17.A: Moving | 16.C: Adding an Application |
The emacs editor is popular because it has many options, it's powerful, it has key-driven commands (experienced users find that faster than mouse-driven commands), and it is so much more than vi. In fact, emacs is so powerful, that in many ways it's like an operating system all to itself.
To enter commands in emacs, you use the control key (sometimes labeled Ctrl) or the Meta key (sometimes labeled Alt or Esc). If you don't have a Meta key, then try the esc key. To save time, we will write Meta or Control each time we discuss a command, we use
C-character |
control key + character |
M-character |
meta key + character |
This means you press the character key while simultaneously holding down either the Control or meta key.
First let's open the file sample.doc
> emacs sample.doc
You can also open emacs without a document
> emacs
Now you are ready to explore emacs.
17.A: Moving | 16.C: Adding an Application |