@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2000-2013 Free Software
+@c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2000-2015 Free Software
@c Foundation, Inc.
@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
@node Buffers
A buffer's size cannot be larger than some maximum, which is defined
by the largest buffer position representable by @dfn{Emacs integers}.
This is because Emacs tracks buffer positions using that data type.
-For typical 64-bit machines, this maximum buffer size is @math{2^61 -
-2} bytes, or about 2 EiB@. For typical 32-bit machines, the maximum is
-usually @math{2^29 - 2} bytes, or about 512 MiB@. Buffer sizes are
+For typical 64-bit machines, this maximum buffer size is @math{2^{61} - 2}
+bytes, or about 2 EiB@. For typical 32-bit machines, the maximum is
+usually @math{2^{29} - 2} bytes, or about 512 MiB@. Buffer sizes are
also limited by the amount of memory in the system.
@menu
* Select Buffer:: Creating a new buffer or reselecting an old one.
* List Buffers:: Getting a list of buffers that exist.
-* Misc Buffer:: Renaming; changing read-onlyness; copying text.
+* Misc Buffer:: Renaming; changing read-only status; copying text.
* Kill Buffer:: Killing buffers you no longer need.
* Several Buffers:: How to go through the list of all buffers
and operate variously on several of them.
@kindex C-x C-b
@findex list-buffers
To display a list of existing buffers, type @kbd{C-x C-b}. Each
-line in the list shows one buffer's name, major mode and visited file.
+line in the list shows one buffer's name, size, major mode and visited file.
The buffers are listed in the order that they were current; the
buffers that were current most recently come first.
% HELLO 1607 Fundamental ~/cvs/emacs/etc/HELLO
% NEWS 481184 Outline ~/cvs/emacs/etc/NEWS
*scratch* 191 Lisp Interaction
- * *Messages* 1554 Fundamental
+ * *Messages* 1554 Messages
@end smallexample
@noindent
@section Killing Buffers
@cindex killing buffers
+@cindex close buffer
+@cindex close file
If you continue an Emacs session for a while, you may accumulate a
large number of buffers. You may then find it convenient to @dfn{kill}
-the buffers you no longer need. On most operating systems, killing a
-buffer releases its space back to the operating system so that other
-programs can use it. Here are some commands for killing buffers:
+the buffers you no longer need. (Some other editors call this
+operation @dfn{close}, and talk about ``closing the buffer'' or
+``closing the file'' visited in the buffer.) On most operating
+systems, killing a buffer releases its space back to the operating
+system so that other programs can use it. Here are some commands for
+killing buffers:
@table @kbd
@item C-x k @var{bufname} @key{RET}
@cindex unique buffer names
@cindex directories in buffer names
When several buffers visit identically-named files, Emacs must give
-the buffers distinct names. The usual method for making buffer names
-unique adds @samp{<2>}, @samp{<3>}, etc. to the end of the buffer
-names (all but one of them).
+the buffers distinct names. The default method adds a suffix based on
+the names of the directories that contain the files. For example, if
+you visit files @file{/foo/bar/mumble/name} and
+@file{/baz/quux/mumble/name} at the same time, their buffers will be
+named @samp{name<bar/mumble>} and @samp{name<quux/mumble>}, respectively.
+Emacs adds as many directory parts as are needed to make a unique name.
@vindex uniquify-buffer-name-style
- Other methods work by adding parts of each file's directory to the
-buffer name. To select one, customize the variable
-@code{uniquify-buffer-name-style} (@pxref{Easy Customization}).
+ You can choose from several different styles for constructing unique
+buffer names, by customizing the option @code{uniquify-buffer-name-style}.
- To begin with, the @code{forward} naming method includes part of the
-file's directory name at the beginning of the buffer name; using this
-method, buffers visiting the files @file{/u/rms/tmp/Makefile} and
+ The @code{forward} naming method includes part of the file's
+directory name at the beginning of the buffer name; using this method,
+buffers visiting the files @file{/u/rms/tmp/Makefile} and
@file{/usr/projects/zaphod/Makefile} would be named
-@samp{tmp/Makefile} and @samp{zaphod/Makefile}, respectively (instead
-of @samp{Makefile} and @samp{Makefile<2>}).
+@samp{tmp/Makefile} and @samp{zaphod/Makefile}.
In contrast, the @code{post-forward} naming method would call the
-buffers @samp{Makefile|tmp} and @samp{Makefile|zaphod}, and the
+buffers @samp{Makefile|tmp} and @samp{Makefile|zaphod}. The default
+method @code{post-forward-angle-brackets} is like @code{post-forward},
+except that it encloses the unique path in angle brackets. The
@code{reverse} naming method would call them @samp{Makefile\tmp} and
@samp{Makefile\zaphod}. The nontrivial difference between
@code{post-forward} and @code{reverse} occurs when just one directory
name is not enough to distinguish two files; then @code{reverse} puts
the directory names in reverse order, so that @file{/top/middle/file}
becomes @samp{file\middle\top}, while @code{post-forward} puts them in
-forward order after the file name, as in @samp{file|top/middle}.
+forward order after the file name, as in @samp{file|top/middle}. If
+@code{uniquify-buffer-name-style} is set to @code{nil}, the buffer
+names simply get @samp{<2>}, @samp{<3>}, etc. appended.
Which rule to follow for putting the directory names in the buffer
name is not very important if you are going to @emph{look} at the
in the minibuffer continuously displays a list of possible completions that
match the string you have typed.
- At any time, you can type @key{C-j} to select the first completion in
+ At any time, you can type @kbd{C-j} to select the first completion in
the list. So the way to select a particular completion is to make it the
first in the list. There are two ways to do this. You can type more
of the completion name and thus narrow down the list, excluding unwanted
completions above the desired one. Alternatively, you can use @kbd{C-.}
and @kbd{C-,} to rotate the list until the desired buffer is first.
- @key{M-TAB} will select the first completion in the list, like @key{C-j} but
-without exiting the minibuffer, so you can edit it further. This is typically
-used when entering a file name, where @key{M-TAB} can be used a few times to
-descend in the hierarchy of directories.
+ @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} will select the first completion in the list, like
+@kbd{C-j} but without exiting the minibuffer, so you can edit it
+further. This is typically used when entering a file name, where
+@kbd{M-@key{TAB}} can be used a few times to descend in the hierarchy
+of directories.
To enable Icomplete mode, type @kbd{M-x icomplete-mode}, or customize
the variable @code{icomplete-mode} to @code{t} (@pxref{Easy