New File

A new file can be created in two ways:

• Open a non-existing file from the command line with emacs: $ emacs my_new_file. This will open a new empty buffer.
• Create a new buffer in Emacs by typing C-x b name of the buffer RET. This creates a new buffer you can edit. You can then save to a file.

Save

Use C-x C-s to save a buffer changes to a file. If there is no file associated to a buffer, the minibuffer will prompt for one.

Copy-Paste

Copy-paste is easier to do with CUA mode active. To activate CUA mode, go to the Options menu and make sure Use CUA Keys is ticked. To save, Options → Save Options. Another way of activiating it is by adding the following to your init file:

(cua-mode t)

Once CUA mode is active, copy-paste functions are bound to the usual keys:

• C-c: Copy
• C-p: Paste
• C-x: Cut

Yank

Anything that’s “killed” is actually cut, and can be yanked using C-y. You can cycle through the previous cut values using M-y after C-y as many times as you need.

• C-M-SPC M-w : Select current sexp, and put it in the kill ring.

Delete and insert

• C-k : kill text to the end of line
• C-w : Kill region
• M-d: Delete word.
• C-o: Insert a newlie.
• C-x C-o: Delete blank lines, leaving one.
• C-d: delete-char, Deletes the next character. C-u C-d deletes all spaces up to next char.
• M-x flush-lines RET <regexp> RET: Delete all the lines that match the regexp

Sorting

• M-x sort-lines: Sort lines.
• M-x reverse-region: Reverse order of lines in region.

Join Lines

• M-^: Join current line to previous, removing spaces.

Delete all the empty lines

• M-x flush-lines RET ^$ RET on the current region.

Delete duplicate lines

• M-x delete-duplicate-lines: Remove duplicate lines.
• C-u M-| uniq: Run uniq command on region.

Undo-Redo

• C-_ : undo
• C-g C-_ : Redo after undo
• C-g C-/ : Redo after undo

When CUA mode is active, C-z also acts as undo.

See also the Emacs Manual.

Formatting

• M-c : capitalize word
• M-u : uppercase word
• M-l : lowercase word
• M-x center-line : center the text on the line.
• M-^: join two lines, removing the extra space.
• C-t: transpose character
• M-t: transport words
• C-x C-t: transpose lines
• M-x toggle-truncate-lines: toggle line wrapping.
• M-SPC: just-one-space. Delete all white spaces until the next non-space char, leaving just one.
• C-x TAB: indent-rigidly. Indentation of region can be adjusted with , , , .

Unicode

• C-x 8 RET: Enters Unicode character by entering its name, e.g. C-x 8 RET RIGHTWARDS ARROW RET

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