Key Bindings
In Emacs, almost any keystroke, optionally combined with one or more modifier keys, or any sequence of such keystrokes, can be "bound" to any command.
Modifier keys naming convention
| Modifier key | Abbr. | Remarks | Example | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alt | A | Relatively seldom used in Emacs, because Meta is often "logically" mapped to the "physical" Alt key. | A-x | Type "x" while holding down the (non-Meta) Alt key |
| Control | C | C-x C-f | While holding down Ctrl, type first "x" then "f". (This runs the command find-file). | |
| Hyper | h | Often not mapped to any key (by default). | h-x | Type "x" while holding down hyper |
| Meta | M | Often mapped to Alt on your keyboard | M-x find-file RET | Either:
(M-x activates the minibuffer) Then type "find-file" in the minibuffer, then Return. |
| Shift | S | S-x | Type "x" while holding down Shift | |
| Super | s | Often not mapped to any key by default, or to Window or Menu if present | s-x | Type "x" while holding down super |
By convention, when multiple modifiers are specified, they go in alphabetical order: [C-M-x] not [M-C-x].
Printable cheat sheet for popular modes
Emacs ships with cheat sheets of common and useful key bindings. The pdf files are located in the refcards/ subdirectory of data-directory.
Editing key bindings
You can add, remove and change key bindings for any command. You can make your changes interactively (and only for the current session) using M-x global-set-key or M-x local-set-key. To make the change permanent, you can write some simple Emacs Lisp code that calls either or both of those same functions in your Emacs configuration file, which is loaded when Emacs first starts up.