So you want to learn how to use Emacs…
First of all install Emacs (I suggest versions >=24). Then start using it. It is going to be hard in the beginning, but day by day you will get used to it and learn new things.
Your friends
- Reference cards (will help you learn the most basic commands)
- The Emacs built in tutorial (Control-h t).
- http://www.emacswiki.org (Includes everything about Emacs)
a good place to start is http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/EmacsNewbie - The manual (http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/index.html)
Terminology
- buffer: an open document in Emacs
- **window: **A window displays the contents of a single buffer (see this picture)
- frame: the operating systems window (see this picture)
- kill(for buffer): close file
- kill(for text): cut
- yank: paste
for more terms have a look here.
Configuration file
Emacs’ configuration is stored in ~/.emacs (Windows users read this). In this file you can permanently store your preferences. To get you started I suggest having a look at emacs24-starter-kit.
Packages
Two of the most popular and usefull packages are smex and ido-obiquitous. There a lot more external packages out there that can make emacs even more powerful. I am currently using the following packages.
- rainbow-mode(Preview colors in css files)
- rainbow-delimiters (Paints each pair of parentheses/brackets with different colors)
- tuareg (Mode for editing OCaml files)
- whole-line-or-region (Lets you kill the whole line without selecting it)
- smartparens(A smarter parenthesis matching package)
- auto-complete (Suggests possible completions for what you are typing)
- undo-tree(A better approach for undoing, supports virtualization of the undo history as a tree and more)
- auctex (Write and edit LaTeX)
For that package system and the repositories have a look here.
Programming with emacs
Programmers should also read this.