@chapter Registers
@cindex registers
- Emacs @dfn{registers} are places you can save text or positions for
-later use. Once you save text or a rectangle in a register, you can
-copy it into the buffer once or many times; you can move point to a
-position saved in a register once or many times.
+ Emacs @dfn{registers} are compartments where you can save text,
+rectangles, positions, and other things for later use. Once you save
+text or a rectangle in a register, you can copy it into the buffer
+once, or many times; you can move point to a position saved in a
+register once, or many times.
@findex view-register
- Each register has a name which is a single character. A register can
+ Each register has a name, which consists of a single character.
+A register can
store a piece of text, a rectangle, a position, a window configuration,
or a file name, but only one thing at any given time. Whatever you
store in a register remains there until you store something else in that
* Text: RegText. Saving text in registers.
* Rectangle: RegRect. Saving rectangles in registers.
* Configurations: RegConfig. Saving window configurations in registers.
-* Files: RegFiles. File names in registers.
* Numbers: RegNumbers. Numbers in registers.
+* Files: RegFiles. File names in registers.
* Bookmarks:: Bookmarks are like registers, but persistent.
@end menu
@node RegPos
@section Saving Positions in Registers
+@cindex saving position in a register
Saving a position records a place in a buffer so that you can move
back there later. Moving to a saved position switches to that buffer
@findex jump-to-register
The command @kbd{C-x r j @var{r}} moves point to the position recorded
in register @var{r}. The register is not affected; it continues to
-record the same position. You can jump to the saved position any number
+hold the same position. You can jump to the saved position any number
of times.
If you use @kbd{C-x r j} to go to a saved position, but the buffer it
@node RegText
@section Saving Text in Registers
+@cindex saving text in a register
When you want to insert a copy of the same piece of text several
times, it may be inconvenient to yank it from the kill ring, since each
Copy region into register @var{r} (@code{copy-to-register}).
@item C-x r i @var{r}
Insert text from register @var{r} (@code{insert-register}).
+@item M-x append-to-register @key{RET} @var{r}
+Append region to text in register @var{r}.
+@item M-x prepend-to-register @key{RET} @var{r}
+Prepend region to text in register @var{r}.
@end table
@kindex C-x r s
@kindex C-x r i
@findex copy-to-register
@findex insert-register
- @kbd{C-x r s @var{r}} stores a copy of the text of the region into the
-register named @var{r}. Given a numeric argument, @kbd{C-x r s @var{r}}
-deletes the text from the buffer as well.
+ @kbd{C-x r s @var{r}} stores a copy of the text of the region into
+the register named @var{r}. @kbd{C-u C-x r s @var{r}}, the same
+command with a numeric argument, deletes the text from the buffer as
+well; you can think of this as ``moving'' the region text into the register.
+
+@findex append-to-register
+@findex prepend-to-register
+ @kbd{M-x append-to-register @key{RET} @var{r}} appends the copy of
+the text in the region to the text already stored in the register
+named @var{r}. If invoked with a numeric argument, it deletes the
+region after appending it to the register. The command
+@code{prepend-to-register} is similar, except that it @emph{prepends}
+the region text to the text in the register, rather than
+@emph{appending} it.
@kbd{C-x r i @var{r}} inserts in the buffer the text from register
@var{r}. Normally it leaves point before the text and places the mark
@node RegRect
@section Saving Rectangles in Registers
+@cindex saving rectangle in a register
A register can contain a rectangle instead of linear text. The
rectangle is represented as a list of strings. @xref{Rectangles}, for
@node RegConfig
@section Saving Window Configurations in Registers
+@cindex saving window configuration in a register
@findex window-configuration-to-register
@findex frame-configuration-to-register
@node RegNumbers
@section Keeping Numbers in Registers
+@cindex saving number in a register
There are commands to store a number in a register, to insert
the number in the buffer in decimal, and to increment it. These commands
can be useful in keyboard macros (@pxref{Keyboard Macros}).
@table @kbd
-@item C-u @var{number} C-x r n @var{reg}
+@item C-u @var{number} C-x r n @var{r}
@kindex C-x r n
@findex number-to-register
-Store @var{number} into register @var{reg} (@code{number-to-register}).
-@item C-u @var{number} C-x r + @var{reg}
+Store @var{number} into register @var{r} (@code{number-to-register}).
+@item C-u @var{number} C-x r + @var{r}
@kindex C-x r +
@findex increment-register
-Increment the number in register @var{reg} by @var{number}
+Increment the number in register @var{r} by @var{number}
(@code{increment-register}).
-@item C-x r g @var{reg}
-Insert the number from register @var{reg} into the buffer.
+@item C-x r i @var{r}
+Insert the number from register @var{r} into the buffer.
@end table
- @kbd{C-x r g} is the same command used to insert any other
-sort of register contents into the buffer.
+ @kbd{C-x r i} is the same command used to insert any other sort of
+register contents into the buffer. @kbd{C-x r +} with no numeric
+argument increments the register value by 1; @kbd{C-x r n} with no
+numeric argument stores zero in the register.
@node RegFiles
@section Keeping File Names in Registers
+@cindex saving file name in a register
If you visit certain file names frequently, you can visit them more
conveniently if you put their names in registers. Here's the Lisp code
To display a list of all your bookmarks in a separate buffer, type
@kbd{C-x r l} (@code{list-bookmarks}). If you switch to that buffer,
you can use it to edit your bookmark definitions or annotate the
-bookmarks. Type @kbd{C-h m} in that buffer for more information about
-its special editing commands.
+bookmarks. Type @kbd{C-h m} in the bookmark buffer for more
+information about its special editing commands.
When you kill Emacs, Emacs offers to save your bookmark values in your
default bookmark file, @file{~/.emacs.bmk}, if you have changed any
Bookmark position values are saved with surrounding context, so that
@code{bookmark-jump} can find the proper position even if the file is
modified slightly. The variable @code{bookmark-search-size} says how
-many characters of context to record, on each side of the bookmark's
+many characters of context to record on each side of the bookmark's
position.
Here are some additional commands for working with bookmarks:
Insert in the buffer the @emph{contents} of the file that bookmark
@var{bookmark} points to.
@end table
+
+@ignore
+ arch-tag: b00af991-ebc3-4b3a-8e82-a3ac81ff2e64
+@end ignore