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MicroEMACS
Full Screen Text Editor
Reference Manual (preliminary draft)
Version 3.9e
November 4, 1987
(C)opyright 1987 by Daniel M. Lawrence
Reference Manual (C)opyright 1987
by Brian Straight and Daniel M. Lawrence
All Rights Reserved
MicroEMACS 3.9e can be copied and distributed
freely
for any non-commercial purposes. MicroEMACS 3.9e
can
only be incorporated into commercial software
with
the permission of the current author.
Introduction
MicroEMACS is a tool for creating and changing documents,
programs, and other text files. It is both relatively easy for
the novice to use, but also very powerful in the hands of an
expert. MicroEMACS can be extensively customized for the needs of
the individual user.
MicroEMACS allows several files to be edited at the same
time. The screen can be split into different windows, and text
may be moved freely from one window to the next. Depending on
the type of file being edited, MicroEMACS can change how it
behaves to make editing simple. Editing standard text files,
program files and word processing documents are all possible at
the same time.
There are extensive capabilities to make word processing
and editing easier. These include commands for string searching
and replacing, paragraph reformatting and deleting, automatic
word wrapping, word move and deletes, easy case controlling, and
automatic word counts.
For complex and repetitive editing tasks editing macroes
can be written. These macroes allow the user a great degree of
flexibility in determining how MicroEMACS behaves. Also, any and
all the commands can be used by any keystroke by changing, or
rebinding, what commands various keys are connected, or bound,
to.
Special features are also available to perform a diverse
set of operations such as file encryption, automatic backup file
generation, entabbing and detabbing lines, executing of DOS
commands and filtering of text through other programs (like SORT
to allow sorting text).
History
EMACS was originally a text editor written by Richard
Stahlman at MIT in the early 1970s for Digital Equipment
computers. Various versions, rewrites and clones have made an
appearence since.
This version of MicroEMACS is derived from code written
by Dave G. Conroy in 1985. Later modifications were performed by
Steve Wilhite and George Jones. In December of 1985 Daniel
Lawrence picked up the then current source (version 2.0) and made
extensive modifications and additions to it over the course of
the next two years. Updates and support for the current version
are still availible. The current program author can be contacted
by writing to:
USMAIL: Daniel Lawrence
617 New York St
Lafayette, IN 47901
UUCP: ihnp4!pur-ee!pur-phy!duncan!lawrence
ARPA: nwd@j.cc.purdue.edu
FIDO: Fido 201/2 The Programmer's Room (317) 742-5533
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 1
Basic Concepts
The current version of MicroEMACS is 3.9e (Third major
re-write, ninth public release, fifth minor edit), and for the
rest of this document, we shall simply refer to this version as
"EMACS". Any modifications for later versions will be listed in
the appendixes at the end of this manual.
1.1 Keys and the Keyboard
Many times throughout this manual we will be talking
about commands and the keys on the keyboard needed to use them.
There are a number of "special" keys which can be used and are
listed here:
<NL> NewLine which is also called RETURN or ENTER, this
key is used to end different commands.
^ The control key can be used before any alphabetic
character and some symbols. For example, ^C means
to hold down the <CONTROL> key and type the C key
at the same time.
^X The CONTROL-X key is used at the beginning of many
different commands.
META or M- This is a special EMACS key used to begin many
commands as well. This key is pressed and then
released before typing the next character. On
most systems, this is the <ESC> key, but it can be
changed. (consult appendix E to learn what key is
used for META on your computer).
Whenever a command is described, the manual will list the
actual keystrokes needed to execute it in boldface using the
above conventions, and also the name of the command in italics.
1.2 Getting Started
In order to use EMACS, you must call it up from your
system or computer's command prompt. On UNIX and MSDOS machines,
1
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Concepts
just type "emacs" from the main command prompt and follow it with
the <RETURN> or <ENTER> key (we will refer to this key as <NL>
for "new-line" for the remainder of this manual). On the
Macintosh, the Amiga, the ATARI ST and other icon based operating
systems, double click on the uEMACS icon. Shortly after this, a
screen similar to the one below should appear.
1.3 Parts and Pieces
The screen is divided into a number of areas or windows.
On some systems the top window contains a function list of
unshifted and shifted function keys. We will discuss these keys
later. Below them is an EMACS mode line which, as we will see,
informs you of the present mode of operation of the editor--for
example "(WRAP)" if you set EMACS to wrap at the end of each
line. Under the mode line is the text window where text appears
and is manipulated. Since each window has its own mode line,
below the text window is it's mode line. The last line of the
screen is the command line where EMACS takes commands and reports
on what it is doing.
===============================================================================
f1 search-> f2 <-search | MicroEMACS: Text Editor
f3 hunt-> f4 <-hunt |
f5 fkeys f6 help | Available function key Pages include:
f7 nxt wind f8 pg[ ] | WORD PROG BOX
f9 save f10 exit | [use the f8 key to load Pages]
===============================================================================
-- MicroEMACS 3.9e () -- Function Keys
---------------------------------------
===============================================================================
===============================================================================
-- MicroEMACS 3.9e () -- Main
------------------------------------------------
===============================================================================
2
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Fig 1: EMACS screen on an IBM-PC
1.4 Entering Text
Entering text in EMACS is simple. Type the following
sentence fragment:
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious
and
The text is displayed at the top of the text window. Now type:
terrifying events at the turn of the century
Notice the text to the left of the cursor disappears and
a '$' sign appears. Don't panic--your text is safe!!! You've
just discovered that EMACS doesn't "wrap" text to the next line
like most word processors unless you hit <NL>. But since EMACS
is used for both word processing, and text editing, it has a bit
of a dual personality. You can change the way it works by
setting various modes. In this case, you need to set WRAP mode,
using the add-mode command, by typing ^X-M. The command line at
the base of the screen will prompt you for the mode you wish to
add. Type wrap followed by the <NL> key and any text you now
enter will be wrapped. However, the command doesn't wrap text
already entered. To get rid of the truncated line, delete
characters with the <BACKSPACE> key until the '$' goes away. Now
type in the words you deleted, watch how EMACS goes down to the
next line at the right time. (In some versions of EMACS, WRAP is
a default mode in which case you don't have to worry about the
instructions relating to adding this mode.)
Now let's type a longer insert. Hit <NL> a couple of
times to tab down from the text you just entered. Now type the
following paragraphs. Press <NL> twice to indicate a paragraph
break.
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious
and terrifying events at the turn of the century, is
built on a rocky island a few miles of the Channel
coast. So small is the island that wherever you stand
its rocks are wet with sea spray.
The lighthouse tower is in the center of the island. A
steep flight of steps leads to the heavy door in its
base. Winding stairs lead up to the crew room.
3
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Concepts
1.5 Basic cursor movement
Now let's practice moving around in this text. To move
the cursor back to the word "Winding," enter M-B previous-word.
This command moves the cursor backwards by one word at a time.
Note you have to press the key combination every time the cursor
steps back by one word. Continuously pressing META and toggling
B produces an error message. To move forward to the word
"stairs" enter M-F, which moves the cursor forward by one word at
a time.
Notice that EMACS commands are usually mnemonic--F for
forward, B for backward, for example.
To move the cursor up one line, enter ^P previous-line,
down one line ^N next-line. Practice this movement by moving the
cursor to the word "terrifying" in the second line.
The cursor may also be moved forward or backward in
smaller increments. To move forward by one character, enter ^F
forward-character, to move backward, ^B backward-character.
EMACS also allows you to specify a number which is normally used
to tell a command to execute many times. To repeat most
commands, press META and then the number before you enter the
command. Thus, the command META 5 ^F (M-5^F) will move the
cursor forward by five characters. Try moving around in the text
by using these commands. For extra practice, see how close you
can come to the word "small" in the first paragraph by giving an
argument to the commands listed here.
Two other simple cursor commands that are useful to help
us move around in the text are M-N next-paragraph which moves the
cursor to the second paragraph, and M-P previous-paragraph which
moves it back to the previous paragraph. The cursor may also be
moved rapidly from one end of the line to the other. Move the
cursor to the word "few" in the second line. Press ^A beginning-
of-line. Notice the cursor moves to the word "events" at the
beginning of the line. Pressing ^E end-of-line moves the cursor
to the end of the line.
Finally, the cursor may be moved from any point in the
file to the end or beginning of the file. Entering M-> end-of-
file moves the cursor to the end of the buffer, M-< beginning-of-
file to the first character of the file.
On the IBM-PC, the ATARI ST and many other machines, the
cursor keys can also be used to move the cursor about. Also, if
there is one available, moving the mouse will move the cursor.
Practice moving the cursor in the text until you are
comfortable with the commands we've explored in this chapter.
4
Basic Concepts MicroEMACS Reference Manual
1.6 Saving your text
When you've finished practicing cursor movement, save
your file. Your file currently resides in a BUFFER. The buffer
is a temporary storage area for your text, and is lost when the
computer is turned off. You can save the buffer to a file by
entering ^X-^S save-file. Notice that EMACS informs you that
your file has no name and will not let you save it.
To save your buffer to a file with a different name than
it's current one (which is empty), press ^X^W write-file. EMACS
will prompt you for the filename you wish to write. Enter the
name fang.txt and press return. On a micro, the drive light will
come on, and EMACS will inform you it is writing the file. When
it finishes, it will inform you of the number of lines it has
written to the disk.
Congratulations!! You've just saved your first EMACS
file!
5
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Concepts
Chapter 1 Summary
In chapter 1, you learned how to enter text, how to use
wrap mode, how to move the cursor, and to save a buffer. The
following is a table of the commands covered in this chapter and
their corresponding key bindings:
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
abort-command ^G aborts current command
add-mode ^XM allows addition of EMACS
mode such as WRAP
backward-character ^B moves cursor left one character
beginning-of-file M-< moves cursor to beginning of file
beginning-of-line ^A moves cursor to beginning of line
end-of-file M-> moves cursor to end of file
end-of-line ^E moves cursor to end of line
forward-character ^F moves cursor right one character
next-line ^N moves cursor to next line
next-paragraph M-N moves cursor to next paragraph
next-word M-F moves cursor forward one word
previous-line ^P moves cursor backward by one line
previous-paragraph M-P moves cursor to previous paragraph
previous-word M-B moves cursor backward by one word
save-file ^X-^S saves current buffer to a file
write-file ^X-^W save current buffer under a new
name
6
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions MicroEMACS
Reference Manual
Chapter 2
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions
2.1 A Word About Windows, Buffers, Screens, and Modes
In the first chapter, you learned how to create and save
a file in EMACS. Let's do some more editing on this file. Call
up emacs by typing in the following command.
emacs fang.txt
On icon oriented systems, double click on the uEMACS
icon, usually a file dialog box of some sort will appear. Choose
FANG.TXT from the appropriate folder.
Shortly after you invoke EMACS, the text should appear on
the screen ready for you to edit. The text you are looking at
currently resides in a buffer. A buffer is a temporary area of
computer memory which is the primary unit internal to EMACS --
this is the place where EMACS goes to work. The mode line at the
bottom of the screen lists the buffer name, FANG.TXT and the name
of the file with which this buffer is associated, FANG.TXT
The computer talks to you through the use of its screen.
This screen usually has an area of 24 lines each of 80 characters
across. You can use EMACS to subdivide the screen into several
separate work areas, or windows, each of which can be 'looking
into' different files or sections of text. Using windows, you
can work on several related texts at one time, copying and moving
blocks of text between windows with ease. To keep track of what
you are editing, each window is identified by a mode line on the
last line of the window which lists the name of the buffer which
it is looking into, the file from which the text was read, and
how the text is being edited.
An EMACS mode tells EMACS how to deal with user input.
As we have already seen, the mode 'WRAP' controls how EMACS deals
with long lines (lines with over 79 characters) while the user is
typing them in. The 'VIEW' mode, allows you to read a file
without modifying it. Modes are associated with buffers and not
with files; hence, a mode needs to be explicitly set or removed
every time you edit a file. A new file read into a buffer with a
previously specified mode will be edited under this mode. If you
7
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and
Deletions
use specific modes frequently, EMACS allows you to set the modes
which are used by all new buffers, called global modes.
2.2 Insertions
Your previously-saved text should look like this:
Fang Rock lighthouse, center of a series of mysterious
and terrifying events at the turn of the century, is
built on a rocky island a few miles of the Channel
coast. So small is the island that wherever you stand
its rocks are wet with sea spray.
The lighthouse tower is in the center of the island. A
steep flight of steps leads to the heavy door in its
base. Winding stairs lead up to the crew room.
Let's assume you want to add a sentence in the second
paragraph after the word "base." Move the cursor until it is on
the "W" of "Winding". Now type the following:
This gives entry to the lower floor where the big steam
generator throbs steadily away, providing power for the
electric lantern.
If the line fails to wrap and you end up with a '$' sign
in the right margin, just enter M-Q fill-paragraph to reformat
the paragraph. This new command attempts to fill out a
paragraph. Long lines are divided up, and words are shuffled
around to make the paragraph look nicer.
Notice that all visible EMACS characters are self-
inserting -- all you had to do was type the characters to insert
and the existing text made space for it. With a few exceptions
discussed later, all non-printing characters (such as control or
escape sequences) are commands. To insert spaces, simply use the
space bar. Now move to the first line of the file and type ^O
open-line (Oh, not zero). You've just learned how to insert a
blank line in your text.
2.3 Deletions
EMACS offers a number of deletion options. For example,
move the cursor until it's under the period at the end of the
insertion you just did. Press the backspace key. Notice the "n"
on "lantern" disappeared. The backspace implemented on EMACS is
called a destructive backspace--it removes text immediately
before the current cursor position from the buffer. Now type ^H
8
Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and Deletions MicroEMACS
Reference Manual
delete-previous-character. Notice that the cursor moves back and
obliterates the "r"--either command will backspace the cursor.
Type in the two letters you erased to restore your text
and move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer M-> beginning-
of-file. Move the cursor down one line to the beginning of the
first paragraph.
To delete the forward character, type ^D delete-next-
character. The "F" of "Fang" disappears. Continue to type ^D
until the whole word is erased EMACS also permits the deletion of
larger elements of text. Move the cursor to the word "center" in
the first line of text. Pressing M-<backspace> delete-previous-
word kills the word immediately before the cursor. M-^H has the
same effect.
Notice that the commands are very similar to the control
commands you used to delete individual letters. As a general
rule in EMACS, control sequences affect small areas of text, META
sequences larger areas. The word forward of the cursor position
can therefore be deleted by typing M-D delete-next-word. Now
let's take out the remainder of the first line by typing ^K kill-
to-end-of-line. You now have a blank line at the top of your
screen. Typing ^K again or ^X-^O delete-blank-lines deletes the
blank line and flushes the second line to the top of the text.
Now exit EMACS by typing ^X-^C exit-emacs . Notice EMACS reminds
you that you have not saved your buffer. Ignore the warning and
exit. This way you can exit EMACS without saving any of the
changes you just made.
Chapter 2 Summary
In Chapter 2, you learned about the basic 'building
blocks' of an EMACS text file--buffers, windows, and files.
Key binding Keystroke Effect
delete-previous-character
^H deletes character immediately
before
the current cursor position
delete-next-character ^D deletes character immediately after
current cursor position
delete-previous-word M-^H deletes word immediately before
current cursor position
delete-next-word M-D deletes word immediately after
current cursor position
9
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and
Deletions
kill-to-end-of-line ^K deletes from current cursor
position to end of line
insert-space ^C inserts a space to right of cursor
open-line ^O inserts blank line
delete-blank-lines ^X-^O removes blank line
exit-emacs ^X-^C exits emacs
10
Using Regions MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 3
Using Regions
3.1 Defining and Deleting a Region
At this point its time to familiarize ourselves with two
more EMACS terms--the point and the mark. The point is located
directly behind the current cursor position. The mark (as we
shall see shortly) is user defined. These two elements together
are called the current region and limit the region of text on
which EMACS performs many of its editing functions.
Let's begin by entering some new text. Don't forget to
add wrap mode if its not set on this buffer. Start EMACS and
open a file called PUBLISH.TXT. Type in the following text:
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing
is electronic publishing. There are packages available
for practically every machine from elegantly simple
programs for the humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated
professional packages for PC and Macintosh computers.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as
the Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press
allowed the mass production and distribution of the
written word, electronic publishing puts the means of
production in the hands of nearly every individual.
From the class magazine to the corporate report,
electronic publishing is changing the way we produce
and disseminate information.
Personal publishing greatly increases the utility of
practically every computer. Thousands of people who
joined the computer revolution of this decade only to
hide their machines unused in closets have discovered a
new use for them as dedicated publishing workstations.
Now let's do some editing. The last paragraph seems a
little out of place. To see what the document looks like without
it we can cut it from the text by moving the cursor to the
beginning of the paragraph. Enter M-<space> set-mark. EMACS
will respond with "[Mark set]". Now move the cursor to the end
of the paragraph. You have just defined a region of text. To
remove this text from the screen, type ^W kill-region. The
paragraph disappears from the screen.
11
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Using Regions
On further consideration, however, perhaps the paragraph
we cut wasn't so bad after all. The problem may have been one of
placement. If we could tack it on to the end of the first
paragraph it might work quite well to support and strengthen the
argument. Move the cursor to the end of the first paragraph and
enter ^Y yank. Your text should now look like this:
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing
is electronic publishing. There are packages available
for practically every machine from elegantly simple
programs for the humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated
professional packages for PC and Macintosh computers.
Personal publishing greatly increases the utility of
practically every computer. Thousands of people who
joined the computer revolution of this decade only to
hide their machines unused in closets have discovered a
new use for them as dedicated publishing workstations.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as
the Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press
allowed the mass production and distribution of the
written word, electronic publishing puts the means of
production in the hands of nearly every individual.
From the class magazine to the corporate report,
electronic publishing is changing the way we produce
and disseminate information.
3.2 Yanking a Region
The text you cut initially didn't simply just disappear,
it was cut into a buffer that retains the 'killed' text
appropriately called the kill buffer. ^Y "yanks" the text back
from this buffer into the current buffer. If you have a long line
(indicated, remember, by the "$" sign), simply hit M-Q to
reformat the paragraph.
There are other uses to which the kill buffer can be put.
Using the method we've already learned, define the last paragraph
as a region. Now type M-W copy-region. Nothing seems to have
happened; the cursor stays blinking at the point. But things
have changed, even though you may not be able to see any
alteration.
To see what has happened to the contents of the kill
buffer, move the cursor down a couple of lines and "yank" the
contents of the kill buffer back with ^Y. Notice the last
paragraph is now repeated. The region you defined is "tacked on"
to the end of your file because M-W copies a region to the kill
buffer while leaving the original text in your working buffer.
Some caution is needed however, because the contents of the kill
buffer are updated when you delete any regions, lines or words.
If you are moving large quantities of text, complete the
12
Using Regions MicroEMACS Reference Manual
operation before you do any more deletions or you could find that
the text you want to move has been replaced by the most recent
deletion. Remember--a buffer is a temporary area of computer
memory that is lost when the machine is powered down or switched
off. In order to make your changes permanent, they must be saved
to a file before you leave EMACS. Let's delete the section of
text we just added and save the file to disk.
Chapter 3 Summary
In Chapter 3, you learned how to achieve longer
insertions and deletions. The EMACS terms point and mark were
introduced and you learned how to manipulate text with the kill
buffer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Delete-Region ^W Deletes region between point and mark and
places it in KILL buffer
Copy-Region M-W Copies text between point and mark into
KILL buffer
Yank-Text ^Y Inserts a copy of the KILL buffer into
current buffer at point
13
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Search and Replace
Chapter 4
Search and Replace
4.1 Forward Search
Load EMACS and bring in the file you just saved. Your
file should look like the one below.
One of the largest growth areas in personal computing
is electronic publishing. There are packages available
for practically every machine from elegantly simple
programs for the humble Commodore 64 to sophisticated
professional packages for PC and Macintosh computers.
Personal publishing greatly increases the utility of
practically every computer. Thousands of people who
joined the computer revolution of this decade only to
hide their machines unused in closets have discovered a
new use for them as dedicated publishing workstations.
Electronic publishing is as revolutionary in its way as
the Gutenburg press. Whereas the printing press
allowed the mass production and distribution of the
written word, electronic publishing puts the means of
production in the hands of nearly every individual.
From the class magazine to the corporate report,
electronic publishing is changing the way we produce
and disseminate information.
Let's use EMACS to search for the word "revolutionary" in
the second paragraph. Because EMACS searches from the current
cursor position toward the end of buffers, and we intend to
search forward, move the cursor to the beginning of the text.
Enter ^S search-forward. Note that the command line now reads
"Search [] <META>:"
EMACS is prompting you to enter the search string -- the
text you want to find. Enter the word revolutionary and hit the
META key. The cursor moves to the end of the word
"revolutionary."
Notice that you must enter the <META> key to start the
search. If you simply press <NL> the command line responds with
"<NL>". Although this may seem infuriating to users who are used
to pressing the return key to execute any command, EMACS' use of
14
Search and Replace MicroEMACS Reference Manual
<META> to begin searches allows it to pinpoint text with great
accuracy. After every line wrap or carriage return, EMACS 'sees'
a new line character (<NL>). If you need to search for a word at
the end of a line, you can specify this word uniquely in EMACS.
In our sample text for example, the word "and" occurs a
number of times, but only once at the end of a line. To search
for this particular occurence of the word, move the cursor to the
beginning of the buffer and type ^S. Notice that EMACS stores
the last specified search string as the default string. If you
press <META> now, EMACS will search for the default string, in
this case, "revolutionary."
To change this string so we can search for our specified
"and" simply enter the word and followed by <NL>. The command
line now shows:
"search [and<NL>]<META>:"
Press <META> and the cursor moves to "and" at the end of
the second last line.
4.2 Exact Searches
If the mode EXACT is active in the current buffer, EMACS
searches on a case sensitive basis. Thus, for example you could
search for Publishing as distinct from publishing.
4.3 Backward Search
Backward searching is very similar to forward searching
except that it is implemented in the reverse direction. To
implement a reverse search, type ^R search-reverse. Because
EMACS makes no distinction between forward and backward stored
search strings, the last search item you entered appears as the
default string. Try searching back for any word that lies
between the cursor and the beginning of the buffer. Notice that
when the item is found, the point moves to the beginning of the
found string (i.e., the cursor appears under the first letter of
the search item).
Practice searching for other words in your text.
4.4 Searching and Replacing
Searching and replacing is a powerful and quick way of
making changes to your text. Our sample text is about electronic
publishing, but the correct term is 'desktop' publishing. To
15
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Search and Replace
make the necessary changes we need to replace all occurences of
the word "electronic" with "desktop." First, move the cursor to
the top of the current buffer with the M-< command. Then type M-
R replace-string. The command line responds:
"Replace []<META>:"
where the square brackets enclose the default string.
Type the word electronic and hit <META>. The command line
responds:
"with []<META>"
type desktop<META>. EMACS replaces all instances of the
original word with your revision. Of course, you will have to
capitalize the first letter of "desktop" where it occurs at the
beginning of a sentence.
You have just completed an unconditional replace. In
this operation, EMACS replaces every instance of the found string
with the replacement string.
4.5 Query-Replace
You may also replace text on a case by case basis. The
M-^R query-replace-string command causes EMACS to pause at each
instance of the found string.
For example, assume we want to replace some instances of
the word "desktop" with the word "personal." Go back to the
beginning of the current buffer and enter the M-^R query-replace
command. The procedure is very similar to that which you
followed in the unconditional search/replace option. When the
search begins however, you will notice that EMACS pauses at each
instance of "publishing" and asks whether you wish to replace it
with the replacement string. You have a number of options
available for response:
Response Effect
Y(es) Make the current replacement and skip to the next
occurence of the search string
N(o) Do not make this replacement but continue
! Do the rest of the replacements with no more queries
U(ndo) Undo just the last replacement and query for it
again (This can only go back ONE time)
^G Abort the replacement command (This action does not
undo previously-authorized replacements
16
Search and Replace MicroEMACS Reference Manual
. Same effect as ^G, but cursor returns to the point at
which the replacement command was given
? This lists help for the query replacement command
Practice searching and searching and replacing until you
feel comfortable with the commands and their effects.
Chapter 4 Summary
In this chapter, you learned how to search for specified
strings of text in EMACS. The chapter also dealt with searching
for and replacing elements within a buffer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Search-Forward ^S Searches from point to end of buffer.
Point is moved from current location to
the end of the found string
Search-Backward ^R Searches from point to beginning of buffer.
Point is moved from current location to
beginning of found string
Replace M-R Replace ALL ocurrences of search string with
specified (null) string from point to the
end of the current buffer
Query-Replace M-^R As above, but pause at each found string
and query for action
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Windows
Chapter 5
Windows
5.1 Creating Windows
We have already met windows in an earlier chapter. In
this chapter, we will explore one of EMACS' more powerful
features -- text manipulation through multiple windowing.
Windows offer you a powerful and easy way to edit text. By
manipulating a number of windows and buffers on the screen
simultaneously, you can perform complete edits and revisions on
the computer screen while having your draft text or original data
available for reference in another window.
You will recall that windows are areas of buffer text
that you can see on the screen. Because EMACS can support
several screen windows simultaneously you can use them to look
into different places in the same buffer. You can also use them
to look at text in different buffers. In effect, you can edit
several files at the same time.
Let's invoke EMACS and pull back our file on desktop
publishing by typing
emacs publish.txt
When the text appears, type the ^X-2 split-window
command. The window splits into two windows. The window where
the cursor resides is called the current window -- in this case
the bottom window. Notice that each window has a text area and a
mode line. The command line is however, common to all windows on
the screen.
The two windows on your screen are virtually mirror
images of each other because the new window is opened into the
same buffer as the one you are in when you issue the open-window
command. All commands issued to EMACS are executed on the
current buffer in the current window.
To move the cursor to the upper window (i.e., to make
that window the current window, type ^X-P previous-window.
Notice the cursor moves to the upper or previous window.
Entering ^X-O next-window moves to the next window. Practice
moving between windows. You will notice that you can also move
into the Function Key menu by entering these commands.
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Windows MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Now move to the upper window. Let's open a new file. On
the EMACS disk is a tutorial file. Let's call it into the upper
window by typing:
^X-^F
and press return.
Enter the filename emacs.tut.
In a short time, the tutorial file will appear in the
window. We now have two windows on the screen, each looking into
different buffers. We have just used the ^X-^F find-file command
to find a file and bring it into our current window.
You can scroll any window up and down with the cursor
keys, or with the commands we've learned so far. However, because
the area of visible text in each window is relatively small, you
can scroll the current window a line at a time.
Type ^X-^N move-window-down
The current window scrolls down by one line -- the top
line of text scrolls out of view, and the bottom line moves
towards the top of the screen. You can imagine, if you like, the
whole window slowly moving down to the end of the buffer in
increments of one line. The command ^X-^P move-window-up scrolls
the window in the opposite direction.
As we have seen, EMACS editing commands are executed in
the current window, but the program does support a useful feature
that allows you to scroll the next window. M-^Z scroll-next-up
scrolls the next window up, M-^V scroll-next-down scrolls it
downward. From the tutorial window, practice scrolling the
window with the desktop publishing text in it up and down.
When you're finished, exit EMACS without saving any
changes in your files.
Experiment with splitting the windows on your screen.
Open windows into different buffers and experiment with any other
files you may have. Try editing the text in each window, but
don't forget to save any changes you want to keep -- you still
have to save each buffer separately.
5.2 Deleting Windows
Windows allow you to perform complex editing tasks with ease.
However, they become an inconvenience when your screen is
cluttered with open windows you have finished using. The
simplest solution is to delete unneeded windows. The command
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Windows
^X-0 delete-window will delete the window you are currently
working in and move you to the next window.
If you have a number of windows open, you can delete all
but the current window by entering ^X-1 delete-other-windows.
5.3 Resizing Windows
During complex editing tasks, you will probably find it
convenient to have a number of windows on the screen
simultaneously. However this situation may present
inconveniences because the more windows you have on the screen
the smaller they are; in some cases, a window may show only a
couple of lines of text. To increase the flexibility and utility
of the window environment, EMACS allows you to resize the window
you are working in (called, as you will recall, the current
window) to a convenient size for easier editing, and then shrink
it when you no longer need it to be so large.
Let's try an example. Load in any EMACS text file and
split the current window into two. Now type ^X-^(Shift-6), grow-
window. Your current window should be the lower one on the
screen. Notice that it increases in size upwards by one line.
If you are in the upper window, it increases in size in a
downward direction. The command ^X-^Z, shrink-window
correspondingly decreases window size by one line at a time.
EMACS also allows you to resize a window more precisely
by entering a numeric argument specifying the size of the window
in lines. To resize the window this way, press the META key and
enter a numeric argument (remember to keep it smaller than the
number of lines on your screen display) then press ^X-W resize-
window. The current window will be enlarged or shrunk to the
number of lines specified in the numeric argument. For example
entering:
M-8 ^X-W
will resize the current window to 8 lines.
5.4 Repositioning within a Window
The cursor may be centered within a window by entering
M-! or M-^L redraw-display. This command is especially useful in
allowing you to quickly locate the cursor if you are moving
frequently from window to window. You can also use this command
to move the line containing the cursor to any position within the
current window. This is done by using a numeric argument before
the command. Type M-<n> M-^L where <n> is the number of the line
within the window that you wish the current line to be displayed.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Windows
The ^L Refresh-screen command is useful for 'cleaning up'
a 'messy' screen that can result of using EMACS on a mainframe
system and being interupted by a system message.
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Chapter 5 summary
In Chapter 5 you learned how to manipulate windows and
the editing flexibility they offer.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Open-Window ^X-2 Splits current window into two windows if
space available
Close-Windows ^X-1 Closes all windows except current window
Next-Window ^X-O[oh] Moves point into next (i.e. downward)
window
Previous-Window ^XP Moves point to previous (i.e. upward)
window
Move-Window-Down ^X-^N Scrolls current window down one line
Move-Window-Up ^X-^P Scrolls current window up one line
Redraw-display M ! or Window is moved so line with point
M ^L (with cursor) is at center of window
Grow-Window M-X ^ or Current window is enlarged by one
M ^L line and nearest window is shrunk by
one line
Shrink-Window ^X-^Z Current window is shrunk by one line
and nearest window is enlarged by one line
Clear-and-redraw ^L Screen is blanked and redrawn. Keeps
screen updates in sync with your commands
Scroll-Next-Up M-^Z Scrolls next window up by one line
Scroll-Next-Down M-^V Scrolls next window down by one line
Delete-Window ^X-0 Deletes current window
Delete-Other-Windows ^X-1 Deletes all but current window
Resize-Window ^X-^W Resizes window to a given numeric argument
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Buffers
Chapter 6
Buffers
We have already learned a number of things about
buffers. As you will recall, they are the major internal
entities in EMACS -- the place where editing commands are
executed. They are characterized by their names, their modes,
and by the file with which they are associated. Each buffer also
"remembers" its mark and point. This convenient feature allows
you to go to other buffers and return to the original location in
the "current" buffer.
Advanced users of EMACS frequently have a number of
buffers in the computer's memory simultaneously. In the last
chapter, for example, you opened at least two buffers -- one into
the text you were editing, and the other into the EMACS on-line
tutorial. If you deal with complex text files -- say, sectioned
chapters of a book, you may have five or six buffers in the
computer's memory. You could select different buffers by simply
calling up the file with ^X-^F find-file, and let EMACS open or
reopen the buffer. However, EMACS offers fast and sophisticated
buffering techniques that you will find easy to master and much
more convenient to use.
Let's begin by opening three buffers. You can open any
three you choose, for example call the following files into
memory: fang.txt, publish.txt, and emacs.tut in the order listed
here. When you've finished this process, you'll be looking at a
screen showing the EMACS tutorial. Let's assume that you want to
move to the fang.txt buffer. Enter:
^X-X next-buffer
This command moves you to the next buffer. Because EMACS
cycles through the buffer list, which is alphabetized, you will
now be in the fang.txt buffer. Using ^X-X again places you in the
publish.txt buffer. If you are on a machine that supports
function keys, using ^X-X again places you in the Function Keys
buffer. Using ^X-X one last time cycles you back to the beginning
of the list.
If you have a large number of buffers to deal with, this
cycling process may be slow and inconvenient. The command ^X-B
select-buffer allows you to specify the buffer you wish to be
switched to. When the command is entered, EMACS prompts, "Use
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Buffers MicroEMACS Reference Manual
buffer:". Simply enter the buffer name (NOT the file name), and
that buffer will then become the current buffer.
Multiple buffer manipulation and editing is a complex
activity, and you will probably find it very inconvenient to re-
save each buffer as you modify it. The command ^X-^B list-
buffers creates a new window that gives details about all the
buffers currently known to EMACS. Buffers that have been
modified are identified by the "buffer changed" indicator (an
asterisk in the second column). You can thus quickly and easily
identify buffers that need to be saved to files before you exit
EMACS. The buffer window also provides other information --
buffer specific modes, buffer size, and buffer name are also
listed. To close this window, simply type the close-windows
command, ^X-1.
To delete any buffer, type ^X-K delete-buffer. EMACS
prompts you "Kill buffer:". Enter the buffer name you want to
delete. As this is destructive command, EMACS will ask for
confirmation if the buffer was changed and not saved. Answer
Y(es) or N(o). As usual ^G cancels the command.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Buffers
Chapter 6 Summary
In Chapter 6 you learned how to manipulate buffers.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Next-Buffer ^X-^X Switch to the next buffer in the
buffer list
Select-Buffer ^X-B Switch to a particular buffer
List-Buffers ^X-^B List all buffers
Delete-Buffer ^X-K delete a particular buffer if it
is off-screen
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Modes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 7
Modes
EMACS allows you to change the way it works in order to
customized it to the style of editing you are using. It does
this by providing a number of different modes . These modes can
effect either a single buffer, or any new buffer that is created.
To add a mode to the current buffer, type ^X-M add-mode. EMACS
will then prompt you for the name of a mode to add. When you
type in a legal mode name, and type a <NL>, EMACS will add the
mode name to the list of current mode names in the modeline of
the current buffer.
To remove an existing mode, typing the ^X-^M delete-mode
will cause EMACS to prompt you for the name of a mode to delete
from the current buffer. This will remove that mode from the
mode list on the current modeline.
Global modes are the modes which are inherited by any new
buffers which are created. For example, if you wish to always do
string searching with character case being significant, you would
want global mode EXACT to be set so that any new files read in
inherent the EXACT mode. Global modes are set with the M-M add-
global-mode command, and unset with the M-^M delete-global-mode
command. Also, the current global modes are displayed in the
first line of a ^X-^B list-buffers command.
On machines which are capable of displaying colors, the
mode commands can also set the background and foreground
character colors. Using add-mode or delete-mode with a lowercase
color will set the background color in the current window. An
uppercase color will set the foreground color in the current
window. Colors that EMACS knows about are: white, cyan, magenta,
yellow, blue, red, green, and black. If the computer you are
running on does not have eight colors, EMACS will attempt to make
some intelligent guess at what color to use when you ask for one
which is not there.
7.1 ASAVE mode
Automatic Save mode tells EMACS to automatically write
out the current buffer to its associated file on a regular basis.
Normally this will be every 256 characters typed into the file.
The environment variable $ACOUNT counts down to the next auto-
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Modes
save, and $ASAVE is the value used to reset $ACOUNT after a save
occurs.
7.2 CMODE mode
CMODE is useful to C programmers. When CMODE is active,
EMACS will try to assist the user in a number of ways. This mode
is set automatically with files that have a .c or .h extension.
The <NL> key will normally attempt to return the user to
the next line at the same level of indentation as the current
line, unless the current line ends with a open brace ({) in which
case the new line will be further indented by one tab position.
A close brace (}) will delete one tab position preceeding
itself as it is typed. This should line up the close brace with
its matching IF, FOR or WHILE statement.
A pound sign (#) with only leading whitespace will delete
all the whitespace preceeding itself. This will always bring
preprocessor directives flush to the left margin.
Whenever any close fence is typed, ie )]>}, if the
matching open fence is on screen in the current window, the
cursor will briefly flash to it, and then back. This makes
balancing expressions, and matching blocks much easier.
7.3 CRYPT mode
When a buffer is in CRYPT mode, it is encrypted whenever
it is written to a file, and decrypted when it is read from the
file. The encryption key can be specified on the command line
with the -k switch, or with the M-E set-encryption-key command.
If you attempt to read or write a buffer in crypt mode and now
key has not been set, EMACS will execute set-encryption-key
automatically, prompting you for the needed key. Whenever EMACS
prompts you for a key, it will not echo the key to your screen as
you type it (ie make SURE you get it right when you set it
originally).
The encryption algorithm used changes all characters into
normal printing characters, thus the resulting file is suitable
for sending via electronic mail. All version of MicroEMACS
should be able decrypt the resulting file regardless of what
machine encrypted it. Also available with EMACS is the stand
alone program, MicroCRYPT, which can en/decrypt the files
produced by CRYPT mode in EMACS.
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Modes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
7.4 EXACT mode
All string searches and replacements will take
upper/lower case into account. Normally the case of a string
during a search or replace is not taken into account.
7.5 MAGIC mode
In the MAGIC mode certain characters gain special
meanings when used in a search pattern. Collectively they are
know as regular expressions, and a limited number of them are
supported in MicroEmacs. They grant greater flexibility when
using the search command. However, they do not affect the
incremental search command.
The symbols that have special meaning in MAGIC mode are
^, $, ., &, *, [ (and ], used with it), and \.
The characters ^ and $ fix the search pattern to the
beginning and end of line, respectively. The ^ character must
appear at the beginning of the search string, and the $ must
appear at the end, otherwise they loose their meaning and are
treated just like any other character. For example, in MAGIC
mode, searching for the pattern "t$" would put the cursor at the
end of any line that ended with the letter 't'. Note that this
is different than searching for "t<NL>", that is, 't' followed by
a newline character. The character $ (and ^, for that matter)
matches a position, not a character, so the cursor remains at the
end of the line. But a newline is a character that must be
matched, just like any other character, which means that the
cursor is placed just after it - on the beginning of the next
line.
The character . has a very simple meaning -- it matches
any single character, except the newline. Thus a search for
"bad.er" could match "badger", "badder" (slang), or up to the 'r'
of "bad error".
The character * is known as closure, and means that zero
or more of the preceding character will match. If there is no
character preceding, * has no special meaning, and since it will
not match with a newline, * will have no special meaning if
preceded by the beginning of line symbol ^ or the literal newline
character <NL>.
The notion of zero or more characters is important. If,
for example, your cursor was on the line
This line is missing two vowels.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Modes
and a search was made for "a*", the cursor would not
move, because it is guaranteed to match no letter 'a' , which
satifies the search conditions. If you wanted to search for one
or more of the letter 'a', you would search for "aa*", which
would match the letter a, then zero or more of them.
The character [ indicates the beginning of a character
class. It is similar to the 'any' character ., but you get to
choose which characters you want to match. The character class
is ended with the character ]. So, while a search for "ba.e"
will match "bane", "bade", "bale", "bate", et cetera, you can
limit it to matching "babe" and "bake" by searching for
"ba[bk]e". Only one of the characters inside the [ and ] will
match a character. If in fact you want to match any character
except those in the character class, you can put a ^ as the first
character. It must be the first character of the class, or else
it has no special meaning. So, a search for [^aeiou] will match
any character except a vowel, but a search for [aeiou^] will
match any vowel or a ^.
If you have a lot of characters in order that you want to
put in the character class, you may use a dash (-) as a range
character. So, [a-z] will match any letter (or any lower case
letter if EXACT mode is on), and [0-9a-f] will match any digit or
any letter 'a' through 'f', which happen to be the characters for
hexadecimal numbers. If the dash is at the beginning or end of a
character class, it is taken to be just a dash.
The character & (ampersand) is a replacement character,
and represents the characters which matched the search string.
When used in the M-R replace-string or the M-^R query-replace-
string commands, the & will be substituted for the search string.
The escape character \ is for those times when you want
to be in MAGIC mode, but also want to use a regular expression
character to be just a character. It turns off the special
meaning of the character. So a search for "it\." will search for
a line with "it.", and not "it" followed by any other character.
The escape character will also let you put ^, -, or ] inside a
character class with no special side effects.
7.6 OVER mode
OVER mode stands for overwrite mode. When in this mode,
when characters are typed, instead of simply inserting them into
the file, EMACS will attempt to overwrite an existing character
past the point. This is very useful for adjusting tables and
diagrams.
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7.7 WRAP mode
Wrap mode is used when typing in continuous text.
Whenever the cursor is past the currently set fill column (72 by
default) and the user types a space or a <NL>, the last word of
the line is brought down to the beginning of the next line.
Using this, one just types a continuous stream of words and EMACS
automatically inserts <NL>s at appropriate places.
NOTE to programmers:
EMACS actually calls up the function bound to the
illegal keystroke M-FNW. This is bound to the function
wrap-word by default, but can be re-bound to activate
different functions and macros at wrap time.
7.8 VIEW mode
VIEW mode disables all commands which can change the
current buffer. EMACS will display an error message and ring the
bell every time you attempt to change a buffer in VIEW mode.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Modes
Chapter 7 Summary
In Chapter 7 you learned about modes and their effects.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Add-Mode ^X-M Add a mode to the current buffer
Delete-Mode ^X-^M Delete a mode from the current
buffer
Add-Global-Mode M-M Add a global mode to the
current buffer
Delete-Global-Mode M-^M Delete a global mode from the
current buffer
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Files MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 8
Files
A file is simply a collection of related data. In EMACS
we are dealing with text files -- named collections of text
residing on a disk (or some other storage medium). You will
recall that the major entities EMACS deals with are buffers.
Disk-based versions of files are only active in EMACS when you
are reading into or writing out of buffers. As we have already
seen, buffers and physical files are linked by associated file
names. For example, the buffer "ch7.txt" which is associated
with the physical disk file "ch7.txt." You will notice that the
file is usually specified by the drive name or (in the case of a
hard drive) a path. Thus you can specify full file names in
EMACS,
e.g. disk:\directories\filename.extension
If you do not specify a disk and directories, the default
disk is used.
IMPORTANT -- If you do not explicitly save your buffer to
a file, all your edits will be lost when you leave EMACS
(although EMACS will prompt you when you are about to lose edits
by exiting). In addition, EMACS does not protect your disk-based
files from overwriting when it saves files. Thus when you
instruct EMACS to save a file to disk, it will create a file if
the specified file doesn't exist, or it will overwrite the
previously saved version of the file thus replacing it. Your old
version is gone forever.
If you are at all unsure about your edits, or if (for any
reason) you wish to keep previous versions of a file, you can
change the name of the associated file with the command ^X-N.
When this file is saved to disk, EMACS will create a new physical
file under the new name. The earlier disk file will be
preserved.
For example, let's load the file fang.txt into EMACS.
Now, type ^X-N. The EMACS command line prompts "name:". Enter a
new name for the file -- say new.txt and press <NL>. The file
will be saved under the new filename, and your disk directory
will show both fang.txt and new.txt.
An alternative method is to write the file directly to
disk under a new filename. Let's pull our "publish.txt" file
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Files
into EMACS. To write this file under another filename, type ^X-
^W. EMACS will prompt you "write file:". Enter an alternate
filename -- desktop.txt. Your file will be saved as the physical
file "desktop.txt".
Note that in the examples above, although you have
changed the names of the related files, the buffer names remain
the same. However, when you pull the physical file back into
EMACS, you will find that the buffer name now relates to the
filename.
For example -- You are working with a buffer "fang.txt"
with the related file "fang.txt". You change the name of the
file to "new.txt". EMACS now shows you working with the buffer
"fang.txt" and the related file "new.txt". Now pull the file
"new.txt" into EMACS. Notice that the buffer name has now
changed to "new.txt".
If for any reason a conflict of buffer names occurs,(if
you have files of the same name on different drives for example)
EMACS will prompt you "use buffer:". Enter an alternative buffer
name if you need to.
For a list of file related commands (including some we`ve
already seen), see the summary page.
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Files MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 8 Summary
In Chapter 8 you learned some of the more advanced
concepts of file naming and manipulation. The relationship
between files and buffers was discussed in some detail.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Save-file ^X-^S Saves contents of current buffer with
associated filename on default disk/
directory (if not specified)
Write-File ^X-^W Current buffer contents will be
saved under specified name
Change-File-name
^X-N The associated filename is changed
(or associated if not previously
specified) as specified
Find-File ^X-^F Reads specified file into buffer and
switches you to that buffer, or switches
to buffer in which the file has previously
been read
Read-File ^X-^R Reads file into buffer thus overwriting
buffer contents. If file has already
been read into another buffer, you will
be switched to it
View-File ^X-^V The same as read-file except the buffer
is automatically put into VIEW mode thus
preventing any changes from being made
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Screen Formatting
Chapter 9
Screen Formatting
9.1 Wrapping Text
As we learned in the introduction, EMACS is not a word
processor, but an editor. Some simple formatting options are
available however, although in most cases they will not affect
the appearence of the finished text when it is run through the
formatter. We have already encountered WRAP mode which wraps
lines longer than a certain length (default is 75 characters).
You will recall that WRAP is enabled by entering ^X-M and
responding to the command line prompt with wrap.
You can also set your own wrap margin with the command
^X-F set-fill-column. Notice EMACS responds "[Fill column is
1]." Now try typing some text. You'll notice some very strange
things happening -- your text wraps at every word!! This effect
occurs because the set wrap margin command must be preceeded by a
numeric argument or EMACS sets it to the first column. Thus any
text you type that extends past the first column will wrap at the
most convenient line break.
To reset the wrap column to 72 characters, press the
<META> key and enter 72. EMACS will respond "Arg: 72". Now
press ^X-F. EMACS will respond "[Fill column is 72]". Your text
will again wrap at the margin you've been using up to this point.
9.2 Reformatting Paragraphs
After an intensive editing session, you may find that you
have paragraphs containing lines of differing lengths. Although
this disparity will not affect the formatted text, aesthetic and
technical concerns may make it desirable to have consistent
paragraph blocks on the screen. If you are in WRAP mode, you can
reformat a paragraph with the command M-Q fill-paragraph. This
command 'fills' the current paragraph reformatting it so all the
lines are filled and wrap logically. The process is complex, and
(especially with longer paragraphs) may take a little time.
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9.3 Changing Case
There may be occasions when you find it necessary to
change the case of the text you've entered. EMACS allows you to
change the case of even large amounts of text with ease. Let's
try and convert a few of the office traditionalists to the joy of
word processing. Type in the following text:
Throw away your typewriter and learn to use a word
processor. Word processing is relatively easy to learn
and will increase your productivity enormously. Enter
the Computer Age and find out just how much fun it can
be!!
Let's give it a little more impact by capitalizing the
first four words. The first step is to define the region of text
just as you would if you were doing an extensive deletion. Set
the mark at the beginning of the paragraph with M-<space> set-
mark and move the cursor to the space beyond "typewriter." Now
enter ^X-^U case-region-upper. Your text should now look like
this:
THROW AWAY YOUR TYPEWRITER and learn to use a word
processor. Word processing is relatively easy to learn
and will increase your productivity enormously. Enter
the Computer Age and find out just how much fun it can
be!!
If you want to change the text back to lower case, type
^X-^L case-region-lower. You can also capitalize individual
words. To capitalize the word "fun", position the cursor in
front of the word and type M-U case-word-upper. The word is now
capitalized. To change it back to lower case, move the cursor
back to the beginning of the word and type M-L case-word-lower.
You may also capitalize individual letters in EMACS. The
command M-C case-word-capitalize capitalizes the first letter
after the point. This command would normally be issued with the
cursor positioned in front of the first letter of the word you
wish to capitalize. If you issue it in the middle of a word, you
can end up with some strAnge looking text.
9.4 Tabs
Unless your formatter is instructed to take screen text
literally (as MicroSCRIBE does in the 'verbatim' environment for
example), tabs in EMACS generally affect screen formatting only.
When EMACS is first started, it sets the default tab to
every eighth column. As long as you stay with default, every
time you press the tab key a tab character, ^I is inserted. This
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Screen Formatting
character, like other control characters, is invisible -- but it
makes a subtle and significant difference to your file and
editing.
For example, in default mode, press the tab key and then
type the word Test. "Test" appears at the eighth column. Move
your cursor to the beginning of the word and delete the backward
character. The word doesn't move back just one character, but
flushes to the left margin. The reason for this behavior is
easily explained. In tab default, EMACS inserts a 'real' tab
character when you press the tab key. This character is inserted
at the default position, but NO SPACES are inserted between the
tab character and the margin (or previous tab character). As you
will recall, EMACS only recognizes characters (such as spaces or
letters) and thus when the tab character is removed, the text
beyond the tab is flushed back to the margin or previous tab
mark.
This situation changes if you alter the default
configuration. The default value may be changed by entering a
numeric argument before pressing the tab key. As we saw earlier,
pressing the META key and entering a number allows you to specify
how EMACS performs a given action. In this case, let's specify
an argument of 10 and hit the tab key.
Now hit the tab key again and type Test. Notice the word
now appears at the tenth column. Now move to the beginning of
the word and delete the backward character. "Test" moves back by
one character.
EMACS behaves differently in these circumstances because
the ^I handle-tab function deals with tabbing in two distinct
ways. In default conditions, or if the numeric argument of zero
is used, handle-tab inserts a true tab character. If, however, a
non-zero numeric argument is specified, handle-tab inserts the
correct number of spaces needed to position the cursor at the
next specified tab position. It does NOT insert the single tab
character and hence any editing functions should take account of
the number of spaces between tabbed columns.
Many times you would like to take a line which has been
created using the tab character and change it to use just spaces.
The command ^X-^D detab-line changes any tabs from the point to
the end of the current line into the right number of spaces so
the line does not change. This is very useful for times when the
file must be printed or transfered to a machine which does not
understand tabs.
Also, the inverse command, ^X-^E entab-lines changes
multiple spaces to tabs where possible. This is a good way to
shrink the size of large documents, especially with data tables.
Both of these commands can take a numeric argument which will be
interpeted as the number of lines to en/detab.
38
Screen Formatting MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 9 Summary
In Chapter 9 introduced some of the formatting features
of EMACS. Text-wrap, paragraph reformatting, and tabs were
discussed in some detail. The commands in the following table
were covered in the chapter.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Add-Mode/WRAP ^X-M[WRAP] Add wrap mode to current buffer
Delete-Mode/WRAP ^X-^M[WRAP] Remove wrap mode from current
buffer
Set-Fill-Column ^X-F Set fill column to given numeric
argument
Fill-Paragraph M-Q Logically reformats the current
paragraph
Case-Word-Upper M-U Text from point to end of the
current word is changed to
uppercase
Case-Word-Lower M-L Text from point to end of the
current word is changed to
lowercase
Case-Word-Capitalize M-C First word (or letter) after the
point is capitalized
Case-Region-Upper ^X-^U The current region is uppercased
Case-Region-Lower ^X-^L The current region is lowercased
Handle-Tab ^I Tab interval is set to the given
numeric argument
Entab-Line ^X-^E Changes multiple spaces to tabs
characters where possible
Detab-Line ^X-^D Changes tab characters to the
appropriate number of spaces
39
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Access to the Outside World
Chapter 10
Access to the Outside World
EMACS has the ability to interface to other programs and
the environment of the computer outside of itself. It does this
through a series of commands that allow it to talk to the
computer's command processor or shell. Just what this is varies
between different computers. Under MSDOS or PCDOS this is the
command.com command processor. Under UNIX it is the csh shell.
On the Atari ST is can be the Mark Williams MSH or the Beckmeyer
shell. In each case, it is the part of the computer's operating
system that is responcable for determining what programs are
executed, and when.
The ^X-! shell-command command prompts the user for a
command line to send out to the shell to execute. This can be
very useful for doing file listings and changing the current
directory or folder. EMACS gives control to the shell, which
executed the command, and then types [END] and waits for the user
to type a character before redrawing the screen and resuming
editing. If the shell-command command is used from within the
macro language, there is no pause.
^X-@ pipe-command command allows EMACS to execute a shell
command, and if the particular computer allows it, send the
results into a buffer which is automatically displayed on the
screen. The resulting buffer, called "command" can be manipulated
just like any other editing buffer. Text can be copied out of it
or rearanged as needed. This buffer is originally created in VIEW
mode, so remember to ^X-^Mview<NL> in order to change it.
Many computers provide tools which will allow you to
filter text, making some modifications to it along the way. A
very common tool is the SORT program which accepts a file, sorts
it, and prints the result out. The EMACS command, ^X-# filter-
buffer sends the current buffer through such a filter.
Therefore, if you wished to sort the current buffer on a system
which supplied a sort filter, you would type ^X-#sort<NL>. You
can also create your own filters by writing programs and
utilities which read text from the keyboard and display the
results. EMACS will use any of these which would normally be
available from the current shell.
If you would like to execute another program directly,
without the overhead of an intervening shell, you can use the
^X-$ execute-program command. It will prompt you for an external
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Access to the Outside World MicroEMACS Reference Manual
program and its arguments and attempt to execute it. Like when
EMACS looks for command files, EMACS will look first in the HOME
directory, then down the execute PATH, and finally in the current
directory for the named program. On some systems, it will
automatically tack the proper extension on the file name to
indicate it is a program. On some systems that don't support this
function, ^X-$ will be equivalent to ^X-! shell-command.
Sometimes, you would like to get back to the shell and
execute other commands, without losing the current contents of
EMACS. The ^X-C i-shell command shells out of EMACS, leaving
EMACS in the computer and executing another command shell. Most
systems would allow you to return to EMACS with the "exit"
command.
On some systems, mainly advanced versions of UNIX, you
can
direct EMACS to "go into the background" with the ^X-D suspend-
emacs command. This places EMACS in the background returning you
to the original command shell. EMACS can then be returned to at
any time with the "fg" foreground command.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Access to the Outside World
Chapter 10 Summary
In Chapter 10 introduced different ways to access the
computers shell or command processor from within EMACS. The
commands in the following table were covered in the chapter.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Execute-program ^X-$ Execute an external program
directly
Filter-command ^X-# Send the current buffer through
a shell filter
I-shell ^X-C Escape to a new shell
Pipe-command ^X-@ Send the results of an external
shell command to a buffer
Shell-command ^X-! Execute one shell command
Suspend-emacs ^X-D Place EMACS in the background
(some UNIX systems only)
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Keyboard Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 11
Keyboard Macros
In many applications, it may be necessary to repeat a
series of characters or commands frequently. For example, a
paper may require the frequent repetition of a complex formula or
a long name. You may also have a series of EMACS commands that
you invoke frequently. Keyboard macros offer a convenient method
of recording and repeating these commands.
Imagine, for example, you are writing a scholarly paper
on Asplenium platyneuron, the spleenwort fern. Even the
dedicated botanist would probably find it a task bordering on the
agonizing to type Asplenium platyneuron frequently throughout the
paper. An alternative method is 'record' the name in a keyboard
macro. Try it yourself.
The command ^X-( begin-macro starts recording the all the
keystrokes and commands you input. After you've typed it, enter
Asplenium platyneuron. To stop recording, type ^X-) end-macro.
EMACS has stored all the keystrokes between the two commands. To
repeat the name you've stored, just enter ^X-E execute-macro, and
the name "Asplenium platyneuron" appears. You can repeat this
action as often as you want, and of course as with any EMACS
command, you may precede it with a numerical argument.
Because EMACS records keystrokes, you may freely intermix
commands and text. Unfortunately, you can only store one macro
at a time. Thus, if you begin to record another macro, the
previously defined macro is lost. Be careful to ensure that
you've finished with one macro before defining another. If you
have a series of commands that you would like to 'record' for
future use, use the macro or procedure facilities detailed in
chapter <X>.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Keyboard Macros
Chapter 11 Summary
Chapter 11 covered keyboard macros. You learned how to
record keystrokes and how to repeat the stored sequence.
Key Binding Keystroke Effect
Start-Macro ^X-( Starts recording all keyboard input
End-Macro ^X-) Stops recording keystrokes for
macro
Execute-Macro ^X-E Entire sequence of recorded
keystrokes is replayed
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Chapter 12
MicroEMACS Macros
Macros are programs that are used to customize the editor
and to perform complicated editing tasks. They may be stored in
files or buffers and may be executed using an appropriate
command, or bound to a particular keystroke. Portions of the
standard start-up file are implemented via macros, as well as the
example menu system. The execute-macro-<n> commands cause the
macro, numbered from 1 to 40, to be executed. The execute-file
command allows you to execute a macro stored in a disk file, and
the execute-buffer command allows you to execute a macro stored
in a buffer. Macros are stored for easy execution by executing
files that contain the store-macro command.
If you need more than 40 macros, named macroes, called
procedures, can be used. The store-procedure command takes a
string argument which is the name of a procedure to store. These
procedures than can be executed with the M-^E execute-procedure
or the run commands.
There are many different aspects to the macro language
within MicroEMACS. Editor commands are the various commands that
manipulate text, buffers, windows, etc, within the editor.
Directives are commands which control what lines get executed
within a macro. Also there are various types of variables.
Environmental variables both control and report on different
aspects of the editor. User variables hold string values which
may be changed and inspected. Buffer variables allow text to be
placed into variables. Interactive variable allow the program to
prompt the user for information. Functions can be used to
manipulate all these variables.
12.1 Constants
All constants and variable contents in EMACS are stored
as strings of characters. Numbers are stored digit by digit as
characters. This allows EMACS to be "typeless", not having
different variables types be legal in different contexts. This
has the disadvantage of forcing the user to be more carefull
about the context of the statements variables are placed in, but
in turn gives them more flexibility in where they can place
variables. Needless to say, this also allows EMACS's expression
evaluator to be both consice and quick.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
Wherever statements need to have arguments, it is legal
to place constants. A constant is a double quote character,
followed by a string of characters, and terminated by another
double quote character. To represent various special characters
within a constant, the tilde (~) character is used. The character
following the tilde is interpeted according to the following
table:
Sequence Result
~n ^J linefeed/newline, (EMACS newline character)
~r ^M carraige return
~~ ~
~b ^H backspace
~f ^L formfeed
~t ^I tab
~" "
Any character not in the table which follows a tilde will
be passed unmodified. This action is similar to the ^Q quote-
character command available from the keyboard.
The double quotes around constants are not needed if the
constant contains no internal whitespace and it also does not
happen to meet the rules for any other EMACS commands,
directives, variables, or functions. This is reasonable useful
for numeric constants.
12.2 Variables
Variables in MicroEMACS can be used to return values
within expressions, as repeat counts to editing commands, or as
text to be inserted into buffers and messages. The value of
these variables is set using the set (^X-A) command. For
example, to set the current fill column to 64 characters, the
following macro line would be used:
set $fillcol 64
or to have the contents of %name inserted at the point in
the current buffer, the command to use would be:
insert-string %name
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
12.2.1 Environmental Variables
"What good is a quote if you can't change it?"
These variables are used to change different aspects of
the way the editor works. Also they will return the current
settings if used as part of an expression. All environmental
variable names begin with a dollar sign ($) and are in lower
case.
$acount The countdown of inserted characters until the
next save-file.
$asave The number of inserted characters between
automatic file-saves in ASAVE mode.
$cbufname Name of the current buffer
$cfname File name of the current buffer
$cmode Integer containing the mode of the current buffer.
(See Appendix F for values)
$curchar Character currently at the point
$curcol Current column of point in current buffer
$curline Current line of point in current buffer
$curwidth Number of columns used currently
$cwline Current display line in current window
$debug Flag to trigger macro debugging (try it... you'll
like it!)
$discmd Flag to disable the echoing of messages on the
command line
$disinp Flag to disable the echoing of characters during
command line input
$fillcol Current fill column
$flicker Flicker Flag set to TRUE if IBM CGA set to FALSE
for most others
$gflags Global flags controlling some EMACS internal
functions (See appendix G for details)
$gmode Global mode flags. (See Appendix F for values)
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
$lastkey [READ ONLY]Last keyboard character typed
$line The current line in the current buffer can be
retrieved and set with this environment variable
$lwidth [READ ONLY]Returns the number of characters in the
current line
$match [READ ONLY]Last string matched in a magic mode
search
$pagelen Number of screen lines used currently
$palette string used to control the palette register
settings on graphics versions. The usually form
consists of groups of three octal digits setting
the red, green, and blue levels.
$pending [READ ONLY]Flag to determine if there are user
keystrokes waiting to be processed.
$progname [READ ONLY]Always contains the string "MicroEMACS"
for standard MicroEMACS. Could be something else
if EMACS is incorporated as part of someone else's
program
$replace Current default replace string
$rval This contains the return value from the last
subprocess which was invoked from EMACS
$search Current default search string
$seed Integer seed of the random number generator
$sres Current screen resolution (CGA, MONO or EGA on the
IBM-PC driver. LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH or DENSE on the
Atari ST1040, NORMAL on all others)
$status [READ ONLY]Status of the success of the last
command (TRUE or FALSE). This is usually used
with !force to check on the success of a search,
or a file operation.
$target Current target for line moves (setting this fool's
EMACS into believing the last command was a line
move)
$tpause Controls the length of the pause to display a
matched fence when the current buffer is in CMODE
and a close fence has been typed
$version [READ ONLY]Contains the current MicroEMACS version
number
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
$wline Number of display lines in current window
Obviously, many more of these variables will be availible
in future releases of MicroEMACS. (Yes, send a vote for your
favorite new environmental variables today).
12.2.2 User variables
User variables allow you, the user, to store strings and
manipulate them. These strings can be pieces of text, numbers
(in text form), or the logical values TRUE and FALSE. These
variables can be combined, tested, inserted into buffers, and
otherwise used to control the way your macros execute. At the
moment, up to 255 user variables may be in use in one editing
session. All users variable names must begin with a percent sign
(%) and may contain any printing characters. Only the first 10
characters are significant (ie differences beyond the tenth
character are ignored). Most operators will truncate strings to
a length of 128 characters.
12.2.3 Buffer Variables
Buffer variables are special in that they can only be
queried and cannot be set. What buffer variables are is a way to
take text from a buffer and place it in a variable. For example,
if I have a buffer by the name of RIGEL2, and it contains the
text:
Richmond
Lafayette
<*>Bloomington (where <*> is the current point)
Indianapolis
Gary
=* MicroEMACS 3.9e (WRAP) == rigel2 == File: /data/rigel2.txt =====
and within a command I reference #rigel2, like:
insert-string #rigel2
MicroEMACS would start at the current point in the RIGEL2
buffer and grab all the text up to the end of that line and pass
that back. Then it would advance the point to the beginning of
the next line. Thus, after our last command executes, the string
"Bloomington" gets inserted into the current buffer, and the
buffer RIGEL2 now looks like this:
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
Richmond
Lafayette
Bloomington
<*>Indianapolis (where <*> is the current point)
Gary
=* MicroEMACS 3.9e (WRAP) == rigel2 == File: /data/rigel2.txt =====
as you have probably noticed, a buffer variable consists
of the buffer name, preceded by a pound sign (#).
12.2.4 Interactive variables
Interactive variables are actually a method to prompt the
user for a string. This is done by using an at sign (@) followed
either with a quoted string, or a variable containing a string.
The string is the placed on the bottom line, and the editor waits
for the user to type in a string. Then the string typed in by
the users is returned as the value of the interactive variable.
For example:
set %quest "What file? "
find-file @%quest
will ask the user for a file name, and then attempt to
find it. Note also that complex expressions can be built up with
these operators, such as:
@&cat &cat "File to decode[" %default "]: "
which prompts the user with the concatinated string.
12.3 Functions
Functions can be used to manipulate variables in various
ways. Functions can have one, two, or three arguments. These
arguments will always be placed after the function on the current
command line. For example, if we wanted to increase the current
fill column by two, using emacs's set (^X-A) command, we would
write:
set $fillcol &add $fillcol 2
\ \ \ \ \____second operand
\ \ \ \_________first operand
\ \ \_______________function to execute
\ \_____________________variable to set
\___________________________set (^X-A) command
Function names always begin with the ampersand (&)
character, and are only significant to the first three characters
after the ampersand. Functions will normal expect one of three
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
types of arguments, and will automatically convert types when
needed.
<num> an ascii string of digits which is interpeted as a
numeric value. Any string which does not start
with a digit or a minus sign (-) will be
considered zero.
<str> An arbitrary string of characters. At the moment,
strings are limited to 128 characters in length.
<log> A logical value consisting of the string "TRUE" or
"FALSE". Numeric strings will also evaluate to
"FALSE" if they are equal to zero, and "TRUE" if
they are non-zero. Arbitrary text strings will
have the value of "FALSE".
A list of the currently availible functions follows:
(Once again, send in those votes on what kind of functions you
would like to see added!) Functions are always used in lower
case, the uppercase letters in the function table are the short
form of the function (ie &div for ÷).
Numeric Functions: (returns <num>)
&ADD <num> <num> Add two numbers
&SUB <num> <num> Subtract the second number from the first
&TIMes <num> <num> Multiply two numbers
&DIVide <num> <num> Divide the first number by the second
giving an integer result
&MOD <num> <num> Return the reminder of dividing the
first number by the second
&NEGate <neg> Multiply the arg by -1
&LENgth <str> Returns length of string
&SINdex <str1> <str2> Finds the position of <str2> within
<str1>. Returns zero if not found.
&ASCii <str> Return the ascii code of the first
character in <str>
&RND <num> Returns a random integer between 1 and
<num>
&ABS <num> Returns the absolute value of <num>
&BANd <num> <num> Bitwise AND function
&BOR <num> <num> Bitwise OR function
&BXOr <num> <num> Bitwise XOR function
&BNOt <num> Bitwise NOT function
String manipulation functions: (returns <str>)
&CAT <str> <str> Concatinate the two strings to form one
&LEFt <str> <num> return the <num> leftmost characters
from <str>
&RIGht <str> <num> return the <num> rightmost characters
from <str>
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
&MID <str> <num1> <num2>
Starting from <num1> position in <str>,
return <num2> characters.
&UPPer <str> Uppercase <str>
&LOWer <str> lowercase <str>
&CHR <num> return a string with the character
represented by ascii code <num>
>K return a string containing a single
keystroke from the user
&ENV <str> If the operating system is capable, this
returns the environment string associated
with <str>
&BIND <str> return the function name bound to the
keystroke <str>
&ENV <str> Returns the operating system value
attached to environmental variable <str>
&FINd <str> Find the named file <str> along the
path and return its full file specification
or an empty string if none exists
Logical Testing functions: (returns <log>)
&NOT <log> Return the opposite logical value
&AND <log1> <log2> Returns TRUE if BOTH logical arguments
are TRUE
&OR <log1> <log2> Returns TRUE if either argument
is TRUE
&EQUal <num> <num> If <num> and <num> are numerically
equal, return TRUE
&LESs <num1> <num2> If <num1> is less than <num2>, return
TRUE.
&GREater <num1> <num2> If <num1> is greater than, or equal to
<num2>, return TRUE.
&SEQual <str1> <str2> If the two strings are the same, return
TRUE.
&SLEss <str1> <str2> If <str1> is less alphabetically than
<str2>, return TRUE.
&SGReater <str1> <str2> If <str1> is alphabetically greater than
or equal to <str2>, return TRUE.
&FINd <str> Does the named file <str> exist?
Special Functions:
&INDirect <str> Evaluate <str> as a variable.
This last function deserves more explanation. The &IND
function evaluates its argument, takes the resulting string, and
then uses it as a variable name. For example, given the
following code sequence:
; set up reference table
set %one "elephant"
set %two "giraffe"
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
set %three "donkey"
set %index "two"
insert-string &ind %index
the string "giraffe" would have been inserted at the
point in the current buffer. This indirection can be safely
nested up to about 10 levels.
12.4 Directives
Directives are commands which only operate within an
executing macro, ie they do not make sense as a single command.
As such, they cannot be called up singly or bound to keystroke.
Used within macros, they control what lines are executed and in
what order.
Directives always start with the exclamation mark (!)
character and must be the first thing placed on a line.
Directives executed interactively (via the execute-command-line
command) will be ignored.
12.4.1 !ENDM Directive
This directive is used to terminate a macro being stored.
For example, if a file is being executed contains the text:
; Read in a file in view mode, and make the window red
26 store-macro
find-file @"File to view: "
add-mode "view"
add-mode "red"
!endm
write-message "[Consult macro has been loaded]"
only the lines between the store-macro command and the
!ENDM directive are stored in macro 26. Both numbered macroes
and named procedures (via the store-procedure command) should be
terminated with this directive.
12.4.2 !FORCE Directive
When MicroEMACS executes a macro, if any command fails,
the macro is terminated at that point. If a line is preceeded by
a !FORCE directive, execution continues weather the command
succeeds or not. For example:
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
; Merge the top two windows
save-window ;remember what window we are at
1 next-window ;go to the top window
delete-window ;merge it with the second window
!force restore-window ;This will continue regardless
add-mode "red"
12.4.3 !IF, !ELSE, and !ENDIF Directives
This directive allows statements only to be executed if a
condition specified in the directive is met. Every line
following the !IF directive, until the first !ELSE or !ENDIF
directive, is only executed if the expression following the !IF
directive evaluates to a TRUE value. For example, the following
macro segment creates the portion of a text file automatically.
(yes believe me, this will be easier to understand then that last
explanation....)
!if &sequal %curplace "timespace vortex"
insert-string "First, rematerialize~n"
!endif
!if &sequal %planet "earth" ;If we have landed on earth...
!if &sequal %time "late 20th century" ;and we are then
write-message "Contact U.N.I.T."
!else
insert-string "Investigate the situation....~n"
insert-string "(SAY 'stay here Sara')~n"
!endif
!else
set %conditions @"Atmosphere conditions outside? "
!if &sequal %conditions "safe"
insert-string &cat "Go outside......" "~n"
insert-string "lock the door~n"
!else
insert-string "Dematerialize..try somewhen else"
newline
!endif
!endif
12.4.4 !GOTO Directive
Flow can be controlled within a MicroEMACS macro using
the !GOTO directive. It takes as an argument a label. A label
consists of a line starting with an asterisk (*) and then an
alphanumeric label. Only labels in the currently executing macro
can be jumped to, and trying to jump to a non-existing label
terminates execution of a macro. For example..
;Create a block of DATA statements for a BASIC program
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MicroEMACS Macros MicroEMACS Reference Manual
insert-string "1000 DATA "
set %linenum 1000
*nxtin
update-screen ;make sure we see the changes
set %data @"Next number: "
!if &equal %data 0
!goto finish
!endif
!if &greater $curcol 60
2 delete-previous-character
newline
set %linenum &add %linenum 10
insert-string &cat %linenum " DATA "
!endif
insert-string &cat %data ", "
!goto nxtin
*finish
2 delete-previous-character
newline
12.4.5 !WHILE and !ENDWHILE Directives
This directive allows you to set up repetitive tasks
easily and efficiently. If a group of statements need to be
executed while a certain condition is true, enclose them with a
while loop. For example,
!while &less $curcol 70
insert-string &cat &cat "[" #stuff "]"
!endwhile
places items from buffer "item" in the current line until
the cursor is at or past column 70. While loops may be nested
and can contain and be the targets of !GOTOs with no ill effects.
Using a while loop to enclose a repeated task will run much
faster than the corresponding construct using !IFs.
12.4.6 !BREAK Directive
This directive allows the user to abort out of the
currently most inner while loop, regardless of the condition. It
is often used to abort processing for error conditions. For
example:
; Read in files and substitute "begining" with "beginning"
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Macros
set %filename #list
!while ¬ &seq %filename "<end>"
!force find-file %filename
!if &seq $status FALSE
write-message "[File read error]"
!break
!endif
beginning-of-file
replace-string "begining" "beginning"
save-file
set %filename #list
!endwhile
This while loop will process files until the list is
exhausted or there is an error while reading a file.
12.4.7 !RETURN Directive
The !RETURN Directive causes the current macro to exit,
either returning to the caller (if any) or to interactive mode.
For example:
; Check the monitor type and set %mtyp
!if &sres "CGA"
set %mtyp 1
!return
!else
set %mtyp 2
!endif
insert-string "You are on a MONOCHROME machine!~n"
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Reference Manual
Appendix A
MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and Startup Files
When EMACS first executes, it always searches for a file,
called .emacsrc under most UNIX systems or emacs.rc on most other
systems which it will execute as EMACS macros before it reads in
the named source files. This file normally contains EMACS macroes
to bind the function keys to useful functions and load various
usefull macros. The contents of this file will probably vary
from system to system and can be modified by the user as desired.
When searching for this file, EMACS looks for it in this
order. First, it attempts to find a definition for "HOME" in the
environment. It will look in that directory first. Then it
searches all the directories listed in the "PATH" environment
variable. Then it looks through a list of predefined standard
directories which vary from system to system. Finally, failing
all of these, it looks in the current directory. This is also
the same method EMACS uses to look up any files to execute, and
to find it's help file EMACS.HLP.
On computers that call up EMACS via a command line
process, such as MSDOS and UNIX, there are different things that
can be added to the command line to control the way EMACS
operates. These can be switches, which are a dash ('-') followed
by a letter, and possible other parameters, or a startup file
specifier, which is an at sign '@' followed by a file name.
@<file> This causes the named file to be executed instead
of the standard emacs.rc file before emacs reads
in any other files. More than one of these can be
placed on the command line, and they will be
executed in the order that they appear.
-A This flag causes emacs to automatically run the
startup file "error.cmd" instead of emacs.rc. This
is used by various C compilers for error
processing (for example, Mark Williams C).
-E The following source files on the command line can
be edited (as opposed to being in VIEW mode). This
is mainly used to cancel the effects of the -v
switch used previously in the same command line.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and
Startup Files
-G<num> Upon entering EMACS, position the cursor at the
<num> line of the first file.
-K<key> This key tells emacs to place the source files in
CRYPT mode and read it in using <key> as the
encryption key. If no key is listed immediatly
after the -K switch, EMACS will prompt for a key,
and not echo it as it is typed.
-R This places EMACS in "restricted mode" where any
commands allowing the user to read or write any
files other than the ones listed on the command
line are disabled. Also all commands allowing the
user access to the operating system are disabled.
This makes EMACS very useful as a "safe"
environment for use within other applications and
especially used as a remote editor for a BBS or
electronic bulletin board system.
-S<string> After EMACS is started, it automatically searches
for <string> in the first source file.
-V This tells EMACS that all the following sources
files on the command line should be in VIEW mode
to prevent any changes being made to them.
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MicroEMACS commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix B
MicroEMACS commands
Below is a complete list of the commands in EMACS, the
keys normally used to do the command, and what the command does.
Remember, on some computers there may also be additional ways of
using a command (cursor keys and special function keys for
example).
Command Binding Meaning
abort-command ^G This allows the user to abort out of any
command that is waiting for input
add-mode ^X-M Add a mode to the current buffer
add-global-mode M-M Add a global mode for all new buffers
apropos M-A List out commands whose name contains
the string specified
backward-character ^B Move one character to the left
begin-macro ^X-( Begin recording a keyboard macro
beginning-of-file M-< Move to the beginning of the file in
the current buffer
beginning-of-line ^A Move to the beginning of the current line
bind-to-key M-K Bind a key to a function
buffer-position ^X-= List the position of the cursor in the
current window on the command line
case-region-lower ^X-^L Make a marked region all lower case
case-region-upper ^X-^U Make a marked region all upper case
case-word-capitalize M-C Capitalize the following word
case-word-lower M-L Lower case the following word
case-word-upper M-U Upper case the following word
change-file-name ^X-N Change the name of the file in the
current buffer
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS commands
change-screen-size M-^S Change the number of lines of the screen
currently being used
change-screen-width M-^T Change the number of columns of the
screen currently being used
clear-and-redraw ^L Clear the physical screen and redraw it
clear-message-line (none) Clear the command line
copy-region M-W Copy the currently marked region into
the kill buffer
count-words M-^C Count how many words, lines and
characters are in the current marked region
ctlx-prefix ^X Change the key used as the ^X prefix
delete-blank-lines ^X-^O Delete all blank lines around the cursor
delete-buffer ^X-K Delete a buffer which is not being
currently displayed in a window
delete-mode ^X-^M Turn off a mode in the current buffer
delete-global-mode M-^M Turn off a global mode
delete-next-character ^D Delete the character following the cursor
delete-next-word M-D Delete the word following the cursor
delete-other-windows ^X-1 Make the current window cover the entire
screen
delete-previous-character^H Delete the character to the left of the
cursor
delete-previous-word M-^H Delete the word to the left of the cursor
delete-window ^X-0 Remove the current window from the screen
describe-bindings (none) Make a list of all legal commands
describe-key ^X-? Describe what command is bound to a
keystroke sequence
detab-line ^X-^D Change all tabs in a line to the
equivelant spaces
end-macro ^X-) stop recording a keyboard macro
end-of-file M-> Move cursor to the end of the current
buffer
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MicroEMACS commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
end-of-line ^E Move to the end of the current line
entab-line ^X-^E Change multiple spaces to tabs where
possible
exchange-point-and-mark ^X-^X Move cursor to the last marked spot,
make the original position be marked
execute-buffer (none) Execute a buffer as a macro
execute-command-line (none) Execute a line typed on the command
line as a macro command
execute-file FNB Execute a file as a macro
execute-macro ^X-E Execute the keyboard macro (play back
the recorded keystrokes)
execute-macro-<n> (none) Execute numbered macro <N> where <N> is
an integer from 1 to 40
execute-named-command M-X Execute a command by name
execute-procedure M-^E Execute a procedure by name
execute-program ^X-$ Execute a program directly (not through
an intervening shell)
exit-emacs ^X-^C Exit EMACS. If there are unwritten,
changed buffers EMACS will ask to confirm
fill-paragraph M-Q Fill the current paragraph
filter-buffer ^X-# Filter the current buffer through an
external filter
find-file ^X-^F Find a file to edit in the current window
forward-character ^F Move cursor one character to the right
goto-line M-G Goto a numbered line
goto-matching-fence M-^F Goto the matching fence
grow-window ^X-^ Make the current window larger
handle-tab ^I Insert a tab or set tab stops
hunt-forward FN= Hunt for the next match of the last
search string
hunt-backward FN> Hunt for the last match of the last
search string
help M-? Read EMACS.HLP into a buffer and display it
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS commands
i-shell ^X-C Shell up to a new command processor
incremental-search ^X-S Search for a string, incrementally
insert-file ^X-^I insert a file at the cursor in the
current file
insert-space ^C Insert a space to the right of the cursor
insert-string (none) Insert a string at the cursor
kill-paragraph M-^W Delete the current paragraph
kill-region ^W Delete the current marked region, moving
it to the kill buffer
kill-to-end-of-line ^K Delete the rest of the current line
list-buffers ^X-^B List all existing buffers
meta-prefix <ESC> Key used to precede all META commands
move-window-down ^X-^N Move all the lines in the current window
down
move-window-up ^X-^P Move all the lines in the current window up
name-buffer M-^N Change the name of the current buffer
newline ^M Insert a <NL> at the cursor
newline-and-indent ^J Insert a <NL> at the cursor and indent
the new line the same as the preceeding
line
next-buffer ^X-X Bring the next buffer in the list into
the current window
next-line ^N Move the cursor down one line
next-page ^V Move the cursor down one page
next-paragraph M-N Move cursor to the next paragraph
next-window ^X-O Move cursor to the next window
next-word M-F Move cursor to the beginning of the
next word
nop M-FNC Does nothing
open-line ^O Open a line at the cursor
overwrite-string (none) Overwrite a string at the cursor
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MicroEMACS commands MicroEMACS Reference Manual
pipe-command ^X-@ Execute an external command and place
its output in a buffer
previous-line ^P Move cursor up one line
previous-page ^Z Move cursor up one page
previous-paragraph M-P Move back one paragraph
previous-window ^X-P Move the cursor to the last window
previous-word M-B Move the cursor to the beginning of the
word to the left of the cursor
query-replace-string M-^R Replace all of one string with another
string, interactively querying the user
quick-exit M-Z Exit EMACS, writing out all changed buffers
quote-character ^Q Insert the next character literally
read-file ^X-^R Read a file into the current buffer
redraw-display M-^L Redraw the display, centering the
current line
resize-window ^X-W Change the number of lines in the
current window
restore-window (none) Move cursor to the last saved window
replace-string M-R Replace all occurences of one string
with another string from the cursor
to the end of the buffer
reverse-incremental-search^X-R Search backwards, incrementally
run M-^E Execute a named procedure
save-file ^X-^S Save the current buffer if it is changed
save-window (none) Remember current window (to restore later)
scroll-next-up M-^Z Scroll the next window up
scroll-next-down M-^V Scroll the next window down
search-forward ^S Search for a string
search-reverse ^R Search backwards for a string
select-buffer ^X-B Select a buffer to display in the
current window
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS commands
set ^X-A Set a variable to a value
set-encryption-key M-E Set the encryption key of the current
buffer
set-fill-column ^X-F Set the current fill column
set-mark Set the mark
shell-command ^X-! Causes an external shell to execute
a command
shrink-window ^X-^Z Make the current window smaller
split-current-window ^X-2 Split the current window in two
store-macro (none) Store the following macro lines to a
numbered macro
store-procedure (none) Store the following macro lines to a
named procedure
transpose-characters ^T Transpose the character at the cursor
with the character to the left
trim-line ^X-^T Trim any trailing whitespace from line
unbind-key M-^K Unbind a key from a function
universal-argument ^U Execute the following command 4 times
unmark-buffer M-~ Unmark the current buffer (so it is
no longer changed)
update-screen (none) Force a screen update during macro
execution
view-file ^X-^V Find a file,and put it in view mode
wrap-word M-FNW Wrap the current word, this is an
internal function
write-file ^X-^W Write the current buffer under a new
file name
write-message (none) Display a string on the command line
yank ^Y yank the kill buffer into the current
buffer at the cursor
64
MicroEMACS Bindings MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix C
MicroEMACS Bindings
Below is a complete list of the key bindings used in
MicroEMACS. This can be used as a wall chart reference for
MicroEMACS commands.
Default Key Bindings for MicroEmacs 3.9e
^A Move to start of line ESC A Apropos (list some commands)
^B Move backward by characters ESC B Backup by words
^C Insert space ESC C Initial capitalize word
^D Forward delete ESC D Delete forward word
^E Goto end of line ESC E Reset Encryption Key
^F Move forward by characters ESC F Advance by words
^G Abort out of things ESC G Go to a line
^H Backward delete
^I Insert tab/Set tab stops
^J Insert <NL>, then indent
^K Kill forward ESC K Bind Key to function
^L Refresh the screen ESC L Lower case word
^M Insert <NL> ESC M Add global mode
^N Move forward by lines ESC N Goto End paragraph
^O Open up a blank line
^P Move backward by lines ESC P Goto Begining of paragraph
^Q Insert literal ESC Q Fill current paragraph
^R Search backwards ESC R Search and replace
^S Search forward
^T Transpose characters
^U Repeat command four times ESC U Upper case word
^V Move forward by pages ESC V Move backward by pages
^W Kill region ESC W Copy region to kill buffer
^Y Yank back from killbuffer ESC X Execute named command
^Z Move backward by pages ESC Z Save all buffers and exit
ESC ^C Count words in region ESC ~ Unmark current buffer
ESC ^E Execute named procedure
ESC ^F Goto matching fence ESC ! Reposition window
ESC ^H Delete backward word ESC < Move to start of buffer
ESC ^K Unbind Key from function ESC > Move to end of buffer
ESC ^L Reposition window ESC . Set mark
ESC ^M Delete global mode ESC space Set mark
ESC ^N Rename current buffer ESC rubout Delete backward word
ESC ^R Search & replace w/query rubout Backward delete
ESC ^S Change screen rows
ESC ^T Change screen columns
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual MicroEMACS Bindings
ESC ^V Scroll next window down
ESC ^W Delete Paragraph
ESC ^Z Scroll next window up
^X ? Describe a key ^X ! Run 1 command in a shell
^X = Show the cursor position ^X @ Pipe shell command to buffer
^X ^ Enlarge display window ^X # Filter buffer thru shell filter
^X 0 Delete current window ^X $ Execute an external program
^X 1 Delete other windows ^X ( Begin macro
^X 2 Split current window ^X ) End macro
^X A Set variable value
^X ^B Display buffer list ^X B Switch a window to a buffer
^X ^C Exit MicroEMACS ^X C Start a new command processor
^X ^D Detab line ^X D Suspend MicroEMACS (BSD4.2 only)
^X ^E Entab line ^X E Execute macro
^X ^F Find file ^X F Set fill column
^X ^I Insert file
^X K Delete buffer
^X ^L Lower case region
^X ^M Delete Mode ^X M Add a mode
^X ^N Move window down ^X N Rename current filename
^X ^O Delete blank lines ^X O Move to the next window
^X ^P Move window up ^X P Move to the previous window
^X ^R Get a file from disk ^X R Incremental reverse search
^X ^S Save current file ^X S Incremental forward search
^X ^T Trim line (Incremental search
^X ^U Upper case region not always availible)
^X ^V View file
^X ^W Write a file to disk ^X W resize Window
^X ^X Swap "." and mark ^X X Use next buffer
^X ^Z Shrink window ^X Z Enlarge display window
Usable Modes
WRAP Lines going past right margin "wrap" to a new line
VIEW Read-Only mode where no modifications are allowed
CMODE Change behavior of some commands to work better with C
EXACT Exact case matching on search strings
OVER Overwrite typed characters instead of inserting them
CRYPT Current buffer will be encrypted on write, decrypted on read
MAGIC Use regular expression matching in searches
ASAVE Save the file every 256 inserted characters
WHITE/CYAN/MAGENTA/YELLOW/BLUE/RED/GREEN/BLACK Sets foreground color
white/cyan/magenta/yellow/blue/red/green/black Sets background color
66
Supported machines MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix D
Supported machines
The following table lists all the hardware/compilers for
which I currently support MicroEMACS. This is not exclusive of
all machines which MicroEMACS will run on, but I have either run
it myself, or had a first hand report of it running.
Hardware OS Compiler Comments
VAX 780 UNIX V5 native
UNIX V7 native
BSD 4.2 native job control supported
*VMS native only some terminals
supported
NCR Tower UNIX V5 native
Fortune 32:16 UNIX V7 native
IBM-PC MSDOS LATTICE 2.15 Large CODE/Large DATA
2.0 & 3.2 AZTEC 3.4e Small CODE/Large DATA
TURBO C v1.00 LARGE memory model
*MSC 4.0
*MWC 86
SCO XENIX native
HP150 MSDOS Lattice 2.15 Function key labels
for the touch screen
HP110 MSDOS Lattice 2.15
Aztec 3.4e
*Data General 10
MSDOS Lattice 2.15
*Texas Instruments Professional
MSDOS Lattice 2.15
Amiga Intuition Lattice 3.03 no mouse or menus yet
*Aztec 3
ST520 TOS Mark Williams C Spawns under MSH
Lattice 3.10 (no shell commands)
Systems to be supported (ie some code is already written:)
Macintosh Finder 5.0 Aztec
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Supported machines
*means that I do not own or have access to the listed compiler and/or
machine and must rely upon others to help support it.
68
Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Appendix E
Machine Dependent Notes
This appendix lists some notes specific to individual
implementations of MicroEMACS. Every attempt has been made to
allow EMACS to be identical on all machines, but we have also
tried to take advantage of function keys, cursor keys, mice, and
special screen modes where possible.
E.1 IBM-PC/XT/AT and its clones
The IBM-PC family of computers is supported with a
variety of different display adapters. EMACS will attempt to
discover what adapter is connected and use the proper driver for
it. Below is a list of the currently supported video adapters:
Adapter $sres Original mode used
Monochrome Graphics Adapter MONO MONO
Color Graphics Adapter CGA CGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter EGA CGA
EMACS also takes advantege of various function keys and
the keys on the keypad on an IBM-PC. The function keys are
initially not bound to any particular functions (except by the
emacs.rc startup file), but the keypad keys do default to the
following:
Keypad key Function
Home beginning-of-file
CSRS UP previous-line
Pg Up previous-page
CSRS LEFT backward-character
CSRS RIGHT forward-character
End end-of-file
CSRS DOWN next-line
Pg Dn Next-page
All these special keys are indicated in EMACS macroes by
use of the FN prefix. Below is a list of many of the keys and
the codes used to specify them. Also the codes may be gotten by
using the describe-key (^X ?) command on the suspect key.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
IBM PC function keys in MicroEmacs
function Function ^function Alt-function
f1) FN; FNT FN^ FNh
f2) FN< FNU FN_ FNi
f3) FN= FNV FN` FNj
f4) FN> FNW FNa FNk
f5) FN? FNX FNb FNl
f6) FN@ FNY FNc FNm
f7) FNA FNZ FNd FNn
f8) FNB FN[ FNe FNo
f9) FNC FN\ FNf FNp
f10) FND FN] FNg FNq
home) FNG FNw
CsUp) FNH
PgUp) FNI FNa(umlaut) {Alt 132}
CsLf) FNK FNs
5 )
CsRt) FNM FNt
End) FNO FNu
CsDn) FNP
PgDn) FNQ FNv
Ins) FNR
Del) FNS
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
E.2 HP 150
This machine from Hewlett Packard is very unusual for an
MSDOS machine. It has a touch screen and is very function key
oriented. An additional command, label-function-key allows you
to place labels on the on screen function key labels. A numeric
argument indicates which function key to label (one through
eight) and then the program prompts for a 16 character label,
which will be used as two lines of eight characters. To label
function key three with "save file" from a macro, you would use:
3 label-function-key "save file"
Notice the 4 spaces after "save". This forces "file" to
begin on the second line of the label.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
E.3 Atari 520/1040ST
The ATARI ST family of computers have a dual personality.
They may use either a monochrome or a color screen. EMACS
supports two screen resolutions on each monitor.
Monitor $sres size #color $palette format
Color LOW 40x25 16 000111222333444555666777
MEDIUM 80x25 4 000111222333
Mono HIGH 80x25 2 000
DENSE 80x50 2 000
The $palette environment variable can be used to change
what color is associated with each color name. With a color
monitor, each group of three digits indicates an octal number
specifying the RED, GREEN and BLUE levels of that color. Each
color digit can vary from 0 to 7. For example, the initial
setting of $palette in LOW resolution is:
000700070770007707077777
which broken up is:
000 700 070 770 007 707 077 777
which means:
000 Black
700 Red
070 Green
770 Yellow
007 Blue
707 Magenta
077 Cyan
777 White
Also the mouse generates FN prefix codes when moved, or
when one of the two buttons is pressed. Initially the movement of
the mouse is bound to movement of the cursor, and the left mouse
button generates a set-mark (M-space) command. The cursor keys
and the function keys are bound similarly to to IBM-PC.
Files generated by EMACS on the ATARI ST have a single
return character at the end of each line, unlike the desktop
files which want to have tow returns. This makes it display files
strangly from GEM's [SHOW] option, but makes the files port to
other computers much nicer.
Currently, when operating under the Mark Williams MSH
program, EMACS can shell out and perform external commands. This
72
Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
capability will be added later for the Beckmeyer shell and under
GEMDOS.
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Machine Dependent Notes
E.4 Amiga 1000
The Commodore AMIGA 1000 version of MicroEMACS does not
have extensive support of the mouse or of pull down menus as of
yet. It does however come up in a window, and it is possible to
re-size it to run in different sized windows. The M-^S change-
screen-size takes its numeric argument as the new number of lines
for EMACS to use. The M-^T change-screen-width command allows
you to change the number of columns EMACS will use. The defaults
for these are 23 lines and 77 characters across for a full screen
window.
Note about Compiling MicroEMACS
If you are compiling the sources on the AMIGA
to produce an executable image, and you are using the
Lattice compiler, be sure to give the CLI command
'STACK 40000' before compiling to make sure the
compiler has sufficient stack space to successfully
complete compiliation.
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Machine Dependent Notes MicroEMACS Reference Manual
E.5 UNIX V5, V7, and BSD4.[23]
MicroEMACS under UNIX utilizes the TERMCAP library to
provide machine independent screen functions. Make sure that
termcap is availible and properly set on your account before
attempting to use MicroEMACS.
Under systems which support job control, you can use the
^X-D suspend-emacs command to place EMACS into the background.
This carries a much smaller overhead than bringing up a new shell
under EMACS. EMACS will properly redraw the screen when you
bring it back to the foreground.
If the symbol VT100 has been set to 1 in the estruct.h
options file, EMACS will recognize the key sequence <ESC>[ as the
lead in sequence for the FN function key prefix.
With the addition of some very machine/operating system
specific code, EMACS can prevent two or more people from
modifying the same file at the same time. The upper level of a
set of functions to provide file locking exist in the source file
LOCK.C. It requires two machine specific functions written and
linked into EMACS for it to operate properly.
char *dolock(fname)
char *fname;
dolock() locks a file, preventing others from modifying it. If
it succeeds, it returns NULL, otherwise it returns a pointer to
a string in the form "LOCK ERROR: explaination".
char *undolock(fname)
char *fname;
undolock() unlocks a file, allowing others to modifying it. If
it succeeds, it returns NULL, otherwise it returns a pointer to
a string in the form "LOCK ERROR: explaination".
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MicroEMACS Reference Manual Mode Flags
Appendix F
Mode Flags
The two environment variables, $cmode and $gmode, contain
a number the corresponds to the modes set for the current buffer
and the editor as a whole. These are encoded as the sum of the
following numbers for each of the possible modes:
WRAP 1 Word wrap
CMODE 2 C indentation and fence match
SPELL 4 Interactive spell checking (Not Implemented Yet)
EXACT 8 Exact matching for searches
VIEW 16 Read-only buffer
OVER 32 Overwrite mode
MAGIC 64 Regular expressions in search
CRYPT 128 Encrytion mode active
ASAVE 256 Auto-save mode
So, if you wished to set the current buffer to have
CMODE, EXACT, and MAGIC on, and all the others off, you would add
up the values for those three, CMODE 2 + EXACT 8 + MAGIC 64 =
74, and use a statement like:
set $cmode 74
or, use the binary or operator to combine the different
modes:
set $cmode &bor &bor 2 8 64
Internal Flags
Some of the ways EMACS controls its internal functions
can be modified by the value in the $gflags environment variable.
Each bit in this variable will be used to control a different
function.
GFFLAG 1 If this bit is set to zero, EMACS will not
automatically switch to the buffer of the
first file after executing the startup macros.
76
Index MicroEMACS Reference Manual
Index
.emacsrc 57 delete-mode 27
<NL> 14 delete-next-
character 9
A delete-next-word 9
add-global-mode 27 delete-previous-
add-mode 3, 27 character 8
ASAVE mode 27 delete-previous-word
9
B detab-line 38
backward-character 4
BBS 58 E
begin-macro 43 emacs.rc 57
beginning-of-file 4, encryption 28
9 end-macro 43
beginning-of-line 4 end-of-file 4
buffer 5, 7, 24 end-of-line 4
entab-lines 38
C error parsing 57
case-region-lower 37 EXACT mode 29
case-word-capitalize execute-buffer 45
37 execute-file 45
case-word-lower 37 execute-macro 43
case-word-upper 37 execute-macro-<n> 45
change-screen-size execute-procedure 45
74 execute-program 40
change-screen-width exit-emacs 9
74
CMODE mode 28 F
color 27 file locking 75
command.com 40 fill-paragraph 8, 36
command line 18 fill column 31
command processor 40 filter 40
control-x 1 find-file 19, 24
control key 1 forward-character 4
copy-region 12
CRYPT mode 28, 58 G
cshell 40 grow-window 20
cursor keys 4
H
D handle-tab 38
default string 15 Help File 57
delete-blank-lines 9 HOME environment
delete-buffer 25 variable 57
delete-global-mode
27
77
MicroEMACS Reference Manual Index
refresh-screen 21
I replace-string 16,
i-shell 41 30
resize-window 20
K restricted mode 58
kill-region 11 run 45
kill-to-end-of-line
9 S
kill buffer 12 save-file 5
screen 7
L scroll-next-down 19
label-function-key scroll-next-up 19
71 search-forward 14
list-buffers 25, 27 search-reverse 15
select-buffer 24
M set-encryption-key
MAGIC mode 29 28
mark 11 set-fill-column 36
meta key 1 set-mark 11
mode line 2, 7 shell 40
modes 3, 27 shell-command 40
move-window-down 19 shrink-window 20
move-window-up 19 special keys 1
split-window 18
N startup files 57
newline 1 store-procedure 45
next-buffer 24 suspend-emacs 41, 75
next-line 4 switches 57
next-paragraph 4
T
O tab handling 38
open-line 8 termcap 75
open-window 18 text window 2
OVER mode 30
V
P VIEW mode 31
PATH environment
variable 57 W
pipe-command 40 window 7
point 11 windows 2, 18
previous-line 4 Creating 18
previous-paragraph 4 Deleting 19
previous-window 18 Resizing 20
previous-word 4 wrap-word 31
procedures 45 WRAP mode 31
wrapping text 36
Q write-file 5
query-replace 16
query-replace-string Y
16, 30 yank 12
R
redraw-display 20
78
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Basic Concepts 1
1.1 Keys and the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Parts and Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Entering Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.5 Basic cursor movement . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.6 Saving your text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2 Basic Editing--Simple Insertions and
Deletions 7
2.1 A Word About Windows, Buffers, Screens, and
Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Insertions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Deletions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 3 Using Regions 11
3.1 Defining and Deleting a Region . . . . . . 11
3.2 Yanking a Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 4 Search and Replace 14
4.1 Forward Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.2 Exact Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.3 Backward Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.4 Searching and Replacing . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.5 Query-Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 5 Windows 18
5.1 Creating Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.2 Deleting Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.3 Resizing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.4 Repositioning within a Window . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 6 Buffers 24
Chapter 7 Modes 27
7.1 ASAVE mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.2 CMODE mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3 CRYPT mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.4 EXACT mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.5 MAGIC mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.6 OVER mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.7 WRAP mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.8 VIEW mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Chapter 8 Files 33
Chapter 9 Screen Formatting 36
9.1 Wrapping Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.2 Reformatting Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.3 Changing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
9.4 Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 10 Access to the Outside World 40
Chapter 11 Keyboard Macros 43
Chapter 12 MicroEMACS Macros 45
12.1 Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
12.2 Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
12.2.1 Environmental Variables . . . . . . . 47
12.2.2 User variables . . . . . . . . . . . 49
12.2.3 Buffer Variables . . . . . . . . . . 49
12.2.4 Interactive variables . . . . . . . . 50
12.3 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
12.4 Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
12.4.1 !ENDM Directive . . . . . . . . . . . 53
12.4.2 !FORCE Directive . . . . . . . . . . 53
12.4.3 !IF, !ELSE, and !ENDIF Directives . . 54
12.4.4 !GOTO Directive . . . . . . . . . . . 54
12.4.5 !WHILE and !ENDWHILE Directives . . . 55
12.4.6 !BREAK Directive . . . . . . . . . . 55
12.4.7 !RETURN Directive . . . . . . . . . . 56
Appendix A MicroEMACS Command Line Switches and
Startup Files 57
Appendix B MicroEMACS commands 59
Appendix C MicroEMACS Bindings 65
Appendix D Supported machines 67
Appendix E Machine Dependent Notes 69
E.1 IBM-PC/XT/AT and its clones . . . . . . . . 69
E.2 HP 150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
E.3 Atari 520/1040ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
E.4 Amiga 1000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
E.5 UNIX V5, V7, and BSD4.[23] . . . . . . . . 75
Appendix F Mode Flags 76
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