xref: /386bsd/usr/local/info/emacs-15 (revision a2142627)

This is Info file ../info/emacs, produced by Makeinfo-1.54 from the
input file emacs.texi.


File: emacs,  Node: Diary,  Next: Appointments,  Prev: Other Calendars,  Up: Calendar/Diary

The Diary
=========

   The Emacs diary keeps track of appointments or other events on a
daily basis, in conjunction with the calendar.  To use the diary
feature, you must first create a "diary file" containing a list of
events and their dates.  Then Emacs can automatically pick out and
display the events for today, for the immediate future, or for any
specified date.

   By default, Emacs uses `~/diary' as the diary file.  This is the
same file that the `calendar' utility uses.  A sample `~/diary' file is:

     12/22/1988 Twentieth wedding anniversary!!
     &1/1. Happy New Year!
     10/22 Ruth's birthday.
     * 21, *: Payday
     Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
              Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
     1/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
     &thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
     mar 16 Dad's birthday
     April 15, 1989 Income tax due.
     &* 15 time cards due.

   Although you probably will start by creating a diary manually, Emacs
provides a number of commands to let you view, add, and change diary
entries.

* Menu:

* Diary Commands::         Viewing diary entries and associated calendar dates.
* Format of Diary File::   Entering events in your diary.
* Date Formats::	   Various ways you can specify dates.
* Adding to Diary::	   Commands to create diary entries.
* Special Diary Entries::  Anniversaries, blocks of dates, cyclic entries, etc.


File: emacs,  Node: Diary Commands,  Next: Format of Diary File,  Up: Diary

Commands Displaying Diary Entries
---------------------------------

   Once you have created a `~/diary' file, you can view it from within
the calendar.  You can also view today's events outside of Calendar
mode.

`d'
     Display any diary entries for the selected date
     (`view-diary-entries').

`Mouse-2 Diary'
     Display any diary entries for the date you click on.

`s'
     Display entire diary file (`show-all-diary-entries').

`m'
     Mark all visible dates that have diary entries
     (`mark-diary-entries').

`u'
     Unmark calendar window (`calendar-unmark').

`M-x print-diary-entries'
     Print hard copy of the diary display as it appears.

`M-x diary'
     Display any diary entries for today's date.

   Displaying the diary entries with `d' shows in a separate window the
diary entries for the selected date in the calendar.  The mode line of
the new window shows the date of the diary entries and any holidays
that fall on that date.

   If you specify a numeric argument with `d', it shows all the diary
entries for that many successive days.  Thus, `2 d' displays all the
entries for the selected date and for the following day.

   Another way to display the diary entries for a date is to click
`Mouse-2' on the date, and then choose `Diary' from the menu that
appears.

   To get a broader view of which days are mentioned in the diary, use
the `m' command.  This displays the dates that have diary entries fall
in a different face (or places a `+' after these dates, if display with
multiple faces is not available).  The command applies both to the
currently visible months and to other months that subsequently become
visible by scrolling.  To turn marking off and erase the current marks,
type `u', which also turns off holiday marks (*note Holidays::.).

   To see the full diary file, rather than just some of the entries, use
the `s' command.

   Display of selected diary entries uses the selective display feature
to hide entries that don't apply.  This is the same feature that Outline
mode uses to show part of an outline (*note Outline Mode::.).  The diary
buffer as you see it is an illusion, so simply printing the buffer does
not print what you see on your screen.

   There is a special command to print hard copy of the diary buffer
*as it appears*; this command is `M-x print-diary-entries'.  It sends
the data directly to the printer.  You can customize it like
`lpr-region' (*note Hardcopy::.).

   The command `M-x diary' displays the diary entries for the current
date, independently of the calendar display, and optionally for the next
few days as well; the variable `number-of-diary-entries' specifies how
many days to include.  *Note Calendar/Diary Options:
(elisp)Calendar/Diary Options.

   If you put `(diary)' in your `.emacs' file, this automatically
displays a window with the day's diary entries, when you enter Emacs.
The mode line of the displayed window shows the date and any holidays
that fall on that date.


File: emacs,  Node: Format of Diary File,  Next: Date Formats,  Prev: Diary Commands,  Up: Diary

The Diary File
--------------

   Your "diary file" is a file that records events associated with
particular dates.  The name of the diary file is specified by the
variable `diary-file'; `~/diary' is the default.  You can use the same
file for the `calendar' utility program, since its formats are a subset
of the ones allowed by the Emacs diary facilities.

   Each entry in the diary file describes one event and consists of one
or more lines.  An entry always begins with a date specification at the
left margin.  The rest of the entry is simply text to describe the
event.  If the entry has more than one line, then the lines after the
first must begin with whitespace to indicate they continue a previous
entry.  Lines that do not begin with valid dates and do not continue a
preceding entry are ignored.

   You can inhibit the marking of certain diary entries in the calendar
window; to do this, insert an ampersand (`&') at the beginning of the
entry, before the date.  This has no effect on display of the entry in
the diary window; it affects only marks on dates in the calendar
window.  Nonmarking entries are especially useful for generic entries
that would otherwise mark many different dates.

   If the first line of a diary entry consists only of the date or day
name with no following blanks or punctuation, then the diary window
display doesn't include that line; only the continuation lines appear.
For example:

     02/11/1989
           Bill B. visits Princeton today
           2pm Cognitive Studies Committee meeting
           2:30-5:30 Liz at Lawrenceville
           4:00pm Dentist appt
           7:30pm Dinner at George's
           8:00-10:00pm concert

appears in the diary window without the date line at the beginning.
This style of entry looks neater when you display just a single day's
entries, but can cause confusion if you ask for more than one day's
entries.

   You can edit the diary entries as they appear in the window, but it
is important to remember that the buffer displayed contains the *entire*
diary file, with portions of it concealed from view.  This means, for
instance, that the `C-f' (`forward-char') command can put point at what
appears to be the end of the line, but what is in reality the middle of
some concealed line.

   *Be careful when editing the diary entries!*  Inserting additional
lines or adding/deleting characters in the middle of a visible line
cannot cause problems, but editing at the end of a line may not do what
you expect.  Deleting a line may delete other invisible entries that
follow it.  Before editing the diary, it is best to display the entire
file with `s' (`show-all-diary-entries').


File: emacs,  Node: Date Formats,  Next: Adding to Diary,  Prev: Format of Diary File,  Up: Diary

Date Formats
------------

   Here are some sample diary entries, illustrating different ways of
formatting a date.  The examples all show dates in American order
(month, day, year), but Calendar mode supports European order (day,
month, year) as an option.

     4/20/93  Switch-over to new tabulation system
     apr. 25  Start tabulating annual results
     4/30  Results for April are due
     */25  Monthly cycle finishes
     Friday  Don't leave without backing up files

   The first entry appears only once, on April 20, 1993.  The second and
third appear every year on the specified dates, and the fourth uses a
wildcard (asterisk) for the month, so it appears on the 25th of every
month.  The final entry appears every week on Friday.

   You can use just numbers to express a date, as in `MONTH/DAY' or
`MONTH/DAY/YEAR'.  This must be followed by a nondigit.  In the date
itself, MONTH and DAY are numbers of one or two digits.  YEAR is a
number and may be abbreviated to the last two digits; that is, you can
use `11/12/1989' or `11/12/89'.

   Dates can also have the form `MONTHNAME DAY' or `MONTHNAME DAY,
YEAR', where the month's name can be spelled in full or abbreviated to
three characters (with or without a period).  Case is not significant.

   A date may be "generic", or partially unspecified.  Then the entry
applies to all dates that match the specification.  If the date does not
contain a year, it is generic and applies to any year.  Alternatively,
MONTH, DAY, or YEAR can be a `*'; this matches any month, day, or year,
respectively.  Thus, a diary entry `3/*/*' matches any day in March of
any year; so does `march *'.

   If you prefer the European style of writing dates--in which the day
comes before the month--type `M-x european-calendar' while in the
calendar, or set the variable `european-calendar-style' to `t' *before*
using any calendar or diary command.  This mode interprets all dates in
the diary in the European manner, and also uses European style for
displaying diary dates.  (Note that there is no comma after the
MONTHNAME in the European style.)  To go back to the (default) American
style of writing dates, type `M-x american-calendar'.

   You can use the name of a day of the week as a generic date which
applies to any date falling on that day of the week.  You can abbreviate
the day of the week to three letters (with or without a period) or spell
it in full; case is not significant.


File: emacs,  Node: Adding to Diary,  Next: Special Diary Entries,  Prev: Date Formats,  Up: Diary

Commands to Add to the Diary
----------------------------

   While in the calendar, there are several commands to create diary
entries:

`i d'
     Add a diary entry for the selected date (`insert-diary-entry').

`i w'
     Add a diary entry for the selected day of the week
     (`insert-weekly-diary-entry').

`i m'
     Add a diary entry for the selected day of the month
     (`insert-monthly-diary-entry').

`i y'
     Add a diary entry for the selected day of the year
     (`insert-yearly-diary-entry').

   You can make a diary entry for a specific date by selecting that date
in the calendar window and typing the `i d' command.  This command
displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts the
date; you can then type the rest of the diary entry.

   If you want to make a diary entry that applies to a specific day of
the week, select that day of the week (any occurrence will do) and type
`i w'.  This inserts the day-of-week as a generic date; you can then
type the rest of the diary entry.

   You can make a monthly diary entry in the same fashion.  Select the
day of the month, use the `i m' command, and type rest of the entry.
Similarly, you can insert a yearly diary entry with the `i y' command.

   All of the above commands make marking diary entries.  If you want
the diary entry to be nonmarking, give a prefix argument to the command.
For example, `C-u i w' makes a nonmarking, weekly diary entry.

   When you modify the diary file, be sure to save the file before
exiting Emacs.


File: emacs,  Node: Special Diary Entries,  Prev: Adding to Diary,  Up: Diary

Special Diary Entries
---------------------

   In addition to entries based on calendar dates, your diary file can
contain "special entries" for regular events such as anniversaries.
These entries are based on Lisp expressions (sexps) that Emacs evaluates
as it scans the diary file.  Instead of a date, a special entry contains
`%%' followed by a Lisp expression which must begin and end with
parentheses.  The Lisp expression determines which dates the entry
applies to.

   Calendar mode provides commands to insert certain commonly used
special entries:

`i a'
     Add an anniversary diary entry for the selected date
     (`insert-anniversary-diary-entry').

`i b'
     Add a block diary entry for the current region
     (`insert-block-diary-entry').

`i c'
     Add a cyclic diary entry starting at the date
     (`insert-cyclic-diary-entry').

   If you want to make a diary entry that applies to the anniversary of
a specific date, move point to that date and use the `i a' command.
This displays the end of your diary file in another window and inserts
the anniversary description; you can then type the rest of the diary
entry.  The entry looks like this:

     %%(diary-anniversary 10 31 1948) Arthur's birthday

This entry applies to October 31 in any year after 1948; `10 31 1948'
specifies the date.  (If you are using the European calendar style, the
month and day are interchanged.)  The reason this expression requires a
beginning year is that advanced diary functions can use it to calculate
the number of elapsed years.

   You can make a diary entry for a block of dates by setting the mark
at the date at one end of the block, moving point to the date at the
other end of the block, and using the `i b' command.  This command
causes the end of your diary file to be displayed in another window and
the block description to be inserted; you can then type the diary
entry.  Here is a block diary entry that applies to all dates from June
24, 1990 through July 10, 1990:

     %%(diary-block 6 24 1990 7 10 1990) Vacation

The `6 24 1990' indicates the starting date and the `7 10 1990'
indicates the stopping date.  (Again, if you are using the European
calendar style, the month and day are interchanged.)

   "Cyclic" diary entries repeat after a fixed interval of days.  To
create one, select the starting date and use the `i c' command.  The
command prompts for the length of interval, then inserts the entry.  It
looks like this:

     %%(diary-cyclic 50 3 1 1990) Renew medication

which applies to March 1, 1990 and every 50th day following; `3 1 1990'
specifies the starting date.  (If you are using the European calendar
style, the month and day are interchanged.)

   All three of the these commands make marking diary entries.  If you
want the diary entry to be nonmarking, give a numeric argument to the
command.  For example, `C-u i a' makes a nonmarking anniversary diary
entry.

   Marking sexp diary entries in the calendar is *extremely*
time-consuming, since every date visible in the calendar window must be
individually checked.  So it's a good idea to make sexp diary entries
nonmarking (with `&') when possible.

   Another sophisticated kind of sexp entry, a "floating" diary entry,
specifies a regularly-occurring event by offsets specified in days,
weeks, and months.  It is comparable to a crontab entry interpreted by
the `cron' utility.  Here is a nonmarking, floating diary entry that
applies to the last Thursday in November:

     &%%(diary-float 11 4 -1) American Thanksgiving

The 11 specifies November (the eleventh month), the 4 specifies Thursday
(the fourth day of the week, where Sunday is numbered zero), and the -1
specifies "last" (1 would mean "first", 2 would mean "second", -2 would
mean "second-to-last", and so on).  The month can be a single month or
a list of months.  Thus you could change the 11 above to `'(1 2 3)' and
have the entry apply to the last Thursday of January, February, and
March.  If the month is `t', the entry applies to all months of the
year.

   Most generally, special diary entries can perform arbitrary
computations to determine when they apply.  *Note Sexp Diary Entries:
(elisp)Sexp Diary Entries.


File: emacs,  Node: Appointments,  Next: Daylight Savings,  Prev: Diary,  Up: Calendar/Diary

Appointments
============

   If you have a diary entry for an appointment, and that diary entry
begins with a recognizable time of day, Emacs can warn you, several
minutes beforehand, that that appointment is pending.  Emacs alerts you
to the appointment by displaying a message in the mode line.

   To enable appointment notification, you must enable the time display
feature of Emacs, `M-x display-time' (*note Mode Line::.).  You must
also add the function `appt-make-list' to the `diary-hook', like this:

     (add-hook 'diary-hook 'appt-make-list)

   With these preparations done, when you display the diary (either with
the `d' command in the calendar window or with the `M-x diary'
command), it sets up an appointment list of all the diary entries found
with recognizable times of day, and reminds you just before each of
them.

   For example, if the diary file contains these lines:

     Monday
       9:30am Coffee break
      12:00pm Lunch

Then on Mondays, after you have displayed the diary, you will be
reminded at 9:20am about your coffee break and at 11:50am about lunch.

   Diary entries can have the time in the conventional American style,
or in "military" style.  You need not be consistent; your diary file can
have a mixture of the two styles.

   Emacs updates the appointments list automatically just after
midnight.  This also displays the next days' diary entries in the diary
buffer, unless you set `appt-display-diary' to `nil'.

   You can also use the appointment notification facility like an alarm
clock.  The command `M-x appt-add' adds entries to the appointment list
without affecting your diary file.  You delete entries from the
appointment list with `M-x appt-delete'.

   You can turn off the appointment notification feature at any time by
setting `appt-issue-message' to `nil'.


File: emacs,  Node: Daylight Savings,  Prev: Appointments,  Up: Calendar/Diary

Daylight Savings Time
=====================

   Emacs understands the difference between standard time and daylight
savings time--the times given for sunrise, sunset, solstices,
equinoxes, and the phases of the moon take that into account.  The rules
for daylight savings time vary from place to place and have also varied
historically from year to year.  To do the job properly, Emacs needs to
know which rules to use.

   Some operating systems keep track of the rules that apply to the
place where you are; on these systems, Emacs gets the information it
needs from the system automatically.  If some or all of this
information is missing, Emacs fills in the gaps with the rules
currently used in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  If the resulting rules are
not what you want, you can tell Emacs the rules to use by setting
certain variables.

   These values should be Lisp expressions that refer to the variable
`year', and evaluate to the Gregorian date on which daylight savings
time starts or (respectively) ends, in the form of a list `(MONTH DAY
YEAR)'.  The values should be `nil' if your area does not use daylight
savings time.

   Emacs uses these expressions to determine the starting date of
daylight savings time for the holiday list and for correcting times of
day in the solar and lunar calculations.

   The values for Cambridge, Massachusetts are as follows:

     (calendar-nth-named-day 1 0 4 year)
     (calendar-nth-named-day -1 0 10 year)

i.e. the first 0th day (Sunday) of the fourth month (April) in the year
specified by `year', and the last Sunday of the tenth month (October)
of that year.  If daylight savings time were changed to start on
October 1, you would set `calendar-daylight-savings-starts' to this:

     (list 10 1 year)

   If there is no daylight savings time at your location, or if you want
all times in standard time, set `calendar-daylight-savings-starts' and
`calendar-daylight-savings-ends' to `nil'.

   This variable specifies the difference between daylight savings time
and standard time, measured in minutes.  The value for Cambridge is 60.

   These variables specify is the number of minutes after midnight
local time when the transition to and from daylight savings time should
occur.  For Cambridge, both variables' values are 120.


File: emacs,  Node: GNUS,  Next: Sorting,  Prev: Calendar/Diary,  Up: Top

GNUS
====

   GNUS is an Emacs subsystem for reading and responding to netnews.
You can use GNUS to browse through news groups, look at summaries of
articles in specific group, and read articles of interest.  You can
respond to authors or write replies to all the readers of a news group.

   This section introduces GNUS and describes several basic features.
Full documentation will appear elsewhere.

   To start GNUS, type `M-x gnus RET'.

* Menu:

* Buffers of GNUS::	   The Newsgroups, Summary and Article buffers.
* GNUS Startup::	   What you should know about starting GNUS.
* Summary of GNUS::	   A short description of the basic GNUS commands.


File: emacs,  Node: Buffers of GNUS,  Next: GNUS Startup,  Up: GNUS

GNUS's Three Buffers
--------------------

   GNUS creates and uses three Emacs buffers, each with its own
particular purpose and its own major mode.

   The "Newsgroup buffer" contains a list of newsgroups.  This is the
first buffer that GNUS displays when it starts up.  Normally the list
contains only the newsgroups to which you subscribe (which are listed in
your `.newsrc' file) and which contain unread articles.  Use this
buffer to select a specific newsgroup.

   The "Summary buffer" lists the articles in a single newsgroup,
including their subjects, their numbers, and who posted them.  GNUS
creates a Summary buffer for a newsgroup when you select the group in
the Newsgroup buffer.  Use this buffer to select an article, and to move
around in an article.

   The "Article buffer" displays the text of an article.  You rarely
need to select this buffer because you can read the text while keeping
the Summary buffer selected.


File: emacs,  Node: GNUS Startup,  Next: Summary of GNUS,  Prev: Buffers of GNUS,  Up: GNUS

When GNUS Starts Up
-------------------

   At startup, GNUS reads your `.newsrc' news initialization file and
attempts to communicate with the local news server, which is a
repository of news articles.  The news server need not be the same
computer you are logged in on.

   If you start GNUS and connect to the server, but do not see any
newsgroups listed in the Newsgroup buffer, type `L' to get a listing of
all the newsgroups.  Then type `u' to unsubscribe from particular
newsgroups.  (Move the cursor using `n' and `p' or the usual Emacs
commands.)

   When you quit GNUS with `q', it automatically records in your
`.newsrc' initialization file the subscribed or unsubscribed status of
all newsgroups, except for groups you have "killed".  (You do not need
to edit this file yourself, but you may.)  When new newsgroups come
into existence, GNUS adds them automatically.


File: emacs,  Node: Summary of GNUS,  Prev: GNUS Startup,  Up: GNUS

Summary of GNUS Commands
------------------------

   Reading news is a two step process:

  1. Choose a newsgroup in the Newsgroup buffer.

  2. Select articles from the Summary buffer.  Each article selected is
     displayed in the Article buffer in a large window, below the
     Summary buffer in its small window.

   Each buffer has commands particular to it, but commands that do the
same things have similar keybindings.  Here are commands for the
Newsgroup and Summary buffers:

`z'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, suspend GNUS.  You can return to GNUS
     later by selecting the Newsgroup buffer and typing `g' to get
     newly arrived articles.

`q'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, update your `.newsrc' initialization file
     and quit GNUS.

     In the Summary buffer, exit the current newsgroup and return to the
     Newsgroup buffer.  Thus, typing `q' twice quits GNUS.

`L'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, list all the newsgroups available on your
     news server.  This may be a long list!

`l'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, list only the newsgroups to which you
     subscribe and which contain unread articles.

`u'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, unsubscribe from (or subscribe to) the
     newsgroup listed in the line that point is on.  When you quit GNUS
     by typing `q', GNUS lists your subscribed-to newsgroups in your
     `.newsrc' file.  The next time you start GNUS, you see only the
     newsgroups listed in your `.newsrc' file.

`C-k'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, "kill" the current line's newsgroup--don't
     show it in the Newsgroup buffer from now on.  This affects future
     GNUS sessions as well as the present session.

     When you quit GNUS by typing `q', GNUS writes information in the
     file `.newsrc' describing all newsgroups except those you have
     "killed."

`SPC'
     In the Newsgroup buffer, select the group on the line under the
     cursor and display the first unread article in that group.

     In the Summary buffer,

        - Select the article on the line under the cursor if none is
          selected.

        - Scroll the text of the selected article (if there is one).

        - Select the next unread article if at the end of the current
          article.

     Thus, you can move through all the articles by repeatedly typing
     SPC.

`DEL'
     In the Newsgroup Buffer, move point to the previous newsgroup
     containing unread articles.

     In the Summary buffer, scroll the text of the article backwards.

`n'
     Move point to the next unread newsgroup, or select the next unread
     article.

`p'
     Move point to the previous unread newsgroup, or select the previous
     unread article.

`C-n'
`C-p'
     Move point to the next or previous item, even if it is marked as
     read.  This does not select the article or newsgroup on that line.

`s'
     In the Summary buffer, do an incremental search of the current
     text in the Article buffer, just as if you switched to the Article
     buffer and typed `C-s'.

`M-s REGEXP RET'
     In the Summary buffer, search forward for articles containing a
     match for REGEXP.

`C-c C-s C-n'
`C-c C-s C-s'
`C-c C-s C-d'
`C-c C-s C-a'
     In the Summary buffer, sort the list of articles by number,
     subject, date, or author.

`C-M-n'
`C-M-p'
     In the Summary buffer, read the next or previous article with the
     same subject as the current article.


File: emacs,  Node: Sorting,  Next: Shell,  Prev: GNUS,  Up: Top

Sorting Text
============

   Emacs provides several commands for sorting text in the buffer.  All
operate on the contents of the region (the text between point and the
mark).  They divide the text of the region into many "sort records",
identify a "sort key" for each record, and then reorder the records
into the order determined by the sort keys.  The records are ordered so
that their keys are in alphabetical order, or, for numeric sorting, in
numeric order.  In alphabetic sorting, all upper case letters `A'
through `Z' come before lower case `a', in accord with the ASCII
character sequence.

   The various sort commands differ in how they divide the text into
sort records and in which part of each record is used as the sort key.
Most of the commands make each line a separate sort record, but some
commands use paragraphs or pages as sort records.  Most of the sort
commands use each entire sort record as its own sort key, but some use
only a portion of the record as the sort key.

`M-x sort-lines'
     Divide the region into lines, and sort by comparing the entire
     text of a line.  A prefix argument means sort into descending
     order.

`M-x sort-paragraphs'
     Divide the region into paragraphs, and sort by comparing the entire
     text of a paragraph (except for leading blank lines).  A prefix
     argument means sort into descending order.

`M-x sort-pages'
     Divide the region into pages, and sort by comparing the entire
     text of a page (except for leading blank lines).  A prefix
     argument means sort into descending order.

`M-x sort-fields'
     Divide the region into lines, and sort by comparing the contents of
     one field in each line.  Fields are defined as separated by
     whitespace, so the first run of consecutive non-whitespace
     characters in a line constitutes field 1, the second such run
     constitutes field 2, etc.

     Specify which field to sort by with a numeric argument: 1 to sort
     by field 1, etc.  A negative argument means count fields from the
     right instead of from the left; thus, minus 1 means sort by the
     last field.  If several lines have identical contents in the field
     being sorted, they keep same relative order that they had in the
     original buffer.

`M-x sort-numeric-fields'
     Like `M-x sort-fields' except the specified field is converted to
     an integer for each line, and the numbers are compared.  `10'
     comes before `2' when considered as text, but after it when
     considered as a number.  A negative argument means count fields
     from the right (from the end of the line).

`M-x sort-columns'
     Like `M-x sort-fields' except that the text within each line used
     for comparison comes from a fixed range of columns.  See below for
     an explanation.

`M-x reverse-region'
     Reverse the order of the lines in the region.  This is useful for
     sorting into descending order by fields or columns, since those
     sort commands do not have a feature for doing that.

   For example, if the buffer contains this:

     On systems where clash detection (locking of files being edited) is
     implemented, Emacs also checks the first time you modify a buffer
     whether the file has changed on disk since it was last visited or
     saved.  If it has, you are asked to confirm that you want to change
     the buffer.

then applying `M-x sort-lines' to the entire buffer produces this:

     On systems where clash detection (locking of files being edited) is
     implemented, Emacs also checks the first time you modify a buffer
     saved.  If it has, you are asked to confirm that you want to change
     the buffer.
     whether the file has changed on disk since it was last visited or

where the upper case `O' sorts before all lower case letters.  If you
use `C-u 2 M-x sort-fields' instead, you get this:

     implemented, Emacs also checks the first time you modify a buffer
     saved.  If it has, you are asked to confirm that you want to change
     the buffer.
     On systems where clash detection (locking of files being edited) is
     whether the file has changed on disk since it was last visited or

where the sort keys were `Emacs', `If', `buffer', `systems' and `the'.

   `M-x sort-columns' requires more explanation.  You specify the
columns by putting point at one of the columns and the mark at the other
column.  Because this means you cannot put point or the mark at the
beginning of the first line to sort, this command uses an unusual
definition of `region': all of the line point is in is considered part
of the region, and so is all of the line the mark is in.

   For example, to sort a table by information found in columns 10 to
15, you could put the mark on column 10 in the first line of the table,
and point on column 15 in the last line of the table, and then run
`sort-columns'.  Equivalently, you could run it with the mark on column
15 in the first line and point on column 10 in the last line.

   This can be thought of as sorting the rectangle specified by point
and the mark, except that the text on each line to the left or right of
the rectangle moves along with the text inside the rectangle.  *Note
Rectangles::.

   Many of the sort commands ignore case differences when comparing, if
`sort-fold-case' is non-`nil'.


File: emacs,  Node: Shell,  Next: Narrowing,  Prev: Sorting,  Up: Top

Running Shell Commands from Emacs
=================================

   Emacs has commands for passing single command lines to inferior shell
processes; it can also run a shell interactively with input and output
to an Emacs buffer `*shell*'.

`M-!'
     Run a specified shell command line and display the output
     (`shell-command').

`M-|'
     Run a specified shell command line with region contents as input;
     optionally replace the region with the output
     (`shell-command-on-region').

`M-x shell'
     Run a subshell with input and output through an Emacs buffer.  You
     can then give commands interactively.

* Menu:

* Single Shell::           How to run one shell command and return.
* Interactive Shell::      Permanent shell taking input via Emacs.
* Shell Mode::             Special Emacs commands used with permanent shell.
* History: Shell History.  Repeating previous commands in a shell buffer.
* Options: Shell Options.  Options for customizing Shell mode.
* Remote Host::            Connecting to another computer.


File: emacs,  Node: Single Shell,  Next: Interactive Shell,  Up: Shell

Single Shell Commands
---------------------

   `M-!' (`shell-command') reads a line of text using the minibuffer
executes it as a shell command in a subshell made just for this
command.  Standard input for the command comes from the null device.
If the shell command produces any output, the output goes into an Emacs
buffer named `*Shell Command Output*', which is displayed in another
window but not selected.  A numeric argument, as in `M-1 M-!', directs
this command to insert any output into the current buffer.  In that
case, point is left before the output and the mark is set after the
output.

   If the shell command line ends in `&', it runs asynchronously.

   `M-|' (`shell-command-on-region') is like `M-!' but passes the
contents of the region as input to the shell command, instead of no
input.  If a numeric argument is used, meaning insert output in the
current buffer, then the old region is deleted first and the output
replaces it as the contents of the region.

   Both `M-!' and `M-|' use `shell-file-name' to specify the shell to
use.  This variable is initialized based on your `SHELL' environment
variable when Emacs is started.  If the file name does not specify a
directory, the directories in the list `exec-path' are searched; this
list is initialized based on the environment variable `PATH' when Emacs
is started.  Your `.emacs' file can override either or both of these
default initializations.

   With `M-!' and `M-|', Emacs has to wait until the shell command
completes.  To stop waiting, type `C-g' to quit; that also kills the
shell command.


File: emacs,  Node: Interactive Shell,  Next: Shell Mode,  Prev: Single Shell,  Up: Shell

Interactive Inferior Shell
--------------------------

   To run a subshell interactively, putting its typescript in an Emacs
buffer, use `M-x shell'.  This creates (or reuses) a buffer named
`*shell*' and runs a subshell with input coming from and output going
to that buffer.  That is to say, any "terminal output" from the subshell
goes into the buffer, advancing point, and any "terminal input" for the
subshell comes from text in the buffer.  To give input to the subshell,
go to the end of the buffer and type the input, terminated by RET.

   Emacs does not wait for the subshell to do anything.  You can switch
windows or buffers and edit them while the shell is waiting, or while
it is running a command.  Output from the subshell waits until Emacs
has time to process it; this happens whenever Emacs is waiting for
keyboard input or for time to elapse.

   To make multiple subshells, rename the buffer `*shell*' to something
different using `M-x rename-uniquely'.  Then type `M-x shell' again to
create a new buffer `*shell*' with its own subshell.  If you rename
this buffer as well, you can create a third one, and so on.  All the
subshells run independently and in parallel.

   The file name used to load the subshell is the value of the variable
`explicit-shell-file-name', if that is non-`nil'.  Otherwise, the
environment variable `ESHELL' is used, or the environment variable
`SHELL' if there is no `ESHELL'.  If the file name specified is
relative, the directories in the list `exec-path' are searched (*note
Single Shell Commands: Single Shell.).

   As soon as the subshell is started, it is sent as input the contents
of the file `~/.emacs_SHELLNAME', if that file exists, where SHELLNAME
is the name of the file that the shell was loaded from.  For example,
if you use `bash', the file sent to it is `~/.emacs_bash'.

   `cd', `pushd' and `popd' commands given to the inferior shell are
watched by Emacs so it can keep the `*shell*' buffer's default
directory the same as the shell's working directory.  These commands
are recognized syntactically by examining lines of input that are sent.
If you use aliases for these commands, you can tell Emacs to recognize
them also.  For example, if the value of the variable
`shell-pushd-regexp' matches the beginning of a shell command line,
that line is regarded as a `pushd' command.  Change this variable when
you add aliases for `pushd'.  Likewise, `shell-popd-regexp' and
`shell-cd-regexp' are used to recognize commands with the meaning of
`popd' and `cd'.  These commands are recognized only at the beginning
of a shell command line.

   If Emacs gets an error while trying to handle what it believes is a
`cd', `pushd' or `popd' command, it runs the hook
`shell-set-directory-error-hook' (*note Hooks::.).

   If Emacs does not properly track changes in the current directory of
the subshell, use the command `M-x dirs' to ask the shell what its
current directory is.  This command works for shells that support the
most common command syntax; it may not work for unusual shells.


File: emacs,  Node: Shell Mode,  Next: Shell History,  Prev: Interactive Shell,  Up: Shell

Shell Mode
----------

   The shell buffer uses Shell mode, which defines several special keys
attached to the `C-c' prefix.  They are chosen to resemble the usual
editing and job control characters present in shells that are not under
Emacs, except that you must type `C-c' first.  Here is a complete list
of the special key bindings of Shell mode:

`RET'
     At end of buffer send line as input; otherwise, copy current line
     to end of buffer and send it (`comint-send-input').  When a line is
     copied, any text at the beginning of the line that matches the
     variable `shell-prompt-pattern' is left out; this variable's value
     should be a regexp string that matches the prompts that your shell
     uses.

`TAB'
     Complete the command name or file name before point in the shell
     buffer (`comint-dynamic-complete').  TAB also completes history
     references (*note History References::.) and environment variable
     names.

     The variable `shell-completion-fignore' specifies a list of file
     name extensions to ignore in Shell mode completion.  The default
     setting ignores file names ending in `~', `#' or `%'.  Other
     related Comint modes use the variable `comint-completion-fignore'
     instead.

`M-?'
     Display temporarily a list of the possible completions of the file
     name before point in the shell buffer
     (`comint-dynamic-list-filename-completions').

`C-a'
     Move to the beginning of the line, but after the prompt if any
     (`comint-bol').

`C-d'
     Either delete a character or send EOF
     (`comint-delchar-or-maybe-eof').  Typed at the end of the shell
     buffer, `C-d' sends EOF to the subshell.  Typed at any other
     position in the buffer, `C-d' deletes a character as usual.

`C-c C-u'
     Kill all text pending at end of buffer to be sent as input
     (`comint-kill-input').

`C-c C-w'
     Kill a word before point (`backward-kill-word').

`C-c C-c'
     Interrupt the shell or its current subjob if any
     (`comint-interrupt-subjob').

`C-c C-z'
     Stop the shell or its current subjob if any (`comint-stop-subjob').

`C-c C-\'
     Send quit signal to the shell or its current subjob if any
     (`comint-quit-subjob').

`C-c C-o'
     Kill the last batch of output from a shell command
     (`comint-kill-output').  This is useful if a shell command spews
     out lots of output that just gets in the way.

`C-c C-r'
`C-M-l'
     Scroll to display the beginning of the last batch of output at the
     top of the window; also move the cursor there
     (`comint-show-output').

`C-c C-e'
     Scroll to put the end of the buffer at the bottom of the window
     (`comint-show-maximum-output').

`C-c C-f'
     Move forward across one shell command, but not beyond the current
     line (`shell-forward-command').  The variable
     `shell-command-regexp' specifies how to recognize the end of a
     command.

`C-c C-b'
     Move backward across one shell command, but not beyond the current
     line (`shell-backward-command').

`M-x dirs'
     Ask the shell what its current directory is, so that Emacs can
     agree with the shell.

`M-x send-invisible RET TEXT RET'
     Send TEXT as input to the shell, after reading it without echoing.
     This is useful when a shell command runs a program that asks for
     a password.

     Alternatively, you can arrange for Emacs to notice password prompts
     and turn off echoing for them, as follows:

          (add-hook `comint-output-filter-functions
                    `comint-watch-for-password-prompt)

`M-x comint-continue-subjob'
     Continue the shell process.  This is useful if you accidentally
     suspend the shell process.(1)

`M-x shell-strip-ctrl-m'
     Discard all control-m characters from the shell output.

   Shell mode also customizes the paragraph commands so that only shell
promps start new paragraphs.  Thus, a paragraph consists of an input
command plus the output that follows it in the buffer.

   Shell mode is a derivative of Comint mode, a general purpose mode for
communicating with interactive subprocesses.  Most of the features of
Shell mode actually come from Comint mode, as you can see from the
command names listed above.  The specialization of Shell mode in
particular include the choice of regular expression for detecting
prompts, the directory tracking feature, and a few user commands.

   Other Emacs features that use variants of Comint mode include GUD
(*note Debuggers::.) and `M-x run-lisp' (*note External Lisp::.).

   You can use `M-x comint-run' to execute any program of your choice
in a subprocess using unmodified Comint mode--without the
specializations of Shell mode.

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1)  You should not suspend the shell process.  Suspending a subjob
of the shell is a completely different matter-that is normal practice,
but you must use the shell to continue the subjob; this command won't
do it.


File: emacs,  Node: Shell History,  Next: Shell Options,  Prev: Shell Mode,  Up: Shell

Shell Command History
---------------------

   Shell buffers support three ways of repeating earlier commands.  You
can use the same keys used in the minibuffer; these work much as they do
in the minibuffer, inserting text from prior commands while point
remains always at the end of the buffer.  You can move through the
buffer to previous inputs in their original place, then resubmit them or
copy them to the end.  Or you can use a `!'-style history reference.

* Menu:

* Ring: Shell Ring.             Fetching commands from the history list.
* Copy: Shell History Copying.  Moving to a command and then copying it.
* History References::          Expanding `!'-style history references.


File: emacs,  Node: Shell Ring,  Next: Shell History Copying,  Up: Shell History

Shell History Ring
..................

`M-p'
     Fetch the next earlier old shell command.

`M-n'
     Fetch the next later old shell command.

`M-r REGEXP RET'
`M-s REGEXP RET'
     Search backwards or forwards for old shell commands that match
     REGEXP.

   Shell buffers provide a history of previously entered shell
commands.  To reuse shell commands from the history, use the editing
commands `M-p', `M-n', `M-r' and `M-s'.  These work just like the
minibuffer history commands except that they operate on the text at the
end of the shell buffer, where you would normally insert text to send
to the shell.

   `M-p' fetches an earlier shell command to the end of the shell
buffer.  Successive use of `M-p' fetches successively earlier shell
commands, each replacing any text that was already present as potential
shell input.  `M-n' does likewise except that it finds successively
more recent shell commands from the buffer.

   The history search commands `M-r' and `M-s' read a regular
expression and search through the history for a matching command.  Aside
from the choice of which command to fetch, they work just like `M-p'
and `M-r'.  If you enter an empty regexp, these commands reuse the same
regexp used last time.

   When you find the previous input you want, you can resubmit it by
typing RET, or you can edit it first and then resubmit it if you wish.

   These commands get the text of previous shell commands from a special
history list, not from the shell buffer itself.  Thus, editing the shell
buffer, or even killing large parts of it, does not affect the history
that these commands access.


File: emacs,  Node: Shell History Copying,  Next: History References,  Prev: Shell Ring,  Up: Shell History

Shell History Copying
.....................

`C-c C-p'
     Move point to the previous prompt (`comint-previous-prompt').

`C-c C-n'
     Move point to the following prompt (`comint-next-prompt').

`C-c RET'
     Copy the input command which point is in, inserting the copy at
     the end of the buffer (`comint-copy-old-input').  This is useful
     if you move point back to a previous command.  After you copy the
     command, you can submit the copy as input with RET.  If you wish,
     you can edit the copy before resubmitting it.

   Moving to a previous input and then copying it with `C-c RET'
produces the same results--the same buffer contents--that you would get
by using `M-p' enough times to fetch that previous input from the
history list.  However, `C-c RET' copies the text from the buffer,
which can be different from what is in the history list (if you edit
the input in the buffer after it has been sent).


File: emacs,  Node: History References,  Prev: Shell History Copying,  Up: Shell History

Shell History References
........................

   Various shells including csh and bash support "history references"
that begin with `!' and `^'.  Shell mode now understands this syntax.
If you insert a history reference and type TAB, this searches the input
history for a matching command, performs substitution if necessary, and
places the result in the buffer in place of the history reference.  For
example, you can fetch the most recent command beginning with `mv' with
`! m v TAB'.  You could then resubmit this command to the shell by
typing RET as usual.

   History references take effect only following a shell prompt.  The
variable `comint-prompt-regexp' specifies how to recognize a shell
prompt.