12.9 Other essential commands

Finally, there are three basic functions which you should add to your stock of familiar commands.

12.9.1 Aborting commands

To abort any command which requires you to type information at the echo area, type Ctrl+G at any point up to where you would normally press Return. For instance, if you type Ctrl+X Ctrl+F in order to open a file, and then decide against it, type Ctrl+G instead of specifying a filename.

If you are using macOS editor emulation, press Esc to abort a command.

12.9.2 Undoing commands

If you choose Edit > Undo the last editor action performed is undone. Successive use of Edit > Undo revokes more actions (rather than undoing the last Undo command, as is the case with many other editors).

When using Emacs emulation you can undo via the Emacs keystroke Ctrl+_. Thus, to undo the last five words typed, press Ctrl+_ five times.

On macOS you can undo via the keystroke Command+Z.

12.9.3 Repeating commands

To perform the same command n times, type Ctrl+U n followed by the command you want to perform.

For instance, to move forward 10 characters, type Ctrl+U 10 Ctrl+F.