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<HTML
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>Working with files</TITLE
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><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="WORKING-WITH-FILES"
>5. Working with files</A
></H1
><P
>	In addition to performing common file manipulation tasks, such
	as moving, copying, and deleting, you'll also want to download
	files from the Internet, search for files in your directories,
	and FTP files. Some of these functions are built into Emacs,
	while some of these tasks require additional applications that
	can be downloaded.
	</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="DOWNLOADING-FILES"
>5.1. Downloading files</A
></H2
><P
>	Once you know the URL of the file to download, you can use the
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
> command from within the Emacs shell to
	retrieve the file.  If you do not know the URL of the file to
	download, use the <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>W3</SPAN
> application to browse the web and find the URL of the file (refer
	to <A
HREF="working-online.html#BROWSING-THE-INTERNET"
>Section 6.1</A
> for
	information on using the <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>W3</SPAN
> application). Then
	use the command <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
> to download it. For more
	information on the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
> command, refer to the
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
> man page.
	</P
><P
>	To download a file:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			From inside Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
			shell</B
> to start the shell.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			Since the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
>
			command places
			the downloaded file into your current
			directory, change directories to the desired
			directory.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			When you are in the appropriate directory,
			type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget [url]</B
>, then press
			<SPAN
CLASS="KEYSYM"
>Enter</SPAN
>.  Remember that you can
			copy and paste the URL of the file to download
			from the <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>W3</SPAN
> web
			browser application.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	As the file is being downloaded, one dot appears on the screen
	for each kilobyte of data
	received. The <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>wget</B
> command lets you know when
	the download is complete. 
	</P
><P
>	Another option for downloading (or uploading) a file is via
	FTP. Refer to <A
HREF="working-with-files.html#FTPING-A-FILE"
>Section 5.3</A
> on FTPing a file for more information.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="FIND-A-FILE"
>5.2. Finding a file</A
></H2
><P
>	There are several ways you can find a file. This section discusses two options.
	</P
><P
>	If you know the name of the file, or at least remember part of
	it, you can use the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>find-file</B
> command:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			In Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x find-file</B
>.
			</P
><P
>			Result: You will be prompted for the name of
			the file in the default working directory.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			Type the name of the file (or use wildcards) you wish to find.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	Alternatively, you may want to browse your directories to look
	for a file.  You can do this using the Emacs directory editor,
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
>.  To
	start <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
>: 
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			In Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C-x d</B
> or
			<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x dired</B
>. You will be prompted for the name of
			the file.  You can type the name (or part of
			the name) of the file to find, using the Tab
			key to complete the file
			name. <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
> will
			list any files that match the name you
			entered.  Alternatively, you can view a full
			listing of the directory by providing a
			directory name (or pressing Return to view the
			current directory) when prompted.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	For more information on using the directory editor, refer to
	<A
HREF="working-with-files.html#USING-THE-DIRECTORY-EDITOR"
>Section 5.4.2</A
>.  For a complete listing of
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired's</SPAN
> features and capabilities,
	refer to <A
HREF="http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_360.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_360.html</A
>.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="FTPING-A-FILE"
>5.3. FTPing a file</A
></H2
><P
>	Emacs contains a built-in file transfer protocol, or FTP,
	application. The FTP application can be used to upload and download files to
	and from other machines. In order to use FTP,
	you will need to know the hostname of the machine to contact.
	</P
><P
>	To invoke the FTP application:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			Within Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x ftp</B
>.
			</P
><P
>			Result: You will be prompted for an ftp hostname.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	Alternatively, you can start an Emacs shell using <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
	shell</B
> and use FTP from the command line.  There is a
	short tutorial on using the command line FTP at <A
HREF="http://unix.about.com/library/weekly/aa121800a.htm?once=true&"
TARGET="_top"
>http://unix.about.com/library/weekly/aa121800a.htm?once=true&#38;</A
>.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="FILE-MANIPULATION"
>5.4. Manipulating files</A
></H2
><P
>	This section contains information on moving, copying,
	and deleting files from within Emacs. In general, there are
	two ways you can go about these tasks.  One option is to use the
	command line from an Emacs shell, and the other is to use
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
> dired</SPAN
>. Both methods are discussed in this section.
	</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="USING-THE-COMMAND-LINE"
>5.4.1. Using the command line</A
></H3
><P
>	If you are familiar with Unix command-line arguments, you may
	prefer to use the command line to manipulate files. To use the
	command line, open an Emacs command shell using
	<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x shell</B
>. The following list shows some
	basic file manipulation commands and what they do:
	</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>cp <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>file1
					file2</TT
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Copies file1 to a new file
					named file2.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>mv <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>source
					target</TT
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Moves a file from the source
					directory to the target directory.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>rm
					<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>file</TT
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Deletes a file.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>mkdir
			<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>directoryname</TT
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Creates a directory with the
					name
					<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>directoryname</TT
>.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>rmdir
					<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>directoryname</TT
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Deletes the directory
					<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>directoryname</TT
>
					if it is empty.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>ls</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Lists all the files in the
					current directory.
					</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P
>	You can find more
	information on any of these commands (most can be run with
	various options that allow for more user control) by looking
	them up in the online man pages. Since the list presented here
	covers only the most basic commands, you may want to consult the
	Linux user's guide, available at <A
HREF="http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/linux-doc-project/users-guide/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/linux-doc-project/users-guide/</A
>,
	for more information.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT3"
><H3
CLASS="SECT3"
><A
NAME="USING-THE-DIRECTORY-EDITOR"
>5.4.2. Using the directory editor</A
></H3
><P
>	Although many Linux users use the command line to manipulate
	files, Emacs provides a powerful alternative, called
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
>.  <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Dired</SPAN
> is the Emacs
	directory editor, and is great for manipulating files if you'd
	rather not use the command line or aren't familiar with it. To
	start <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
>:
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>			In Emacs, type <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>M-x
			dired</B
>. You will be prompted for the
			directory to open.
			</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>			Type in the directory to display, or press
			<SPAN
CLASS="KEYSYM"
>Return</SPAN
> to open the default
			directory.
			</P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	Once you've started <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
>, you can move around in the Emacs
	buffer to have the file names, permissions, owners, sizes, and
	dates created/edited read aloud.
	</P
><P
>	In dired, some commands mark files for manipulation (for
	example, you can mark several files, then delete them all),
	and some commands (such as the copy command) are executed
	immediately. Note that, in dired, case does make a difference
	for many commands. Some of the more common
	<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
> commands and what they do are
	listed below:
	</P
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>press the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Return</B
>key</DT
><DD
><P
>					Pressing
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>Return</B
> when
					the focus is on a particular
					file opens that file in the
					appropriate major mode.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>d</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Marks a single file for
					deletion, but doesn't actually
					delete the file. You can mark
					multiple files for deletion,
					then delete them all simultaneously.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>u</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					If a file is
					marked for deletion, this
					option unmarks it.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>x</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Deletes all files marked for
					deletion. You will be prompted to make
					sure you want to delete the
					files in question; type
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>yes</B
> or
					<B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>no</B
> as
					appropriate.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>C</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Copies a file.  You will be
					asked for the name of the new
					file to create when you copy the old file.
					</P
></DD
><DT
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>R</B
></DT
><DD
><P
>					Renames a file.  You will be
					prompted for the name of the new
					file to create when you rename
					the file.
					</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P
>	Because <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>dired</SPAN
> is so extensive,
	including the full documentation for it here is not feasible.
	However, complete instructions can be found in the GNU Emacs
	Manual at <A
HREF="http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_360.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/emacs/emacs_360.html</A
>.
	</P
></DIV
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