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- @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
- @c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2001-2017 Free Software
- @c Foundation, Inc.
- @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
- @node Glossary
- @unnumbered Glossary
- @cindex glossary
- @table @asis
- @anchor{Glossary---Abbrev}
- @item Abbrev
- An abbrev is a text string that expands into a different text string
- when present in the buffer. For example, you might define a few letters
- as an abbrev for a long phrase that you want to insert frequently.
- @xref{Abbrevs}.
- @item Aborting
- Aborting means getting out of a recursive edit (q.v.). The
- commands @kbd{C-]} and @kbd{M-x top-level} are used for this.
- @xref{Quitting}.
- @item Active Region
- Setting the mark (q.v.@:) at a position in the text also activates it.
- When the mark is active, we call the region an active region.
- @xref{Mark}.
- @item Alt
- Alt is the name of a modifier bit that a keyboard input character may
- have. To make a character Alt, type it while holding down the @key{Alt}
- key. Such characters are given names that start with @kbd{@key{Alt}-}
- (usually written @kbd{A-} for short). (Note that many terminals have a
- key labeled @key{Alt} that is really a @key{META} key.) @xref{User
- Input, Alt}.
- @item Argument
- @xref{Glossary---Numeric Argument}.
- @item @acronym{ASCII} character
- An @acronym{ASCII} character is either an @acronym{ASCII} control
- character or an @acronym{ASCII} printing character. @xref{User Input}.
- @item @acronym{ASCII} control character
- An @acronym{ASCII} control character is the Control version of an upper-case
- letter, or the Control version of one of the characters @samp{@@[\]^_?}.
- @item @acronym{ASCII} printing character
- @acronym{ASCII} letters, digits, space, and the following punctuation
- characters: @samp{!@@#$%^&*()_-+=|\~`@{@}[]:;"'<>,.?/}.
- @item Auto Fill Mode
- Auto Fill mode is a minor mode (q.v.@:) in which text that you insert is
- automatically broken into lines of a given maximum width.
- @xref{Filling}.
- @item Auto Saving
- Auto saving is the practice of periodically saving the contents of an
- Emacs buffer in a specially-named file, so that the information will
- be preserved if the buffer is lost due to a system error or user error.
- @xref{Auto Save}.
- @item Autoloading
- Emacs can automatically load Lisp libraries when a Lisp program requests a
- function from those libraries. This is called ``autoloading''.
- @xref{Lisp Libraries}.
- @item Backtrace
- A backtrace is a trace of a series of function calls showing how a
- program arrived at a certain point. It is used mainly for finding and
- correcting bugs (q.v.). Emacs can display a backtrace when it signals
- an error or when you type @kbd{C-g} (@pxref{Glossary---Quitting}).
- @xref{Checklist}.
- @item Backup File
- A backup file records the contents that a file had before the current
- editing session. Emacs makes backup files automatically to help you
- track down or cancel changes you later regret making. @xref{Backup}.
- @item Balancing Parentheses
- Emacs can balance parentheses (or other matching delimiters) either
- manually or automatically. You do manual balancing with the commands
- to move over parenthetical groupings (@pxref{Moving by Parens}).
- Automatic balancing works by blinking or highlighting the delimiter
- that matches the one you just inserted, or inserting the matching
- delimiter for you (@pxref{Matching,,Matching Parens}).
- @anchor{Glossary---Balanced Expression}
- @item Balanced Expressions
- A balanced expression is a syntactically recognizable expression, such
- as a symbol, number, string constant, block, or parenthesized expression
- in C@. @xref{Expressions,Balanced Expressions}.
- @item Balloon Help
- @xref{Glossary---Tooltips}.
- @item Base Buffer
- A base buffer is a buffer whose text is shared by an indirect buffer
- (q.v.).
- @item Bidirectional Text
- Some human languages, such as English, are written from left to right.
- Others, such as Arabic, are written from right to left. Emacs
- supports both of these forms, as well as any mixture of them---this
- is ``bidirectional text''. @xref{Bidirectional Editing}.
- @item Bind
- To bind a key sequence means to give it a binding (q.v.).
- @xref{Rebinding}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Binding}
- @item Binding
- A key sequence gets its meaning in Emacs by having a binding, which is a
- command (q.v.), a Lisp function that is run when you type that
- sequence. @xref{Commands,Binding}. Customization often involves
- rebinding a character to a different command function. The bindings of
- all key sequences are recorded in the keymaps (q.v.). @xref{Keymaps}.
- @item Blank Lines
- Blank lines are lines that contain only whitespace. Emacs has several
- commands for operating on the blank lines in the buffer. @xref{Blank Lines}.
- @item Bookmark
- Bookmarks are akin to registers (q.v.@:) in that they record positions
- in buffers to which you can return later. Unlike registers, bookmarks
- persist between Emacs sessions. @xref{Bookmarks}.
- @item Border
- A border is a thin space along the edge of the frame, used just for
- spacing, not for displaying anything. An Emacs frame has an ordinary
- external border, outside of everything including the menu bar, plus an
- internal border that surrounds the text windows, their scroll bars
- and fringes, and separates them from the menu bar and tool bar. You
- can customize both borders with options and resources (@pxref{Borders
- X}). Borders are not the same as fringes (q.v.).
- @item Buffer
- The buffer is the basic editing unit; one buffer corresponds to one text
- being edited. You normally have several buffers, but at any time you are
- editing only one, the current buffer, though several can be visible
- when you are using multiple windows or frames (q.v.). Most buffers
- are visiting (q.v.@:) some file. @xref{Buffers}.
- @item Buffer Selection History
- Emacs keeps a buffer selection history that records how recently each
- Emacs buffer has been selected. This is used for choosing a buffer to
- select. @xref{Buffers}.
- @item Bug
- A bug is an incorrect or unreasonable behavior of a program, or
- inaccurate or confusing documentation. Emacs developers treat bug
- reports, both in Emacs code and its documentation, very seriously and
- ask you to report any bugs you find. @xref{Bugs}.
- @item Button Down Event
- A button down event is the kind of input event (q.v.@:) generated
- right away when you press down on a mouse button. @xref{Mouse Buttons}.
- @item By Default
- @xref{Glossary---Default}.
- @item Byte Compilation
- @xref{Glossary---Compilation}.
- @anchor{Glossary---C-}
- @item @kbd{C-}
- @kbd{C-} in the name of a character is an abbreviation for Control.
- @xref{User Input,C-}.
- @item @kbd{C-M-}
- @kbd{C-M-} in the name of a character is an abbreviation for
- Control-Meta. If your terminal lacks a real @key{META} key, you type
- a Control-Meta character by typing @key{ESC} and then typing the
- corresponding Control character. @xref{User Input,C-M-}.
- @item Case Conversion
- Case conversion means changing text from upper case to lower case or
- vice versa. @xref{Case}.
- @item Case Folding
- Case folding means ignoring the differences between case variants of
- the same letter: upper-case, lower-case, and title-case. Emacs
- performs case folding by default in text search. @xref{Lax Search}.
- @item Character
- Characters form the contents of an Emacs buffer. Also, key sequences
- (q.v.@:) are usually made up of characters (though they may include
- other input events as well). @xref{User Input}.
- @item Character Folding
- Character folding means ignoring differences between similarly looking
- characters, such as between @code{a}, and @code{@:a} and @code{@'a}.
- Emacs performs character folding by default in text search. @xref{Lax
- Search}.
- @item Character Set
- Emacs supports a number of character sets, each of which represents a
- particular alphabet or script. @xref{International}.
- @item Character Terminal
- @xref{Glossary---Text Terminal}.
- @item Click Event
- A click event is the kind of input event (q.v.@:) generated when you
- press a mouse button and release it without moving the mouse.
- @xref{Mouse Buttons}.
- @item Client
- @xref{Glossary---Server}.
- @item Clipboard
- A clipboard is a buffer provided by the window system for transferring
- text between applications. On the X Window System, the clipboard is
- provided in addition to the primary selection (q.v.); on MS-Windows and Mac,
- the clipboard is used @emph{instead} of the primary selection.
- @xref{Clipboard}.
- @item Coding System
- A coding system is an encoding for representing text characters in a
- file or in a stream of information. Emacs has the ability to convert
- text to or from a variety of coding systems when reading or writing it.
- @xref{Coding Systems}.
- @item Command
- A command is a Lisp function specially defined to be able to serve as a
- key binding in Emacs. When you type a key sequence (q.v.), its
- binding (q.v.@:) is looked up in the relevant keymaps (q.v.@:) to find
- the command to run. @xref{Commands}.
- @item Command History
- @xref{Glossary---Minibuffer History}.
- @item Command Name
- A command name is the name of a Lisp symbol that is a command
- (@pxref{Commands}). You can invoke any command by its name using
- @kbd{M-x} (@pxref{M-x,M-x,Running Commands by Name}).
- @item Comment
- A comment is text in a program which is intended only for humans reading
- the program, and which is specially marked so that it will be ignored
- when the program is loaded or compiled. Emacs offers special commands
- for creating, aligning and killing comments. @xref{Comments}.
- @item Common Lisp
- Common Lisp is a dialect of Lisp (q.v.@:) much larger and more powerful
- than Emacs Lisp. Emacs provides a subset of Common Lisp in the CL
- package. @xref{Top, Common Lisp, Overview, cl, Common Lisp Extensions}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Compilation}
- @item Compilation
- Compilation is the process of creating an executable program from source
- code. Emacs has commands for compiling files of Emacs Lisp code
- (@pxref{Byte Compilation,,, elisp, the Emacs Lisp
- Reference Manual}) and programs in C and other languages
- (@pxref{Compilation}).
- @item Complete Key
- A complete key is a key sequence that fully specifies one action to be
- performed by Emacs. For example, @kbd{X} and @kbd{C-f} and @kbd{C-x m}
- are complete keys. Complete keys derive their meanings from being bound
- (q.v.@:) to commands (q.v.). Thus, @kbd{X} is conventionally bound to
- a command to insert @samp{X} in the buffer; @kbd{C-x m} is
- conventionally bound to a command to begin composing a mail message.
- @xref{Keys}.
- @item Completion
- Completion is what Emacs does when it automatically expands an
- abbreviation for a name into the entire name. Completion is done for
- minibuffer (q.v.@:) arguments when the set of possible valid inputs
- is known; for example, on command names, buffer names, and
- file names. Completion usually occurs when @key{TAB}, @key{SPC} or
- @key{RET} is typed. @xref{Completion}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Continuation Line}
- @item Continuation Line
- When a line of text is longer than the width of the window, it
- normally (but see @ref{Glossary---Truncation}) takes up more than one
- screen line when displayed. We say that the text line is continued, and all
- screen lines used for it after the first are called continuation
- lines. @xref{Continuation Lines}. A related Emacs feature is
- filling (q.v.).
- @item Control Character
- A control character is a character that you type by holding down the
- @key{Ctrl} key. Some control characters also have their own keys, so
- that you can type them without using @key{Ctrl}. For example,
- @key{RET}, @key{TAB}, @key{ESC} and @key{DEL} are all control
- characters. @xref{User Input}.
- @item Copyleft
- A copyleft is a notice giving the public legal permission to
- redistribute and modify a program or other work of art, but requiring
- modified versions to carry similar permission. Copyright is normally
- used to keep users divided and helpless; with copyleft we turn that
- around to empower users and encourage them to cooperate.
- The particular form of copyleft used by the GNU project is called the
- GNU General Public License. @xref{Copying}.
- @item @key{Ctrl}
- The @key{Ctrl} or control key is what you hold down
- in order to enter a control character (q.v.). @xref{Glossary---C-}.
- @item Current Buffer
- The current buffer in Emacs is the Emacs buffer on which most editing
- commands operate. You can select any Emacs buffer as the current one.
- @xref{Buffers}.
- @item Current Line
- The current line is the line that point is on (@pxref{Point}).
- @item Current Paragraph
- The current paragraph is the paragraph that point is in. If point is
- between two paragraphs, the current paragraph is the one that follows
- point. @xref{Paragraphs}.
- @item Current Defun
- The current defun is the defun (q.v.@:) that point is in. If point is
- between defuns, the current defun is the one that follows point.
- @xref{Defuns}.
- @item Cursor
- The cursor is the rectangle on the screen which indicates the position
- (called point; q.v.@:) at which insertion and deletion takes place.
- The cursor is on or under the character that follows point. Often
- people speak of ``the cursor'' when, strictly speaking, they mean
- ``point''. @xref{Point,Cursor}.
- @item Customization
- Customization is making minor changes in the way Emacs works, to
- reflect your preferences or needs. It is often done by setting
- variables (@pxref{Variables}) or faces (@pxref{Face Customization}),
- or by rebinding key sequences (@pxref{Keymaps}).
- @cindex cut and paste
- @item Cut and Paste
- @xref{Glossary---Killing}, and @ref{Glossary---Yanking}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Daemon}
- @item Daemon
- A daemon is a standard term for a system-level process that runs in the
- background. Daemons are often started when the system first starts up.
- When Emacs runs in daemon-mode, it does not
- open a display. You connect to it with the
- @command{emacsclient} program. @xref{Emacs Server}.
- @item Default Argument
- The default for an argument is the value that will be assumed if you
- do not specify one. When the minibuffer is used to read an argument,
- the default argument is used if you just type @key{RET}.
- @xref{Minibuffer}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Default}
- @item Default
- A default is the value that is used for a certain purpose when
- you do not explicitly specify a value to use.
- @item Default Directory
- When you specify a file name that does not start with @samp{/} or @samp{~},
- it is interpreted relative to the current buffer's default directory.
- (On MS systems, file names that start with a drive letter
- @samp{@var{x}:} are treated as absolute, not relative.)
- @xref{Minibuffer File,Default Directory}.
- @item Defun
- A defun is a major definition at the top level in a program. The name
- ``defun'' comes from Lisp, where most such definitions use the construct
- @code{defun}. @xref{Defuns}.
- @item @key{DEL}
- @key{DEL} is a character that runs the command to delete one character
- of text before the cursor. It is typically either the @key{Delete}
- key or the @key{BACKSPACE} key, whichever one is easy to type.
- @xref{Erasing,DEL}.
- @item Deletion
- Deletion means erasing text without copying it into the kill ring
- (q.v.). The alternative is killing (q.v.). @xref{Killing,Deletion}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Deletion of Files}
- @item Deletion of Files
- Deleting a file means erasing it from the file system.
- (Note that some systems use the concept of a trash can, or recycle
- bin, to allow you to undelete files.)
- @xref{Misc File Ops,Misc File Ops,Miscellaneous File Operations}.
- @item Deletion of Messages
- Deleting a message (in Rmail, and other mail clients) means flagging
- it to be eliminated from your mail file. Until you expunge (q.v.@:)
- the Rmail file, you can still undelete the messages you have deleted.
- @xref{Rmail Deletion}.
- @item Deletion of Windows
- Deleting a window means eliminating it from the screen. Other windows
- expand to use up the space. The text that was in the window is not
- lost, and you can create a new window with the same dimensions as the
- old if you wish. @xref{Windows}.
- @item Directory
- File directories are named collections in the file system, within which
- you can place individual files or subdirectories. They are sometimes
- referred to as ``folders''. @xref{Directories}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Directory Local Variable}
- @item Directory Local Variable
- A directory local variable is a local variable (q.v.@:) that applies
- to all the files within a certain directory. @xref{Directory
- Variables}.
- @item Dired
- Dired is the Emacs facility that displays the contents of a file
- directory and allows you to ``edit the directory'', performing
- operations on the files in the directory. @xref{Dired}.
- @item Disabled Command
- A disabled command is one that you may not run without special
- confirmation. The usual reason for disabling a command is that it is
- confusing for beginning users. @xref{Disabling}.
- @item Down Event
- Short for ``button down event'' (q.v.).
- @item Drag Event
- A drag event is the kind of input event (q.v.@:) generated when you
- press a mouse button, move the mouse, and then release the button.
- @xref{Mouse Buttons}.
- @item Dribble File
- A dribble file is a file into which Emacs writes all the characters that
- you type on the keyboard. Dribble files can be used to make a record
- for debugging Emacs bugs. Emacs does not make a dribble file unless you
- tell it to. @xref{Bugs}.
- @c TODO? Not really appropriate for the user manual I think.
- @c Dynamic Binding
- @item Echo Area
- The echo area is the bottom line of the screen, used for echoing the
- arguments to commands, for asking questions, and showing brief messages
- (including error messages). The messages are stored in the buffer
- @file{*Messages*} so you can review them later. @xref{Echo Area}.
- @item Echoing
- Echoing is acknowledging the receipt of input events by displaying
- them (in the echo area). Emacs never echoes single-character key
- sequences; longer key sequences echo only if you pause while typing
- them.
- @item Electric
- We say that a character is electric if it is normally self-inserting
- (q.v.), but the current major mode (q.v.@:) redefines it to do something
- else as well. For example, some programming language major modes define
- particular delimiter characters to reindent the line, or insert one or
- more newlines in addition to self-insertion.
- @anchor{Glossary---End Of Line}
- @item End Of Line
- End of line is a character or a sequence of characters that indicate
- the end of a text line. On GNU and Unix systems, this is a newline
- (q.v.), but other systems have other conventions. @xref{Coding
- Systems,end-of-line}. Emacs can recognize several end-of-line
- conventions in files and convert between them.
- @item Environment Variable
- An environment variable is one of a collection of variables stored by
- the operating system, each one having a name and a value. Emacs can
- access environment variables set by its parent shell, and it can set
- variables in the environment it passes to programs it invokes.
- @xref{Environment}.
- @item EOL
- @xref{Glossary---End Of Line}.
- @item Error
- An error occurs when an Emacs command cannot execute in the current
- circumstances. When an error occurs, execution of the command stops
- (unless the command has been programmed to do otherwise) and Emacs
- reports the error by displaying an error message (q.v.).
- @c Not helpful?
- @c Type-ahead is discarded. Then Emacs is ready to read another
- @c editing command.
- @item Error Message
- An error message is output displayed by Emacs when you ask it to do
- something impossible (such as, killing text forward when point is at
- the end of the buffer), or when a command malfunctions in some way.
- Such messages appear in the echo area, accompanied by a beep.
- @item @key{ESC}
- @key{ESC} is a character used as a prefix for typing Meta characters on
- keyboards lacking a @key{META} key. Unlike the @key{META} key (which,
- like the @key{SHIFT} key, is held down while another character is
- typed), you press the @key{ESC} key as you would press a letter key, and
- it applies to the next character you type.
- @item Expression
- @xref{Glossary---Balanced Expression}.
- @item Expunging
- Expunging an Rmail, Gnus newsgroup, or Dired buffer is an operation
- that truly discards the messages or files you have previously flagged
- for deletion.
- @item Face
- A face is a style of displaying characters. It specifies attributes
- such as font family and size, foreground and background colors,
- underline and strike-through, background stipple, etc. Emacs provides
- features to associate specific faces with portions of buffer text, in
- order to display that text as specified by the face attributes.
- @xref{Faces}.
- @item File Local Variable
- A file local variable is a local variable (q.v.@:) specified in a
- given file. @xref{File Variables}, and @ref{Glossary---Directory
- Local Variable}.
- @anchor{Glossary---File Locking}
- @item File Locking
- Emacs uses file locking to notice when two different users
- start to edit one file at the same time. @xref{Interlocking}.
- @item File Name
- @c This is fairly tautological...
- A file name is a name that refers to a file. File names may be relative
- or absolute; the meaning of a relative file name depends on the current
- directory, but an absolute file name refers to the same file regardless
- of which directory is current. On GNU and Unix systems, an absolute
- file name starts with a slash (the root directory) or with @samp{~/} or
- @samp{~@var{user}/} (a home directory). On MS-Windows/MS-DOS, an
- absolute file name can also start with a drive letter and a colon, e.g.,
- @samp{@var{d}:}.
- Some people use the term ``pathname'' for file names, but we do not;
- we use the word ``path'' only in the term ``search path'' (q.v.).
- @item File-Name Component
- A file-name component names a file directly within a particular
- directory. On GNU and Unix systems, a file name is a sequence of
- file-name components, separated by slashes. For example, @file{foo/bar}
- is a file name containing two components, @samp{foo} and @samp{bar}; it
- refers to the file named @samp{bar} in the directory named @samp{foo} in
- the current directory. MS-DOS/MS-Windows file names can also use
- backslashes to separate components, as in @file{foo\bar}.
- @item Fill Prefix
- The fill prefix is a string that should be expected at the beginning
- of each line when filling is done. It is not regarded as part of the
- text to be filled. @xref{Filling}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Filling}
- @item Filling
- Filling text means adjusting the position of line-breaks to shift text
- between consecutive lines, so that all the lines are approximately the
- same length. @xref{Filling}. Some other editors call this feature
- ``line wrapping''.
- @anchor{Glossary---Font Lock}
- @item Font Lock
- Font Lock is a mode that highlights parts of buffer text in different
- faces, according to the syntax. Some other editors refer to this as
- ``syntax highlighting''. For example, all comments (q.v.@:)
- might be colored red. @xref{Font Lock}.
- @item Fontset
- A fontset is a named collection of fonts. A fontset specification lists
- character sets and which font to use to display each of them. Fontsets
- make it easy to change several fonts at once by specifying the name of a
- fontset, rather than changing each font separately. @xref{Fontsets}.
- @item Formfeed Character
- @xref{Glossary---Page}.
- @item Frame
- A frame is a rectangular cluster of Emacs windows. Emacs starts out
- with one frame, but you can create more. You can subdivide each frame
- into Emacs windows (q.v.). When you are using a window system
- (q.v.), more than one frame can be visible at the same time.
- @xref{Frames}. Some other editors use the term ``window'' for this,
- but in Emacs a window means something else.
- @item Free Software
- Free software is software that gives you the freedom to share, study
- and modify it. Emacs is free software, part of the GNU project
- (q.v.), and distributed under a copyleft (q.v.@:) license called the
- GNU General Public License. @xref{Copying}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Free Software Foundation}
- @item Free Software Foundation
- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a charitable foundation
- dedicated to promoting the development of free software (q.v.).
- For more information, see @uref{http://fsf.org/, the FSF website}.
- @item Fringe
- On a graphical display (q.v.), there's a narrow portion of the frame
- (q.v.@:) between the text area and the window's border. These
- ``fringes'' are used to display symbols that provide information about
- the buffer text (@pxref{Fringes}). Emacs displays the fringe using a
- special face (q.v.@:) called @code{fringe}. @xref{Faces,fringe}.
- @item FSF
- @xref{Glossary---Free Software Foundation}.
- @item FTP
- FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol. This is one standard
- method for retrieving remote files (q.v.).
- @item Function Key
- A function key is a key on the keyboard that sends input but does not
- correspond to any character. @xref{Function Keys}.
- @item Global
- Global means ``independent of the current environment; in effect
- throughout Emacs''. It is the opposite of local (q.v.). Particular
- examples of the use of ``global'' appear below.
- @item Global Abbrev
- A global definition of an abbrev (q.v.@:) is effective in all major
- modes that do not have local (q.v.@:) definitions for the same abbrev.
- @xref{Abbrevs}.
- @item Global Keymap
- The global keymap (q.v.@:) contains key bindings that are in effect
- everywhere, except when overridden by local key bindings in a major
- mode's local keymap (q.v.). @xref{Keymaps}.
- @item Global Mark Ring
- The global mark ring records the series of buffers you have recently
- set a mark (q.v.@:) in. In many cases you can use this to backtrack
- through buffers you have been editing, or in which you have found
- tags (@pxref{Glossary---Tags Table}). @xref{Global Mark Ring}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Global Substitution}
- @item Global Substitution
- Global substitution means replacing each occurrence of one string by
- another string throughout a large amount of text. @xref{Replace}.
- @item Global Variable
- The global value of a variable (q.v.@:) takes effect in all buffers
- that do not have their own local (q.v.@:) values for the variable.
- @xref{Variables}.
- @item GNU
- GNU is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix, and it refers to a
- Unix-compatible operating system which is free software (q.v.).
- @xref{Manifesto}. GNU is normally used with Linux as the kernel since
- Linux works better than the GNU kernel. For more information, see
- @uref{http://www.gnu.org/, the GNU website}.
- @item Graphic Character
- Graphic characters are those assigned pictorial images rather than
- just names. All the non-Meta (q.v.@:) characters except for the
- Control (q.v.@:) characters are graphic characters. These include
- letters, digits, punctuation, and spaces; they do not include
- @key{RET} or @key{ESC}. In Emacs, typing a graphic character inserts
- that character (in ordinary editing modes). @xref{Inserting Text}.
- @item Graphical Display
- A graphical display is one that can display images and multiple fonts.
- Usually it also has a window system (q.v.).
- @item Highlighting
- Highlighting text means displaying it with a different foreground and/or
- background color to make it stand out from the rest of the text in the
- buffer.
- Emacs uses highlighting in several ways. It highlights the region
- whenever it is active (@pxref{Mark}). Incremental search also
- highlights matches (@pxref{Incremental Search}). @xref{Glossary---Font Lock}.
- @item Hardcopy
- Hardcopy means printed output. Emacs has various commands for
- printing the contents of Emacs buffers. @xref{Printing}.
- @item @key{HELP}
- @key{HELP} is the Emacs name for @kbd{C-h} or @key{F1}. You can type
- @key{HELP} at any time to ask what options you have, or to ask what a
- command does. @xref{Help}.
- @item Help Echo
- Help echo is a short message displayed in the echo area (q.v.@:) when
- the mouse pointer is located on portions of display that require some
- explanations. Emacs displays help echo for menu items, parts of the
- mode line, tool-bar buttons, etc. On graphical displays, the messages
- can be displayed as tooltips (q.v.). @xref{Tooltips}.
- @item Home Directory
- Your home directory contains your personal files. On a multi-user GNU
- or Unix system, each user has his or her own home directory. When you
- start a new login session, your home directory is the default
- directory in which to start. A standard shorthand for your home
- directory is @samp{~}. Similarly, @samp{~@var{user}} represents the
- home directory of some other user.
- @item Hook
- A hook is a list of functions to be called on specific occasions, such
- as saving a buffer in a file, major mode activation, etc. By
- customizing the various hooks, you can modify Emacs's behavior without
- changing any of its code. @xref{Hooks}.
- @item Hyper
- Hyper is the name of a modifier bit that a keyboard input character may
- have. To make a character Hyper, type it while holding down the
- @key{Hyper} key. Such characters are given names that start with
- @kbd{Hyper-} (usually written @kbd{H-} for short). @xref{User Input}.
- @item Iff
- ``Iff'' means ``if and only if''. This terminology comes from
- mathematics. Try to avoid using this term in documentation, since
- many are unfamiliar with it and mistake it for a typo.
- @item Inbox
- An inbox is a file in which mail is delivered by the operating system.
- Rmail transfers mail from inboxes to Rmail files in which the
- mail is then stored permanently or until explicitly deleted.
- @xref{Rmail Inbox}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Incremental Search}
- @item Incremental Search
- Emacs provides an incremental search facility, whereby Emacs begins
- searching for a string as soon as you type the first character.
- As you type more characters, it refines the search. @xref{Incremental Search}.
- @item Indentation
- Indentation means blank space at the beginning of a line. Most
- programming languages have conventions for using indentation to
- illuminate the structure of the program, and Emacs has special
- commands to adjust indentation.
- @xref{Indentation}.
- @item Indirect Buffer
- An indirect buffer is a buffer that shares the text of another buffer,
- called its base buffer (q.v.). @xref{Indirect Buffers}.
- @item Info
- Info is the hypertext format used by the GNU project for writing
- documentation.
- @item Input Event
- An input event represents, within Emacs, one action taken by the user on
- the terminal. Input events include typing characters, typing function
- keys, pressing or releasing mouse buttons, and switching between Emacs
- frames. @xref{User Input}.
- @item Input Method
- An input method is a system for entering non-@acronym{ASCII} text characters by
- typing sequences of @acronym{ASCII} characters (q.v.). @xref{Input Methods}.
- @item Insertion
- Insertion means adding text into the buffer, either from the keyboard
- or from some other place in Emacs.
- @item Interlocking
- @xref{Glossary---File Locking}.
- @item Isearch
- @xref{Glossary---Incremental Search}.
- @item Justification
- Justification means adding extra spaces within lines of text in order
- to adjust the position of the text edges. @xref{Fill Commands}.
- @item Key Binding
- @xref{Glossary---Binding}.
- @item Keyboard Macro
- Keyboard macros are a way of defining new Emacs commands from
- sequences of existing ones, with no need to write a Lisp program.
- You can use a macro to record a sequence of commands, then
- play them back as many times as you like.
- @xref{Keyboard Macros}.
- @cindex keyboard shortcuts
- @item Keyboard Shortcut
- A keyboard shortcut is a key sequence (q.v.@:) that invokes a
- command. What some programs call ``assigning a keyboard shortcut'',
- Emacs calls ``binding a key sequence''. @xref{Glossary---Binding}.
- @item Key Sequence
- A key sequence (key, for short) is a sequence of input events (q.v.@:)
- that are meaningful as a single unit. If the key sequence is enough to
- specify one action, it is a complete key (q.v.); if it is not enough,
- it is a prefix key (q.v.). @xref{Keys}.
- @item Keymap
- The keymap is the data structure that records the bindings (q.v.@:) of
- key sequences to the commands that they run. For example, the global
- keymap binds the character @kbd{C-n} to the command function
- @code{next-line}. @xref{Keymaps}.
- @item Keyboard Translation Table
- The keyboard translation table is an array that translates the character
- codes that come from the terminal into the character codes that make up
- key sequences.
- @item Kill Ring
- The kill ring is where all text you have killed (@pxref{Glossary---Killing})
- recently is saved. You can reinsert any of the killed text still in
- the ring; this is called yanking (q.v.). @xref{Yanking}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Killing}
- @item Killing
- Killing means erasing text and saving it on the kill ring so it can be
- yanked (q.v.@:) later. Some other systems call this ``cutting''.
- Most Emacs commands that erase text perform killing, as opposed to
- deletion (q.v.). @xref{Killing}.
- @item Killing a Job
- Killing a job (such as, an invocation of Emacs) means making it cease
- to exist. Any data within it, if not saved in a file, is lost.
- @xref{Exiting}.
- @item Language Environment
- Your choice of language environment specifies defaults for the input
- method (q.v.@:) and coding system (q.v.). @xref{Language
- Environments}. These defaults are relevant if you edit
- non-@acronym{ASCII} text (@pxref{International}).
- @c TODO? Not really appropriate for the user manual I think.
- @c Lexical Binding
- @item Line Wrapping
- @xref{Glossary---Filling}.
- @item Lisp
- Lisp is a programming language. Most of Emacs is written in a dialect
- of Lisp, called Emacs Lisp, which is extended with special features that
- make it especially suitable for text editing tasks.
- @item List
- A list is, approximately, a text string beginning with an open
- parenthesis and ending with the matching close parenthesis. In C mode
- and other non-Lisp modes, groupings surrounded by other kinds of matched
- delimiters appropriate to the language, such as braces, are also
- considered lists. Emacs has special commands for many operations on
- lists. @xref{Moving by Parens}.
- @item Local
- Local means ``in effect only in a particular context''; the relevant
- kind of context is a particular function execution, a particular
- buffer, or a particular major mode. It is the opposite of ``global''
- (q.v.). Specific uses of ``local'' in Emacs terminology appear below.
- @item Local Abbrev
- A local abbrev definition is effective only if a particular major mode
- is selected. In that major mode, it overrides any global definition
- for the same abbrev. @xref{Abbrevs}.
- @item Local Keymap
- A local keymap is used in a particular major mode; the key bindings
- (q.v.@:) in the current local keymap override global bindings of the
- same key sequences. @xref{Keymaps}.
- @item Local Variable
- A local value of a variable (q.v.@:) applies to only one buffer.
- @xref{Locals}.
- @item @kbd{M-}
- @kbd{M-} in the name of a character is an abbreviation for @key{Meta},
- one of the modifier keys that can accompany any character.
- @xref{User Input,M-}.
- @item @kbd{M-C-}
- @kbd{M-C-} in the name of a character is an abbreviation for
- Control-Meta; it means the same thing as @kbd{C-M-} (q.v.).
- @item @kbd{M-x}
- @kbd{M-x} is the key sequence that is used to call an Emacs command by
- name. This is how you run commands that are not bound to key sequences.
- @xref{M-x,M-x,Running Commands by Name}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Mail}
- @item Mail
- Mail means messages sent from one user to another through the computer
- system, to be read at the recipient's convenience. Emacs has commands for
- composing and sending mail, and for reading and editing the mail you have
- received. @xref{Sending Mail}. @xref{Rmail}, for one way to read
- mail with Emacs.
- @item Mail Composition Method
- A mail composition method is a program runnable within Emacs for editing
- and sending a mail message. Emacs lets you select from several
- alternative mail composition methods. @xref{Mail Methods}.
- @item Major Mode
- The Emacs major modes are a mutually exclusive set of options, each of
- which configures Emacs for editing a certain sort of text. Ideally,
- each programming language has its own major mode. @xref{Major Modes}.
- @c FIXME: Mention margins for filling?
- @item Margin
- The space between the usable part of a window (including the
- fringe) and the window edge.
- @item Mark
- The mark points to a position in the text. It specifies one end of the
- region (q.v.), point being the other end. Many commands operate on
- all the text from point to the mark. Each buffer has its own mark.
- @xref{Mark}.
- @item Mark Ring
- The mark ring is used to hold several recent previous locations of the
- mark, in case you want to move back to them. Each buffer has its
- own mark ring; in addition, there is a single global mark ring (q.v.).
- @xref{Mark Ring}.
- @item Menu Bar
- The menu bar is a line at the top of an Emacs frame. It contains
- words you can click on with the mouse to bring up menus, or you can use
- a keyboard interface to navigate it. @xref{Menu Bars}.
- @item Message
- @xref{Glossary---Mail}.
- @item Meta
- Meta is the name of a modifier bit which you can use in a command
- character. To enter a meta character, you hold down the @key{Meta}
- key while typing the character. We refer to such characters with
- names that start with @kbd{Meta-} (usually written @kbd{M-} for
- short). For example, @kbd{M-<} is typed by holding down @key{Meta}
- and at the same time typing @kbd{<} (which itself is done, on most
- terminals, by holding down @key{SHIFT} and typing @kbd{,}).
- @xref{User Input,Meta}.
- On some terminals, the @key{Meta} key is actually labeled @key{Alt}
- or @key{Edit}.
- @item Meta Character
- A Meta character is one whose character code includes the Meta bit.
- @item Minibuffer
- The minibuffer is the window that appears when necessary inside the
- echo area (q.v.), used for reading arguments to commands.
- @xref{Minibuffer}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Minibuffer History}
- @item Minibuffer History
- The minibuffer history records the text you have specified in the past
- for minibuffer arguments, so you can conveniently use the same text
- again. @xref{Minibuffer History}.
- @item Minor Mode
- A minor mode is an optional feature of Emacs, which can be switched on
- or off independently of all other features. Each minor mode has a
- command to turn it on or off. Some minor modes are global (q.v.),
- and some are local (q.v.). @xref{Minor Modes}.
- @item Minor Mode Keymap
- A minor mode keymap is a keymap that belongs to a minor mode and is
- active when that mode is enabled. Minor mode keymaps take precedence
- over the buffer's local keymap, just as the local keymap takes
- precedence over the global keymap. @xref{Keymaps}.
- @item Mode Line
- The mode line is the line at the bottom of each window (q.v.), giving
- status information on the buffer displayed in that window. @xref{Mode
- Line}.
- @item Modified Buffer
- A buffer (q.v.@:) is modified if its text has been changed since the
- last time the buffer was saved (or since it was created, if it
- has never been saved). @xref{Saving}.
- @item Moving Text
- Moving text means erasing it from one place and inserting it in
- another. The usual way to move text is by killing (q.v.@:) it and then
- yanking (q.v.@:) it. @xref{Killing}.
- @item MULE
- @cindex MULE
- Prior to Emacs 23, @acronym{MULE} was the name of a software package
- which provided a @dfn{MULtilingual Enhancement} to Emacs, by adding
- support for multiple character sets (q.v.). @acronym{MULE} was later
- integrated into Emacs, and much of it was replaced when Emacs gained
- internal Unicode support in version 23.
- Some parts of Emacs that deal with character set support still use the
- @acronym{MULE} name. @xref{International}.
- @item Multibyte Character
- A multibyte character is a character that takes up several bytes in a
- buffer. Emacs uses multibyte characters to represent non-@acronym{ASCII} text,
- since the number of non-@acronym{ASCII} characters is much more than 256.
- @xref{International Chars, International Characters}.
- @item Named Mark
- A named mark is a register (q.v.), in its role of recording a
- location in text so that you can move point to that location.
- @xref{Registers}.
- @item Narrowing
- Narrowing means creating a restriction (q.v.@:) that limits editing in
- the current buffer to only a part of the text. Text outside that part
- is inaccessible for editing (or viewing) until the boundaries are
- widened again, but it is still there, and saving the file saves it
- all. @xref{Narrowing}.
- @item Newline
- Control-J characters in the buffer terminate lines of text and are
- therefore also called newlines. @xref{Glossary---End Of Line}.
- @cindex nil
- @cindex t
- @item @code{nil}
- @code{nil} is a value usually interpreted as a logical ``false''. Its
- opposite is @code{t}, interpreted as ``true''.
- @anchor{Glossary---Numeric Argument}
- @item Numeric Argument
- A numeric argument is a number, specified before a command, to change
- the effect of the command. Often the numeric argument serves as a
- repeat count. @xref{Arguments}.
- @item Overwrite Mode
- Overwrite mode is a minor mode. When it is enabled, ordinary text
- characters replace the existing text after point rather than pushing
- it to one side. @xref{Minor Modes}.
- @item Package
- A package is a collection of Lisp code that you download and
- automatically install from within Emacs. Packages provide a
- convenient way to add new features. @xref{Packages}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Page}
- @item Page
- A page is a unit of text, delimited by formfeed characters (@acronym{ASCII}
- control-L, code 014) at the beginning of a line. Some Emacs
- commands are provided for moving over and operating on pages.
- @xref{Pages}.
- @item Paragraph
- Paragraphs are the medium-size unit of human-language text. There are
- special Emacs commands for moving over and operating on paragraphs.
- @xref{Paragraphs}.
- @item Parsing
- We say that certain Emacs commands parse words or expressions in the
- text being edited. Really, all they know how to do is find the other
- end of a word or expression.
- @item Point
- Point is the place in the buffer at which insertion and deletion
- occur. Point is considered to be between two characters, not at one
- character. The terminal's cursor (q.v.@:) indicates the location of
- point. @xref{Point}.
- @item Prefix Argument
- @xref{Glossary---Numeric Argument}.
- @item Prefix Key
- A prefix key is a key sequence (q.v.@:) whose sole function is to
- introduce a set of longer key sequences. @kbd{C-x} is an example of
- prefix key; any two-character sequence starting with @kbd{C-x} is
- therefore a legitimate key sequence. @xref{Keys}.
- @c I don't think this kind of thing needs to be here.
- @ignore
- @item Primary Rmail File
- Your primary Rmail file is the file named @samp{RMAIL} in your home
- directory. That's where Rmail stores your incoming mail, unless you
- specify a different file name. @xref{Rmail}.
- @end ignore
- @item Primary Selection
- The primary selection is one particular X selection (q.v.); it is the
- selection that most X applications use for transferring text to and from
- other applications.
- The Emacs kill commands set the primary selection and the yank command
- uses the primary selection when appropriate. @xref{Killing}.
- @item Prompt
- A prompt is text used to ask you for input. Displaying a prompt
- is called prompting. Emacs prompts always appear in the echo area
- (q.v.). One kind of prompting happens when the minibuffer is used to
- read an argument (@pxref{Minibuffer}); the echoing that happens when
- you pause in the middle of typing a multi-character key sequence is also
- a kind of prompting (@pxref{Echo Area}).
- @item Query-Replace
- Query-replace is an interactive string replacement feature provided by
- Emacs. @xref{Query Replace}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Quitting}
- @item Quitting
- Quitting means canceling a partially typed command or a running
- command, using @kbd{C-g} (or @kbd{C-@key{BREAK}} on MS-DOS). @xref{Quitting}.
- @item Quoting
- Quoting means depriving a character of its usual special significance.
- The most common kind of quoting in Emacs is with @kbd{C-q}. What
- constitutes special significance depends on the context and on
- convention. For example, an ordinary character as an Emacs command
- inserts itself; so in this context, a special character is any character
- that does not normally insert itself (such as @key{DEL}, for example),
- and quoting it makes it insert itself as if it were not special. Not
- all contexts allow quoting. @xref{Inserting Text,Quoting}.
- @item Quoting File Names
- Quoting a file name turns off the special significance of constructs
- such as @samp{$}, @samp{~} and @samp{:}. @xref{Quoted File Names}.
- @item Read-Only Buffer
- A read-only buffer is one whose text you are not allowed to change.
- Normally Emacs makes buffers read-only when they contain text which
- has a special significance to Emacs; for example, Dired buffers.
- Visiting a file that is write-protected also makes a read-only buffer.
- @xref{Buffers}.
- @item Rectangle
- A rectangle consists of the text in a given range of columns on a given
- range of lines. Normally you specify a rectangle by putting point at
- one corner and putting the mark at the diagonally opposite corner.
- @xref{Rectangles}.
- @item Recursive Editing Level
- A recursive editing level is a state in which part of the execution of
- a command involves asking you to edit some text. This text may
- or may not be the same as the text to which the command was applied.
- The mode line indicates recursive editing levels with square brackets
- (@samp{[} and @samp{]}). @xref{Recursive Edit}.
- @item Redisplay
- Redisplay is the process of correcting the image on the screen to
- correspond to changes that have been made in the text being edited.
- @xref{Screen,Redisplay}.
- @item Regexp
- @xref{Glossary---Regular Expression}.
- @item Region
- The region is the text between point (q.v.@:) and the mark (q.v.).
- Many commands operate on the text of the region. @xref{Mark,Region}.
- @item Register
- Registers are named slots in which text, buffer positions, or
- rectangles can be saved for later use. @xref{Registers}. A related
- Emacs feature is bookmarks (q.v.).
- @anchor{Glossary---Regular Expression}
- @item Regular Expression
- A regular expression is a pattern that can match various text strings;
- for example, @samp{a[0-9]+} matches @samp{a} followed by one or more
- digits. @xref{Regexps}.
- @item Remote File
- A remote file is a file that is stored on a system other than your own.
- Emacs can access files on other computers provided that they are
- connected to the same network as your machine, and (obviously) that
- you have a supported method to gain access to those files.
- @xref{Remote Files}.
- @item Repeat Count
- @xref{Glossary---Numeric Argument}.
- @item Replacement
- @xref{Glossary---Global Substitution}.
- @item Restriction
- A buffer's restriction is the amount of text, at the beginning or the
- end of the buffer, that is temporarily inaccessible. Giving a buffer a
- nonzero amount of restriction is called narrowing (q.v.); removing
- a restriction is called widening (q.v.). @xref{Narrowing}.
- @item @key{RET}
- @key{RET} is a character that in Emacs runs the command to insert a
- newline into the text. It is also used to terminate most arguments
- read in the minibuffer (q.v.). @xref{User Input,Return}.
- @item Reverting
- Reverting means returning to the original state. Emacs lets you
- revert a buffer by re-reading its file from disk. @xref{Reverting}.
- @c Seems too obvious, also there is nothing special about the format
- @c these days.
- @ignore
- @item Rmail File
- An Rmail file is a file containing text in the format used by
- Rmail for storing mail. @xref{Rmail}.
- @end ignore
- @item Saving
- Saving a buffer means copying its text into the file that was visited
- (q.v.@:) in that buffer. This is the way text in files actually gets
- changed by your Emacs editing. @xref{Saving}.
- @item Scroll Bar
- A scroll bar is a tall thin hollow box that appears at the side of a
- window. You can use mouse commands in the scroll bar to scroll the
- window. The scroll bar feature is supported only under windowing
- systems. @xref{Scroll Bars}.
- @item Scrolling
- Scrolling means shifting the text in the Emacs window so as to see a
- different part of the buffer. @xref{Scrolling}.
- @item Searching
- Searching means moving point to the next occurrence of a specified
- string or the next match for a specified regular expression.
- @xref{Search}.
- @item Search Path
- A search path is a list of directory names, to be used for searching for
- files for certain purposes. For example, the variable @code{load-path}
- holds a search path for finding Lisp library files. @xref{Lisp Libraries}.
- @item Secondary Selection
- The secondary selection is one particular X selection (q.v.); some X
- applications can use it for transferring text to and from other
- applications. Emacs has special mouse commands for transferring text
- using the secondary selection. @xref{Secondary Selection}.
- @item Selected Frame
- The selected frame is the one your input currently operates on.
- @xref{Frames}.
- @item Selected Window
- The selected window is the one your input currently operates on.
- @xref{Basic Window}.
- @item Selecting a Buffer
- Selecting a buffer means making it the current (q.v.@:) buffer.
- @xref{Select Buffer}.
- @item Selection
- Windowing systems allow an application program to specify
- selections whose values are text. A program can also read the
- selections that other programs have set up. This is the principal way
- of transferring text between window applications. Emacs has commands to
- work with the primary (q.v.@:) selection and the secondary (q.v.@:)
- selection, and also with the clipboard (q.v.).
- @item Self-Documentation
- Self-documentation is the feature of Emacs that can tell you what any
- command does, or give you a list of all commands related to a topic
- you specify. You ask for self-documentation with the help character,
- @kbd{C-h}. @xref{Help}.
- @item Self-Inserting Character
- A character is self-inserting if typing that character inserts that
- character in the buffer. Ordinary printing and whitespace characters
- are self-inserting in Emacs, except in certain special major modes.
- @item Sentences
- Emacs has commands for moving by or killing by sentences.
- @xref{Sentences}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Server}
- @item Server
- Within Emacs, you can start a ``server'' process, which listens for
- connections from ``clients''. This offers a faster alternative to
- starting several Emacs instances. @xref{Emacs Server}, and
- @ref{Glossary---Daemon}.
- @c This is only covered in the lispref, not the user manual.
- @ignore
- @item Session Manager
- Some window systems (q.v.@:) provide a tool called a ``session manager''.
- This offers the ability to save your windows when you log off,
- and restore them after you log in again.
- @end ignore
- @item Sexp
- A sexp (short for ``s-expression'') is the basic syntactic unit of
- Lisp in its textual form: either a list, or Lisp atom. Sexps are also
- the balanced expressions (q.v.@:) of the Lisp language; this is why
- the commands for editing balanced expressions have @samp{sexp} in their
- name. @xref{Expressions,Sexps}.
- @item Simultaneous Editing
- Simultaneous editing means two users modifying the same file at once.
- Simultaneous editing, if not detected, can cause one user to lose his
- or her work. Emacs detects all cases of simultaneous editing, and
- warns one of the users to investigate.
- @xref{Interlocking,Interlocking,Simultaneous Editing}.
- @item @key{SPC}
- @key{SPC} is the space character, which you enter by pressing the
- space bar.
- @item Speedbar
- The speedbar is a special tall frame that provides fast access to Emacs
- buffers, functions within those buffers, Info nodes, and other
- interesting parts of text within Emacs. @xref{Speedbar}.
- @item Spell Checking
- Spell checking means checking correctness of the written form of each
- one of the words in a text. Emacs can use various external
- spelling-checker programs to check the spelling of parts of a buffer
- via a convenient user interface. @xref{Spelling}.
- @item String
- A string is a kind of Lisp data object that contains a sequence of
- characters. Many Emacs variables are intended to have strings as
- values. The Lisp syntax for a string consists of the characters in the
- string with a @samp{"} before and another @samp{"} after. A @samp{"}
- that is part of the string must be written as @samp{\"} and a @samp{\}
- that is part of the string must be written as @samp{\\}. All other
- characters, including newline, can be included just by writing them
- inside the string; however, backslash sequences as in C, such as
- @samp{\n} for newline or @samp{\241} using an octal character code, are
- allowed as well.
- @item String Substitution
- @xref{Glossary---Global Substitution}.
- @item Syntax Highlighting
- @xref{Glossary---Font Lock}.
- @item Syntax Table
- The syntax table tells Emacs which characters are part of a word,
- which characters balance each other like parentheses, etc.
- @xref{Syntax Tables,, Syntax Tables, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference
- Manual}.
- @item Super
- Super is the name of a modifier bit that a keyboard input character may
- have. To make a character Super, type it while holding down the
- @key{SUPER} key. Such characters are given names that start with
- @kbd{Super-} (usually written @kbd{s-} for short). @xref{User Input}.
- @item Suspending
- Suspending Emacs means stopping it temporarily and returning control
- to its parent process, which is usually a shell. Unlike killing a job
- (q.v.), you can later resume the suspended Emacs job without losing
- your buffers, unsaved edits, undo history, etc. @xref{Exiting}.
- @item @key{TAB}
- @key{TAB} is the tab character. In Emacs it is typically used for
- indentation or completion.
- @anchor{Glossary---Tags Table}
- @item Tags Table
- A tags table is a file that serves as an index to the function
- definitions in one or more other files. @xref{Tags Tables}.
- @item Termscript File
- A termscript file contains a record of all characters sent by Emacs to
- the terminal. It is used for tracking down bugs in Emacs redisplay.
- Emacs does not make a termscript file unless you tell it to.
- @xref{Bugs}.
- @item Text
- ``Text'' has two meanings (@pxref{Text}):
- @itemize @bullet
- @item
- Data consisting of a sequence of characters, as opposed to binary
- numbers, executable programs, and the like. The basic contents of an
- Emacs buffer (aside from the text properties, q.v.@:) are always text
- in this sense.
- @item
- Data consisting of written human language (as opposed to programs),
- or following the stylistic conventions of human language.
- @end itemize
- @anchor{Glossary---Text Terminal}
- @item Text Terminal
- A text terminal, or character terminal, is a display that is limited
- to displaying text in character units. Such a terminal cannot control
- individual pixels it displays. Emacs supports a subset of display
- features on text terminals.
- @item Text Properties
- Text properties are annotations recorded for particular characters in
- the buffer. Images in the buffer are recorded as text properties;
- they also specify formatting information. @xref{Editing Format Info}.
- @item Theme
- A theme is a set of customizations (q.v.@:) that give Emacs a
- particular appearance or behavior. For example, you might use a theme
- for your favorite set of faces (q.v.).
- @item Tool Bar
- The tool bar is a line (sometimes multiple lines) of icons at the top
- of an Emacs frame. Clicking on one of these icons executes a command.
- You can think of this as a graphical relative of the menu bar (q.v.).
- @xref{Tool Bars}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Tooltips}
- @item Tooltips
- Tooltips are small windows displaying a help echo (q.v.@:) text, which
- explains parts of the display, lists useful options available via mouse
- clicks, etc. @xref{Tooltips}.
- @item Top Level
- Top level is the normal state of Emacs, in which you are editing the
- text of the file you have visited. You are at top level whenever you
- are not in a recursive editing level (q.v.@:) or the minibuffer
- (q.v.), and not in the middle of a command. You can get back to top
- level by aborting (q.v.@:) and quitting (q.v.). @xref{Quitting}.
- @item Transient Mark Mode
- The default behavior of the mark (q.v.@:) and region (q.v.), in which
- setting the mark activates it and highlights the region, is called
- Transient Mark mode. In GNU Emacs 23 and onwards, it is enabled by
- default. @xref{Disabled Transient Mark}.
- @item Transposition
- Transposing two units of text means putting each one into the place
- formerly occupied by the other. There are Emacs commands to transpose
- two adjacent characters, words, balanced expressions (q.v.@:) or lines
- (@pxref{Transpose}).
- @item Trash Can
- @xref{Glossary---Deletion of Files}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Truncation}
- @item Truncation
- Truncating text lines in the display means leaving out any text on a
- line that does not fit within the right margin of the window
- displaying it. @xref{Continuation Lines,Truncation}, and
- @ref{Glossary---Continuation Line}.
- @item TTY
- @xref{Glossary---Text Terminal}.
- @item Undoing
- Undoing means making your previous editing go in reverse, bringing
- back the text that existed earlier in the editing session.
- @xref{Undo}.
- @item Unix
- Unix is a class of multi-user computer operating systems with a long
- history. There are several implementations today. The GNU project
- (q.v.@:) aims to develop a complete Unix-like operating system that
- is free software (q.v.).
- @item User Option
- A user option is a face (q.v.@:) or a variable (q.v.@:) that exists so
- that you can customize Emacs by setting it to a new value.
- @xref{Easy Customization}.
- @item Variable
- A variable is an object in Lisp that can store an arbitrary value.
- Emacs uses some variables for internal purposes, and has others (known
- as ``user options''; q.v.@:) just so that you can set their values to
- control the behavior of Emacs. The variables used in Emacs that you
- are likely to be interested in are listed in the Variables Index in
- this manual (@pxref{Variable Index}). @xref{Variables}, for
- information on variables.
- @item Version Control
- Version control systems keep track of multiple versions of a source file.
- They provide a more powerful alternative to keeping backup files (q.v.).
- @xref{Version Control}.
- @item Visiting
- Visiting a file means loading its contents into a buffer (q.v.@:)
- where they can be edited. @xref{Visiting}.
- @item Whitespace
- Whitespace is any run of consecutive formatting characters (space,
- tab, newline, and backspace).
- @item Widening
- Widening is removing any restriction (q.v.@:) on the current buffer;
- it is the opposite of narrowing (q.v.). @xref{Narrowing}.
- @item Window
- Emacs divides a frame (q.v.@:) into one or more windows, each of which
- can display the contents of one buffer (q.v.@:) at any time.
- @xref{Screen}, for basic information on how Emacs uses the screen.
- @xref{Windows}, for commands to control the use of windows. Some
- other editors use the term ``window'' for what we call a ``frame''
- (q.v.@:) in Emacs.
- @item Window System
- A window system is software that operates on a graphical display
- (q.v.), to subdivide the screen so that multiple applications can
- have their] own windows at the same time. All modern operating systems
- include a window system.
- @item Word Abbrev
- @xref{Glossary---Abbrev}.
- @item Word Search
- Word search is searching for a sequence of words, considering the
- punctuation between them as insignificant. @xref{Word Search}.
- @anchor{Glossary---Yanking}
- @item Yanking
- Yanking means reinserting text previously killed (q.v.). It can be
- used to undo a mistaken kill, or for copying or moving text. Some
- other systems call this ``pasting''. @xref{Yanking}.
- @end table
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