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11.8 Other Help Commands
C-h i (info
) runs the Info program, which browses
structured documentation files. The entire Emacs manual is available
within Info, along with many other manuals for the GNU system. Type
h after entering Info to run a tutorial on using Info.
With a numeric argument n, C-h i selects the Info buffer ‘*info*<n>’. This is useful if you want to browse multiple Info manuals simultaneously. If you specify just C-u as the prefix argument, C-h i prompts for the name of a documentation file, so you can browse a file which doesn't have an entry in the top-level Info menu.
The help commands C-h F function <RET> and C-h K key, described above, enter Info and go straight to the documentation of function or key.
When editing a program, if you have an Info version of the manual
for the programming language, you can use C-h S
(info-lookup-symbol
) to find symbol (keyword, function or
variable) in the proper manual. The details of how this command works
depend on the major mode.
If something surprising happens, and you are not sure what you
typed, use C-h l (view-lossage
). C-h l displays
the last 100 characters you typed in Emacs. If you see commands that
you don't know, you can use C-h c to find out what they do.
To review recent echo area messages, use C-h e
(view-echo-area-messages
). This displays the buffer
*Messages*
, where those messages are kept.
Each Emacs major mode typically redefines a few keys and makes other
changes in how editing works. C-h m (describe-mode
)
displays documentation on the current major mode, which normally
describes the commands and features that are changed in this mode.
C-h b (describe-bindings
) and C-h s
(describe-syntax
) show other information about the current
environment within Emacs. C-h b displays a list of all the key
bindings now in effect: first the local bindings of the current minor
modes, then the local bindings defined by the current major mode, and
finally the global bindings (see section Customizing Key Bindings). C-h s
displays the contents of the syntax table, with explanations of each
character's syntax (see section The Syntax Table).
You can get a list of subcommands for a particular prefix key by typing C-h after the prefix key. (There are a few prefix keys for which this does not work—those that provide their own bindings for C-h. One of these is <ESC>, because <ESC> C-h is actually C-M-h, which marks a defun.)
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