@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003,
@c 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
-@node Entering Emacs, Exiting, Commands, Top
+@iftex
@chapter Entering and Exiting Emacs
+
+ This chapter explains how to enter Emacs, and how to exit it.
+@end iftex
+
+@ifnottex
+@raisesections
+@end ifnottex
+
+@node Entering Emacs, Exiting, Commands, Top
+@section Entering Emacs
@cindex entering Emacs
@cindex starting Emacs
The usual way to invoke Emacs is with the shell command
-@command{emacs}. Emacs clears the screen, then displays an initial
-help message and copyright notice. Some operating systems discard
-your type-ahead when Emacs starts up; they give Emacs no way to
-prevent this. On those systems, wait for Emacs to clear the screen
-before you start typing.
-
- From a shell window under the X Window System, run Emacs in the
-background with @command{emacs&}. This way, Emacs won't tie up the
-shell window, so you can use it to run other shell commands while
-Emacs is running. You can type Emacs commands as soon as you direct
-your keyboard input to an Emacs frame.
-
-@vindex initial-major-mode
- When Emacs starts up, it creates a buffer named @samp{*scratch*}.
-That's the buffer you start out in. The @samp{*scratch*} buffer uses
-Lisp Interaction mode; you can use it to type Lisp expressions and
-evaluate them. You can also ignore that capability and just write notes
-there. You can specify a different major mode for this buffer by
-setting the variable @code{initial-major-mode} in your init file.
-@xref{Init File}.
-
- It is possible to specify files to be visited, Lisp files to be
-loaded, and functions to be called through Emacs command-line
-arguments. @xref{Emacs Invocation}. The feature exists mainly for
-compatibility with other editors, and for scripts.
-
- Many editors are designed to edit one file. When done with that
-file, you exit the editor. The next time you want to edit a file, you
-must start the editor again. Working this way, it is convenient to
-use a command-line argument to say which file to edit.
-
- However, killing Emacs after editing one each and starting it afresh
-for the next file is both unnecessary and harmful, since it denies you
-the full power of Emacs. Emacs can visit more than one file in a
-single editing session, and that is the right way to use it. Exiting
-the Emacs session loses valuable accumulated context, such as the kill
-ring, registers, undo history, and mark ring. These features are
-useful for operating on multiple files, or even continuing to edit one
-file. If you kill Emacs after each file, you don't take advantage of
-them.
-
- The recommended way to use GNU Emacs is to start it only once, just
+@command{emacs}. From a terminal window running in the X Window
+System, you can also run Emacs in the background with
+@command{emacs&}; this way, Emacs won't tie up the terminal window, so
+you can use it to run other shell commands.
+
+@cindex startup screen
+ When Emacs starts up, the initial frame displays a special buffer
+named @samp{*GNU Emacs*}. This buffer contains @dfn{links} to common
+tasks that might be useful to beginning users. For instance,
+activating the @samp{Emacs Tutorial} link opens the Emacs tutorial;
+this does the same thing as the command @kbd{C-h t}
+(@code{help-with-tutorial}). To activate a link, either move point
+onto it and type @kbd{@key{RET}}, or click on it with @kbd{mouse-1}
+(the left mouse button).
+
+ Using a command line argument, you can tell Emacs to visit one or
+more specific files as soon as it starts up. For example,
+@command{emacs foo.txt} starts Emacs with a buffer displaying the
+contents of the file @samp{foo.txt}. This feature exists mainly for
+compatibility with other editors, which are designed to edit one file
+at a time: once you are done with that file, you exit the editor, and
+start it again the next time you need it.
+
+ Using Emacs in this way---starting it afresh each time you want to
+edit a file---is unnecessary and wasteful. Emacs can visit more than
+one file in a single editing session, and exiting the Emacs session
+loses valuable accumulated context, such as the kill ring, registers,
+undo history, and mark ring. These features, described later in the
+manual, are useful for performing edits across multiple files, or
+continuing edits to a single file.
+
+ The recommended way to use Emacs is to start it only once, just
after you log in, and do all your editing in the same Emacs session.
-Each time you edit a file, you visit it with the existing Emacs, which
-eventually has many files in it ready for editing. Usually you do not
-kill Emacs until you are about to log out. @xref{Files}, for more
-information on visiting more than one file.
+Each time you edit a file, visit it with the existing Emacs, which
+eventually has many files in it ready for editing. @xref{Files}, for
+more information on visiting more than one file.
To edit a file from another program while Emacs is running, you can
use the @command{emacsclient} helper program to open a file in the
already running Emacs. @xref{Emacs Server}.
-@ifnottex
-@raisesections
-@end ifnottex
+ Emacs accepts other command line arguments that tell it to load
+certain Lisp files, call certain functions, and so forth. These
+features exist mainly for advanced users. @xref{Emacs Invocation}.
@node Exiting, Basic, Entering Emacs, Top
@section Exiting Emacs
@cindex exiting
@cindex killing Emacs
-@cindex suspending
@cindex leaving Emacs
@cindex quitting Emacs
- There are two commands for exiting Emacs, and three kinds of
-exiting: @dfn{iconifying} Emacs, @dfn{suspending} Emacs, and
-@dfn{killing} Emacs.
-
- @dfn{Iconifying} means replacing the Emacs frame with a small box or
-``icon'' on the screen. This is the usual way to exit Emacs when
-you're using a graphical display---if you bother to ``exit'' at all.
-(Just switching to another application is usually sufficient.)
-
- @dfn{Suspending} means stopping Emacs temporarily and returning
-control to its parent process (usually a shell), allowing you to
-resume editing later in the same Emacs job. This is the usual way to
-exit Emacs when running it on a text terminal.
-
- @dfn{Killing} Emacs means destroying the Emacs job. You can run Emacs
-again later, but you will get a fresh Emacs; there is no way to resume
-the same editing session after it has been killed.
-
@table @kbd
+@item C-x C-c
+Kill Emacs (@code{save-buffers-kill-emacs}).
@item C-z
Suspend Emacs (@code{suspend-emacs}) or iconify a frame
(@code{iconify-or-deiconify-frame}).
-@item C-x C-c
-Kill Emacs (@code{save-buffers-kill-emacs}).
@end table
-@kindex C-z
-@findex iconify-or-deiconify-frame
- On graphical displays, @kbd{C-z} runs the command
-@code{iconify-or-deiconify-frame}, which temporarily iconifies (or
-``minimizes'') the selected Emacs frame (@pxref{Frames}). You can
-then use the window manager to select some other application. (You
-could select another application without iconifying Emacs first, but
-getting the Emacs frame out of the way can make it more convenient to
-find the other application.)
-
-@findex suspend-emacs
- On a text terminal, @kbd{C-z} runs the command @code{suspend-emacs}.
-Suspending Emacs takes you back to the shell from which you invoked
-Emacs. You can resume Emacs with the shell command @command{%emacs}
-in most common shells. On systems that don't support suspending
-programs, @kbd{C-z} starts an inferior shell that communicates
-directly with the terminal, and Emacs waits until you exit the
-subshell. (The way to do that is probably with @kbd{C-d} or
-@command{exit}, but it depends on which shell you use.) On these
-systems, you can only get back to the shell from which Emacs was run
-(to log out, for example) when you kill Emacs.
-
-@vindex cannot-suspend
- Suspending can fail if you run Emacs under a shell that doesn't
-support suspension of its subjobs, even if the system itself does
-support it. In such a case, you can set the variable
-@code{cannot-suspend} to a non-@code{nil} value to force @kbd{C-z} to
-start an inferior shell.
-
@kindex C-x C-c
@findex save-buffers-kill-emacs
- To exit and kill Emacs, type @kbd{C-x C-c}
-(@code{save-buffers-kill-emacs}). A two-character key is used to make
-it harder to type by accident. This command first offers to save any
-modified file-visiting buffers. If you do not save them all, it asks
-for confirmation with @kbd{yes} before killing Emacs, since any
-changes not saved now will be lost forever. Also, if any subprocesses are
-still running, @kbd{C-x C-c} asks for confirmation about them, since
-killing Emacs will also kill the subprocesses.
+ @dfn{Killing} Emacs means terminating the Emacs program. To do
+this, type @kbd{C-x C-c} (@code{save-buffers-kill-emacs}). A
+two-character key is used to make it harder to type by accident. If
+there are any modified file-visiting buffers when you type @kbd{C-x
+C-c}, Emacs first offers to save these buffers. If you do not save
+them all, it asks for confirmation again, since the unsaved changes
+will be lost. Emacs also asks for confirmation if any subprocesses
+are still running, since killing Emacs will also kill the subprocesses
+(@pxref{Shell}).
+
+ Emacs can, optionally, record certain session information when you
+kill it, such as the files you were visiting at the time. This
+information is then available the next time you start Emacs.
+@xref{Saving Emacs Sessions}.
@vindex confirm-kill-emacs
If the value of the variable @code{confirm-kill-emacs} is
non-@code{nil}, @kbd{C-x C-c} assumes that its value is a predicate
-function, and calls that function. If the result is non-@code{nil}, the
-session is killed, otherwise Emacs continues to run. One convenient
-function to use as the value of @code{confirm-kill-emacs} is the
-function @code{yes-or-no-p}. The default value of
-@code{confirm-kill-emacs} is @code{nil}.
-
- You can't resume an Emacs session after killing it. Emacs can,
-however, record certain session information when you kill it, such as
-which files you visited, so the next time you start Emacs it will try
-to visit the same files. @xref{Saving Emacs Sessions}.
-
- The operating system usually listens for certain special characters
+function, and calls that function. If the result of the function call
+is non-@code{nil}, the session is killed, otherwise Emacs continues to
+run. One convenient function to use as the value of
+@code{confirm-kill-emacs} is the function @code{yes-or-no-p}. The
+default value of @code{confirm-kill-emacs} is @code{nil}.
+
+@cindex minimizing a frame
+@cindex iconifying
+@cindex suspending
+ You can ``exit'' Emacs in two other ways. On a graphical display,
+you can @dfn{iconify} (or @dfn{minimize}) an Emacs frame; depending on
+the window system, this either replaces the Emacs frame with a tiny
+``icon'' or conceals the frame entirely (@pxref{Frames}). On a
+text-only terminal, you can @dfn{suspend} Emacs; this means stopping
+the Emacs program temporarily, returning control to its parent process
+(usually a shell).
+
+@kindex C-z
+@findex iconify-or-deiconify-frame
+@findex suspend-emacs
+ On a graphical display, @kbd{C-z} runs the command
+@code{iconify-or-deiconify-frame}, which iconifies the selected Emacs
+frame. On a text terminal, @kbd{C-z} runs the command
+@code{suspend-emacs}, which suspends Emacs.
+
+ After iconifying or suspending Emacs, you can return to it and
+continue editing wherever you left off. The way to do this depends on
+the window system or shell. In most common shells, you can resume
+Emacs after suspending it with the shell command @command{%emacs}.
+
+@vindex cannot-suspend
+ On very old systems that don't support suspending programs,
+@kbd{C-z} starts an inferior shell that communicates directly with the
+terminal, and Emacs waits until you exit the subshell. (The way to
+exit the subshell is usually @kbd{C-d} or @command{exit}.) On these
+systems, you can only get back to the shell from which Emacs was run
+(to log out, for example) when you kill Emacs. Suspending can also
+fail if you run Emacs under a shell that doesn't support suspending
+jobs, even if the system itself does support it. In this case, you
+can set the variable @code{cannot-suspend} to a non-@code{nil} value
+to force @kbd{C-z} to start an inferior shell.
+
+ Text-only terminals usually listen for certain special characters
whose meaning is to kill or suspend the program you are running.
-@b{This operating system feature is turned off while you are in Emacs.}
-The meanings of @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-x C-c} as keys in Emacs were
-inspired by the use of @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c} on several operating
-systems as the characters for stopping or killing a program, but that is
-their only relationship with the operating system. You can customize
-these keys to run any commands of your choice (@pxref{Keymaps}).
+@b{This terminal feature is turned off while you are in Emacs.} The
+meanings of @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-x C-c} as keys in Emacs were inspired
+by the use of @kbd{C-z} and @kbd{C-c} on several operating systems as
+the characters for stopping or killing a program, but that is their
+only relationship with the operating system. You can customize these
+keys to run any commands of your choice (@pxref{Keymaps}).
@ifnottex
@lowersections
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