Emacs Customization and Cheat Sheet
Emacs Configuration
Concepts
- buffer
- window
- kill ~ cut
- yank ~ paste
Notations
Key |
PC |
Mac |
Meta |
Esc |
⌘ |
RETURN |
Enter |
RETURN |
DEL |
DEL (or M-BACKSPACE on some keyboards) |
DEL |
Notation |
Means |
C-x |
Press and hold the Control key and then press and release the “x” key |
M-x |
Press and release the Meta key and then press the “x” key |
Exits
Key |
Command |
Function |
C-x C-c |
Exit Emacs |
|
Open/Save File
Key |
Command |
Function |
C-x C-f |
Open or create file |
M-x find-file |
C-x C-r |
Open file in read-only mode |
|
C-x C-v |
Replace current opened file |
|
C-x C-s |
Save buffer |
M-x save-buffer |
C-x C-w |
Save file with new name |
M-x write-file |
C-x i |
Insert another file |
M-x insert-file |
Buffer Commands
Key |
Command |
Function |
C-x b |
Switch to another buffer |
M-x switch-to-buffer |
C-x C-b |
List buffers |
M-x list-buffer |
C-x k |
Kill current buffer |
M-x kill-buffer |
C-x C-s |
Save buffer |
M-x save-buffer |
C-l |
Refresh buffer, cycle mid, bottom, top |
|
Windows
Key |
Command |
Function |
C-x 2 |
Split window vertically |
M-x split-window-vertically |
C-x 3 |
Split window horizontally |
M-x split-window-horizontally |
C-x o |
Move to another window |
M-x other-window |
C-x 0 |
Delete the current window |
M-x delete-window |
C-x 1 |
Delete all windows but the current |
M-x delete-other-windows |
Moving Around
Move By |
Forward |
Backward |
Char |
C-f |
C-b |
Word |
M-f |
M-b |
Sentence |
M-e |
M-a |
Paragraph |
M-} |
M-{ |
Line |
C-n |
C-p |
Line End/Start |
C-e |
C-a |
Buffer End/Start |
M-> |
M-< |
Scroll |
C-v |
M-v |
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Move to the beginning of a buffer |
M-< |
M-x beginning-of-buffer |
Move to the end of a buffer |
M-> |
M-x end-of-buffer |
Move forward one character |
C-f |
M-x forward-char |
Move backward one character |
C-b |
M-x backward-char |
Move down one line |
C-n |
M-x next-line |
Move up on line |
C-p |
M-x previous-line |
Move forward one word |
M-f |
M-x forward-word |
Move backward one word |
M-b |
M-x backward-word |
Move to the end of a line |
C-e |
M-x end-of-line |
Move to the beginning of a line |
C-a |
M-x beginning-of-line |
Move forward one screen |
C-v |
M-x scroll up |
Move backward one screen |
M-v |
M-x scroll-down |
Cut/Delete/Kill Text
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Delete character |
C-d |
M-x delete-char |
Delete previous character |
DEL |
M-x delete-backward-char |
Delete word |
M-d |
M-x kill-word |
Delete previous word |
M-DEL |
M-x backward-kill-word |
Delete the entire line |
C-k |
M-x kill-line |
Mark Text to Delete, Move or Copy
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Mark the beginning of a selection |
C-@ or C-SPACEBAR |
M-x set-mark-command |
Delete the marked region |
C-w |
M-x kill-region |
Copy a marked region |
M-w or C-INSERT |
M-x kill-ring-save |
Yank a region |
C-y |
M-x yank |
Incremental Search
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Forward |
C-s |
M-x isearch-forward |
Backward |
C-r |
M-x isearch-backward |
Exit |
ENTER or RETURN |
|
Cancel |
C-g |
M-x keyboard-quit |
Delete incorrect character in search string |
DEL |
|
Search / Replace Text
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Search forward |
C-s RETURN |
|
Search backward |
C-r RETURN |
|
Start search and replace |
M-% |
M-x query-replace |
Replace current instance and continue on to next instance |
SPACEBAR or y |
|
Don not replace current instance, move on to next instance |
DEL |
|
Replace the current instance and then quit |
. (period key) |
|
Replace the current instance and then pause |
, (comma key) |
|
Resume after pausing |
SPACEBAR or y |
|
Replace remaining instances without asking |
! |
|
Back up to previous instance |
^ |
|
Exit query replace |
RETURN (or ENTER on some keyboards) or q |
|
Wildcard Search
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Search forward |
M C-s RETURN FOLLOWED BY thisIsMySearchExpressio* |
M-x re-search-forward |
Search backward |
M C-r RETURN FOLLOWED BY thisIsMySearchExpressio* |
M-x re-search-backward |
Search forward and incrementally |
M C-s |
M-x isearch-forward-regexp |
Search backward and incrementally |
M C-r |
M-x isearch-backward-regexp |
Misc Commands
Command |
Keystroke |
Function |
Undo |
C-x u |
|
Undo all changes since the last save |
|
M-x revert-buffer |
Shell |
|
M-x shell |
Cancel current command |
C-g |
|
Color Theme
Must have Color Theme, e.g.
Dracula!