The XEmacs Editor *****************
XEmacs is the extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor. This Info file describes how to edit with Emacs and some of how to customize it, but not how to extend it. It corresponds to XEmacs version 20.0.
This manual is intended as a detailed reference to XEmacs. If you are looking for an introductory manual, see the New User's Guide.
This manual documents the use and simple customization of the XEmacs editor. The reader is not expected to be a programmer to use this editor, and simple customizations do not require programming skills either. Users who are not interested in customizing XEmacs can ignore the scattered customization hints.
This document is primarily a reference manual, but it can also be used as a primer. However, if you are new to XEmacs, consider using the on-line, learn-by-doing tutorial, which you get by running XEmacs and typing C-h t. With it, you learn XEmacs by using XEmacs on a specially designed file which describes commands, tells you when to try them, and then explains the results you see. Using the tutorial gives a more vivid introduction than the printed manual. Also consider reading the XEmacs New User's Guide, which is intended specifically as an introductory manual rather than as a reference guide.
On first reading, just skim chapters one and two, which describe the notational conventions of the manual and the general appearance of the XEmacs display frame. Note which questions are answered in these chapters, so you can refer back later. After reading chapter four you should practice the commands there. The next few chapters describe fundamental techniques and concepts that are used constantly. You need to understand them thoroughly, experimenting with them if necessary.
To find the documentation on a particular command, look in the index. Keys (character commands) and command names have separate indexes. There is also a glossary, with a cross reference for each term.
This manual comes in two forms: the published form and the Info form. The Info form is for on-line perusal with the INFO program; it is distributed along with XEmacs. Both forms contain substantially the same text and are generated from a common source file, which is also distributed along with XEmacs.
XEmacs is a member of the Emacs editor family. There are many Emacs editors, all sharing common principles of organization. For information on the underlying philosophy of Emacs and the lessons learned from its development, write for a copy of AI memo 519a, "Emacs, the Extensible, Customizable Self-Documenting Display Editor", to Publications Department, Artificial Intelligence Lab, 545 Tech Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. At last report they charge $2.25 per copy. Another useful publication is LCS TM-165, "A Cookbook for an Emacs", by Craig Finseth, available from Publications Department, Laboratory for Computer Science, 545 Tech Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The price today is $3.
This manual is for XEmacs installed on UNIX systems. XEmacs also exists on Microsoft Windows and Windows NT as Win-Emacs (which is actually based on Lucid Emacs 19.6, an older incarnation of XEmacs).
This document was generated on 24 Febuary 1999 using the texi2html translator version 1.54.