HOW DO I START EMACS?

So, now you're ready to begin using the emacs editor. There are several ways of invoking emacs, but we'll talk about two main ones in this document.

If you are using and X-windows interface, you may have a graphical representation of emacs. This method of "emacs-ing" is very nice because you have access to the mouse for highlighting text and moving around in the window. On my standard KDE desktop environment, the graphical edition of emacs is found in /usr/bin/emacs.

The other option is to run emacs within a terminal window or console. This method does not include mouse functionality, but everything else is there. The executable is /usr/bin/emacs-nox. Your system may not support X or does not have an X-compatible emacs. Just try typing "emacs" from a terminal and see what you get.

So, the way you use emacs is up to you. Just like most things on your computer, it's a matter of personal preference. Now, it's really time to work with emacs. Start it up in whatever way you've decided upon and let's begin.

CONTROL and META?

Commands in emacs are usually invoked by a sequence of key combinations involving the CONTROL key and the META (on most systems ESC) and any other normal key. This is not a big deal, but it takes some getting used to. Throughout this document, these combinations will be notated in the following way :

C-x : means hold down the CONTROL key and press the 'x' key. M-x : means hold down the ESC (or META) key and press the 'x' key.

Commands may involve one of these sequences followed by a standard key. These commands will be written as :

C-x-o : means C-x, let up on both keys and press the 'o' key.

Commands often involve a series of these combinations, they will be written in the following manner :

C-x-C-w : means C-x AND THEN C-w.

Emacs provides it's own tutorial that covers the very basics. It can be run at any time by C-h-t. The same basics covered in the tutorial will be covered in the next section.