Info Catalog vip: Buffers and Windows vip: Vi Commands vip: Viewing the Buffer

vip: Files

 
 2.4 Files
 =========
 
 We have the following commands related to files.  They are used to
 visit, save and insert files.
 
 ‘v FILE <RET>’
      Visit specified file in the current window (‘vip-find-file’).
 ‘V FILE <RET>’
      Visit specified file in another window
      (‘vip-find-file-other-window’).
 ‘X S’
      Save current buffer to the file associated with the buffer.  If no
      file is associated with the buffer, the name of the file to write
      out the content of the buffer will be asked in the minibuffer.
 ‘X W FILE <RET>’
      Write current buffer into a specified file.
 ‘X I FILE <RET>’
      Insert a specified file at point.
 ‘g’
      Give information on the file associated with the current buffer.
      Tell you the name of the file associated with the buffer, the line
      number of the current point and total line numbers in the buffer.
      If no file is associated with the buffer, this fact will be
      indicated by the null file name ‘""’.
 
    In Emacs, you can edit a file by “visiting” it.  If you wish to visit
 a file in the current window, you can just type ‘v’.  Emacs maintains
 the “default directory” which is specific to each buffer.  Suppose, for
 instance, that the default directory of the current buffer is
 ‘/usr/masahiko/lisp/’.  Then you will get the following prompt in the
 minibuffer.
      visit file: /usr/masahiko/lisp/
 If you wish to visit, say, ‘vip.el’ in this directory, then you can just
 type ‘vip.el’ followed by <RET>.  If the file ‘vip.el’ already exists in
 the directory, Emacs will visit that file, and if not, the file will be
 created.  Emacs will use the file name (‘vip.el’, in this case) as the
 name of the buffer visiting the file.  In order to make the buffer name
 unique, Emacs may add a suffix ((emacs)Uniquify).  As “file name
 completion” is provided here, you can sometimes save typing.  For
 instance, suppose there is only one file in the default directory whose
 name starts with ‘v’, that is ‘vip.el’.  Then if you just type ‘v <TAB>’
 then it will be completed to ‘vip.el’.  Thus, in this case, you just
 have to type ‘v v <TAB> <RET>’ to visit ‘/usr/masahiko/lisp/vip.el’.
 Continuing the example, let us now suppose that you wished to visit the
 file ‘/usr/masahiko/man/vip.texinfo’.  Then to the same prompt which you
 get after you typed ‘v’, you can enter ‘/usr/masahiko/man/vip.texinfo’
 or ‘../man/vip.texinfo’ followed by <RET>.
 
    Use ‘V’ instead of ‘v’, if you wish to visit a file in another
 window.
 
    You can verify which file you are editing by typing ‘g’.  (You can
 also type ‘X B’ to get information on other buffers too.)  If you type
 ‘g’ you will get an information like below in the echo area:
      "/usr/masahiko/man/vip.texinfo" line 921 of 1949
 
    After you edited the buffer (‘vip.texinfo’, in our example) for a
 while, you may wish to save it in a file.  If you wish to save it in the
 file associated with the buffer (‘/usr/masahiko/man/vip.texinfo’, in
 this case), you can just say ‘X S’.  If you wish to save it in another
 file, you can type ‘X W’.  You will then get a similar prompt as you get
 for ‘v’, to which you can enter the file name.
 

Info Catalog vip: Buffers and Windows vip: Vi Commands vip: Viewing the Buffer