Customizing keys

It is at this point that you may run into differences between Xemacs and emacs, so proceed with caution. Emacsen are most frequently derided for making use of abstruse commands like M-x M-c or horrid key combinations using one or more of shift/alt/control etc.³ You can create easier keystroke combinations to suit your needs by editing the .emacs file in your home directory (for emacs). Xemacs uses ~/.xemacs/init.el for its customization. In the configuration file appropriate for whichever software you're using, add lines like the following:

(global-set-key [f1] 'goto-line)
(global-set-key [?\M-\l] 'next-line)
(global-set-key [?\C-x ?\w] 'beginning-of-buffer)
(add-hook 'text-mode-hook 'longlines-mode)

The first three lines above set the F1 key to the command "goto-line," Alt-l to "next line" and C-x w to "beginning of buffer." Type C-h b to get a listing of all current key bindings. The fourth line instructs emacs to load the longlines.el package whenever it edits in text mode.