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5.6.1 Select and check the text first ¶

Point is the moving end of a selection; the mark holds its other end. The region is the text between them, whichever comes first. This procedure uses Emacs’s normal Transient Mark mode, not the Transient settings-menu package. Do not change either mode just because their names are similar.

1. In the practice buffer, press M-<, then C-n twice and C-a. Check with C-e l that you reached Move this paragraph..
2. Press C-SPC: hold Control and press the space bar. This sets the mark at the line’s start. Release the keys, then press C-n once. Point is now at the start of the following blank line.
3. Press C-e r to hear the region. It contains the sentence and its terminating newline. Reading this short selection does not move its ends or deactivate it, so it remains ready for copying or cutting.
4. Press C-b once to move point back before that newline. The sentence is still selected, but its newline is not. C-e c can identify the character at this boundary; the character at the region’s end is excluded. Press C-f to include the newline again.

If the operating system intercepts C-SPC, M-x set-mark-command RET is an alternative. Use a small selection and ordinary unshifted movement for this exercise. Shift-selection has different deactivation rules.

C-x C-x exchanges point and mark without changing the selected text. Emacsvox speaks the line at the new point with point indication. You can inspect that boundary, move it if necessary, and exchange again to return to the other end. Starting a new selection with C-SPC replaces the boundary; it is not the command for inspecting the old one.

In the ordinary text buffer, C-g deactivates the selection without deleting text. It does not erase the saved mark. Some region commands can still use an inactive mark, so always establish a fresh, checked selection before cutting. Likewise, typing over selected text depends on Delete Selection mode; use the explicit operations below rather than assuming typing will replace it.

More detail: The mark and the region, Setting the mark, Operating on the region and Shift selection in the GNU Emacs Manual.