Info Catalog efaq: Changing the length of a Tab efaq: Common requests efaq: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column

efaq: Inserting text at the beginning of each line

 
 5.33 How do I insert <some text> at the beginning of every line?
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 To do this to an entire buffer, type ‘M-< M-x replace-regexp <RET> ^
 <RET> your text <RET>’.
 
    To do this to a region, use ‘string-insert-rectangle’.  Set the mark
 (‘C-<SPC>’) at the beginning of the first line you want to prefix, move
 the cursor to last line to be prefixed, and type ‘M-x
 string-insert-rectangle <RET>’.  To do this for the whole buffer, type
 ‘C-x h M-x string-insert-rectangle <RET>’.
 
    If you are trying to prefix a yanked mail message with ‘>’, you might
 want to set the variable ‘mail-yank-prefix’.  In Message buffers, you
 can even use ‘M-;’ to cite yanked messages (‘M-;’ runs the function
 ‘comment-region’, it is a general-purpose mechanism to comment regions)
 (Changing the included text prefix).
 

Info Catalog efaq: Changing the length of a Tab efaq: Common requests efaq: Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column