Re: Newbie programmer beginning to use Emacs, Help!

[Dmitry Dzhus]

Sean Ochoa <WakieWakie@gmail.com> writes:

> 1.  What is the "Meta" key (I couldn't find a definition that makes
> sense in documentation anywhere)?  I'm using a HP Pavillion dv9428nr
> laptop running win xp pro and Emacs v22.1.1

It's likely that «Alt» is labeled as «Meta» on your machine. Read the
«2: Kinds of User Input» section in GNU Emacs manual.

> 2.  How to enter a command like ftp mysite.net user:admin@mysite.net
> password:admin_password, so that I can work on files from my web
> server (as a side note, does emacs support ftp 'save-as' to server?)?

Emacs can transparently work with network transport methods including
FTP&SSH. Whenever you're asked for a file name (e. g. when saving a
file), use `/ftp:USER@HOST:FILENAME` syntax to select remote file. Read
the related section (thats 23.15: «File Handling — Remote Files») in GNU
Emacs manual.

> 3.  What exactly is 'Dired Mode'?

«DIRectory EDitor» is a sort of file management mode for Emacs. You can
manipulate your files&dirs, view photo thumbnails etc. Type `M-x dired
RET` in your Emacs to see it working. Note that dired may also work with
remote hosts transparently. Read the related section (That's
32: «Dired») in GNU Emacs manual.

-- 
Happy Hacking.

Dmitry Dzhus
http://sphinx.net.ru
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