Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!cmcl2!yale!Ram-Ashwin
From: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Help on EMACS
Keywords: emacs, manual
Message-ID: <52103@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 28 Feb 89 05:06:34 GMT
References: <3283@silver.bacs.indiana.edu>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram)
Distribution: comp.emacs
Organization: Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Lines: 29
In-reply-to: templon@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon)

In article <3283@silver.bacs.indiana.edu>, templon@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) writes:
> I've been told I will get flamed for this, but here goes...

No, we're all cool sensible level-headed people around here who try to tolerate
annoying beginners with stupid novice questions... :-) :-) :-)

> Where does one get a manual for Emacs?  I saw a reference to one just a few 
> msgs ago.  There is no documentation in the "man" facility.  In particular, I
> would like to know more about key bindings and named functions, as well as
> about macros, how to write, build, and execute them.  And bind them to keys.

Instructions on getting hold of a manual were posted fairly recently, and I'm
sure the manual gurus would have sent them to you by now.  However, I must say
that I have seldom needed to use the manual.  Most of the information you want
is available on-line using the 'help' and 'info' facilities.

E.g., to find out more about macros, try running 'apropos' (normally C-h a) on
'macros', then 'describe-function' (C-h f) the functions you're interested in.

E.g., to find out more about key bindings, run 'info' (normally C-h i), go to
the Emacs node using the menu command (type 'mEmacs'), then go to the key
bindings node using 'mKey Bindings'.

A little browsing through the help and info facilities, along with peeking at
examples in the distributed .el files, usually reveals all you need to know.

Hope this helps.

-- Ashwin.