the files listed in `XUSERFILESEARCHPATH', - or in files named `LANG/Emacs' in directories listed in `XAPPLRESDIR' (where LANG is the value of the `LANG' environment variable), if the `LANG' environment variable is set, - or in files named Emacs in the directories listed in `XAPPLRESDIR' - or in `~/LANG/Emacs' (if the `LANG' environment variable is set), - or in `~/Emacs', 5. then in the files listed in `XFILESEARCHPATH'.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs ignores frame parameters, Next: Editing files with $ in the name, Prev: Emacs ignores X resources, Up: Bugs and problems 6.7 Why don't my customizations of the frame parameters work? ============================================================= This probably happens because you have set the frame parameters in the variable `initial-frame-alist'. That variable holds parameters used only for the first frame created when Emacs starts. To customize the parameters of all frames, change the variable `default-frame-alist' instead. These two variables exist because many users customize the initial frame in a special way. For example, you could determine the position and size of the initial frame, but would like to control the geometry of the other frames by individually positioning each one of them.  File: efaq, Node: Editing files with $ in the name, Next: Shell mode loses the current directory, Prev: Emacs ignores frame parameters, Up: Bugs and problems 6.8 How do I edit a file with a `$' in its name? ================================================ When entering a file name in the minibuffer, Emacs will attempt to expand a `$' followed by a word as an environment variable. To suppress this behavior, type `$$' instead.  File: efaq, Node: Shell mode loses the current directory, Next: Security risks with Emacs, Prev: Editing files with $ in the name, Up: Bugs and problems 6.9 Why does shell mode lose track of the shell's current directory? ==================================================================== Emacs has no way of knowing when the shell actually changes its directory. This is an intrinsic limitation of Unix. So it tries to guess by recognizing `cd' commands. If you type `cd' followed by a directory name with a variable reference (`cd $HOME/bin') or with a shell metacharacter (`cd ../lib*'), Emacs will fail to correctly guess the shell's new current directory. A huge variety of fixes and enhancements to shell mode for this problem have been written to handle this problem (*note Finding a package with particular functionality::). You can tell Emacs the shell's current directory with the command `M-x dirs'.  File: efaq, Node: Security risks with Emacs, Next: Dired claims that no file is on this line, Prev: Shell mode loses the current directory, Up: Bugs and problems 6.10 Are there any security risks in Emacs? =========================================== * The `movemail' incident. (No, this is not a risk.) In his book `The Cuckoo's Egg', Cliff Stoll describes this in chapter 4. The site at LBL had installed the `/etc/movemail' program setuid root. (As of version 19, `movemail' is in your architecture-specific directory; type `C-h v exec-directory ' to see what it is.) Since `movemail' had not been designed for this situation, a security hole was created and users could get root privileges. `movemail' has since been changed so that this security hole will not exist, even if it is installed setuid root. However, `movemail' no longer needs to be installed setuid root, which should eliminate this particular risk. We have heard unverified reports that the 1988 Internet worm took advantage of this configuration problem. * The `file-local-variable' feature. (Yes, a risk, but easy to change.) There is an Emacs feature that allows the setting of local values for variables when editing a file by including specially formatted text near the end of the file. This feature also includes the ability to have arbitrary Emacs Lisp code evaluated when the file is visited. Obviously, there is a potential for Trojan horses to exploit this feature. As of Emacs 22, Emacs has a list of local variables that are known to be safe to set. If a file tries to set any variable outside this list, it asks the user to confirm whether the variables should be set. You can also tell Emacs whether to allow the evaluation of Emacs Lisp code found at the bottom of files by setting the variable `enable-local-eval'. For more information, *note File Variables: (emacs)File Variables. * Synthetic X events. (Yes, a risk; use `MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1' or better.) Emacs accepts synthetic X events generated by the `SendEvent' request as though they were regular events. As a result, if you are using the trivial host-based authentication, other users who can open X connections to your X workstation can make your Emacs process do anything, including run other processes with your privileges. The only fix for this is to prevent other users from being able to open X connections. The standard way to prevent this is to use a real authentication mechanism, such as `MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1'. If using the `xauth' program has any effect, then you are probably using `MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1'. Your site may be using a superior authentication method; ask your system administrator. If real authentication is not a possibility, you may be satisfied by just allowing hosts access for brief intervals while you start your X programs, then removing the access. This reduces the risk somewhat by narrowing the time window when hostile users would have access, but _does not eliminate the risk_. On most computers running Unix and X, you enable and disable access using the `xhost' command. To allow all hosts access to your X server, use xhost + at the shell prompt, which (on an HP machine, at least) produces the following message: access control disabled, clients can connect from any host To deny all hosts access to your X server (except those explicitly allowed by name), use xhost - On the test HP computer, this command generated the following message: access control enabled, only authorized clients can connect  File: efaq, Node: Dired claims that no file is on this line, Prev: Security risks with Emacs, Up: Bugs and problems 6.11 Dired says, `no file on this line' when I try to do something. =================================================================== Dired uses a regular expression to find the beginning of a file name. In a long Unix-style directory listing (`ls -l'), the file name starts after the date. The regexp has thus been written to look for the date. By default, it should understand dates and times regardless of the language, but if your directory listing has an unusual format, Dired may get confused. There are two approaches to solving this. The first one involves setting things up so that `ls -l' outputs a more standard format. See your OS manual for more information. The second approach involves changing the regular expression used by dired, `directory-listing-before-filename-regexp'.  File: efaq, Node: Compiling and installing Emacs, Next: Finding Emacs and related packages, Prev: Bugs and problems, Up: Top 7 Compiling and installing Emacs ******************************** * Menu: * Installing Emacs:: * Problems building Emacs::  File: efaq, Node: Installing Emacs, Next: Problems building Emacs, Up: Compiling and installing Emacs 7.1 How do I install Emacs? =========================== This answer is meant for users of Unix and Unix-like systems. Users of other operating systems should see the series of questions beginning with *note Emacs for MS-DOS::, which describe where to get non-Unix source and binaries, and how to install Emacs on those systems. Most GNU/Linux distributions provide pre-built Emacs packages. If Emacs is not installed already, you can install it by running (as root) a command such as `yum install emacs' (Red Hat and derivatives) or `apt-get install emacs' (Debian and derivatives). If you want to compile Emacs yourself, read the file `INSTALL' in the source distribution. In brief: * First download the Emacs sources. *Note Current GNU distributions::, for a list of ftp sites that make them available. On `ftp.gnu.org', the main GNU distribution site, sources are available as `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/emacs/emacs-VERSION.tar.gz' (Replace `VERSION' with the relevant version number, e.g. `23.1'.) * Next uncompress and extract the source files. This requires the `gzip' and `tar' programs, which are standard utilities. If your system does not have them, these can also be downloaded from `ftp.gnu.org'. GNU `tar' can uncompress and extract in a single-step: tar -zxvf emacs-VERSION.tar.gz * At this point, the Emacs sources should be sitting in a directory called `emacs-VERSION'. On most common Unix and Unix-like systems, you should be able to compile Emacs with the following commands: cd emacs-VERSION ./configure # configure Emacs for your particular system make # use Makefile to build components, then Emacs If the `make' completes successfully, the odds are fairly good that the build has gone well. (*Note Problems building Emacs::, if you weren't successful.) * By default, Emacs is installed in `/usr/local'. To actually install files, become the superuser and type make install Note that `make install' will overwrite `/usr/local/bin/emacs' and any Emacs Info files that might be in `/usr/local/share/info/'.  File: efaq, Node: Problems building Emacs, Prev: Installing Emacs, Up: Compiling and installing Emacs 7.2 What should I do if I have trouble building Emacs? ====================================================== First look in the file `etc/PROBLEMS' (where you unpack the Emacs source) to see if there is already a solution for your problem. Next, look for other questions in this FAQ that have to do with Emacs installation and compilation problems. If you'd like to have someone look at your problem and help solve it, see *note Help installing Emacs::. If you cannot find a solution in the documentation, please report the problem (*note Reporting bugs::).  File: efaq, Node: Finding Emacs and related packages, Next: Major packages and programs, Prev: Compiling and installing Emacs, Up: Top 8 Finding Emacs and related packages ************************************ * Menu: * Finding Emacs on the Internet:: * Finding a package with particular functionality:: * Packages that do not come with Emacs:: * Current GNU distributions:: * Difference between Emacs and XEmacs:: * Emacs for minimalists:: * Emacs for MS-DOS:: * Emacs for MS-Windows:: * Emacs for GNUstep:: * Emacs for Mac OS X::  File: efaq, Node: Finding Emacs on the Internet, Next: Finding a package with particular functionality, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.1 Where can I get Emacs on the net? ===================================== Information on downloading Emacs is available at the Emacs home-page (http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/). *Note Installing Emacs::, for information on how to obtain and build the latest version of Emacs, and see *note Current GNU distributions::, for a list of archive sites that make GNU software available.  File: efaq, Node: Finding a package with particular functionality, Next: Packages that do not come with Emacs, Prev: Finding Emacs on the Internet, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.2 How do I find a Emacs Lisp package that does XXX? ===================================================== First of all, you should check to make sure that the package isn't already available. For example, typing `M-x apropos wordstar ' lists all functions and variables containing the string `wordstar'. It is also possible that the package is on your system, but has not been loaded. To see which packages are available for loading, look through your computer's lisp directory (*note File-name conventions::). The Lisp source to most packages contains a short description of how they should be loaded, invoked, and configured--so before you use or modify a Lisp package, see if the author has provided any hints in the source code. The command `C-h p' (`finder-by-keyword') allows you to browse the constituent Emacs packages. For advice on how to find extra packages that are not part of Emacs, see *note Packages that do not come with Emacs::.  File: efaq, Node: Packages that do not come with Emacs, Next: Current GNU distributions, Prev: Finding a package with particular functionality, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.3 Where can I get Emacs Lisp packages that don't come with Emacs? =================================================================== The Emacs Lisp List (ELL) (http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/sje30/emacs/ell.html), maintained by Stephen Eglen , aims to provide one compact list with links to all of the current Emacs Lisp files on the Internet. The ELL can be browsed over the web, or from Emacs with the `ell' package (http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/sje30/emacs/ell.el). Many authors post their packages to the Emacs sources newsgroup (news:gnu.emacs.sources). You can search the archives of this group with Google (http://groups.google.com/group/gnu.emacs.sources), or Gmane (http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.sources), for example. Several packages are stored in the Lisp area of the Emacs Wiki (http://emacswiki.org/elisp/). Read the file `etc/MORE.STUFF' for more information about external packages.  File: efaq, Node: Current GNU distributions, Next: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs, Prev: Packages that do not come with Emacs, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.4 Where can I get other up-to-date GNU stuff? =============================================== The most up-to-date official GNU software is normally kept at `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu' A list of sites mirroring `ftp.gnu.org' can be found at `http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html'  File: efaq, Node: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs, Next: Emacs for minimalists, Prev: Current GNU distributions, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.5 What is the difference between Emacs and XEmacs (formerly Lucid Emacs)? =========================================================================== XEmacs is a branch version of Emacs. It was first called Lucid Emacs, and was initially derived from a prerelease version of Emacs 19. In this FAQ, we use the name "Emacs" only for the official version. Emacs and XEmacs each come with Lisp packages that are lacking in the other. The two versions have some significant differences at the Lisp programming level. Their current features are roughly comparable, though the support for some operating systems, character sets and specific packages might be quite different. Some XEmacs code has been contributed to Emacs, and we would like to use other parts, but the earlier XEmacs maintainers did not always keep track of the authors of contributed code, which makes it impossible for the FSF to get copyright papers signed for that code. (The FSF requires these papers for all the code included in the Emacs release, aside from generic C support packages that retain their separate identity and are not integrated into the code of Emacs proper.) If you want to talk about these two versions and distinguish them, please call them "Emacs" and "XEmacs." To contrast "XEmacs" with "GNU Emacs" would be misleading, since XEmacs too has its origin in the work of the GNU Project. Terms such as "Emacsen" and "(X)Emacs" are not wrong, but they are not very clear, so it is better to write "Emacs and XEmacs."  File: efaq, Node: Emacs for minimalists, Next: Emacs for MS-DOS, Prev: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.6 I don't have enough disk space to install Emacs =================================================== GNU Zile is a lightweight Emacs clone. Zile is short for `Zile Is Lossy Emacs'. It has all of Emacs's basic editing features. The Zile binary typically has a size of about 130 kbytes, so this can be useful if you are in an extremely space-restricted environment. More information is available from `http://www.gnu.org/software/zile/'  File: efaq, Node: Emacs for MS-DOS, Next: Emacs for MS-Windows, Prev: Emacs for minimalists, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.7 Where can I get Emacs for MS-DOS? ===================================== To build Emacs from source for MS-DOS, see the instructions in the file `msdos/INSTALL' in the distribution. The DOS port builds and runs on plain DOS, and also on all versions of MS-Windows from version 3.X onwards, including Windows XP and Vista. The file `etc/PROBLEMS' contains some additional information regarding Emacs under MS-DOS. A pre-built binary distribution of the old Emacs 20 is available, as described at `ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/current/v2gnu/emacs.README' For a list of other MS-DOS implementations of Emacs (and Emacs look-alikes), consult the list of "Emacs implementations and literature," available at `http://www.finseth.com/emacs.html' Note that while many of these programs look similar to Emacs, they often lack certain features, such as the Emacs Lisp extension language.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs for MS-Windows, Next: Emacs for GNUstep, Prev: Emacs for MS-DOS, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.8 Where can I get Emacs for Microsoft Windows? ================================================ There is a separate FAQ (http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/windows/ntemacs.html) for Emacs on MS-Windows. For MS-DOS, *note Emacs for MS-DOS::.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs for GNUstep, Next: Emacs for Mac OS X, Prev: Emacs for MS-Windows, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.9 Where can I get Emacs for GNUstep? ====================================== Beginning with version 23.1, Emacs supports GNUstep natively. See the file `nextstep/INSTALL' in the distribution.  File: efaq, Node: Emacs for Mac OS X, Prev: Emacs for GNUstep, Up: Finding Emacs and related packages 8.10 Where can I get Emacs for Mac OS X? ======================================== Beginning with version 22.1, Emacs supports Mac OS X natively. See the file `nextstep/INSTALL' in the distribution.  File: efaq, Node: Major packages and programs, Next: Key bindings, Prev: Finding Emacs and related packages, Up: Top 9 Major packages and programs ***************************** * Menu: * VM:: * AUCTeX:: * BBDB:: * Spell-checkers:: * Emacs/W3:: * EDB:: * JDEE::  File: efaq, Node: VM, Next: AUCTeX, Up: Major packages and programs 9.1 VM (View Mail) -- another mail reader within Emacs, with MIME support ========================================================================= Web site `http://launchpad.net/vm' (was `http://www.nongnu.org/viewmail/') Informational newsgroup `news:gnu.emacs.vm.info' Bug reports newsgroup `news:gnu.emacs.vm.bug' VM was originally written by Kyle Jones (http://www.wonderworks.com/vm/). Older versions (ftp://ftp.wonderworks.com/pub/vm/) of VM remain available.  File: efaq, Node: AUCTeX, Next: BBDB, Prev: VM, Up: Major packages and programs 9.2 AUCTeX -- enhanced TeX modes with debugging facilities ========================================================== AUCTeX is a set of sophisticated major modes for TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, and Texinfo offering context-sensitive syntax highlighting, indentation, formatting and folding, macro completion, TeX shell functionality, and debugging. Be also sure to check out *note RefTeX: (reftex)Introduction. Current versions of AUCTeX include the preview-latex (http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/preview-latex.html) package for WYSIWYG previews of various LaTeX constructs in the Emacs source buffer. AUCTeX (http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/)  File: efaq, Node: BBDB, Next: Spell-checkers, Prev: AUCTeX, Up: Major packages and programs 9.3 BBDB -- personal Info Rolodex integrated with mail/news readers =================================================================== The Insidious Big Brother Database (http://bbdb.sourceforge.net/)  File: efaq, Node: Spell-checkers, Next: Emacs/W3, Prev: BBDB, Up: Major packages and programs 9.4 Spell-checkers ================== Various spell-checkers are compatible with Emacs, including: GNU Aspell `http://aspell.net/' Ispell `http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/ispell.html' Hunspell `http://hunspell.sourceforge.net/'  File: efaq, Node: Emacs/W3, Next: EDB, Prev: Spell-checkers, Up: Major packages and programs 9.5 Emacs/W3 -- A World Wide Web browser inside of Emacs ======================================================== Emacs/W3 (http://www.gnu.org/software/w3/)  File: efaq, Node: EDB, Next: JDEE, Prev: Emacs/W3, Up: Major packages and programs 9.6 EDB -- Database program for Emacs; replaces forms editing modes =================================================================== The Emacs Database (http://gnuvola.org/software/edb/)  File: efaq, Node: JDEE, Prev: EDB, Up: Major packages and programs 9.7 JDEE -- Integrated development environment for Java ======================================================= A Java Development Environment for Emacs (http://jdee.sourceforge.net/)  File: efaq, Node: Key bindings, Next: Alternate character sets, Prev: Major packages and programs, Up: Top 10 Key bindings *************** * Menu: * Binding keys to commands:: * Invalid prefix characters:: * Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun:: * Working with function and arrow keys:: * X key translations for Emacs:: * Backspace invokes help:: * Swapping keys:: * Producing C-XXX with the keyboard:: * No Meta key:: * No Escape key:: * Compose Character:: * Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys:: * Meta key does not work in xterm:: * ExtendChar key does not work as Meta:: * SPC no longer completes file names::  File: efaq, Node: Binding keys to commands, Next: Invalid prefix characters, Up: Key bindings 10.1 How do I bind keys (including function keys) to commands? ============================================================== Keys can be bound to commands either interactively or in your `.emacs' file. To interactively bind keys for all modes, type `M-x global-set-key KEY CMD '. To bind a key just in the current major mode, type `M-x local-set-key KEY CMD '. *note Key Bindings: (emacs)Key Bindings, for further details. To make the process of binding keys interactively easier, use the following "trick": First bind the key interactively, then immediately type `C-x C-a C-k C-g'. Now, the command needed to bind the key is in the kill ring, and can be yanked into your `.emacs' file. If the key binding is global, no changes to the command are required. For example, (global-set-key (quote [f1]) (quote help-for-help)) can be placed directly into the `.emacs' file. If the key binding is local, the command is used in conjunction with the `add-hook' function. For example, in TeX mode, a local binding might be (add-hook 'tex-mode-hook (lambda () (local-set-key (quote [f1]) (quote help-for-help)))) * Control characters in key sequences, in the form yanked from the kill ring are given in their graphic form--i.e., is shown as `^', as a set of spaces (usually 8), etc. You may want to convert these into their vector or string forms. * If a prefix key of the character sequence to be bound is already bound as a complete key, then you must unbind it before the new binding. For example, if `ESC {' is previously bound: (global-unset-key [?\e ?{]) ;; or (local-unset-key [?\e ?{]) * Aside from commands and "lambda lists," a vector or string also can be bound to a key and thus treated as a macro. For example: (global-set-key [f10] [?\C-x?\e?\e?\C-a?\C-k?\C-g]) ;; or (global-set-key [f10] "\C-x\e\e\C-a\C-k\C-g")  File: efaq, Node: Invalid prefix characters, Next: Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun, Prev: Binding keys to commands, Up: Key bindings 10.2 Why does Emacs say `Key sequence XXX uses invalid prefix characters'? ========================================================================== Usually, one of two things has happened. In one case, the control character in the key sequence has been misspecified (e.g. `C-f' used instead of `\C-f' within a Lisp expression). In the other case, a "prefix key" in the keystroke sequence you were trying to bind was already bound as a "complete key". Historically, the `ESC [' prefix was usually the problem, in which case you should evaluate either of these forms before attempting to bind the key sequence: (global-unset-key [?\e ?[]) ;; or (global-unset-key "\e[")  File: efaq, Node: Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun, Next: Working with function and arrow keys, Prev: Invalid prefix characters, Up: Key bindings 10.3 Why doesn't this [terminal or window-system setup] code work in my `.emacs' file, but it works just fine after Emacs starts up? ==================================================================================================================================== During startup, Emacs initializes itself according to a given code/file order. If some of the code executed in your `.emacs' file needs to be postponed until the initial terminal or window-system setup code has been executed but is not, then you will experience this problem (this code/file execution order is not enforced after startup). To postpone the execution of Emacs Lisp code until after terminal or window-system setup, treat the code as a "lambda list" and set the value of either the `term-setup-hook' or `window-setup-hook' variable to this lambda function. For example, (add-hook 'term-setup-hook (lambda () (when (string-match "\\`vt220" (or (getenv "TERM") "")) ;; Make vt220's "Do" key behave like M-x: (global-set-key [do] 'execute-extended-command)))) For information on what Emacs does every time it is started, see the `lisp/startup.el' file.  File: efaq, Node: Working with function and arrow keys, Next: X key translations for Emacs, Prev: Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun, Up: Key bindings 10.4 How do I tell what characters or symbols my function or arrow keys emit? ============================================================================= Type `C-h c' then the function or arrow keys. The command will return either a function key symbol or character sequence (see the Emacs documentation for an explanation). This works for other keys as well.  File: efaq, Node: X key translations for Emacs, Next: Backspace invokes help, Prev: Working with function and arrow keys, Up: Key bindings 10.5 How do I set the X key "translations" for Emacs? ===================================================== Emacs is not written using the Xt library by default, so there are no "translations" to be set. (We aren't sure how to set such translations if you do build Emacs with Xt; please let us know if you've done this!) The only way to affect the behavior of keys within Emacs is through `xmodmap' (outside Emacs) or `define-key' (inside Emacs). The `define-key' command should be used in conjunction with the `function-key-map' map. For instance, (define-key function-key-map [M-] [?\M-\t]) defines the `M-' key sequence.  File: efaq, Node: Backspace invokes help, Next: Swapping keys, Prev: X key translations for Emacs, Up: Key bindings 10.6 Why does the key invoke help? ============================================== The key (on most keyboards) generates ASCII code 8. `C-h' sends the same code. In Emacs by default `C-h' invokes help-command. This is intended to be easy to remember since the first letter of `help' is `h'. The easiest solution to this problem is to use `C-h' (and ) for help and (the key) for deleting the previous character. For many people this solution may be problematic: * They normally use outside of Emacs for deleting the previous character. This can be solved by making the command for deleting the previous character outside of Emacs. On many Unix systems, this command will remap : stty erase `^?' * The user may prefer the key for deleting the previous character because it is more conveniently located on their keyboard or because they don't even have a separate key. In this case, the key should be made to behave like . There are several methods. - Some terminals (e.g., VT3## terminals) and terminal emulators (e.g., TeraTerm) allow the character generated by the key to be changed from a setup menu. - You may be able to get a keyboard that is completely programmable, or a terminal emulator that supports remapping of any key to any other key. - With Emacs 21.1 and later, you can control the effect of the and keys, on both dumb terminals and a windowed displays, by customizing the option `normal-erase-is-backspace-mode', or by invoking `M-x normal-erase-is-backspace'. See the documentation of these symbols (*note Emacs Lisp documentation::) for more info. - It is possible to swap the and keys inside Emacs: (keyboard-translate ?\C-h ?\C-?) This is the recommended method of forcing to act as , because it works even in modes which bind to something other than `delete-backward-char'. Similarly, you could remap to act as `C-d', which by default deletes forward: (keyboard-translate ?\C-? ?\C-d) *Note Swapping keys::, for further details about `keyboard-translate'. - Another approach is to switch key bindings and put help on `C-x h' instead: (global-set-key "\C-h" 'delete-backward-char) ;; overrides mark-whole-buffer (global-set-key "\C-xh" 'help-command) This method is not recommended, though: it only solves the problem for those modes which bind to `delete-backward-char'. Modes which bind to something else, such as `view-mode', will not work as you expect when you press the key. For this reason, we recommend the `keyboard-translate' method, shown above. Other popular key bindings for help are `M-?' and `C-x ?'. Don't try to bind to `help-command', because there are many modes that have local bindings of that will interfere. When Emacs 21 or later runs on a windowed display, it binds the key to a command which deletes the character at point, to make Emacs more consistent with keyboard operation on these systems. For more information about troubleshooting this problem, see *note If Fails to Delete: (emacs)DEL Does Not Delete.  File: efaq, Node: Swapping keys, Next: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard, Prev: Backspace invokes help, Up: Key bindings 10.7 How do I swap two keys? ============================ You can swap two keys (or key sequences) by using the `keyboard-translate' function. For example, to turn `C-h' into and to `C-h', use (keyboard-translate ?\C-h ?\C-?) ; translate `C-h' to DEL (keyboard-translate ?\C-? ?\C-h) ; translate DEL to `C-h'. The first key sequence of the pair after the function identifies what is produced by the keyboard; the second, what is matched for in the keymaps. However, in the specific case of `C-h' and , you should toggle `normal-erase-is-backspace-mode' instead of calling `keyboard-translate'. *note DEL Does Not Delete: (emacs)DEL Does Not Delete. Keyboard translations are not the same as key bindings in keymaps. Emacs contains numerous keymaps that apply in different situations, but there is only one set of keyboard translations, and it applies to every character that Emacs reads from the terminal. Keyboard translations take place at the lowest level of input processing; the keys that are looked up in keymaps contain the characters that result from keyboard translation.  File: efaq, Node: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard, Next: No Meta key, Prev: Swapping keys, Up: Key bindings 10.8 How do I produce C-XXX with my keyboard? ============================================= On terminals (but not under X), some common "aliases" are: `C-2' or `C-' `C-@' `C-6' `C-^' `C-7' or `C-S--' `C-_' `C-4' `C-\' `C-5' `C-]' `C-/' `C-?' Often other aliases exist; use the `C-h c' command and try with all of the digits on your keyboard to see what gets generated. You can also try the `C-h w' command if you know the name of the command.  File: efaq, Node: No Meta key, Next: No Escape key, Prev: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard, Up: Key bindings 10.9 What if I don't have a key? ======================================= On many keyboards, the key acts as , so try it. Instead of typing `M-a', you can type ` a'. In fact, Emacs converts `M-a' internally into ` a' anyway (depending on the value of `meta-prefix-char'). Note that you press and together, but with , you press , release it, and then press .  File: efaq, Node: No Escape key, Next: Compose Character, Prev: No Meta key, Up: Key bindings 10.10 What if I don't have an key? =========================================== Type `C-[' instead. This should send ASCII code 27 just like an Escape key would. `C-3' may also work on some terminal (but not under X). For many terminals (notably DEC terminals) generates . If not, the following form can be used to bind it: ;; F11 is the documented ESC replacement on DEC terminals. (define-key function-key-map [f11] [?\e])  File: efaq, Node: Compose Character, Next: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys, Prev: No Escape key, Up: Key bindings 10.11 Can I make my key behave like a key? ===================================================================== On a dumb terminal such as a VT220, no. It is rumored that certain VT220 clones could have their key configured this way. If you're using X, you might be able to do this with the `xmodmap' command.  File: efaq, Node: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys, Next: Meta key does not work in xterm, Prev: Compose Character, Up: Key bindings 10.12 How do I bind a combination of modifier key and function key? =================================================================== With Emacs 19 and later, you can represent modified function keys in vector format by adding prefixes to the function key symbol. For example (from the Emacs documentation): (global-set-key [?\C-x right] 'forward-page) where `?\C-x' is the Lisp character constant for the character `C-x'. You can use the modifier keys , , , , , and with function keys. To represent these modifiers, prepend the strings `C-', `M-', `H-', `s-', `A-', and `S-' to the symbol name. Here is how to make `H-M-RIGHT' move forward a word: (global-set-key [H-M-right] 'forward-word) * Not all modifiers are permitted in all situations. , , and are not available on Unix character terminals. Non-ASCII keys and mouse events (e.g. `C-=' and `Mouse-1') also fall under this category. *Note Binding keys to commands::, for general key binding instructions.  File: efaq, Node: Meta key does not work in xterm, Next: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta, Prev: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys, Up: Key bindings 10.13 Why doesn't my key work in an `xterm' window? ========================================================== *note Single-Byte Character Set Support: (emacs)Unibyte Mode. If the advice in the Emacs manual fails, try all of these methods before asking for further help: * You may have big problems using `mwm' as your window manager. (Does anyone know a good generic solution to allow the use of the key in Emacs with `mwm'?) * For X11: Make sure it really is a key. Use `xev' to find out what keysym your key generates. It should be either `Meta_L' or `Meta_R'. If it isn't, use `xmodmap' to fix the situation. If does generate `Meta_L' or `Meta_R', but `M-x' produces a non-ASCII character, put this in your `~/.Xdefaults' file: XTerm*eightBitInput: false XTerm*eightBitOutput: true * Make sure the `pty' the `xterm' is using is passing 8 bit characters. `stty -a' (or `stty everything') should show `cs8' somewhere. If it shows `cs7' instead, use `stty cs8 -istrip' (or `stty pass8') to fix it. * If there is an `rlogin' connection between `xterm' and Emacs, the `-8' argument may need to be given to rlogin to make it pass all 8 bits of every character. * If Emacs is running on Ultrix, it is reported that evaluating `(set-input-mode t nil)' helps. * If all else fails, you can make `xterm' generate ` W' when you type `M-W', which is the same conversion Emacs would make if it got the `M-W' anyway. In X11R4, the following resource specification will do this: XTerm.VT100.EightBitInput: false (This changes the behavior of the `insert-eight-bit' action.) With older `xterm's, you can specify this behavior with a translation: XTerm.VT100.Translations: #override \ Meta: string(0x1b) insert() You might have to replace `Meta' with `Alt'.  File: efaq, Node: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta, Next: SPC no longer completes file names, Prev: Meta key does not work in xterm, Up: Key bindings 10.14 Why doesn't my key work as a key under HP-UX 8.0 and 9.x? =================================================================================== This is a result of an internationalization extension in X11R4 and the fact that HP is now using this extension. Emacs assumes that the `XLookupString' function returns the same result regardless of the key state which is no longer necessarily true. Until Emacs is fixed, the temporary kludge is to run this command after each time the X server is started but preferably before any xterm clients are: xmodmap -e 'remove mod1 = Mode_switch' This will disable the use of the extra keysyms systemwide, which may be undesirable if you actually intend to use them.  File: efaq, Node: SPC no longer completes file names, Prev: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta, Up: Key bindings 10.15 Why doesn't SPC complete file names anymore? ================================================== Starting with Emacs 22.1, `SPC' no longer completes file names in the minibuffer, so that file names with embedded spaces could be typed without the need to quote the spaces. You can get the old behavior by binding `SPC' to `minibuffer-complete-word' in the minibuffer, as follows: (define-key minibuffer-local-filename-completion-map (kbd "SPC") 'minibuffer-complete-word) (define-key minibuffer-local-must-match-filename-map (kbd "SPC") 'minibuffer-complete-word)  File: efaq, Node: Alternate character sets, Next: Mail and news, Prev: Key bindings, Up: Top 11 Alternate character sets *************************** * Menu: * Emacs does not display 8-bit characters:: * Inputting eight-bit characters:: * Right-to-left alphabets:: * How to add fonts::  File: efaq, Node: Emacs does not display 8-bit characters, Next: Inputting eight-bit characters, Up: Alternate character sets 11.1 How do I make Emacs display 8-bit characters? ================================================== *note Single-byte Character Set Support: (emacs)Unibyte Mode. On a Unix, when Emacs runs on a text-only terminal display or is invoked with `emacs -nw', you typically need to use `set-terminal-coding-system' to tell Emacs what the terminal can display, even after setting the language environment; otherwise non-ASCII characters will display as `?'. On other operating systems, such as MS-DOS and MS-Windows, Emacs queries the OS about the character set supported by the display, and sets up the required terminal coding system automatically.  File: efaq, Node: Inputting eight-bit characters, Next: Right-to-left alphabets, Prev: Emacs does not display 8-bit characters, Up: Alternate character sets 11.2 How do I input eight-bit characters? ========================================= Various methods are available for input of eight-bit characters. See *note Single-byte Character Set Support: (emacs)Unibyte Mode. For more sophisticated methods, *note Input Methods: (emacs)Input Methods.  File: efaq, Node: Right-to-left alphabets, Next: How to add fonts, Prev: Inputting eight-bit characters, Up: Alternate character sets 11.3 Where is an Emacs that can handle Semitic (right-to-left) alphabets? ========================================================================= Emacs supports Hebrew characters (ISO 8859-8) since version 20, but does not yet support right-to-left character entry and display. The emacs-bidi mailing list (http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-bidi) discusses development of support for this feature.  File: efaq, Node: How to add fonts, Prev: Right-to-left alphabets, Up: Alternate character sets 11.4 How do I add fonts for use with Emacs? =========================================== First, download and install the BDF font files and any auxiliary packages they need. The GNU Intlfonts distribution can be found on the GNU Software Directory Web site (http://directory.fsf.org/localization/intlfonts.html). Next, if you are on X Window system, issue the following two commands from the shell's prompt: xset +fp /usr/local/share/emacs/fonts xset fp rehash (Modify the first command if you installed the fonts in a directory that is not `/usr/local/share/emacs/fonts'.) You also need to arrange for these two commands to run whenever you log in, e.g., by adding them to your window-system startup file, such as `~/.xsessionrc' or `~/.gnomerc'. Now, add the following line to your `~/.emacs' init file: (add-to-list 'bdf-directory-list "/usr/share/emacs/fonts/bdf") (Again, modify the file name if you installed the fonts elsewhere.) Finally, if you wish to use the installed fonts with `ps-print', add the following line to your `~/.emacs': (setq ps-multibyte-buffer 'bdf-font-except-latin) A few additional steps are necessary for MS-Windows; they are listed below. First, make sure _all_ the directories with BDF font files are mentioned in `bdf-directory-list'. On Unix and GNU/Linux systems, one normally runs `make install' to install the BDF fonts in the same directory. By contrast, Windows users typically don't run the Intlfonts installation command, but unpack the distribution in some directory, which leaves the BDF fonts in its subdirectories. For example, assume that you unpacked Intlfonts in `C:/Intlfonts'; then you should set `bdf-directory-list' as follows: (setq bdf-directory-list '("C:/Intlfonts/Asian" "C:/Intlfonts/Chinese" "C:/Intlfonts/Chinese.X" "C:/Intlfonts/Chinese.BIG" "C:/Intlfonts/Ethiopic" "C:/Intlfonts/European" "C:/Intlfonts/European.BIG" "C:/Intlfonts/Japanese" "C:/Intlfonts/Japanese.X" "C:/Intlfonts/Japanese.BIG" "C:/Intlfonts/Korean.X" "C:/Intlfonts/Misc")) Next, you need to set up the variable `w32-bdf-filename-alist' to an alist of the BDF fonts and their corresponding file names. Assuming you have set `bdf-directory-list' to name all the directories with the BDF font files, the following Lisp snippet will set up `w32-bdf-filename-alist': (setq w32-bdf-filename-alist (w32-find-bdf-fonts bdf-directory-list)) Now, create fontsets for the BDF fonts: (create-fontset-from-fontset-spec "-*-fixed-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-c-*-fontset-bdf, japanese-jisx0208:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-c-*-jisx0208.1983-*, katakana-jisx0201:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-c-*-jisx0201*-*, latin-jisx0201:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-c-*-jisx0201*-*, japanese-jisx0208-1978:-*-*-medium-r-normal-*-16-*-*-*-c-*-jisx0208.1978-*, thai-tis620:-misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-m-80-tis620.2529-1, lao:-misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-m-80-MuleLao-1, tibetan-1-column:-TibMdXA-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-m-80-MuleTibetan-1, ethiopic:-Admas-Ethiomx16f-Medium-R-Normal--16-150-100-100-M-160-Ethiopic-Unicode, tibetan:-TibMdXA-fixed-medium-r-normal--16-160-72-72-m-160-MuleTibetan-0") Many of the international bdf fonts from Intlfonts are type 0, and therefore need to be added to font-encoding-alist: (setq font-encoding-alist (append '(("MuleTibetan-0" (tibetan . 0)) ("GB2312" (chinese-gb2312 . 0)) ("JISX0208" (japanese-jisx0208 . 0)) ("JISX0212" (japanese-jisx0212 . 0)) ("VISCII" (vietnamese-viscii-lower . 0)) ("KSC5601" (korean-ksc5601 . 0)) ("MuleArabic-0" (arabic-digit . 0)) ("MuleArabic-1" (arabic-1-column . 0)) ("MuleArabic-2" (arabic-2-column . 0))) font-encoding-alist)) You can now use the Emacs font menu to select the `bdf: 16-dot medium' fontset, or you can select it by setting the default font in your `~/.emacs': (set-default-font "fontset-bdf")  File: efaq, Node: Mail and news, Next: Concept index, Prev: Alternate character sets, Up: Top 12 Mail and news **************** * Menu: * Changing the included text prefix:: * Saving a copy of outgoing mail:: * Expanding aliases when sending mail:: * Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder:: * Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail:: * Replying to the sender of a message:: * Automatically starting a mail or news reader:: * Reading news with Emacs:: * Gnus does not work with NNTP:: * Making Gnus faster:: * Catching up in all newsgroups::  File: efaq, Node: Changing the included text prefix, Next: Saving a copy of outgoing mail, Up: Mail and news 12.1 How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups? ===================================================================== If you read mail with Rmail, set the variable `mail-yank-prefix'. For Gnus, set `message-yank-prefix'. For VM, set `vm-included-text-prefix'. For mh-e, set `mh-ins-buf-prefix'. For fancier control of citations, use Supercite (*note the Supercite Manual: (sc)Top.). To prevent Emacs from including various headers of the replied-to message, set the value of `mail-yank-ignored-headers' to an appropriate regexp.  File: efaq, Node: Saving a copy of outgoing mail, Next: Expanding aliases when sending mail, Prev: Changing the included text prefix, Up: Mail and news 12.2 How do I save a copy of outgoing mail? =========================================== You can either mail yourself a copy by including a `BCC' header in the mail message, or store a copy of the message directly to a file by including an `FCC' header. If you use standard mail, you can automatically create a `BCC' to yourself by putting (setq mail-self-blind t) in your `.emacs' file. You can automatically include an `FCC' field by putting something like the following in your `.emacs' file: (setq mail-archive-file-name (expand-file-name "~/outgoing")) The output file will be in Unix mail format. If you use `mh-e', add an `FCC' or `BCC' field to your components file. It does not work to put `set record filename' in the `.mailrc' file.  File: efaq, Node: Expanding aliases when sending mail, Next: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder, Prev: Saving a copy of outgoing mail, Up: Mail and news 12.3 Why doesn't Emacs expand my aliases when sending mail? =========================================================== *Note The Emacs Manual: (emacs)Mail Aliases. * Normally, Emacs expands aliases when you send the message. To expand them before this, use `M-x expand-mail-aliases'. * Emacs normally only reads the `.mailrc' file once per session, when you start to compose your first mail message. If you edit `.mailrc', you can type `M-: (build-mail-aliases) ' to make Emacs reread `~/.mailrc'. * If you like, you can expand mail aliases as abbrevs, as soon as you type them in. To enable this feature, execute the following: (add-hook 'mail-mode-hook 'mail-abbrevs-setup) Note that the aliases are expanded automatically only after you type a word-separator character (e.g. or `,'). You can force their expansion by moving point to the end of the alias and typing `C-x a e' (`M-x expand-abbrev').  File: efaq, Node: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder, Next: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail, Prev: Expanding aliases when sending mail, Up: Mail and news 12.4 How can I sort the messages in my Rmail folder? ==================================================== In Rmail, type `C-c C-s C-h' to get a list of sorting functions and their key bindings.  File: efaq, Node: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail, Next: Replying to the sender of a message, Prev: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder, Up: Mail and news 12.5 Why does Rmail need to write to `/var/spool/mail'? ======================================================= This is the behavior of the `movemail' program which Rmail uses. This indicates that `movemail' is configured to use lock files. RMS writes: Certain systems require lock files to interlock access to mail files. On these systems, `movemail' must write lock files, or you risk losing mail. You simply must arrange to let `movemail' write them. Other systems use the `flock' system call to interlock access. On these systems, you should configure `movemail' to use `flock'.  File: efaq, Node: Replying to the sender of a message, Next: Automatically starting a mail or news reader, Prev: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail, Up: Mail and news 12.6 How can I force Rmail to reply to the sender of a message, but not the other recipients? ============================================================================================= Ron Isaacson says: When you hit to reply in Rmail, by default it CCs all of the original recipients (everyone on the original `To' and `CC' lists). With a prefix argument (i.e., typing `C-u' before ), it replies only to the sender. However, going through the whole `C-u' business every time you want to reply is a pain. This is the best fix I've been able to come up with: (defun rmail-reply-t () "Reply only to the sender of the current message. (See rmail-reply.)" (interactive) (rmail-reply t)) (add-hook 'rmail-mode-hook (lambda () (define-key rmail-mode-map "r" 'rmail-reply-t) (define-key rmail-mode-map "R" 'rmail-reply)))  File: efaq, Node: Automatically starting a mail or news reader, Next: Reading news with Emacs, Prev: Replying to the sender of a message, Up: Mail and news 12.7 How do I make Emacs automatically start my mail/news reader? ================================================================= To start Emacs in Gnus: emacs -f gnus in Rmail: emacs -f rmail A more convenient way to start with Gnus: alias gnus 'emacs -f gnus' gnus It is probably unwise to automatically start your mail or news reader from your `.emacs' file. This would cause problems if you needed to run two copies of Emacs at the same time. Also, this would make it difficult for you to start Emacs quickly when you needed to.  File: efaq, Node: Reading news with Emacs, Next: Gnus does not work with NNTP, Prev: Automatically starting a mail or news reader, Up: Mail and news 12.8 How do I read news under Emacs? ==================================== Use `M-x gnus'. For more information on Gnus, *note the Gnus Manual: (gnus)Top, which includes *note the Gnus FAQ: (gnus)Frequently Asked Questions.  File: efaq, Node: Gnus does not work with NNTP, Next: Making Gnus faster, Prev: Reading news with Emacs, Up: Mail and news 12.9 Why doesn't Gnus work via NNTP? ==================================== There is a bug in NNTP version 1.5.10, such that when multiple requests are sent to the NNTP server, the server only handles the first one before blocking waiting for more input which never comes. NNTP version 1.5.11 claims to fix this. You can work around the bug inside Emacs like this: (setq nntp-maximum-request 1) You can find out what version of NNTP your news server is running by telnetting to the NNTP port (usually 119) on the news server machine (i.e., `telnet server-machine 119'). The server should give its version number in the welcome message. Type `quit' to get out.  File: efaq, Node: Making Gnus faster, Next: Catching up in all newsgroups, Prev: Gnus does not work with NNTP, Up: Mail and news 12.10 How do I make Gnus faster? ================================ From the Gnus FAQ (*note Reading news with Emacs::): If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a few things you can do to make Gnus run faster. Set `gnus-check-new-newsgroups' and `gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups' to `nil' to make startup faster. Set `gnus-show-threads', `gnus-use-cross-reference' and `gnus-nov-is-evil' to `nil' to make entering and exiting the summary buffer faster.  File: efaq, Node: Catching up in all newsgroups, Prev: Making Gnus faster, Up: Mail and news 12.11 How do I catch up all newsgroups in Gnus? =============================================== In the `*Newsgroup*' buffer, type `M-< C-x ( c y C-x ) M-0 C-x e' Leave off the initial `M-<' if you only want to catch up from point to the end of the `*Newsgroup*' buffer.  File: efaq, Node: Concept index, Prev: Mail and news, Up: Top Concept Index ************* [index] * Menu: * #ifdef, selective display of: Hiding #ifdef lines. (line 6) * $ in file names: Editing files with $ in the name. (line 6) * -debug-init option: Debugging a customization file. (line 6) * ., equivalent to vi command: Repeating commands. (line 6) * .emacs debugging: Debugging a customization file. (line 6) * .emacs file, errors in: Errors with init files. (line 6) * .emacs file, locating: Setting up a customization file. (line 6) * .emacs file, setting up: Setting up a customization file. (line 6) * .Xdefaults: Emacs ignores X resources. (line 6) * /var/spool/mail and Rmail: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail. (line 6) * key, using as : Compose Character. (line 6) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * key: Extended commands. (line 18) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * key as : ExtendChar key does not work as Meta. (line 6) * : Overwrite mode. (line 6) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * key and xterm: Meta key does not work in xterm. (line 6) * key, notation for: Basic keys. (line 6) * key, what to do if you lack it: No Meta key. (line 6) * , using for: Compose Character. (line 6) * , using for: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta. (line 6) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * , definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * Abbrevs, turning on by default: Turning on abbrevs by default. (line 6) * Acronyms, definitions for: Common acronyms. (line 6) * add fonts for use with Emacs: How to add fonts. (line 6) * Adding to load-path: Changing load-path. (line 6) * Address book: BBDB. (line 6) * Alternate character sets: Alternate character sets. (line 6) * Alternative Info file viewers: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs. (line 6) * Alternative mail software: VM. (line 6) * Anti-aliased fonts: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * Antivirus programs, and Shell Mode: Problems with Shell Mode. (line 11) * Apple computers, Emacs for: Emacs for Mac OS X. (line 6) * Apropos: Learning how to do something. (line 22) * Arabic alphabets: Right-to-left alphabets. (line 6) * Archived postings from gnu.emacs.help: Newsgroup archives. (line 6) * Arrow keys, symbols generated by: Working with function and arrow keys. (line 6) * Aspell: Spell-checkers. (line 6) * Associating modes with files: Associating modes with files. (line 6) * AUCTeX mode for editing TeX: AUCTeX. (line 6) * auto-fill-mode, activating automatically: Turning on auto-fill by default. (line 6) * auto-fill-mode, introduction to: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * auto-mode-alist, modifying: Associating modes with files. (line 6) * Auto-saving: Disabling auto-save-mode. (line 6) * Automatic entry to auto-fill-mode: Turning on auto-fill by default. (line 6) * Automatic filing of outgoing mail: Saving a copy of outgoing mail. (line 6) * Backspace key invokes help: Backspace invokes help. (line 6) * Backup files in a single directory: Disabling backups. (line 30) * Backups, disabling: Disabling backups. (line 6) * Basic editing with Emacs: Basic editing. (line 6) * Basic keys: Basic keys. (line 6) * Bazaar repository, Emacs: Latest version of Emacs. (line 6) * BBDB: BBDB. (line 6) * Beeping, turning off: Turning off beeping. (line 6) * Beginning editing: Basic editing. (line 6) * Bell, visible: Turning off beeping. (line 6) * Bell, volume of: Turning the volume down. (line 6) * Bidirectional text: Right-to-left alphabets. (line 6) * Big Brother Database: BBDB. (line 6) * Binding keys to commands: Binding keys to commands. (line 6) * Binding modifiers and function keys: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys. (line 6) * Bug reporting: Reporting bugs. (line 6) * Bugs and problems: Bugs and problems. (line 6) * Building Emacs from source: Installing Emacs. (line 6) * C-h, definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * C-M-h, definition of: Basic keys. (line 6) * Case sensitivity in replacements: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 12) * Case sensitivity of searches: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 6) * case-fold-search: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 6) * case-replace: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 12) * Catching up all newsgroups in Gnus: Catching up in all newsgroups. (line 6) * Character sets: New in Emacs 23. (line 11) * Checking spelling: Spell-checkers. (line 6) * Colorizing text: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 6) * Colors on a TTY: Colors on a TTY. (line 6) * Colors on text-only terminals: New in Emacs 21. (line 14) * Column, displaying the current: Displaying the current line or column. (line 6) * Command description in the manual: Learning how to do something. (line 26) * Commands, binding keys to: Binding keys to commands. (line 6) * Commands, extended: Extended commands. (line 6) * Commands, repeating many times: Repeating commands. (line 6) * Common acronyms, definitions for: Common acronyms. (line 6) * Common requests: Common requests. (line 6) * Compilation error messages: Going to a line by number. (line 6) * Compiler error messages, recognizing: Compiler error messages. (line 6) * Compiling and installing Emacs: Compiling and installing Emacs. (line 6) * Compiling Emacs for DOS: Emacs for MS-DOS. (line 6) * Console, colors: Colors on a TTY. (line 6) * Contact database: BBDB. (line 6) * Contracting the FSF: Contacting the FSF. (line 6) * Control characters, generating: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard. (line 6) * Control characters, working with: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Control key, notation for: Basic keys. (line 6) * Control-Meta characters, notation for: Basic keys. (line 6) * Conventions for file names: File-name conventions. (line 6) * Copying outgoing mail to a file: Saving a copy of outgoing mail. (line 6) * COPYING, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Copyleft, real meaning of: Real meaning of copyleft. (line 6) * Creating new menu options: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Crosspostings make Gnus catching up slow: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * Current directory and shell-mode: Shell mode loses the current directory. (line 6) * Current GNU distributions: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * Customization file, setting up: Setting up a customization file. (line 6) * Customize groups: Using Customize. (line 6) * Customize indentation: Customizing C and C++ indentation. (line 6) * Customizing faces: Using Customize. (line 6) * Customizing variables: Using Customize. (line 6) * Daemon mode: New in Emacs 23. (line 17) * Database: EDB. (line 6) * Debugging .emacs file <1>: Errors with init files. (line 6) * Debugging .emacs file: Debugging a customization file. (line 6) * Decoration level, in font-lock-mode: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 34) * Default features: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * DEL key does not delete: Backspace invokes help. (line 6) * delete-selection-mode: Replacing highlighted text. (line 6) * Deleting menus and menu options: Deleting menus and menu options. (line 6) * Development, Emacs: Latest version of Emacs. (line 6) * Difference Emacs and XEmacs: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs. (line 6) * Differences between Emacs 19 and Emacs 20: New in Emacs 20. (line 6) * Differences between Emacs 20 and Emacs 21: New in Emacs 21. (line 6) * Differences between Emacs 21 and Emacs 22: New in Emacs 22. (line 6) * Differences between Emacs 22 and Emacs 23: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * Differences between Unix and Emacs regexps: Using regular expressions. (line 6) * Directories and files that come with Emacs: File-name conventions. (line 6) * Directory, current in shell-mode: Shell mode loses the current directory. (line 6) * Directory-local variables: New in Emacs 23. (line 23) * Dired does not see a file: Dired claims that no file is on this line. (line 6) * Disabling auto-save-mode: Disabling auto-save-mode. (line 6) * Disabling backups: Disabling backups. (line 6) * Discussion of the GPL: Real meaning of copyleft. (line 6) * Displaying eight-bit characters: Emacs does not display 8-bit characters. (line 6) * Displaying the current line or column: Displaying the current line or column. (line 6) * DISTRIB, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Documentation: New in Emacs 22. (line 70) * Documentation for etags: Documentation for etags. (line 6) * Documentation on Emacs Lisp: Emacs Lisp documentation. (line 6) * Documentation, installing new Texinfo files: Installing Texinfo documentation. (line 6) * DOS, Emacs for: Emacs for MS-DOS. (line 6) * Downloading and installing Emacs: Installing Emacs. (line 6) * Downloading Emacs: Finding Emacs on the Internet. (line 6) * Drag-and-drop: New in Emacs 22. (line 6) * E-mail reader, VM: VM. (line 6) * Echoed commands in shell-mode: ^M in the shell buffer. (line 6) * EDB: EDB. (line 6) * Editing files with $ in the name: Editing files with $ in the name. (line 6) * Editing MS-DOS files: Editing MS-DOS files. (line 6) * Eight-bit characters, displaying: Emacs does not display 8-bit characters. (line 6) * Eight-bit characters, entering: Inputting eight-bit characters. (line 6) * Eight-bit characters, working with: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Emacs 20, new features in: New in Emacs 20. (line 6) * Emacs 21, new features in: New in Emacs 21. (line 6) * Emacs 22, new features in: New in Emacs 22. (line 6) * Emacs 23, new features in: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * Emacs entries for termcap/terminfo: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs. (line 6) * Emacs for MS-DOS: Emacs for MS-DOS. (line 6) * Emacs for MS-Windows: Emacs for MS-Windows. (line 6) * Emacs Lisp Archive: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * Emacs Lisp List: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * Emacs Lisp Manual: New in Emacs 22. (line 70) * Emacs Lisp Reference Manual: Emacs Lisp documentation. (line 6) * Emacs manual, obtaining a printed or HTML copy of: Getting a printed manual. (line 6) * Emacs manual, reading topics in: Emacs manual. (line 6) * Emacs name origin: Origin of the term Emacs. (line 6) * Emacs server functions: Using an already running Emacs process. (line 6) * emacsclient: Using an already running Emacs process. (line 6) * Entering eight-bit characters: Inputting eight-bit characters. (line 6) * Epoch: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs. (line 6) * Error in .emacs: Errors with init files. (line 6) * Error in init file: Errors with init files. (line 6) * Errors when building Emacs: Problems building Emacs. (line 6) * Errors, recognizing compiler: Compiler error messages. (line 6) * Escape key, lacking: No Escape key. (line 6) * Escape sequences in ls output: Escape sequences in shell output. (line 6) * etags, documentation for: Documentation for etags. (line 6) * Evaluating Lisp code: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code. (line 6) * Expanding aliases when sending mail: Expanding aliases when sending mail. (line 6) * explicit-shell-file-name: Problems with Shell Mode. (line 6) * Extended commands: Extended commands. (line 6) * FAQ for Emacs on MS-Windows: Emacs for MS-Windows. (line 6) * FAQ for Gnus: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * FAQ notation: FAQ notation. (line 6) * FAQ, font-lock-mode: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 6) * FAQ, obtaining the: Obtaining the FAQ. (line 6) * Faster, starting Gnus: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * File extensions and modes: Associating modes with files. (line 6) * File name, displaying in the titlebar: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar. (line 6) * File names containing $, editing: Editing files with $ in the name. (line 6) * file-local-variable and security: Security risks with Emacs. (line 6) * File-name conventions: File-name conventions. (line 6) * Files included with Emacs: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Files, maximum size: Problems with very large files. (line 6) * Files, replacing strings across multiple: Replacing text across multiple files. (line 6) * Filing outgoing mail: Saving a copy of outgoing mail. (line 6) * Fill prefix: Automatic indentation. (line 18) * fill-column, default value: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * Filling automatically: Turning on auto-fill by default. (line 6) * Finding an Emacs Lisp package: Finding a package with particular functionality. (line 6) * Finding commands and variables: Learning how to do something. (line 30) * Finding current GNU software: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * Finding Emacs and related packages: Finding Emacs and related packages. (line 6) * Finding Emacs on the Internet: Finding Emacs on the Internet. (line 6) * Finding other packages: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * Finding topics in the Emacs manual: Emacs manual. (line 6) * Folder, sorting messages in an Rmail: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder. (line 6) * font-lock-mode: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 6) * Forms mode: EDB. (line 6) * Frame parameters: Emacs ignores frame parameters. (line 6) * frame-title-format: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar. (line 6) * Free Software Foundation, contacting: Contacting the FSF. (line 6) * Freetype fonts: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * FSF, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * FTP, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * Fullscreen mode: Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows. (line 6) * Function documentation: Emacs Lisp documentation. (line 6) * Function keys and modifiers: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys. (line 6) * Function keys, symbols generated by: Working with function and arrow keys. (line 6) * Functionality, finding a particular package: Finding a package with particular functionality. (line 6) * General Public License, real meaning of: Real meaning of copyleft. (line 6) * General questions: General questions. (line 6) * Generating control characters: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard. (line 6) * Getting help: Getting help. (line 6) * GNU mailing lists: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * GNU newsgroups, appropriate messages for: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * GNU, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * GNU, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Gnus and NNTP: Gnus does not work with NNTP. (line 6) * Gnus FAQ: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * Gnus is slow when catching up: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * Gnus newsreader: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * Gnus, Catching up all newsgroups in: Catching up in all newsgroups. (line 6) * Gnus, starting faster: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * gnuserv: Using an already running Emacs process. (line 53) * GNUstep port: New in Emacs 23. (line 19) * GNUstep, Emacs for: Emacs for GNUstep. (line 6) * Going to a line by number: Going to a line by number. (line 6) * Good bug reports: Reporting bugs. (line 6) * GPL, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * GPL, real meaning of: Real meaning of copyleft. (line 6) * GTK+ Toolkit: New in Emacs 22. (line 6) * Hebrew, handling with Emacs: Right-to-left alphabets. (line 6) * Help for Emacs: Learning how to do something. (line 6) * Help installing Emacs: Help installing Emacs. (line 6) * Help invoked by Backspace: Backspace invokes help. (line 6) * Help system, entering the: Basic editing. (line 6) * hide-ifdef-mode: Hiding #ifdef lines. (line 6) * Hiding #ifdef text: Hiding #ifdef lines. (line 6) * Highlighting and replacing text: Replacing highlighted text. (line 6) * Highlighting based on syntax: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 6) * Highlighting matching parentheses: Matching parentheses. (line 6) * Highlighting text: Highlighting a region. (line 6) * Horizontal scrolling: Horizontal scrolling. (line 6) * How to submit a bug report: Reporting bugs. (line 6) * HP-UX, the key: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta. (line 6) * hscroll-mode: Horizontal scrolling. (line 6) * HTML browser in Emacs: Emacs/W3. (line 6) * Hunspell: Spell-checkers. (line 6) * Iconification under the X Window System: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself. (line 6) * Ignored X resources: Emacs ignores X resources. (line 6) * Ignoring case in searches: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 6) * Included text prefix, changing: Changing the included text prefix. (line 6) * Indentation, how to customize: Customizing C and C++ indentation. (line 6) * Indenting new lines: Automatic indentation. (line 6) * Indenting of switch: Indenting switch statements. (line 6) * Index search in a manual: Learning how to do something. (line 13) * Info file viewers: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs. (line 6) * Info files, how to install: Installing Texinfo documentation. (line 6) * Info, finding topics in: Emacs manual. (line 6) * Informational files included with Emacs: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Init file debugging: Debugging a customization file. (line 6) * Init file, errors in: Errors with init files. (line 6) * Init file, setting up: Setting up a customization file. (line 6) * Input, 8-bit characters: Inputting eight-bit characters. (line 6) * Installation help: Help installing Emacs. (line 6) * Installing Emacs: Installing Emacs. (line 6) * Installing Texinfo documentation: Installing Texinfo documentation. (line 6) * Integrated contact database: BBDB. (line 6) * Integrated Java development environment: JDEE. (line 6) * INTERVIEW, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * intlfonts: How to add fonts. (line 6) * Invalid prefix characters: Invalid prefix characters. (line 6) * isearch yanking: Yanking text in isearch. (line 6) * Ispell: Spell-checkers. (line 6) * Java development environment: JDEE. (line 6) * JDEE: JDEE. (line 6) * Just-In-Time syntax highlighting: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 26) * Key bindings: Key bindings. (line 6) * Key translations under X: X key translations for Emacs. (line 6) * keyboard-translate: Swapping keys. (line 6) * Keymaps and menus: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Keys, binding to commands: Binding keys to commands. (line 6) * Keys, swapping: Swapping keys. (line 6) * Lacking an Escape key: No Escape key. (line 6) * Large files, opening: Problems with very large files. (line 6) * Latest FAQ version, obtaining the: Obtaining the FAQ. (line 6) * Latest version of Emacs: Latest version of Emacs. (line 6) * League for Programming Freedom: The LPF. (line 6) * Learning more about Gnus: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * Learning to do something in Emacs: Learning how to do something. (line 6) * Length of tab character: Changing the length of a Tab. (line 6) * Levels of syntax highlighting: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 34) * Line number, displaying the current: Displaying the current line or column. (line 6) * Line wrap: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * line-number-mode: Displaying the current line or column. (line 6) * Lisp forms, evaluating: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code. (line 6) * Lisp packages that do not come with Emacs: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * load-path, modifying: Changing load-path. (line 6) * Lookup a subject in a manual: Learning how to do something. (line 13) * LPF, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * LPF, description of: The LPF. (line 6) * ls in Shell mode: Escape sequences in shell output. (line 6) * Lucid Emacs: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs. (line 6) * M-x, meaning of: Extended commands. (line 6) * Mac OS X Cocoa: New in Emacs 23. (line 19) * Mac OS X, Emacs for: Emacs for Mac OS X. (line 6) * MACHINES, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Macintosh, Emacs for: Emacs for Mac OS X. (line 6) * Mail alias expansion: Expanding aliases when sending mail. (line 6) * Mail and news: Mail and news. (line 6) * Mail reader, starting automatically: Automatically starting a mail or news reader. (line 6) * Mail replies, inserting a prefix character: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * Mail, saving outgoing automatically: Saving a copy of outgoing mail. (line 6) * mail-yank-prefix: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * Mailing lists, appropriate messages for: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * MAILINGLISTS, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Major mode for shell scripts: Associating modes with files. (line 17) * Major packages and programs: Major packages and programs. (line 6) * Manual, obtaining a printed or HTML copy of: Getting a printed manual. (line 6) * Matching parentheses: Matching parentheses. (line 6) * Maximize frame: Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows. (line 6) * Maximum file size: Problems with very large files. (line 6) * Maximum line width, default value: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * Menus and keymaps: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Menus, creating or modifying: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Menus, deleting: Deleting menus and menu options. (line 6) * Microsoft files, editing: Editing MS-DOS files. (line 6) * Microsoft Windows, Emacs for: Emacs for MS-Windows. (line 6) * Misspecified key sequences: Invalid prefix characters. (line 6) * Mode for TeX: AUCTeX. (line 6) * mode-line-format: Displaying the current line or column. (line 6) * Modes, associating with file extensions: Associating modes with files. (line 6) * Modifiers and function keys: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys. (line 6) * Modifying load-path: Changing load-path. (line 6) * Modifying pull-down menus: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Mouse wheel: New in Emacs 22. (line 24) * movemail and security: Security risks with Emacs. (line 6) * MS-DOS files, editing: Editing MS-DOS files. (line 6) * MS-DOS, Emacs for: Emacs for MS-DOS. (line 6) * Multi-tty support: New in Emacs 23. (line 14) * Multilingual Environment: New in Emacs 22. (line 55) * Multiple files, replacing across: Replacing text across multiple files. (line 6) * New lines, indenting of: Automatic indentation. (line 6) * New modes: New in Emacs 22. (line 49) * New Texinfo files, installing: Installing Texinfo documentation. (line 6) * News reader, starting automatically: Automatically starting a mail or news reader. (line 6) * News replies, inserting a prefix character: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * NEWS, description of file: Informational files for Emacs. (line 6) * Newsgroups, appropriate messages for: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * NeXTSTEP port: New in Emacs 23. (line 19) * NNTP, Gnus fails to work with: Gnus does not work with NNTP. (line 6) * No key: No Meta key. (line 6) * No Escape key: No Escape key. (line 6) * Not enough disk space to install Emacs: Emacs for minimalists. (line 6) * Notation for keys: Basic keys. (line 6) * Official GNU software sites: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * Old Usenet postings for GNU groups: Newsgroup archives. (line 6) * One space following periods: Filling paragraphs with a single space. (line 6) * Opening very large files: Problems with very large files. (line 6) * Ordering GNU software: Contacting the FSF. (line 27) * Origin of the term "Emacs": Origin of the term Emacs. (line 6) * Original version of Emacs: Origin of the term Emacs. (line 6) * Overview of help systems: Learning how to do something. (line 6) * overwrite-mode: Overwrite mode. (line 6) * Overwriting existing text: Overwrite mode. (line 6) * Package, finding: Finding a package with particular functionality. (line 6) * Packages, those that do not come with Emacs: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * Pairs of parentheses, highlighting: Matching parentheses. (line 6) * paren.el: Matching parentheses. (line 6) * Parentheses, matching: Matching parentheses. (line 6) * Patents for software, opposition to: The LPF. (line 6) * Periods, one space following: Filling paragraphs with a single space. (line 6) * picture-mode: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column. (line 6) * Postal address of the FSF: Contacting the FSF. (line 6) * Posting messages to newsgroups: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * Prefix character, inserting in mail/news replies: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * Prefix characters, invalid: Invalid prefix characters. (line 6) * Prefix in mail/news followups, changing: Changing the included text prefix. (line 6) * Prefixing a region with some text: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * Prefixing lines: Automatic indentation. (line 18) * Previous line, indenting according to: Automatic indentation. (line 6) * Printed Emacs manual, obtaining: Getting a printed manual. (line 6) * Printing a Texinfo file: Printing a Texinfo file. (line 6) * Printing documentation: Printing a Texinfo file. (line 6) * Problems building Emacs: Problems building Emacs. (line 6) * Producing control characters: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard. (line 6) * Pull-down menus, creating or modifying: Modifying pull-down menus. (line 6) * Quoting in mail messages: Changing the included text prefix. (line 6) * Reading news under Emacs: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * Reading the Emacs manual: Learning how to do something. (line 8) * Reading topics in the Emacs manual: Emacs manual. (line 6) * Recently introduced features: New in Emacs 23. (line 6) * Recognizing non-standard compiler errors: Compiler error messages. (line 6) * Recompilation: Going to a line by number. (line 6) * Recursive search/replace operations: Replacing text across multiple files. (line 6) * Reducing the increment when scrolling: Scrolling only one line. (line 6) * Reference card for Emacs: Learning how to do something. (line 6) * Reference cards, in other languages: Learning how to do something. (line 40) * Reference manual for Emacs Lisp: Emacs Lisp documentation. (line 6) * Regexps: Using regular expressions. (line 6) * Regexps and unprintable characters: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Regexps for recognizing compiler errors: Compiler error messages. (line 6) * Region, highlighting a: Highlighting a region. (line 6) * Regular expressions: Using regular expressions. (line 6) * Remaining in the same column, regardless of contents: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column. (line 6) * Removing yourself from GNU mailing lists: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists. (line 6) * Repeating commands many times: Repeating commands. (line 6) * Replacing highlighted text: Replacing highlighted text. (line 6) * Replacing newlines: Searching for/replacing newlines. (line 6) * Replacing strings across files: Replacing text across multiple files. (line 6) * Replacing, and case sensitivity: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 12) * Replies to mail/news, inserting a prefix character: Inserting text at the beginning of each line. (line 6) * Replying only to the sender of a message: Replying to the sender of a message. (line 6) * Reporting bugs: Reporting bugs. (line 6) * Repository, Emacs: Latest version of Emacs. (line 6) * Resources, X: Valid X resources. (line 6) * Richard Stallman, acronym for: Common acronyms. (line 6) * Right-to-left alphabets: Right-to-left alphabets. (line 6) * Rmail and /var/spool/mail: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail. (line 6) * Rmail, replying to the sender of a message in: Replying to the sender of a message. (line 6) * Rmail, sorting messages in: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder. (line 6) * RMS, definition of: Common acronyms. (line 6) * Rolodex-like functionality: BBDB. (line 6) * Saving a copy of outgoing mail: Saving a copy of outgoing mail. (line 6) * Saving at frequent intervals: Disabling auto-save-mode. (line 6) * Scrolling horizontally: Horizontal scrolling. (line 6) * Scrolling only one line: Scrolling only one line. (line 6) * Searching for newlines: Searching for/replacing newlines. (line 6) * Searching for unprintable characters: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Searching without case sensitivity: Controlling case sensitivity. (line 6) * Security with Emacs: Security risks with Emacs. (line 6) * Selectively displaying #ifdef code: Hiding #ifdef lines. (line 6) * Self-paced tutorial, invoking the: Basic editing. (line 6) * Semitic alphabets: Right-to-left alphabets. (line 6) * Sender, replying only to: Replying to the sender of a message. (line 6) * Sending mail with aliases: Expanding aliases when sending mail. (line 6) * Set number capability in vi emulators: Displaying the current line or column. (line 25) * Setting the included text character: Changing the included text prefix. (line 6) * Setting X resources: Valid X resources. (line 6) * Shell buffer, echoed commands and ^M in: ^M in the shell buffer. (line 6) * Shell Mode, problems: Problems with Shell Mode. (line 6) * shell-mode and current directory: Shell mode loses the current directory. (line 6) * Show matching paren as in vi: Matching parentheses. (line 26) * Single space following periods: Filling paragraphs with a single space. (line 6) * Slow catch up in Gnus: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * Snail mail address of the FSF: Contacting the FSF. (line 6) * Software patents, opposition to: The LPF. (line 6) * Sorting messages in an Rmail folder: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder. (line 6) * Source code, building Emacs from: Installing Emacs. (line 6) * Sources for current GNU distributions: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * SPC file name completion: SPC no longer completes file names. (line 6) * Spell-checker: Spell-checkers. (line 6) * Stallman, Richard, acronym for: Common acronyms. (line 6) * Starting Gnus faster: Making Gnus faster. (line 6) * Starting mail/news reader automatically: Automatically starting a mail or news reader. (line 6) * Status of Emacs: Status of Emacs. (line 6) * Stuff, current GNU: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * Supported systems: New in Emacs 22. (line 9) * Suspending Emacs: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself. (line 6) * Swapping keys: Swapping keys. (line 6) * switch, indenting: Indenting switch statements. (line 6) * Symbols generated by function keys: Working with function and arrow keys. (line 6) * Syntax highlighting: Turning on syntax highlighting. (line 6) * Syntax highlighting on a TTY: Colors on a TTY. (line 6) * Synthetic X events and security: Security risks with Emacs. (line 6) * Tab length: Changing the length of a Tab. (line 6) * TECO: Origin of the term Emacs. (line 6) * Termcap: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs. (line 6) * Terminal setup code in .emacs: Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun. (line 6) * Terminfo: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs. (line 6) * TeX mode: AUCTeX. (line 6) * Texinfo documentation, installing: Installing Texinfo documentation. (line 6) * Texinfo file, printing: Printing a Texinfo file. (line 6) * Text indentation: Automatic indentation. (line 6) * Text strings, putting regexps in: Using regular expressions. (line 6) * Text, highlighting: Highlighting a region. (line 6) * Titlebar, displaying the current file name in: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar. (line 6) * Toggling overwrite-mode: Overwrite mode. (line 6) * Toolbar support: New in Emacs 21. (line 6) * transient-mark-mode: Highlighting a region. (line 6) * Translations for keys under X: X key translations for Emacs. (line 6) * TTY colors: New in Emacs 21. (line 14) * Tutorial, invoking the: Basic editing. (line 6) * Unbundled packages: Packages that do not come with Emacs. (line 6) * Unicode: New in Emacs 23. (line 11) * Unix regexps, differences from Emacs: Using regular expressions. (line 6) * Unix systems, installing Emacs on: Installing Emacs. (line 6) * Unprintable characters, working with: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Unsubscribing from GNU mailing lists: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists. (line 6) * Up-to-date GNU stuff: Current GNU distributions. (line 6) * Usenet archives for GNU groups: Newsgroup archives. (line 6) * Usenet groups, appropriate messages for: Guidelines for newsgroup postings. (line 6) * Usenet reader in Emacs: Reading news with Emacs. (line 6) * Using an existing Emacs process: Using an already running Emacs process. (line 6) * Variable documentation: Emacs Lisp documentation. (line 6) * Variable-size fonts: New in Emacs 21. (line 6) * Version, latest: Latest version of Emacs. (line 6) * Vertical movement in empty documents: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column. (line 6) * Very large files, opening: Problems with very large files. (line 6) * View Mail: VM. (line 6) * Viewing Info files: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs. (line 6) * Visible bell: Turning off beeping. (line 6) * VM: VM. (line 6) * Volume of bell: Turning the volume down. (line 6) * w3-mode: Emacs/W3. (line 6) * w32-bdf-filename-alist: How to add fonts. (line 55) * w32-find-bdf-fonts: How to add fonts. (line 55) * Web browser: Emacs/W3. (line 6) * Why Emacs?: Origin of the term Emacs. (line 22) * Windows files, editing: Editing MS-DOS files. (line 6) * Working with arrow keys: Working with function and arrow keys. (line 6) * Working with function keys: Working with function and arrow keys. (line 6) * Working with unprintable characters: Working with unprintable characters. (line 6) * Wrapping lines: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * Wrapping word automatically: Wrapping words automatically. (line 6) * Writing and debugging TeX: AUCTeX. (line 6) * WWW browser: Emacs/W3. (line 6) * X and tty displays: New in Emacs 23. (line 14) * X events and security: Security risks with Emacs. (line 6) * X key translations: X key translations for Emacs. (line 6) * X resources: Valid X resources. (line 6) * X resources being ignored: Emacs ignores X resources. (line 6) * X Window System and iconification: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself. (line 6) * XEmacs: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs. (line 6) * Xterm and key: Meta key does not work in xterm. (line 6) * Yanking text into the search string: Yanking text in isearch. (line 6) * Zile: Emacs for minimalists. (line 6)  Tag Table: Node: Top1406 Node: FAQ notation3888 Node: Basic keys4345 Ref: Basic keys-Footnote-16240 Node: Extended commands6322 Node: Emacs manual7357 Node: File-name conventions8340 Node: Common acronyms9745 Node: General questions10712 Node: The LPF11157 Node: Real meaning of copyleft11470 Node: Guidelines for newsgroup postings12783 Node: Newsgroup archives14277 Node: Reporting bugs15229 Node: Unsubscribing from Emacs lists17340 Node: Contacting the FSF17866 Node: Getting help18515 Node: Basic editing18999 Node: Learning how to do something20105 Node: Getting a printed manual22755 Node: Emacs Lisp documentation23615 Node: Installing Texinfo documentation24372 Node: Printing a Texinfo file28087 Node: Viewing Info files outside of Emacs29436 Node: Informational files for Emacs30044 Node: Help installing Emacs31361 Node: Obtaining the FAQ31908 Node: Status of Emacs32444 Node: Origin of the term Emacs32820 Node: Latest version of Emacs34086 Node: New in Emacs 2335507 Node: New in Emacs 2236974 Node: New in Emacs 2140062 Node: New in Emacs 2040896 Node: Common requests41657 Node: Setting up a customization file43368 Node: Using Customize44533 Node: Colors on a TTY45310 Node: Debugging a customization file46245 Node: Displaying the current line or column47152 Node: Displaying the current file name in the titlebar48545 Node: Turning on abbrevs by default49709 Node: Associating modes with files50517 Node: Highlighting a region51466 Node: Replacing highlighted text51892 Node: Controlling case sensitivity52790 Node: Working with unprintable characters53695 Node: Searching for/replacing newlines55294 Node: Yanking text in isearch55697 Node: Wrapping words automatically56035 Node: Turning on auto-fill by default56505 Node: Changing load-path57202 Node: Using an already running Emacs process57676 Node: Compiler error messages60086 Node: Indenting switch statements60438 Node: Customizing C and C++ indentation61032 Node: Horizontal scrolling63627 Node: Overwrite mode64303 Node: Turning off beeping64791 Node: Turning the volume down65357 Node: Automatic indentation66052 Node: Matching parentheses67787 Node: Hiding #ifdef lines69421 Node: Repeating commands69896 Node: Valid X resources71024 Node: Evaluating Emacs Lisp code71512 Node: Changing the length of a Tab72976 Node: Inserting text at the beginning of each line73694 Node: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column74743 Node: Forcing Emacs to iconify itself75365 Node: Using regular expressions75740 Node: Replacing text across multiple files76734 Node: Documentation for etags77879 Node: Disabling backups78273 Node: Disabling auto-save-mode79744 Node: Going to a line by number80636 Node: Modifying pull-down menus82095 Node: Deleting menus and menu options85225 Node: Turning on syntax highlighting85939 Node: Scrolling only one line88732 Node: Editing MS-DOS files89421 Node: Filling paragraphs with a single space90207 Node: Escape sequences in shell output90619 Node: Fullscreen mode on MS-Windows91628 Node: Bugs and problems92454 Node: Problems with very large files93486 Node: ^M in the shell buffer94131 Node: Problems with Shell Mode95922 Node: Termcap/Terminfo entries for Emacs96597 Node: Errors with init files97807 Node: Emacs ignores X resources98627 Node: Emacs ignores frame parameters100433 Node: Editing files with $ in the name101276 Node: Shell mode loses the current directory101715 Node: Security risks with Emacs102645 Node: Dired claims that no file is on this line106494 Node: Compiling and installing Emacs107423 Node: Installing Emacs107681 Node: Problems building Emacs110018 Node: Finding Emacs and related packages110695 Node: Finding Emacs on the Internet111236 Node: Finding a package with particular functionality111777 Node: Packages that do not come with Emacs112947 Node: Current GNU distributions114088 Node: Difference between Emacs and XEmacs114558 Node: Emacs for minimalists116245 Node: Emacs for MS-DOS116847 Node: Emacs for MS-Windows117897 Node: Emacs for GNUstep118277 Node: Emacs for Mac OS X118610 Node: Major packages and programs118919 Node: VM119190 Node: AUCTeX119754 Node: BBDB120493 Node: Spell-checkers120796 Node: Emacs/W3121147 Node: EDB121406 Node: JDEE121688 Node: Key bindings121947 Node: Binding keys to commands122600 Node: Invalid prefix characters124705 Node: Terminal setup code works after Emacs has begun125549 Node: Working with function and arrow keys126931 Node: X key translations for Emacs127468 Node: Backspace invokes help128264 Node: Swapping keys132055 Node: Producing C-XXX with the keyboard133308 Node: No Meta key133927 Node: No Escape key134462 Node: Compose Character135023 Node: Binding combinations of modifiers and function keys135516 Node: Meta key does not work in xterm136748 Node: ExtendChar key does not work as Meta138921 Node: SPC no longer completes file names139831 Node: Alternate character sets140552 Node: Emacs does not display 8-bit characters140847 Node: Inputting eight-bit characters141628 Node: Right-to-left alphabets142086 Node: How to add fonts142640 Node: Mail and news147104 Node: Changing the included text prefix147650 Node: Saving a copy of outgoing mail148329 Node: Expanding aliases when sending mail149263 Node: Sorting the messages in an Rmail folder150416 Node: Rmail writes to /var/spool/mail150778 Node: Replying to the sender of a message151569 Node: Automatically starting a mail or news reader152653 Node: Reading news with Emacs153387 Node: Gnus does not work with NNTP153769 Node: Making Gnus faster154576 Node: Catching up in all newsgroups155227 Node: Concept index155602  End Tag Table