@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. (Command bound to keys can also
-be invoked by their name.) @xref{Key Binding}, for the description of
+ 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}
the key @kbd{C-f}. You can run any Emacs command by name using
@kbd{M-x}, whether or not any keys are bound to it.
- If you type @kbd{C-g} while the command name is being read, you cancel
-the @kbd{M-x} command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up at top level.
+ If you type @kbd{C-g} while the command name is being read, you
+cancel the @kbd{M-x} command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up
+at command level.
To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with
@kbd{M-x}, specify the numeric argument before the @kbd{M-x}. @kbd{M-x}
@vindex suggest-key-bindings
If the command you type has a key binding of its own, Emacs mentions
-this in the echo area, two seconds after the command finishes (if you
-don't type anything else first). For example, if you type @kbd{M-x
+this in the echo area. For example, if you type @kbd{M-x
forward-word}, the message says that you can run the same command more
-easily by typing @kbd{M-f}. You can turn off these messages by setting
-@code{suggest-key-bindings} to @code{nil}.
+easily by typing @kbd{M-f}. You can turn off these messages by
+setting @code{suggest-key-bindings} to @code{nil}.
Normally, when describing in this manual a command that is run by
name, we omit the @key{RET} that is needed to terminate the name. Thus
@kbd{M-x} works by running the command
@code{execute-extended-command}, which is responsible for reading the
name of another command and invoking it.
+
+@ignore
+ arch-tag: b67bff53-9628-4666-b94e-eda972a7ba56
+@end ignore