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emacs(1)
NAME
emacs - GNU project Emacs
SYNOPSIS
emacs [command-line switches] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
The GNU Emacs editor is a new version of Emacs, written by the author of
the original (PDP-10) Emacs, Richard Stallman. It provides all the user
capabilities of other Emacs editors, and it is easily extensible because
its editing commands are written in Lisp.
The documentation for GNU Emacs is available online and can be viewed using
Info, a subsystem of the Emacs facility. This documentation contains the
most up-to-date and complete information. For the most part, users of
other Emacs editors should have little trouble adapting without the
documentation and new users should progress quickly with the basic features
by studying the tutorial and using the self-documenting features of the
Emacs facility.
The Emacs editor has an extensive interactive help facility, however, you
must know how to manipulate Emacs windows and buffers to use it. To enter
the Help facility, enter CTRL-h (backspace or CTRL-h) from with the Emacs
facility. There are several help topics available:
· Help Tutorial (type CTRL-h t) provides an interactive tutorial that
teaches beginners the fundamentals of the Emacs facility in a short
time.
· Help Apropos (type CTRL-h a) is used to locate commands.
· Help Character (type Ctrl-h c) describes a specified character's
effect.
· Help Function (type CTRL-h f) provides information on the specified
Lisp function.
The Emacs editor's Undo command can be used to undo several steps of
modification to your buffers, so it is easy to recover from editing
mistakes.
The GNU Emacs's facility also provides many other features including
special packages to handle reading (RMail) and sending (Mail), outline
editing (Outline), compiling (Compile), running subshells within the Emacs
windows (Shell), running a Lisp read-eval-print loop (Lisp-Interaction-
Mode) and more.
General Emacs Options
The following options are of general interest:
file Specifies the file that you want to edit.
+number
Moves to the line specified by number. (Do not insert a space
between the + sign and the number.)
-q Specifies that the .emacs initialization file is not to be loaded.
-u user
Loads the .emacs initialization file for the specified user.
-t file
Uses the specified file as the terminal instead of using standard
input and standard output. This must be the first argument specified
in the command line.
Lisp Options
Use the following options to specify lisp functions and to load lisp code
into your files. These options are processed in the order they are
specified:
-f function
Executes the specified Lisp function.
-l file
Loads the lisp code in specified file.
Batch Options
Use the following options to run Emacs as a batch editor:
-batch
Edits in batch mode. The editor sends messages to standard output.
This option must be the first in the argument list. Use the -l and
-f flags to specify the files to execute and the functions to call.
-kill Exits the Emacs facility while in batch mode.
Using Emacs with X
The Emacs facility has been tailored to work with the X window system. If
you run the Emacs editor under X windows, it creates its own X window in
which to display. Starting the editor as a background process (emacs &) is
advisable because you can continue using your original window.
An Emacs session is started using following X switches:
-rn name
Specifies the program name which should be used when looking up
defaults in the user's X resources. This must be the first option
specified in the command line.
-wn name
Specifies the name which should be assigned to the Emacs window.
-r Displays the Emacs window in reverse video.
-i Uses the ``kitchen sink'' bitmap icon when iconifying the Emacs
window.
-font font, -fn font
Sets the Emacs window's font to the font specified. There are
various X fonts in the /usr/lib/X11/fonts directory.
Note that the Emacs facility accepts fixed-width fonts only. Under
the X11 Release 4 font-naming conventions, any font with the value m
or c in the eleventh field of the font name is a fixed width font.
Furthermore, fonts whose name are of the form width x height are
generally fixed-width, as is the font fixed.
See the xlsfonts(1X) reference page for more information.
-b pixels
Sets the Emacs window's border width to the number of pixels
specified by pixels. Defaults to one pixel on each side of the
window.
-ib pixels
Sets the window's internal border width to the number of pixels
specified by pixels. Defaults to one pixel of padding on each side
of the window.
-geometry geometry
Sets the Emacs window's width, height, and position as specified.
The geometry specification is in the standard X format; see X(1X) for
more information. The width and height are specified in characters.
The default is 80 by 24.
Color Options
Use the following options to specify the colors used in an Emacs window on
color displays only:
-fg color
Sets the color of the text. See the file /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt for a
list of valid color names.
-bg color
Sets the color of the window's background.
-bd color
Sets the color of the window's border.
-cr color
Sets the color of the window's text cursor.
-ms color
Sets the color of the window's mouse cursor.
X Window Options
Use the following options to specify how the Emacs facility interacts with
your X window environment.
-d displayname, -display displayname
Creates the Emacs window on the specified display. This must be the
first option specified in the command line.
-nw Tells the Emacs facility not to use its special interface to X. If
you use this switch when invoking the Emacs facility from a xterm(1X)
window, the display appears in that window. This must be the first
option specified in the command line.
X Window Keywords
Use the following format to set X default values for your Emacs windows in
your .Xresources file (see xrdb(1X)):
emacs.keyword:value
In the previous format example, value specifies the default value of the
specified keyword. You can set the following default values for keywords:
font (class Font)
Sets the window's text font.
reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
Displays the window in reverse video if the reverseVideo's value is
set to on.
bitmapIcon (class BitmapIcon)
Turns the window into the "kitchen sink" icon if the bitmapIcon's
value is set to on.
borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
Sets the window's border width in pixels.
internalBorder (class BorderWidth)
Sets the window's internal border width in pixels.
foreground (class Foreground)
Sets the window's text color (for color displays only).
background (class Background)
Sets the window's background color (for color displays only).
borderColor (class BorderColor)
Sets the color of the window's border (for color displays only).
cursorColor (class Foreground)
Sets the color of the window's text cursor (for color displays only).
pointerColor (class Foreground)
Sets the color of the window's mouse cursor (for color displays
only).
geometry (class Geometry)
Sets the geometry of the Emacs window (as described above).
title (class Title)
Sets the title of the Emacs window.
iconName (class Title)
Sets the icon name for the Emacs window icon.
If specify color values when using a black and white display, the window's
characteristics change as follows:
· Foreground color defaults to black
· Background color defaults to white
· Border color defaults to grey.
· Text and mouse cursors defaults to black.
Using the Mouse
The following table lists the mouse button bindings for an Emacs window
under X11:
GNU Emacs Key Bindings for X Windows
___________________________________________________
Key Button Function
___________________________________________________
left x-mouse-set-mark
middle x-mouse-set-point
Unshifted
right x-mouse-select
___________________________________________________
middle x-cut-and-wipe-text
Control right x-mouse-select-and-split
___________________________________________________
middle x-cut-text
Shift right x-paste-text
___________________________________________________
left x-buffer-menu
middle x-help
Control-Shift
right x-mouse-keep-one-window
NOTES
Documentation
Hardocpy (postscript format) versions of the Emacs manuals are located in
/usr/lib/emacs/doc.
To purchase printed copies of the GNU Emacs Manual contact the Free
Software Foundation for information on pricing and ordering instructions.
Their address follows:
Free Software Foundation
675 Mass Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
All software and publications received from Free Software Foundation can be
copied and distributed without permission. The TeX source to the manual is
included in the source distribution.
Authors
The Emacs facility was written by Richard Stallman and the Free Software
Foundation. Joachim Martillo and Robert Krawitz added the X features.
FILES
/usr/lib/emacs/info
Contains files for the Info documentation browser, a subsystem of the
Emacs facility). Although not much UNIX documentation is included in
this library, the Emacs reference manual is included in a convenient
tree structure.
/usr/lib/emacs/lisp
Contains Lisp source files and compiled files that define most editing
commands. Some are preloaded; others are autoloaded from this
directory when used.
/usr/lib/emacs/etc
Contains various programs that are used with GNU Emacs, and some files
of information.
/usr/lib/emacs/etc/DOC.*
Contains the documentation strings for the Lisp primitives and
preloaded Lisp functions of GNU Emacs. They are stored here to reduce
the size of Emacs proper.
/usr/lib/emacs/lock
Holds lock files that are made for all files that are modified in the
Emacs facility. These files prevent simultaneous modifications of one
file by two users.
/usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt
Lists valid X color names.
/usr/lib/X11/fonts
Lists valid X fonts.
UNRESTRICTIONS
The Emacs software and documentation is free. Anyone can distribute copies
of the Emacs software and documentation using the terms stated in the Emacs
General Public License. A copy of this license accompanies each
distribution of the Emacs software, and it is also documented in the
reference manual.
Copies of the Emacs software is often packaged with distributions of UNIX
systems, but the scope of any licenses governing these systems does not
include limiting the Emacs software and documentation in any manner. Such
claims violate the terms under which the Emacs software is distributed.
The primary purpose of the General Public License is to prohibit anyone
from attaching restrictions to the distribution of the Emacs software and
documentation.
Richard Stallman encourages you to improve and extend the Emacs, software
and urges that you contribute your extensions to the GNU library.
Eventually, GNU (GNU's Not UNIX) is intended to a complete replacement for
Berkeley UNIX. All persons will be able to use the GNU system for free.
RELATED INFORMATION
Commands: X(1X), xlsfonts(1X), xrdb(1X), xterm(1X).