1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
2 @c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2000-2012
3 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
5 @node Text, Programs, Indentation, Top
6 @chapter Commands for Human Languages
8 @cindex manipulating text
10 This chapter describes Emacs commands that act on @dfn{text}, by
11 which we mean sequences of characters in a human language (as opposed
12 to, say, a computer programming language). These commands act in ways
13 that take into account the syntactic and stylistic conventions of
14 human languages: conventions involving words, sentences, paragraphs,
15 and capital letters. There are also commands for @dfn{filling}, which
16 means rearranging the lines of a paragraph to be approximately equal
17 in length. These commands, while intended primarily for editing text,
18 are also often useful for editing programs.
20 Emacs has several major modes for editing human-language text. If
21 the file contains ordinary text, use Text mode, which customizes Emacs
22 in small ways for the syntactic conventions of text. Outline mode
23 provides special commands for operating on text with an outline
24 structure. Org mode extends Outline mode and turn Emacs into a
25 full-fledged organizer: you can manage TODO lists, store notes and
26 publish them in many formats.
36 Emacs has other major modes for text which contains ``embedded''
37 commands, such as @TeX{} and La@TeX{} (@pxref{TeX Mode}); HTML and
38 SGML (@pxref{HTML Mode}); XML
40 (@pxref{Top,The nXML Mode Manual,,nxml-mode, nXML Mode});
43 (see the nXML mode Info manual, which is distributed with Emacs);
45 and Groff and Nroff (@pxref{Nroff Mode}).
48 If you need to edit pictures made out of text characters (commonly
49 referred to as ``ASCII art''), use Picture mode, a special major mode
50 for editing such pictures.
52 @xref{Picture Mode,,, emacs-xtra, Specialized Emacs Features}.
62 @cindex automatic typing
63 The ``automatic typing'' features may be useful when writing text.
64 @inforef{Top,The Autotype Manual,autotype}.
68 * Words:: Moving over and killing words.
69 * Sentences:: Moving over and killing sentences.
70 * Paragraphs:: Moving over paragraphs.
71 * Pages:: Moving over pages.
72 * Filling:: Filling or justifying text.
73 * Case:: Changing the case of text.
74 * Text Mode:: The major modes for editing text files.
75 * Outline Mode:: Editing outlines.
76 * Org Mode:: The Emacs organizer.
77 * TeX Mode:: Editing TeX and LaTeX files.
78 * HTML Mode:: Editing HTML and SGML files.
79 * Nroff Mode:: Editing input to the nroff formatter.
80 * Enriched Text:: Editing text "enriched" with fonts, colors, etc.
81 * Text Based Tables:: Commands for editing text-based tables.
82 * Two-Column:: Splitting text columns into separate windows.
88 @cindex Meta commands and words
90 Emacs defines several commands for moving over or operating on
95 Move forward over a word (@code{forward-word}).
97 Move backward over a word (@code{backward-word}).
99 Kill up to the end of a word (@code{kill-word}).
101 Kill back to the beginning of a word (@code{backward-kill-word}).
103 Mark the end of the next word (@code{mark-word}).
105 Transpose two words or drag a word across others
106 (@code{transpose-words}).
109 Notice how these keys form a series that parallels the character-based
110 @kbd{C-f}, @kbd{C-b}, @kbd{C-d}, @key{DEL} and @kbd{C-t}. @kbd{M-@@} is
111 cognate to @kbd{C-@@}, which is an alias for @kbd{C-@key{SPC}}.
116 @findex backward-word
117 The commands @kbd{M-f} (@code{forward-word}) and @kbd{M-b}
118 (@code{backward-word}) move forward and backward over words. These
119 @key{Meta}-based key sequences are analogous to the key sequences
120 @kbd{C-f} and @kbd{C-b}, which move over single characters. The
121 analogy extends to numeric arguments, which serve as repeat counts.
122 @kbd{M-f} with a negative argument moves backward, and @kbd{M-b} with
123 a negative argument moves forward. Forward motion stops right after
124 the last letter of the word, while backward motion stops right before
129 @kbd{M-d} (@code{kill-word}) kills the word after point. To be
130 precise, it kills everything from point to the place @kbd{M-f} would
131 move to. Thus, if point is in the middle of a word, @kbd{M-d} kills
132 just the part after point. If some punctuation comes between point
133 and the next word, it is killed along with the word. (If you wish to
134 kill only the next word but not the punctuation before it, simply do
135 @kbd{M-f} to get the end, and kill the word backwards with
136 @kbd{M-@key{DEL}}.) @kbd{M-d} takes arguments just like @kbd{M-f}.
138 @findex backward-kill-word
140 @kbd{M-@key{DEL}} (@code{backward-kill-word}) kills the word before
141 point. It kills everything from point back to where @kbd{M-b} would
142 move to. For instance, if point is after the space in @w{@samp{FOO,
143 BAR}}, it kills @w{@samp{FOO, }}. If you wish to kill just
144 @samp{FOO}, and not the comma and the space, use @kbd{M-b M-d} instead
145 of @kbd{M-@key{DEL}}.
147 @c Don't index M-t and transpose-words here, they are indexed in
148 @c fixit.texi, in the node "Transpose".
150 @c @findex transpose-words
151 @kbd{M-t} (@code{transpose-words}) exchanges the word before or
152 containing point with the following word. The delimiter characters between
153 the words do not move. For example, @w{@samp{FOO, BAR}} transposes into
154 @w{@samp{BAR, FOO}} rather than @samp{@w{BAR FOO,}}. @xref{Transpose}, for
155 more on transposition.
159 To operate on words with an operation which acts on the region, use
160 the command @kbd{M-@@} (@code{mark-word}). This command sets the mark
161 where @kbd{M-f} would move to. @xref{Marking Objects}, for more
162 information about this command.
164 The word commands' understanding of word boundaries is controlled by
165 the syntax table. Any character can, for example, be declared to be a
166 word delimiter. @xref{Syntax Tables,, Syntax Tables, elisp, The Emacs
167 Lisp Reference Manual}.
169 In addition, see @ref{Position Info} for the @kbd{M-=}
170 (@code{count-words-region}) and @kbd{M-x count-words} commands, which
171 count and report the number of words in the region or buffer.
176 @cindex manipulating sentences
178 The Emacs commands for manipulating sentences and paragraphs are
179 mostly on Meta keys, like the word-handling commands.
183 Move back to the beginning of the sentence (@code{backward-sentence}).
185 Move forward to the end of the sentence (@code{forward-sentence}).
187 Kill forward to the end of the sentence (@code{kill-sentence}).
189 Kill back to the beginning of the sentence (@code{backward-kill-sentence}).
194 @findex backward-sentence
195 @findex forward-sentence
196 The commands @kbd{M-a} (@code{backward-sentence}) and @kbd{M-e}
197 (@code{forward-sentence}) move to the beginning and end of the current
198 sentence, respectively. Their bindings were chosen to resemble
199 @kbd{C-a} and @kbd{C-e}, which move to the beginning and end of a
200 line. Unlike them, @kbd{M-a} and @kbd{M-e} move over successive
201 sentences if repeated.
203 Moving backward over a sentence places point just before the first
204 character of the sentence; moving forward places point right after the
205 punctuation that ends the sentence. Neither one moves over the
206 whitespace at the sentence boundary.
209 @findex kill-sentence
210 Just as @kbd{C-a} and @kbd{C-e} have a kill command, @kbd{C-k}, to
211 go with them, @kbd{M-a} and @kbd{M-e} have a corresponding kill
212 command: @kbd{M-k} (@code{kill-sentence}) kills from point to the end
213 of the sentence. With a positive numeric argument @var{n}, it kills
214 the next @var{n} sentences; with a negative argument @minus{}@var{n},
215 it kills back to the beginning of the @var{n}th preceding sentence.
218 @findex backward-kill-sentence
219 The @kbd{C-x @key{DEL}} (@code{backward-kill-sentence}) kills back
220 to the beginning of a sentence.
222 The sentence commands assume that you follow the American typist's
223 convention of putting two spaces at the end of a sentence. That is, a
224 sentence ends wherever there is a @samp{.}, @samp{?} or @samp{!}
225 followed by the end of a line or two spaces, with any number of
226 @samp{)}, @samp{]}, @samp{'}, or @samp{"} characters allowed in
227 between. A sentence also begins or ends wherever a paragraph begins
228 or ends. It is useful to follow this convention, because it allows
229 the Emacs sentence commands to distinguish between periods that end a
230 sentence and periods that indicate abbreviations.
232 @vindex sentence-end-double-space
233 If you want to use just one space between sentences, you can set the
234 variable @code{sentence-end-double-space} to @code{nil} to make the
235 sentence commands stop for single spaces. However, this has a
236 drawback: there is no way to distinguish between periods that end
237 sentences and those that indicate abbreviations. For convenient and
238 reliable editing, we therefore recommend you follow the two-space
239 convention. The variable @code{sentence-end-double-space} also
240 affects filling (@pxref{Fill Commands}).
243 The variable @code{sentence-end} controls how to recognize the end
244 of a sentence. If non-@code{nil}, its value should be a regular
245 expression, which is used to match the last few characters of a
246 sentence, together with the whitespace following the sentence
247 (@pxref{Regexps}). If the value is @code{nil}, the default, then
248 Emacs computes sentence ends according to various criteria such as the
249 value of @code{sentence-end-double-space}.
251 @vindex sentence-end-without-period
252 Some languages, such as Thai, do not use periods to indicate the end
253 of a sentence. Set the variable @code{sentence-end-without-period} to
254 @code{t} in such cases.
259 @cindex manipulating paragraphs
261 The Emacs commands for manipulating paragraphs are also on Meta keys.
265 Move back to previous paragraph beginning (@code{backward-paragraph}).
267 Move forward to next paragraph end (@code{forward-paragraph}).
269 Put point and mark around this or next paragraph (@code{mark-paragraph}).
274 @findex backward-paragraph
275 @findex forward-paragraph
276 @kbd{M-@{} (@code{backward-paragraph}) moves to the beginning of the
277 current or previous paragraph (see below for the definition of a
278 paragraph). @kbd{M-@}} (@code{forward-paragraph}) moves to the end of
279 the current or next paragraph. If there is a blank line before the
280 paragraph, @kbd{M-@{} moves to the blank line.
283 @findex mark-paragraph
284 When you wish to operate on a paragraph, type @kbd{M-h}
285 (@code{mark-paragraph}) to set the region around it. For example,
286 @kbd{M-h C-w} kills the paragraph around or after point. @kbd{M-h}
287 puts point at the beginning and mark at the end of the paragraph point
288 was in. If point is between paragraphs (in a run of blank lines, or
289 at a boundary), @kbd{M-h} sets the region around the paragraph
290 following point. If there are blank lines preceding the first line of
291 the paragraph, one of these blank lines is included in the region. If
292 the region is already active, the command sets the mark without
293 changing point, and each subsequent @kbd{M-h} further advances the
294 mark by one paragraph.
296 The definition of a paragraph depends on the major mode. In
297 Fundamental mode, as well as Text mode and related modes, a paragraph
298 is separated each neighboring paragraph another by one or more
299 @dfn{blank lines}---lines that are either empty, or consist solely of
300 space, tab and/or formfeed characters. In programming language modes,
301 paragraphs are usually defined in a similar way, so that you can use
302 the paragraph commands even though there are no paragraphs as such in
305 Note that an indented line is @emph{not} itself a paragraph break in
306 Text mode. If you want indented lines to separate paragraphs, use
307 Paragraph-Indent Text mode instead. @xref{Text Mode}.
309 If you set a fill prefix, then paragraphs are delimited by all lines
310 which don't start with the fill prefix. @xref{Filling}.
312 @vindex paragraph-start
313 @vindex paragraph-separate
314 The precise definition of a paragraph boundary is controlled by the
315 variables @code{paragraph-separate} and @code{paragraph-start}. The
316 value of @code{paragraph-start} is a regular expression that should
317 match lines that either start or separate paragraphs
318 (@pxref{Regexps}). The value of @code{paragraph-separate} is another
319 regular expression that should match lines that separate paragraphs
320 without being part of any paragraph (for example, blank lines). Lines
321 that start a new paragraph and are contained in it must match only
322 @code{paragraph-start}, not @code{paragraph-separate}. For example,
323 in Fundamental mode, @code{paragraph-start} is @w{@code{"\f\\|[
324 \t]*$"}}, and @code{paragraph-separate} is @w{@code{"[ \t\f]*$"}}.
330 @cindex formfeed character
331 Within some text files, text is divided into @dfn{pages} delimited
332 by the @dfn{formfeed character} (@acronym{ASCII} code 12, also denoted
333 as @key{control-L}), which is displayed in Emacs as the escape
334 sequence @samp{^L} (@pxref{Text Display}). Traditionally, when such
335 text files are printed to hardcopy, each formfeed character forces a
336 page break. Most Emacs commands treat it just like any other
337 character, so you can insert it with @kbd{C-q C-l}, delete it with
338 @key{DEL}, etc. In addition, Emacs provides commands to move over
339 pages and operate on them.
343 Display the page number of point, and the line number within that page.
345 Move point to previous page boundary (@code{backward-page}).
347 Move point to next page boundary (@code{forward-page}).
349 Put point and mark around this page (or another page) (@code{mark-page}).
351 Count the lines in this page (@code{count-lines-page}).
355 @kbd{M-x what-page} counts pages from the beginning of the file, and
356 counts lines within the page, showing both numbers in the echo area.
361 @findex backward-page
362 The @kbd{C-x [} (@code{backward-page}) command moves point to immediately
363 after the previous page delimiter. If point is already right after a page
364 delimiter, it skips that one and stops at the previous one. A numeric
365 argument serves as a repeat count. The @kbd{C-x ]} (@code{forward-page})
366 command moves forward past the next page delimiter.
370 The @kbd{C-x C-p} command (@code{mark-page}) puts point at the
371 beginning of the current page (after that page delimiter at the
372 front), and the mark at the end of the page (after the page delimiter
375 @kbd{C-x C-p C-w} is a handy way to kill a page to move it
376 elsewhere. If you move to another page delimiter with @kbd{C-x [} and
377 @kbd{C-x ]}, then yank the killed page, all the pages will be properly
378 delimited once again. The reason @kbd{C-x C-p} includes only the
379 following page delimiter in the region is to ensure that.
381 A numeric argument to @kbd{C-x C-p} specifies which page to go to,
382 relative to the current one. Zero means the current page. One means
383 the next page, and @minus{}1 means the previous one.
386 @findex count-lines-page
387 The @kbd{C-x l} command (@code{count-lines-page}) is good for deciding
388 where to break a page in two. It displays in the echo area the total number
389 of lines in the current page, and then divides it up into those preceding
390 the current line and those following, as in
393 Page has 96 (72+25) lines
397 Notice that the sum is off by one; this is correct if point is not at the
400 @vindex page-delimiter
401 The variable @code{page-delimiter} controls where pages begin. Its
402 value is a regular expression that matches the beginning of a line
403 that separates pages (@pxref{Regexps}). The normal value of this
404 variable is @code{"^\f"}, which matches a formfeed character at the
408 @section Filling Text
411 @dfn{Filling} text means breaking it up into lines that fit a
412 specified width. Emacs does filling in two ways. In Auto Fill mode,
413 inserting text with self-inserting characters also automatically fills
414 it. There are also explicit fill commands that you can use when editing
415 text leaves it unfilled.
418 * Auto Fill:: Auto Fill mode breaks long lines automatically.
419 * Fill Commands:: Commands to refill paragraphs and center lines.
420 * Fill Prefix:: Filling paragraphs that are indented or in a comment, etc.
421 * Adaptive Fill:: How Emacs can determine the fill prefix automatically.
425 @subsection Auto Fill Mode
426 @cindex Auto Fill mode
427 @cindex mode, Auto Fill
429 @dfn{Auto Fill} mode is a buffer-local minor mode (@pxref{Minor
430 Modes}) in which lines are broken automatically when they become too
431 wide. Breaking happens only when you type a @key{SPC} or @key{RET}.
434 @item M-x auto-fill-mode
435 Enable or disable Auto Fill mode.
438 In Auto Fill mode, break lines when appropriate.
441 @findex auto-fill-mode
442 The mode command @kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode} toggles Auto Fill mode in
443 the current buffer. With a positive numeric argument, it enables Auto
444 Fill mode, and with a negative argument it disables it. If
445 @code{auto-fill-mode} is called from Lisp with an omitted or
446 @code{nil} argument, it enables Auto Fill mode. To enable Auto Fill
447 mode automatically in certain major modes, add @code{auto-fill-mode}
448 to the mode hooks (@pxref{Major Modes}). When Auto Fill mode is
449 enabled, the mode indicator @samp{Fill} appears in the mode line
452 Auto Fill mode breaks lines automatically at spaces whenever they
453 get longer than the desired width. This line breaking occurs only
454 when you type @key{SPC} or @key{RET}. If you wish to insert a space
455 or newline without permitting line-breaking, type @kbd{C-q @key{SPC}}
456 or @kbd{C-q C-j} respectively. Also, @kbd{C-o} inserts a newline
457 without line breaking.
459 When Auto Fill mode breaks a line, it tries to obey the
460 @dfn{adaptive fill prefix}: if a fill prefix can be deduced from the
461 first and/or second line of the current paragraph, it is inserted into
462 the new line (@pxref{Adaptive Fill}). Otherwise the new line is
463 indented, as though you had typed @key{TAB} on it
464 (@pxref{Indentation}). In a programming language mode, if a line is
465 broken in the middle of a comment, the comment is split by inserting
466 new comment delimiters as appropriate.
468 Auto Fill mode does not refill entire paragraphs; it breaks lines
469 but does not merge lines. Therefore, editing in the middle of a
470 paragraph can result in a paragraph that is not correctly filled. To
471 fill it, call the explicit fill commands
473 described in the next section.
476 (@pxref{Fill Commands}).
480 @subsection Explicit Fill Commands
484 Fill current paragraph (@code{fill-paragraph}).
486 Set the fill column (@code{set-fill-column}).
487 @item M-x fill-region
488 Fill each paragraph in the region (@code{fill-region}).
489 @item M-x fill-region-as-paragraph
490 Fill the region, considering it as one paragraph.
496 @findex fill-paragraph
497 The command @kbd{M-q} (@code{fill-paragraph}) @dfn{fills} the
498 current paragraph. It redistributes the line breaks within the
499 paragraph, and deletes any excess space and tab characters occurring
500 within the paragraph, in such a way that the lines end up fitting
501 within a certain maximum width.
504 Normally, @kbd{M-q} acts on the paragraph where point is, but if
505 point is between paragraphs, it acts on the paragraph after point. If
506 the region is active, it acts instead on the text in the region. You
507 can also call @kbd{M-x fill-region} to specifically fill the text in
510 @findex fill-region-as-paragraph
511 @kbd{M-q} and @code{fill-region} use the usual Emacs criteria for
512 finding paragraph boundaries (@pxref{Paragraphs}). For more control,
513 you can use @kbd{M-x fill-region-as-paragraph}, which refills
514 everything between point and mark as a single paragraph. This command
515 deletes any blank lines within the region, so separate blocks of text
516 end up combined into one block.
518 @cindex justification
519 A numeric argument to @kbd{M-q} tells it to @dfn{justify} the text
520 as well as filling it. This means that extra spaces are inserted to
521 make the right margin line up exactly at the fill column. To remove
522 the extra spaces, use @kbd{M-q} with no argument. (Likewise for
527 @findex set-fill-column
528 The maximum line width for filling is specified by the buffer-local
529 variable @code{fill-column}. The default value (@pxref{Locals}) is
530 70. The easiest way to set @code{fill-column} in the current buffer
531 is to use the command @kbd{C-x f} (@code{set-fill-column}). With a
532 numeric argument, it uses that as the new fill column. With just
533 @kbd{C-u} as argument, it sets @code{fill-column} to the current
534 horizontal position of point.
536 @kindex M-o M-s @r{(Text mode)}
539 The command @kbd{M-o M-s} (@code{center-line}) centers the current line
540 within the current fill column. With an argument @var{n}, it centers
541 @var{n} lines individually and moves past them. This binding is
542 made by Text mode and is available only in that and related modes
545 By default, Emacs considers a period followed by two spaces or by a
546 newline as the end of a sentence; a period followed by just one space
547 indicates an abbreviation, not the end of a sentence. Accordingly,
548 the fill commands will not break a line after a period followed by
549 just one space. If you set the variable
550 @code{sentence-end-double-space} to @code{nil}, the fill commands will
551 break a line after a period followed by one space, and put just one
552 space after each period. @xref{Sentences}, for other effects and
553 possible drawbacks of this.
555 @vindex colon-double-space
556 If the variable @code{colon-double-space} is non-@code{nil}, the
557 fill commands put two spaces after a colon.
559 @vindex fill-nobreak-predicate
560 To specify additional conditions where line-breaking is not allowed,
561 customize the abnormal hook variable @code{fill-nobreak-predicate}
562 (@pxref{Hooks}). Each function in this hook is called with no
563 arguments, with point positioned where Emacs is considering breaking a
564 line. If a function returns a non-@code{nil} value, Emacs will not
565 break the line there. Two functions you can use are
566 @code{fill-single-word-nobreak-p} (don't break after the first word of
567 a sentence or before the last) and @code{fill-french-nobreak-p} (don't
568 break after @samp{(} or before @samp{)}, @samp{:} or @samp{?}).
571 @subsection The Fill Prefix
574 The @dfn{fill prefix} feature allows paragraphs to be filled so that
575 each line starts with a special string of characters (such as a
576 sequence of spaces, giving an indented paragraph). You can specify a
577 fill prefix explicitly; otherwise, Emacs tries to deduce one
578 automatically (@pxref{Adaptive Fill}).
582 Set the fill prefix (@code{set-fill-prefix}).
584 Fill a paragraph using current fill prefix (@code{fill-paragraph}).
585 @item M-x fill-individual-paragraphs
586 Fill the region, considering each change of indentation as starting a
588 @item M-x fill-nonuniform-paragraphs
589 Fill the region, considering only paragraph-separator lines as starting
594 @findex set-fill-prefix
595 To specify a fill prefix for the current buffer, move to a line that
596 starts with the desired prefix, put point at the end of the prefix,
597 and type @w{@kbd{C-x .}}@: (@code{set-fill-prefix}). (That's a period
598 after the @kbd{C-x}.) To turn off the fill prefix, specify an empty
599 prefix: type @w{@kbd{C-x .}}@: with point at the beginning of a line.
601 When a fill prefix is in effect, the fill commands remove the fill
602 prefix from each line of the paragraph before filling, and insert it
603 on each line after filling. (The beginning of the first line of the
604 paragraph is left unchanged, since often that is intentionally
605 different.) Auto Fill mode also inserts the fill prefix automatically
606 when it makes a new line (@pxref{Auto Fill}). The @kbd{C-o} command
607 inserts the fill prefix on new lines it creates, when you use it at
608 the beginning of a line (@pxref{Blank Lines}). Conversely, the
609 command @kbd{M-^} deletes the prefix (if it occurs) after the newline
610 that it deletes (@pxref{Indentation}).
612 For example, if @code{fill-column} is 40 and you set the fill prefix
613 to @samp{;; }, then @kbd{M-q} in the following text
617 ;; example of a paragraph
618 ;; inside a Lisp-style comment.
625 ;; This is an example of a paragraph
626 ;; inside a Lisp-style comment.
629 Lines that do not start with the fill prefix are considered to start
630 paragraphs, both in @kbd{M-q} and the paragraph commands; this gives
631 good results for paragraphs with hanging indentation (every line
632 indented except the first one). Lines which are blank or indented once
633 the prefix is removed also separate or start paragraphs; this is what
634 you want if you are writing multi-paragraph comments with a comment
635 delimiter on each line.
637 @findex fill-individual-paragraphs
638 You can use @kbd{M-x fill-individual-paragraphs} to set the fill
639 prefix for each paragraph automatically. This command divides the
640 region into paragraphs, treating every change in the amount of
641 indentation as the start of a new paragraph, and fills each of these
642 paragraphs. Thus, all the lines in one ``paragraph'' have the same
643 amount of indentation. That indentation serves as the fill prefix for
646 @findex fill-nonuniform-paragraphs
647 @kbd{M-x fill-nonuniform-paragraphs} is a similar command that divides
648 the region into paragraphs in a different way. It considers only
649 paragraph-separating lines (as defined by @code{paragraph-separate}) as
650 starting a new paragraph. Since this means that the lines of one
651 paragraph may have different amounts of indentation, the fill prefix
652 used is the smallest amount of indentation of any of the lines of the
653 paragraph. This gives good results with styles that indent a paragraph's
654 first line more or less that the rest of the paragraph.
657 The fill prefix is stored in the variable @code{fill-prefix}. Its value
658 is a string, or @code{nil} when there is no fill prefix. This is a
659 per-buffer variable; altering the variable affects only the current buffer,
660 but there is a default value which you can change as well. @xref{Locals}.
662 The @code{indentation} text property provides another way to control
663 the amount of indentation paragraphs receive. @xref{Enriched
667 @subsection Adaptive Filling
669 @cindex adaptive filling
670 The fill commands can deduce the proper fill prefix for a paragraph
671 automatically in certain cases: either whitespace or certain punctuation
672 characters at the beginning of a line are propagated to all lines of the
675 If the paragraph has two or more lines, the fill prefix is taken from
676 the paragraph's second line, but only if it appears on the first line as
679 If a paragraph has just one line, fill commands @emph{may} take a
680 prefix from that line. The decision is complicated because there are
681 three reasonable things to do in such a case:
685 Use the first line's prefix on all the lines of the paragraph.
688 Indent subsequent lines with whitespace, so that they line up under the
689 text that follows the prefix on the first line, but don't actually copy
690 the prefix from the first line.
693 Don't do anything special with the second and following lines.
696 All three of these styles of formatting are commonly used. So the
697 fill commands try to determine what you would like, based on the prefix
698 that appears and on the major mode. Here is how.
700 @vindex adaptive-fill-first-line-regexp
701 If the prefix found on the first line matches
702 @code{adaptive-fill-first-line-regexp}, or if it appears to be a
703 comment-starting sequence (this depends on the major mode), then the
704 prefix found is used for filling the paragraph, provided it would not
705 act as a paragraph starter on subsequent lines.
707 Otherwise, the prefix found is converted to an equivalent number of
708 spaces, and those spaces are used as the fill prefix for the rest of the
709 lines, provided they would not act as a paragraph starter on subsequent
712 In Text mode, and other modes where only blank lines and page
713 delimiters separate paragraphs, the prefix chosen by adaptive filling
714 never acts as a paragraph starter, so it can always be used for filling.
716 @vindex adaptive-fill-mode
717 @vindex adaptive-fill-regexp
718 The variable @code{adaptive-fill-regexp} determines what kinds of line
719 beginnings can serve as a fill prefix: any characters at the start of
720 the line that match this regular expression are used. If you set the
721 variable @code{adaptive-fill-mode} to @code{nil}, the fill prefix is
722 never chosen automatically.
724 @vindex adaptive-fill-function
725 You can specify more complex ways of choosing a fill prefix
726 automatically by setting the variable @code{adaptive-fill-function} to a
727 function. This function is called with point after the left margin of a
728 line, and it should return the appropriate fill prefix based on that
729 line. If it returns @code{nil}, @code{adaptive-fill-regexp} gets
730 a chance to find a prefix.
733 @section Case Conversion Commands
734 @cindex case conversion
736 Emacs has commands for converting either a single word or any arbitrary
737 range of text to upper case or to lower case.
741 Convert following word to lower case (@code{downcase-word}).
743 Convert following word to upper case (@code{upcase-word}).
745 Capitalize the following word (@code{capitalize-word}).
747 Convert region to lower case (@code{downcase-region}).
749 Convert region to upper case (@code{upcase-region}).
755 @cindex words, case conversion
756 @cindex converting text to upper or lower case
757 @cindex capitalizing words
758 @findex downcase-word
760 @findex capitalize-word
761 @kbd{M-l} (@code{downcase-word}) converts the word after point to
762 lower case, moving past it. Thus, repeating @kbd{M-l} converts
763 successive words. @kbd{M-u} (@code{upcase-word}) converts to all
764 capitals instead, while @kbd{M-c} (@code{capitalize-word}) puts the
765 first letter of the word into upper case and the rest into lower case.
766 All these commands convert several words at once if given an argument.
767 They are especially convenient for converting a large amount of text
768 from all upper case to mixed case, because you can move through the
769 text using @kbd{M-l}, @kbd{M-u} or @kbd{M-c} on each word as
770 appropriate, occasionally using @kbd{M-f} instead to skip a word.
772 When given a negative argument, the word case conversion commands apply
773 to the appropriate number of words before point, but do not move point.
774 This is convenient when you have just typed a word in the wrong case: you
775 can give the case conversion command and continue typing.
777 If a word case conversion command is given in the middle of a word,
778 it applies only to the part of the word which follows point. (This is
779 comparable to what @kbd{M-d} (@code{kill-word}) does.) With a
780 negative argument, case conversion applies only to the part of the
785 @findex downcase-region
786 @findex upcase-region
787 The other case conversion commands are @kbd{C-x C-u}
788 (@code{upcase-region}) and @kbd{C-x C-l} (@code{downcase-region}), which
789 convert everything between point and mark to the specified case. Point and
792 The region case conversion commands @code{upcase-region} and
793 @code{downcase-region} are normally disabled. This means that they ask
794 for confirmation if you try to use them. When you confirm, you may
795 enable the command, which means it will not ask for confirmation again.
804 Text mode is a major mode for editing files of text in a human
805 language. Files which have names ending in the extension @file{.txt}
806 are usually opened in Text mode (@pxref{Choosing Modes}). To
807 explicitly switch to Text mode, type @kbd{M-x text-mode}.
809 In Text mode, only blank lines and page delimiters separate
810 paragraphs. As a result, paragraphs can be indented, and adaptive
811 filling determines what indentation to use when filling a paragraph.
812 @xref{Adaptive Fill}.
814 @kindex TAB @r{(Text mode)}
815 In Text mode, the @key{TAB} (@code{indent-for-tab-command}) command
816 usually inserts whitespace up to the next tab stop, instead of
817 indenting the current line. @xref{Indentation}, for details.
819 Text mode turns off the features concerned with comments except when
820 you explicitly invoke them. It changes the syntax table so that
821 single-quotes are considered part of words (e.g.@: @samp{don't} is
822 considered one word). However, if a word starts with a single-quote,
823 it is treated as a prefix for the purposes of capitalization
824 (e.g.@: @kbd{M-c} converts @samp{'hello'} into @samp{'Hello'}, as
827 @cindex Paragraph-Indent Text mode
828 @cindex mode, Paragraph-Indent Text
829 @findex paragraph-indent-text-mode
830 @findex paragraph-indent-minor-mode
831 If you indent the first lines of paragraphs, then you should use
832 Paragraph-Indent Text mode (@kbd{M-x paragraph-indent-text-mode})
833 rather than Text mode. In that mode, you do not need to have blank
834 lines between paragraphs, because the first-line indentation is
835 sufficient to start a paragraph; however paragraphs in which every
836 line is indented are not supported. Use @kbd{M-x
837 paragraph-indent-minor-mode} to enable an equivalent minor mode for
838 situations where you shouldn't change the major mode---in mail
839 composition, for instance.
841 @kindex M-TAB @r{(Text mode)}
842 Text mode binds @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} to @code{ispell-complete-word}.
843 This command performs completion of the partial word in the buffer
844 before point, using the spelling dictionary as the space of possible
845 words. @xref{Spelling}. If your window manager defines
846 @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} to switch windows, you can type @kbd{@key{ESC}
847 @key{TAB}} or @kbd{C-M-i} instead.
849 @vindex text-mode-hook
850 Entering Text mode runs the mode hook @code{text-mode-hook}
851 (@pxref{Major Modes}).
853 The following sections describe several major modes that are
854 @dfn{derived} from Text mode. These derivatives share most of the
855 features of Text mode described above. In particular, derivatives of
856 Text mode run @code{text-mode-hook} prior to running their own mode
860 @section Outline Mode
862 @cindex mode, Outline
863 @cindex invisible lines
866 @findex outline-minor-mode
867 @vindex outline-minor-mode-prefix
868 @vindex outline-mode-hook
869 Outline mode is a major mode derived from Text mode, which is
870 specialized for editing outlines. It provides commands to navigate
871 between entries in the outline structure, and commands to make parts
872 of a buffer temporarily invisible, so that the outline structure may
873 be more easily viewed. Type @kbd{M-x outline-mode} to switch to
874 Outline mode. Entering Outline mode runs the hook
875 @code{text-mode-hook} followed by the hook @code{outline-mode-hook}
878 When you use an Outline mode command to make a line invisible
879 (@pxref{Outline Visibility}), the line disappears from the screen. An
880 ellipsis (three periods in a row) is displayed at the end of the
881 previous visible line, to indicate the hidden text. Multiple
882 consecutive invisible lines produce just one ellipsis.
884 Editing commands that operate on lines, such as @kbd{C-n} and
885 @kbd{C-p}, treat the text of the invisible line as part of the
886 previous visible line. Killing the ellipsis at the end of a visible
887 line really kills all the following invisible text associated with the
890 Outline minor mode is a buffer-local minor mode which provides the
891 same commands as the major mode, Outline mode, but can be used in
892 conjunction with other major modes. You can type @kbd{M-x
893 outline-minor-mode} to toggle Outline minor mode in the current
894 buffer, or use a file-local variable setting to enable it in a
895 specific file (@pxref{File Variables}).
897 @kindex C-c @@ @r{(Outline minor mode)}
898 The major mode, Outline mode, provides special key bindings on the
899 @kbd{C-c} prefix. Outline minor mode provides similar bindings with
900 @kbd{C-c @@} as the prefix; this is to reduce the conflicts with the
901 major mode's special commands. (The variable
902 @code{outline-minor-mode-prefix} controls the prefix used.)
905 * Outline Format:: What the text of an outline looks like.
906 * Outline Motion:: Special commands for moving through outlines.
907 * Outline Visibility:: Commands to control what is visible.
908 * Outline Views:: Outlines and multiple views.
909 * Foldout:: Folding means zooming in on outlines.
913 @subsection Format of Outlines
915 @cindex heading lines (Outline mode)
916 @cindex body lines (Outline mode)
917 Outline mode assumes that the lines in the buffer are of two types:
918 @dfn{heading lines} and @dfn{body lines}. A heading line represents a
919 topic in the outline. Heading lines start with one or more asterisk
920 (@samp{*}) characters; the number of asterisks determines the depth of
921 the heading in the outline structure. Thus, a heading line with one
922 @samp{*} is a major topic; all the heading lines with two @samp{*}s
923 between it and the next one-@samp{*} heading are its subtopics; and so
924 on. Any line that is not a heading line is a body line. Body lines
925 belong with the preceding heading line. Here is an example:
930 which says something about the topic of food.
933 This is the body of the second-level header.
943 Another first-level topic with its header line.
946 A heading line together with all following body lines is called
947 collectively an @dfn{entry}. A heading line together with all following
948 deeper heading lines and their body lines is called a @dfn{subtree}.
950 @vindex outline-regexp
951 You can customize the criterion for distinguishing heading lines by
952 setting the variable @code{outline-regexp}. (The recommended ways to
953 do this are in a major mode function or with a file local variable.)
954 Any line whose beginning has a match for this regexp is considered a
955 heading line. Matches that start within a line (not at the left
956 margin) do not count.
958 The length of the matching text determines the level of the heading;
959 longer matches make a more deeply nested level. Thus, for example, if
960 a text formatter has commands @samp{@@chapter}, @samp{@@section} and
961 @samp{@@subsection} to divide the document into chapters and sections,
962 you could make those lines count as heading lines by setting
963 @code{outline-regexp} to @samp{"@@chap\\|@@\\(sub\\)*section"}. Note
964 the trick: the two words @samp{chapter} and @samp{section} are equally
965 long, but by defining the regexp to match only @samp{chap} we ensure
966 that the length of the text matched on a chapter heading is shorter,
967 so that Outline mode will know that sections are contained in
968 chapters. This works as long as no other command starts with
971 @vindex outline-level
972 You can explicitly specify a rule for calculating the level of a
973 heading line by setting the variable @code{outline-level}. The value
974 of @code{outline-level} should be a function that takes no arguments
975 and returns the level of the current heading. The recommended ways to
976 set this variable are in a major mode command or with a file local
980 @subsection Outline Motion Commands
982 Outline mode provides special motion commands that move backward and
983 forward to heading lines.
987 Move point to the next visible heading line
988 (@code{outline-next-visible-heading}).
990 Move point to the previous visible heading line
991 (@code{outline-previous-visible-heading}).
993 Move point to the next visible heading line at the same level
994 as the one point is on (@code{outline-forward-same-level}).
996 Move point to the previous visible heading line at the same level
997 (@code{outline-backward-same-level}).
999 Move point up to a lower-level (more inclusive) visible heading line
1000 (@code{outline-up-heading}).
1003 @findex outline-next-visible-heading
1004 @findex outline-previous-visible-heading
1005 @kindex C-c C-n @r{(Outline mode)}
1006 @kindex C-c C-p @r{(Outline mode)}
1007 @kbd{C-c C-n} (@code{outline-next-visible-heading}) moves down to
1008 the next heading line. @kbd{C-c C-p}
1009 (@code{outline-previous-visible-heading}) moves similarly backward.
1010 Both accept numeric arguments as repeat counts.
1012 @findex outline-up-heading
1013 @findex outline-forward-same-level
1014 @findex outline-backward-same-level
1015 @kindex C-c C-f @r{(Outline mode)}
1016 @kindex C-c C-b @r{(Outline mode)}
1017 @kindex C-c C-u @r{(Outline mode)}
1018 The commands @kbd{C-c C-f} (@code{outline-forward-same-level}) and
1019 @kbd{C-c C-b} (@code{outline-backward-same-level}) move from one
1020 heading line to another visible heading at the same depth in the
1021 outline. @kbd{C-c C-u} (@code{outline-up-heading}) moves backward to
1022 another heading that is less deeply nested.
1024 @node Outline Visibility
1025 @subsection Outline Visibility Commands
1027 Outline mode provides several commands for temporarily hiding or
1028 revealing parts of the buffer, based on the outline structure. These
1029 commands are not undoable; their effects are simply not recorded by
1030 the undo mechanism, so you can undo right past them (@pxref{Undo}).
1032 Many of these commands act on the ``current'' heading line. If
1033 point is on a heading line, that is the current heading line; if point
1034 is on a body line, the current heading line is the nearest preceding
1039 Make the current heading line's body invisible (@code{hide-entry}).
1041 Make the current heading line's body visible (@code{show-entry}).
1043 Make everything under the current heading invisible, not including the
1044 heading itself (@code{hide-subtree}).
1046 Make everything under the current heading visible, including body,
1047 subheadings, and their bodies (@code{show-subtree}).
1049 Make the body of the current heading line, and of all its subheadings,
1050 invisible (@code{hide-leaves}).
1052 Make all subheadings of the current heading line, at all levels,
1053 visible (@code{show-branches}).
1055 Make immediate subheadings (one level down) of the current heading
1056 line visible (@code{show-children}).
1058 Make all body lines in the buffer invisible (@code{hide-body}).
1060 Make all lines in the buffer visible (@code{show-all}).
1062 Hide everything except the top @var{n} levels of heading lines
1063 (@code{hide-sublevels}).
1065 Hide everything except for the heading or body that point is in, plus
1066 the headings leading up from there to the top level of the outline
1067 (@code{hide-other}).
1072 @kindex C-c C-c @r{(Outline mode)}
1073 @kindex C-c C-e @r{(Outline mode)}
1074 The simplest of these commands are @kbd{C-c C-c}
1075 (@code{hide-entry}), which hides the body lines directly following the
1076 current heading line, and @kbd{C-c C-e} (@code{show-entry}), which
1077 reveals them. Subheadings and their bodies are not affected.
1079 @findex hide-subtree
1080 @findex show-subtree
1081 @kindex C-c C-s @r{(Outline mode)}
1082 @kindex C-c C-d @r{(Outline mode)}
1083 @cindex subtree (Outline mode)
1084 The commands @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{hide-subtree}) and @kbd{C-c C-s}
1085 (@code{show-subtree}) are more powerful. They apply to the current
1086 heading line's @dfn{subtree}: its body, all of its subheadings, both
1087 direct and indirect, and all of their bodies.
1090 @findex show-branches
1091 @findex show-children
1092 @kindex C-c C-l @r{(Outline mode)}
1093 @kindex C-c C-k @r{(Outline mode)}
1094 @kindex C-c C-i @r{(Outline mode)}
1095 The command @kbd{C-c C-l} (@code{hide-leaves}) hides the body of the
1096 current heading line as well as all the bodies in its subtree; the
1097 subheadings themselves are left visible. The command @kbd{C-c C-k}
1098 (@code{show-branches}) reveals the subheadings, if they had previously
1099 been hidden (e.g.@: by @kbd{C-c C-d}). The command @kbd{C-c C-i}
1100 (@code{show-children}) is a weaker version of this; it reveals just
1101 the direct subheadings, i.e.@: those one level down.
1104 @kindex C-c C-o @r{(Outline mode)}
1105 The command @kbd{C-c C-o} (@code{hide-other}) hides everything
1106 except the entry that point is in, plus its parents (the headers
1107 leading up from there to top level in the outline) and the top level
1112 @kindex C-c C-t @r{(Outline mode)}
1113 @kindex C-c C-a @r{(Outline mode)}
1114 @findex hide-sublevels
1115 @kindex C-c C-q @r{(Outline mode)}
1116 The remaining commands affect the whole buffer. @kbd{C-c C-t}
1117 (@code{hide-body}) makes all body lines invisible, so that you see
1118 just the outline structure (as a special exception, it will not hide
1119 lines at the top of the file, preceding the first header line, even
1120 though these are technically body lines). @kbd{C-c C-a}
1121 (@code{show-all}) makes all lines visible. @kbd{C-c C-q}
1122 (@code{hide-sublevels}) hides all but the top level headings; with a
1123 numeric argument @var{n}, it hides everything except the top @var{n}
1124 levels of heading lines.
1127 When incremental search finds text that is hidden by Outline mode,
1128 it makes that part of the buffer visible. If you exit the search at
1129 that position, the text remains visible. You can also automatically
1130 make text visible as you navigate in it by using Reveal mode (@kbd{M-x
1131 reveal-mode}), a buffer-local minor mode.
1134 @subsection Viewing One Outline in Multiple Views
1136 @cindex multiple views of outline
1137 @cindex views of an outline
1138 @cindex outline with multiple views
1139 @cindex indirect buffers and outlines
1140 You can display two views of a single outline at the same time, in
1141 different windows. To do this, you must create an indirect buffer using
1142 @kbd{M-x make-indirect-buffer}. The first argument of this command is
1143 the existing outline buffer name, and its second argument is the name to
1144 use for the new indirect buffer. @xref{Indirect Buffers}.
1146 Once the indirect buffer exists, you can display it in a window in the
1147 normal fashion, with @kbd{C-x 4 b} or other Emacs commands. The Outline
1148 mode commands to show and hide parts of the text operate on each buffer
1149 independently; as a result, each buffer can have its own view. If you
1150 want more than two views on the same outline, create additional indirect
1154 @subsection Folding Editing
1156 @cindex folding editing
1157 The Foldout package extends Outline mode and Outline minor mode with
1158 ``folding'' commands. The idea of folding is that you zoom in on a
1159 nested portion of the outline, while hiding its relatives at higher
1162 Consider an Outline mode buffer with all the text and subheadings under
1163 level-1 headings hidden. To look at what is hidden under one of these
1164 headings, you could use @kbd{C-c C-e} (@kbd{M-x show-entry}) to expose
1165 the body, or @kbd{C-c C-i} to expose the child (level-2) headings.
1168 @findex foldout-zoom-subtree
1169 With Foldout, you use @kbd{C-c C-z} (@kbd{M-x foldout-zoom-subtree}).
1170 This exposes the body and child subheadings, and narrows the buffer so
1171 that only the @w{level-1} heading, the body and the level-2 headings are
1172 visible. Now to look under one of the level-2 headings, position the
1173 cursor on it and use @kbd{C-c C-z} again. This exposes the level-2 body
1174 and its level-3 child subheadings and narrows the buffer again. Zooming
1175 in on successive subheadings can be done as much as you like. A string
1176 in the mode line shows how deep you've gone.
1178 When zooming in on a heading, to see only the child subheadings specify
1179 a numeric argument: @kbd{C-u C-c C-z}. The number of levels of children
1180 can be specified too (compare @kbd{M-x show-children}), e.g.@: @kbd{M-2
1181 C-c C-z} exposes two levels of child subheadings. Alternatively, the
1182 body can be specified with a negative argument: @kbd{M-- C-c C-z}. The
1183 whole subtree can be expanded, similarly to @kbd{C-c C-s} (@kbd{M-x
1184 show-subtree}), by specifying a zero argument: @kbd{M-0 C-c C-z}.
1186 While you're zoomed in, you can still use Outline mode's exposure and
1187 hiding functions without disturbing Foldout. Also, since the buffer is
1188 narrowed, ``global'' editing actions will only affect text under the
1189 zoomed-in heading. This is useful for restricting changes to a
1190 particular chapter or section of your document.
1193 @findex foldout-exit-fold
1194 To unzoom (exit) a fold, use @kbd{C-c C-x} (@kbd{M-x foldout-exit-fold}).
1195 This hides all the text and subheadings under the top-level heading and
1196 returns you to the previous view of the buffer. Specifying a numeric
1197 argument exits that many levels of folds. Specifying a zero argument
1200 To cancel the narrowing of a fold without hiding the text and
1201 subheadings, specify a negative argument. For example, @kbd{M--2 C-c
1202 C-x} exits two folds and leaves the text and subheadings exposed.
1204 Foldout mode also provides mouse commands for entering and exiting
1205 folds, and for showing and hiding text:
1208 @item @kbd{C-M-Mouse-1} zooms in on the heading clicked on
1211 single click: expose body.
1213 double click: expose subheadings.
1215 triple click: expose body and subheadings.
1217 quad click: expose entire subtree.
1219 @item @kbd{C-M-Mouse-2} exposes text under the heading clicked on
1222 single click: expose body.
1224 double click: expose subheadings.
1226 triple click: expose body and subheadings.
1228 quad click: expose entire subtree.
1230 @item @kbd{C-M-Mouse-3} hides text under the heading clicked on or exits fold
1233 single click: hide subtree.
1235 double click: exit fold and hide text.
1237 triple click: exit fold without hiding text.
1239 quad click: exit all folds and hide text.
1243 @vindex foldout-mouse-modifiers
1244 You can specify different modifier keys (instead of
1245 @kbd{Control-Meta-}) by setting @code{foldout-mouse-modifiers}; but if
1246 you have already loaded the @file{foldout.el} library, you must reload
1247 it in order for this to take effect.
1249 To use the Foldout package, you can type @kbd{M-x load-library
1250 @key{RET} foldout @key{RET}}; or you can arrange for to do that
1251 automatically by putting this in your init file (@pxref{Init File}):
1254 (eval-after-load "outline" '(require 'foldout))
1265 Org mode is a variant of Outline mode for using Emacs as an
1266 organizer and/or authoring system. Files with names ending in the
1267 extension @file{.org} are opened in Org mode (@pxref{Choosing Modes}).
1268 To explicitly switch to Org mode, type @kbd{M-x org-mode}.
1270 In Org mode, as in Outline mode, each entry has a heading line that
1271 starts with one or more @samp{*} characters. @xref{Outline Format}.
1272 In addition, any line that begins with the @samp{#} character is
1273 treated as a comment.
1275 @kindex TAB @r{(Org Mode)}
1277 Org mode provides commands for easily viewing and manipulating the
1278 outline structure. The simplest of these commands is @key{TAB}
1279 (@code{org-cycle}). If invoked on a heading line, it cycles through
1280 the different visibility states of the subtree: (i) showing only that
1281 heading line, (ii) showing only the heading line and the heading lines
1282 of its direct children, if any, and (iii) showing the entire subtree.
1283 If invoked in a body line, the global binding for @key{TAB} is
1286 @kindex S-TAB @r{(Org Mode)}
1287 @findex org-shifttab
1288 Typing @key{S-TAB} (@code{org-shifttab}) anywhere in an Org mode
1289 buffer cycles the visibility of the entire outline structure, between
1290 (i) showing only top-level heading lines, (ii) showing all heading
1291 lines but no body lines, and (iii) showing everything.
1293 @kindex M-<up> @r{(Org Mode)}
1294 @kindex M-<down> @r{(Org Mode)}
1295 @kindex M-<left> @r{(Org Mode)}
1296 @kindex M-<right> @r{(Org Mode)}
1298 @findex org-metadown
1299 @findex org-metaleft
1300 @findex org-metaright
1301 You can move an entire entry up or down in the buffer, including its
1302 body lines and subtree (if any), by typing @kbd{M-<up>}
1303 (@code{org-metaup}) or @kbd{M-<down>} (@code{org-metadown}) on the
1304 heading line. Similarly, you can promote or demote a heading line
1305 with @kbd{M-<left>} (@code{org-metaleft}) and @kbd{M-<right>}
1306 (@code{org-metaright}). These commands execute their global bindings
1307 if invoked on a body line.
1309 The following subsections give basic instructions for using Org mode
1310 as an organizer and as an authoring system. @xref{Top,The Org Mode
1311 Manual,,org, The Org Manual}, for details.
1314 * Org Organizer:: Managing TODO lists and agendas.
1315 * Org Authoring:: Exporting Org buffers to various formats.
1319 @subsection Org as an organizer
1323 @kindex C-c C-t @r{(Org Mode)}
1325 @vindex org-todo-keywords
1326 You can tag an Org entry as a @dfn{TODO} item by typing @kbd{C-c
1327 C-t} (@code{org-todo}) anywhere in the entry. This adds the keyword
1328 @samp{TODO} to the heading line. Typing @kbd{C-c C-t} again switches
1329 the keyword to @samp{DONE}; another @kbd{C-c C-t} removes the keyword
1330 entirely, and so forth. You can customize the keywords used by
1331 @kbd{C-c C-t} via the variable @code{org-todo-keywords}.
1333 @kindex C-c C-s @r{(Org Mode)}
1334 @kindex C-c C-d @r{(Org Mode)}
1335 @findex org-schedule
1336 @findex org-deadline
1337 Apart from marking an entry as TODO, you can attach a date to it, by
1338 typing @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{org-schedule}) in the entry. This prompts
1339 for a date by popping up the Emacs Calendar (@pxref{Calendar/Diary}),
1340 and then adds the tag @samp{SCHEDULED}, together with the selected
1341 date, beneath the heading line. The command @kbd{C-c C-d}
1342 (@code{org-deadline}) has the same effect, except that it uses the tag
1345 @kindex C-c [ @r{(Org Mode)}
1346 @findex org-agenda-file-to-front
1347 @vindex org-agenda-files
1348 Once you have some TODO items planned in an Org file, you can add
1349 that file to the list of @dfn{agenda files} by typing @kbd{C-c [}
1350 (@code{org-agenda-file-to-front}). Org mode is designed to let you
1351 easily maintain multiple agenda files, e.g.@: for organizing different
1352 aspects of your life. The list of agenda files is stored in the
1353 variable @code{org-agenda-files}.
1356 To view items coming from your agenda files, type @kbd{M-x
1357 org-agenda}. This command prompts for what you want to see: a list of
1358 things to do this week, a list of TODO items with specific keywords,
1361 @xref{Agenda Views,,,org, The Org Manual}, for details.
1365 @subsection Org as an authoring system
1366 @cindex Org exporting
1369 @kindex C-c C-e @r{(Org mode)}
1370 You may want to format your Org notes nicely and to prepare them for
1371 export and publication. To export the current buffer, type @kbd{C-c
1372 C-e} (@code{org-export}) anywhere in an Org buffer. This command
1373 prompts for an export format; currently supported formats include
1374 HTML, La@TeX{}, OpenDocument (@file{.odt}), and PDF. Some formats,
1375 such as PDF, require certain system tools to be installed.
1377 @vindex org-publish-project-alist
1378 To export several files at once to a specific directory, either
1379 locally or over the network, you must define a list of projects
1380 through the variable @code{org-publish-project-alist}. See its
1381 documentation for details.
1383 Org supports a simple markup scheme for applying text formatting to
1387 - This text is /emphasized/
1388 - This text is *in bold*
1389 - This text is _underlined_
1390 - This text uses =a teletype font=
1393 ``This is a quote.''
1401 For further details, see @ref{Exporting,,,org, The Org Manual} and
1402 @ref{Publishing,,,org, The Org Manual}.
1405 @section @TeX{} Mode
1407 @cindex La@TeX{} mode
1408 @cindex Sli@TeX{} mode
1409 @cindex Doc@TeX{} mode
1410 @cindex mode, @TeX{}
1411 @cindex mode, La@TeX{}
1412 @cindex mode, Sli@TeX{}
1413 @cindex mode, Doc@TeX{}
1415 @findex plain-tex-mode
1421 Emacs provides special major modes for editing files written in
1422 @TeX{} and its related formats. @TeX{} is a powerful text formatter
1423 written by Donald Knuth; like GNU Emacs, it is free software.
1424 La@TeX{} is a simplified input format for @TeX{}, implemented using
1425 @TeX{} macros. Doc@TeX{} is a special file format in which the
1426 La@TeX{} sources are written, combining sources with documentation.
1427 Sli@TeX{} is an obsolete special form of La@TeX{}.@footnote{It has
1428 been replaced by the @samp{slides} document class, which comes with
1431 @vindex tex-default-mode
1432 @TeX{} mode has four variants: Plain @TeX{} mode, La@TeX{} mode,
1433 Doc@TeX{} mode, and Sli@TeX{} mode. These distinct major modes differ
1434 only slightly, and are designed for editing the four different
1435 formats. Emacs selects the appropriate mode by looking at the
1436 contents of the buffer. (This is done by the @code{tex-mode} command,
1437 which is normally called automatically when you visit a @TeX{}-like
1438 file. @xref{Choosing Modes}.) If the contents are insufficient to
1439 determine this, Emacs chooses the mode specified by the variable
1440 @code{tex-default-mode}; its default value is @code{latex-mode}. If
1441 Emacs does not guess right, you can select the correct variant of
1442 @TeX{} mode using the command @kbd{M-x plain-tex-mode}, @kbd{M-x
1443 latex-mode}, @kbd{M-x slitex-mode}, or @kbd{doctex-mode}.
1445 The following sections document the features of @TeX{} mode and its
1446 variants. There are several other @TeX{}-related Emacs packages,
1447 which are not documented in this manual:
1451 Bib@TeX{} mode is a major mode for Bib@TeX{} files, which are commonly
1452 used for keeping bibliographic references for La@TeX{} documents. For
1453 more information, see the documentation string for the command
1457 The Ref@TeX{} package provides a minor mode which can be used with
1458 La@TeX{} mode to manage bibliographic references.
1460 @xref{Top,The Ref@TeX{} Manual,,reftex}.
1463 For more information, see the Ref@TeX{} Info manual, which is
1464 distributed with Emacs.
1468 The AUC@TeX{} package provides more advanced features for editing
1469 @TeX{} and its related formats, including the ability to preview
1470 @TeX{} equations within Emacs buffers. Unlike Bib@TeX{} mode and the
1471 Ref@TeX{} package, AUC@TeX{} is not distributed with Emacs by default.
1472 It can be downloaded via the Package Menu (@pxref{Packages}); once
1475 @ref{Top,The AUC@TeX{} Manual,,auctex}.
1478 the AUC@TeX{} manual, which is included with the package.
1483 * TeX Editing:: Special commands for editing in TeX mode.
1484 * LaTeX Editing:: Additional commands for LaTeX input files.
1485 * TeX Print:: Commands for printing part of a file with TeX.
1486 * TeX Misc:: Customization of TeX mode, and related features.
1490 @subsection @TeX{} Editing Commands
1494 Insert, according to context, either @samp{``} or @samp{"} or
1495 @samp{''} (@code{tex-insert-quote}).
1497 Insert a paragraph break (two newlines) and check the previous
1498 paragraph for unbalanced braces or dollar signs
1499 (@code{tex-terminate-paragraph}).
1500 @item M-x tex-validate-region
1501 Check each paragraph in the region for unbalanced braces or dollar signs.
1503 Insert @samp{@{@}} and position point between them (@code{tex-insert-braces}).
1505 Move forward past the next unmatched close brace (@code{up-list}).
1508 @findex tex-insert-quote
1509 @kindex " @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1510 In @TeX{}, the character @samp{"} is not normally used; instead,
1511 quotations begin with @samp{``} and end with @samp{''}. @TeX{} mode
1512 therefore binds the @kbd{"} key to the @code{tex-insert-quote}
1513 command. This inserts @samp{``} after whitespace or an open brace,
1514 @samp{"} after a backslash, and @samp{''} after any other character.
1516 As a special exception, if you type @kbd{"} when the text before
1517 point is either @samp{``} or @samp{''}, Emacs replaces that preceding
1518 text with a single @samp{"} character. You can therefore type
1519 @kbd{""} to insert @samp{"}, should you ever need to do so. (You can
1520 also use @kbd{C-q "} to insert this character.)
1522 In @TeX{} mode, @samp{$} has a special syntax code which attempts to
1523 understand the way @TeX{} math mode delimiters match. When you insert a
1524 @samp{$} that is meant to exit math mode, the position of the matching
1525 @samp{$} that entered math mode is displayed for a second. This is the
1526 same feature that displays the open brace that matches a close brace that
1527 is inserted. However, there is no way to tell whether a @samp{$} enters
1528 math mode or leaves it; so when you insert a @samp{$} that enters math
1529 mode, the previous @samp{$} position is shown as if it were a match, even
1530 though they are actually unrelated.
1532 @findex tex-insert-braces
1533 @kindex C-c @{ @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1535 @kindex C-c @} @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1536 @TeX{} uses braces as delimiters that must match. Some users prefer
1537 to keep braces balanced at all times, rather than inserting them
1538 singly. Use @kbd{C-c @{} (@code{tex-insert-braces}) to insert a pair of
1539 braces. It leaves point between the two braces so you can insert the
1540 text that belongs inside. Afterward, use the command @kbd{C-c @}}
1541 (@code{up-list}) to move forward past the close brace.
1543 @findex tex-validate-region
1544 @findex tex-terminate-paragraph
1545 @kindex C-j @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1546 There are two commands for checking the matching of braces.
1547 @kbd{C-j} (@code{tex-terminate-paragraph}) checks the paragraph before
1548 point, and inserts two newlines to start a new paragraph. It outputs
1549 a message in the echo area if any mismatch is found. @kbd{M-x
1550 tex-validate-region} checks a region, paragraph by paragraph. The
1551 errors are listed in an @samp{*Occur*} buffer; you can use the usual
1552 Occur mode commands in that buffer, such as @kbd{C-c C-c}, to visit a
1553 particular mismatch (@pxref{Other Repeating Search}).
1555 Note that Emacs commands count square brackets and parentheses in
1556 @TeX{} mode, not just braces. This is not strictly correct for the
1557 purpose of checking @TeX{} syntax. However, parentheses and square
1558 brackets are likely to be used in text as matching delimiters, and it
1559 is useful for the various motion commands and automatic match display
1563 @subsection La@TeX{} Editing Commands
1565 La@TeX{} mode provides a few extra features not applicable to plain
1570 Insert @samp{\begin} and @samp{\end} for La@TeX{} block and position
1571 point on a line between them (@code{tex-latex-block}).
1573 Close the innermost La@TeX{} block not yet closed
1574 (@code{tex-close-latex-block}).
1577 @findex tex-latex-block
1578 @kindex C-c C-o @r{(La@TeX{} mode)}
1579 In La@TeX{} input, @samp{\begin} and @samp{\end} tags are used to
1580 group blocks of text. To insert a block, type @kbd{C-c C-o}
1581 (@code{tex-latex-block}). This prompts for a block type, and inserts
1582 the appropriate matching @samp{\begin} and @samp{\end} tags, leaving a
1583 blank line between the two and moving point there.
1585 @vindex latex-block-names
1586 When entering the block type argument to @kbd{C-c C-o}, you can use
1587 the usual completion commands (@pxref{Completion}). The default
1588 completion list contains the standard La@TeX{} block types. If you
1589 want additional block types for completion, customize the list
1590 variable @code{latex-block-names}.
1592 @findex tex-close-latex-block
1593 @kindex C-c C-e @r{(La@TeX{} mode)}
1594 @findex latex-electric-env-pair-mode
1595 In La@TeX{} input, @samp{\begin} and @samp{\end} tags must balance.
1596 You can use @kbd{C-c C-e} (@code{tex-close-latex-block}) to insert an
1597 @samp{\end} tag which matches the last unmatched @samp{\begin}. It
1598 also indents the @samp{\end} to match the corresponding @samp{\begin},
1599 and inserts a newline after the @samp{\end} tag if point is at the
1600 beginning of a line. The minor mode @code{latex-electric-env-pair-mode}
1601 automatically inserts an @samp{\end} or @samp{\begin} tag for you
1602 when you type the corresponding one.
1605 @subsection @TeX{} Printing Commands
1607 You can invoke @TeX{} as an subprocess of Emacs, supplying either
1608 the entire contents of the buffer or just part of it (e.g.@: one
1609 chapter of a larger document).
1613 Invoke @TeX{} on the entire current buffer (@code{tex-buffer}).
1615 Invoke @TeX{} on the current region, together with the buffer's header
1616 (@code{tex-region}).
1618 Invoke @TeX{} on the current file (@code{tex-file}).
1621 Preview the output from the last @kbd{C-c C-r}, @kbd{C-c C-b}, or @kbd{C-c
1622 C-f} command (@code{tex-view}).
1625 Print the output from the last @kbd{C-c C-b}, @kbd{C-c C-r}, or
1626 @kbd{C-c C-f} command (@code{tex-print}).
1629 Invoke Bib@TeX{} on the current file (@code{tex-bibtex-file}).
1631 Recenter the window showing output from @TeX{} so that the last line
1632 can be seen (@code{tex-recenter-output-buffer}).
1634 Kill the @TeX{} subprocess (@code{tex-kill-job}).
1636 Invoke some other compilation command on the entire current buffer
1637 (@code{tex-compile}).
1641 @kindex C-c C-b @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1643 @kindex C-c C-v @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1645 @kindex C-c C-p @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1646 To pass the current buffer through @TeX{}, type @kbd{C-c C-b}
1647 (@code{tex-buffer}). The formatted output goes in a temporary file,
1648 normally a @file{.dvi} file. Afterwards, you can type @kbd{C-c C-v}
1649 (@code{tex-view}) to launch an external program, such as
1650 @command{xdvi}, to view this output file. You can also type @kbd{C-c
1651 C-p} (@code{tex-print}) to print a hardcopy of the output file.
1653 @cindex @env{TEXINPUTS} environment variable
1654 @vindex tex-directory
1655 By default, @kbd{C-c C-b} runs @TeX{} in the current directory. The
1656 output of @TeX{} also goes in this directory. To run @TeX{} in a
1657 different directory, change the variable @code{tex-directory} to the
1658 desired directory name. If your environment variable @env{TEXINPUTS}
1659 contains relative directory names, or if your files contains
1660 @samp{\input} commands with relative file names, then
1661 @code{tex-directory} @emph{must} be @code{"."} or you will get the
1662 wrong results. Otherwise, it is safe to specify some other directory,
1663 such as @code{"/tmp"}.
1665 @vindex tex-run-command
1666 @vindex latex-run-command
1667 @vindex tex-dvi-view-command
1668 @vindex tex-dvi-print-command
1669 The buffer's @TeX{} variant determines what shell command @kbd{C-c
1670 C-b} actually runs. In Plain @TeX{} mode, it is specified by the
1671 variable @code{tex-run-command}, which defaults to @code{"tex"}. In
1672 La@TeX{} mode, it is specified by @code{latex-run-command}, which
1673 defaults to @code{"latex"}. The shell command that @kbd{C-c C-v} runs
1674 to view the @file{.dvi} output is determined by the variable
1675 @code{tex-dvi-view-command}, regardless of the @TeX{} variant. The
1676 shell command that @kbd{C-c C-p} runs to print the output is
1677 determined by the variable @code{tex-dvi-print-command}.
1679 Normally, Emacs automatically appends the output file name to the
1680 shell command strings described in the preceding paragraph. For
1681 example, if @code{tex-dvi-view-command} is @code{"xdvi"}, @kbd{C-c
1682 C-v} runs @command{xdvi @var{output-file-name}}. In some cases,
1683 however, the file name needs to be embedded in the command, e.g.@: if
1684 you need to provide the file name as an argument to one command whose
1685 output is piped to another. You can specify where to put the file
1686 name with @samp{*} in the command string. For example,
1689 (setq tex-dvi-print-command "dvips -f * | lpr")
1692 @findex tex-kill-job
1693 @kindex C-c C-k @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1694 @findex tex-recenter-output-buffer
1695 @kindex C-c C-l @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1696 The terminal output from @TeX{}, including any error messages,
1697 appears in a buffer called @samp{*tex-shell*}. If @TeX{} gets an
1698 error, you can switch to this buffer and feed it input (this works as
1699 in Shell mode; @pxref{Interactive Shell}). Without switching to this
1700 buffer you can scroll it so that its last line is visible by typing
1703 Type @kbd{C-c C-k} (@code{tex-kill-job}) to kill the @TeX{} process if
1704 you see that its output is no longer useful. Using @kbd{C-c C-b} or
1705 @kbd{C-c C-r} also kills any @TeX{} process still running.
1708 @kindex C-c C-r @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1709 You can also pass an arbitrary region through @TeX{} by typing
1710 @kbd{C-c C-r} (@code{tex-region}). This is tricky, however, because
1711 most files of @TeX{} input contain commands at the beginning to set
1712 parameters and define macros, without which no later part of the file
1713 will format correctly. To solve this problem, @kbd{C-c C-r} allows
1714 you to designate a part of the file as containing essential commands;
1715 it is included before the specified region as part of the input to
1716 @TeX{}. The designated part of the file is called the @dfn{header}.
1718 @cindex header (@TeX{} mode)
1719 To indicate the bounds of the header in Plain @TeX{} mode, you insert two
1720 special strings in the file. Insert @samp{%**start of header} before the
1721 header, and @samp{%**end of header} after it. Each string must appear
1722 entirely on one line, but there may be other text on the line before or
1723 after. The lines containing the two strings are included in the header.
1724 If @samp{%**start of header} does not appear within the first 100 lines of
1725 the buffer, @kbd{C-c C-r} assumes that there is no header.
1727 In La@TeX{} mode, the header begins with @samp{\documentclass} or
1728 @samp{\documentstyle} and ends with @samp{\begin@{document@}}. These
1729 are commands that La@TeX{} requires you to use in any case, so nothing
1730 special needs to be done to identify the header.
1733 @kindex C-c C-f @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1734 The commands (@code{tex-buffer}) and (@code{tex-region}) do all of their
1735 work in a temporary directory, and do not have available any of the auxiliary
1736 files needed by @TeX{} for cross-references; these commands are generally
1737 not suitable for running the final copy in which all of the cross-references
1740 When you want the auxiliary files for cross references, use @kbd{C-c
1741 C-f} (@code{tex-file}) which runs @TeX{} on the current buffer's file,
1742 in that file's directory. Before running @TeX{}, it offers to save any
1743 modified buffers. Generally, you need to use (@code{tex-file}) twice to
1744 get the cross-references right.
1746 @vindex tex-start-options
1747 The value of the variable @code{tex-start-options} specifies
1748 options for the @TeX{} run.
1750 @vindex tex-start-commands
1751 The value of the variable @code{tex-start-commands} specifies @TeX{}
1752 commands for starting @TeX{}. The default value causes @TeX{} to run
1753 in nonstop mode. To run @TeX{} interactively, set the variable to
1756 @vindex tex-main-file
1757 Large @TeX{} documents are often split into several files---one main
1758 file, plus subfiles. Running @TeX{} on a subfile typically does not
1759 work; you have to run it on the main file. In order to make
1760 @code{tex-file} useful when you are editing a subfile, you can set the
1761 variable @code{tex-main-file} to the name of the main file. Then
1762 @code{tex-file} runs @TeX{} on that file.
1764 The most convenient way to use @code{tex-main-file} is to specify it
1765 in a local variable list in each of the subfiles. @xref{File
1768 @findex tex-bibtex-file
1769 @kindex C-c TAB @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1770 @vindex tex-bibtex-command
1771 For La@TeX{} files, you can use Bib@TeX{} to process the auxiliary
1772 file for the current buffer's file. Bib@TeX{} looks up bibliographic
1773 citations in a data base and prepares the cited references for the
1774 bibliography section. The command @kbd{C-c @key{TAB}}
1775 (@code{tex-bibtex-file}) runs the shell command
1776 (@code{tex-bibtex-command}) to produce a @samp{.bbl} file for the
1777 current buffer's file. Generally, you need to do @kbd{C-c C-f}
1778 (@code{tex-file}) once to generate the @samp{.aux} file, then do
1779 @kbd{C-c @key{TAB}} (@code{tex-bibtex-file}), and then repeat @kbd{C-c C-f}
1780 (@code{tex-file}) twice more to get the cross-references correct.
1783 @kindex C-c C-c @r{(@TeX{} mode)}
1784 To invoke some other compilation program on the current @TeX{}
1785 buffer, type @kbd{C-c C-c} (@code{tex-compile}). This command knows
1786 how to pass arguments to many common programs, including
1787 @file{pdflatex}, @file{yap}, @file{xdvi}, and @file{dvips}. You can
1788 select your desired compilation program using the standard completion
1789 keys (@pxref{Completion}).
1792 @subsection @TeX{} Mode Miscellany
1794 @vindex tex-shell-hook
1795 @vindex tex-mode-hook
1796 @vindex latex-mode-hook
1797 @vindex slitex-mode-hook
1798 @vindex plain-tex-mode-hook
1799 Entering any variant of @TeX{} mode runs the hooks
1800 @code{text-mode-hook} and @code{tex-mode-hook}. Then it runs either
1801 @code{plain-tex-mode-hook}, @code{latex-mode-hook}, or
1802 @code{slitex-mode-hook}, whichever is appropriate. Starting the
1803 @TeX{} shell runs the hook @code{tex-shell-hook}. @xref{Hooks}.
1807 @findex iso-iso2gtex
1808 @findex iso-gtex2iso
1809 @cindex Latin-1 @TeX{} encoding
1810 @cindex @TeX{} encoding
1811 The commands @kbd{M-x iso-iso2tex}, @kbd{M-x iso-tex2iso}, @kbd{M-x
1812 iso-iso2gtex} and @kbd{M-x iso-gtex2iso} can be used to convert
1813 between Latin-1 encoded files and @TeX{}-encoded equivalents.
1816 @section SGML and HTML Modes
1824 The major modes for SGML and HTML provide indentation support and
1825 commands for operating on tags. HTML mode is a slightly customized
1826 variant of SGML mode.
1830 @kindex C-c C-n @r{(SGML mode)}
1831 @findex sgml-name-char
1832 Interactively specify a special character and insert the SGML
1833 @samp{&}-command for that character (@code{sgml-name-char}).
1836 @kindex C-c C-t @r{(SGML mode)}
1838 Interactively specify a tag and its attributes (@code{sgml-tag}).
1839 This command asks you for a tag name and for the attribute values,
1840 then inserts both the opening tag and the closing tag, leaving point
1843 With a prefix argument @var{n}, the command puts the tag around the
1844 @var{n} words already present in the buffer after point. Whenever a
1845 region is active, it puts the tag around the region (when Transient
1846 Mark mode is off, it does this when a numeric argument of @minus{}1 is
1850 @kindex C-c C-a @r{(SGML mode)}
1851 @findex sgml-attributes
1852 Interactively insert attribute values for the current tag
1853 (@code{sgml-attributes}).
1856 @kindex C-c C-f @r{(SGML mode)}
1857 @findex sgml-skip-tag-forward
1858 Skip across a balanced tag group (which extends from an opening tag
1859 through its corresponding closing tag) (@code{sgml-skip-tag-forward}).
1860 A numeric argument acts as a repeat count.
1863 @kindex C-c C-b @r{(SGML mode)}
1864 @findex sgml-skip-tag-backward
1865 Skip backward across a balanced tag group (which extends from an
1866 opening tag through its corresponding closing tag)
1867 (@code{sgml-skip-tag-backward}). A numeric argument acts as a repeat
1871 @kindex C-c C-d @r{(SGML mode)}
1872 @findex sgml-delete-tag
1873 Delete the tag at or after point, and delete the matching tag too
1874 (@code{sgml-delete-tag}). If the tag at or after point is an opening
1875 tag, delete the closing tag too; if it is a closing tag, delete the
1878 @item C-c ? @var{tag} @key{RET}
1879 @kindex C-c ? @r{(SGML mode)}
1880 @findex sgml-tag-help
1881 Display a description of the meaning of tag @var{tag}
1882 (@code{sgml-tag-help}). If the argument @var{tag} is empty, describe
1886 @kindex C-c / @r{(SGML mode)}
1887 @findex sgml-close-tag
1888 Insert a close tag for the innermost unterminated tag
1889 (@code{sgml-close-tag}). If called from within a tag or a comment,
1890 close this element instead of inserting a close tag.
1893 @kindex C-c 8 @r{(SGML mode)}
1894 @findex sgml-name-8bit-mode
1895 Toggle a minor mode in which Latin-1 characters insert the
1896 corresponding SGML commands that stand for them, instead of the
1897 characters themselves (@code{sgml-name-8bit-mode}).
1900 @kindex C-c C-v @r{(SGML mode)}
1901 @findex sgml-validate
1902 Run a shell command (which you must specify) to validate the current
1903 buffer as SGML (@code{sgml-validate}).
1906 @kindex C-c TAB @r{(SGML mode)}
1907 @findex sgml-tags-invisible
1908 Toggle the visibility of existing tags in the buffer. This can be
1909 used as a cheap preview (@code{sgml-tags-invisible}).
1916 The major mode for editing XML documents is called nXML mode. This
1917 is a powerful major mode that can recognize many existing XML schema
1918 and use them to provide completion of XML elements via
1919 @kbd{C-@key{RET}} or @kbd{M-@key{TAB}}, as well as ``on-the-fly'' XML
1920 validation with error highlighting. To enable nXML mode in an
1921 existing buffer, type @kbd{M-x nxml-mode}, or, equivalently, @kbd{M-x
1922 xml-mode}. Emacs uses nXML mode for files which have the extension
1923 @file{.xml}. For XHTML files, which have the extension @file{.xhtml},
1924 Emacs uses HTML mode by default; you can make it use nXML mode by
1925 customizing the variable @code{auto-mode-alist} (@pxref{Choosing
1928 nXML mode is described in its own manual: @xref{Top, nXML
1929 Mode,,nxml-mode, nXML Mode}.
1932 nXML mode is described in an Info manual, which is distributed with
1936 @vindex sgml-xml-mode
1937 You may choose to use the less powerful SGML mode for editing XML,
1938 since XML is a strict subset of SGML. To enable SGML mode in an
1939 existing buffer, type @kbd{M-x sgml-mode}. On enabling SGML mode,
1940 Emacs examines the buffer to determine whether it is XML; if so, it
1941 sets the variable @code{sgml-xml-mode} to a non-@code{nil} value.
1942 This causes SGML mode's tag insertion commands, described above, to
1943 always insert explicit closing tags as well.
1950 @vindex nroff-mode-hook
1951 Nroff mode is a major mode derived from Text mode, which is
1952 specialized for editing nroff files (e.g.@: Unix man pages). Type
1953 @kbd{M-x nroff-mode} to enter this mode. Entering Nroff mode runs the
1954 hook @code{text-mode-hook}, followed by @code{nroff-mode-hook}
1957 In Nroff mode, nroff command lines are treated as paragraph
1958 separators, pages are separated by @samp{.bp} commands, and comments
1959 start with backslash-doublequote. It also defines these commands:
1961 @findex forward-text-line
1962 @findex backward-text-line
1963 @findex count-text-lines
1964 @kindex M-n @r{(Nroff mode)}
1965 @kindex M-p @r{(Nroff mode)}
1966 @kindex M-? @r{(Nroff mode)}
1969 Move to the beginning of the next line that isn't an nroff command
1970 (@code{forward-text-line}). An argument is a repeat count.
1972 Like @kbd{M-n} but move up (@code{backward-text-line}).
1974 Displays in the echo area the number of text lines (lines that are not
1975 nroff commands) in the region (@code{count-text-lines}).
1978 @findex electric-nroff-mode
1979 Electric Nroff mode is a buffer-local minor mode that can be used
1980 with Nroff mode. To toggle this minor mode, type @kbd{M-x
1981 electric-nroff-mode} (@pxref{Minor Modes}). When the mode is on, each
1982 time you type @key{RET} to end a line containing an nroff command that
1983 opens a kind of grouping, the nroff command to close that grouping is
1984 automatically inserted on the following line.
1986 If you use Outline minor mode with Nroff mode (@pxref{Outline
1987 Mode}), heading lines are lines of the form @samp{.H} followed by a
1988 number (the header level).
1991 @section Enriched Text
1992 @cindex Enriched mode
1993 @cindex mode, Enriched
1994 @cindex enriched text
1996 @cindex word processing
1997 @cindex text/enriched MIME format
1999 Enriched mode is a minor mode for editing formatted text files in a
2000 WYSIWYG (``what you see is what you get'') fashion. When Enriched
2001 mode is enabled, you can apply various formatting properties to the
2002 text in the buffer, such as fonts and colors; upon saving the buffer,
2003 those properties are saved together with the text, using the MIME
2004 @samp{text/enriched} file format.
2006 Enriched mode is typically used with Text mode (@pxref{Text Mode}).
2007 It is @emph{not} compatible with Font Lock mode, which is used by many
2008 major modes, including most programming language modes, for syntax
2009 highlighting (@pxref{Font Lock}). Unlike Enriched mode, Font Lock
2010 mode assigns text properties automatically, based on the current
2011 buffer contents; those properties are not saved to disk.
2013 The file @file{etc/enriched.doc} in the Emacs distribution serves as
2014 an example of the features of Enriched mode.
2017 * Enriched Mode:: Entering and exiting Enriched mode.
2018 * Hard and Soft Newlines:: There are two different kinds of newlines.
2019 * Editing Format Info:: How to edit text properties.
2020 * Enriched Faces:: Bold, italic, underline, etc.
2021 * Enriched Indentation:: Changing the left and right margins.
2022 * Enriched Justification:: Centering, setting text flush with the
2023 left or right margin, etc.
2024 * Enriched Properties:: The "special" text properties submenu.
2028 @subsection Enriched Mode
2030 Enriched mode is a buffer-local minor mode (@pxref{Minor Modes}).
2031 When you visit a file that has been saved in the @samp{text/enriched}
2032 format, Emacs automatically enables Enriched mode, and applies the
2033 formatting information in the file to the buffer text. When you save
2034 a buffer with Enriched mode enabled, it is saved using the
2035 @samp{text/enriched} format, including the formatting information.
2037 @findex enriched-mode
2038 To create a new file of formatted text, visit the nonexistent file
2039 and type @kbd{M-x enriched-mode}. This command actually toggles
2040 Enriched mode. With a prefix argument, it enables Enriched mode if
2041 the argument is positive, and disables Enriched mode otherwise. If
2042 you disable Enriched mode, Emacs no longer saves the buffer using the
2043 @samp{text/enriched} format; any formatting properties that have been
2044 added to the buffer remain in the buffer, but they are not saved to
2047 @vindex enriched-translations
2048 Enriched mode does not save all Emacs text properties, only those
2049 specified in the variable @code{enriched-translations}. These include
2050 properties for fonts, colors, indentation, and justification.
2052 @findex format-decode-buffer
2053 If you visit a file and Emacs fails to recognize that it is in the
2054 @samp{text/enriched} format, type @kbd{M-x format-decode-buffer}.
2055 This command prompts for a file format, and re-reads the file in that
2056 format. Specifying the @samp{text/enriched} format automatically
2057 enables Enriched mode.
2059 To view a @samp{text/enriched} file in raw form (as plain text with
2060 markup tags rather than formatted text), use @kbd{M-x
2061 find-file-literally} (@pxref{Visiting}).
2063 @xref{Format Conversion,, Format Conversion, elisp, the Emacs Lisp
2064 Reference Manual}, for details of how Emacs recognizes and converts
2065 file formats like @samp{text/enriched}. @xref{Text Properties,,,
2066 elisp, the Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}, for more information about
2069 @node Hard and Soft Newlines
2070 @subsection Hard and Soft Newlines
2071 @cindex hard newline
2072 @cindex soft newline
2073 @cindex newlines, hard and soft
2075 @cindex use-hard-newlines
2076 In Enriched mode, Emacs distinguishes between two different kinds of
2077 newlines, @dfn{hard} newlines and @dfn{soft} newlines. You can also
2078 enable or disable this feature in other buffers, by typing @kbd{M-x
2081 Hard newlines are used to separate paragraphs, or anywhere there
2082 needs to be a line break regardless of how the text is filled; soft
2083 newlines are used for filling. The @key{RET} (@code{newline}) and
2084 @kbd{C-o} (@code{open-line}) commands insert hard newlines. The fill
2085 commands, including Auto Fill (@pxref{Auto Fill}), insert only soft
2086 newlines and delete only soft newlines, leaving hard newlines alone.
2088 Thus, when editing with Enriched mode, you should not use @key{RET}
2089 or @kbd{C-o} to break lines in the middle of filled paragraphs. Use
2090 Auto Fill mode or explicit fill commands (@pxref{Fill Commands})
2091 instead. Use @key{RET} or @kbd{C-o} where line breaks should always
2092 remain, such as in tables and lists. For such lines, you may also
2093 want to set the justification style to @code{unfilled}
2094 (@pxref{Enriched Justification}).
2096 @node Editing Format Info
2097 @subsection Editing Format Information
2099 The easiest way to alter properties is with the Text Properties
2100 menu. You can get to this menu from the Edit menu in the menu bar
2101 (@pxref{Menu Bar}), or with @kbd{C-Mouse-2} (@pxref{Menu Mouse
2102 Clicks}). Some of the commands in the Text Properties menu are listed
2103 below (you can also invoke them with @kbd{M-x}):
2106 @findex facemenu-remove-face-props
2107 @item Remove Face Properties
2108 Remove face properties from the region
2109 (@code{facemenu-remove-face-props}).
2111 @findex facemenu-remove-all
2112 @item Remove Text Properties
2113 Remove all text properties from the region, including face properties
2114 (@code{facemenu-remove-all}).
2116 @findex describe-text-properties
2117 @cindex text properties of characters
2118 @cindex overlays at character position
2119 @cindex widgets at buffer position
2120 @cindex buttons at buffer position
2121 @item Describe Properties
2122 List all text properties and other information about the character
2123 following point (@code{describe-text-properties}).
2126 Display a list of defined faces (@code{list-faces-display}).
2129 @item Display Colors
2130 Display a list of defined colors (@code{list-colors-display}).
2135 The other menu entries are described in the following sections.
2137 @node Enriched Faces
2138 @subsection Faces in Enriched Text
2140 The following commands can be used to add or remove faces
2141 (@pxref{Faces}). Each applies to the text in the region if the mark
2142 is active, and to the next self-inserting character if the mark is
2143 inactive. With a prefix argument, each command applies to the next
2144 self-inserting character even if the region is active.
2147 @kindex M-o d @r{(Enriched mode)}
2148 @findex facemenu-set-default
2150 Remove all @code{face} properties (@code{facemenu-set-default}).
2152 @kindex M-o b @r{(Enriched mode)}
2153 @findex facemenu-set-bold
2155 Apply the @code{bold} face (@code{facemenu-set-bold}).
2157 @kindex M-o i @r{(Enriched mode)}
2158 @findex facemenu-set-italic
2160 Apply the @code{italic} face (@code{facemenu-set-italic}).
2162 @kindex M-o l @r{(Enriched mode)}
2163 @findex facemenu-set-bold-italic
2165 Apply the @code{bold-italic} face (@code{facemenu-set-bold-italic}).
2167 @kindex M-o u @r{(Enriched mode)}
2168 @findex facemenu-set-underline
2170 Apply the @code{underline} face (@code{facemenu-set-underline}).
2172 @kindex M-o o @r{(Enriched mode)}
2173 @findex facemenu-set-face
2174 @item M-o o @var{face} @key{RET}
2175 Apply the face @var{face} (@code{facemenu-set-face}).
2177 @findex facemenu-set-foreground
2178 @item M-x facemenu-set-foreground
2179 Prompt for a color (@pxref{Colors}), and apply it as a foreground
2182 @findex facemenu-set-background
2183 @item M-x facemenu-set-background
2184 Prompt for a color, and apply it as a background color.
2188 These command are also available via the Text Properties menu.
2190 A self-inserting character normally inherits the face properties
2191 (and most other text properties) from the preceding character in the
2192 buffer. If you use one of the above commands to specify the face for
2193 the next self-inserting character, that character will not inherit the
2194 faces properties from the preceding character, but it will still
2195 inherit other text properties.
2197 Enriched mode defines two additional faces: @code{excerpt} and
2198 @code{fixed}. These correspond to codes used in the text/enriched
2199 file format. The @code{excerpt} face is intended for quotations; by
2200 default, it appears the same as @code{italic}. The @code{fixed} face
2201 specifies fixed-width text; by default, it appears the same as
2204 @node Enriched Indentation
2205 @subsection Indentation in Enriched Text
2207 In Enriched mode, you can specify different amounts of indentation
2208 for the right or left margin of a paragraph or a part of a paragraph.
2209 These margins also affect fill commands such as @kbd{M-q}
2212 The Indentation submenu of Text Properties provides four commands
2213 for specifying indentation:
2216 @kindex C-x TAB @r{(Enriched mode)}
2217 @findex increase-left-margin
2219 Indent the region by 4 columns (@code{increase-left-margin}). In
2220 Enriched mode, this command is also available on @kbd{C-x @key{TAB}}; if
2221 you supply a numeric argument, that says how many columns to add to the
2222 margin (a negative argument reduces the number of columns).
2225 Remove 4 columns of indentation from the region.
2227 @item Indent Right More
2228 Make the text narrower by indenting 4 columns at the right margin.
2230 @item Indent Right Less
2231 Remove 4 columns of indentation from the right margin.
2234 @vindex standard-indent
2235 The variable @code{standard-indent} specifies how many columns these
2236 commands should add to or subtract from the indentation. The default
2237 value is 4. The default right margin for Enriched mode is controlled
2238 by the variable @code{fill-column}, as usual.
2240 @kindex C-c [ @r{(Enriched mode)}
2241 @kindex C-c ] @r{(Enriched mode)}
2242 @findex set-left-margin
2243 @findex set-right-margin
2244 You can also type @kbd{C-c [} (@code{set-left-margin}) and @kbd{C-c
2245 ]} (@code{set-right-margin}) to set the left and right margins. You
2246 can specify the margin width with a numeric argument; otherwise these
2247 commands prompt for a value via the minibuffer.
2249 The fill prefix, if any, works in addition to the specified paragraph
2250 indentation: @kbd{C-x .} does not include the specified indentation's
2251 whitespace in the new value for the fill prefix, and the fill commands
2252 look for the fill prefix after the indentation on each line. @xref{Fill
2255 @node Enriched Justification
2256 @subsection Justification in Enriched Text
2258 In Enriched mode, you can use the following commands to specify
2259 various @dfn{justification styles} for filling. These commands apply
2260 to the paragraph containing point, or, if the region is active, to all
2261 paragraphs overlapping the region.
2264 @kindex M-j l @r{(Enriched mode)}
2265 @findex set-justification-left
2267 Align lines to the left margin (@code{set-justification-left}).
2269 @kindex M-j r @r{(Enriched mode)}
2270 @findex set-justification-right
2272 Align lines to the right margin (@code{set-justification-right}).
2274 @kindex M-j b @r{(Enriched mode)}
2275 @findex set-justification-full
2277 Align lines to both margins, inserting spaces in the middle of the
2278 line to achieve this (@code{set-justification-full}).
2280 @kindex M-j c @r{(Enriched mode)}
2281 @kindex M-S @r{(Enriched mode)}
2282 @findex set-justification-center
2285 Center lines between the margins (@code{set-justification-center}).
2287 @kindex M-j u @r{(Enriched mode)}
2288 @findex set-justification-none
2290 Turn off filling entirely (@code{set-justification-none}). The fill
2291 commands do nothing on text with this setting. You can, however,
2292 still indent the left margin.
2295 You can also specify justification styles using the Justification
2296 submenu in the Text Properties menu.
2298 @vindex default-justification
2299 The default justification style is specified by the per-buffer
2300 variable @code{default-justification}. Its value should be one of the
2301 symbols @code{left}, @code{right}, @code{full}, @code{center}, or
2304 @node Enriched Properties
2305 @subsection Setting Other Text Properties
2307 The Special Properties submenu of Text Properties has entries for
2308 adding or removing three other text properties: @code{read-only},
2309 (which disallows alteration of the text), @code{invisible} (which
2310 hides text), and @code{intangible} (which disallows moving point
2311 within the text). The @samp{Remove Special} menu item removes all of
2312 these special properties from the text in the region.
2314 The @code{invisible} and @code{intangible} properties are not saved
2315 in the @samp{text/enriched} format.
2317 @node Text Based Tables
2318 @section Editing Text-based Tables
2320 @cindex text-based tables
2322 The @code{table} package provides commands to easily edit text-based
2323 tables. Here is an example of what such a table looks like:
2327 +-----------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
2328 | Command | Description | Key Binding |
2329 +-----------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
2330 | forward-char |Move point right N characters | C-f |
2331 | |(left if N is negative). | |
2333 +-----------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
2334 | backward-char |Move point left N characters | C-b |
2335 | |(right if N is negative). | |
2337 +-----------------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
2341 When Emacs recognizes such a stretch of text as a table
2342 (@pxref{Table Recognition}), editing the contents of each table cell
2343 will automatically resize the table, whenever the contents become too
2344 large to fit in the cell. You can use the commands defined in the
2345 following sections for navigating and editing the table layout.
2347 @findex table-fixed-width-mode
2348 To toggle the automatic table resizing feature, type @kbd{M-x
2349 table-fixed-width-mode}.
2352 * Table Definition:: What is a text based table.
2353 * Table Creation:: How to create a table.
2354 * Table Recognition:: How to activate and deactivate tables.
2355 * Cell Commands:: Cell-oriented commands in a table.
2356 * Cell Justification:: Justifying cell contents.
2357 * Table Rows and Columns:: Inserting and deleting rows and columns.
2358 * Table Conversion:: Converting between plain text and tables.
2359 * Table Misc:: Table miscellany.
2362 @node Table Definition
2363 @subsection What is a Text-based Table?
2364 @cindex cells, for text-based tables
2366 A @dfn{table} consists of a rectangular text area which is divided
2367 into @dfn{cells}. Each cell must be at least one character wide and
2368 one character high, not counting its border lines. A cell can be
2369 subdivided into more cells, but they cannot overlap.
2371 Cell border lines are drawn with three special characters, specified
2372 by the following variables:
2375 @vindex table-cell-vertical-char
2376 @item table-cell-vertical-char
2377 The character used for vertical lines. The default is @samp{|}.
2379 @vindex table-cell-horizontal-chars
2380 @item table-cell-horizontal-chars
2381 The characters used for horizontal lines. The default is @samp{"-="}.
2383 @vindex table-cell-intersection-char
2384 @item table-cell-intersection-char
2385 The character used for the intersection of horizontal and vertical
2386 lines. The default is @samp{+}.
2390 The following are examples of @emph{invalid} tables:
2393 +-----+ +--+ +-++--+
2396 +--+ | +--+--+ +-++--+
2399 +--+--+ +--+--+ +-++--+
2408 Overlapped cells or non-rectangular cells are not allowed.
2410 The border must be rectangular.
2412 Cells must have a minimum width/height of one character.
2415 @node Table Creation
2416 @subsection Creating a Table
2417 @cindex create a text-based table
2418 @cindex table creation
2420 @findex table-insert
2421 To create a text-based table from scratch, type @kbd{M-x
2422 table-insert}. This command prompts for the number of table columns,
2423 the number of table rows, cell width and cell height. The cell width
2424 and cell height do not include the cell borders; each can be specified
2425 as a single integer (which means each cell is given the same
2426 width/height), or as a sequence of integers separated by spaces or
2427 commas (which specify the width/height of the individual table
2428 columns/rows, counting from left to right for table columns and from
2429 top to bottom for table rows). The specified table is then inserted
2432 The table inserted by @kbd{M-x table-insert} contains special text
2433 properties, which tell Emacs to treat it specially as a text-based
2434 table. If you save the buffer to a file and visit it again later,
2435 those properties are lost, and the table appears to Emacs as an
2436 ordinary piece of text. See the next section, for how to convert it
2439 @node Table Recognition
2440 @subsection Table Recognition
2441 @cindex table recognition
2443 @findex table-recognize
2444 @findex table-unrecognize
2445 Existing text-based tables in a buffer, which lack the special text
2446 properties applied by @kbd{M-x table-insert}, are not treated
2447 specially as tables. To apply those text properties, type @kbd{M-x
2448 table-recognize}. This command scans the current buffer,
2449 @dfn{recognizes} valid table cells, and applies the relevant text
2450 properties. Conversely, type @kbd{M-x table-unrecognize} to
2451 @dfn{unrecognize} all tables in the current buffer, removing the
2452 special text properties and converting tables back to plain text.
2454 You can also use the following commands to selectively recognize or
2458 @findex table-recognize-region
2459 @item M-x table-recognize-region
2460 Recognize tables within the current region.
2462 @findex table-unrecognize-region
2463 @item M-x table-unrecognize-region
2464 Unrecognize tables within the current region.
2466 @findex table-recognize-table
2467 @item M-x table-recognize-table
2468 Recognize the table at point and activate it.
2470 @findex table-unrecognize-table
2471 @item M-x table-unrecognize-table
2472 Deactivate the table at point.
2474 @findex table-recognize-cell
2475 @item M-x table-recognize-cell
2476 Recognize the cell at point and activate it.
2478 @findex table-unrecognize-cell
2479 @item M-x table-unrecognize-cell
2480 Deactivate the cell at point.
2483 @xref{Table Conversion}, for another way to recognize a table.
2486 @subsection Commands for Table Cells
2488 @findex table-forward-cell
2489 @findex table-backward-cell
2490 The commands @kbd{M-x table-forward-cell} and @kbd{M-x
2491 table-backward-cell} move point from the current cell to an adjacent
2492 cell. The order is cyclic: when point is in the last cell of a table,
2493 @kbd{M-x table-forward-cell} moves to the first cell. Likewise, when
2494 point is on the first cell, @kbd{M-x table-backward-cell} moves to the
2497 @findex table-span-cell
2498 @kbd{M-x table-span-cell} prompts for a direction---right, left,
2499 above, or below---and merges the current cell with the adjacent cell
2500 in that direction. This command signals an error if the merge would
2501 result in an illegitimate cell layout.
2503 @findex table-split-cell
2504 @findex table-split-cell-vertically
2505 @findex table-split-cell-horizontally
2506 @cindex text-based tables, splitting cells
2507 @cindex splitting table cells
2508 @kbd{M-x table-split-cell} splits the current cell vertically or
2509 horizontally, prompting for the direction with the minibuffer. The
2510 commands @kbd{M-x table-split-cell-vertically} and @kbd{M-x
2511 table-split-cell-horizontally} split in a specific direction. When
2512 splitting vertically, the old cell contents are automatically split
2513 between the two new cells. When splitting horizontally, you are
2514 prompted for how to divide the cell contents, if the cell is
2515 non-empty; the options are @samp{split} (divide the contents at
2516 point), @samp{left} (put all the contents in the left cell), and
2517 @samp{right} (put all the contents in the right cell).
2519 The following commands enlarge or shrink a cell. By default, they
2520 resize by one row or column; if a numeric argument is supplied, that
2521 specifies the number of rows or columns to resize by.
2524 @findex table-heighten-cell
2525 @item M-x table-heighten-cell
2526 Enlarge the current cell vertically.
2528 @findex table-shorten-cell
2529 @item M-x table-shorten-cell
2530 Shrink the current cell vertically.
2532 @findex table-widen-cell
2533 @item M-x table-widen-cell
2534 Enlarge the current cell horizontally.
2536 @findex table-narrow-cell
2537 @item M-x table-narrow-cell
2538 Shrink the current cell horizontally.
2541 @node Cell Justification
2542 @subsection Cell Justification
2543 @cindex justification in text-based tables
2545 The command @kbd{M-x table-justify} imposes @dfn{justification} on
2546 one or more cells in a text-based table. Justification determines how
2547 the text in the cell is aligned, relative to the edges of the cell.
2548 Each cell in a table can be separately justified.
2550 @findex table-justify
2551 @kbd{M-x table-justify} first prompts for what to justify; the
2552 options are @samp{cell} (just the current cell), @samp{column} (all
2553 cells in the current table column) and @samp{row} (all cells in the
2554 current table row). The command then prompts for the justification
2555 style; the options are @code{left}, @code{center}, @code{right},
2556 @code{top}, @code{middle}, @code{bottom}, or @code{none} (meaning no
2557 vertical justification).
2559 Horizontal and vertical justification styles are specified
2560 independently, and both types can be in effect simultaneously; for
2561 instance, you can call @kbd{M-x table-justify} twice, once to specify
2562 @code{right} justification and once to specify @code{bottom}
2563 justification, to align the contents of a cell to the bottom right.
2565 @vindex table-detect-cell-alignment
2566 The justification style is stored in the buffer as a text property,
2567 and is lost when you kill the buffer or exit Emacs. However, the
2568 table recognition commands, such as @kbd{M-x table-recognize}
2569 (@pxref{Table Recognition}), attempt to determine and re-apply each
2570 cell's justification style, by examining its contents. To disable
2571 this feature, change the variable @code{table-detect-cell-alignment}
2574 @node Table Rows and Columns
2575 @subsection Table Rows and Columns
2576 @cindex inserting rows and columns in text-based tables
2578 @findex table-insert-row
2579 @kbd{M-x table-insert-row} inserts a row of cells before the current
2580 table row. The current row, together with point, is pushed down past
2581 the new row. To insert rows after the last row at the bottom of a
2582 table, invoke this command with point below the table, just below the
2583 bottom edge. A numeric prefix argument specifies the number of rows
2586 @findex table-insert-column
2587 Similarly, @kbd{M-x table-insert-column} inserts a column of cells
2588 to the left of the current table column. To insert a column to the
2589 right side of the rightmost column, invoke this command with point to
2590 the right of the rightmost column, outside the table. A numeric
2591 prefix argument specifies the number of columns to insert.
2593 @cindex deleting rows and column in text-based tables
2594 @kbd{M-x table-delete-column} deletes the column of cells at point.
2595 Similarly, @kbd{M-x table-delete-row} deletes the row of cells at
2596 point. A numeric prefix argument to either command specifies the
2597 number of columns or rows to delete.
2599 @node Table Conversion
2600 @subsection Converting Between Plain Text and Tables
2601 @cindex text to table
2602 @cindex table to text
2604 @findex table-capture
2605 The command @kbd{M-x table-capture} captures plain text in a region
2606 and turns it into a table. Unlike @kbd{M-x table-recognize}
2607 (@pxref{Table Recognition}), the original text does not need to have a
2608 table appearance; it only needs to have a logical table-like
2611 For example, suppose we have the following numbers, which are
2612 divided into three lines and separated horizontally by commas:
2621 Invoking @kbd{M-x table-capture} on that text produces this table:
2624 +-----+-----+-----+-----+
2626 +-----+-----+-----+-----+
2628 +-----+-----+-----+-----+
2630 +-----+-----+-----+-----+
2633 @findex table-release
2634 @kbd{M-x table-release} does the opposite: it converts a table back
2635 to plain text, removing its cell borders.
2637 One application of this pair of commands is to edit a text in
2638 layout. Look at the following three paragraphs (the latter two are
2639 indented with header lines):
2642 table-capture is a powerful command.
2643 Here are some things it can do:
2645 Parse Cell Items Using row and column delimiter regexps,
2646 it parses the specified text area and
2647 extracts cell items into a table.
2651 Applying @code{table-capture} to a region containing the above text,
2652 with empty strings for the column and row delimiter regexps, creates a
2653 table with a single cell like the following one.
2657 +----------------------------------------------------------+
2658 |table-capture is a powerful command. |
2659 |Here are some things it can do: |
2661 |Parse Cell Items Using row and column delimiter regexps,|
2662 | it parses the specified text area and |
2663 | extracts cell items into a table. |
2664 +----------------------------------------------------------+
2669 We can then use the cell splitting commands (@pxref{Cell Commands}) to
2670 subdivide the table so that each paragraph occupies a cell:
2673 +----------------------------------------------------------+
2674 |table-capture is a powerful command. |
2675 |Here are some things it can do: |
2676 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
2677 |Parse Cell Items | Using row and column delimiter regexps,|
2678 | | it parses the specified text area and |
2679 | | extracts cell items into a table. |
2680 +-----------------+----------------------------------------+
2684 Each cell can now be edited independently without affecting the layout
2685 of other cells. When finished, we can invoke @kbd{M-x table-release}
2686 to convert the table back to plain text.
2689 @subsection Table Miscellany
2691 @cindex table dimensions
2692 @findex table-query-dimension
2693 The command @code{table-query-dimension} reports the layout of the
2694 table and table cell at point. Here is an example of its output:
2697 Cell: (21w, 6h), Table: (67w, 16h), Dim: (2c, 3r), Total Cells: 5
2701 This indicates that the current cell is 21 characters wide and 6 lines
2702 high, the table is 67 characters wide and 16 lines high with 2 columns
2703 and 3 rows, and a total of 5 cells.
2705 @findex table-insert-sequence
2706 @kbd{M-x table-insert-sequence} inserts a string into each cell.
2707 Each string is a part of a sequence i.e.@: a series of increasing
2710 @cindex table for HTML and LaTeX
2711 @findex table-generate-source
2712 @kbd{M-x table-generate-source} generates a table formatted for a
2713 specific markup language. It asks for a language (which must be one
2714 of @code{html}, @code{latex}, or @code{cals}), a destination buffer in
2715 which to put the result, and a table caption, and then inserts the
2716 generated table into the specified buffer. The default destination
2717 buffer is @code{table.@var{lang}}, where @var{lang} is the language
2721 @section Two-Column Editing
2722 @cindex two-column editing
2723 @cindex splitting columns
2724 @cindex columns, splitting
2726 Two-column mode lets you conveniently edit two side-by-side columns
2727 of text. It uses two side-by-side windows, each showing its own
2728 buffer. There are three ways to enter two-column mode:
2731 @item @kbd{@key{F2} 2} or @kbd{C-x 6 2}
2734 @findex 2C-two-columns
2735 Enter two-column mode with the current buffer on the left, and on the
2736 right, a buffer whose name is based on the current buffer's name
2737 (@code{2C-two-columns}). If the right-hand buffer doesn't already
2738 exist, it starts out empty; the current buffer's contents are not
2741 This command is appropriate when the current buffer is empty or contains
2742 just one column and you want to add another column.
2744 @item @kbd{@key{F2} s} or @kbd{C-x 6 s}
2748 Split the current buffer, which contains two-column text, into two
2749 buffers, and display them side by side (@code{2C-split}). The current
2750 buffer becomes the left-hand buffer, but the text in the right-hand
2751 column is moved into the right-hand buffer. The current column
2752 specifies the split point. Splitting starts with the current line and
2753 continues to the end of the buffer.
2755 This command is appropriate when you have a buffer that already contains
2756 two-column text, and you wish to separate the columns temporarily.
2758 @item @kbd{@key{F2} b @var{buffer} @key{RET}}
2759 @itemx @kbd{C-x 6 b @var{buffer} @key{RET}}
2762 @findex 2C-associate-buffer
2763 Enter two-column mode using the current buffer as the left-hand buffer,
2764 and using buffer @var{buffer} as the right-hand buffer
2765 (@code{2C-associate-buffer}).
2768 @kbd{@key{F2} s} or @kbd{C-x 6 s} looks for a column separator, which
2769 is a string that appears on each line between the two columns. You can
2770 specify the width of the separator with a numeric argument to
2771 @kbd{@key{F2} s}; that many characters, before point, constitute the
2772 separator string. By default, the width is 1, so the column separator
2773 is the character before point.
2775 When a line has the separator at the proper place, @kbd{@key{F2} s}
2776 puts the text after the separator into the right-hand buffer, and
2777 deletes the separator. Lines that don't have the column separator at
2778 the proper place remain unsplit; they stay in the left-hand buffer, and
2779 the right-hand buffer gets an empty line to correspond. (This is the
2780 way to write a line that ``spans both columns while in two-column
2781 mode'': write it in the left-hand buffer, and put an empty line in the
2787 The command @kbd{C-x 6 @key{RET}} or @kbd{@key{F2} @key{RET}}
2788 (@code{2C-newline}) inserts a newline in each of the two buffers at
2789 corresponding positions. This is the easiest way to add a new line to
2790 the two-column text while editing it in split buffers.
2795 When you have edited both buffers as you wish, merge them with
2796 @kbd{@key{F2} 1} or @kbd{C-x 6 1} (@code{2C-merge}). This copies the
2797 text from the right-hand buffer as a second column in the other buffer.
2798 To go back to two-column editing, use @kbd{@key{F2} s}.
2802 @findex 2C-dissociate
2803 Use @kbd{@key{F2} d} or @kbd{C-x 6 d} to dissociate the two buffers,
2804 leaving each as it stands (@code{2C-dissociate}). If the other buffer,
2805 the one not current when you type @kbd{@key{F2} d}, is empty,
2806 @kbd{@key{F2} d} kills it.