GNU Emacs Reference Card

(for version 24)

Starting Emacs
To enter GNU Emacs 24, just type its name: emacs
Leaving Emacs
suspend Emacs (or iconify it under X) C-z
exit Emacs permanently C-x C-c
Files
read a le into Emacs C-x C-f
save a le back to disk C-x C-s
save all les C-x s
insert contents of another le into this buer C-x i
replace this le with the le you really want C-x C-v
write buer to a specied le C-x C-w
toggle read-only status of buer C-x C-q
Getting Help
The help system is simple. Type C-h (or F1) and follow the di-
rections. If you are a rst-time user, type C-h t for a tutorial.
remove help window C-x 1
scroll help window C-M-v
apropos: show commands matching a string C-h a
describe the function a key runs C-h k
describe a function C-h f
get mode-specic information C-h m
Error Recovery
abort partially typed or executing command C-g
recover les lost by a system crash M-x recover-session
undo an unwanted change C-x u, C-_ or C-/
restore a buer to its original contents M-x revert-buffer
redraw garbaged screen C-l
Incremental Search
search forward C-s
search backward C-r
regular expression search C-M-s
reverse regular expression search C-M-r
select previous search string M-p
select next later search string M-n
exit incremental search RET
undo eect of last character DEL
abort current search C-g
Use C-s or C-r again to repeat the search in either direction. If
Emacs is still searching, C-g cancels only the part not matched.
c 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Permissions on back.
Motion
entity to move over backward forward
character C-b C-f
word M-b M-f
line C-p C-n
go to line beginning (or end) C-a C-e
sentence M-a M-e
paragraph M-{ M-}
page C-x [ C-x ]
sexp C-M-b C-M-f
function C-M-a C-M-e
go to buer beginning (or end) M-< M->
scroll to next screen C-v
scroll to previous screen M-v
scroll left C-x <
scroll right C-x >
scroll current line to center, top, bottom C-l
goto line M-g g
back to indentation M-m
Killing and Deleting
entity to kill backward forward
character (delete, not kill) DEL C-d
word M-DEL M-d
line (to end of) M-0 C-k C-k
sentence C-x DEL M-k
sexp M-- C-M-k C-M-k
kill region C-w
copy region to kill ring M-w
kill through next occurrence of char M-z char
yank back last thing killed C-y
replace last yank with previous kill M-y
Marking
set mark here C-@ or C-SPC
exchange point and mark C-x C-x
set mark arg words away M-@
mark paragraph M-h
mark page C-x C-p
mark sexp C-M-@
mark function C-M-h
mark entire buer C-x h
Query Replace
interactively replace a text string M-%
using regular expressions M-x query-replace-regexp
Valid responses in query-replace mode are
replace this one, go on to next SPC or y
replace this one, dont move ,
skip to next without replacing DEL or n
replace all remaining matches !
back up to the previous match ^
exit query-replace RET
enter recursive edit (C-M-c to exit) C-r
Multiple Windows
When two commands are shown, the second is a similar com-
mand for a frame instead of a window.
delete all other windows C-x 1 C-x 5 1
split window, above and below C-x 2 C-x 5 2
delete this window C-x 0 C-x 5 0
split window, side by side C-x 3
scroll other window C-M-v
switch cursor to another window C-x o C-x 5 o
select buer in other window C-x 4 b C-x 5 b
display buer in other window C-x 4 C-o C-x 5 C-o
nd le in other window C-x 4 f C-x 5 f
nd le read-only in other window C-x 4 r C-x 5 r
run Dired in other window C-x 4 d C-x 5 d
nd tag in other window C-x 4 . C-x 5 .
grow window taller C-x ^
shrink window narrower C-x {
grow window wider C-x }
Formatting
indent current line (mode-dependent) TAB
indent region (mode-dependent) C-M-\
indent sexp (mode-dependent) C-M-q
indent region rigidly arg columns C-x TAB
indent for comment M-;
insert newline after point C-o
move rest of line vertically down C-M-o
delete blank lines around point C-x C-o
join line with previous (with arg, next) M-^
delete all white space around point M-\
put exactly one space at point M-SPC
ll paragraph M-q
set ll column to arg C-x f
set prex each line starts with C-x .
set face M-o
Case Change
uppercase word M-u
lowercase word M-l
capitalize word M-c
uppercase region C-x C-u
lowercase region C-x C-l
The Minibuer
The following keys are dened in the minibuer.
complete as much as possible TAB
complete up to one word SPC
complete and execute RET
show possible completions ?
fetch previous minibuer input M-p
fetch later minibuer input or default M-n
regexp search backward through history M-r
regexp search forward through history M-s
abort command C-g
Type C-x ESC ESC to edit and repeat the last command that
used the minibuer. Type F10 to activate menu bar items on
text terminals.
GNU Emacs Reference Card
Buers
select another buer C-x b
list all buers C-x C-b
kill a buer C-x k
Transposing
transpose characters C-t
transpose words M-t
transpose lines C-x C-t
transpose sexps C-M-t
Spelling Check
check spelling of current word M-$
check spelling of all words in region M-x ispell-region
check spelling of entire buer M-x ispell-buffer
Tags
nd a tag (a denition) M-.
nd next occurrence of tag C-u M-.
specify a new tags le M-x visit-tags-table
regexp search on all les in tags table M-x tags-search
run query-replace on all the les M-x tags-query-replace
continue last tags search or query-replace M-,
Shells
execute a shell command M-!
run a shell command on the region M-|
lter region through a shell command C-u M-|
start a shell in window *shell* M-x shell
Rectangles
copy rectangle to register C-x r r
kill rectangle C-x r k
yank rectangle C-x r y
open rectangle, shifting text right C-x r o
blank out rectangle C-x r c
prex each line with a string C-x r t
Abbrevs
add global abbrev C-x a g
add mode-local abbrev C-x a l
add global expansion for this abbrev C-x a i g
add mode-local expansion for this abbrev C-x a i l
explicitly expand abbrev C-x a e
expand previous word dynamically M-/
Miscellaneous
numeric argument C-u num
negative argument M--
quoted insert C-q char
Regular Expressions
any single character except a newline . (dot)
zero or more repeats *
one or more repeats +
zero or one repeat ?
quote regular expression special character c \c
alternative (or) \|
grouping \( . . . \)
same text as nth group \n
at word break \b
not at word break \B
entity match start match end
line ^ $
word \< \>
buer \ \
class of characters match these match others
explicit set [ . . . ] [^ . . . ]
word-syntax character \w \W
character with syntax c \sc \Sc
International Character Sets
specify principal language C-x RET l
show all input methods M-x list-input-methods
enable or disable input method C-\
set coding system for next command C-x RET c
show all coding systems M-x list-coding-systems
choose preferred coding system M-x prefer-coding-system
Info
enter the Info documentation reader C-h i
nd specied function or variable in Info C-h S
Moving within a node:
scroll forward SPC
scroll reverse DEL
beginning of node . (dot)
Moving between nodes:
next node n
previous node p
move up u
select menu item by name m
select nth menu item by number (19) n
follow cross reference (return with l) f
return to last node you saw l
return to directory node d
go to top node of Info le t
go to any node by name g
Other:
run Info tutorial h
look up a subject in the indices i
search nodes for regexp s
quit Info q
Registers
save region in register C-x r s
insert register contents into buer C-x r i
save value of point in register C-x r SPC
jump to point saved in register C-x r j
Keyboard Macros
start dening a keyboard macro C-x (
end keyboard macro denition C-x )
execute last-dened keyboard macro C-x e
append to last keyboard macro C-u C-x (
name last keyboard macro M-x name-last-kbd-macro
insert Lisp denition in buer M-x insert-kbd-macro
Commands Dealing with Emacs Lisp
eval sexp before point C-x C-e
eval current defun C-M-x
eval region M-x eval-region
read and eval minibuer M-:
load from standard system directory M-x load-library
Simple Customization
customize variables and faces M-x customize
Making global key bindings in Emacs Lisp (example):
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c g") search-forward)
(global-set-key (kbd "M-#") query-replace-regexp)
Writing Commands
(defun command-name (args)
"documentation" (interactive "template")
body)
An example:
(defun this-line-to-top-of-window (line)
"Reposition current line to top of window.
With ARG, put point on line ARG."
(interactive "P")
(recenter (if (null line)
0
(prefix-numeric-value line))))
The interactive spec says how to read arguments interac-
tively. Type C-h f interactive for more details.
Copyright c 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
For GNU Emacs version 24
Designed by Stephen Gildea
Permission is granted to make and distribute modied or unmodied
copies of this card provided the copyright notice and this permission
notice are preserved on all copies.
For copies of the GNU Emacs manual, see:
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/#Manuals