@node M-x, Help, Minibuffer, Top
@chapter Running Commands by Name
- The Emacs commands that are used often or that must be quick to type are
-bound to keys---short sequences of characters---for convenient use. Other
-Emacs commands that do not need to be brief are not bound to keys; to run
-them, you must refer to them by name.
+ Every Emacs command has a name that you can use to run it. Commands
+that are used often, or that must be quick to type, are also bound to
+keys---short sequences of characters---for convenient use. You can
+run them by name if you don't remember the keys. Other Emacs commands
+that do not need to be quick are not bound to keys; the only way to
+run them is by name. @xref{Key Bindings}, for the description of
+how to bind commands to keys.
- A command name is, by convention, made up of one or more words,
+ By convention, a command name consists of one or more words,
separated by hyphens; for example, @code{auto-fill-mode} or
@code{manual-entry}. The use of English words makes the command name
-easier to remember than a key made up of obscure characters, even though
-it is more characters to type.
+easier to remember than a key made up of obscure characters, even
+though it is more characters to type.
@kindex M-x
The way to run a command by name is to start with @kbd{M-x}, type the
command to be run. @xref{Minibuffer}, for full information on the
features of the minibuffer.
- You can use completion to enter the command name. For example, the
-command @code{forward-char} can be invoked by name by typing
+ You can use completion to enter the command name. For example, you
+can invoke the command @code{forward-char} by name by typing either
@example
M-x forward-char @key{RET}