clicking the left mouse button where you want to move to.
There are also control and meta characters for cursor motion. Some
-are equivalent to the arrow keys (these date back to the days before
-terminals had arrow keys, and are usable on terminals which don't have
-them). Others do more sophisticated things.
+are equivalent to the arrow keys (it is faster to use these control
+keys than move your hand over to the arrow keys). Others do more
+sophisticated things.
@kindex C-a
@kindex C-e
@item @key{DELETE}
@itemx @key{BACKSPACE}
One of these keys, whichever is the large key above the @key{RET} or
-@key{ENTER} key, deletes the character before point, like @key{DEL}.
-If that is @key{BACKSPACE}, and your keyboard also has @key{DELETE},
+@key{ENTER} key, deletes the character before point---it is @key{DEL}.
+If @key{BACKSPACE} is @key{DEL}, and your keyboard also has @key{DELETE},
then @key{DELETE} deletes forwards, like @kbd{C-d}.
@item C-k
Kill to the end of the line (@code{kill-line}).
@item C-_
@itemx C-/
The same.
-@item C-u C-x u
-Undo one batch of changes in the region.
@end table
@kindex C-x u
undo-only}. This is like @code{undo}, but will not redo changes
you have just undone.
-@cindex selective undo
-@kindex C-u C-x u
- Ordinary undo applies to all changes made in the current buffer. You
-can also perform @dfn{selective undo}, limited to the current region
-(@pxref{Mark}).
-To do this, specify the region you want, then run the @code{undo}
-command with a prefix argument (the value does not matter): @kbd{C-u C-x
-u} or @kbd{C-u C-_}. This undoes the most recent change in the region.
-To undo further changes in the same region, repeat the @code{undo}
-command (no prefix argument is needed). In Transient Mark mode
-(@pxref{Transient Mark}), any use of @code{undo} when there is an
-active region performs selective undo; you do not need a prefix
-argument.
-
If you notice that a buffer has been modified accidentally, the
easiest way to recover is to type @kbd{C-_} repeatedly until the stars
disappear from the front of the mode line. At this time, all the
leave it undone. If it was deliberate, redo the change as described
above.
- Not all buffers record undo information. Buffers whose names start with
-spaces don't; these buffers are used internally by Emacs and its extensions
-to hold text that users don't normally look at or edit.
+ Normal undo applies to the buffer as a whole. You can also
+selectively undo changes in any part of the buffer (@pxref{Selective
+Undo}).
+
+ Some specialized buffers do not record undo information. Buffers
+whose names start with spaces never do; these buffers are used
+internally by Emacs and its extensions to hold text that users don't
+normally look at or edit.
- You cannot undo mere cursor motion; only changes in the buffer
-contents save undo information. However, some cursor motion commands
-set the mark, so if you use these commands from time to time, you can
-move back to the neighborhoods you have moved through by popping the
-mark ring (@pxref{Mark Ring}).
+ The undo command applies only to changes in the buffer; you can't
+use it to undo mere cursor motion. However, some cursor motion
+commands set the mark, so if you use these commands from time to time,
+you can move back to the neighborhoods you have moved through by
+popping the mark ring (@pxref{Mark Ring}).
@vindex undo-limit
@vindex undo-strong-limit
The reason the @code{undo} command has three key bindings, @kbd{C-x
u}, @kbd{C-_} and @kbd{C-/}, is that it is worthy of a
single-character key, but @kbd{C-x u} is more straightforward for
-beginners to type.
+beginners to type. Meanwhile, @kbd{C--} on a text-only terminal is
+really @kbd{C-_}, which makes it a natural and easily typed binding
+for undoing.
@node Basic Files
@section Files
The commands described above are sufficient for creating and altering
text in an Emacs buffer; the more advanced Emacs commands just make
-things easier. But to keep any text permanently you must put it in a
+things easier. However, to keep any text permanently you must put it in a
@dfn{file}. Files are named units of text which are stored by the
operating system for you to retrieve later by name. To look at or use
the contents of a file in any way, including editing the file with
Emacs, you must specify the file name.
- Consider a file named @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}. In Emacs, to begin editing
-this file, type
+ Consider a file named @file{test.emacs}. (We can assume it is in
+your home directory.) In Emacs, to begin editing this file, type
@example
-C-x C-f /usr/rms/foo.c @key{RET}
+C-x C-f test.emacs @key{RET}
@end example
@noindent
the buffer for you to edit. If you alter the text, you can @dfn{save}
the new text in the file by typing @kbd{C-x C-s} (@code{save-buffer}).
This makes the changes permanent by copying the altered buffer contents
-back into the file @file{/usr/rms/foo.c}. Until you save, the changes
-exist only inside Emacs, and the file @file{foo.c} is unaltered.
+back into the file @file{test.emacs}. Until you save, the changes
+exist only inside Emacs, and the file @file{test.emacs} is unaltered.
To create a file, just visit the file with @kbd{C-x C-f} as if it
already existed. This creates an empty buffer in which you can insert
negative argument, type a minus sign after @kbd{C-u}. Just a minus sign
without digits normally means @minus{}1.
- @kbd{C-u} followed by a character which is neither a digit nor a minus
-sign has the special meaning of ``multiply by four.'' It multiplies the
-argument for the next command by four. @kbd{C-u} twice multiplies it by
-sixteen. Thus, @kbd{C-u C-u C-f} moves forward sixteen characters. This
-is a good way to move forward ``fast,'' since it moves about 1/5 of a line
-in the usual size screen. Other useful combinations are @kbd{C-u C-n},
-@kbd{C-u C-u C-n} (move down a good fraction of a screen), @kbd{C-u C-u
-C-o} (make ``a lot'' of blank lines), and @kbd{C-u C-k} (kill four
-lines).@refill
+ @kbd{C-u} without digits or minus sign has the special meaning of
+``four times'': it multiplies the argument for the next command by
+four. @kbd{C-u C-u} multiplies it by sixteen. Thus, @kbd{C-u C-u
+C-f} moves forward sixteen characters. This is a good way to move
+forward ``fast,'' since it moves about 1/5 of a line in the usual size
+screen. Other useful combinations are @kbd{C-u C-n}, @kbd{C-u C-u
+C-n} (move down a good fraction of a screen), @kbd{C-u C-u C-o} (make
+``a lot'' of blank lines), and @kbd{C-u C-k} (kill four lines).@refill
Some commands care only about whether there is an argument, and not about
its value. For example, the command @kbd{M-q} (@code{fill-paragraph}) with
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