Section 8.3. Notes on the Tables

8.3. Notes on the Tables

Emacs commands use the Control key and the Meta keya system-neutral way to describe a function-changing modifier key. On a Mac, this corresponds to the Option key, if you have the Terminal configured correctly. Under the Terminal menu, go to Settings, and select the Keyboard drop down. Check the "use option key as meta key" checkbox, and close the Terminal Inspector.

In this chapter, the notation C- indicates that the Control key is pressed at the same time as the character that follows . Similarly, M- indicates the use of the Meta, or Option key on Mac OS X: either hold Option while typing the next character, or press and release the Escape key followed by the next character.

8.3.1. Absolutely Essential Commands

If you're just getting started with Emacs, Table 8-1 lists some of the most important commands to know.

Binding	Action
C-h	Enter the online help system.
C-x C-s	Save the file.
C-x C-c	Exit Emacs.
C-x u	Undo last edit (can be repeated).
C-g	Get out of current command operation.
C-p	Up by one line.
C-n	Down by one line.
C-f	Forward by one character.
C-b	Back by one character.
C-v	Forward by one screen.
M-v	Backward by one screen.
C-s	Search forward for characters .
C-r	Search backward for characters.
C-d	Delete current character.
Del	Delete previous character.
Backspace	Delete previous character.