Chapter 9: Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I re-indent the whole file? A. Visit the file and hit C-x h to mark the whole buffer. Then hit ESC C-\. Q. How do I re-indent the entire function? ESC C-x doesn't work. A. ESC C-x is reserved for future Emacs use. To re-indent the entire function hit C-c C-q. Q. How do I re-indent the current block? A. First move to the brace which opens the block with ESC C-u, then re-indent that expression with ESC C-q. Q. Why doesn't the RET key indent the line to where the new text should go after inserting the newline? A. Emacs' convention is that RET just adds a newline, and that C-j adds a newline and indents it. You can make RET do this too by adding this to your c-mode-common-hook (see the sample `.emacs' file Sample .emacs File):


(define-key c-mode-base-map "\C-m" 'newline-and-indent)

This is a very common question. If you want this to be the default behavior, don't lobby me, lobby RMS! :-)

Q. I put (c-set-offset 'substatement-open 0) in my `.emacs' file but I get an error saying that c-set-offset's function definition is void.

A. This means that CC Mode wasn't loaded into your Emacs session by the time the c-set-offset call was reached, mostly likely because CC Mode is being autoloaded. Instead of putting the c-set-offset line in your top-level `.emacs' file, put it in your c-mode-common-hook, or simply add the following to the top of your `.emacs' file:


(require 'cc-mode)

See the sample `.emacs' file Sample .emacs File for details.

Q. How do I make strings, comments, keywords, and other constructs appear in different colors, or in bold face, etc.?

A. ``Syntax Colorization'' is a standard Emacs feature, controlled by font-lock-mode. It is not part of CC Mode.

Q. M-a and M-e used to move over entire balanced brace lists, but now they move into blocks. How do I get the old behavior back?

A. Use C-M-f and C-M-b to move over balanced brace blocks. Use M-a and M-e to move by statements, which will move into blocks.

Performance Issues

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Getting the latest CC Mode release