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@node M-x, Help, Minibuffer, Top
@chapter 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 are used more rarely are not bound to keys; to run
them, you must refer to them by name.
A command name consists, by convention, of one or more words,
separated by hyphens: for example, @code{auto-fill-mode} or
@code{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 results in more characters to type. You can run any command by name,
even if it can be run by keys as well.
@kindex M-x
@cindex minibuffer
To run a command by name, start with @kbd{M-x}, then type the
command name, and finish with @key{RET}. @kbd{M-x} uses the minibuffer
to read the command name. @key{RET} exits the minibuffer and runs the
command.
Emacs uses the minibuffer for reading input for many different purposes;
on this occasion, the string @samp{M-x} is displayed at the beginning of
the minibuffer as a @dfn{prompt} to remind you that your input should be
the name of a command to be run. @xref{Minibuffer}, for full information
on the features of the minibuffer.
You can use completion to enter a command name. For example, to
invoke the command @code{forward-char}, type:
@example
M-x forward-char @key{RET}
@end example
or
@example
M-x fo @key{TAB} c @key{RET}
@end example
@noindent
After you type in @code{M-x fo TAB} emacs will give you a possible list of
completions from which you can choose. Note that @code{forward-char} is the
same command that you invoke with the key @kbd{C-f}. You can call any
command (interactively callable function) defined in Emacs by its name
using @kbd{M-x} regardless of whether or not any keys are bound to it.
If you type @kbd{C-g} while Emacs reads the command name, you cancel
the @kbd{M-x} command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up at top level.
To pass a numeric argument to a command you are invoking with
@kbd{M-x}, specify the numeric argument before the @kbd{M-x}. @kbd{M-x}
passes the argument along to the function that it calls. The argument
value appears in the prompt while the command name is being read.
@findex interactive
You can use the command @code{M-x interactive} to specify a way of
parsing arguments for interactive use of a function. For example, write:
@example
(defun foo (arg) "Doc string" (interactive "p") ...use arg...)
@end example
to make @code{arg} be the prefix argument when @code{foo} is called as a
command. The call to @code{interactive} is actually a declaration
rather than a function; it tells @code{call-interactively} how to read
arguments to pass to the function. When actually called, @code{interactive}
returns @code{nil}.
The argument of @var{interactive} is usually a string containing a code
letter followed by a prompt. Some code letters do not use I/O to get
the argument and do not need prompts. To prompt for multiple arguments,
you must provide a code letter, its prompt, a newline, and another code
letter, and so forth. If the argument is not a string, it is evaluated
to get a list of arguments to pass to the function. If you do not provide an
argument to @code{interactive}, no arguments are passed when calling
interactively.
Available code letters are:
@table @code
@item a
Function name: symbol with a function definition
@item b
Name of existing buffer
@item B
Name of buffer, possibly nonexistent
@item c
Character
@item C
Command name: symbol with interactive function definition
@item d
Value of point as number (does not do I/O)
@item D
Directory name
@item e
Last mouse event
@item f
Existing file name
@item F
Possibly nonexistent file name
@item k
Key sequence (string)
@item m
Value of mark as number (does not do I/O)
@item n
Number read using minibuffer
@item N
Prefix arg converted to number, or if none, do like code @code{n}
@item p
Prefix arg converted to number (does not do I/O)
@item P
Prefix arg in raw form (does not do I/O)
@item r
Region: point and mark as two numeric arguments, smallest first (does
not do I/O)
@item s
Any string
@item S
Any symbol
@item v
Variable name: symbol that is @code{user-variable-p}
@item x
Lisp expression read but not evaluated
@item X
Lisp expression read and evaluated
@end table
In addition, if the string begins with @samp{*}, an error is
signaled if the buffer is read-only. This happens before reading any
arguments. If the string begins with @samp{@@}, the window the mouse is
over is selected before anything else is done. You may use both
@samp{@@} and @samp{*}; they are processed in the order that they appear.
Normally, when describing a command that is run by name, we omit the
@key{RET} that is needed to terminate the name. Thus we may refer to
@kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode} rather than @kbd{M-x auto-fill-mode} @key{RET}.
We mention the @key{RET} only when it is necessary to emphasize its
presence, for example, when describing a sequence of input that contains
a command name and arguments that follow it.
@findex execute-extended-command
@kbd{M-x} is defined to run the command @code{execute-extended-command},
which is responsible for reading the name of another command and invoking
it.
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