Summary of Commands by Group

Tables list keystrokes, command name, and description. C- indicates the Ctrl key; M- indicates the Meta key.

File Handling Commands

Binding

Command

Action

C-x C-f

find-file

Find file and read it.

C-x C-v

find-alternate-file

Read another file; replace the one read currently in the buffer.

C-x i

insert-file

Insert file at cursor position.

C-x C-s

save-buffer

Save file. (If terminal hangs, C-q restarts.)

C-x C-w

write-file

Write buffer contents to file.

C-x C-c

save-buffers-kill-emacs

Exit Emacs.

C-z

suspend-emacs

Suspend Emacs (use exit or fg to restart).

Cursor Movement Commands

In addition to the key bindings shown in this table, you can use the arrow keys to move around in Emacs. When you run Emacs in a graphical display environment (e.g., in the X Window System), you can also use the mouse for operations such as moving the cursor or selecting text.

Binding

Command

Action

C-f

forward-char

Move forward one character (right).

C-b

backward-char

Move backward one character (left).

C-p

previous-line

Move to previous line (up).

C-n

next-line

Move to next line (down).

M-f

forward-word

Move one word forward.

M-b

backward-word

Move one word backward.

C-a

beginning-of-line

Move to beginning of line.

C-e

end-of-line

Move to end-of-line.

M-a

backward-sentence

Move backward one sentence.

M-e

forward-sentence

Move forward one sentence.

M-{

backward-paragraph

Move backward one paragraph.

M-}

forward-paragraph ...

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