(emacs.info) M-x

 
 Running Commands by Name
 ************************
 
    The Emacs commands that are used often or that must be quick to type
 are bound to keys--short sequences of characters--for convenient use.
 Other Emacs commands that do not need to be brief are not bound to
 keys; to run them, you must refer to them by name.
 
    A command name is, by convention, made up of one or more words,
 separated by hyphens; for example, `auto-fill-mode' or `manual-entry'.
 The use of English words makes the command name easier to remember than
 a key made up of obscure characters, even though it is more characters
 to type.
 
    The way to run a command by name is to start with `M-x', type the
 command name, and finish it with <RET>.  `M-x' uses the minibuffer to
 read the command name.  <RET> exits the minibuffer and runs the
 command.  The string `M-x' appears at the beginning of the minibuffer
 as a "prompt" to remind you to enter the name of a command to be run.
  Minibuffer, for full information on the features of the
 minibuffer.
 
    You can use completion to enter the command name.  For example, the
 command `forward-char' can be invoked by name by typing
 
      M-x forward-char <RET>
 
 or
 
      M-x forw <TAB> c <RET>
 
 Note that `forward-char' is the same command that you invoke with the
 key `C-f'.  You can run any Emacs command by name using `M-x', whether
 or not any keys are bound to it.
 
    If you type `C-g' while the command name is being read, you cancel
 the `M-x' command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up at top level.
 
    To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with
 `M-x', specify the numeric argument before the `M-x'.  `M-x' passes the
 argument along to the command it runs.  The argument value appears in
 the prompt while the command name is being read.
 
    If the command you type has a key binding of its own, Emacs mentions
 this in the echo area, two seconds after the command finishes (if you
 don't type anything else first).  For example, if you type `M-x
 forward-word', the message says that you can run the same command more
 easily by typing `M-f'.  You can turn off these messages by setting
 `suggest-key-bindings' to `nil'.
 
    Normally, when describing in this manual a command that is run by
 name, we omit the <RET> that is needed to terminate the name.  Thus we
 might speak of `M-x auto-fill-mode' rather than `M-x auto-fill-mode
 <RET>'.  We mention the <RET> only when there is a need to emphasize
 its presence, such as when we show the command together with following
 arguments.
 
    `M-x' works by running the command `execute-extended-command', which
 is responsible for reading the name of another command and invoking it.
Info Catalog
(emacs.info) Minibuffer
(emacs.info) Top
(emacs.info) Help
automatically generated by info2html