<p> This is how poor a user of Emacs I am: I still habitually use <code class="verbatim">C-@ (set-mark-command)</code> to set the mark. I mean, on what planet is that easier or more ergonomic than <code class="verbatim">C-SPC (set-mark-command)</code>?</p> <p> I actually started retraining myself to use <code class="verbatim">C-SPC</code> a while ago, and it&#39;s mostly taken—but I still occasionally catch myself going for that awkward pinky-thumb-middle-finger chord that fires <code class="verbatim">C-@</code>.</p> <p> More interesting for me to learn how to use effectively is <code class="verbatim">C-x C-x (exchange-point-and-mark)</code>. I know I spend a lot of unnecessary time scrolling around the screen rather than targetting where I want to go. Internalizing <code class="verbatim">C-x C-x</code> is, I think, the first step in moving a little faster.</p>

<p> This blog is supposed to be about what I&#39;m learning and how the process of refining my use of Emacs is going, so each week I&#39;ll be looking at what I wrote about in the past week (or perhaps earlier) and assessing how much I&#39;ve been able to change my habits or otherwise make use of my new knowledge.</p> <p> So this first week has gone pretty well—using <code class="verbatim">M-g M-g (goto-line)</code> instead of <code class="verbatim">M-x goto-line</code> has come up a couple of times and I&#39;ve remembered the new way of doing things, and similarly <code class="verbatim">C-/ (undo)</code> for undo. The change back to the prior handling of <code class="verbatim">line-move-visual</code> hasn&#39;t come up as much as I expected—I have a much wider terminal these days, so it&#39;s less of an issue—but I&#39;m nonetheless glad to have made the change back.</p>

<p> For years I&#39;ve been using <code class="verbatim">C-x u (undo)</code> for undo. As much as I use it, though, I really need to get <code class="verbatim">C-/ (undo)</code> under my fingers.</p> <p> I never remember <code class="verbatim">revert-buffer</code>, since I rarely get myself to the point where I want to just nuke everything from orbit—so perhaps it&#39;s not surprising I rarely think about it.</p> <p> In fact, I think the interface of GNU Emacs&#39; undo facility is one of the few places where it falls dramatically short of its potential. I really don&#39;t know what sort of facilities that other editors have, but given the way that Emacs stores the history, I&#39;m surprised that the baked-in functionality provides no way to access it more efficiently—I mean, there&#39;s not even an explicit <em>redo</em> command, you have to just undo your undoings, ad infinitum. I&#39;ve often accidentally started redoing things when I hit an injudicious key, etc.</p>