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>Before you begin</TITLE
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><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="BEFORE-YOU-BEGIN"
>3. Before you begin</A
></H1
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="GETTING-STARTED"
>3.1. Getting started with Emacs and Emacspeak</A
></H2
><P
>	Before you get started with Emacs and Emacspeak, you must
	install both. Most distributions come with Emacs, or you can
	download it from the Emacs home page at <A
HREF="http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html</A
>.
	If you have not already installed Emacspeak, you can download
	it from <A
HREF="http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/</A
>. For Emacspeak installation
	information, please refer to the
	Emacspeak Installation HOWTO available at the Emacspeak home
	page, <A
HREF="http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net"
TARGET="_top"
>http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net</A
>. 
	</P
><P
>	If you've never used Emacs or Emacspeak before, you'll probably want to
	try some of the following tutorials:</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
> 
			"A gentle introduction to Emacspeak," by Gary
			Lawrence Murphy,<A
HREF="http://emacspeak-guide.sourceforge.net/tutorial.html/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://emacspeak-guide.sourceforge.net/tutorial.html/</A
>.
			Gary provides a lighthearted but thorough introduction to
			Emacs and Emacspeak, focusing on users who are
			not familiar with either application.  This
			introduction is
			recommend as a starting point, even before you
			do the Emacs tutorial (see next item).
			</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>			"The (Official) Emacs Tutorial," by the Free
			Software Foundation. I call this the
			"official" tutorial because it is included
			with Emacs. To access this tutorial, start Emacs, then type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h
			t</B
> (Control h t).  This tutorial discusses the
			basic Emacs commands, including navigation,
			using Emacs as a text editor, and a bit about
			how Emacs works "under the hood." For
			new users this tutorial is strongly recommended, and
			even those users who are familiar with Emacs might find
			something they didn't already know.
			</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>			"Emacspeak Tutorial," by Nita Van Zandt,
			available at <A
HREF="http://www.mv.com/ipusers/vanzandt/emacspeak-tutorial-1.0.tar.gz"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.mv.com/ipusers/vanzandt/emacspeak-tutorial-1.0.tar.gz</A
>.
			This tutorial helps new Emacspeak users get up
			and running and includes plenty of examples
			and step-by-step instructions.  Once you've
			gotten a grasp of Emacs, this tutorial
			is a must.
			</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: disc"
><P
>			"The Emacs Beginner's HOWTO," by Jeremy
			D. Zawodny. It is available at <A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Emacs-Beginner-HOWTO.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Emacs-Beginner-HOWTO.html</A
>
			and is also bundled into some of the newer
			Linux distributions. The Beginner's HOWTO
			discusses many of the topics discussed in the
			Emacs tutorial, and also includes overviews of some
			of the more popular Emacs packages, including
			VM, Gnus, BBDB, and AucTeX (some of which are
			discussed in this HOWTO).
			</P
></LI
></UL
><P
>	Finally, you might want to peruse <A
HREF="http://www.gnusoftware.com/WebRing/zone.cgi?list"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.gnusoftware.com/WebRing/zone.cgi?list</A
>,
	which provides a list of Emacs resource sites.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="EMACS-CONVENTIONS"
>3.2. Emacs Command Conventions</A
></H2
><P
>	Emacs commands are denoted by holding down either the
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Control</B
> key or the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Meta</B
> key, then pressing one or
	more alphanumeric keys. On today's keyboards, the
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Alt</B
> key provides the same functionality as
	the old <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Meta</B
> key, or alternatively you can
	press the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Esc</B
> key followed by the
	alphanumeric keys (you don't have to hold down the
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Esc</B
> key). Because different documents
	sometimes use different notation to denote these sequences, this section
	explains the notation used in this HOWTO.  For consistency,
	this HOWTO uses the same notation as is used in the Emacs menus. 
	</P
><P
>	There are a few different types of key sequences you may
	see. The first is commonly written in the form <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-x
	C-s</B
>.  The letter "C," followed by a hypen, literally
	means "hold down the Control key" (the letter "M" would denote
	the Meta (Alt or Esc) key), and the additional letters denote
	specific commands.  This example, which saves the current
	file, should be interpreted as, "Hold down the Control key,
	press the letter x followed by the letter s, then release the Control key."
	</P
><P
>	Another common  sequence is written in the form <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-x
	d</B
>. Again, the letter "C" followed by a hyphen
	denotes holding down the Control key.  However, because the
	second letter of the sequence does not have a "C-" in front of
	it, you do not hold down the Control key while pressing the
	second letter. Thus, this command should be interpreted as,
	"Hold down the Control key and type x, then release the Control key and type d."
	Sometimes you may see commands with more than one letter after
	them, such as <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e d w</B
>. The same rules
	apply: you should hold down the Control key, press "e,"
	release the Control key, then press "d" and "w". 
	</P
><P
>	Finally, you may see commands that use actual words, such as
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
	emacspeak-toggle-word-echo</B
>. Fortunately, most of
	these longer commands have a shorthand command (in this case,
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e d w</B
>.  However, should you opt to type
	the entire command, you would hold down the Meta or Alt key,
	type x, release the Meta key, then type
	emacspeak-toggle-word-echo. 
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="GETTING-HELP.SGML"
>3.3. Getting Help</A
></H2
><P
>	There are several different types of help you can get from
	within Emacs. If you are unfamiliar with Emacs or Emacspeak,
	refer to Getting Started with Emacs and Emacspeak in <A
HREF="before-you-begin.html#GETTING-STARTED"
>Section 3.1</A
> for
	information on several tutorials that can help get you up and
	running.  If you've completed those tutorials and are looking
	for more in-depth help on specific topics, consider the
	following sources.
	</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="AEN89"
>3.3.1. Getting help in Emacs</A
></H3
><P
>	The most comprehensive source for Emacs is the GNU Emacs
	Manual, available at <A
HREF="http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_toc.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_toc.html</A
>.
	Not only does this document contain information on using Emacs
	as a text editor, but it also contains information on how to use
	many of the Emacs applications. 
	</P
><P
>	In addition, there are many help options within Emacs, all of
	which can be accessed using <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h</B
>. Some of
	these options, and the types of help they provide, are listed below.
	</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h i</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Invokes the
					online hypertext help system,
					also called "info." Not only
					does info contain
					Emacs-specific help, it also
					contains the man page help
					(refer to <A
HREF="before-you-begin.html#MAN-PAGES"
>Section 3.3.3</A
>, Viewing
					the Linux online man pages,
					for more information). When in
					info, you can type
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>h</B
> to open a
					primer for first-time
					users. Type
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>q</B
> to quit.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h a</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Runs "apropos"
					and asks for a word to search
					on. It then gives you a list
					of all commands that contain that word.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h C-f</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					When you enter a
					command name, info jumps to
					the documentation for that
					command.</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h c</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					When you press
					any key or key sequence, info
					provides the name of the
					function that key invokes.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h k</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Similar to the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h c</B
>
					command but provides more
					detailed information about the
					function or action that occurs
					when you press a key or sequence of keys.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h w</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Similar to the
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h c</B
> and
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h k</B
> commands,
					except that when you type in
					the name of a command, it
					returns the key sequence
					needed to invoke that command.
					For example, if you type
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h w</B
>, then
					finder-by-keyword, it will
					return <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h
					p</B
>.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h p</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Lists all the
					packages available in Emacs.
					Packages are defined by the
					applications they contain, for
					example hypermedia, games,
					tools (for programming), etc.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h n</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Opens a history
					of user-visible changes to
					Emacs.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h F</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Displays the
					Emacs frequently asked
					questions. Should you have
					questions about or problems
					with Emacs, you are urged to
					review the FAQ in an effort to
					cut down on noise in the
					Emacs-related newsgroups.
					Note that this FAQ is only for
					Emacs, and not Emacspeak.
					</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="AEN149"
>3.3.2. Getting help on Emacspeak commands</A
></H3
><P
>	When you install Emacspeak,
	additional Emacspeak-specific help is also installed.  In general,
	Emacspeak commands begin with <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e</B
>. The more
	commonly used help commands are listed below:</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h C-e</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Lists the
					Emacspeak commands that are available.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e F</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Opens the
					Emacspeak FAQ.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-e C-h</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Enters a special
					mode where every key stroke
					you type is spoken but nothing
					actually happens.  You can use
					this mode if you're new to
					Emacspeak and want to test out
					a few keystrokes. When you're
					finished, you can exit this
					mode using
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-g</B
>.
					</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P
>	In addition to the general Emacs commands that are Emacspeak
	enabled, many applications have their own Emacspeak-enabled
	commands.  To get a list of these commands, invoke the
	application of choice (for example, W3 for viewing web sites)
	and then type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h k</B
> for a list of key
	bindings, or <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-h m</B
> to list the commands
	associated with the cirretn active modes.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="MAN-PAGES"
>3.3.3. Viewing the Linux online man pages</A
></H3
><P
>	Linux comes with an extensive manual, better known as the
	"man" pages. These pages cover just about every Linux command.  The only
	drawback to using the man pages is that you must know the name of the command you
	want information about.  To read a man entry:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			From inside Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
			man</B
>. You will be prompted for the manual
			entry you want to view.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			Type the manual entry name (for example,
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>mount</B
>). The entry for that
			option will open in Emacs.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	For more information on man pages themselves, you can type
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>man</B
> when prompted for the manual entry name.</P
></DIV
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