Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!xanth!talos!kjones
From: kjones@talos.uu.net (Kyle Jones)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: simulaneous replacement ?
Message-ID: <1990Feb3.222730.2705@talos.uu.net>
Date: 3 Feb 90 22:27:30 GMT
References: <1962@gmdzi.UUCP>
Reply-To: kyle@xanth.cs.odu.edu
Lines: 29

Georg Wittig writes:
 > Is it possible in EMACS to replace several strings simulaneously? I.e.
 > if I want to replace all the 'abc's by 'xyz's and all the 'Ag's by 'Tr's and
 > all the 'E's by 'e's and all the ... See what I mean?
 > 
 > Sure, I can 
 > M-< M-x replace-string ...
 > M-< M-x replace-string ...
 > etc.
 > 
 > But that's much to type, and error-prone.

You must be complaining about having to retype "M-< M-x replace-string",
since you'll have to type all the search and replacement strings anyway.

There are a few things that you can do.

  1. Bind replace-string to a key.

  2. Instead of typing M-< before each replace pass, use C-u C-@, which may
     be easier to type on your terminal. (On some terminals C-@ can be
     generated by typing CTRL-SPACE, which is consderable easier than any
     META_SHIFT combination.)  Since replace-string pushes point onto the
     mark ring before it starts searching, C-u C-@ will pop this position
     and you'll be back to where you where before the replace.

  3. Use C-x ESC (repeat-complex-command) and edit the replace strings from
     the previous invocation of replace-string.  I wouldn't advise this one
     unless you understand basic Lisp syntax.