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MicroEMACS
Full Screen Text Editor
Reference Manual
Version 3.11
October 29, 1991
(C)Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 by Daniel M. Lawrence
Reference Manual (C)opyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
by Brian Straight and Daniel M. Lawrence
All Rights Reserved
(C)Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 by Daniel M. Lawrence
MicroEMACS 3.11 can be copied and distributed freely for any
non-commercial purposes. Commercial users may use MicroEMACS
3.11 inhouse. Shareware distributors may redistribute
MicroEMACS 3.11 for media costs only. MicroEMACS 3.11 can only
be incorporated into commercial software or resold with the
permission of the current author.
Introduction
MicroEMACS is a tool for creating and changing documents,
programs, and other text files. It is both relatively easy for the novice
to use, but also very powerful in the hands of an expert. MicroEMACS can
be extensively customized for the needs of the individual user.
MicroEMACS allows several files to be edited at the same time. The
screen can be split into different windows and screens, and text may be
moved freely from one window on any screen to the next. Depending on the
type of file being edited, MicroEMACS can change how it behaves to make
editing simple. Editing standard text files, program files and word
processing documents are all possible at the same time.
There are extensive capabilities to make word processing and
editing easier. These include commands for string searching and replacing,
paragraph reformatting and deleting, automatic word wrapping, word move
and deletes, easy case controlling, and automatic word counts.
For complex and repetitive editing tasks editing macroes can be
written. These macroes allow the user a great degree of flexibility in
determining how MicroEMACS behaves. Also, any and all the commands can be
used by any keystroke by changing, or rebinding, what commands various
keys invoke.
Special features are also available to perform a diverse set of
operations such as file encryption, automatic backup file generation,
entabbing and detabbing lines, executing operating system commands and
filtering of text through other programs (like SORT to allow sorting
text).
History
EMACS was originally a text editor written by Richard Stallman at
MIT in the early 1970s for Digital Equipment computers. Various versions,
rewrites and clones have made an appearance since.
This version of MicroEMACS is derived from code written by Dave G.
Conroy in 1985. Later modifications were performed by Steve Wilhite and
George Jones. In December of 1985 Daniel Lawrence picked up the then
current source (version 2.0) and made extensive modifications and
additions to it over the course of the next six years. Updates and support
for the current version are still available. Commercial support and usage
and resale licences are also available. The current program author can be
contacted by writing to:
USMAIL: Daniel Lawrence
617 New York St
Lafayette, IN 47901
UUCP: pur-ee!mdbs!dan
ARPA: mdbs!dan@ee.ecn.purdue.edu
Support is provided through:
The Programmer's Room
Opus 201/10
300/1200/2400 and 9600 (Hayes V series only)
(317) 742-5533 no parity 8 databits no stop bits
Credits
Many people have been involved in creating this software and we
wish to credit some of them here. Dave Conroy, of course, wrote the very
first version of MicroEMACS, and it is a credit to his clean coding that
so much work was able to be done to expand it. John Gamble is responsible
for writing the MAGIC mode search routines, and for maintaining all the
search code. Jeff Lomicka wrote the appendix on DEC VMS and has supplied a
lot of code to support VMS and the ATARI 1040ST versions. Curtis Smith
wrote the original VMS code and help support the Commodore AMIGA. Also
Lance Jones has done a lot of work on the AMIGA code. Professor Suresh
Konda at Carnegie Mellon University has put a lot of effort into writing
complex macros and finding all the bugs in the macro language before
anyone else does.
A special thanks to Dana Hoggatt who has provided an almost daily
sounnding board for ideas, algorithyms and code. He is responcible for the
encryption code directly and has prodded me into adding many features with
simple but poignant questions (Dan? How do we move the upper left corner
of the screen? . . . which forced me to write the text windowing system).
As to people sending source code and text translations over
computer networks like USENET and ARPA net, there are simply more than can
be listed here. [The comments in the edit history in the history.c file
mention each and the piece they contributed]. All these people should be
thanked for the hard work they have put into MicroEMACS.
Daniel M. Lawrence
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts
The current version of MicroEMACS is 3.11 (Third major re-write,
eleventh public release), and for the rest of this document, we shall
simply refer to this version as "EMACS". Any modifications for later
versions will be in the file README on the MicroEMACS distribution disk.
1.1 Keys and the Keyboard
Many times throughout this manual we will be talking about
commands and the keys on the keyboard needed to use them. There are a
number of "special" keys which can be used and are listed here:
<NL> NewLine which is also called RETURN, ENTER, or <NL>,
this key is used to end different commands.
^ The control key can be used before any alphabetic
character and some symbols. For example, ^C means to
hold down the <CONTROL> key and type the C key at the
same time.
^X The CONTROL-X key is used at the beginning of many
different commands.
META or M- This is a special EMACS key used to begin many commands.
his key is pressed and then released before typing the
next character. On most systems, this is the <ESC> key,
but it can be changed. (consult appendix E to learn what
key is used for META on your computer).
Whenever a command is described, the manual will list the actual
keystrokes needed to execute it in boldface using the above conventions,
and also the name of the command in italics.
1.2 Getting Started
In order to use EMACS, you must call it up from your system or
computer's command prompt. On UNIX and MSDOS machines, just type "emacs"
from the command prompt and follow it with the <RETURN> or <ENTER> key (we
will refer to this key as <NL> for "new-line" for the remainder of this
manual). On the Macintosh, the Amiga, the ATARI ST, and under OS/2 and
1
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Concepts
other icon based operating systems, double click on the uEMACS icon.
Shortly after this, a screen similar to the one below should appear.
1.3 Parts and Pieces
The screen is divided into a number of areas or windows. On some
systems the top window contains a function list of unshifted and shifted
function keys. We will discuss these keys later. Below them is an EMACS
mode line which, as we will see, informs you of the present mode of
operation of the editor--for example "(WRAP)" if you set EMACS to wrap at
the end of each line. Under the mode line is the text window where text
appears and is manipulated. Since each window has its own mode line, below
the text window is it's mode line. The last line of the screen is the
command line where EMACS takes commands and reports on what it is doing.
==========================================================================
f1 search-> f2 <-search | MicroEMACS: Text Editor
f3 hunt-> f4 <-hunt |
f5 fkeys f6 help | Available function key Pages include:
f7 nxt wind f8 pg[ ] | WORD BOX EMACS PASCAL C cObal Lisp
f9 save f10 exit | [use the f8 key to load Pages]
==========================================================================
MicroEMACS 3.11 () Function Keys
==========================================================================
==========================================================================
---- MicroEMACS 3.11 () -- Main ------------------------------------------
==========================================================================
Fig 1: EMACS screen on an IBM-PC
1.4 Entering Text
Entering text in EMACS is simple. Type the following sentence
fragment:
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious and
The text is displayed at the top of the text window. Now type:
2
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
terrifying events at the turn of the century
Notice that some of your text has dissapeared off the left side of
the screen. Don't panic--your text is safe!!! You've just discovered that
EMACS doesn't "wrap" text to the next line like most word processors
unless you hit <NL>. But since EMACS is used for both word processing, and
text editing, it has a bit of a dual personality. You can change the way
it works by setting various modes. In this case, you need to set WRAP
mode, using the add-mode command, by typing ^XM. The command line at the
base of the screen will prompt you for the mode you wish to add. Type wrap
followed by the <NL> key and any text you now enter will be wrapped.
However, the command doesn't wrap text already entered. To get rid of the
long line, press and hold down the <BACKSPACE> key until the line is gone.
Now type in the words you deleted, watch how EMACS goes down to the next
line at the right time. (In some versions of EMACS, WRAP is a default mode
in which case you don't have to worry about the instructions relating to
adding this mode.)
Now let's type a longer insert. Hit <NL> a couple of times to tab
down from the text you just entered. Now type the following paragraphs.
Press <NL> twice to indicate a paragraph break.
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious and
terrifying events at the turn of the century, is built on a
rocky island a few miles of the Channel coast. So small is the
island that wherever you stand its rocks are wet with sea spray.
The lighthouse tower is in the center of the island. A steep
flight of steps leads to the heavy door in its base. Winding
stairs lead up to the crew room.
1.5 Basic cursor movement
Now let's practice moving around in this text. To move the cursor
back to the word "Winding," enter M-B previous-word. This command moves
the cursor backwards by one word at a time. Note you have to press the key
combination every time the cursor steps back by one word. Continuously
pressing META and toggling B produces an error message. To move forward to
the word "stairs" enter M-F next-word, which moves the cursor forward by
one word at a time.
Notice that EMACS commands are usually mnemonic--F for forward, B
for backward, for example.
To move the cursor up one line, enter ^P previous-line, down one
line ^N next-line. Practice this movement by moving the cursor to the word
"terrifying" in the second line.
The cursor may also be moved forward or backward in smaller
increments. To move forward by one character, enter ^F forward-character,
to move backward, ^B backward-character. EMACS also allows you to specify
a number which is normally used to tell a command to execute many times.
3
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Concepts
To repeat most commands, press META and then the number before you enter
the command. Thus, the command META 5 ^F (M-5^F) will move the cursor
forward by five characters. Try moving around in the text by using these
commands. For extra practice, see how close you can come to the word
"small" in the first paragraph by giving an argument to the commands
listed here.
Two other simple cursor commands that are useful to help us move
around in the text are M-N next-paragraph which moves the cursor to the
second paragraph, and M-P previous-paragraph which moves it back to the
previous paragraph. The cursor may also be moved rapidly from one end of
the line to the other. Move the cursor to the word "few" in the second
line. Press ^A beginning-of-line. Notice the cursor moves to the word
"events" at the beginning of the line. Pressing ^E end-of-line moves the
cursor to the end of the line.
Finally, the cursor may be moved from any point in the file to the
end or beginning of the file. Entering M-> end-of-file moves the cursor to
the end of the buffer, M-< beginning-of-file to the first character of the
file.
On the IBM-PC, the ATARI ST and many other machines, the cursor
keys can also be used to move the cursor.
Practice moving the cursor in the text until you are comfortable
with the commands we've explored in this chapter.
1.6 Saving your text
When you've finished practicing cursor movement, save your file.
Your file currently resides in a BUFFER. The buffer is a temporary storage
area for your text, and is lost when the computer is turned off. You can
save the buffer to a file by entering ^X^S save-file. Notice that EMACS
informs you that your file has no name and will not let you save it.
To save your buffer to a file with a different name than it's
current one (which is empty), press ^X^W write-file. EMACS will prompt
you for the filename you wish to write. Enter the name fang.txt and press
return. On a micro, the drive light will come on, and EMACS will inform
you it is writing the file. When it finishes, it will inform you of the
number of lines it has written to the disk.
Congratulations!! You've just saved your first EMACS file!
4
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 1 Summary
In chapter 1, you learned how to enter text, how to use wrap mode,
how to move the cursor, and to save a buffer. The following is a table of
the commands covered in this chapter and their corresponding key bindings:
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
abort-command ^G aborts current command
add-mode ^XM allows addition of EMACS
mode such as WRAP
backward-character ^B moves cursor left one character
beginning-of-file M-< moves cursor to beginning of file
beginning-of-line ^A moves cursor to beginning of line
end-of-file M-> moves cursor to end of file
end-of-line ^E moves cursor to end of line
forward-character ^F moves cursor right one character
next-line ^N moves cursor to next line
next-paragraph M-N moves cursor to next paragraph
next-word M-F moves cursor forward one word
previous-line ^P moves cursor backward by one line
previous-paragraph M-P moves cursor to previous paragraph
previous-word M-B moves cursor backward by one word
save-file ^X^S saves current buffer to a file
write-file ^X^W save current buffer under a new name
5
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions
Chapter 2
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions
2.1 A Word About Windows, Buffers, Screens, and Modes
In the first chapter, you learned how to create and save a file in
EMACS. Let's do some more editing on this file. Call up emacs by typing in
the following command.
emacs fang.txt
On icon oriented systems, double click on the uEMACS icon, usually
a file dialog box of some sort will appear. Choose FANG.TXT from the
appropriate folder.
Shortly after you invoke EMACS, the text should appear on the
screen ready for you to edit. The text you are looking at currently
resides in a buffer. A buffer is a temporary area of computer memory which
is the primary unit internal to EMACS -- this is the place where EMACS
goes to work. The mode line at the bottom of the screen lists the buffer
name, FANG.TXT and the name of the file with which this buffer is
associated, FANG.TXT
The computer talks to you through the use of its screen. This
screen usually has an area of 24 lines each of 80 characters across. You
can use EMACS to subdivide the screen into several separate work areas, or
windows, each of which can be 'looking into' different files or sections
of text. Using windows, you can work on several related texts at one time,
copying and moving blocks of text between windows with ease. To keep track
of what you are editing, each window is identified by a mode line on the
last line of the window which lists the name of the buffer which it is
looking into, the file from which the text was read, and how the text is
being edited.
An EMACS mode tells EMACS how to deal with user input. As we have
already seen, the mode 'WRAP' controls how EMACS deals with long lines
(lines with over 79 characters) while the user is typing them in. The
'VIEW' mode, allows you to read a file without modifying it. Modes are
associated with buffers and not with files; hence, a mode needs to be
explicitly set or removed every time you edit a file. A new file read into
a buffer with a previously specified mode will be edited under this mode.
If you use specific modes frequently, EMACS allows you to set the modes
which are used by all new buffers, called global modes.
6
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions MicroEMACS Reference Manual
2.2 Insertions
Your previously-saved text should look like this:
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious and
terrifying events at the turn of the century, is built on a
rocky island a few miles of the Channel coast. So small is the
island that wherever you stand its rocks are wet with sea spray.
The lighthouse tower is in the center of the island. A steep
flight of steps leads to the heavy door in its base. Winding
stairs lead up to the crew room.
Let's assume you want to add a sentence in the second paragraph
after the word "base." Move the cursor until it is on the "W" of
"Winding". Now type the following:
This gives entry to the lower floor where the big steam
generator throbs steadily away, providing power for the electric
lantern.
If the line fails to wrap and you end up with a '$' sign in the
right margin, just enter M-Q fill-paragraph to reformat the paragraph.
This new command attempts to fill out a paragraph. Long lines are divided
up, and words are shuffled around to make the paragraph look nicer.
Notice that all visible EMACS characters are self-inserting -- all
you had to do was type the characters to insert and the existing text made
space for it. With a few exceptions discussed later, all non-printing
characters (such as control or escape sequences) are commands. To insert
spaces, simply use the space bar. Now move to the first line of the file
and type ^O open-line (Oh, not zero). You've just learned how to insert a
blank line in your text.
2.3 Deletions
EMACS offers a number of deletion options. For example, move the
cursor until it's under the period at the end of the insertion you just
did. Press the backspace key. Notice the "n" on "lantern" disappeared.
The backspace implemented on EMACS is called a destructive backspace--it
removes text immediately before the current cursor position from the
buffer. Now type ^H delete-previous-character. Notice that the cursor
moves back and obliterates the "r"--either command will backspace the
cursor.
Type in the two letters you erased to restore your text and move
the cursor to the beginning of the buffer M-> beginning-of-file. Move the
cursor down one line to the beginning of the first paragraph.
To delete the forward character, type ^D delete-next-character.
The "F" of "Fang" disappears. Continue to type ^D until the whole word is
7
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions
erased EMACS also permits the deletion of larger elements of text. Move
the cursor to the word "center" in the first line of text. Pressing
M-<backspace> delete-previous-word kills the word immediately before the
cursor. M-^H has the same effect.
Notice that the commands are very similar to the control commands
you used to delete individual letters. As a general rule in EMACS, control
sequences affect small areas of text, META sequences larger areas. The
word forward of the cursor position can therefore be deleted by typing M-D
delete-next-word. Now let's take out the remainder of the first line by
typing ^K kill-to-end-of-line. You now have a blank line at the top of
your screen. Typing ^K again or ^X^O delete-blank-lines deletes the blank
line and flushes the second line to the top of the text. Now exit EMACS by
typing ^X^C exit-emacs. Notice EMACS reminds you that you have not saved
your buffer. Ignore the warning and exit. This way you can exit EMACS
without saving any of the changes you just made.
8
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 2 Summary
In Chapter 2, you learned about the basic 'building blocks' of an
EMACS text file--buffers, windows, and files.
Key binding Keystroke Effect
delete-previous-character
^H deletes character immediately before
the current cursor position
delete-next-character ^D deletes character immediately after
current cursor position
delete-previous-word M-^H deletes word immediately before
current cursor position
delete-next-word M-D deletes word immediately after
current cursor position
kill-to-end-of-line ^K deletes from current cursor
position to end of line
insert-space ^C inserts a space to right of cursor
open-line ^O inserts blank line
delete-blank-lines ^X^O removes blank line
exit-emacs ^X^C exits emacs
9
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using Regions
Chapter 3
Using Regions
3.1 Defining and Deleting a Region
At this point its time to familiarize ourselves with two more
EMACS terms--the point and the mark. The point is located directly behind
the current cursor position. The mark (as we shall see shortly) is user
defined. These two elements together are called the current region and
limit the region of text on which EMACS performs many of its editing
functions.
Let's begin by entering some new text. Don't forget to add wrap
mode if its not set on this buffer. Start EMACS and open a file called
PUBLISH.TXT. Type in the following text:
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing is
electronic publishing. There are packages available for
practically every machine from elegantly simple programs for the
humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated professional packages for
PC and Macintosh computers.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as the
Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press allowed the mass
production and distribution of the written word, electronic
publishing puts the means of production in the hands of nearly
every individual. From the class magazine to the corporate
report, electronic publishing is changing the way we produce and
disseminate information.
Personal publishing greatly increases the utility of practically
every computer. Thousands of people who joined the computer
revolution of this decade only to hide their machines unused in
closets have discovered a new use for them as dedicated
publishing workstations.
Now let's do some editing. The last paragraph seems a little out
of place. To see what the document looks like without it we can cut it
from the text by moving the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph.
Enter M-<space> set-mark. EMACS will respond with "[Mark set]". Now move
the cursor to the end of the paragraph. You have just defined a region of
text. To remove this text from the screen, type ^W kill-region. The
paragraph disappears from the screen.
10
Using Regions MicroEMACS Reference Manual
On further consideration, however, perhaps the paragraph we cut
wasn't so bad after all. The problem may have been one of placement. If we
could tack it on to the end of the first paragraph it might work quite
well to support and strengthen the argument. Move the cursor to the end of
the first paragraph and enter ^Y yank. Your text should now look like
this:
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing is
electronic publishing. There are packages available for
practically every machine from elegantly simple programs for the
humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated professional packages for
PC and Macintosh computers. Personal publishing greatly
increases the utility of practically every computer. Thousands
of people who joined the computer revolution of this decade only
to hide their machines unused in closets have discovered a new
use for them as dedicated publishing workstations.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as the
Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press allowed the mass
production and distribution of the written word, electronic
publishing puts the means of production in the hands of nearly
every individual. From the class magazine to the corporate
report, electronic publishing is changing the way we produce and
disseminate information.
3.2 Yanking a Region
The text you cut initially didn't simply just disappear, it was
cut into a buffer that retains the 'killed' text appropriately called the
kill buffer. ^Y "yanks" the text back from this buffer into the current
buffer. If you have a long line (indicated, remember, by the "$" sign),
simply hit M-Q to reformat the paragraph.
There are other uses to which the kill buffer can be put. Using
the method we've already learned, define the last paragraph as a region.
Now type M-W copy-region. Nothing seems to have happened; the cursor stays
blinking at the point. But things have changed, even though you may not be
able to see any alteration.
To see what has happened to the contents of the kill buffer, move
the cursor down a couple of lines and "yank" the contents of the kill
buffer back with ^Y. Notice the last paragraph is now repeated. The region
you defined is "tacked on" to the end of your file because M-W copies a
region to the kill buffer while leaving the original text in your working
buffer. Some caution is needed however, because the contents of the kill
buffer are updated when you delete any regions, lines or words. If you are
moving large quantities of text, complete the operation before you do any
more deletions or you could find that the text you want to move has been
replaced by the most recent deletion. Remember--a buffer is a temporary
area of computer memory that is lost when the machine is powered down or
switched off. In order to make your changes permanent, they must be saved
11
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using Regions
to a file before you leave EMACS. Let's delete the section of text we just
added and save the file to disk.
Chapter 3 Summary
In Chapter 3, you learned how to achieve longer insertions and
deletions. The EMACS terms point and mark were introduced and you learned
how to manipulate text with the kill buffer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
set-mark M-<space> Marks the beginning of a region
delete-region ^W Deletes region between point and mark and
places it in KILL buffer
copy-region M-W Copies text between point and mark into
KILL buffer
yank-text ^Y Inserts a copy of the KILL buffer into
current buffer at point
12
Search and Replace MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 4
Search and Replace
4.1 Forward Search
Load EMACS and bring in the file you just saved. Your file should
look like the one below.
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing is
electronic publishing. There are packages available for
practically every machine from elegantly simple programs for the
humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated professional packages for
PC and Macintosh computers. Personal publishing greatly
increases the utility of practically every computer. Thousands
of people who joined the computer revolution of this decade only
to hide their machines unused in closets have discovered a new
use for them as dedicated publishing workstations.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as the
Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press allowed the mass
production and distribution of the written word, electronic
publishing puts the means of production in the hands of nearly
every individual. From the class magazine to the corporate
report, electronic publishing is changing the way we produce and
disseminate information.
Let's use EMACS to search for the word "revolutionary" in the
second paragraph. Because EMACS searches from the current cursor position
toward the end of buffers, and we intend to search forward, move the
cursor to the beginning of the text. Enter ^S search-forward. Note that
the command line now reads
"Search [] <META>:"
EMACS is prompting you to enter the search string -- the text you
want to find. Enter the word revolutionary and hit the META key. The
cursor moves to the end of the word "revolutionary."
Notice that you must enter the <META> key to start the search. If
you simply press <NL> the command line responds with "<NL>". Although
this may seem infuriating to users who are used to pressing the return key
to execute any command, EMACS' use of <META> to begin searches allows it
to pinpoint text with great accuracy. After every line wrap or carriage
return, EMACS 'sees' a new line character (<NL>). If you need to search
13
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Search and Replace
for a word at the end of a line, you can specify this word uniquely in
EMACS.
In our sample text for example, the word "and" occurs a number of
times, but only once at the end of a line. To search for this particular
occurrence of the word, move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer and
type ^S. Notice that EMACS stores the last specified search string as the
default string. If you press <META> now, EMACS will search for the default
string, in this case, "revolutionary."
To change this string so we can search for our specified "and"
simply enter the word and followed by <NL>. The command line now shows:
"search [and<NL>]<META>:"
Press <META> and the cursor moves to "and" at the end of the
second last line.
4.2 Exact Searches
If the mode EXACT is active in the current buffer, EMACS searches
on a case sensitive basis. Thus, for example you could search for
Publishing as distinct from publishing.
4.3 Backward Search
Backward searching is very similar to forward searching except
that it is implemented in the reverse direction. To implement a reverse
search, type ^R search-reverse. Because EMACS makes no distinction between
forward and backward stored search strings, the last search item you
entered appears as the default string. Try searching back for any word
that lies between the cursor and the beginning of the buffer. Notice that
when the item is found, the point moves to the beginning of the found
string (i.e., the cursor appears under the first letter of the search
item).
Practice searching for other words in your text.
4.4 Searching and Replacing
Searching and replacing is a powerful and quick way of making
changes to your text. Our sample text is about electronic publishing, but
the correct term is 'desktop' publishing. To make the necessary changes we
need to replace all occurrences of the word "electronic" with "desktop."
First, move the cursor to the top of the current buffer with the M-<
command. Then type M-R replace-string. The command line responds:
"Replace []<META>:"
14
Search and Replace MicroEMACS Reference Manual
where the square brackets enclose the default string. Type the
word electronic and hit <META>. The command line responds:
"with []<META>"
type desktop<META>. EMACS replaces all instances of the original
word with your revision. Of course, you will have to capitalize the first
letter of "desktop" where it occurs at the beginning of a sentence.
You have just completed an unconditional replace. In this
operation, EMACS replaces every instance of the found string with the
replacement string.
4.5 Query-Replace
You may also replace text on a case by case basis. The M-^R query-
replace-string command causes EMACS to pause at each instance of the found
string.
For example, assume we want to replace some instances of the word
"desktop" with the word "personal." Go back to the beginning of the
current buffer and enter the M-^R query-replace command. The procedure is
very similar to that which you followed in the unconditional
search/replace option. When the search begins however, you will notice
that EMACS pauses at each instance of "publishing" and asks whether you
wish to replace it with the replacement string. You have a number of
options available for response:
Response Effect
Y(es) Make the current replacement and skip to the next
occurrence of the search string
N(o) Do not make this replacement but continue
! Do the rest of the replacements with no more queries
U(ndo) Undo just the last replacement and query for it
again (This can only go back ONE time)
^G Abort the replacement command (This action does not
undo previously-authorized replacements
. Same effect as ^G, but cursor returns to the point at
which the replacement command was given
? This lists help for the query replacement command
Practice searching and searching and replacing until you feel
comfortable with the commands and their effects.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Search and Replace
Chapter 4 Summary
In this chapter, you learned how to search for specified strings
of text in EMACS. The chapter also dealt with searching for and replacing
elements within a buffer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
search-forward ^S Searches from point to end of buffer.
Point is moved from current location to
the end of the found string
search-backward ^R Searches from point to beginning of buffer.
Point is moved from current location to
beginning of found string
replace M-R Replace ALL occurrences of search string with
specified (null) string from point to the
end of the current buffer
query-replace M-^R As above, but pause at each found string
and query for action
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Windows MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 5
Windows
5.1 Creating Windows
We have already met windows in an earlier chapter. In this
chapter, we will explore one of EMACS' more powerful features -- text
manipulation through multiple windowing. Windows offer you a powerful and
easy way to edit text. By manipulating a number of windows and buffers on
the screen simultaneously, you can perform complete edits and revisions on
the computer screen while having your draft text or original data
available for reference in another window.
You will recall that windows are areas of buffer text that you can
see on the screen. Because EMACS can support several screen windows
simultaneously you can use them to look into different places in the same
buffer. You can also use them to look at text in different buffers. In
effect, you can edit several files at the same time.
Let's invoke EMACS and pull back our file on desktop publishing by
typing
emacs publish.txt
When the text appears, type the ^X2 split-current-window command.
The window splits into two windows. The window where the cursor resides is
called the current window -- in this case the bottom window. Notice that
each window has a text area and a mode line. The command line is however,
common to all windows on the screen.
The two windows on your screen are virtually mirror images of each
other because the new window is opened into the same buffer as the one you
are in when you issue the open-window command . All commands issued to
EMACS are executed on the current buffer in the current window.
To move the cursor to the upper window (i.e., to make that window
the current window, type ^XP previous-window. Notice the cursor moves to
the upper or previous window. Entering ^XO next-window moves to the next
window. Practice moving between windows. You will notice that you can also
move into the Function Key menu by entering these commands.
Now move to the upper window. Let's open a new file. On the EMACS
disk is a tutorial file. Let's call it into the upper window by typing:
^X^F
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Windows
and press return.
Enter the filename emacs.tut.
In a short time, the tutorial file will appear in the window. We
now have two windows on the screen, each looking into different buffers.
We have just used the ^X^F find-file command to find a file and bring it
into our current window.
You can scroll any window up and down with the cursor keys, or
with the commands we've learned so far. However, because the area of
visible text in each window is relatively small, you can scroll the
current window a line at a time.
Type ^X^N move-window-down
The current window scrolls down by one line -- the top line of
text scrolls out of view, and the bottom line moves towards the top of the
screen. You can imagine, if you like, the whole window slowly moving down
to the end of the buffer in increments of one line. The command ^X^P move-
window-up scrolls the window in the opposite direction.
As we have seen, EMACS editing commands are executed in the
current window, but the program does support a useful feature that allows
you to scroll the next window. M-^Z scroll-next-up scrolls the next
window up, M-^V scroll-next-down scrolls it downward. From the tutorial
window, practice scrolling the window with the desktop publishing text in
it up and down.
When you're finished, exit EMACS without saving any changes in
your files.
Experiment with splitting the windows on your screen. Open windows
into different buffers and experiment with any other files you may have.
Try editing the text in each window, but don't forget to save any changes
you want to keep -- you still have to save each buffer separately.
5.2 Deleting Windows
Windows allow you to perform complex editing tasks with ease.
However, they become an inconvenience when your screen is cluttered with
open windows you have finished using. The simplest solution is to delete
unneeded windows. The command ^X0 delete-window will delete the window you
are currently working in and move you to the next window.
If you have a number of windows open, you can delete all but the
current window by entering ^X1 delete-other-windows.
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Windows MicroEMACS Reference Manual
5.3 Resizing Windows
During complex editing tasks, you will probably find it convenient
to have a number of windows on the screen simultaneously. However this
situation may present inconveniences because the more windows you have on
the screen the smaller they are; in some cases, a window may show only a
couple of lines of text. To increase the flexibility and utility of the
window environment, EMACS allows you to resize the window you are working
in (called, as you will recall, the current window) to a convenient size
for easier editing, and then shrink it when you no longer need it to be so
large.
Let's try an example. Load in any EMACS text file and split the
current window into two. Now type ^X^(Shift-6), grow-window. Your current
window should be the lower one on the screen. Notice that it increases in
size upwards by one line. If you are in the upper window, it increases in
size in a downward direction. The command ^X^Z, shrink-window
correspondingly decreases window size by one line at a time.
EMACS also allows you to resize a window more precisely by
entering a numeric argument specifying the size of the window in lines. To
resize the window this way, press the META key and enter a numeric
argument (remember to keep it smaller than the number of lines on your
screen display) then press ^XW resize-window. The current window will be
enlarged or shrunk to the number of lines specified in the numeric
argument. For example entering:
M-8 ^XW
will resize the current window to 8 lines.
5.4 Repositioning within a Window
The cursor may be centered within a window by entering M-! or M-^L
redraw-display. This command is especially useful in allowing you to
quickly locate the cursor if you are moving frequently from window to
window. You can also use this command to move the line containing the
cursor to any position within the current window. This is done by using a
numeric argument before the command. Type M-<n> M-^L where <n> is the
number of the line within the window that you wish the current line to be
displayed.
The ^L clear-and-redraw command is useful for 'cleaning up' a
'messy' screen that can result of using EMACS on a mainframe system and
being interrupted by a system message.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Windows
Chapter 5 summary
In Chapter 5 you learned how to manipulate windows and the editing
flexibility they offer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
open-window ^X2 Splits current window into two windows if
space available
close-windows ^X1 Closes all windows except current window
next-window ^XO[oh] Moves point into next (i.e. downward) window
previous-window ^XP Moves point to previous (i.e. upward) window
move-window-down ^X^N Scrolls current window down one line
move-window-up ^X^P Scrolls current window up one line
redraw-display M ! or Window is moved so line with point
M ^L (with cursor) is at center of window
grow-window M-X ^ Current window is enlarged by one
line and nearest window is shrunk by
one line
shrink-window ^X^Z Current window is shrunk by one line
and nearest window is enlarged by one line
clear-and-redraw ^L Screen is blanked and redrawn. Keeps
screen updates in sync with your commands
scroll-next-up M-^Z Scrolls next window up by one line
scroll-next-down M-^V Scrolls next window down by one line
delete-window ^X0 Deletes current window
delete-other-windows ^X1 Deletes all but current window
resize-window ^X^W Resizes window to a given numeric argument
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Using a Mouse MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 6
Using a Mouse
On computers equipped with a mouse, the mouse can usually be used
to make editing easier. If your computer has a mouse, let's try using it.
Start MicroEMACS by typing:
emacs publish.txt
This brings EMACS up and allows it to edit the file from the last
chapter. If the function key window is visible on the screen, press the F5
key to cause it to disappear. Now use the ^X2 split-current-window command
to split the screen into two windows. Next use the ^X^F find-file command
to read in the fang.txt file. Now your screen should have two windows
looking into two different files.
Grab the mouse and move it around. On the screen an arrow, or
block of color appears. This is called the mouse cursor and can be
positioned on any character on the screen. On some computers, positioning
the mouse cursor in the extreme upper right or left corner may bring down
menus which allow you to access that computers utilities, sometimes called
Desk Accessories.
6.1 Moving around with the mouse
Using the mouse button (or the left button if the mouse has more
than one), position the mouse over some character in the current window.
Click the mouse button once. The point will move to where the mouse cursor
is. If you place the mouse cursor past the end of a line, the point will
move to the end of that line.
Move the mouse cursor into the other window and click on one of
the characters there. MicroEMACS will automatically make this window the
current window (notice that the mode line changes) and position the point
to the mouse cursor. This makes it very easy to use the mouse to switch to
a different window quickly.
6.2 Dragging around
Besides just using the mouse to move around on the screen, you can
use the same button to move text. Move the mouse cursor to a character in
one of the windows, and click down... but don't let the button up yet! The
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using a Mouse
point will move to where the mouse cursor is. Now move the mouse cursor up
or down on the screen, and release the button. The point will again move
to where the mouse cursor is, but this time it will bring the text under
it along for the ride. This is called dragging, and is how you can make
the text appear just where you want it to. If you try to drag text out of
the current window, EMACS will ignore your attempt and leave the point
where you first clicked down.
Now, click down on a word in one of the windows, and drag it
directly to the left. Release the button and watch as the entire window
slides, or scrolls to the left. The missing text has not been deleted, it
is simply not visible, off the left hand side of the screen. Notice the
mode line has changed and now looks like:
==== MicroEMACS 3.11 [<12] () == fang.txt == File: fang.txt =========
The number insided the brackets [] shows that the screen is now
scrolled 12 characters from the left margin.
Now grab the same text again, and drag it to the right, pulling
the rest of the text back into the current window. The [<] field will
disappear, meaning that the window is no longer scrolled to the left.
This feature is very useful for looking at wide charts and tables.
Remember, MicroEMACS will only scroll the text in the current window
sideways if you drag it straight to the side, otherwise it will drag the
text vertically.
Now, place the mouse cursor over a character on the upper mode
line, click down, move the mouse cursor up or down a few lines and let go
of the button. The mode line moves to where you dragged it, changing the
size of the windows above and below it. If you try to make a window with
less than one line, EMACS will not let you. Dragging the mode lines can
make it very fast and easy for you to rearrange the windows as you would
like.
If you have a number of different windows visible on the screen,
positioning the mouse over the mode line of one window and clicking the
right mouse button will cause that window to be deleted.
6.3 Cut and Paste
If your mouse has two buttons, then you can use the right button
to do some other things as well. Earlier, we learned how to define a
region by using the M-<space> set-mark command. Now, position the mouse
over at the beginning of a region you would like to copy. Next click and
hold down the right mouse button. Notice that the point jumps to the mouse
cursor and EMACS reports "[Mark Set]". Holding the button down move the
mouse to the end of the text you wish to copy and release the mouse
button. Emacs reports "[Region Copied]" to let you know it has copied the
region into the KILL buffer. This has done the same job as the M-W copy-
region command.
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Using a Mouse MicroEMACS Reference Manual
If you now click the right mouse button, without moving the mouse,
the region you defined dissapear, being cut from the current buffer. This
works just like the ^W kill-region command.
If you move the mouse away from where you cut the text, and click
the right mouse button down and up without moving the mouse, the text in
the KILL buffer gets inserted, or pasted into the current buffer at the
point.
6.4 Screens
MicroEMACS can use more than one screen at once. Each screen is a
collection of windows along with a mode line. These screens usually fill
the terminal or computer screen on text based systems, but can also be
held in different windows on graphically based systems like MicroSoft
Windows, OS/2, the Macintosh Finder and X-Windows. Don't be confused by
the two different uses of the term "window". Inside EMACS style editors, a
window lets you view part of a buffer. Under graphical operating systems,
a window holds a "virtual terminal", allowing you to manipulate more than
one job, editing session or program at once. Within MicroEMACS, these
operating system windows are called screens. All these screens are
displayed on your current desktop.
6.5 Resizing a Screen
You can change the size of a screen. Move the mouse to the last
position of the command line. Press the left mouse button down. Holding
it, move the mouse to the place you want the new lower right corner.
Release the mouse. The desktop redraws, with your newly resized screen.
MicroEMACS will ignore size changes that can not be done, like attempting
to pull the lower left corner above the upper right corner of the current
screen.
6.6 Moving a Screen
To change where on the desktop a screen is placed, move the mouse
to the upper right corner of the screen, press the left mouse button down,
move the mouse and release it where you want the screen displayed. Again,
MicroEMACS will ignore placements that can not be done.
6.7 Creating a Screen
Creating a new screen is just like moving a screen, but using the
right button. Move to the upper right of an existing screen, press the
right mouse button down, and move the mouse, releasing the button where
the new screen should appear. A new screen will have a single window,
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using a Mouse
containing the contents of the current window in the copied screen, and
will have that window's colors. The new screen will have the copied
screen's size.
6.8 Switching to a Screen
This is simple. Any mouse command can be done in any screen by
placing the mouse on a visible part of the screen and clicking. The last
screen the mouse is used on comes to front and is the current screen.
Also, the A-C cycle-screens command brings the rearmost screen to front.
6.9 Deleting a Screen
Place the mouse on the command line of the screen you want to
delete. Click the right mouse button, the screen will disapear. If you
delete the only remaining screen on the desktop, MicroEMACS will exit.
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Using a Mouse MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 6 Summary
In Chapter 6, you learned how to use the mouse to move the point,
switch windows, drag text, and resize windows. You also learned how to use
the right mouse button in order to copy and delete regions and yank them
back at other places. And lastly, you learned how to control multiple
screens with the mouse.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using a Mouse
Action Mouse Directions
Move Cursor position mouse cursor over desired location
click down and up with left button
Drag Text position mouse cursor over desired text
click left button down
move to new screen location for text
release mouse button
Resize Windows position mouse cursor over mode line to move
click left button down
move to new location for mode line
release mouse button
Delete Window position mouse cursor over mode line of window to delete
click right mouse button
Activate Screen Move mouse over existing screen
click left button down and up
Resize Screen position mouse cursor over last character on message line
click left button down
move to new lower right corner of screen
release mouse button
Copy Region position mouse at beginning of region
click right button down
move to end of region
release mouse button
Cut Region position mouse at beginning of region
click right button down
move to end of region
release mouse button
click right button down and up
Paste Region position mouse at place to paste
click right button down and up
Create Screen position mouse at upper left corner of existing screen
click right button down
move to position of new screen
release mouse button
Resize Screen position mouse at lower right corner of screen
click left button down
move to new lower left corner
release mouse button
Move Screen position mouse at upper right corner of screen
click left button down
move to new screen position
release mouse button
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Buffers MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Delete Screen position to command line of existing screen
click right button down
release mouse button
Chapter 7
Buffers
We have already learned a number of things about buffers. As you
will recall, they are the major internal entities in EMACS -- the place
where editing commands are executed. They are characterized by their
names, their modes, and by the file with which they are associated. Each
buffer also "remembers" its mark and point. This convenient feature allows
you to go to other buffers and return to the original location in the
"current" buffer.
Advanced users of EMACS frequently have a number of buffers in the
computer's memory simultaneously. In the last chapter, for example, you
opened at least two buffers -- one into the text you were editing, and the
other into the EMACS on-line tutorial. If you deal with complex text files
-- say, sectioned chapters of a book, you may have five or six buffers in
the computer's memory. You could select different buffers by simply
calling up the file with ^X^F find-file, and let EMACS open or reopen the
buffer. However, EMACS offers fast and sophisticated buffering techniques
that you will find easy to master and much more convenient to use.
Let's begin by opening three buffers. You can open any three you
choose, for example call the following files into memory: fang.txt,
publish.txt, and emacs.tut in the order listed here. When you've finished
this process, you'll be looking at a screen showing the EMACS tutorial.
Let's assume that you want to move to the fang.txt buffer. Enter:
^XX next-buffer
This command moves you to the next buffer. Because EMACS cycles
through the buffer list, which is alphabetized, you will now be in the
fang.txt buffer. Using ^XX again places you in the publish.txt buffer. If
you are on a machine that supports function keys, using ^XX again places
you in the Function Keys buffer. Using ^XX one last time cycles you back
to the beginning of the list.
If you have a large number of buffers to deal with, this cycling
process may be slow and inconvenient. The command ^XB select-buffer allows
you to specify the buffer you wish to be switched to. When the command is
entered, EMACS prompts, "Use buffer:". Simply enter the buffer name (NOT
the file name), and that buffer will then become the current buffer. If
you type in part of the file name and press the space bar, EMACS will
attempt to complete the name from the list of current buffers. If it
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Buffers
succeeds, it will print the rest of the name and you can hit <NL> to
switch to that buffer. If EMACS beeps the bell, there is no such buffer,
and you may continue editing the name on the command line.
Multiple buffer manipulation and editing is a complex activity,
and you will probably find it very inconvenient to re-save each buffer as
you modify it. The command ^X^B list-buffers creates a new window that
gives details about all the buffers currently known to EMACS. Buffers that
have been modified are identified by the "buffer changed" indicator (an
asterisk in the second column). You can thus quickly and easily identify
buffers that need to be saved to files before you exit EMACS. The buffer
window also provides other information -- buffer specific modes, buffer
size, and buffer name are also listed. To close this window, simply type
the close-windows command, ^X1.
To delete any buffer, type ^XK delete-buffer. EMACS prompts you
"Kill buffer:". Enter the buffer name you want to delete. As this is
destructive command, EMACS will ask for confirmation if the buffer was
changed and not saved. Answer Y(es) or N(o). As usual ^G cancels the
command.
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Chapter 7 Summary
In Chapter 7 you learned how to manipulate buffers.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
next-buffer ^X^X Switch to the next buffer in the
buffer list
select-buffer ^XB Switch to a particular buffer
list-buffers ^X^B List all buffers
delete-buffer ^XK Delete a particular buffer if it
is off-screen
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Modes
Chapter 8
Modes
EMACS allows you to change the way it works in order to customized
it to the style of editing you are using. It does this by providing a
number of different modes. These modes can effect either a single buffer,
or any new buffer that is created. To add a mode to the current buffer,
type ^XM add-mode. EMACS will then prompt you for the name of a mode to
add. When you type in a legal mode name, and type a <NL>, EMACS will add
the mode name to the list of current mode names in the mode line of the
current buffer.
To remove an existing mode, typing the ^X^M delete-mode will cause
EMACS to prompt you for the name of a mode to delete from the current
buffer. This will remove that mode from the mode list on the current mode
line.
Global modes are the modes which are inherited by any new buffers
which are created. For example, if you wish to always do string searching
with character case being significant, you would want global mode EXACT to
be set so that any new files read in inherent the EXACT mode. Global modes
are set with the M-M add-global-mode command, and unset with the M-^M
delete-global-mode command. Also, the current global modes are displayed
in the first line of a ^X^B list-buffers command.
On machines which are capable of displaying colors, the mode
commands can also set the background and foreground character colors.
Using add-mode or delete-mode with a lowercase color will set the
background color in the current window. An uppercase color will set the
foreground color in the current window. Colors that EMACS knows about
are: white, cyan, magenta, yellow, blue, red, green, and black. If the
computer you are running on does not have eight colors, EMACS will attempt
to make some intelligent guess at what color to use when you ask for one
which is not there.
8.1 ASAVE mode
Automatic Save mode tells EMACS to automatically write out the
current buffer to its associated file on a regular basis. Normally this
will be every 256 characters typed into the file. The environment variable
$ACOUNT counts down to the next auto-save, and $ASAVE is the value used to
reset $ACOUNT after a save occurs.
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8.2 CMODE mode
CMODE is useful to C programmers. When CMODE is active, EMACS will
try to assist the user in a number of ways. This mode is set automatically
with files that have a .c or .h extension.
The <NL> key will normally attempt to return the user to the next
line at the same level of indentation as the last non blank line, unless
the current line ends with a open brace ({) in which case the new line
will be further indented by one tab position.
A close brace (}) will search for the corresponding open brace and
line up with it.
A pound sign (#) with only leading white space will delete all the
white space preceding itself. This will always bring preprocessor
directives flush to the left margin.
Whenever any close fence is typed, IE )]>}, if the matching open
fence is on screen in the current window, the cursor will briefly flash to
it, and then back. This makes balancing expressions, and matching blocks
much easier.
8.3 CRYPT mode
When a buffer is in CRYPT mode, it is encrypted whenever it is
written to a file, and decrypted when it is read from the file. The
encryption key can be specified on the command line with the -k switch, or
with the M-E set-encryption-key command. If you attempt to read or write a
buffer in crypt mode and now key has not been set, EMACS will execute set-
encryption-key automatically, prompting you for the needed key. Whenever
EMACS prompts you for a key, it will not echo the key to your screen as
you type it (IE make SURE you get it right when you set it originally).
The encryption algorithm used changes all characters into normal
printing characters, thus the resulting file is suitable for sending via
electronic mail. All version of MicroEMACS should be able decrypt the
resulting file regardless of what machine encrypted it. Also available
with EMACS is the stand alone program, MicroCRYPT, which can en/decrypt
the files produced by CRYPT mode in EMACS.
8.4 EXACT mode
All string searches and replacements will take upper/lower case
into account. Normally the case of a string during a search or replace is
not taken into account.
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8.5 MAGIC mode
In the MAGIC mode certain characters gain special meanings when
used in a search pattern. Collectively they are know as regular
expressions, and a limited number of them are supported in MicroEmacs.
They grant greater flexibility when using the search command. They have no
affect on the incremental search command.
The symbols that have special meaning in MAGIC mode are ^, $, .,
&, ?, *, +, [ (and ], used with it), and \.
The characters ^ and $ fix the search pattern to the beginning and
end of line, respectively. The ^ character must appear at the beginning of
the search string, and the $ must appear at the end, otherwise they loose
their meaning and are treated just like any other character. For example,
in MAGIC mode, searching for the pattern "t$" would put the cursor at the
end of any line that ended with the letter 't'. Note that this is
different than searching for "t<NL>", that is, 't' followed by a newline
character. The character $ (and ^, for that matter) matches a position,
not a character, so the cursor remains at the end of the line. But a
newline is a character that must be matched like any other character,
which means that the cursor is placed just after it - on the beginning of
the next line.
The character . has a very simple meaning -- it matches any single
character, except the newline. Thus a search for "bad.er" could match
"badger", "badder" (slang), or up to the 'r' of "bad error".
The character [ indicates the beginning of a character class. It
is similar to the 'any' character ., but you get to choose which
characters you want to match. The character class is ended with the
character ]. So, while a search for "ba.e" will match "bane", "bade",
"bale", "bate", et cetera, you can limit it to matching "babe" and "bake"
by searching for "ba[bk]e". Only one of the characters inside the [ and ]
will match a character. If in fact you want to match any character except
those in the character class, you can put a ^ as the first character. It
must be the first character of the class, or else it has no special
meaning. So, a search for [^aeiou] will match any character except a
vowel, but a search for [aeiou^] will match any vowel or a ^.
If you have many characters in order, that you want to put in the
character class, you may use a dash (-) as a range character. So, [a-z]
will match any letter (or any lower case letter if EXACT mode is on), and
[0-9a-f] will match any digit or any letter 'a' through 'f', which happen
to be the characters for hexadecimal numbers. If the dash is at the
beginning or end of a character class, it is taken to be just a dash.
The ? character indicates that the preceding character is
optional. The character may or may not appear in the matched string. For
example, a search for "bea?st" would match both "beast" and "best". If
there is no preceding charcter for ? to modify, it is treated as a normal
question mark character.
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The * character is known as closure, and means that zero or more
of the preceding character will match. If there is no preceding character,
* has no special meaning and is treated as a normal asterisk. The
closure symbol will also have no special meaning if it is preceded by the
beginning of line symbol ^, since it represents a position, not a
character.
The notion of zero or more characters is important. If, for
example, your cursor was on the line
This line is missing two vowels.
and a search was made for "a*", the cursor would not move, because
it is guaranteed to match no letter 'a' , which satisfies the search
conditions. If you wanted to search for one or more of the letter 'a', you
could search for "aa*", which would match the letter a, then zero or more
of them. A better way, however, is to use the + character.
The + character behaves in every respect like the * character,
with the exception that its minimum match range is one, not zero. Thus the
pattern "a+" is identical to "aa*".
Under older versions of MicroEMACS, the closure symbols would not
operate on newlines. The current versions no longer have this restriction.
The \ is the escape character. With the exception of groups, which
are explained below, the \ is used at those times when you want to be in
MAGIC mode, but also want a regular expression character to be just a
character. It turns off the special meaning of the character. So a search
for "it\." will search for a line with "it.", and not "it" followed by any
other character. Or, a search for "TEST\*+" would match the word TEST
followed by one or more asterisks. The escape character will also let you
put ^, -, or ] inside a character class with no special side effects.
The character pair \( represent the start of a group in a search
string. A group is ended by the character pair \). All characters matched
within the \( and \) are part of a numbered group, and may be referenced
with the &GROUP function, or with a \ followed by the group number in the
replacement string of replace-string or the query-replace-string commands.
For example, a search for "INDEX\([0-9]+\)", to be replaced by
"getind(\1)" would change
indptr := INDEX42
to
indptr := getind(42)
.
There may be up to nine groups. Groups may be nested.
The character & (ampersand) is a replacement character, and
represents all the characters which were matched by the search string.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Modes
When used in the M-R replace-string or the M-^R query-replace-string
commands, the & will be substituted for the search string.
8.6 OVER mode
OVER mode stands for overwrite mode. When in this mode, when
characters are typed, instead of simply inserting them into the file,
EMACS will attempt to overwrite an existing character past the point.
This is very useful for adjusting tables and diagrams.
8.7 WRAP mode
Wrap mode is used when typing in continuous text. Whenever the
cursor is past the currently set fill column (72 by default) and the user
types a space or a <NL>, the last word of the line is brought down to the
beginning of the next line. Using this, one just types a continuous stream
of words and EMACS automatically inserts <NL>s at appropriate places.
NOTE to programmers:
The EMACS variable $wraphook contains the name of the function
which executes when EMACS detects it is time to wrap. This is
set to the function wrap-word by default, but can be changed to
activate different functions and macros at wrap time.
8.8 VIEW mode
VIEW mode disables all commands which can change the current
buffer. EMACS will display an error message and ring the bell every time
you attempt to change a buffer in VIEW mode.
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Modes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 8 Summary
In Chapter 8 you learned about modes and their effects.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
add-mode ^XM Add a mode to the current buffer
delete-mode ^X^M Delete a mode from the current buffer
add-global-mode M-M Add a global mode to the
current buffer
delete-global-mode M-^M Delete a global mode from the
current buffer
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Files
Chapter 9
Files
A file is simply a collection of related data. In EMACS we are
dealing with text files -- named collections of text residing on a disk
(or some other storage medium). You will recall that the major entities
EMACS deals with are buffers. Disk-based versions of files are only active
in EMACS when you are reading into or writing out of buffers. As we have
already seen, buffers and physical files are linked by associated file
names. For example, the buffer "ch7.txt" which is associated with the
physical disk file "ch7.txt." You will notice that the file is usually
specified by the drive name or (in the case of a hard drive) a path. Thus
you can specify full file names in EMACS,
e.g. disk:\directories\filename.extension
If you do not specify a disk and directories, the default disk and
the current directory is used.
IMPORTANT -- If you do not explicitly save your buffer to a file,
all your edits will be lost when you leave EMACS (although EMACS will
prompt you when you are about to lose edits by exiting). In addition,
EMACS does not protect your disk-based files from overwriting when it
saves files. Thus when you instruct EMACS to save a file to disk, it will
create a file if the specified file doesn't exist, or it will overwrite
the previously saved version of the file thus replacing it. Your old
version is gone forever.
If you are at all unsure about your edits, or if (for any reason)
you wish to keep previous versions of a file, you can change the name of
the associated file with the command ^XN change-file-name. When this file
is saved to disk, EMACS will create a new physical file under the new
name. The earlier disk file will be preserved.
For example, let's load the file fang.txt into EMACS. Now, type
^XN. The EMACS command line prompts "Name:". Enter a new name for the file
-- say new.txt and press <NL>. The file will be saved under the new
filename, and your disk directory will show both fang.txt and new.txt.
An alternative method is to write the file directly to disk under
a new filename. Let's pull our "publish.txt" file into EMACS. To write
this file under another filename, type ^X^W write-file. EMACS will prompt
you "write file:". Enter an alternate filename -- desktop.txt. Your file
will be saved as the physical file "desktop.txt".
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Files MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Note that in the examples above, although you have changed the
names of the related files, the buffer names remain the same. However,
when you pull the physical file back into EMACS, you will find that the
buffer name now relates to the filename.
For example -- You are working with a buffer "fang.txt" with the
related file "fang.txt". You change the name of the file to "new.txt".
EMACS now shows you working with the buffer "fang.txt" and the related
file "new.txt". Now pull the file "new.txt" into EMACS. Notice that the
buffer name has now changed to "new.txt".
If for any reason a conflict of buffer names occurs,(if you have
files of the same name on different drives for example) EMACS will prompt
you "use buffer:". Enter an alternative buffer name if you need to.
For a list of file related commands (including some we`ve already
seen), see the summary page.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Files
Chapter 9 Summary
In Chapter 9 you learned some of the more advanced concepts of
file naming and manipulation. The relationship between files and buffers
was discussed in some detail.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
save-file ^X^S Saves contents of current buffer with
associated filename on default disk/
directory (if not specified)
write-file ^X^W Current buffer contents will be
saved under specified name
change-file-name
^XN The associated filename is changed
(or associated if not previously
specified) as specified
find-file ^X^F Reads specified file into buffer and
switches you to that buffer, or switches
to buffer in which the file has previously
been read
read-file ^X^R Reads file into buffer thus overwriting
buffer contents. If file has already
been read into another buffer, you will
be switched to it
view-file ^X^V The same as read-file except the buffer
is automatically put into VIEW mode thus
preventing any changes from being made
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Screen Formatting MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 10
Screen Formatting
10.1 Wrapping Text
As we learned in the introduction, EMACS is not a word processor,
but an editor. Some simple formatting options are available however,
although in most cases they will not affect the appearance of the finished
text when it is run through the formatter. We have already encountered
WRAP mode which wraps lines longer than a certain length (default is 75
characters). You will recall that WRAP is enabled by entering ^XM and
responding to the command line prompt with wrap.
You can also set your own wrap margin with the command ^XF set-
fill-column. Notice EMACS responds "[Fill column is 1]." Now try typing
some text. You'll notice some very strange things happening -- your text
wraps at every word!! This effect occurs because the set wrap margin
command must be preceded by a numeric argument or EMACS sets it to the
first column. Thus any text you type that extends past the first column
will wrap at the most convenient line break.
To reset the wrap column to 72 characters, press the <META> key
and enter 72. EMACS will respond "Arg: 72". Now press ^XF. EMACS will
respond "[Fill column is 72]". Your text will again wrap at the margin
you've been using up to this point.
10.2 Reformatting Paragraphs
After an intensive editing session, you may find that you have
paragraphs containing lines of differing lengths. Although this disparity
will not affect the formatted text, aesthetic and technical concerns may
make it desirable to have consistent paragraph blocks on the screen. If
you are in WRAP mode, you can reformat a paragraph with the command M-Q
fill-paragraph. This command 'fills' the current paragraph reformatting it
so all the lines are filled and wrap logically.
10.3 Changing Case
There may be occasions when you find it necessary to change the
case of the text you've entered. EMACS allows you to change the case of
even large amounts of text with ease. Let's try and convert a few of the
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Screen Formatting
office traditionalists to the joy of word processing. Type in the
following text:
Throw away your typewriter and learn to use a word processor.
Word processing is relatively easy to learn and will increase
your productivity enormously. Enter the Computer Age and find
out just how much fun it can be!!
Let's give it a little more impact by capitalizing the first four
words. The first step is to define the region of text just as you would
if you were doing an extensive deletion. Set the mark at the beginning of
the paragraph with M-<space> set-mark and move the cursor to the space
beyond "typewriter." Now enter ^X^U case-region-upper. Your text should
now look like this:
THROW AWAY YOUR TYPEWRITER and learn to use a word processor.
Word processing is relatively easy to learn and will increase
your productivity enormously. Enter the Computer Age and find
out just how much fun it can be!!
If you want to change the text back to lower case, type ^X^L case-
region-lower. You can also capitalize individual words. To capitalize the
word "fun", position the cursor in front of the word and type M-U case-
word-upper. The word is now capitalized. To change it ck to lower case,
move the cursor back to the beginning of the word and type M-L case-word-
lower.
You may also capitalize individual letters in EMACS. The command
M-C case-word-capitalize capitalizes the first letter after the point.
This command would normally be issued with the cursor positioned in front
of the first letter of the word you wish to capitalize. If you issue it in
the middle of a word, you can end up with some strAnge looking text.
10.4 Tabs
Unless your formatter is instructed to take screen text literally
(as MicroSCRIBE does in the 'verbatim' environment for example), tabs in
EMACS generally affect screen formatting only.
When EMACS is first started, it sets the default tab to every
eighth column. As long as you stay with default, every time you press the
tab key a tab character, ^I is inserted. This character, like other
control characters, is invisible -- but it makes a subtle and significant
difference to your file and editing.
For example, in default mode, press the tab key and then type the
word Test. "Test" appears at the eighth column. Move your cursor to the
beginning of the word and delete the backward character. The word doesn't
move back just one character, but flushes to the left margin. The reason
for this behavior is easily explained. In tab default, EMACS inserts a
'real' tab character when you press the tab key. This character is
inserted at the default position, but NO SPACES are inserted between the
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Screen Formatting MicroEMACS Reference Manual
tab character and the margin (or previous tab character). As you will
recall, EMACS only recognizes characters (such as spaces or letters) and
thus when the tab character is removed, the text beyond the tab is flushed
back to the margin or previous tab mark.
This situation changes if you alter the default configuration. The
default value may be changed by entering a numeric argument before
pressing the tab key. As we saw earlier, pressing the META key and
entering a number allows you to specify how EMACS performs a given action.
In this case, let's specify an argument of 10 and hit the tab key.
Now hit the tab key again and type Test. Notice the word now
appears at the tenth column. Now move to the beginning of the word and
delete the backward character. "Test" moves back by one character.
EMACS behaves differently in these circumstances because the ^I
handle-tab function deals with tabbing in two distinct ways. In default
conditions, or if the numeric argument of zero is used, handle-tab inserts
a true tab character. If, however, a non-zero numeric argument is
specified, handle-tab inserts the correct number of spaces needed to
position the cursor at the next specified tab position. It does NOT insert
the single tab character and hence any editing functions should take
account of the number of spaces between tabbed columns.
The distance which a true tab character moves the cursor can be
modified by changing the value of the $hardtab environment variable.
Initially set to 8, this will determine how far each tab stop is placed
from the previous one. (Use the ^XA set command to set the value of an
environment variable).
Many times you would like to take text which has been created
using the tab character and change it to use just spaces. The command ^X^D
detab-region changes any tabs in the currently selected region into the
right number of spaces so the text does not change. This is very useful
for times when the file must be printed or transferred to a machine which
does not understand tabs.
Also, the inverse command, ^X^E entab-region changes multiple
spaces to tabs where possible. This is a good way to shrink the size of
large documents, especially with data tables. Both of these commands can
take a numeric argument which will be interpreted as the number of lines
to en/detab.
Another function, related to those above is provided for by the
^X^T trim-region when invoked will delete any trailing white space in the
selected region. A preceding numeric argument will do this for that number
of lines.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Screen Formatting
Chapter 10 Summary
In Chapter 10 introduced some of the formatting features of EMACS.
Text-wrap, paragraph reformatting, and tabs were discussed in some detail.
The commands in the following table were covered in the chapter.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
add-mode/WRAP ^XM[WRAP] Add wrap mode to current buffer
delete-mode/WRAP ^X^M[WRAP] Remove wrap mode from current buffer
set-fill-column ^XF Set fill column to given numeric
argument
fill-paragraph M-Q Logically reformats the current
paragraph
case-word-upper M-U Text from point to end of the
current word is changed to uppercase
case-word-lower M-L Text from point to end of the
current word is changed to lowercase
case-word-capitalize M-C First word (or letter) after the
point is capitalized
case-region-upper ^X^U The current region is uppercased
case-region-lower ^X^L The current region is lowercased
handle-tab ^I Tab interval is set to the given
numeric argument
entab-region ^X^E Changes multiple spaces to tabs
characters where possible
detab-region ^X^D Changes tab characters to the
appropriate number of spaces
trim-region ^X^T Trims white space from the end
of the lines in the current region
42
Access to the Outside World MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 11
Access to the Outside World
EMACS has the ability to interface to other programs and the
environment of the computer outside of itself. It does this through a
series of commands that allow it to talk to the computer's command
processor or shell. Just what this is varies between different computers.
Under MSDOS or PCDOS this is the command.com command processor. Under
UNIX it is the csh shell. On the Atari ST is can be the Mark Williams MSH
or the Beckmeyer shell. In each case, it is the part of the computer's
operating system that is responsible for determining what programs are
executed, and when.
The ^X! shell-command command prompts the user for a command line
to send out to the shell to execute. This can be very useful for doing
file listings and changing the current directory or folder. EMACS gives
control to the shell, which executed the command, and then types [END] and
waits for the user to type a character before redrawing the screen and
resuming editing. If the shell-command command is used from within the
macro language, there is no pause.
^X@ pipe-command command allows EMACS to execute a shell command,
and if the particular computer allows it, send the results into a buffer
which is automatically displayed on the screen. The resulting buffer,
called "command" can be manipulated just like any other editing buffer.
Text can be copied out of it or rearranged as needed. This buffer is
originally created in VIEW mode, so remember to ^X^Mview<NL> in order to
change it.
Many computers provide tools which will allow you to filter text,
making some modifications to it along the way. A very common tool is the
SORT program which accepts a file, sorts it, and prints the result out.
The EMACS command, ^X# filter-buffer sends the current buffer through such
a filter. Therefore, if you wished to sort the current buffer on a system
which supplied a sort filter, you would type ^X#sort<NL>. You can also
create your own filters by writing programs and utilities which read text
from the keyboard and display the results. EMACS will use any of these
which would normally be available from the current shell.
If you would like to execute another program directly, without the
overhead of an intervening shell, you can use the ^X$ execute-program
command. It will prompt you for an external program and its arguments and
attempt to execute it. Like when EMACS looks for command files, EMACS
will look first in the HOME directory, then down the execute PATH, and
finally in the current directory for the named program. On some systems,
it will automatically tack the proper extension on the file name to
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Access to the Outside World
indicate it is a program. On some systems that don't support this
function, ^X$ will be equivalent to ^X! shell-command.
Sometimes, you would like to get back to the shell and execute
other commands, without losing the current contents of EMACS. The ^XC i-
shell command shells out of EMACS, leaving EMACS in the computer and
executing another command shell. Most systems would allow you to return to
EMACS with the "exit" command.
On some systems, mainly advanced versions of UNIX, you can direct
EMACS to "go into the background" with the ^XD suspend-emacs command. This
places EMACS in the background returning you to the original command
shell. EMACS can then be returned to at any time with the "fg" foreground
command.
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Access to the Outside World MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 11 Summary
In Chapter 11 introduced different ways to access the computers
shell or command processor from within EMACS. The commands in the
following table were covered in the chapter.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
execute-program ^X$ Execute an external program
directly
filter-command ^X# Send the current buffer through
a shell filter
i-shell ^XC Escape to a new shell
pipe-command ^X@ Send the results of an external
shell command to a buffer
shell-command ^X! Execute one shell command
suspend-emacs ^XD Place EMACS in the background
(some UNIX systems only)
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Keyboard Macros
Chapter 12
Keyboard Macros
In many applications, you may need to repeat a series of
characters or commands frequently. For example, a paper may require the
frequent repetition of a complex formula or a long name. You may also have
a series of EMACS commands that you invoke frequently. Keyboard macros
offer a convenient method of recording and repeating these commands.
Imagine, for example, you are writing a scholarly paper on
Asplenium platyneuron, the spleenwort fern. Even the dedicated botanist
would probably find it a task bordering on the agonizing to type Asplenium
platyneuron frequently throughout the paper. An alternative method is
'record' the name in a keyboard macro. Try it yourself.
The command ^X( begin-macro starts recording the all the
keystrokes and commands you input. After you've typed it, enter Asplenium
platyneuron. To stop recording, type ^X) end-macro. EMACS has stored all
the keystrokes between the two commands. To repeat the name you've stored,
just enter ^XE execute-macro, and the name "Asplenium platyneuron"
appears. You can repeat this action as often as you want, and of course as
with any EMACS command, you may precede it with a numerical argument to
repeat it many times.
Because EMACS records keystrokes, you may freely intermix commands
and text. Unfortunately, you can only store one macro at a time. Thus, if
you begin to record another macro, the previously defined macro is lost.
Be careful to ensure that you've finished with one macro before defining
another. If you have a series of commands that you would like to 'record'
for future use, use the procedure facilities detailed in chapter 13.
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Keyboard Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 12 Summary
Chapter 12 covered keyboard macros. You learned how to record
keystrokes and how to repeat the stored sequence.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
start-macro ^X( Starts recording all keyboard input
end-macro ^X) Stops recording keystrokes for macro
execute-macro ^XE Entire sequence of recorded
keystrokes is replayed
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Procedures
Chapter 13
MicroEMACS Procedures
Procedures, or macros, are programs that are used to customize the
editor and to perform complicated editing tasks. They may be stored in
files or buffers and may be executed using an appropriate command, or
bound to a particular keystroke. Portions of the standard start-up file
are implemented via procedures, as well as the built in help system. The
M-^E run command causes named procedures to be executed. The execute-file
command allows you to execute a procedure stored in a disk file, and the
execute-buffer command allows you to execute a procedure stored in a
buffer. Procedures are stored for easy execution by executing files that
contain the store-procedure command.
In a command file, the store-procedure command takes a string
argument which is the name of a procedure to store. These procedures than
can be executed with the M-^E run command. Also, giving the name of a
stored procedure within another procedure will executed that named
procedure as if it had been called up with the run command.
Some fairly length examples of MicroEMACS procedures can be seen
by examining the standard files that come with EMACS. The emacs.rc file
(called .emacsrc) under UNIX) is the MicroEMACS command file which is
executed when EMACS is normally run. It contains a number of different
stored procedures along with the lines to setup and display the Function
key window and to call up other procedures and command files using
function keys.
There are many different aspects to the language within
MicroEMACS. Editor commands are the various commands that manipulate text,
buffers, windows, et cetera, within the editor. Directives are commands
which control what lines get executed within a macro. Also there are
various types of variables. Environmental variables both control and
report on different aspects of the editor. User variables hold string
values which may be changed and inspected. Buffer variables allow text to
be placed into variables. Interactive variable allow the program to prompt
the user for information. Functions can be used to manipulate all these
variables.
13.1 Constants
All constants and variable contents in EMACS are stored as strings
of characters. Numbers are stored digit by digit as characters. This
allows EMACS to be "typeless", not having different variables types be
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MicroEMACS Procedures MicroEMACS Reference Manual
legal in different contexts. This has the disadvantage of forcing the user
to be more careful about the context of the statements variables are
placed in, but in turn gives them more flexibility in where they can place
variables. Needless to say, this also allows EMACS's expression evaluator
to be both concise and quick.
Wherever statements need to have arguments, it is legal to place
constants. A constant is a double quote character, followed by a string of
characters, and terminated by another double quote character. To represent
various special characters within a constant, the tilde (~) character is
used. The character following the tilde is interpreted according to the
following table:
Sequence Result
~n EMACS newline character (breaks lines)
~r ^M carriage return
~l ^J linefeed
~~ ~ tilde
~b ^H backspace
~f ^L formfeed
~t ^I tab
~" " quote
Any character not in the table which follows a tilde will be
passed unmodified. This action is similar to the ^Q quote-character
command available from the keyboard.
EMACS may use different characters for line terminators on
different computers. The ~n combination will always get the proper line
terminating sequence for the current system.
The double quotes around constants are not needed if the constant
contains no internal white space and it also does not happen to meet the
rules for any other EMACS commands, directives, variables, or functions.
This is reasonable useful for numeric constants.
13.2 Variables
Variables in MicroEMACS procedures can be used to return values
within expressions, as repeat counts to editing commands, or as text to be
inserted into buffers and messages. The value of these variables is set
using the set ^XA command. For example, to set the current fill column to
64 characters, the following macro line would be used:
set $fillcol 64
or to have the contents of %name inserted at the point in the
current buffer, the command to use would be:
insert-string %name
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Procedures
13.2.1 Environmental Variables
"What good is a quote if you can't change it?"
These variables are used to change different aspects of the way
the editor works. Also they will return the current settings if used as
part of an expression. All environmental variable names begin with a
dollar sign ($) and are in lower case.
$acount The countdown of inserted characters until the next
save-file.
$asave The number of inserted characters between automatic
file-saves in ASAVE mode.
$bufhook The function named in this variable is run when a buffer
is entered. It can be used to implement modes which are
specific to a paricular file or file type.
$cbflags Current buffer attribute flags (See appendix G for
details).
$cbufname Name of the current buffer.
$cfname File name of the current buffer.
$cmdhook Name of function to run before accepting a command. This
is by default set to nop.
$cmode Integer containing the mode of the current buffer. (See
Appendix F for values).
$curchar Ascii value of the character currently at the point.
$curcol Current column of point in current buffer.
$curline Current line of point in current buffer.
$curwidth Number of columns used currently.
$curwind Current window number.
$cwline Current display line in current window.
$debug Flag to trigger macro debugging.
$deskcolor Color to use for current desktop, default to BLACK.
$diagflag If set to TRUE, diagonal dragging of text and mode lines
is enabled. If FALSE, text and modelines can only be
dragged horizontally or vertically at one time.
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MicroEMACS Procedures MicroEMACS Reference Manual
$discmd Controls the echoing of command prompts. Default is
TRUE.
$disinp Controls the echoing of input at the command prompts.
Default is TRUE.
$disphigh If set to TRUE, high-bit characters (single byte
characters that are greater than 127 in value) will be
displayed in a pseudo-control format. The characters
"^!" will lead off the sequence, followed by the
character stripped of its high bit. Default is FALSE.
$exbhook This variable holds the name of a function or macro
which is run whenever you are switching out of a buffer.
$fcol The current line position being displayed in the first
column of the current window.
$fillcol Current fill column.
$flicker Flicker Flag set to TRUE if IBM CGA set to FALSE for
most others.
$fmtlead lists all formatter command leadin characters. Lines
beginning with these characters will be considered the
beginning of paragraphs.
$gflags Global flags controlling some EMACS internal functions
(See appendix G for details).
$gmode Global mode flags. (See Appendix F for values).
$hardtab Number of spaces between hard tab stops. Normally 8,
this can be used to change indentation only within the
editor.
$hjump The number in here tells EMACS how many columns to
scroll the screen horizontally when a horizontal scroll
is required.
$hscroll This flag determines if EMACS will scroll the entire
current window horizontally, or just the current line.
The default value, TRUE, results in the entire current
window being shifted left and right when the cursor goes
off the edge of the screen.
$kill This contains the first 127 characters currently in the
kill buffer and can be used to set the contents of the
kill buffer.
$language [READ ONLY]Contains the name of the language which the
current EMACS's message will display. (Currently EMACS
is available in English, French, Spanish, Latin,
Portuguese, Dutch, German, and Pig Latin).
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Procedures
$lastkey [READ ONLY]Last keyboard character typed.
$lastmesg [READ ONLY]Contains the text of the last message which
emacs wrote on the command line.
$line The current line in the current buffer can be retrieved
and set with this environment variable.
$lterm Character(s) to write as a line terminator when writing
a file to disk. Default is null, which causes a '\n'
character to be written. Not all operating systems
support this.
$lwidth [READ ONLY]Returns the number of characters in the
current line.
$match [READ ONLY]Last string matched in a search.
$modeflag Determines if mode lines are currently displayed.
$msflag If TRUE, the mouse (if present) is active. If FALSE, no
mouse cursor is displayed, and no mouse actions are
taken.
$numwind The number of windows displayed.
$oldcrypt Use the old method of encryption (which had a bug in
it). Default is FALSE.
$orgrow Desktop row position of current screen.
$orgcol Desktop column position of current screen.
$pagelen Number of screen lines used currently.
$palette string used to control the palette register settings on
graphics versions. The usually form consists of groups
of three octal digits setting the red, green, and blue
levels.
$paralead Lists all paragraph start characters.
$pending [READ ONLY]Flag to determine if there are user
keystrokes waiting to be processed.
$popflag Use pop-up windows. Default is TRUE.
$progname [READ ONLY]Always contains the string "MicroEMACS" for
standard MicroEMACS. Could be something else if EMACS is
incorporated as part of someone else's program.
$ram The amount of remaining memory if MicroEMACS was
compiled with RAMSIZE set. A debugging tool.
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MicroEMACS Procedures MicroEMACS Reference Manual
$readhook This variable holds the name of a function to execute
whenever a file is read into EMACS. Normally, using the
standard emacs.rc file, this is bound to a function
which places EMACS into CMODE if the extension of the
file read is .c or .h.
$region Contains the string of the current region. It will
truncate at the stringsize limit, 255.
$replace Current default replace string.
$rval This contains the return value from the last subprocess
which was invoked from EMACS.
$scrname The current screen name.
$search Current default search string.
$searchpnt Set the placement of the of the cursor on a successful
search match. $searchpnt = 0 (the default), causes the
cursor to be placed at the end of the matched text on
forward searches, and at the beginning of the text on
reverse searches. $searchpnt = 1 causes the cursor to be
placed at the the beginning of the matched text
regardless of the search direction, while $searchpnt = 2
causes the cursor to be placed at the end.
$seed Integer seed of the random number generator.
$softtab Number of spaces inserted by EMACS when the handle-tab
command (which is normally bound to the TAB key) is
invoked.
$sres Current screen resolution (CGA, MONO, EGA or VGA on the
IBM-PC driver. LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH or DENSE on the Atari
ST1040, NORMAL on most others).
$ssave If TRUE, when EMACS is asked to save the current file,
it writes all files out to a temporary file, deletes the
original, and then renames the temporary to the old file
name. The default value of this is TRUE.
$sscroll Changes EMACS, when set to TRUE, to smoothly scroll
windows (one line at a time) when cursoring off the ends
of the current window.
$status [READ ONLY]Status of the success of the last command
(TRUE or FALSE). This is usually used with !force to
check on the success of a search, or a file operation.
$sterm This is the character used to terminate search string
inputs. The default for this is the last key bound to
meta-prefix.
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$target Current target for line moves (setting this fool's EMACS
into believing the last command was a line move).
$time [READ ONLY]Contains a string corresponding to the
current date and time. Usually this is in a form similar
to "Mon May 09 10:10:58 1988". Not all operating systems
will support this.
$tpause Controls the length of the pause to display a matched
fence when the current buffer is in CMODE and a close
fence has been typed.
$version [READ ONLY]Contains the current MicroEMACS version
number.
$wchars When set, MicroEMACS uses the characters listed in it to
determine if it is in a word or not. If it is not set
(the default), the characters it uses are the upper and
lower case letters, and the underscore.
$wline Number of display lines in current window.
$wraphook This variable contains the name of an EMACS function
which is executed when a buffer is in WRAP mode and it
is time to wrap. By default this is bound to wrap-word.
$writehook This variable contains the name of an EMACS function or
macro which is invoked whenever EMACS attempts to write
a file out to disk. This is executed before the file is
written, allowing you to process a file on the way out.
$xpos The column the mouse was at the last mouse button press.
$yankflag Controls the placement of the cursor after a yank
command or an insert. When $yankflag is FALSE (the
default), the cursor is placed at the end of the yanked
or inserted text. When it is TRUE, the cursor remains at
the start of the text.
$ypos The line which the mouse was on during the last mouse
button press.
13.2.2 User variables
User variables allow you to store strings and manipulate them.
These strings can be pieces of text, numbers (in text form), or the
logical values TRUE and FALSE. These variables can be combined, tested,
inserted into buffers, and otherwise used to control the way your macros
execute. At the moment, up to 512 user variables may be in use in one
editing session. All users variable names must begin with a percent sign
(%) and may contain any printing characters. Only the first 10 characters
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are significant (IE differences beyond the tenth character are ignored).
Most operators will truncate strings to a length of 128 characters.
13.2.3 Buffer Variables
Buffer variables are special in that they can only be queried and
cannot be set. What buffer variables are is a way to take text from a
buffer and place it in a variable. For example, if I have a buffer by the
name of RIGEL2, and it contains the text:
Richmond
Lafayette
<*>Bloomington (where <*> is the current point)
Indianapolis
Gary
=* MicroEMACS 3.11 (WRAP) == rigel2 == File: /data/rigel2.txt =====
and within a command I reference #rigel2, like:
insert-string #rigel2
MicroEMACS would start at the current point in the RIGEL2 buffer
and grab all the text up to the end of that line and pass that back. Then
it would advance the point to the beginning of the next line. Thus, after
our last command executes, the string "Bloomington" gets inserted into the
current buffer, and the buffer RIGEL2 now looks like this:
Richmond
Lafayette
Bloomington
<*>Indianapolis (where <*> is the current point)
Gary
=* MicroEMACS 3.11 (WRAP) == rigel2 == File: /data/rigel2.txt =====
as you have probably noticed, a buffer variable consists of the
buffer name, preceded by a pound sign (#).
13.2.4 Interactive variables
Interactive variables are actually a method to prompt the user for
a string. This is done by using an at sign (@) followed either with a
quoted string, or a variable containing a string. The string is the placed
on the bottom line, and the editor waits for the user to type in a string.
Then the string typed in by the users is returned as the value of the
interactive variable. For example:
set %quest "What file? "
find-file @%quest
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will ask the user for a file name, and then attempt to find it.
Note also that complex expressions can be built up with these operators,
such as:
set %default "file1"
@&cat &cat "File to decode[" %default "]: "
which prompts the user with the string:
File to decode[file1]:
13.3 Functions
Functions can be used to act on variables in various ways.
Functions can have one, two, or three arguments. These arguments will
always be placed after the function on the current command line. For
example, if we wanted to increase the current fill column by two, using
emacs's set (^XA) command, we would write:
set $fillcol &add $fillcol 2
\ \ \ \ \____second operand
\ \ \ \_________first operand
\ \ \_______________function to execute
\ \_____________________variable to set
\___________________________set (^XA) command
Function names always begin with the ampersand (&) character, and
are only significant to the first three characters after the ampersand.
Functions will normal expect one of three types of arguments, and will
automatically convert types when needed. Different argument types include:
<num> an ascii string of digits which is interpreted as a
numeric value. Any string which does not start with a
digit or a minus sign (-) will be considered zero.
<str> An arbitrary string of characters. At the moment,
strings are limited to 128 characters in length.
<log> A logical value consisting of the string "TRUE" or
"FALSE". Numeric strings will also evaluate to "FALSE"
if they are equal to zero, and "TRUE" if they are non-
zero. Arbitrary text strings will have the value of
"FALSE".
A list of the currently available functions follows. Functions are
always used in lower case, the uppercase letters in the function table are
the short form of the function (IE &div for ÷).
Numeric Functions: (returns <num>)
&ADD <num> <num> Add two numbers
&SUB <num> <num> Subtract the second number from the first
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&TIMes <num> <num> Multiply two numbers
&DIVide <num> <num> Divide the first number by the second
giving an integer result
&MOD <num> <num> Return the reminder of dividing the
first number by the second
&NEGate <neg> Multiply the arg by -1
&LENgth <str> Returns length of string
&SINdex <str1> <str2> Finds the position of <str2> within
<str1>. Returns zero if not found.
&ASCii <str> Return the ascii code of the first
character in <str>
&RND <num> Returns a random integer between 1 and <num>
&ABS <num> Returns the absolute value of <num>
&BANd <num> <num> Bitwise AND function
&BOR <num> <num> Bitwise OR function
&BXOr <num> <num> Bitwise XOR function
&BNOt <num> Bitwise NOT function
String manipulation functions: (returns <str>)
&CAT <str> <str> Concatenate the two strings to form one
&LEFt <str> <num> return the <num> leftmost characters
from <str>
&RIGht <str> <num> return the <num> rightmost characters
from <str>
&MID <str> <num1> <num2>
Starting from <num1> position in <str>,
return <num2> characters.
&UPPer <str> Uppercase <str>
&LOWer <str> Lowercase <str>
&CHR <num> return a string with the character
represented by ascii code <num>
>C returns a string of characters
containing a EMACS command input from
the user
>K return a string containing a single
keystroke from the user
&ENV <str> If the operating system is capable, this
returns the environment string associated
with <str>
&BIND <str> return the function name bound to the
keystroke <str>
&XLATE <str1> <str2> <str3>
&FINd <str> Find the named file <str> along the
path and return its full file specification
or an empty string if none exists
&TRIM <str> Trim the trailing whitespace from a string
Logical Testing functions: (returns <log>)
&NOT <log> Return the opposite logical value
&AND <log1> <log2> Returns TRUE if BOTH logical arguments
are TRUE
&OR <log1> <log2> Returns TRUE if either argument
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is TRUE
&EQUal <num> <num> If <num> and <num> are numerically
equal, return TRUE
&LESs <num1> <num2> If <num1> is less than <num2>, return
TRUE.
&GREater <num1> <num2> If <num1> is greater than, or equal to
<num2>, return TRUE.
&SEQual <str1> <str2> If the two strings are the same, return
TRUE.
&SLEss <str1> <str2> If <str1> is less alphabetically than
<str2>, return TRUE.
&SGReater <str1> <str2> If <str1> is alphabetically greater than
or equal to <str2>, return TRUE.
&EXIst <str> Does the named file <str> exist?
&ISNum <num> Is the given argument a legitimate number?
Special Functions:
&GROup <num> Return group <num> as set by a MAGIC
mode search.
&SUPper <str1> <str2> Translate the first char in <str1> to
the first char in <str2> when uppercasing.
&SLOwer <str1> <str2> Translate the first char in <str1> to
the first char in <str2> when lowercasing.
&INDirect <str> Evaluate <str> as a variable.
This last function deserves more explanation. The &IND function
evaluates its argument, takes the resulting string, and then uses it as a
variable name. For example, given the following code sequence:
; set up reference table
set %one "elephant"
set %two "giraffe"
set %three "donkey"
set %index "two"
insert-string &ind %index
the string "giraffe" would have been inserted at the point in the
current buffer. This indirection can be safely nested up to about 10
levels.
13.4 Directives
Directives are commands which only operate within an executing
procedure, IE they do not make sense as a single command. As such, they
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cannot be called up singly or bound to keystroke. Used within command
files, they control what lines are executed and in what order.
Directives always start with the exclamation mark (!) character
and must be the first non-wite space placed on a line. Directives executed
interactively (via the execute-command-line command) will be ignored.
13.4.1 !ENDM Directive
This directive is used to terminate a procedure or macro being
stored. For example, if a file is being executed contains the text:
; Read in a file in view mode, and make the window red
store-procedure get-red-viewed-file
find-file @"File to view: "
add-mode "view"
add-mode "red"
!endm
print "[Consult procedure has been loaded]"
only the lines between the store-macro command and the !ENDM
directive are stored in procedure get-red-viewd-file. Both named
procedures and numbered macroes (via the store-macro command) should be
terminated with this directive.
13.4.2 !FORCE Directive
When MicroEMACS executes a procedure, if any command fails, the
procedure is terminated at that point. If a line is preceded by a !FORCE
directive, execution continues whether the command succeeds or not. For
example:
; Merge the top two windows
save-window ;remember what window we are at
1 next-window ;go to the top window
delete-window ;merge it with the second window
!force restore-window ;This will continue regardless
add-mode "red"
Often this is used together with the $status environment variable
to test if a command succeeded. For example:
set %seekstring "String to Find: "
!force search-forward %seekstring
!if &seq $status TRUE
print "Your string is Found"
!else
print "No such STRING!"
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!endif
13.4.3 !IF, !ELSE, and !ENDIF Directives
This directive allows statements only to be executed if a
condition specified in the directive is met. Every line following the !IF
directive, until the first !ELSE or !ENDIF directive, is only executed if
the expression following the !IF directive evaluates to a TRUE value. For
example, the following commands creates the portion of a text file
automatically. (yes believe me, this will be easier to understand then
that last explanation....)
!if &sequal %curplace "timespace vortex"
insert-string "First, rematerialize~n"
!endif
!if &sequal %planet "earth" ;If we have landed on earth...
!if &sequal %time "late 20th century" ;and we are then
write-message "Contact U.N.I.T."
!else
insert-string "Investigate the situation....~n"
insert-string "(SAY 'stay here Sara')~n"
!endif
!else
set %conditions @"Atmosphere conditions outside? "
!if &sequal %conditions "safe"
insert-string &cat "Go outside......" "~n"
insert-string "lock the door~n"
!else
insert-string "Dematerialize..try somewhen else"
newline
!endif
!endif
13.4.4 !GOTO Directive
Flow can be controlled within a MicroEMACS procedure using the
!GOTO directive. It takes as an argument a label. A label consists of a
line starting with an asterisk (*) and then an alphanumeric label. Only
labels in the currently executing procedure can be jumped to, and trying
to jump to a non-existing label terminates execution of a procedure. For
example:
;Create a block of DATA statements for a BASIC program
insert-string "1000 DATA "
set %linenum 1000
*nxtin
update-screen ;make sure we see the changes
set %data @"Next number: "
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MicroEMACS Procedures MicroEMACS Reference Manual
!if &equal %data 0
!goto finish
!endif
!if &greater $curcol 60
2 delete-previous-character
newline
set %linenum &add %linenum 10
insert-string &cat %linenum " DATA "
!endif
insert-string &cat %data ", "
!goto nxtin
*finish
2 delete-previous-character
newline
13.4.5 !WHILE and !ENDWHILE Directives
This directive allows you to set up repetitive tasks easily and
efficiently. If a group of statements need to be executed while a certain
condition is true, enclose them with a while loop. For example,
!while &less $curcol 70
insert-string &cat &cat "[" #stuff "]"
!endwhile
places items from buffer "item" in the current line until the
cursor is at or past column 70. While loops may be nested and can contain
and be the targets of !GOTOs with no ill effects. Using a while loop to
enclose a repeated task will run much faster than the corresponding
construct using !IFs.
13.4.6 !BREAK Directive
This lets you abort out of the most executing currently inner
while loop, regardless of the condition. It is often used to abort
processing for error conditions. For example:
; Read in files and substitute "begining" with "beginning"
set %filename #list
!while ¬ &seq %filename "<end>"
!force find-file %filename
!if &seq $status FALSE
write-message "[File read error]"
!break
!endif
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beginning-of-file
replace-string "begining" "beginning"
save-file
set %filename #list
!endwhile
This while loop will process files until the list is exhausted or
there is an error while reading a file.
13.4.7 !RETURN Directive
The !RETURN Directive causes the current procedure to exit, either
returning to the caller (if any) or to interactive mode. For example:
; Check the monitor type and set %mtyp
!if &sres "CGA"
set %mtyp 1
!return
!else
set %mtyp 2
!endif
insert-string "You are on a MONOCHROME machine!~n"
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Debugging MicroEMACS Procedures MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 14
Debugging MicroEMACS Procedures
When developing new procedures, it is very convenient to be able
to trace their execution to discover errors. The $debug environment
variable enables procedure debugging. While this variable is TRUE, emacs
will stop at each line it intends to execute and allow you to view it, and
issue a number of different commands to help determine how the procedure
is executing.
For example, we will step through the procedure which toggles the
function key window off. The first thing to do, is to set $debug, using
the ^XA set command. Type ^XA and emacs will prompt you on the command
line with "Variable to set: ". Type in "$debug" and press the enter key.
Emacs will then ask "Value: ". Type in "TRUE" (in capital letters) and
press the enter key.
While macro debugging is enabled (as it is now) emacs will report
each time a variable is assigned a value, by displaying the variable and
its value on the command line. Right now,
((($debug <- TRUE)))
appears on the command line to tell you that $debug now has been
assigned the value of TRUE. Press the space bar to continue.
Now, lets try to debug a macro. Press function key 5 which
normally toggles the function key window. The first thing that appears is:
<<<[Macro 01]:!if %rcfkeys>>>
At this point, emacs is waiting for a command. It is prepared to
see if the user variable %rcfkeys is TRUE, and execute some lines if they
are. Suppose we want to see the value of this variable, type the letter
"e" to evaluate an expression. Emacs will prompt with "EXP: ". Type
"%rcfkeys" followed by the enter key. Emacs should then respond with
"TRUE" to indicate that the function key window is currently on screen.
Press the space bar to allow the !if directive to execute. Emacs
will decide that it is TRUE, and then display the next command to execute.
<<<[Macro 01]:!goto rcfoff>>>
Notice emacs tells us what procedure we are currently executing
(in this case, the macro bound to execute-macro-1). Press the space bar
again to execute the !goto directive.
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<<<[Macro 01]:save-window>>>
Emacs is saving the position of the current window so that it can
attempt to return to it after it has brought up the function key window.
[...THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FINISHED...]
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Key Bindings, What they are and why MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 15
Key Bindings, What they are and why
One of the features which makes MicroEMACS very adaptable is its
ability to use different keystrokes to execute different commands. The
process of changing the particular command a key invokes is called
rebinding. This allows us to make the editor look like other popular
editors and programs.
Each command in MicroEMACS has a name which is used for binding
purposes. For example, the command to move the cursor down one page is
called next-line and is normally bound to the ^N key. If you decided that
you also wanted to use the ^D key to move the cursor down one line, you
would use the M-K bind-to-key command. EMACS would respond with ": bind-
to-key " on the command line and allow you to type in a command name. Then
type in the name of the command you want to change, in this case next-
line, followed by the <NL> key. EMACS will then wait for you to type in
the keys you want to activate the named function. Type a single ^D. From
now on, typing ^D will cause EMACS to move down one line, rather than its
original function of deleting characters.
To find out the name of a command, consult the list of valid EMACS
commands in Appendix B. Also, you can use the ^X? describe-key command to
look up the name of a command. Type ^X? and then the key to use that
command, and EMACS will show you the name of the command.
After you have experimented with changing your key bindings, you
may decide that you want to change some bindings permanently. To have
EMACS rebind keys to your pleasure each time you start EMACS, you can add
statements to the end of your startup file (emacs.rc or .emacsrc depending
on the system). For example,
bind-to-key next-line ^D
Notice, that control D character in the startup file is
represented visibly as an uparrow key followed by a capital D. To know how
to represent any keys you want to bind, use the describe-key command on
the key, and use the sequence that is displayed.
bind-to-key split-current-window FN1
This example would make function key 1 activate the command that
splits the current window in two.
EMACS will let you define a large number of keys, but will report
"Binding table FULL!" when it runs out of space to bind keys. Normally
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Key Bindings, What they are and why
EMACS will allow up to 512 key bindings (including approx. 300 originally
bound keys).
If you want to get a current listing of all the commands and the
keys bound to them, use the describe-bindings command. Notice, that this
command is not bound to any keys!
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MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and Startup FilesroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix A
MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and Startup Files
When EMACS first executes, it always searches for a file, called
.emacsrc under most UNIX systems or emacs.rc on most other systems which
it will execute as EMACS macros before it reads in the named source files.
This file normally contains EMACS macroes to bind the function keys to
useful functions and load various useful macros. The contents of this file
will probably vary from system to system and can be modified by the user
as desired.
When searching for this file, EMACS looks for it in this order.
First, it attempts to find a definition for "HOME" in the environment. It
will look in that directory first. Then it searches all the directories
listed in the "PATH" environment variable. Then it looks through a list of
predefined standard directories which vary from system to system. Finally,
failing all of these, it looks in the current directory. This is also the
same method EMACS uses to look up any files to execute, and to find it's
help file EMACS.HLP.
On computers that call up EMACS via a command line process, such
as MSDOS and UNIX, there are different things that can be added to the
command line to control the way EMACS operates. These can be switches,
which are a dash ('-') followed by a letter, and possible other
parameters, or a startup file specifier, which is an at sign '@' followed
by a file name.
@<file> This causes the named file to be executed instead of the
standard emacs.rc file before emacs reads in any other
files. More than one of these can be placed on the
command line, and they will be executed in the order
that they appear.
-C The following source files on the command line can be
changed (as opposed to being in VIEW mode). This is
mainly used to cancel the effects of the -v switch used
previously in the same command line.
-E This flag causes emacs to automatically run the startup
file "error.cmd" instead of emacs.rc. This is used by
various C compilers for error processing (for example,
Mark Williams C).
-G<num> Upon entering EMACS, position the cursor at the <num>
line of the first file.
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-I<var> <value> Initialize an EMACS variable with <value>. This can be
useful to force EMACS to start in a particular mode.
(For example, invoke EMACS with "emacs -i$sres VGA
foo.bar" to edit file foo.bar in VGA 50 line mode on an
IBM-PC).
-K<key> This key tells emacs to place the source files in CRYPT
mode and read it in using <key> as the encryption key.
If no key is listed immediately after the -K switch,
EMACS will prompt for a key, and not echo it as it is
typed.
-R This places EMACS in "restricted mode" where any
commands allowing the user to read or write any files
other than the ones listed on the command line are
disabled. Also all commands allowing the user access to
the operating system are disabled. This makes EMACS very
useful as a "safe" environment for use within other
applications and especially used as a remote editor for
a BBS or electronic bulletin board system.
-S<string> After EMACS is started, it automatically searches for
<string> in the first source file.
-V This tells EMACS that all the following sources files on
the command line should be in VIEW mode to prevent any
changes being made to them.
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Command Completion MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix B
Command Completion
Some versions of MicroEMACS will allow you to abbrieviate buffer
names, command names and file names as you enter them. To use this, type
in the first few characters of the name you wish, and then hit either the
space bar, the META key or the TAB key. MicroEMACS will then attempt to
look at the list of all the availible names and if there is only one which
will fit, it will choose that name. If there are several names that
quailify, as many characters as are common to ALL of them will be entered.
If there are no possible matches, the bell will ring to indicate
MicroEMACS can not complete the command.
For example, if you have several files in your current directory
with the following names:
prog1.c
prog1.obj
prog1.exe
prog1.doc
program.one
project.one
test.c
tes
and you enter the ^X^F find-file command, if you type 'p' and then
hit the space bar, EMACS will respond by typing the 'r' that is common to
all the above file names begining with 'p'. If you then type 'ogr' and hit
the tab key, EMACS will respond with 'am.one' and automatically hit the
enter key for you.
If you were to instead type an 'a' and hit the space bar, EMACS
will beep, informing you that there is no possible match.
If you type a 'te' and hit the space bar, EMACS will then type the
following 's', but it will not automatically enter it because it is
possible you mean to get to the test.c file.
Buffer name, and command name completion is available in all
versions of MicroEMACS. File name completion is available on UNIX BSD4.3,
the Atari ST, the AMIGA and under MSDOS.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Commands
Appendix C
MicroEMACS Commands
Below is a complete list of the commands in EMACS, the keys
normally used to do the command, and what the command does. Remember, on
some computers there may also be additional ways of using a command
(cursor keys and special function keys for example).
Command Binding Meaning
abort-command ^G This allows the user to abort out of any
command that is waiting for input
add-mode ^XM Add a mode to the current buffer
add-global-mode M-M Add a global mode for all new buffers
append-file ^X^A Write a buffer to the end of a file
apropos M-A List out commands whose name contains
the string specified
backward-character ^B Move one character to the left
begin-macro ^X( Begin recording a keyboard macro
beginning-of-file M-< Move to the beginning of the file in
the current buffer
beginning-of-line ^A Move to the beginning of the current line
bind-to-key M-K Bind a key to a function
buffer-position ^X= List the position of the cursor in the
current window on the command line
case-region-lower ^X^L Make a marked region all lower case
case-region-upper ^X^U Make a marked region all upper case
case-word-capitalize M-C Capitalize the following word
case-word-lower M-L Lower case the following word
case-word-upper M-U Upper case the following word
change-file-name ^XN Change the name of the file in the
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current buffer
change-screen-size (none) Change the number of lines of the screen
currently being used
change-screen-width (none) Change the number of columns of the
screen currently being used
clear-and-redraw ^L Clear the physical screen and redraw it
clear-message-line (none) Clear the command line
copy-region M-W Copy the currently marked region into
the kill buffer
count-words M-^C Count how many words, lines and
characters are in the current marked region
ctlx-prefix ^X Change the key used as the ^X prefix
cycle-screens A-C Bring the rearmost screen to front
delete-blank-lines ^X^O Delete all blank lines around the cursor
delete-buffer ^XK Delete a buffer which is not being
currently displayed in a window
delete-mode ^X^M Turn off a mode in the current buffer
delete-global-mode M-^M Turn off a global mode
delete-next-character ^D Delete the character following the cursor
delete-next-word M-D Delete the word following the cursor
delete-other-windows ^X1 Make the current window cover the entire
screen
delete-previous-character^H Delete the character to the left of the
cursor
delete-previous-word M-^H Delete the word to the left of the cursor
delete-screen A-D Delete a screen
delete-window ^X0 Remove the current window from the screen
describe-bindings (none) Make a list of all legal commands
describe-functions (none) Make a list of all legal functions
describe-variables (none) Make a list of all environment
and user variables
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Commands
describe-key ^X? Describe what command is bound to a
keystroke sequence
detab-region ^X^D Change all tabs in a region to the
equivalent spaces
display ^XG Prompts the user for a variable and
displays its current value
dump-variables none Places into a buffer the current values
of all environment and user variables
end-macro ^X) stop recording a keyboard macro
end-of-file M-> Move cursor to the end of the current buffer
end-of-line ^E Move to the end of the current line
end-of-word (none) Move the point just past the end of
the current word
entab-region ^X^E Change multiple spaces to tabs where
possible
exchange-point-and-mark ^X^X Move cursor to the last marked spot,
make the original position be marked
execute-buffer (none) Execute a buffer as a macro
execute-command-line (none) Execute a line typed on the command
line as a macro command
execute-file (none) Execute a file as a macro
execute-macro ^XE Execute the keyboard macro (play back
the recorded keystrokes)
execute-macro-<n> (none) Execute numbered macro <N> where <N> is
an integer from 1 to 40
execute-named-command M-X Execute a command by name
execute-procedure M-^E Execute a procedure by name
execute-program ^X$ Execute a program directly (not through
an intervening shell)
exit-emacs ^X^C Exit EMACS. If there are unwritten,
changed buffers EMACS will ask to confirm
fill-paragraph M-Q Fill the current paragraph
filter-buffer ^X# Filter the current buffer through an
external filter
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MicroEMACS Commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
find-file ^X^F Find a file to edit in the current window
find-screen A-F Bring the named screen to front,
creating it if needed
forward-character ^F Move cursor one character to the right
goto-line M-G Goto a numbered line
goto-mark M-^G Goto a numbered mark
goto-matching-fence M-^F Goto the matching fence
grow-window ^X^ Make the current window larger
handle-tab ^I Insert a tab or set tab stops
hunt-forward A-S Hunt for the next match of the last
search string
hunt-backward A-R Hunt for the last match of the last
search string
help M-? Read EMACS.HLP into a buffer and display it
i-shell ^XC Shell up to a new command processor
incremental-search ^XS Search for a string, incrementally
indent-region M-( Indent the current region one tab
insert-file ^X^I insert a file at the cursor in the
current file
insert-space ^C Insert a space to the right of the cursor
insert-string (none) Insert a string at the cursor
kill-paragraph M-^W Delete the current paragraph
kill-region ^W Delete the current marked region, moving
it to the kill buffer
kill-to-end-of-line ^K Delete the rest of the current line
label-function-key (none) Set the text on a function key label
(HP150 only)
list-buffers ^X^B List all existing buffers
list-screens A-B List all existing screens
macro-to-key M-^K Bind a key to a macro
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Commands
meta-prefix <ESC> Key used to precede all META commands
mouse-move-down MSa
mouse-move-up MSb
mouse-resize-screen MS1
mouse-region-down MSe
mouse-region-up MSf
move-window-down ^X^N Move all the lines in the current window down
move-window-up ^X^P Move all the lines in the current window up
name-buffer M-^N Change the name of the current buffer
narrow-to-region ^X< hides all text not in the current region
newline ^M Insert a <NL> at the cursor
newline-and-indent ^J Insert a <NL> at the cursor and indent
the new line the same as the preceding line
next-buffer ^XX Bring the next buffer in the list into
the current window
next-line ^N Move the cursor down one line
next-page ^V Move the cursor down one page
next-paragraph M-N Move cursor to the next paragraph
next-window ^XO Move cursor to the next window
next-word M-F Move cursor to the beginning of the
next word
nop (none) Does nothing
open-line ^O Open a line at the cursor
overwrite-string (none) Overwrite a string at the cursor
pipe-command ^X@ Execute an external command and place
its output in a buffer
pop-buffer (none) Display a buffer temporarily, paging
previous-line ^P Move cursor up one line
previous-page ^Z Move cursor up one page
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MicroEMACS Commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
previous-paragraph M-P Move back one paragraph
previous-window ^XP Move the cursor to the last window
previous-word M-B Move the cursor to the beginning of the
word to the left of the cursor
print (none) Display a string on the command line
(a synonim to write-message)
query-replace-string M-^R Replace all of one string with another
string, interactively querying the user
quick-exit M-Z Exit EMACS, writing out all changed buffers
quote-character ^Q Insert the next character literally
read-file ^X^R Read a file into the current buffer
redraw-display M-^L Redraw the display, centering the
current line
remove-mark (none) Remove a numbered mark
resize-window ^XW Change the number of lines in the
current window
restore-window (none) Move cursor to the last saved window
replace-string M-R Replace all occurrences of one string
with another string from the cursor
to the end of the buffer
reverse-incremental-search^XR Search backwards, incrementally
run M-^E Execute a named procedure
save-file ^X^S Save the current buffer if it is changed
save-window (none) Remember current window (to restore later)
scroll-next-up M-^Z Scroll the next window up
scroll-next-down M-^V Scroll the next window down
search-forward ^S Search for a string
search-reverse ^R Search backwards for a string
select-buffer ^XB Select a buffer to display in the
current window
set ^XA Set a variable to a value
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Commands
set-encryption-key M-E Set the encryption key of the current buffer
set-fill-column ^XF Set the current fill column
set-mark Set the mark
shell-command ^X! Causes an external shell to execute
a command
show-files (none) Pop up a list of files from the
specified directory
shrink-window ^X^Z Make the current window smaller
source (none) Execute a file as a macro
split-current-window ^X2 Split the current window in two
store-macro (none) Store the following macro lines to a
numbered macro
store-procedure (none) Store the following macro lines to a
named procedure
transpose-characters ^T Transpose the character at the cursor
with the character to the left
trim-region ^X^T Trim any trailing white space from a region
unbind-key M-^K Unbind a key from a function
undent-region M-) Remove a leading indent from a region
universal-argument ^U Execute the following command 4 times
unmark-buffer M-~ Unmark the current buffer (so it is
no longer changed)
update-screen (none) Force a screen update during macro execution
view-file ^X^V Find a file,and put it in view mode
widen-from-region ^X> restores hidden text (see narrow-to-region)
wrap-word (none) Wrap the current word, this is an
internal function
write-file ^X^W Write the current buffer under a new
file name
write-message (none) Display a string on the command line
yank ^Y yank the kill buffer into the current
buffer at the cursor
76
MicroEMACS Bindings MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix D
MicroEMACS Bindings
Below is a complete list of the key bindings used in MicroEMACS.
This can be used as a wall chart reference for MicroEMACS commands.
Default Key Bindings for MicroEmacs 3.11
^A Move to start of line ESC A Apropos (list some commands)
^B Move backward by characters ESC B Backup by words
^C Insert space ESC C Initial capitalize word
^D Forward delete ESC D Delete forward word
^E Goto end of line ESC E Reset Encryption Key
^F Move forward by characters ESC F Advance by words
^G Abort out of things ESC G Go to a line
^H Backward delete
^I Insert tab/Set tab stops
^J Insert <NL>, then indent
^K Kill forward ESC K Bind Key to function
^L Refresh the screen ESC L Lower case word
^M Insert <NL> ESC M Add global mode
^N Move forward by lines ESC N Goto End paragraph
^O Open up a blank line
^P Move backward by lines ESC P Goto Begining of paragraph
^Q Insert literal ESC Q Fill current paragraph
^R Search backwards ESC R Search and replace
^S Search forward ESC S Suspend (BSD only)
^T Transpose characters
^U Repeat command four times ESC U Upper case word
^V Move forward by pages ESC V Move backward by pages
^W Kill region ESC W Copy region to kill buffer
^Y Yank back from killbuffer ESC X Execute named command
^Z Move backward by pages ESC Z Save all buffers and exit
ESC ^C Count words in region ESC ~ Unmark current buffer
ESC ^E Execute named procedure
ESC ^F Goto matching fence ESC ! Reposition window
ESC ^H Delete backward word ESC < Move to start of buffer
ESC ^K Unbind Key from function ESC > Move to end of buffer
ESC ^L Reposition window ESC . Set mark
ESC ^M Delete global mode ESC space Set mark
ESC ^N Rename current buffer ESC rubout Delete backward word
ESC ^R Search & replace w/query rubout Backward delete
ESC ^S Source command file
ESC ^V Scroll next window down
ESC ^W Delete Paragraph
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Bindings
ESC ^X Execute command line
ESC ^Z Scroll next window up
^X < Narrow-to-region ^X ? Describe a key
^X > Widen-from-region ^X ! Run 1 command in a shell
^X = Show the cursor position ^X @ Pipe shell command to buffer
^X ^ Enlarge display window ^X # Filter buffer thru shell filter
^X 0 Delete current window ^X $ Execute an external program
^X 1 Delete other windows ^X ( Begin macro
^X 2 Split current window ^X ) End macro
^X A Set variable value
^X ^B Display buffer list ^X B Switch a window to a buffer
^X ^C Exit MicroEMACS ^X C Start a new command processor
^X ^D Detab line ^X D Suspend MicroEMACS (BSD4.2 only)
^X ^E Entab line ^X E Execute macro
^X ^F Find file ^X F Set fill column
^X ^I Insert file
^X K Delete buffer
^X ^L Lower case region
^X ^M Delete Mode ^X M Add a mode
^X ^N Move window down ^X N Rename current filename
^X ^O Delete blank lines ^X O Move to the next window
^X ^P Move window up ^X P Move to the previous window
^X ^R Get a file from disk ^X R Incremental reverse search
^X ^S Save current file ^X S Incremental forward search
^X ^T Trim line (Incremental search
^X ^U Upper case region not always available)
^X ^V View file
^X ^W Write a file to disk ^X W resize Window
^X ^X Swap "." and mark ^X X Use next buffer
^X ^Z Shrink window ^X Z Enlarge display window
Usable Modes
WRAP Lines going past right margin "wrap" to a new line
VIEW Read-Only mode where no modifications are allowed
CMODE Change behavior of some commands to work better with C
EXACT Exact case matching on search strings
OVER Overwrite typed characters instead of inserting them
CRYPT Current buffer will be encrypted on write, decrypted on read
MAGIC Use regular expression matching in searches
ASAVE Save the file every 256 inserted characters
WHITE/CYAN/MAGENTA/YELLOW/BLUE/RED/GREEN/BLACK Sets foreground color
white/cyan/magenta/yellow/blue/red/green/black Sets background color
78
Numeric Arguments MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix E
Numeric Arguments
79
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Numeric Arguments to Commands
Appendix F
Numeric Arguments to Commands
In general, preceding a MicroEMACS command with a numeric argument
n causes the command to be executed n times. However, there are a great
many commands for which this has no effect, simply because it would make
no sense for the command to be executed more than once. There are also
commands that take advantage of the numeric arguments to alter their
behavior subtly or unsubtly. The following is a list of these commands.
Commands that are not affected at all by numeric arguments are listed
afterwards.
backward-character
A negative argument invokes forward-character.
change-screen-size
With no arguments, the number of rows defaults to the
largest. Otherwise, set the screen size to n.
change-screen-width
With no arguments, the number of columns defaults to the
largest. Otherwise, set the screen width to n.
clear-and-redraw With an argument, centers the window around the current
cursor position.
delete-next-character
A negative argument invokes delete-previous-character.
delete-next-word With an argument of 0, will not delete the whitespace
trailing the deleted word. A negative argument will
cause nothing to happen.
delete-previous-character
A negative argument invokes delete-next-character.
delete-previous-word
An negative or zero argument will cause nothing to
happen.
detab-region Without an argument, detab-region changes hard tabs to
spaces in the lines between the mark and the cursor.
With an argument n, the commands detab n lines - forward
if n is positive, backwards if not.
end-of-word A negative argument invokes next-word.
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Numeric Arguments to Commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
entab-region Without an argument, entab-region changes spaces to hard
tabs in the lines between the mark and the cursor. With
an argument n, the commands entab n lines - forward if n
is positive, backwards if not.
exchange-point-and-mark
Swap the current cursor position and mark number n.
Without an argument, n defaults to 0.
exit-emacs Providing a numeric argument n causes two things to
happen. First, no checking for modified buffers will
occur. Second, MicroEMACS exits with a status of n.
forward-character
A negative argument invokes backward-character.
goto-line An argument n will be taken as the line number to go to.
Without an argument, you will be asked for a line
number. In either case, the line number must be 1 or
greater.
goto-mark Go to mark number n. Without an argument, n defaults to
0.
grow-window A negative argument invokes shrink-window. An argument
of 0 causes no action.
handle-tab Without an argument, handle-tab deals with the tab
character, whether it should be a single "hard" tab, or
expanded as spaces. With an argument n, $softtab is set
to n.
hunt-backward The command will hunt n times. The command will report
failure if it cannot find its pattern the nth time, even
if has found an occurrence of the pattern before number
n. A negative argument invokes hunt-forward.
hunt-forward The command will hunt n times. The command will report
failure if it cannot find its pattern the nth time, even
if has found an occurrence of the pattern before number
n. A negative argument invokes hunt-backward.
kill-to-end-of-line
With no argument n, the command deletes all characters
to the end of the line. If it is already at the end of
the line, it will delete the newline. With a positive n
as an argument, the command will delete n complete
lines, newline character and all, starting from the
cursor. With n equal to zero, the command deletes all
text from the cursor to the beginning of the line, but
will not delete past the newline character. A negative
n is illegal.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Numeric Arguments to Commands
list-buffers With a numeric argument, INVISIBLE buffers are also
listed.
move-window-down With a negative argument, invokes move-window-up.
move-window-up With a negative argument, invokes move-window-down.
next-buffer With an argument n, the nth buffer after the current one
is selected, and read in if necessary. Any buffers in
between the current buffer and the target buffer that
have not yet been read in are read.
next-line A negative argument invokes previous-line.
next-page Without an argument, the window is scrolled forward by a
full page. With an argument n, the window is scrolled
forwards by n lines. Negative arguments invoke
previous-page.
next-paragraph A negative argument invokes previous-paragraph.
next-window With a positive argument n, the nth window from the top
becomes the working window. With a negative argument,
the nth window from the bottom becomes the working
window.
next-word A negative argument invokes next-word.
previous-line A negative argument invokes next-line.
previous-page Without an argument, the window is scrolled backward by
a full page. With an argument n, the window is scrolled
backwards by n lines. Negative arguments invoke next-
page.
previous-paragraph
A negative argument invokes next-paragraph.
previous-window With a positive argument n, the nth window from the
bottom becomes the working window. With a negative
argument, the nth window from the top becomes the
working window.
previous-word A negative argument invokes next-word.
query-replace-string
With a numeric argument, n occurrences of the search
string may be replaced, depending upon the user's
response. The count is based on the number of
occurrences found, not the number of positive responses
from the user.
quick-exit Saves all modifed buffers, and exits with a status of n.
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Numeric Arguments to Commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
redraw-display With no argument, or when n is 0, the window is adjusted
so that the cursor is in the center. When n is
positive, the window is adjusted so that the cursor is
on the nth line of the screen. When n is negative, the
window is adjusted so that the cursor is on the last
line of the window, regardless of the magnitude of n.
remove-mark Remove mark number n. Without an argument, n defaults
to 0.
replace-string Will replace n occurrences of the search string with the
replacement string. Otherwise, with no argument, all
occurrences from the cursor position to the end of file
are replaced.
resize-window Requires an argument which must be positive.
scroll-next-down Behavior is same as with next-page.
scroll-next-up Behavior is same as with previous-page.
search-forward The command will search n times. The command will
report failure if it cannot find its pattern the nth
time, even if has found an occurrence of the pattern
before number n. A negative argument invokes search-
reverse.
search-reverse The command will search n times. The command will
report failure if it cannot find its pattern the nth
time, even if has found an occurrence of the pattern
before number n. A negative argument invokes search-
forward.
select-buffer Without an argument, the buffer is simply displayed in
the window. With an argument, the buffer is not only
displayed, but also given the attribute INVISIBLE.
set If using the set command interactively, preceding the
command with a numeric argument then makes it unecessary
for the command to ask for the variable's value (it will
still ask for the variable's name). If used in a
command line, then the command
set <variable name> <number>
is identical to
<number> set <variable name>
set-fill-column With an argument, the fill column is set to n. The
default argument is 1.
set-mark Set mark number n. Without an argument, n defaults to
0.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Numeric Arguments to Commands
shrink-window A negative argument invokes shrink-window. An argument
of 0 causes no action.
split-current-window
With n = 1, the new upper window becomes the current
window. Any other numeric argument makes the new lower
window the current window. With no argument, the
current window becomes the new upper or lower window
depending upon whether the cursor was in the upper or
lower half of the old window.
store-macro Since macroes are numbered, a numeric argument must be
provided. These numbered macroes are being phased out in
preference for named macros.
store-procedure If the command is provided a numeric argument, it will
assume that store-macro is actually being called.
trim-region Without an argument, trim-region removes spaces and tabs
from the end of the lines between the mark and the
cursor. With an argument n, the commands trim n lines -
forward if n is positive, backwards if not.
F.1 Commands unaffected by numeric arguments.
abort-command describe-functions narrow-to-region
add-global-mode describe-key nop
add-mode describe-variables pipe-command
append-file display pop-buffer
apropos end-macro print
back-from-tag-word end-of-file re-tag-word
begin-macro end-of-line read-file
beginning-of-file execute-command-line restore-window
beginning-of-line execute-program reverse-incremental-
bind-to-key fill-paragraph search
buffer-position filter-buffer save-file
case-region-lower find-file save-window
case-region-upper find-screen set-encryption-key
change-file-name goto-matching-fence shell-command
clear-message-line help suspend-emacs
copy-region i-shell tag-word
count-words incremental-search transpose-characters
cycle-screens insert-file unbind-key
delete-blank-lines kill-region unmark-buffer
delete-buffer macro-to-key update-screen
delete-global-mode mouse-move-down view-file
delete-mode mouse-move-up widen-from-region
delete-other-windows mouse-region-down wrap-word
delete-screen mouse-region-up write-file
delete-window mouse-resize-screen write-message
describe-bindings name-buffer
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Supported machines MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix G
Supported machines
The following table lists all the hardware/compilers for which I
currently support MicroEMACS. This is not exclusive of all machines which
MicroEMACS will run on, but I have either run it myself, or had a first
hand report of it running.
Hardware OS Compiler Comments
VAX 780 UNIX V5 native
UNIX V7 native
BSD 4.2 native job control supported
VMS native SMG & ANSI support
SUN SUNOS 3 & 4 native
gcc
NCR Tower UNIX V5 native
IBM-RT PC BSD 4.3 native
AIX native
HP9000 UNIX V5 native
Fortune 32:16 UNIX V7 native
IBM-PC MSDOS LATTICE 3 Large CODE/Large DATA
2.0 & 3.2 AZTEC 3.4e Large CODE/Large DATA
TURBO C 2.0 LARGE memory model
MSC 6.0
*MWC 86
SCO XENIX native
HP150 MSDOS Lattice 2.15 Function key labels
Turbo C 2.0 for the touch screen
HP110 MSDOS Lattice 2.15
Aztec 3.4e
Turbo C 2.0
*Data General 10
MSDOS Lattice 2.1 Texas Instruments Professional
MSDOS Lattice 2.15
Amiga Intuition Lattice 3.03
Aztec 3.6
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Supported machines
ST520 TOS Mark Williams C Spawns under MSH
Lattice 3.1 (no shell commands)
Fujitsu FMR MSDOS MSC 6.0
series
NEC 9800 MSDOS Turbo 2.0 Function key support
series MSC 6.0
HP3000 series MPE native
Systems to be supported (IE some code is already written:)
Macintosh System 7 Lightspeed C
*means that I do not own or have access to the listed compiler and/or
machine and must rely upon others to help support it.
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Function Keys MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix H
Function Keys
All environments now support a set of machine independant bindings
for function keys. Below is a list of these bindings (not all of these are
supported on all systems).
Function keys in MicroEmacs
function Function ^function Alt-function
f1) FN1 S-FN1 FN^1 A-FN1
f2) FN2 S-FN2 FN^2 A-FN2
f3) FN3 S-FN3 FN^3 A-FN3
f4) FN4 S-FN4 FN^4 A-FN4
f5) FN5 S-FN5 FN^5 A-FN5
f6) FN6 S-FN6 FN^6 A-FN6
f7) FN7 S-FN7 FN^7 A-FN7
f8) FN8 S-FN8 FN^8 A-FN8
f9) FN9 S-FN9 FN^9 A-FN9
f10) FN0 S-FN0 FN^0 A-FN0
home) FN< FN^<
CsUp) FNP FN^P
PgUp) FNZ FN^Z
CsLf) FNB FN^B
5 )
CsRt) FNF FN^F
End) FN> FN^>
CsDn) FNN FN^N
PgDn) FNV FN^V
Ins) FNC FN^C
Del) FND FN^D
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
Appendix I
Machine Dependent Notes
This appendix lists some notes specific to individual
implementations of MicroEMACS. Every attempt has been made to allow EMACS
to be identical on all machines, but we have also tried to take advantage
of function keys, cursor keys, mice, and special screen modes where
possible.
I.1 IBM-PC/XT/AT and its clones
The IBM-PC family of computers is supported with a variety of
different display adapters. EMACS will attempt to discover what adapter is
connected and use the proper driver for it. Below is a list of the
currently supported video adapters:
Adapter $sres Original mode used
Monochrome Graphics Adapter MONO MONO
Color Graphics Adapter CGA CGA
CGA40 CGA40
Enhanced Graphics Adapter EGA CGA
Video Graphics Adapter VGA CGA
VGA12
If a driver for a Microsoft compatable mouse is installed on the
system, EMACS will use the mouse in text mode and allow the user all the
standard mouse functions. The mouse cursor will appear to be a block of
color in the color opposite of it's background.
EMACS also takes advantage of various function keys and the keys
on the keypad on an IBM-PC. The function keys are initially not bound to
any particular functions (except by the emacs.rc startup file), but the
keypad keys do default to the following:
Keypad key Function
Home beginning-of-file
CSRS UP previous-line
Pg Up previous-page
CSRS LEFT backward-character
CSRS RIGHT forward-character
End end-of-file
CSRS DOWN next-line
Pg Dn Next-page
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
All these special keys are indicated in EMACS macroes by use of
the FN prefix. Below is a list of many of the keys and the codes used to
specify them. Also the codes may be gotten by using the describe-key (^X
?) command on the suspect key.
Compiling under TURBO C
To compile MicroEMACS under TURBO C, set the TURBO integrated
environment with the following options:
Memory model LARGE
Floating point NONE
Default char type UNSIGNED
Data alignment BYTE
Merge duplicate strings ON
Standard stack frame off
Test stack overflow off
Optimize for SIZE
Use register optimization ON
Register optimization ON
Jump optimization ON
Initialize segments OFF
Stack warnings OFF
Names: Code names
Segment name *
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
I.2 HP 150
This machine from Hewlett Packard is very unusual for an MSDOS
machine. It has a touch screen and is very function key oriented. An
additional command, label-function-key allows you to place labels on the
on screen function key labels. A numeric argument indicates which function
key to label (one through eight) and then the program prompts for a 16
character label, which will be used as two lines of eight characters. To
label function key three with "save file" from a macro, you would use:
3 label-function-key "save file"
Notice the 4 spaces after "save". This forces "file" to begin on
the second line of the label.
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
I.3 Atari 520/1040ST
The ATARI ST family of computers have a dual personality. They may
use either a monochrome or a color screen. EMACS supports two screen
resolutions on each monitor.
NOTE
When you set MicroEMACS up on your system, please remember to
install it on the desktop as a GEM application. If you have
EMACS set as a TOS application, the mouse will not function
properly, and EMACS will alert you to this problem by beeping
the bell.
Monitor $sres size #color $palette format
Color LOW 40x25 16 000111222333444555666777
MEDIUM 80x25 4 000111222333
Mono HIGH 80x25 2 000
DENSE 80x50 2 000
The $palette environment variable can be used to change what color
is associated with each color name. With a color monitor, each group of
three digits indicates an octal number specifying the RED, GREEN and BLUE
levels of that color. Each color digit can vary from 0 to 7. For example,
the initial setting of $palette in LOW resolution is:
000700070770007707077777
which broken up is:
000 700 070 770 007 707 077 777
which means:
000 Black
700 Red
070 Green
770 Yellow
007 Blue
707 Magenta
077 Cyan
777 White
Also the mouse buttons are bound to mouse functions as described
in the chapter about mice. The cursor keys and the function keys are bound
similarly to IBM-PC.
Files generated by EMACS on the ATARI ST have a single return
character at the end of each line, unlike the desktop files which want to
have two returns. This makes it display files strangely from GEM's [SHOW]
option, but makes the files port to other computers much nicer. When
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
compiling MicroEMACS, the ADDCR symbol in estruct.h will cause emacs to
generate line ending sequences compatible with GEM.
Currently, when operating under the Mark Williams MSH program,
EMACS can shell out and perform external commands. This capability will be
added later for the Beckmeyer shell and under GEMDOS.
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
I.4 Amiga 1000
The Commodore AMIGA 1000 version of MicroEMACS does fully support
the mouse, window resizing and the close gadget. It runs in medium
resolution, using the colors defined for the workbench.
Note about Compiling MicroEMACS
If you are compiling the sources on the AMIGA to produce
an executable image, and you are using the Lattice compiler, be
sure to give the CLI command 'STACK 40000' before compiling to
make sure the compiler has sufficient stack space to
successfully complete compilation.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
I.5 UNIX V5, V7, and BSD4.[23]
MicroEMACS under UNIX utilizes the TERMCAP library to provide
machine independent screen functions. Make sure that termcap is available
and properly set on your account before attempting to use MicroEMACS.
Under systems which support job control, you can use the ^XD
suspend-emacs command to place EMACS into the background. This carries a
much smaller overhead than bringing up a new shell under EMACS. EMACS will
properly redraw the screen when you bring it back to the foreground.
If the symbol VT100 has been set to 1 in the estruct.h options
file, EMACS will recognize the key sequence <ESC>[ as the lead in sequence
for the FN function key prefix.
With the addition of some very machine/operating system specific
code, EMACS can prevent two or more people from modifying the same file at
the same time. The upper level of a set of functions to provide file
locking exist in the source file LOCK.C. It requires two machine specific
functions written and linked into EMACS for it to operate properly.
char *dolock(fname)
char *fname;
dolock() locks a file, preventing others from modifying it. If
it succeeds, it returns NULL, otherwise it returns a pointer to
a string in the form "LOCK ERROR: explanation".
char *undolock(fname)
char *fname;
undolock() unlocks a file, allowing others to modifying it. If
it succeeds, it returns NULL, otherwise it returns a pointer to
a string in the form "LOCK ERROR: explanation".
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
I.6 DEC VMS operating system
TERMINALS
Depending upon the options set in ESTRUCT.H, MicroEMACS uses
either the capabilities of VMS SMG, working with any terminal that is
defined in SMGTERMS.TXT or TERMTABLE.TXT (see your SMG manual for more
information), or the ANSI escape sequences. Full keyboard support, with
function keys and everything, is provided for VT100 and VT200 series
compatible terminals. Mouse support is provided under the ANSI version
only at this time. Mouse support is provided for the VSII workstation's
VT220 terminal emulator, and other terminal emulators that use the same
escape sequences for mouse control. (There is some partial support for the
BBN BitGraph mouse sequences in the sources, but this is not yet
complete). Terminals may have up to 100 lines and 160 columns.
The maximum terminal size is 256 columns and 72 row. If you run
MicroEMACS on a terminal that is larger than this, MicroEMACS will reduce
it to these limits while you are editing.
Flow control
Some terminals will require the use of XON/XOFF flow control when
used with MicroEMACS. When XON/XOFF flow control is used, you will not be
able to use functions bound to ^S or ^Q, and should use bind-to-key to put
these functions on other keys. MicroEMACS does not change the flow control
characteristics of your terminal line while it is running. If your
terminal requires flow control, you should:
$ SET TERM/HOSTSYNC/TTSYNC
before entering MicroEMACS. If you are on a VSII emulated
workstation terminal, are using the SSU multi-session protocol (VT330 and
VT340 with SSU enabled), or are certain that your terminal does not
require XON/XOFF flow control, you should
$ SET TERM /HOSTSYNC/NOTTSYNC
This will allow you to use ^S and ^Q for MicroEMACS commands. Note
that if you are using a VSII with VWS V3.2 or later, you must leave the
/HOSTSYNC enabled in order for the cross/session cut and paste capability
to work properly.
KEYBOARD
The VMS version understands the LK201 functions of VT200 series,
vt300 series, and compatible terminals and terminal emulators, and allows
you to bind to them as function keys. In addition, the VT100 numeric
keypad, in application mode, is available as function keys. MicroEMACS
will only put the keypad into application mode for you if the KEYPAD
option is set in ESTRUCT.H. In this situation, MicroEmacs will detect your
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
kepad's state, and restore it to that state upon exiting. If MicroEMACS
has not been compiled with this option, you may still put the keypad into
application mode by issuing the command "SET TERM /APPLICATION" before
entering MicroEMACS.
VT200 keys
Note that F1 through F5 are local function keys on DEC terminals.
F6 = FN6 FIND = FNS
FN7 = FN7 INSERT = FNC
F8 = FN8 REMOVE = FND
F9 = FN9 SELECT = FN@
F10 = FN0 PREV = FNZ
F11 = S-FN1 NEXT = FNV
F12 = S-FN2 Arrow Up = FNP
F13 = S-FN3 Arrow Down = FNN
F14 = S-FN4 Arrow Right = FNF
HELP (F15) = S-FN5 Arrow Left = FNB
DO (F16) = S-FN6
F17 = S-FN7
F18 = S-FN8
F19 = S-FN9
F20 = S-FN0
VT100 and VT200 numeric keypad in application mode
PF1 = FN^1 PF2 = FN^2 PF3 = FN^3 PF4 = FN^4
7 = A-7 8 = A-8 9 = A-9 - = A--
4 = A-4 5 = A-5 6 = A-6 , = A-,
1 = A-1 2 = A-2 3 = A-3 ENTER = A-E
0 = A-0 . = A-.
WARNING
The VMS version contains code for interpreting function
keys that are sent as Ansi sequences that begin with the ESC
character. Because of this, MicroEMACS cannot process an
incoming ESC until it knows what character follows it. This can
cause problems with terminating search and replace strings. If
you use ESC as the meta-prefix character (which is the default)
you must type one additional keystroke following ESC before
emacs will recognize that you have edited the search command
prompt, and are continuing. (The additional character is
processed normally be MicroEMACS, it is NOT discarded.)
MicroEMACS must wait long enough for the network delay
that might be involved between seeing the ESC and seeing the
characters that follow it. If holding down one of the arrow keys
causes characters to drop into your file, then you may want to
alter the delay yourself. The logical variable
MICROEMACS$SHORTWAIT may be set to vary that delay. The default
delay is 400ms (4 tenths of a second). The equivalent value in
MICROEMACS$SHORTWAIT is 4000000.
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Special case for BBN BItGraph
If you are using the BBN BitGraph, execute the following commands
before entering MicroEMACS, and you will get mouse support:
$ esc[0,8] = 27
$ microemacs$mouse_enable == esc+":5;6;L"+esc+":0;63;;;;;;;;;9;16;c"
$ microemacs$mouse_disable == esc+":5;1;L"+esc+":0;0c"
$ exit
Do NOT do this for any other terminals.
Search List for EMACS.RC
VMS MicroEMACS will first search logical name MICROEMACS$LIB:,
then SYS$LOGIN:, then the current directory, and finally
"sys$sysdevice:[vmstools]" when looking for startup files or help files.
Please use MICROEMACS$LIB:, and allow the secondary search of
[vmstools] to become archaic. If desired, MICROEMACS$LIB may be defined to
be a VMS search list that first searches a user directory, and then a
system directory.
Generally, you should create a private directory where you keep
all your .CMD files, and in your LOGIN.COM $DEFINE a logical name to point
to this area.
In addition to whatever commands you have in your EMACS.RC file,
one command you should certainly include is "set $ssave FALSE". The "safe
save" mechanism, which writes a buffer to a temporary file, deletes the
old version of a file, and then moves the temporary file to its permanent
name, works wonderfully on most systems, but makes no sense on VMS, which
maintains older versions of a file.
Using MicroEMACS as a subprocess
MicroEmacs can now be kept in a subprocess. You can arrange to
start emacs only once in a job, and to re-attach to it each time you want
to use it. This is optional. To use this feature, install MicroEMACS in
the following way:
1. MicroEMACS contains two images. ME.EXE is a small program for
starting and stopping the Emacs subprocess. The source for ME.
is in ME.C, and should not be linked into MESHR.EXE. MESHR.EXE
is the actual MicroEMACS image. The name "MESHR" is required for
MAIL/NOTES support, see next section for details.
2. Make sure that the SYS$SHARE search list includes MESHR.EXE. If you
don't have the privilages to move MESHR.EXE into SYS$SHARE, you
can $ DEFINE the MESHR logical name to be the full name and location of
the MESHR.EXE program. For example, you could store all of these
programs in the MICROEMACS$LIB: search list, and say:
$ DEFINE MESHR microemacs$lib:meshr.exe
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
3. Put ME.EXE in MICROEMACS$LIB and the following line in your LOGIN.COM:
$ me :== $microemacs$lib:me
4. Put a line in your EMACS.RC that will
bind-to-key suspend-emacs ^C ; use your usual exit-emacs key
Now, use the "$ ME" command to invoke microemacs. Subseqeuent
invocations in the same job will re-use the existing subprocess. You can
use the full capabilty of the microemacs command line in the first and in
all subsequent invocations of ME.
WARNING:
MicroEMACS will ALWAYS read in new copies of any files you specify
on the command line, even if you are already editing it. If you edit a
file a second time with the same MicroEMACS, you will get a NEW buffer
with ANOTHER copy of the file. The old buffer is still there also. It is
easy, in this situation, to accidently edit in a WRONG BUFFER, and if you
write out an obsolete buffer, you will loose earlier edits!
This is considered a bug and may be fixed in a later version of
MicroEMACS. To avoid this situation, do not specify a file on the command
line if MicroEMACS already has that file in a buffer. Use the "find-file"
MicroEMACS command instead.
Using MICROEMACS with MAIL and NOTES:
With VMS V5 and later versions, the MAIL interface to Microemacs
is much simplified. With VMS V5, the MESHR.EXE image does NOT have to be
installed as a known image to be used as a callable editor from MAIL.
Therefore, to use MicroEMACS as your VMS MAIL editor, simply add the
following lines to your LOGIN.COM:
$ DEFINE MAIL$EDIT CALLABLE_ME
$ MAIL :== MAIL/EDIT
and make sure that the SYS$SHARE search list includes MESHR.EXE.
If you don't have privs or permission to move MESHR.EXE into SYS$SHARE,
you can $ DEFINE the MESHR logical name to be the full name and location
of the MESHR.EXE program. For example, you could store all of these
programs in the MICROEMACS$LIB: search list, and say:
$ DEFINE MESHR microemacs$lib:meshr.exe
Note that this is the same location as is required for using kept
MicroEMACS.
To abort sending a message, exit MicroEMACS without writing out
the mail message file.
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
To use MicroEMACS as your VAX NOTES editor, issue the following
command to VAX NOTES:
NOTES> SET PROFILE/EDIT=(ME,CALL)
Note, if you are still in the dark ages of VMS V4, you will have
to either install MESHR as a known image, or following the original
"Second way" instructions given in the existing appendix F.6 of the older
MicroEMACS manual (previous to version 3.10).
Second way, as described in older versions
In the event that you cannot get your system manager to INSTALL
MicroEMACS as known image, you can use the following technique:
1. In MICROEMACS$LIB:MEMAIL.COM, put the following command file:
$! Use on VAX/VMS as MAIL$EDIT for using MicroEMACS as mail editor.
$ if "''P1'" .NES. "_NL:" then if "''P1'" .NES. "" then copy 'P1' 'P2'
$ define/user sys$input sys$output
$ me 'P2'
$ exit
This file may have come with your MicroEMACS kit.
2. In your LOGIN.COM, put the following lines:
$ me :== $MICROEMACS$LIB:MESHR.EXE ! Assumes meshr.exe is there
$ define mail$edit microemacs$lib:me_edit.com
3. In NOTES, give the command
NOTES> SET PROFILE/EDIT=(@MicroEMACS$lib:me_edit.com,SPAWN)
Building MicroEMACS for VMS
The configuration options are set in file estruct.h:
- Under the category of "Machine/OS definitions", set VMS to "1" and all
others to "0".
- Under "Compiler definitions", set all selections to "0". Selecting
VMS implies that you are using VAXC.
- Under "Special keyboard definitions", be sure "VT100" is set to "0".
This option is not required for the VMS version, it is for other
systems using ANSI terminal support. VMS in combination with SMG or
ANSI already handles the special characteristics of Ansi keyboards.
- Under "Terminal Output definitions", set either ANSI or SMG to "1"
and all others to "0". As stated previously, only ANSI supports the
mouse at this time.
- Under "Configuration options", you may select as you wish, with the
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
following notes:
- COLOR support does not exist for VMS, even when using
color workstations.
- MOUSE support should be enabled if you have any VSII
workstations. Only supported under the ANSI driver.
- KEYPAD support recognises whether your keypad is already
in application mode or not, and puts your keypad
in its correct state on exit.
- XNONOFF automatically allows you to use control-S or
control-Q in MicroEMACS, by disabling the TTSYNC
characteristic. This option should not be set if
MicroEMACS might be used on DecStations or VT100s.
It also should not be used with slow terminals or
terminal emulators connected to fast terminal lines.
- RMSIO support should absolutely be used. This option
allows the writing and reading of files in VMS's
variable-length format, as opposed to STREAM-LF,
and cuts down on file writing and reading time by
approximately two thirds.
- OPTMEM support may be used on VMS versions 5.0 and higher.
It substitutes the C library's memory allocation
calls for the native VAX calls, and gives a speed
improvement.
If you have MMS, you can use the supplied DESCRIP.MMS to build
MicroEMACS. Otherwise, the command file MEMAKE.COM has been provided.
These files assume that you are using SMG as your terminal driver. If you
are using ANSI, then you must replace SMG with ANSI in the command and opt
files. If you do not have MMS or are missing MEMAKE.COM, simply compile
each module with "CC", and link with the command:
$ LINK MESHR/OPTION/SHARE
Note that the executable filename must end in "SHR" in order for
MicroEMACS to be used as a callable editor from MAIL or NOTES. (Method 1
above.)
If you edit any of the Emacs sources, note that any global or
external data must be declared as "noshare" in order for the VMS callable
editor support to work properly. This applies to all global data used in
the VMS version, but not to routines or to "static "data. The "noshare"
declaration is #define'd away on non-VMS systems. If you fail to do this,
VMS will not allow you to INSTALL MicroEMACS as a sharable library.
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Mode Flags MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix J
Mode Flags
The two environment variables, $cmode and $gmode, contain a number
the corresponds to the modes set for the current buffer and the editor as
a whole. These are encoded as the sum of the following numbers for each of
the possible modes:
WRAP 1 Word wrap
CMODE 2 C indentation and fence match
SPELL 4 Interactive spell checking (Not Implemented Yet)
EXACT 8 Exact matching for searches
VIEW 16 Read-only buffer
OVER 32 Overwrite mode
MAGIC 64 Regular expressions in search
CRYPT 128 Encryption mode active
ASAVE 256 Auto-save mode
So, if you wished to set the current buffer to have CMODE, EXACT,
and MAGIC on, and all the others off, you would add up the values for
those three, CMODE 2 + EXACT 8 + MAGIC 64 = 74, and use a statement
like:
set $cmode 74
or, use the binary or operator to combine the different modes:
set $cmode &bor &bor 2 8 64
Internal Flags
Some of the ways EMACS controls its internal functions can be
modified by the value in the $gflags environment variable. Each bit in
this variable will be used to control a different function.
GFFLAG 1 If this bit is set to zero, EMACS will not
automatically switch to the buffer of the
first file after executing the startup macros.
GFSDRAW 2 If this bit is set to one, supress redraw events.
Current buffer flags
The $cbflags environment variable allows the user to modify some
of the characteristics of the current buffer. The various characteristics
are encoded as the sum of the following numbers:
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Mode Flags
BFINVS 1 Internal invisible buffer
BFCHG 2 Changed since last write
BFTRUNC 4 buffer was truncated when read
BFNAROW 8 buffer has been narrowed
Only the invisible and changed flags can be modified by setting
the $cbflags variable. The truncated file and narrowed flags are read
only.
102
Index MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Index
$cbflags 101 default string 14
$debug 63 delete-blank-lines 8
$gflags 101 delete-buffer 28
.emacsrc 48, 67 delete-global-mode 30
<NL> 13 delete-mode 30
delete-next-character 7
A delete-next-word 8
add-global-mode 30 delete-previous-character
add-mode 3, 30 7
ASAVE mode 30 delete-previous-word 8
describe-bindings 66
B describe-key 65
backward-character 3 desk accessories 21
BBS 68 desktop 23
begin-macro 46 detab-region 41
beginning-of-file 4, 7 dragging 22
beginning-of-line 4
bind-to-key 65 E
buffer 4, 6, 27 emacs.rc 48, 67
encryption 31
C end-macro 46
case-region-lower 40 end-of-file 4
case-word-capitalize 40 end-of-line 4
case-word-lower 40 entab-region 41
case-word-upper 40 error parsing 67
change-file-name 36 EXACT mode 31
clear-and-redraw 19 execute-buffer 48
CMODE mode 31 execute-file 48
color 30 execute-macro 46
color pallette 52 execute-program 43
command line 17 exit-emacs 8
command processor 43
command.com 43 F
control key 1 file locking 94
control-x 1 fill column 34
copy-region 11 fill-paragraph 7, 39
CRYPT mode 31, 68 filter 43
cshell 43 filter-buffer 43
cursor keys 4 find-file 18, 27
cut 23 forward-character 3
cycle-screens 24 function key window 48
D G
debugging 63 grow-window 19
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Index
H Q
handle-tab 41 query-replace 15
Help File 67 query-replace-string 15,
HOME environment variable 33, 34
67
horizontal scrolling 22 R
rebinding 65
I redraw-display 19
i-shell 44 region 22
regular expressions 32
K replace-string 14, 33, 34
kill buffer 11 resize-window 19
kill-region 10 restricted mode 68
kill-to-end-of-line 8 run 48
L S
label-function-key 90 save-file 4
list-buffers 28, 30 screen 6, 23
screen resolution 53
M scroll-next-down 18
MAGIC mode 32 scroll-next-up 18
mark 10 search-forward 13
meta key 1 search-reverse 14
mode line 2, 6 select-buffer 27
modes 3, 30 set 41
mouse 21, 52 set-encryption-key 31
mouse cursor 21 set-fill-column 39
move-window-down 18 set-mark 10
move-window-up 18 shell 43
shell-command 43
N shrink-window 19
newline 1 special keys 1
next-buffer 27 split-current-window 17
next-line 3 startup files 67
next-paragraph 4 store-procedure 48
next-word 3 suspend-emacs 44, 94
numeric arguments 80 switches 67
O T
open-line 7 tab handling 41
open-window 17 tabs 51, 53
OVER mode 34 termcap 94
text window 2
P trim-region 41
paste 23
PATH environment variable V
67 vertical scrolling 22
pipe-command 43 VIEW mode 34
point 10
previous-line 3 W
previous-paragraph 4 window 6
previous-window 17 windows 2, 17
previous-word 3 Creating 17
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Index MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Deleting 18 write-file 4
Resizing 19 writefile 36
WRAP mode 34
wrap-word 34 Y
wrapping text 39 yank 11
105
Contents
Chapter 1 Basic Concepts 1
1.1 Keys and the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Parts and Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Entering Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.5 Basic cursor movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.6 Saving your text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2 Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions 6
2.1 A Word About Windows, Buffers, Screens, and Modes . . 6
2.2 Insertions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Deletions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3 Using Regions 10
3.1 Defining and Deleting a Region . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 Yanking a Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 4 Search and Replace 13
4.1 Forward Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2 Exact Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.3 Backward Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.4 Searching and Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.5 Query-Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 5 Windows 17
5.1 Creating Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2 Deleting Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.3 Resizing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.4 Repositioning within a Window . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 6 Using a Mouse 21
6.1 Moving around with the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.2 Dragging around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6.3 Cut and Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.4 Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6.5 Resizing a Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6.6 Moving a Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6.7 Creating a Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
6.8 Switching to a Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.9 Deleting a Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter 7 Buffers 27
i
Chapter 8 Modes 30
8.1 ASAVE mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8.2 CMODE mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8.3 CRYPT mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8.4 EXACT mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
8.5 MAGIC mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
8.6 OVER mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.7 WRAP mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.8 VIEW mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 9 Files 36
Chapter 10 Screen Formatting 39
10.1 Wrapping Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
10.2 Reformatting Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
10.3 Changing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
10.4 Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 11 Access to the Outside World 43
Chapter 12 Keyboard Macros 46
Chapter 13 MicroEMACS Procedures 48
13.1 Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
13.2 Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
13.2.1 Environmental Variables . . . . . . . . . . . 50
13.2.2 User variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
13.2.3 Buffer Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
13.2.4 Interactive variables . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
13.3 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
13.4 Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
13.4.1 !ENDM Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
13.4.2 !FORCE Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
13.4.3 !IF, !ELSE, and !ENDIF Directives . . . . . . 60
13.4.4 !GOTO Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
13.4.5 !WHILE and !ENDWHILE Directives . . . . . . . 61
13.4.6 !BREAK Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
13.4.7 !RETURN Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 14 Debugging MicroEMACS Procedures 63
Chapter 15 Key Bindings, What they are and why 65
Appendix A MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and Startup
Files 67
Appendix B Command Completion 69
Appendix C MicroEMACS Commands 70
Appendix D MicroEMACS Bindings 77
Appendix E Numeric Arguments 79
ii
Appendix F Numeric Arguments to Commands 80
F.1 Commands unaffected by numeric arguments. . . . . . 84
Appendix G Supported machines 85
Appendix H Function Keys 87
Appendix I Machine Dependent Notes 88
I.1 IBM-PC/XT/AT and its clones . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
I.2 HP 150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
I.3 Atari 520/1040ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
I.4 Amiga 1000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
I.5 UNIX V5, V7, and BSD4.[23] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
I.6 DEC VMS operating system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Appendix J Mode Flags 101
Index 103
iii