Tips for beginners

Tips for beginners

In the event of an emergency…

Here's what to do if you've accidentally pressed a wrong key:

• If you executed a command and Emacs has modified your buffer, use C-/ to undo that change.
• If you pressed a prefix key (e.g. C-x) or you invoked a command which is now prompting you for input (e.g. Find file: …), type C-g, repeatedly if necessary, to cancel.

C-g also cancels a long-running operation if it appears that Emacs has frozen.

Keyboard and terminal setup

• Some Emacs users remap their Caps Lock key to act as an additional Ctrl key, because it is easier to reach. See instructions for moving Ctrl.
• Due to your keyboard or terminal configuration, you may find that some keys seem to do the wrong thing:
• If your DEL key is not working (sometimes, typing DEL brings up a help screen, as if you typed C-h), try M-x normal-erase-is-backspace-mode.
• If your meta key is not working, in order to type a key that contains meta, you can instead type ESC, then the remaining keys. For example, ESC x is the same as M-x, and ESC C-s is the same as C-M-s.