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(emacs)Hard and Soft Newlines

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Hard and Soft Newlines
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   In formatted text, Emacs distinguishes between two different kinds of
newlines, "hard" newlines and "soft" newlines.

   Hard newlines are used to separate paragraphs, or items in a list, or
anywhere that there should always be a line break regardless of the
margins.  The <RET> command (`newline') and `C-o' (`open-line') insert
hard newlines.

   Soft newlines are used to make text fit between the margins.  All the
fill commands, including Auto Fill, insert soft newlines--and they
delete only soft newlines.

   Although hard and soft newlines look the same, it is important to
bear the difference in mind.  Do not use <RET> to break lines in the
middle of filled paragraphs, or else you will get hard newlines that are
barriers to further filling.  Instead, let Auto Fill mode break lines,
so that if the text or the margins change, Emacs can refill the lines
properly.  Note: Auto Fill.

   On the other hand, in tables and lists, where the lines should always
remain as you type them, you can use <RET> to end lines.  For these
lines, you may also want to set the justification style to `unfilled'.
Note: Format Justification.