This page lists the main features of ErgoEmacs.
Note: this page is outdated. The outline remains the same, but details may be inaccurate. For any questions, please post to http://groups.google.com/group/ergoemacs
ErgoEmacs is a emacs distribution based on GNU Emacs, so it has ALL the features of emacs.
For a introduction of what emacs can do, see:
ErgoEmacs improves GNU Emacs for people who did not grew up with emacs. User interface is based on common modern software interface familiar to most people today, such as using 【Ctrl+C】 key for Copy, 【Ctrl+Z】 for undo, 【Ctrl+O】 for Open file, and also bundles many elisp packages that are not in GNU Emacs.
Here is a list of major differences and additions.
Common keyboard shortcut are supported, so you don't have to change your mindset when you switch in and out of emacs. The following are supported standard keys in Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. (Mac uses Cmd instead of Ctrl.)
| Standard name | Key press | Emacs command name |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | Ctrl+c | kill-ring-save |
| Cut | Ctrl+x | kill-region |
| Paste | Ctrl+v | yank |
| Undo | Ctrl+z | undo |
| Redo | Ctrl+⇧ Shift+z | redo |
| Standard name | Key press | Emacs command name |
|---|---|---|
| Open New File | Ctrl+n | new-empty-buffer |
| Open | Ctrl+o | find-file |
| Close | Ctrl+w | close-current-buffer |
| Save | Ctrl+s | save-buffer |
| Save As | Ctrl+⇧ Shift+s | write-file |
| Ctrl+p | print-buffer | |
| Select All | Ctrl+a | mark-whole-buffer |
| Find | Ctrl+f | search-forward |
Standard shortcuts for cursor navigation are also supported. Example: 【Ctrl+←】 ⇒ go to previous word, ↖ Home ⇒ beginning of line, 【⇧ Shift+↓】 ⇒ selecting text downward.
In addition to standard keyboard shortcuts, ErgoEmacs's shortcut set is based on Ergonomics. That is, most frequently used commands are given easy keys. This makes it easier and faster for editing text, and avoid Repetitive strain injury.
9 international keyboard layouts are supported, including Dvorak and variants.
For detail, see: ErgoEmacs Keybinding.
The graphical menu is simplied. Menu items that are rarely used or confusing are removed. Useful commands now has a menu representation. For example, you can choose a Language Mode in the menu 〖File‣Language Modes〗 for a glance of supported language modes.
All these are listed in the menu 〖File‣Language Modes〗, so you can easily activate them without needing to know the command names. File names with proper extension will automatically open in the right mode.
ErgoEmacs actively support the Microsoft Windows platform. For Windows users, you don't need to spend hours to look for packages or make things work that works in Emacs on Linux. Here's a list of additions that EgoEmacs support on Windows, out of the box:
Many extra little additions and default settings over the rough edges of GNU Emacs. They include:
For detail on many more misc improvements, see: Emacs Modernization.
ErgoEmacs's look and feel is like GNU Emacs. ErgoEmacs works well in terminal emulators such as PuTTY on Windows, xterm on Linux, Terminal App in Mac OS X.
Emacs's power as a system that interfaces OS's shell, and “dired” as a file management system, as a ftp client, as a irc client, as system admin center, are all integral part of ErgoEmacs. ErgoEmacs does not add any extra addition that encourages Graphics User Interface. For example, there's no extra pop-up dialogues or forcing users to use the mouse.
If you use Windows's Notepad, you can use ErgoEmacs out of the box, without needing to learn any new keyboard shortcuts. If you have experience with emacs, you may find many added advantages saving you time, especially on Windows.
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