3.1 Key Notation And Emacs Words ¶

Emacs documentation writes C- for the Control key and M- for the Meta key, which is usually Alt or Option. For example, C-n means hold Control and press n. A sequence such as C-e l means press C-e, release it, and then press l.

M-x prompts for an Emacs command by name, and RET means the Return or Enter key. A buffer is the Emacs workspace containing text or an application. Point is the current editing position—the place affected by movement and editing commands.

If Emacs itself is new to you, C-h t opens its interactive tutorial. You can return to this chapter whenever the tutorial refers to buffers, point, windows, or key sequences.

3.2 Your First Few Minutes ¶

Try these actions in the clean session started during installation:

1. Press C-n and C-p to move down and up by one line. Emacsvox speaks the line you reach.
2. Press C-e l to hear the current line without moving.
3. Press C-e s whenever you want to stop speech immediately.
4. Press C-h k followed by any key to hear what that key does.
5. Press C-h m to hear about the modes and commands available in the current buffer.
6. Press C-h C-e to open the Emacsvox overview.

These commands are enough to begin exploring safely. The rest of this chapter adds reading controls and speech settings as you need them. The generated Emacsvox Keymaps in Emacsvox Reference Manual records the complete default keymaps, while live help remains authoritative when a package or personal configuration changes a binding.