GNU Info
(emacs)Visiting
Visiting Files
==============
`C-x C-f'
Visit a file (`find-file').
`C-x C-r'
Visit a file for viewing, without allowing changes to it
(`find-file-read-only').
`C-x C-v'
Visit a different file instead of the one visited last
(`find-alternate-file').
`C-x 4 f'
Visit a file, in another window (`find-file-other-window'). Don't
alter what is displayed in the selected window.
`C-x 5 f'
Visit a file, in a new frame (`find-file-other-frame'). Don't
alter what is displayed in the selected frame.
`M-x find-file-literally'
Visit a file with no conversion of the contents.
"Visiting" a file means copying its contents into an Emacs buffer so
you can edit them. Emacs makes a new buffer for each file that you
visit. We often say that this buffer "is visiting" that file, or that
the buffer's "visited file" is that file. Emacs constructs the buffer
name from the file name by throwing away the directory, keeping just
the name proper. For example, a file named `/usr/rms/emacs.tex' would
get a buffer named `emacs.tex'. If there is already a buffer with that
name, Emacs constructs a unique name--the normal method is to append
`<2>', `<3>', and so on, but you can select other methods (Note:
Uniquify).
Each window's mode line shows the name of the buffer that is being
displayed in that window, so you can always tell what buffer you are
editing.
The changes you make with editing commands are made in the Emacs
buffer. They do not take effect in the file that you visited, or any
place permanent, until you "save" the buffer. Saving the buffer means
that Emacs writes the current contents of the buffer into its visited
file. Note: Saving.
If a buffer contains changes that have not been saved, we say the
buffer is "modified". This is important because it implies that some
changes will be lost if the buffer is not saved. The mode line
displays two stars near the left margin to indicate that the buffer is
modified.
To visit a file, use the command `C-x C-f' (`find-file'). Follow
the command with the name of the file you wish to visit, terminated by a
<RET>.
The file name is read using the minibuffer (Note: Minibuffer), with
defaulting and completion in the standard manner (Note: File Names).
While in the minibuffer, you can abort `C-x C-f' by typing `C-g'.
File-name completion ignores certain filenames; for more about this,
see Note: Completion Options.
When Emacs is built with a suitable GUI toolkit, it pops up the
standard File Selection dialog of that toolkit instead of prompting for
the file name in the minibuffer. On Unix and GNU/Linux platforms, Emacs
does that when built with LessTif and Motif toolkits; on MS-Windows, the
GUI version does that by default.
Your confirmation that `C-x C-f' has completed successfully is the
appearance of new text on the screen and a new buffer name in the mode
line. If the specified file does not exist and could not be created, or
cannot be read, then you get an error, with an error message displayed
in the echo area.
If you visit a file that is already in Emacs, `C-x C-f' does not make
another copy. It selects the existing buffer containing that file.
However, before doing so, it checks that the file itself has not changed
since you visited or saved it last. If the file has changed, a warning
message is shown. Note: Simultaneous Editing.
Since Emacs reads the visited file in its entirety, files whose size
is larger than the maximum Emacs buffer size (Note: Buffers) cannot be
visited; if you try, Emacs will display an error message saying that the
maximum buffer size has been exceeded.
What if you want to create a new file? Just visit it. Emacs
displays `(New file)' in the echo area, but in other respects behaves
as if you had visited an existing empty file. If you make any changes
and save them, the file is created.
Emacs recognizes from the contents of a file which convention it uses
to separate lines--newline (used on GNU/Linux and on Unix),
carriage-return linefeed (used on Microsoft systems), or just
carriage-return (used on the Macintosh)--and automatically converts the
contents to the normal Emacs convention, which is that the newline
character separates lines. This is a part of the general feature of
coding system conversion (Note: Coding Systems), and makes it possible
to edit files imported from different operating systems with equal
convenience. If you change the text and save the file, Emacs performs
the inverse conversion, changing newlines back into carriage-return
linefeed or just carriage-return if appropriate.
If the file you specify is actually a directory, `C-x C-f' invokes
Dired, the Emacs directory browser, so that you can "edit" the contents
of the directory (Note: Dired). Dired is a convenient way to delete,
look at, or operate on the files in the directory. However, if the
variable `find-file-run-dired' is `nil', then it is an error to try to
visit a directory.
Files which are actually collections of other files, or "file
archives", are visited in special modes which invoke a Dired-like
environment to allow operations on archive members. Note: File
Archives, for more about these features.
If the file name you specify contains shell-style wildcard
characters, Emacs visits all the files that match it. Wildcards
include `?', `*', and `[...]' sequences. Note: Quoted File Names, for
information on how to visit a file whose name actually contains wildcard
characters. You can disable the wildcard feature by customizing
`find-file-wildcards'.
If you visit a file that the operating system won't let you modify,
Emacs makes the buffer read-only, so that you won't go ahead and make
changes that you'll have trouble saving afterward. You can make the
buffer writable with `C-x C-q' (`vc-toggle-read-only'). Note: Misc
Buffer.
Occasionally you might want to visit a file as read-only in order to
protect yourself from entering changes accidentally; do so by visiting
the file with the command `C-x C-r' (`find-file-read-only').
If you visit a nonexistent file unintentionally (because you typed
the wrong file name), use the `C-x C-v' command (`find-alternate-file')
to visit the file you really wanted. `C-x C-v' is similar to `C-x
C-f', but it kills the current buffer (after first offering to save it
if it is modified). When `C-x C-v' reads the file name to visit, it
inserts the entire default file name in the buffer, with point just
after the directory part; this is convenient if you made a slight error
in typing the name.
If you find a file which exists but cannot be read, `C-x C-f'
signals an error.
`C-x 4 f' (`find-file-other-window') is like `C-x C-f' except that
the buffer containing the specified file is selected in another window.
The window that was selected before `C-x 4 f' continues to show the
same buffer it was already showing. If this command is used when only
one window is being displayed, that window is split in two, with one
window showing the same buffer as before, and the other one showing the
newly requested file. Note: Windows.
`C-x 5 f' (`find-file-other-frame') is similar, but opens a new
frame, or makes visible any existing frame showing the file you seek.
This feature is available only when you are using a window system.
Note: Frames.
If you wish to edit a file as a sequence of ASCII characters with no
special encoding or conversion, use the `M-x find-file-literally'
command. It visits a file, like `C-x C-f', but does not do format
conversion (Note: Formatted Text), character code conversion (Note:
Coding Systems), or automatic uncompression (Note: Compressed
Files), and does not add a final newline because of
`require-final-newline'. If you already have visited the same file in
the usual (non-literal) manner, this command asks you whether to visit
it literally instead.
Two special hook variables allow extensions to modify the operation
of visiting files. Visiting a file that does not exist runs the
functions in the list `find-file-not-found-hooks'; this variable holds
a list of functions, and the functions are called one by one (with no
arguments) until one of them returns non-`nil'. This is not a normal
hook, and the name ends in `-hooks' rather than `-hook' to indicate
that fact.
Successful visiting of any file, whether existing or not, calls the
functions in the list `find-file-hooks', with no arguments. This
variable is really a normal hook, but it has an abnormal name for
historical compatibility. In the case of a nonexistent file, the
`find-file-not-found-hooks' are run first. Note: Hooks.
There are several ways to specify automatically the major mode for
editing the file (Note: Choosing Modes), and to specify local
variables defined for that file (Note: File Variables).
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