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Specialized

§ 15: Editing with Emacs

The emacs editor is popular because it has many options, it is extremely powerful, it has key-driven commands (experienced users find that faster than mouse-driven commands), and it is so much more than vi. In fact, emacs is so powerful, that in many ways it's like an operating system all to itself.

To enter commands in emacs, you use the Control (sometimes labeled Ctrl) or the Esc key which emacs calls the Meta key. We'll adhere to this emacs convention; so whenever we're talking about the Meta key, the Esc key is meant. So all commands will be in one of the following formats, and they will show up at the bottom of your emacs window in the so-called "minibuffer":

    Minibuffer output
    Keys pressed

    C-character

    control key + character

    M-character

    meta key, then character

When issuing a command that consists of the Control key and a character key, hold down the Control key and then press the character key. For a command involving the Meta key, press and release the Meta key before pressing the character key.

First let's open the file sample.doc

You can also open emacs without a document

Now you are ready to explore emacs.

  1. Moving in emacs
  2. Making Changes
  3. Cutting and Pasting
  4. Buffers and Saving
  5. Modes
  6. Multiple Windows
  7. Help with emacs

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