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Emacs Command Summary

This summary attempts to organize core Emacs commands in a way that's familiar to those who use programs under desktop OSes like Windows and the Mac OS. The structure models the typical menus, with File commands at the top, then edit commands and so on.

All of these commands assume Emacs is running. Note, there are two primary version of Emacs: Emacs --maintained by Richard Stallman-- and Xemacs --a branch of the original Emacs. Most of the core functionality and commands are identical, but you should be aware that there are differences

We'll follow Emacs tradition and abreviate the control key as 'C' and the meta key (Alt on Intel and Option when using Emacs on Mac OS or via a terminal window on Mac OS). So, C-x C-f (open file) means hold down the control key and press x then f. And M-v (scroll up) means hold either the Alt or Option key as you press v. Finally, C-M-s (search) means hold down both the control and meta (option or alt) key as you press the s key. RET stands for return. DEL stands for delete. Italicized text indicates places where you need to fill something in.