4 Moving Text Within a Window

Sometimes you are looking at a screenful of text, and only part of the current paragraph you are reading is visible on the screen. The commands detailed in this section are used to shift which part of the current node is visible on the screen.

Scrolling commands are bound differently when `--vi-keys' operation is in effect (see –vi-keys). These key bindings are designated with “vi-like operation”.

<SPC> (scroll-forward)

Shift the text in this window up. That is, show more of the node which is currently below the bottom of the window. With a numeric argument, show that many more lines at the bottom of the window; a numeric argument of 4 would shift all of the text in the window up 4 lines (discarding the top 4 lines), and show you four new lines at the bottom of the window. Without a numeric argument, <SPC> takes the bottom two lines of the window and places them at the top of the window, redisplaying almost a completely new screenful of lines. If you are at the end of a node, <SPC> takes you to the “next” node, so that you can read an entire manual from start to finish by repeating <SPC>.

The default scroll size is one screen-full, but it can be changed by invoking the (scroll-forward-page-only-set-window) command, `z' under `--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<NEXT> (an arrow key) (scroll-forward-page-only)

<C-v>

<C-f>, vi-like operation

<f>, vi-like operation

<M-SPC>, vi-like operation

Shift the text in this window up. This is identical to the <SPC> operation above, except that it never scrolls beyond the end of the current node.

The <NEXT> key is known as the <PageDown> key on some keyboards.

<z> (scroll-forward-page-only-set-window, vi-like operation)

Scroll forward, like with <NEXT>, but if a numeric argument is specified, it becomes the default scroll size for subsequent scroll-forward and scroll-backward commands and their ilk.

<DEL> (scroll-backward)

Shift the text in this window down. The inverse of scroll-forward. If you are at the start of a node, <DEL> takes you to the “previous” node, so that you can read an entire manual from finish to start by repeating <DEL>. The default scroll size can be changed by invoking the (scroll-backward-page-only-set-window) command, `w' under `--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<PREVIOUS> (arrow key) (scroll-backward-page-only)

<PRIOR> (arrow key)

<M-v>

<b>, vi-like operation

<C-b>, vi-like operation

Shift the text in this window down. The inverse of scroll-forward-page-only. Does not scroll beyond the start of the current node. The default scroll size can be changed by invoking the(scroll-backward-page-only-set-window) command, `w' under `--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<w> (scroll-backward-page-only-set-window, vi-like operation)

Scroll backward, like with <PREVIOUS>, but if a numeric argument is specified, it becomes the default scroll size for subsequent scroll-forward and scroll-backward commands.

<C-n> (down-line, vi-like operation)

<C-e>, vi-like operation

<RET>, vi-like operation

<LFD>, vi-like operation

<DOWN>, vi-like operation

Scroll forward by one line. With a numeric argument, scroll forward that many lines.

<C-p> (up-line, vi-like operation)

<UP>, vi-like operation

<y>, vi-like operation

<k>, vi-like operation

<C-k>, vi-like operation

<C-y>, vi-like operation

Scroll backward one line. With a numeric argument, scroll backward that many lines.

<d> (scroll-half-screen-down, vi-like operation)

<C-d>, vi-like operation

Scroll forward by half of the screen size. With a numeric argument, scroll that many lines. If an argument is specified, it becomes the new default number of lines to scroll for subsequent `d' and `u' commands.

<u> (scroll-half-screen-up, vi-like operation)

<C-u>, vi-like operation

Scroll back by half of the screen size. With a numeric argument, scroll that many lines. If an argument is specified, it becomes the new default number of lines to scroll for subsequent `u' and `d' commands.

The scroll-forward and scroll-backward commands can also move forward and backward through the node structure of the file. If you press <SPC> while viewing the end of a node, or <DEL> while viewing the beginning of a node, what happens is controlled by the variable scroll-behavior. See scroll-behavior, for more information.

The scroll-forward-page-only and scroll-backward-page-only commands never scroll beyond the current node.

The <PREVIOUS> key is the <PageUp> key on many keyboards. Emacs refers to it by the name <PRIOR>. When you use <PRIOR> or <PageUp> to scroll, Info never scrolls beyond the beginning of the current node.

If your keyboard lacks the <DEL> key, look for a key called <BS>, or `BackSpace', sometimes designated with an arrow which points to the left, which should perform the same function.

<C-l> (redraw-display)

Redraw the display from scratch, or shift the line containing the cursor to a specified location. With no numeric argument, `C-l' clears the screen, and then redraws its entire contents. Given a numeric argument of n, the line containing the cursor is shifted so that it is on the nth line of the window.

C-x <w> (toggle-wrap)

Toggles the state of line wrapping in the current window. Normally, lines which are longer than the screen width wrap, i.e., they are continued on the next line. Lines which wrap have a `\' appearing in the rightmost column of the screen. You can cause such lines to be terminated at the rightmost column by changing the state of line wrapping in the window with C-x w. When a line which needs more space than one screen width to display is displayed, a `$' appears in the rightmost column of the screen, and the remainder of the line is invisible. When long lines are truncated, the modeline displays the `$' character near its left edge.