11.2 Commands to Mark Textual Objects

Here are the commands for placing point and the mark around a textual object such as a word, list, paragraph or page:

M-@

Set mark after end of next word (mark-word). This does not move point.

C-M-@

Set mark after end of following balanced expression (mark-sexp). This does not move point.

M-h

Move point to the beginning of the current paragraph, and set mark at the end (mark-paragraph).

C-M-h

Move point to the beginning of the current defun, and set mark at the end (mark-defun).

C-x C-p

Move point to the beginning of the current page, and set mark at the end (mark-page).

C-x h

Move point to the beginning of the buffer, and set mark at the end (mark-whole-buffer).

M-@ (mark-word) puts the mark at the end of the next word, while C-M-@ (mark-sexp) puts it at the end of the next balanced expression (see Expressions). These commands handle arguments just like M-f and C-M-f.

The other commands in the above list set both point and mark, so as to delimit an object in the buffer. M-h (mark-paragraph) moves point to the beginning of the paragraph that surrounds or follows point, and sets the mark at the end of that paragraph (see Paragraphs). As a special exception, repeated invocations of M-h extend the region to subsequent paragraphs. This is convenient for indenting, case-converting, or killing entire paragraphs.

The M-h command accepts prefix arguments. If the argument's value is positive, M-h marks that many paragraphs starting with the one surrounding point; therefore, C-u M-h is equivalent to M-h M-h M-h M-h. If the prefix argument is −n, M-h marks n paragraphs running back from the one surrounding point; in this case, point moves forward to the end of that paragraph, and the mark goes at the start of the region.

Similarly, C-M-h (mark-defun) sets mark and point around major top-level definitions (see Moving by Defuns), and C-x C-p (mark-page) does the same for pages (see Pages). These treat repeated invocations and prefix arguments similarly to mark-paragraph.

Finally, C-x h (mark-whole-buffer) sets up the entire buffer as the region, by putting point at the beginning and the mark at the end. (In some programs this is called “select all.”)