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Running Commands by Name
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   Every Emacs command has a name that you can use to run it.  Commands
that are used often, or that must be quick to type, are also bound to
keys--short sequences of characters--for convenient use.  You can run
them by name if you don't remember the keys.  Other Emacs commands that
do not need to be quick are not bound to keys; the only way to run them
is by name.  Note: Key Bindings, for the description of how to bind
commands to keys.

   By convention, a command name consists of one or more words,
separated by hyphens; for example, `auto-fill-mode' or `manual-entry'.
The use of English words makes the command name easier to remember than
a key made up of obscure characters, even though it is more characters
to type.

   The way to run a command by name is to start with `M-x', type the
command name, and finish it with <RET>.  `M-x' uses the minibuffer to
read the command name.  <RET> exits the minibuffer and runs the
command.  The string `M-x' appears at the beginning of the minibuffer
as a "prompt" to remind you to enter the name of a command to be run.
Note: Minibuffer, for full information on the features of the
minibuffer.

   You can use completion to enter the command name.  For example, you
can invoke the command `forward-char' by name by typing either

     M-x forward-char <RET>

or

     M-x forw <TAB> c <RET>

Note that `forward-char' is the same command that you invoke with the
key `C-f'.  You can run any Emacs command by name using `M-x', whether
or not any keys are bound to it.

   If you type `C-g' while the command name is being read, you cancel
the `M-x' command and get out of the minibuffer, ending up at top level.

   To pass a numeric argument to the command you are invoking with
`M-x', specify the numeric argument before the `M-x'.  `M-x' passes the
argument along to the command it runs.  The argument value appears in
the prompt while the command name is being read.

   If the command you type has a key binding of its own, Emacs mentions
this in the echo area, two seconds after the command finishes (if you
don't type anything else first).  For example, if you type `M-x
forward-word', the message says that you can run the same command more
easily by typing `M-f'.  You can turn off these messages by setting
`suggest-key-bindings' to `nil'.

   Normally, when describing in this manual a command that is run by
name, we omit the <RET> that is needed to terminate the name.  Thus we
might speak of `M-x auto-fill-mode' rather than `M-x auto-fill-mode
<RET>'.  We mention the <RET> only when there is a need to emphasize
its presence, such as when we show the command together with following
arguments.

   `M-x' works by running the command `execute-extended-command', which
is responsible for reading the name of another command and invoking it.