Glenn Stovall

Emacs Protip: permanently save a keyboard macro

Keyboard macros can be crazy helpful in emacs, and allow you to automate repetitive processes you come across when coding. if you have a sequence of keystrokes you use day-to-day, here is how to convert them to a function and bind it to a key:

• C-x ( to start your macro
• type the keyboard strokes you want to save
• C-x ) to end the macro
• C-x C-k n to call kmacro-name-last-macro and assign a name to your macro
• open your .emacs file
• M-x insert-kbd-macro to output the lisp code of your new macro
• then add (global-set-key <key> '<macro_name>) to bind it to a key. C-x C-k 0-9/a-z are reserved for personal key bindings. you can also use the f1 - f12 keys

and your done! now you have compressed several keystrokes into just one, and it’ll also be there when you need it.

Intro to Emacs

Emacs is a wonderful, powerful text editor, but it can take some getting used to. Here are some of the commands you need to know to go from n00b to a text-editing ninja:

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Taken from my answer to this question

Key: C = Ctrl, M = Esc. (Protip: if you are a heavy emacs user, switch your caps lock key to an esc key to make the commands a lot easier)

Basic Text Editing C-space: set mark C-w : Cut M-w : Copy C-y : Paste C-x s : save C-x c : save all and close

Navigating Through a File

M-b : back one word
M-f : foward one word
C-f : forward one character
C-b: backward one character 
C-a : beginning of line
C-e : end of line
C-n : next line
C-p : previous line
M-< : beginning of buffer
M-> : end of buffer   

Using Multiple Files

C-x C-f : find file
C-x b : switch buffer
C-x k : kill buffer
C-x 2 : split-window-vertically
C-x 3 : split-window-horizontally
C-x o : switch window
C-x 0 : kill this window
C-x 1 : kill all other windows

Other Handy Commands

C-s : search
C-r : search backward
M-/ : autocomplete word (based on previous words in the file)
C-x ( : start keyboard macro
C-x ) : end keyboard macro
C-x e: execute keyboard macro.

Learning Yourself

C-h: help
C-h f: describe function
C-h k:describe key

but this is just scratching the surface. If you have any other questions about using emacs, feel free to ask!