Brief Introduction to the GNU Emacs Editor

Emacs is a popular editor which allows you to do basic and advanced editing using a series of keystroke commands. However, it is much more than just a text editor, with major editing modes for all programming languages, the ability to do directory editing, the ability to run Unix shells inside Emacs buffers, and much more. This guide will show you the bare minimum of how to invoke the Emacs editor and how to perform basic cursor movements once you are inside. Once you become familiar with Emacs and learn how to access its documentation, you will find that it is possible to do virtually all of your Unix work without ever leaving the Emacs editor.

Invoking Emacs

Entering "emacs" at the Unix prompt followed by a filename will invoke the emacs editor on the file, or create a new buffer if the filename does not exist. Entering "emacs" without a filename will put you into a scratch buffer and also give you the opportunity to run the tutorial (see below).

Entering Text

To insert text into a file at a particular location, just move the cursor to that location (see below for cursor movement) and start typing the text.

Notes on the following:

  1. C- stands for the Control key, which you must hold down while pressing the next key. For example, C-a means press the Control key and then the "a" key while Control is still pressed.
  2. ESC- stands for the Escape key, which you must release before pressing the second key in the sequence. For example, ESC-v would be entered as "ESC (release) v".

Moving the Cursor

C-a
Move to the beginning of the line.
C-e
Move to the end of the line.
C-f
Move forward one character.
C-b
Move backward one character.
C-n
Move down one line.
C-p
Move up one line.
C-v
Page forward one screen.
ESC-v
Page backward one screen.
ESC-<
Go to beginning of file.
ESC->
Go to end of file.

Deleting Text

C-d
Delete character cursor is on
C-k
Delete from cursor to end of line

Manipulating Panes

C-x 2
Split current buffer into two panes
C-x o
Move cursor to other pane
C-x b
Switch to buffer

Managing Files

C-x C-f
Load or create a file
C-x C-s
Save current buffer to file without name prompt
C-x C-w
Save current buffer to file with name prompt

Running a Shell Buffer

A shell buffer is a window (or pane) in emacs that allows you to interact directly with unix through the C shell, just as though you were not using an editor at all. But since the shell buffer is running in emacs, you can leave it at any time to resume editing a file buffer, and you can return to it any time to invoke unix commands through the C shell. This means that you don't have to exit and restart emacs each time you need to compile a file or otherwise execute a unix command.

To start a shell buffer while in emacs, simply type ESC-x shell while in emacs. A window into a buffer called *shell* will appear with your standard unix prompt. You can then move between this buffer and your program buffer(s) using the keystroke commands given above in Manipulating Panes.

Miscellaneous

C-l
Clear the screen and reprint everything. Use this if the screen becomes garbled due to line noise.
C-g
Aborts the current emacs function. If something weird happens and you get a prompt which you don't understand, try this.

Running the Emacs Online Tutorial

There is an online emacs tutorial which walks you through the basic operations of the editor. It would be helpful to go through it at least once before you try to edit a file. To run it, start up emacs then just type "C-h t". Note that the tutorial refers to the ESC- key as M-.

Other Help

C-h ?
Get internal Emacs help
ESC-x info
Use online Emacs documentation system. Complete online documentation for Emacs is available within Emacs by invoking the info system with "ESC-x info". This puts you into a documentation buffer which is organized hierarchically into menus and submenus. Type "h" to get help for first-time info system users.
ESC-x doctor
Talk to the psychotherapist

Quitting Emacs

In order to exit emacs simply type "C-x C-c". You will be prompted for whether you want to save your edits. Be sure to reply with "y" or your work will not be saved.

Quick Reference Card

A postscript file with basic emacs keystroke commands is available here.

Page URL: http://www.d.umn.edu /~tcolburn/emacs/guide.html
Page Author: Tim Colburn
Last Modified: Monday, 27-Sep-1999 14:47:28 CDT
Comments to: tcolburn@d.umn.edu