emacs tutorial

what is emacs?

An old but powerful editor.

installation

windows

1. go to the main page. Click windows button.

2. click the "nearby GNU mirror".

3. select the version you like. for example, "emacs-26".

4. select one file you want to download. for example, "emacs-26.1-x86_64.zip".

5. after downloading, unzip that file. 6. run "runemacs.exe".

MacOS

1. download from emacs for macosx.
2. install.

Linux

1. simple method: sudo apt-get install emacs
2. the other:
   • go to http://gnu.mirror.globo.tech/emacs/ .
   • download package, extract it and compile.

learning materials

• inside the editor : press F1 t. Then follow the instructions.
• online mannual
• emacs is sexy

operation

basic key

• C means Ctrl
• M means Alt (Windows, Linux), Command (MacOS)
• S means Shift
• C-a mean press Ctrl and a at the same time.

file

• open : C-x C-f
• save : C-x C-s
• close : you don't need to close a file. just open another file and edit.

move

• move to previous line: C-p
• move to next line: C-n
• move backwords: C-b
• move forwards: C-f

exit

• exit editor : C-x C-c
• exit current command : C-g

window

• split window vertically : C-x 2
• split window horizontally : C-x 3
• delete current window : C-x 0
• delete other windows : C-x 1
• jump to other window : C-x o

buffer

• buffer list : C-x C-b
• switch buffer : C-x b buffer-name
• open buffer in another window : C-x 4 b buffer
• previous buffer : C-x
• next buffer : C-x

configuration

• The configuration file in emacs is .emacs. When you want to modify some settings, you can find this file.
• Location
  • windows: C:\Documents and Settings\(yourname)\Application Data.emacs
  • Linux / MacOS: ~/.emacs
• The configuration file is made up of Lisp code. So you can use 10 min to learn Lisp by view this site.

org mode

• org is a file format, for example, 1.org or date.org. mode is a emacs editor environment for a specific format, such as c mode for C or python mode for python.

• create an org file: C-x C-f, then input file path: such as ./test.org.

• list example (you can copy lines below to your test.org or other org file)

* this 1-level title
** this 2-level title
*** this 3-level title
* this 1-level title
* TODO this is a todo item
  - list item 1
  - list item 2
  - list item 3
  - [ ] list item with checkbox (todo)
  - [X] list item with checkbox (done)

• list practice

• important command

  • Tab : fold / unfold a title
  • M- / M- : increase or decrease level of title and list item
  • M- / M- : move title or list item upwards or downwards with its content
  • C-c C-t : toggle title status. TODO -> DONE -> none -> TODO ...
  • C-c C-s : shedule for an item
  • C-c C-d : dealine for an item
  • M-x org-agenda a : open org-agenda view

• workflow

  • org-capture
  • org-refile
  • edit
  • archive

• org reveal.js TODO

tutorial

• inside emacs, pressC-h t, and then follow the instructions
• Chinese traslate of previous tutorial
• 陈斌的 Master Emacs in One Year
• Mastering Emacs
• other online blog, for example, CSDN.

exercise

simple operations

TODO

list operations

TODO

org mode

TODO

other distributions

TODO

spacemacs

TODO

FAQ

• If you have any questions, you can just leave an issue or send me a msg.