The MG Reference Manual
Release MG2A
Sandra J. Loosemore
Copyright (C)1987, Sandra J. Loosemore
This document, or sections of this document, may be freely
redistributed provided that the copyright notice and the following
disclaimer remain intact: The author bears no responsibilities for
errors in this document or the software it describes; and shall
not be held liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential
damages.
Contents
1 Introduction 2
1.1 Implementations of MG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 A Note on Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Notation and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Using Commands 7
2.1 Command Arguments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Prefix Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Aborting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 Extended Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3 Moving the Cursor 9
4 Text Insertion Commands 12
5 Killing, Deleting, and Moving Text 14
6 Searching and Replacing 16
6.1 Searching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6.2 Replacing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.3 Regular Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
7 Windows 21
8 Files and Buffers 23
8.1 Buffer Manipulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.2 Reading and Writing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8.3 Backup Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.4 Changing the Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
9 Modes 26
9.1 No Tab Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
9.2 Overwrite Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
9.3 Auto Fill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
9.4 Auto Indent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
9.5 Blink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1
9.6 Dired Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
10 Miscellaneous 30
10.1 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
10.2 Keyboard Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
10.3 Changing Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
10.4 Odds and Ends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
11 Customization 33
11.1 Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
11.2 Startup Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Fundamental Mode Key Bindings 36
Index 38
2
Chapter 1
Introduction
MG is a small, fast, and portable Emacs-style text editor intended to be
used by people who can't run a real Emacs for one reason or another --- as
their main editor on smaller machines with limited memory or file space, or
as a ``quick-start'' editor on larger systems, useful for composing short
mail messages and the like.
We've made MG compatible with GNU Emacs because that is the ``big'',
full-featured editor that many of us use regularly and are most familiar
with. GNU Emacs is the creation of Richard M. Stallman, who was also the
author of the original Emacs editor. However, MG is not associated in any
way with the GNU project, and the MG authors individually may or may not
agree with the opinions expressed by Richard Stallman and the GNU project.
MG is largely public domain. You can use, modify, and redistribute MG
as you like. A few modules, however, are copyrighted; specifically, the
regular expression code, the VMS termcap routines, and the Amiga support
code. Look at the source code for the exact copyright restrictions.
There are several other editors in existence which call themselves
MicroEmacs. The original public domain version was written by Dave Conroy
and circulated as version 1.6. Derived from this, there is another PD
version by Dave Conroy numbered v30; a significantly larger PD version by
Daniel Lawrence which is now up to version 3.9; at least one proprietary
implementation; an implementation for the Atari ST with an integrated
command shell, by Prabhaker Mateti; and probably others that we don't know
about.
MG is derived from the v30 MicroEmacs, with key bindings, command names,
and general functionality made more compatible with GNU Emacs. Like v30,
MG is fairly small and quite robust. We have generally resisted the
temptation to overfeaturize. Some features which are large and complex are
flagged for conditional compilation.
Many people have contributed their time to developing, improving, and
3
porting MG. Mike Meyer, Mic Kaczmarczik, and Bob Larson deserve particular
mention for their efforts.
Questions, suggestions, and offers of help should be addressed to:
mg-developers@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (ARPA)
ucbvax!mg-developers (UUCP)
1.1 Implementations of MG
MG runs on many different kinds of hardware under many different operating
systems. Currently, these include:
- 4.2 and 4.3 BSD Unix (including Ultrix-32)
- System V Unix
- VAX/VMS
- Primos
- OS9/68k
- Amiga
- Atari ST
- MS-DOS
This document describes release MG2A. When we talk of different versions
of MG in this manual, the term version is used to refer to the different
support MG provides for the various machines and operating systems it runs
under, not to different releases of MG itself. For example, we might speak
of how the VMS version of MG differs from the Unix version.
As mentioned above, some MG commands may not be implemented in all
versions; these are noted in the documentation. Some versions of MG also
support features (such as mouse handling) that are not described here.
1.2 A Note on Character Sets
MG uses the 128-character ASCII character set, and provides support
for 8-bit characters. Whether the particular version of MG that you
are running knows about extended character sets depends on whether your
4
terminal and the host operating system know about them. Moreover, since
there is no standard 8-bit character set, the same character codes will
probably give different glyphs on different systems. Most versions of MG
use the DEC multinational character set.
1.3 Notation and Conventions
In this manual, commands and other things that must be typed in literally
are indicated in a typewriter font, like next-line. Placeholders such as
command argument names use an italic font.
The terms command and function are synonymous. We often speak of a
command being bound to a particular key, although you may actually have to
type more than one character to form a single key. Most commands are bound
to keys with control and meta modifiers.
To type a control character, use the control key on your keyboard like a
shift key: hold down the control key while typing the character. In this
manual, we will indicate control characters like C-x --- here, typing the
character ``x'' while holding down the control key.
Some keyboards also have a meta key that works like the control key.
(It may be labelled something else; on the Atari ST, for example, the key
marked ``Alternate'' is the meta key.) If your keyboard doesn't have a
meta key, don't panic. You can also use the escape key as a meta prefix;
first type the escape, and then the character. Meta characters will be
indicated as M-x.
Besides the meta prefix, two other characters are used as prefixes: C-x
and C-h. A few keys have special notation: SPC is the space character,
DEL is the delete or rubout character, RET is carriage return, and ESC
is the escape character. NUL is the null character (ASCII 0), which is
usually equivalent to either C-SPC or C-@.
Uppercase and lowercase characters are generally equivalent in command
keystrokes.
When you run MG from a shell, command line arguments are interpreted as
the names of files you want to visit, or edit. Each file is read into a
buffer in memory. No changes are actually made to the file until you ask
it to be written out to disk.
Within MG, the large top part of the screen serves as a window into
the buffer being edited. Below this is the mode line, which displays the
name of the buffer. Finally, at the very bottom of the screen, there is
a one-line minibuffer which is used for displaying messages and answering
questions.
MG keeps track of two pointers into each window, the point and the mark.
The cursor appears at the point in the current window, and we often speak
of moving the cursor rather than of moving the point. The text between the
5
point and the mark is referred to as the region.
Some commands deal with words and paragraphs. Generally, whitespace and
punctuation separate words. Lines that are empty or that contain only
spaces or tabs separate paragraphs without being part of a paragraph. A
non-empty line that starts with a space or tab also begins a new paragraph.
A number of commands are defined as toggles. If no prefix argument is
supplied, these commands toggle an action. The action is turned on if a
negative or zero argument is supplied, and turned on if a positive argument
is supplied.
1.4 Getting Started
This document is intended primarily as a reference manual. If you have
never used any Emacs-like text editor before, it is strongly suggested that
you run the on-line tutorial supplied with the MG distribution, instead of
reading this manual.
Do not be put off by the large number of commands described in this
manual! It is possible to get by with only a handful of basic commands.
Here are the ones that are probably used most frequently:
C-p Move the cursor to the previous line
C-n Move the cursor to the next line
C-b Move the cursor backwards
C-f Move the cursor forwards
C-v Scroll forwards one screenful
M-v Scroll backwards one screenful
M-< Go to the beginning of the buffer
M-> Go to the end of the buffer
C-a Go to the beginning of the line
C-e Go to the end of the line
DEL Delete the previous character
C-k Kill (delete) to the end of line
6
C-y Reinsert killed text.
C-x C-c Exit MG
C-x C-s Save the current buffer
7
Chapter 2
Using Commands
2.1 Command Arguments
Some commands require arguments. For example, if you want to read a file
into a buffer, you must type in the name of the file. In the descriptions
of commands in this manual, if arguments are required, they are listed
following the command name.
MG prompts for command arguments in the minibuffer. Within the
minibuffer, the following characters can be used for editing:
DEL, C-h Erase the last character.
C-x, C-u Erase the entire input line.
C-w Erase to the beginning of the previous word.
C-q, n Quote the next character typed.
RET Signifies that you have completed typing in the argument.
C-g Abort the command in progress.
2.2 Prefix Arguments
All commands accept an optional numeric prefix argument. This is often
interpreted as a repetition count. For example, the function next-line,
if given a prefix argument, will move the cursor forward that many lines;
without an argument, it will move the cursor forward one line. A few
commands behave differently if given a prefix argument than they do without
8
one, and others ignore the prefix argument entirely.
digit-argument M-0, M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5, M-6, M-7, M-8, M-9
negative-argument M--
One way to specify a command argument is to use the escape key as a meta
prefix, and then type one or more digits. A dash may be used for a
negative argument.
universal-argument C-u
Another way to specify a command prefix is to type C-u. Typing one C-u is
equivalent to a prefix argument of 4, typing two gives a value of 16, and
so on. In addition, you can type digits following C-u to form a numeric
prefix argument.
2.3 Aborting
keyboard-quit C-g
Typing C-g cancels any command. It is particularly useful for cancelling a
command when MG is prompting for input in the minibuffer.
2.4 Extended Commands
execute-extended-command command M-x
Commands that are not bound to keys can be executed through execute
extended-command. If a prefix argument is supplied, it is passed to the
command being executed.
9
Chapter 3
Moving the Cursor
The commands described in this chapter move the cursor (sometimes called
the point or dot) within the current window. Commands which set the mark
are included here as well.
backward-char C-b
Moves the cursor backward (left) one character. If the cursor is at the
left margin, it will be moved to the end of the previous line.
backward-paragraph M-[
Moves the cursor backwards to the beginning of the current paragraph, or
to the beginning of the previous paragraph if the cursor is already at the
beginning of a paragraph.
backward-word M-b
Moves the cursor backwards to the beginning of the current word, or to the
beginning of the previous word if the cursor is already at the beginning of
a word.
beginning-of-buffer M-<
Moves the cursor backwards to the beginning of the buffer.
beginning-of-line C-a
Moves the cursor backwards to the beginning of the current line. This
command has no effect if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
line.
end-of-buffer M->
Moves the cursor forwards to the end of the buffer.
10
end-of-line C-e
Moves the cursor forwards to the end of the current line. This command has
no effect if the cursor is already at the end of the line.
exchange-point-and-mark C-x C-x
Set the mark at the current cursor position, and move the cursor to the old
location of the mark.
forward-char C-f
Moves the cursor forwards one character. If the cursor is at the end of a
line, it will be moved to the first character on the next line.
forward-paragraph M-]
Moves the cursor forwards to the next paragraph delimiter.
forward-word M-f
Moves the cursor forwards to the end of the current word, or to the end of
the next word if the cursor is already at the end of a word.
goto-line line-number
Moves the cursor to the beginning of line line-number in the buffer.
next-line C-n
Moves the cursor down one line. The cursor remains in the same column
unless it would be past the end of the line, in which case it is moved to
the end of the line. At the end of the buffer, C-n will create new lines.
previous-line C-p
Moves the cursor up one line. The cursor remains in the same column unless
it would be past the end of the line, in which case it is moved to the end
of the line.
recenter C-l
Redraws the entire screen, scrolling the current window if necessary so
that the cursor is near the center. With a positive prefix argument n, the
window is scrolled so that the cursor is n lines from the top. A negative
prefix argument puts the cursor that many lines from the bottom of the
window.
redraw-display
11
Redraws the entire screen, but never scrolls.
scroll-down M-v
Scrolls the display down (moving backward through the buffer). Without an
argument, it scrolls slightly less than one windowful. A prefix argument
scrolls that many lines.
scroll-one-line-down
scroll-one-line-up
These functions are similar to scroll-down and scroll-up (respectively),
but when invoked without an argument, cause the display to scroll by one
line only. These functions are enabled by defining the compile-time option
GOSMACS.
scroll-other-window M-C-v
Scrolls the ``other'' window forward as for scroll-up.
scroll-up C-v
Scrolls the display up (moving forward through the buffer). Without an an
argument, it scrolls slightly less than one windowful. A prefix argument
scrolls that many lines.
set-mark-command NUL
Set the mark at the current cursor position.
what-cursor-position C-x =
Prints some information in the minibuffer about where the cursor is.
12
Chapter 4
Text Insertion Commands
The usual way to insert text into a buffer is simply to type the
characters. The default binding for all of the printing characters
(self-insert-command) causes them to be inserted literally at the cursor
position.
insert string
Insert string into the current buffer at the cursor position.
newline RET
Insert a line break into the current buffer at the cursor position, moving
the cursor forward to the beginning of the new line.
newline-and-indent C-j
Insert a line break into the current buffer at the cursor position, then
add extra whitespace so that the cursor is aligned in the same column as
the first non-whitespace character in the previous line.
open-line C-o
Inserts a line break into the current buffer at the current position, but
does not move the cursor forward.
quoted-insert C-q
This command acts as a prefix to cancel the normal interpretation of the
next keystroke. If C-q is followed by one to three octal digits, it is
interpreted as the code of the character to insert. Otherwise a single
key is read and the character typed is inserted into the buffer instead
of interpreted as a command. This is used for inserting literal control
characters into a buffer.
13
self-insert-command
This is the default binding for keys representing printable characters.
The character is inserted into the buffer at the cursor position, and the
cursor moved forward.
14
Chapter 5
Killing, Deleting, and Moving Text
When text is deleted, it is erased completely. Killing text, on the other
hand, moves it into a temporary storage area called the kill buffer. The
saved text in the kill buffer is erased when another block of text is
killed. Until then, however, you can retrieve text from the kill buffer.
This can be used to move or copy blocks of text, as well as to restore
accidentally killed text.
backward-kill-word M-DEL
Kill the text backwards from the cursor position to the beginning of the
current word. Typing M-DEL several times in succession prepends each
killed word to the kill buffer.
copy-region-as-kill M-w
Copies the text in the region into the kill buffer, without removing it
from the current buffer.
delete-backward-char DEL
Deletes the character to the left of the cursor.
delete-blank-lines C-x C-o
Deletes all blank lines after the current line, and if the current line is
blank, deletes it and all blank lines preceeding it as well.
delete-char C-d
Deletes the character underneath the cursor.
delete-horizontal-space M-n
Deletes all spaces and tabs on either side of the cursor.
15
just-one-space M-SPC
This is like delete-horizontal-space, except it leaves a single space at
the cursor position.
kill-line C-k
If no prefix argument is specified, this function kills text up to the next
newline; or if the cursor is at the end of a line, the newline is killed.
A prefix argument specifies how many lines to kill. Typing C-k several
times in succession appends each line to the kill buffer.
kill-paragraph
This command kills the entire paragraph containing the cursor. If the
cursor is positioned between paragraphs, the next paragraph is killed.
kill-region C-w
The region (all text between point and mark) is killed.
kill-word M-d
Text is killed forward from the cursor position to the next end of word.
If the cursor is at the end of the word, then the next word is killed.
Typing M-d several times appends the killed text to the kill buffer.
yank C-y
Text is copied from the kill buffer into the current buffer at the cursor
position. The cursor is moved to the end of the inserted text.
16
Chapter 6
Searching and Replacing
6.1 Searching
The ordinary search command in MG differs from that in many other editors
in that it is incremental: it begins searching as soon as you begin typing
the search string, instead of waiting for you to type the entire string.
All of the search commands described in this section are
case-insensitive.
isearch-backward pattern C-r
isearch-forward pattern C-s
These commands perform an incremental search backward and forward
(respectively) for pattern. MG will move the cursor to the place in the
buffer that matches as much of the pattern as you have typed so far, as
each character is entered.
Within the incremental search, the following characters are interpreted
specially:
DEL Erase the last character in the search string.
ESC Stop searching; exit from incremental search mode, leaving
the cursor where the search brought it.
C-g If a match has been found, exits from incremental search but
leaves the cursor in its original position. If the search
has failed, this will just erase the characters which have
not been found from the end of the search pattern. In this
case, you must type C-g again to abort the search.
17
C-s Search forward for the next occurrence of the same pattern.
C-r Search backward for the previous occurrence of the same
pattern.
C-q ``Quotes'' the next character typed, forcing it to be
interpreted as a literal character in the search pattern.
In addition, normal commands such as C-a that do not have special
meanings within incremental search cause the search to be terminated, and
then are executed in the ordinary way.
search-again
search-backward pattern M-r
search-forward pattern M-s
These commands perform ordinary, non-incremental searches. Search-again
uses the same pattern and direction as the previous search.
6.2 Replacing
query-replace pattern replacement M-%
The primary replace command in MG is an interactive query replace. MG
searches forward for occurrences of pattern, and asks you what to do about
each one. The choices are:
SPC Replace this match with replacement, and go on to the next.
DEL Skip to the next match without replacing this one.
. Replace this match, and then quit.
! Replace all remaining occurrences without asking again.
ESC Quit.
By default, query-replace adjusts the case of lower-case letters in
the replacement string to match that of the particular occurrence of the
pattern; for example, replacing ``Foo'' with ``bar'' results in ``Bar''.
Upper case letters in the replacement string are always left uppercase. In
addition, supplying a prefix argument will also tell query-replace to leave
the case of the replacement string as-is.
18
Note that query-replace always performs a case-insensitive search.
6.3 Regular Expressions
Regular expressions provide a means for specifying complex search patterns,
instead of just a literal string. The commands in this section are
available only if MG is compiled with the REGEX option defined.
Regular expression syntax uses the following rules. Most characters
in a regular expression are considered to be ordinary characters, and
will match themselves and nothing else. The exceptions are the special
characters listed below.
. Matches any single character except a newline.
* A suffix operator that matches zero or more repetitions of
the (smallest) preceding regular expression.
+ A suffix operator that matches one or more repetitions of
the (smallest) preceding regular expression.
? A suffix operator that matches either zero or one occurence
of the (smallest) preceding regular expression.
[... ] Matches any one character listed in the character set
between the square brackets. See examples below.
^ Matches at the beginning of a line.
$ Matches at the end of a line.
n Except for the situations listed below, acts as a prefix
operator which causes the character following to be treated
as an ordinary character.
n| An infix binary or operator. It applies to the two largest
surrounding expressions.
n(... n) A grouping construct, usually used to specify a larger
expression for postfix operators such as * or to limit the
scope of operands to \|.
ndigit Matches the same text matched by the digitth \(...\)
construct. These are numbered from 1 to 9 in the order that
19
the open-parentheses appear.
n` Matches at the beginning of the buffer.
n' Matches at the end of the buffer.
nb Matches at the beginning or end of a word.
nB Matches anyplace except at the beginning or end of a word.
n< Matches at the beginning of a word.
n> Matches at the end of a word.
nw Matches any word-constituent character.
nW Matches any character which is not a word-constituent.
Some examples may help clarify the rules.
foo Matches the literal string foo.
;.* Matches all strings which begin with a semicolon and
continue to the end of a line.
c[ad]+r Matches strings of the form car, cdr, caar, cadr, and so on.
[a-z] Matches any lowercase letter.
[^a-z] Matches any character except lowercase letters.
[0-9+---] Matches a digit or sign.
n(foon|barn) Matches either the string foo or the string bar.
count-matches pattern
count-non-matches pattern
These commands count the number of lines which do or do not (respectively)
match the specified pattern.
delete-matching-lines pattern
delete-non-matching-lines pattern
20
These commands delete all lines which do or do not (respectively) match the
specified pattern.
query-replace-regexp pattern replacement
This is the regular expression version of query-replace.
The replacement string may be a constant, or it can refer to all or
part of the string matched by the pattern. \& in the replacement string
expands into the entire text being replaced, while \n (where n is a number)
replaces the nth parenthesized expression in pattern.
re-search-again
re-search-backward pattern
re-search-forward pattern
These are the regular expression equivalents of the ordinary non-
incremental search commands.
set-case-fold-search
This command toggles an internal variable that controls whether the regular
expression search and replace commands pay attention to case. By default,
regular expression searches are case-insensitive. Ordinary searches are
always case-insensitive and are not affected by the setting of this
variable.
21
Chapter 7
Windows
MG initially has only one text window displayed. However, you can have as
many windows as will fit on the screen. Each window has its own mode line
and must display at least two lines of text. (Note that a MG's ``windows''
are distinct from the ``windows'' handled by screen managers such as the X
Window System.)
Multiple windows may be used to display different buffers. You can also
have the same buffer displayed in more than one window, which is useful if
you want to see one part of a file at the same time as you are editing
another part.
Although many windows can be displayed at once, only one window is
active at any given time. This is the window where the cursor appears.
Some commands refer to the ``other'' window. This is the window
directly below the current window, or the top window if you are in the
bottom window.
delete-other-windows C-x 1
Makes the current window the only window.
delete-window C-x 0
Deletes the current window, making the ``other'' window the current window.
This command doesn't do anything useful if there is only one window being
displayed.
enlarge-window C-^
Makes the current window larger. Without a prefix argument, the window
grows one line; otherwise, the prefix argument specifies how many lines to
grow.
22
other-window C-x o
Makes the ``other'' window the current window.
previous-window
This is like other-window, except that it cycles through the windows in
reverse order. This command is available only if MG was compiled with the
GOSMACS option defined.
shrink-window
Makes the current window smaller. Without a prefix argument, the window
loses one line; otherwise, the prefix argument specifies how many lines go
away.
split-window-vertically C-x 2
Split the current window into two windows, both using the same buffer.
23
Chapter 8
Files and Buffers
Most buffers are used to contain a file being edited. It is also possible
to have buffers that are not associated with any file; MG uses these for
purposes such as displaying help text, for example. However, since most
commands for dealing with files also deal with buffers, we have grouped all
of these commands together into one chapter.
8.1 Buffer Manipulation
insert-buffer buffer-name
Inserts the contents of the named buffer into the current buffer at the
cursor location. The cursor moves to the end of the inserted text.
kill-buffer buffer-name C-x k
The named buffer and its contents are deleted. If the buffer has been
marked as modified, MG will ask you if you really want to delete it. Note
that, contrary to its name, this command does not save the buffer contents
in the kill buffer.
If a buffer is being displayed in a window when it is deleted, MG will
find some other buffer to display in the same window.
list-buffers C-x C-b
This command writes information about the buffers currently in use to a
buffer named *Buffer List*. This buffer is then displayed in the ``other''
window; if there is only one window, this command will split the screen
into two windows.
not-modified M-~
24
This command makes MG think that the current buffer has not been modified,
even if it really has been changed. This affects the behavior of the
kill-buffer and the buffer-saving commands described below.
MG indicates modified buffers with two stars at the left end of the mode
line.
switch-to-buffer buffer-name C-x b
The current window is mapped onto the named buffer. If there isn't already
a buffer with that name around, MG will create one.
switch-to-buffer-other-window buffer-name C-x 4 b
This command works like switch-to-buffer, except that the ``other'' window
is used. If there is only one window, this command splits the screen into
two windows and maps the named buffer onto one of them.
8.2 Reading and Writing Files
find-file file-name C-x f
find-file-other-window file-name C-x 4 C-f
These commands are analagous to switch-to-buffer and switch-to-buffer-
other-window, respectively. The difference is that these commands look for
a buffer associated with the named file. If no matching buffer is found,
MG will create a new buffer with a name derived from the filename, and
attempt to read the file into the buffer. If the named file cannot be
opened, the buffer remains empty.
insert-file file-name C-x i
This command reads in the contents of the named file into the current
buffer at the cursor position. The cursor remains in the same place.
save-buffer C-x C-s
If the current buffer has been modified, it is saved. Buffers that are not
associated with files cannot be written out with this command.
save-buffers-kill-emacs C-x C-c
This command is used to leave MG and return control to the shell or other
program that was used to start MG. If there are modified buffers, MG will
ask you if you want to save them before exiting.
save-some-buffers C-x s
MG will ask you if you want to save modified buffers that are associated
25
with files.
write-file file-name C-x C-w
The current buffer is written out using the file name supplied. This
is useful for saving buffers that are not associated with files, or for
writing out a file with a different name than what was used to read it in.
8.3 Backup Files
MG provides a way to save a copy of the original version of files which
have been modified and then written out again. The backup copy reflects
the state of the file as it existed the first time it was read into MG. The
name used for the backup file varies, depending on the operating system.
This feature is disabled if MG is compiled with NOBACKUP defined.
make-backup-files
This command is a toggle which controls the state of an internal variable
that determines whether MG creates backup files.
8.4 Changing the Directory
The commands in this section are disabled by defining NODIR.
cd directory-name
This command changes MG's notion of the ``current'' directory or pathname.
This is used to supply defaults for functions that read or write files.
The syntax for directory-name is obviously specific to the particular
operating system MG is running on.
pwd
Display what MG thinks is the current directory.
26
Chapter 9
Modes
Modes are used to locally alter the bindings of keys on a buffer-by-buffer
basis. MG is normally in fundamental mode, and these are the bindings that
are listed with the command descriptions in this manual. Modes define
additional keymaps that are searched for bindings before the fundamental
mode bindings are examined; see the section on key binding below for more
details on how this works.
set-default-mode mode-name
Normally, when MG visits a file, it puts the associated buffer into
fundamental mode. Using the set-default-mode command, you can specify that
MG should default to use some other mode on all subsequent buffers that are
created. This command is a toggle. With no prefix argument, if the named
mode is not already on the list of default modes, then it will be added to
the list; otherwise, it is removed from the list.
9.1 No Tab Mode
In notab mode, tabs are expanded into spaces instead of inserted literally
into the buffer. Literal tab characters are displayed as ^I (much like
other control characters). These commands are available if MG is compiled
with the symbol NOTAB defined. (This mode is mainly for use on systems
such as PRIMOS that do not treat tab as a series of spaces.)
no-tab-mode
This command is a toggle to control whether notab mode is in effect.
space-to-tabstop
Insert enough spaces to move the cursor to the next tab stop. In notab
27
mode, this function is bound to C-i.
9.2 Overwrite Mode
Normally, when characters are inserted into the buffer, they are spliced
into the existing text. In overwrite mode, inserting a character causes
the character already at the cursor position to be replaced. This is
useful for editing pictures, tables, and the like.
overwrite-mode
This command is a toggle which controls whether overwrite mode is in
effect.
9.3 Auto Fill
Fill mode causes newlines to be added automatically at word breaks when
text is added at the end of a line, extending past the right margin. Auto
fill is useful for editing text and documentation files.
auto-fill-mode
This command is a toggle which controls whether fill mode is in effect.
insert-with-wrap
This command works like self-insert, except that it checks to see if the
cursor has passed the right margin. If so, it fills the line by inserting
a line break between words. This command is bound to SPC in fill mode.
fill-paragraph M-q
Fill the paragraph containing the cursor.
set-fill-column C-x f
Without a prefix argument, this command sets the right margin at the
current cursor column. If a prefix argument is supplied, it is used
instead as the line width.
9.4 Auto Indent
Indent mode binds RET to newline-and-indent, so that each new line is
indented to the same level as the preceeding line. This mode is useful for
editing code.
28
auto-indent-mode
This command is a toggle which controls whether auto-indent mode is in
effect.
9.5 Blink
Blink mode makes it easier to match parentheses, brackets, and other
paired delimiters. When the closing delimiter is typed, the cursor moves
momentarily to the matching opening delimiter (if it is on the screen), or
displays the line containing the matching delimiter on the echo line. This
is useful for editing Lisp or C code, or for preparing input files for text
processors such as LaTeX that use paired delimiters.
blink-matching-paren
This command is a toggle which controls whether blink mode is in effect.
blink-matching-paren-hack
This function behaves like self-insert, except that it finds the matching
delimiter as described above. In blink mode, this function is bound to ),
which flashes the matching (. This function also knows about the pairs {},
[], and <>. All other characters match with themselves.
9.6 Dired Mode
``Dired'' is an abbreviation for ``directory editor'', and it provides a
way to browse through the contents of a directory from with MG. Dired puts
a directory listing into a buffer; you can use normal editing commands to
move around the buffer, and a special group of commands to manipulate the
files. For example, there are commands to delete and rename files, and to
read a file into an MG buffer.
Since dired mode rebinds many keys, a table may be helpful:
C-d dired-flag-file-deleted
SPC next-line
c dired-copy-file
d dired-flag-file-deleted
e dired-find-file
f dired-find-file
n next-line
o dired-find-file-other-window
p previous-line
r dired-renamefile
29
u dired-unflag
x dired-do-deletions
DEL dired-backup-unflag
The commands in this section are disabled by defining NODIRED.
dired directory-name C-x d
Creates a dired buffer for the given directory name, and displays it in
the current window. The files in the directory are listed, usually along
with information about the file such as its size and timestamp. The exact
format of the information is system-specific.
dired-backup-unflag
This function removes the deletion flag from the file listed on the
previous line of the dired buffer.
dired-copy-file new-name
Copy the file listed on the current line of the dired buffer.
dired-do-deletions
Deletes the files that have been flagged for deletion.
dired-find-file
dired-find-file-other-window
These function works like find-file and find-file-other-window, except that
the filename is taken from the current line in the dired buffer.
dired-flag-file-deleted
Flag the file listed on the current line for deletion. This is indicated
in the buffer by putting a ``D'' at the left margin. No files are not
actually deleted until the function dired-do-deletions is executed.
dired-other-window directory-name
This function works just like dired, except that it puts the dired buffer
in the ``other'' window.
dired-rename-file new-name
Renames the file listed on the current line of the dired buffer. Note that
the dired buffer is not updated to reflect the change.
dired-unflag
Remove the deletion flag for the file on the current line.
30
Chapter 10
Miscellaneous
10.1 Help
Most of the commands in this section write useful information to the *help*
buffer, which is then displayed in the ``other'' window.
These commands can be disabled at compile-time by defining NOHELP.
apropos topic C-h a
This command lists all functions whose names contain a string matching
topic in the *help* buffer.
describe-bindings C-h b
Information about the key bindings in effect in the current buffer is
listed in the *help* buffer.
describe-key-briefly key C-h c
Information about the binding of key is printed in the minibuffer.
help-help option C-h C-h
This command lists all of the help options available and prompts for which
one to run. Currently, these include only a to run apropos, b to run
describe-bindings, and c to run describe-key-briefly.
10.2 Keyboard Macros
A keyboard macro is a saved set of commands from the keyboard that can be
reexecuted later on. There can only be one keyboard macro defined at any
one time.
31
The commands in this section are available unless they have been
disabled by defining NOMACRO.
call-last-kbd-macro C-x e
Execute the saved keyboard macro. A prefix argument can be used to specify
a repetition count.
end-kbd-macro C-x )
start-kbd-macro C-x (
These functions are used to define a keyboard macro. All keys entered
after start-kbd-macro is executed, up to a end-kbd-macro, are remembered as
they are executed. You can then reexecute the same sequence of operations
using call-last-kbd-macro.
10.3 Changing Case
MG provides a number of functions for changing the case of text.
capitalize-word M-c
downcase-region C-x C-l
downcase-word M-l
upcase-region C-x C-u
upcase-word M-u
All of these commands do the obvious.
10.4 Odds and Ends
This section describes miscellaneous commands that don't fit into any
particular category.
emacs-version
Prints information about the version of MG you are running in the
minibuffer.
meta-key-mode
If the particular version of MG you are running supports a meta key, this
function can be used to determine whether MG actually pays attention to it
or not. If no prefix argument is supplied, the internal variable that
controls the use of the meta key is toggled; a positive value enables the
meta key, while a negative value disables it.
32
prefix-region
set-prefix-string string
Prefix-region is used to prefix each line of the region with a string.
This is useful for indenting quoted text, making block comments, and the
like. The function set-prefix-string can be used to set the string used as
the prefix.
suspend-emacs C-z
This command temporarily suspends MG so that you can run other programs,
and later resume editing. The exact behavior depends on which operating
system you are running MG under. Typically, MG will either spawn a new
shell as a subprocess, or return you to the parent process.
transpose-chars C-t
This command transposes the previous two characters.
33
Chapter 11
Customization
MG provides a limited support for customization. However, unlike ``real''
Emacs, there is no extension language for interpretively defining new
functions.
11.1 Key Bindings
MG allows keys to be rebound locally or globally. To understand the
difference between the two, some discussion on how modes are implemented is
necessary.
An internal data structure called a keymap is used to look up the
function that is bound to a particular key. The keymap for fundamental
mode contains all of the default bindings which are listed with the command
descriptions in this manual. Modes define additional keymaps that are
searched for a binding before the fundamental mode keymap is examined.
Keymaps have the same name as the mode they are associated with.
MG does not provide commands for defining new modes, but you can alter
the keymaps for existing modes.
define-key keymap-name key command
This command can be used to modify the keymap for the named mode.
global-set-key key command
global-unset-key key
These commands modify the keymap for fundamental mode. Bindings
established by global-set-key will be inherited by all other modes, as long
as they do not establish local rebindings of the same key.
local-set-key key command
34
local-unset-key key
These commands modify the keymap currently in effect.
11.2 Startup Files
Although MG does not include a general-purpose extension language, it does
provide a way to read and evaluate commands using a somewhat different
syntax than that used for executing extended commands. This is typically
used in a startup file to modify key bindings.
A startup file consists of one or more expressions. Each expression
must appear on a separate line in the file; there may not be more than
one expression per line, nor may expressions span across line breaks.
Whitespace (spaces and tabs) separate the tokens in an expression. For
historical reasons, parentheses are also considered to be whitespace in
this context. A semicolon acts as a comment character, causing the rest of
the line to be discarded.
An expression consists of a function name, an optional prefix argument
(given as an integer constant), and arguments to be passed to the function.
If an argument includes literal whitespace or nonprintable characters (for
example, as in a keystroke argument to one of the key binding functions
described in the previous section), it must be supplied as a string
constant enclosed in double quotes.
Within string constants, the following backslash escapes are available
to specify nonprintable characters:
nt, nT Tab
nn, nN Newline
nr, nR Carriage return
ne, nE Escape (Meta prefix)
n^ Control prefix
nn Specifies a character by its ASCII code, where n may consist
of from one to three octal digits
nfn, nFn Specifies the keycode for the nth function key. N may
consist of one or two decimal digits.
The following commands which deal with evaluation of expressions are
disabled by defining the compile-time option NOSTARTUP.
35
The Rutgers Sun version will attempt to read two different startup
files, a general startup file and a terminal-specific startup file.
The terminal-specific startup file is intended primarily to define the
keypad. The general startup file is .mg in your home directory.
If there is no such file, /usr/local/lib/mg/mg will be used. The
terminal-specific startup file is .mg-TYPE, where TYPE represents the name
of the terminal type. E.g if your terminal type is set to vt100, MG
will read a file .mg-vt100. If there is no such file, it will try
/usr/local/lib/mg/mg-vt100. Files should exist in /usr/local/lib/mg for
the terminal types commonly in use at Rutgers.
For other versions, see the implementation notes for your particular
version of MG for information on how it handles startup files.
eval-current-buffer
Evaluate the expressions in the current buffer.
eval-expression expression
Evaluate the expression supplied.
load file-name
Read in the specified file and evaluate its contents.
36
Fundamental Mode Key Bindings
NUL set-mark-command C-x C-o delete-blank-lines
C-a beginning-of-line C-x C-s save-buffer
C-b backward-char C-x C-u upcase-region
C-d delete-char C-x C-w write-file
C-e end-of-line C-x C-x exchange-point-and-mark
C-f forward-char C-x ( start-kbd-macro
C-g keyboard-quit C-x ) end-kbd-macro
C-h help C-x 0 delete-window
TAB self-insert-command C-x 1 delete-other-windows
C-j newline-and-indent C-x 2 split-window-vertically
C-k kill-line C-x 4 c-x 4 prefix
C-l recenter C-x = what-cursor-position
RET newline C-x ^ enlarge-window
C-n next-line C-x b switch-to-buffer
C-o open-line C-x d dired
C-p previous-line C-x e call-last-kbd-macro
C-q quoted-insert C-x f set-fill-column
C-r isearch-backward C-x i insert-file
C-s isearch-forward C-x k kill-buffer
C-t transpose-chars C-x o other-window
C-u universal-argument C-x s save-some-buffers
C-v scroll-up C-x 4 C-f find-file-other-window
C-w kill-region C-x 4 C-g keyboard-quit
C-x c-x prefix C-x 4 b switch-to-buffer-other-
C-y yank window
C-z suspend-emacs C-x 4 f find-file-other-window
ESC meta prefix
SPC .. ~ self-insert-command M-C-g keyboard-quit
DEL delete-backward-char M-C-v scroll-other-window
M-SPC just-one-space
C-h C-g keyboard-quit M-% query-replace
C-h C-h help-help M-- negative-argument
C-h a apropos M-0 digit-argument
C-h b describe-bindings M-1 digit-argument
C-h c describe-key-briefly M-2 digit-argument
M-3 digit-argument
C-x C-b list-buffers M-4 digit-argument
C-x C-c save-buffers-kill-emacs M-5 digit-argument
C-x C-f find-file M-6 digit-argument
C-x C-g keyboard-quit M-7 digit-argument
C-x C-l downcase-region M-8 digit-argument
37
M-9 digit-argument
M-< beginning-of-buffer
M-> end-of-buffer
M-[ backward-paragraph
M-\ delete-horizontal-space
M-] forward-paragraph
M-b backward-word
M-c capitalize-word
M-d kill-word
M-f forward-word
M-l downcase-word
M-q fill-paragraph
M-r search-backward
M-s search-forward
M-u upcase-word
M-v scroll-down
M-w copy-region-as-kill
M-x execute-extended-command
M-~ not-modified
M-DEL backward-kill-word
38
Index
apropos ....................... 31 dired-other-window ............ 30
auto-fill-mode ................ 27 dired-rename-file ............. 30
auto-indent-mode .............. 28 dired-unflag .................. 30
backward-char .................. 9 downcase-region ............... 32
backward-kill-word ............ 14 downcase-word ................. 32
backward-paragraph ............. 9 emacs-version ................. 32
backward-word .................. 9 end-kbd-macro ................. 32
beginning-of-buffer ............ 9 end-of-buffer .................. 9
beginning-of-line .............. 9 end-of-line ................... 10
blink-matching-paren .......... 28 enlarge-window ................ 21
blink-matching-paren-hack ..... 28 eval-current-buffer ........... 36
call-last-kbd-macro ........... 32 eval-expression ............... 36
capitalize-word ............... 32 exchange-point-and-mark ....... 10
cd ............................ 25 execute-extended-command ....... 8
copy-region-as-kill ........... 14 fill-paragraph ................ 27
count-matches ................. 19 find-file ..................... 24
count-non-matches ............. 19 find-file-other-window ........ 24
define-key .................... 34 forward-char .................. 10
delete-backward-char .......... 14 forward-paragraph ............. 10
delete-blank-lines ............ 14 forward-word .................. 10
delete-char ................... 14 global-set-key ................ 34
delete-horizontal-space ....... 15 global-unset-key .............. 34
delete-matching-lines ......... 19 goto-line ..................... 10
delete-non-matching-lines ..... 19 help-help ..................... 31
delete-other-windows .......... 21 insert ........................ 12
delete-window ................. 21 insert-buffer ................. 23
describe-bindings ............. 31 insert-file ................... 24
describe-key-briefly .......... 31 insert-with-wrap .............. 27
digit-argument ................. 8 isearch-backward .............. 16
dired ......................... 29 isearch-forward ............... 16
dired-backup-unflag ........... 29 just-one-space ................ 15
dired-copy-file ............... 29 keyboard-quit .................. 8
dired-do-deletions ............ 29 kill-buffer ................... 23
dired-find-file ............... 29 kill-line ..................... 15
dired-find-file-other-window .. 29 kill-paragraph ................ 15
dired-flag-file-deleted ....... 29 kill-region ................... 15
39
kill-word ..................... 15 set-prefix-string ............. 33
list-buffers .................. 23 shrink-window ................. 22
load .......................... 36 space-to-tabstop .............. 26
local-set-key ................. 34 split-window-vertically ....... 22
local-unset-key ............... 35 start-kbd-macro ............... 32
make-backup-files ............. 25 suspend-emacs ................. 33
meta-key-mode ................. 32 switch-to-buffer .............. 24
negative-argument .............. 8 switch-to-buffer-other-window . 24
newline ....................... 12 transpose-chars ............... 33
newline-and-indent ............ 12 universal-argument ............. 8
next-line ..................... 10 upcase-region ................. 32
no-tab-mode ................... 26 upcase-word ................... 32
not-modified .................. 24 what-cursor-position .......... 11
open-line ..................... 12 write-file .................... 25
other-window .................. 21 yank ......................... 15
overwrite-mode ................ 27
prefix-region ................. 33
previous-line ................. 10
previous-window ............... 22
pwd ........................... 25
query-replace ................. 17
query-replace-regexp .......... 19
quoted-insert ................. 12
re-search-again ............... 20
re-search-backward ............ 20
re-search-forward ............. 20
recenter ...................... 10
redraw-display ................ 11
save-buffer ................... 24
save-buffers-kill-emacs ....... 24
save-some-buffers ............. 25
scroll-down ................... 11
scroll-one-line-down .......... 11
scroll-one-line-up ............ 11
scroll-other-window ........... 11
scroll-up ..................... 11
search-again .................. 17
search-backward ............... 17
search-forward ................ 17
self-insert-command ........... 13
set-case-fold-search .......... 20
set-default-mode .............. 26
set-fill-column ............... 27
set-mark-command .............. 11
40
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