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Manual page for EMACS(1)

emacs - GNU project Emacs

SYNOPSIS

emacs [ command-line switches ] [ files ... ]

DESCRIPTION

GNU Emacs is a new version of Emacs, written by the author of the original (PDP-10) Emacs, Richard Stallman. Its user functionality encompasses everything other Emacs editors do, and it is easily extensible since its editing commands are written in Lisp.

Emacs has an extensive interactive help facility, but the facility assumes that you know how to manipulate Emacs windows and buffers. CTRL-h (backspace or CTRL-h) enters the Help facility. Help Tutorial (CTRL-h t) requests an interactive tutorial which can teach beginners the fundamentals of Emacs in a few minutes. Help Apropos (CTRL-h a) helps you find a command given its functionality, Help Character (CTRL-h c) describes a given character's effect, and Help Function (CTRL-h f) describes a given Lisp function specified by name.

Emacs's Undo can undo several steps of modification to your buffers, so it is easy to recover from editing mistakes.

GNU Emacs's many special packages handle mail reading (RMail) and sending (Mail), outline editing (Outline), compiling (Compile), running subshells within Emacs windows (Shell), running a Lisp read-eval-print loop (Lisp-Interaction-Mode), and automated psychotherapy (Doctor).

There is an extensive reference manual, but users of other Emacses should have little trouble adapting even without a copy. Users new to Emacs will be able to use basic features fairly rapidly by studying the tutorial and using the self-documentation features.

Emacs Options

The following options are of general interest:

file: Edit file.
+number: Go to the line specified by number (do not insert a space between the "+" sign and the number).
-q: Do not load an init file.
-u user: Load user's init file.
-t file: Use specified file as the terminal instead of using stdin/stdout. This must be the first argument specified in the command line.

The following options are lisp-oriented (these options are processed in the order encountered):

-f function: Execute the lisp function function.
-l file: Load the lisp code in the file file.

The following options are useful when running Emacs as a batch editor:

-batch: Edit in batch mode according to the other command line arguments. The editor will send messages to stdout. This option must be the first in the argument list.
-kill: Exit Emacs while in batch mode.

MANUALS

You can order printed copies of the GNU Emacs Manual for $20.00/copy postpaid from the Free Software Foundation, which develops GNU software. Their address is:

    Free Software Foundation
    675 Mass Ave.
    Cambridge, MA 02139

See the file etc/DISTRIB in the Emacs distribution for full ordering information. Your local Emacs maintainer might also have copies available. As with all software and publications from FSF, everyone is permitted to make and distribute copies of the Emacs manual. The TeX source to the manual is also included in the Emacs source distribution.

FILES

/usr/lib/emacs/lisp - Lisp source files and compiled files that define most editing commands. Some are preloaded; others are autoloaded from this directory when used. /usr/lib/emacs/etc - various programs that are used with GNU Emacs, and some files of information. /usr/lib/emacs/etc/DOC* - contains the documentation strings for the Lisp primitives and preloaded Lisp functions of GNU Emacs. They are stored here to reduce the size of Emacs proper. /usr/lib/emacs/etc/DISTRIB discusses GNU Emacs distribution and contains an order form for all of the software and manuals available from the Free Software Foundation. These files also have information useful to anyone wishing to write programs in the Emacs Lisp extension language, which is documented in the GNU Emacs Lisp Manual. /usr/lib/emacs/info - files for the Info documentation browser (a subsystem of Emacs) to refer to. Currently not much of Unix is documented here, but the complete text of the Emacs reference manual is included in a convenient tree structured form. /usr/lib/emacs/lock - holds lock files that are made for all files being modified in Emacs, to prevent simultaneous modification of one file by two users.

BUGS

There is a mailing list, bug-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu on the internet (ucbvax!prep.ai.mit.edu!bug-gnu-emacs on UUCPnet), for reporting Emacs bugs and fixes. But before reporting something as a bug, please try to be sure that it really is a bug, not a misunderstanding or a deliberate feature. We ask you to read the section ``Reporting Emacs Bugs'' near the end of the reference manual (or Info system) for hints on how and when to report bugs. Also, include the version number of the Emacs you are running in every bug report that you send in. Do not expect a personal answer to a bug report. The purpose of reporting bugs is to get them fixed for everyone in the next release, if possible. For personal assistance, look in the SERVICE file (see above) for a list of people who offer it. Please do not send anything but bug reports to this mailing list. Send requests to be added to mailing lists to the special list info-gnu-emacs-request@prep.ai.mit.edu (or the corresponding UUCP address). For more information about Emacs mailing lists, see the file /usr/lib/emacs/etc/MAILINGLISTS. Bugs tend actually to be fixed if they can be isolated, so it is in your interest to report them in such a way that they can be easily reproduced.

Bugs that I know about are: shell will not work with programs running in Raw mode on some Unix versions.

UNRESTRICTIONS

Emacs is free; anyone may redistribute copies of Emacs to anyone under the terms stated in the Emacs General Public License, a copy of which accompanies each copy of Emacs and which also appears in the reference manual.

Copies of Emacs may sometimes be received packaged with distributions of Unix systems, but it is never included in the scope of any license covering those systems. Such inclusion violates the terms on which distribution is permitted. In fact, the primary purpose of the General Public License is to prohibit anyone from attaching any other restrictions to redistribution of Emacs.

Richard Stallman encourages you to improve and extend Emacs, and urges that you contribute your extensions to the GNU library. Eventually GNU (Gnu's Not Unix) will be a complete replacement for Berkeley Unix. Everyone will be able to use the GNU system for free.

AUTHORS

Emacs was written by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation. Joachim Martillo and Robert Krawitz added the X features.