have typed. Regardless of the actual name on the key, in Emacs it is
equivalent to @key{DEL}---or it should be.
- Many keyboards have a @key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above
-@key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a @key{DELETE} key elsewhere. In that
-case, the @key{BACKSPACE} key is @key{DEL}, and the @key{DELETE} key
-is equivalent to @kbd{C-d}---or it should be.
+ Many keyboards (including standard PC keyboards) have a
+@key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above @key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a
+@key{DELETE} key elsewhere. In that case, the @key{BACKSPACE} key is
+@key{DEL}, and the @key{DELETE} key is equivalent to @kbd{C-d}---or it
+should be.
Why do we say ``or it should be''? When Emacs starts up using a
window system, it determines automatically which key or keys should be
equivalent to @key{DEL}. So the @key{BACKSPACE} and/or @key{DELETE}
keys normally do the right things. But in some unusual cases Emacs
gets the wrong information from the system. If these keys don't do
-what they ought to do, you should tell Emacs which key to use for
-@key{DEL}. @xref{DEL Gets Help}.
+what they ought to do, you need to tell Emacs which key to use for
+@key{DEL}. @xref{DEL Gets Help}, for how to do this.
@findex normal-erase-is-backspace-mode
- On text-only terminals, Emacs cannot tell which key is where, so it
-follows a uniform plan which may or may not fit your keyboard. The
-uniform plan is that the ASCII @key{DEL} character deletes, and the
-ASCII @key{BS} (backspace) character asks for help (it is the same as
-@kbd{C-h}). If this is not right for your keyboard, if you find that
-the key which ought to delete backwards enters Help instead, see
-@ref{DEL Gets Help}.
+ On most text-only terminals, Emacs cannot tell which keys the
+keyboard really has, so it follows a uniform plan which may or may not
+fit your keyboard. The uniform plan is that the ASCII @key{DEL}
+character deletes, and the ASCII @key{BS} (backspace) character asks
+for help (it is the same as @kbd{C-h}). If this is not right for your
+keyboard, if you find that the key which ought to delete backwards
+enters Help instead, see @ref{DEL Gets Help}.
@kindex M-\
@findex delete-horizontal-space
Delete whitespace in each of the lines on the specified rectangle,
starting from the left edge column of the rectangle.
@item C-x r t @var{string} @key{RET}
-Insert @var{string} on each line of the region-rectangle
+Replace rectangle contents with @var{string} on each line.
(@code{string-rectangle}).
@item M-x replace-rectangle @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET}
Replaces each line of the region-rectangle with @var{string}
(@code{string-rectangle}).
+@item M-x string-insert-rectangle @key{RET} @var{string} @key{RET}
+Insert @var{STRING} on each line of the rectangle.
@end table
The rectangle operations fall into two classes: commands deleting and
@kindex C-x r t
@findex string-rectangle
- The command @kbd{C-x r t} (@code{M-x string-rectangle}) inserts a
-string on each line of the region-rectangle before the rectangle,
-shifting text right.
-
@findex replace-rectangle
- The command @kbd{M-x replace-rectangle} is similar to @kbd{C-x r t},
-but replaces the original rectangle. The string's width need not be
-the same as the width of the rectangle. If the string's width is
-less, the text after the rectangle shifts left; if the string is wider
-than the rectangle, the text after the rectangle shifts right.
+ The command @kbd{C-x r t} (@code{M-x string-rectangle}) replaces the
+contents of a region-rectangle with a string on each line. The
+string's width need not be the same as the width of the rectangle. If
+the string's width is less, the text after the rectangle shifts left;
+if the string is wider than the rectangle, the text after the
+rectangle shifts right.
+
+@findex string-insert-rectangle
+ The command @kbd{M-x string-insert-rectangle} is similar to
+@code{string-rectangle}, but inserts the string on each line,
+shifting the original text to the right.