1. Chapter 1 Emacs Basics

   1. Introducing Emacs!

   2. Understanding Files and Buffers

   3. A Word About Modes

   4. Starting Emacs

   5. About the Emacs Display

   6. Emacs Commands

   7. Opening a File

   8. Saving Files

   9. Leaving Emacs

   10. Getting Help

   11. Summary

2. Chapter 2 Editing

   1. Moving the Cursor

   2. Deleting Text

   3. Marking Text to Delete, Move, or Copy

   4. Emacs and the Clipboard

   5. Editing Tricks and Shortcuts

   6. Canceling Commands and Undoing Changes

   7. Making Emacs Work the Way You Want

3. Chapter 3 Search and Replace

   1. Different Kinds of Searches

   2. Search and Replace

   3. Checking Spelling Using Ispell

   4. Word Abbreviations

4. Chapter 4 Using Buffers, Windows, and Frames

   1. Understanding Buffers, Windows, and Frames

   2. Working with Multiple Buffers

   3. Working with Windows

   4. Working with Frames

   5. More About Buffers

   6. More About Windows

   7. Holding Your Place with Bookmarks

5. Chapter 5 Emacs as a Work Environment

   1. Executing Commands in Shell Buffers

   2. Using Dired, the Directory Editor

   3. Printing from Emacs

   4. Reading Manpages in Emacs

   5. Using Time Management Tools

6. Chapter 6 Writing Macros

   1. Defining a Macro

   2. Tips for Creating Good Macros

   3. A More Complicated Macro Example

   4. Editing a Macro

   5. The Macro Ring

   6. Binding Your Macro to a Key

   7. Naming, Saving, and Executing Your Macros

   8. Building More Complicated Macros

   9. Executing Macros on a Region

   10. Beyond Macros

7. Chapter 7 Simple Text Formatting and Specialized Editing

   1. Using Tabs

   2. Indenting Text

   3. Centering Text

   4. Using Outline Mode

   5. Rectangle Editing

   6. Making Simple Drawings

8. Chapter 8 Markup Language Support

   1. Comments

   2. Font-Lock Mode

   3. Writing HTML

   4. Writing XML

   5. Marking up Text for TEX and LATEX

9. Chapter 9 Computer Language Support

   1. Emacs as an IDE

   2. Writing Code

   3. C and C++ Support

   4. Java Support

   5. The Java Development Environment for Emacs (JDEE)

   6. Perl Support

   7. SQL Support

   8. The Lisp Modes

10. Chapter 10 Customizing Emacs

    1. Using Custom

    2. Modifying the .emacs File Directly

    3. Modifying Fonts and Colors

    4. Customizing Your Key Bindings

    5. Setting Emacs Variables

    6. Finding Emacs Lisp Packages

    7. Starting Modes via Auto-Mode Customization

    8. Making Emacs Work the Way You Think It Should

11. Chapter 11 Emacs Lisp Programming

    1. Introduction to Lisp

    2. Lisp Primitive Functions

    3. Useful Built-in Emacs Functions

    4. Building an Automatic Template System

    5. Programming a Major Mode

    6. Customizing Existing Modes

    7. Building Your Own Lisp Library

12. Chapter 12 Version Control

    1. The Uses of Version Control

    2. Version Control Concepts

    3. How VC Helps with Basic Operations

    4. Editing Comment Buffers

    5. VC Command Summary

    6. VC Mode Indicators

    7. Which Version Control System?

    8. Individual VC Commands

    9. Customizing VC

    10. Extending VC

    11. What VC Is Not

    12. Using VC Effectively

    13. Comparing with Ediff

13. Chapter 13 Platform-Specific Considerations

    1. Emacs and Unix

    2. Emacs and Mac OS X

    3. Emacs and Windows

14. Chapter 14 The Help System

    1. Using the Tutorial

    2. Help Commands

    3. Help with Complex Emacs Commands

    4. Navigating Emacs Documentation

    5. Completion

1. Appendix A Emacs Variables

2. Appendix B Emacs Lisp Packages

3. Appendix C Bugs and Bug Fixes

4. Appendix D Online Resources

5. Appendix E Quick Reference

6. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Learning GNU Emacs, Third Edition is a gnu (or wildebeest). Gnus are African antelopes that inhabit the Serengeti Plains. Male gnus (bulls) reach up to 52 inches in height and 500 pounds inweight, and have the most lethal horns of any of the antelopes. Bulls are very territorial and tend to remain alone. The females and young generally live in small herds. However, they may congregate in the tens of thousands during migration. Gnus are the favorite prey of lions. Jamie Peppard was the production editor and proofreader for Learning GNU Emacs, Third Edition. Nancy Reinhardt was the copyeditor . Adam Witwer and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Mary Agner provided production assistance. Johnna VanHoose Dinse wrote the index.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book using a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Clay Fernald produced the cover layout with Quark Express 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font. Emma Colby produced the Quick Reference card with Adobe InDesign CS using the fonts Linotype Birka and Adobe Myriad Condensed.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Julie Hawks to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS.