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76 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
76 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002,
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@c 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
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@node M-x, Help, Minibuffer, Top
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@chapter Running Commands by Name
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Every Emacs command has a name that you can use to run it. For
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convenience, many commands also have key bindings. You can run those
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commands by typing the keys, or run them by name. Most Emacs commands
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have no key bindings, so the only way to run them is by name.
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(@xref{Key Bindings}, for how to set up key bindings.)
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By convention, a command name consists of one or more words,
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separated by hyphens; for example, @code{auto-fill-mode} or
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@code{manual-entry}. Command names mostly use complete English words
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to make them easier to remember.
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@kindex M-x
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To run a command by name, start with @kbd{M-x}, type the command
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name, then terminate it with @key{RET}. @kbd{M-x} uses the minibuffer
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to read the command name. The string @samp{M-x} appears at the
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beginning of the minibuffer as a @dfn{prompt} to remind you to enter a
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command name to be run. @key{RET} exits the minibuffer and runs the
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command. @xref{Minibuffer}, for more information on the minibuffer.
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You can use completion to enter the command name. For example,
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to invoke the command @code{forward-char}, you can type
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@example
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M-x forward-char @key{RET}
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@end example
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@noindent
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or
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@example
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M-x forw @key{TAB} c @key{RET}
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@end example
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@noindent
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Note that @code{forward-char} is the same command that you invoke with
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the key @kbd{C-f}. The existence of a key binding does not stop you
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from running the command by name.
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To cancel the @kbd{M-x} and not run a command, type @kbd{C-g} instead
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of entering the command name. This takes you back to command level.
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To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with
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@kbd{M-x}, specify the numeric argument before @kbd{M-x}. The
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argument value appears in the prompt while the command name is being
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read, and finally @kbd{M-x} passes the argument to that command.
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@vindex suggest-key-bindings
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When the command you run with @kbd{M-x} has a key binding, Emacs
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mentions this in the echo area after running the command. For
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example, if you type @kbd{M-x forward-word}, the message says that you
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can run the same command by typing @kbd{M-f}. You can turn off these
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messages by setting the variable @code{suggest-key-bindings} to
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@code{nil}.
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In this manual, when we speak of running a command by name, we often
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omit the @key{RET} that terminates the name. Thus we might say
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@kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode} rather than @kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode
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@key{RET}}. We mention the @key{RET} only for emphasis, such as when
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the command is followed by arguments.
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@findex execute-extended-command
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@kbd{M-x} works by running the command
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@code{execute-extended-command}, which is responsible for reading the
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name of another command and invoking it.
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@ignore
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arch-tag: b67bff53-9628-4666-b94e-eda972a7ba56
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@end ignore
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