Learning GNU Emacs, 3rd Edition

Emacs Commands

You're about to start learning some Emacs commands, so let's discuss them a bit first. How do you give commands? Each command has a formal name, which (if you're fastidious) is the name of a Lisp routine. Some command names are quite long; you usually wouldn't want to type the whole thing. As a result, we need some way to abbreviate commands.

Emacs ties a command name to a short sequence of keystrokes. This tying of commands to keystrokes is known as binding. Even things you don't normally think about as commands, such as inserting the characters that you type, are handled through the binding mechanism. Keys like "A" are bound to the Emacs command self-insert-command, which inserts them into the buffer you are editing.^[4] Most actions that you would normally think of as editor commands are bound to keystroke sequences starting with Ctrl or Meta. Emacs also binds some commands to mouse clicks (alone or modified by Shift or Ctrl) and to options on menus.

The authors of Emacs try to bind the most frequently used commands to the key sequences that are the easiest to reach. Here are the varieties of key sequences you'll encounter:

• The most commonly used commands (such as cursor movement commands) are bound to C- n (where n is any character). To press C- n, press and hold the Ctrl key and press n, then release both keys.

• Slightly less commonly used commands are bound to M- n. To press M- n, press and hold the Meta key (usually next to the space bar), then press n.

• Other ...