Linux Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition

Name

emacs — stdin  stdout  - file  -- opt  --help  --version

Synopsis

emacs [options] [files]

emacs is an extremely powerful editing environment with more commands than you could possibly imagine, plus a complete programming language to define your own editing features. To invoke emacs in a new X window, run:

$ emacs

To run in a existing shell window:

$ emacs -nw

Now to invoke the built-in emacs tutorial, type ^h t.

Most emacs keystroke commands involve the control key (like ^F) or the meta key, which is usually the Escape key or the Alt key. emacs’s own documentation notates the meta key as M- (as in M-F to mean “hold the meta key and type F”), so we will too. For basic keystrokes, see Table 1-1.