Table E-1. File-handling commands (Chapter 1)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
C-x C-fFile Open File
find-file
Find file and read it in a new buffer.
C-x C-v
find-alternate-file
Read an alternate file, replacing the one read with C-x C-f.
C-x iFile Insert File
insert-file
Insert file at cursor position.
C-x C-s File Save (current buffer)
save-buffer
Save file.
C-x C-w File Save Buffer As
write-file
Write buffer contents to file.
C-x C-c File Exit Emacs
save-buffers-kill-emacs
Exit Emacs.
Table E-2. Cursor movement commands (Chapter 2)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
C-f
forward-char
Move forward one character (right).
C-b
backward-char
Move backward one character (left).
C-p
previous-line
Move to previous line (up).
C-n
next-line
Move to next line (down).
M-f
forward-word
Move one word forward.
M-b
backward-word
Move one word backward.
C-a
beginning-of-line
Move to beginning of line.
C-e
end-of-line
Move to end of line.
M-e
forward-sentence
Move forward one sentence.
M-a
backward-sentence
Move backward one sentence.
C-v
scroll-up
Move forward one screen.
M-v
scroll-down
Move backward one screen.
M-<
beginning-of-buffer
Move to beginning of file.
M->
end-of-buffer
Move to end of file.
(none)
goto-line
Go to line n of file.
(none)
goto-char
Go to character n of file.
M-n
digit-argument
Repeat the next command n times.
C-u n
universal-argument
Repeat the next command n times (four times if you omit n).
Table E-3. Deleting, yanking, region, and clipboard commands(Chapter 2)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
C-d
delete-char
Delete character under cursor.
Del
delete-backward-char
Delete previous character.
M-d
kill-word
Delete next word.
M-Del
backward-kill-word
Delete previous word.
C-yEdit Paste Most Recent
yank
Restore what you've deleted.
C-w Edit Cut
kill-region
Delete a marked region (see next section).
C-@ or C- Space
set-mark-command
Mark the beginning (or end) of a region.
C-x C-x
exchange-point-and-mark
Exchange location of cursor and mark.
C-w
kill-region
Delete the region.
C-y
yank
Paste most recently killed or copied text.
M-w
kill-ring-save
Copy the region (so it can be pasted with C-y).
C-x h
mark-whole-buffer
Mark buffer.
M-y
yank-pop
After C-y, pastes earlier deletion.
(none)
clipboard-kill-region
Cut region and place both in kill ring and on system clipboard.
(none)
clipboard-yank
Paste text from clipboard.
(none)
clipboard-kill-ring-save
Copy text to clipboard.
Table E-4. Text filling and reformatting commands (Chapter 2)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
(none) Options Word Wrap in Text Modes
auto-fill-mode
Toggle auto-fill mode, in which Emacs formats paragraphs as you type them.
M-q
fill-paragraph
Reformat paragraph.
(none) Edit Fill
fill-region
Reformat individual paragraphs within a region.
Table E-5. Stopping and undoing commands (Chapter 2)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
C-g
keyboard-quit
Abort current command.
C-x u
advertised-undo
Undo last edit (can be done repeatedly).
C-_ Edit Undo
undo
Undo last edit.
(none)
revert-buffer
Restore buffer to the state it was in when the file was last saved (or auto-saved).
Table E-6. Search and replace commands (Chapter 3)
Keystrokes
Command name
Action
C-s Edit Search Incremental Search Forward String
isearch-forward
Start incremental search forward; follow by search string. Also, find next occurrence (forward) of search string.
C-r Edit Search Incremental Search Backward String
isearch-backward
Start incremental search backward; follow by search string. Also, find next occurrence (backward) of search string.