4.7 Using Lisp-specific commands

4.7.4 Navigating and editing Lisp forms

There are a variety of keyboard commands which let you navigate and edit Lisp forms, much as you can navigate and edit normal text as described in the previous sections. Knowledge of a set of these commands can be a great aid to swift development of source code.

DescriptionKey
Move the cursor forward to the next form.Esc C-f
Move cursor back to the previous form.Esc C-b
Move the cursor back one (Esc C-u
Move the cursor forward one (Esc C-d
Cut the Lisp form after the cursor and put it in the kill ring.Esc C-k
Provides a single macroexpansion of the Lisp form after the cursor. Output appears in the listener.C-M
Indent code in the next complete Lisp form after the cursor.Esc C-q
Move to start of current definition.Esc C-a
Move to end of current definition.Esc C-e

A particularly useful keyboard command is Esc C-i. This forces an attempt to complete the symbol you have partially typed, making it unnecessary to type out long function names. If the symbol or function name can only be partially completed, a dialog box is displayed which lists the options available. Simply double-click on the one you want.

For instance, assume you have defined a function get-new-element. When editing a file you can simply type

get
and then press Esc C-i to complete the symbol.


FreeLisp User's Guide - 5 FEB 1996

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