@cindex words
@cindex Meta commands and words
- Emacs has commands for moving over or operating on words. By convention,
-the keys for them are all Meta characters.
+ Emacs defines several commands for moving over or operating on
+words:
@table @kbd
@item M-f
word delimiter. @xref{Syntax Tables,, Syntax Tables, elisp, The Emacs
Lisp Reference Manual}.
+ In addition, see @ref{Position Info} for the @kbd{M-=}
+(@code{count-words-region}) and @kbd{M-x count-words} commands, which
+count and report the number of words in the region or buffer.
+
@node Sentences
@section Sentences
@cindex sentences
@cindex manipulating sentences
- The Emacs commands for manipulating sentences and paragraphs are mostly
-on Meta keys, so as to be like the word-handling commands.
+ The Emacs commands for manipulating sentences and paragraphs are
+mostly on Meta keys, like the word-handling commands.
@table @kbd
@item M-a
@kindex M-e
@findex backward-sentence
@findex forward-sentence
- The commands @kbd{M-a} and @kbd{M-e} (@code{backward-sentence} and
-@code{forward-sentence}) move to the beginning and end of the current
-sentence, respectively. They were chosen to resemble @kbd{C-a} and
-@kbd{C-e}, which move to the beginning and end of a line. Unlike
-them, @kbd{M-a} and @kbd{M-e} move over successive sentences if
-repeated.
+ The commands @kbd{M-a} (@code{backward-sentence}) and @kbd{M-e}
+(@code{forward-sentence}) move to the beginning and end of the current
+sentence, respectively. Their bindings were chosen to resemble
+@kbd{C-a} and @kbd{C-e}, which move to the beginning and end of a
+line. Unlike them, @kbd{M-a} and @kbd{M-e} move over successive
+sentences if repeated.
Moving backward over a sentence places point just before the first
character of the sentence; moving forward places point right after the
to the beginning of a sentence.
The sentence commands assume that you follow the American typist's
-convention of putting two spaces at the end of a sentence; they consider
-a sentence to end wherever there is a @samp{.}, @samp{?} or @samp{!}
+convention of putting two spaces at the end of a sentence. That is, a
+sentence ends wherever there is a @samp{.}, @samp{?} or @samp{!}
followed by the end of a line or two spaces, with any number of
-@samp{)}, @samp{]}, @samp{'}, or @samp{"} characters allowed in between.
-A sentence also begins or ends wherever a paragraph begins or ends.
-It is useful to follow this convention, because it makes a distinction
-between periods that end a sentence and periods that indicate
-abbreviations; that enables the Emacs sentence commands to distinguish,
-too. These commands do not stop for periods that indicate abbreviations.
+@samp{)}, @samp{]}, @samp{'}, or @samp{"} characters allowed in
+between. A sentence also begins or ends wherever a paragraph begins
+or ends. It is useful to follow this convention, because it allows
+the Emacs sentence commands to distinguish between periods that end a
+sentence and periods that indicate abbreviations.
@vindex sentence-end-double-space
If you want to use just one space between sentences, you can set the
sentences and those that indicate abbreviations. For convenient and
reliable editing, we therefore recommend you follow the two-space
convention. The variable @code{sentence-end-double-space} also
-affects filling (@pxref{Fill Commands}) in related ways.
+affects filling (@pxref{Fill Commands}).
@vindex sentence-end
The variable @code{sentence-end} controls how to recognize the end
value of @code{sentence-end-double-space}.
@vindex sentence-end-without-period
- Some languages do not use periods to indicate the end of a sentence.
-For example, sentences in Thai end with a double space but without a
-period. Set the variable @code{sentence-end-without-period} to
+ Some languages, such as Thai, do not use periods to indicate the end
+of a sentence. Set the variable @code{sentence-end-without-period} to
@code{t} in such cases.
@node Paragraphs
@section Paragraphs
@cindex paragraphs
@cindex manipulating paragraphs
-@kindex M-@{
-@kindex M-@}
-@findex backward-paragraph
-@findex forward-paragraph
The Emacs commands for manipulating paragraphs are also on Meta keys.
Put point and mark around this or next paragraph (@code{mark-paragraph}).
@end table
- @kbd{M-@{} moves to the beginning of the current or previous
-paragraph, while @kbd{M-@}} moves to the end of the current or next
-paragraph. Blank lines and text-formatter command lines separate
-paragraphs and are not considered part of any paragraph. If there is
-a blank line before the paragraph, @kbd{M-@{} moves to the blank line,
-because that is convenient in practice.
-
- In Text mode, an indented line is not a paragraph break. If you
-want indented lines to have this effect, use Paragraph-Indent Text
-mode instead. @xref{Text Mode}.
-
- In major modes for programs, paragraphs begin and end only at blank
-lines. This makes the paragraph commands useful, even though there
-are no paragraphs as such in a program.
-
- When you have set a fill prefix, then paragraphs are delimited by
-all lines which don't start with the fill prefix. @xref{Filling}.
+@kindex M-@{
+@kindex M-@}
+@findex backward-paragraph
+@findex forward-paragraph
+ @kbd{M-@{} (@code{backward-paragraph}) moves to the beginning of the
+current or previous paragraph (see below for the definition of a
+paragraph). @kbd{M-@}} (@code{forward-paragraph}) moves to the end of
+the current or next paragraph. If there is a blank line before the
+paragraph, @kbd{M-@{} moves to the blank line.
@kindex M-h
@findex mark-paragraph
@kbd{M-h C-w} kills the paragraph around or after point. @kbd{M-h}
puts point at the beginning and mark at the end of the paragraph point
was in. If point is between paragraphs (in a run of blank lines, or
-at a boundary), the paragraph following point is surrounded by point
-and mark. If there are blank lines preceding the first line of the
-paragraph, one of these blank lines is included in the region. If the
-region is already active, the command sets the mark without changing
-point; furthermore, each subsequent @kbd{M-h} further advances the
+at a boundary), @kbd{M-h} sets the region around the paragraph
+following point. If there are blank lines preceding the first line of
+the paragraph, one of these blank lines is included in the region. If
+the region is already active, the command sets the mark without
+changing point, and each subsequent @kbd{M-h} further advances the
mark by one paragraph.
+ The definition of a paragraph depends on the major mode. In
+Fundamental mode, as well as Text mode and related modes, a paragraph
+is separated each neighboring paragraph another by one or more
+@dfn{blank lines}---lines that are either empty, or consist solely of
+space, tab and/or formfeed characters. In programming language modes,
+paragraphs are usually defined in a similar way, so that you can use
+the paragraph commands even though there are no paragraphs as such in
+a program.
+
+ Note that an indented line is @emph{not} itself a paragraph break in
+Text mode. If you want indented lines to separate paragraphs, use
+Paragraph-Indent Text mode instead. @xref{Text Mode}.
+
+ If you set a fill prefix, then paragraphs are delimited by all lines
+which don't start with the fill prefix. @xref{Filling}.
+
@vindex paragraph-start
@vindex paragraph-separate
The precise definition of a paragraph boundary is controlled by the
variables @code{paragraph-separate} and @code{paragraph-start}. The
-value of @code{paragraph-start} is a regexp that should match any line
-that either starts or separates paragraphs. The value of
-@code{paragraph-separate} is another regexp that should match only lines
-that separate paragraphs without being part of any paragraph (for
-example, blank lines). Lines that start a new paragraph and are
-contained in it must match only @code{paragraph-start}, not
-@code{paragraph-separate}. Each regular expression must match at the
-left margin. For example, in Fundamental mode, @code{paragraph-start}
-is @w{@code{"\f\\|[ \t]*$"}}, and @code{paragraph-separate} is
-@w{@code{"[ \t\f]*$"}}.
-
- Normally it is desirable for page boundaries to separate paragraphs.
-The default values of these variables recognize the usual separator for
-pages.
+value of @code{paragraph-start} is a regular expression that should
+match lines that either start or separate paragraphs
+(@pxref{Regexps}). The value of @code{paragraph-separate} is another
+regular expression that should match lines that separate paragraphs
+without being part of any paragraph (for example, blank lines). Lines
+that start a new paragraph and are contained in it must match only
+@code{paragraph-start}, not @code{paragraph-separate}. For example,
+in Fundamental mode, @code{paragraph-start} is @w{@code{"\f\\|[
+\t]*$"}}, and @code{paragraph-separate} is @w{@code{"[ \t\f]*$"}}.
@node Pages
@section Pages
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