Does
C-x h
andC-x-h
mean the same thing in Emacs ?
Why are some commands in Emacs specified without an -
, while some are, like the example above ? Does it always mean the same thing ?
Does
C-x h
andC-x-h
mean the same thing in Emacs ?
Why are some commands in Emacs specified without an -
, while some are, like the example above ? Does it always mean the same thing ?
C-x h
means hold the Control key pressed while you hit (press and release) the x
key, and then hit the h
key.
Emacs key notation does not use C-x-h
; it is a mistake. (But C-H-x
is not a mistake, because H-
is the Hyper modifier key - see below.)
The hyphen (-
) is used after a key when the key is a modifier key. A modifier key is held down while the next key is hit. C-
is the Control modifier key. M-
is the Meta modifier key (typically a keyboard Alt key). S
is the Shift modifier key. Those are the standard modifier keys. Some keyboards have additional modifier keys, such as Hyper (H-
) and Super (s-
).
You can find such information by asking Emacs: C-h r
to access the manual, then i
to ask the index of the manual: type something and hit TAB
to see what matching index entries there are. In this case: C-h r i key TAB
shows you that key
itself is an index entry - so hit RET
(Enter key) to see information about keys, in particular, the answer to your question.
(Well, actually this node of the manual tells you the answer to your question. You could find it using i key TAB
as the entry keyboard input
.)