(emacs.info) Find Tag

 
 Finding a Tag
 -------------
 
    The most important thing that a tags table enables you to do is to
 find the definition of a specific tag.
 
 `M-. TAG <RET>'
      Find first definition of TAG (`find-tag').
 
 `C-u M-.'
      Find next alternate definition of last tag specified.
 
 `C-u - M-.'
      Go back to previous tag found.
 
 `C-M-. PATTERN <RET>'
      Find a tag whose name matches PATTERN (`find-tag-regexp').
 
 `C-u C-M-.'
      Find the next tag whose name matches the last pattern used.
 
 `C-x 4 . TAG <RET>'
      Find first definition of TAG, but display it in another window
      (`find-tag-other-window').
 
 `C-x 5 . TAG <RET>'
      Find first definition of TAG, and create a new frame to select the
      buffer (`find-tag-other-frame').
 
 `M-*'
      Pop back to where you previously invoked `M-.' and friends.
 
    `M-.' (`find-tag') is the command to find the definition of a
 specified tag.  It searches through the tags table for that tag, as a
 string, and then uses the tags table info to determine the file that the
 definition is in and the approximate character position in the file of
 the definition.  Then `find-tag' visits that file, moves point to the
 approximate character position, and searches ever-increasing distances
 away to find the tag definition.
 
    If an empty argument is given (just type <RET>), the sexp in the
 buffer before or around point is used as the TAG argument.  
 Lists, for info on sexps.
 
    You don't need to give `M-.' the full name of the tag; a part will
 do.  This is because `M-.' finds tags in the table which contain TAG as
 a substring.  However, it prefers an exact match to a substring match.
 To find other tags that match the same substring, give `find-tag' a
 numeric argument, as in `C-u M-.'; this does not read a tag name, but
 continues searching the tags table's text for another tag containing
 the same substring last used.  If you have a real <META> key, `M-0 M-.'
 is an easier alternative to `C-u M-.'.
 
    Like most commands that can switch buffers, `find-tag' has a variant
 that displays the new buffer in another window, and one that makes a
 new frame for it.  The former is `C-x 4 .', which invokes the command
 `find-tag-other-window'.  The latter is `C-x 5 .', which invokes
 `find-tag-other-frame'.
 
    To move back to places you've found tags recently, use `C-u - M-.';
 more generally, `M-.' with a negative numeric argument.  This command
 can take you to another buffer.  `C-x 4 .' with a negative argument
 finds the previous tag location in another window.
 
    As well as going back to places you've found tags recently, you can
 go back to places _from where_ you found them.  Use `M-*', which
 invokes the command `pop-tag-mark', for this.  Typically you would find
 and study the definition of something with `M-.' and then return to
 where you were with `M-*'.
 
    Both `C-u - M-.' and `M-*' allow you to retrace your steps to a
 depth determined by the variable `find-tag-marker-ring-length'.
 
    The command `C-M-.' (`find-tag-regexp') visits the tags that match a
 specified regular expression.  It is just like `M-.' except that it
 does regexp matching instead of substring matching.
Info Catalog
(emacs.info) Select Tags Table
(emacs.info) Tags
(emacs.info) Tags Search
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