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If I do M-x insert TAB Emacs shows a list of possible completions like below

Possible completions are:
insert-abbrevs              insert-anniversary-diary-entry
insert-block-diary-entry    insert-buffer
insert-char                 insert-cyclic-diary-entry
insert-diary-entry          insert-file
insert-file-literally       insert-kbd-macro
insert-monthly-diary-entry  insert-pair
insert-parentheses          insert-register
insert-weekly-diary-entry   insert-yearly-diary-entry

What if one likes to have a list of all completions in which the string insert exists, for example auto-insert which is not given in the above list.

Drew
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Name
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3 Answers3

3

*insert TAB will work for execute-extended-command, but smex is just much better.

abo-abo
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2

Others have mentioned smex and icicles which give such completions. I'll add Helm. Install from MELPA with M-x package-install helm. (helm-mode t) will turn it on globally. It doesn't steal your M-x key for itself, so also add (global-set-key (kbd "M-x") 'helm-M-x) to give it the key.

erikstokes
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1

In Icicles you get such completion using S-TAB (by default - you can change the key, of course).

By default:

  • TAB gives you prefix completion. (Or vanilla Emacs completion - e.g., *insert TAB will do as @abo-abo indicated.)

  • S-TAB gives you "apropos"-style (i.e., regexp) completion, which of course includes substring completion.

Just use a different completion key, TAB or S-TAB, to get a different kind of completion. And for each of these keys you can use different completion methods, including various fuzzy completion methods. You can cycle among the methods using C-( (for TAB) and M-( (for S-TAB).

All of this is true not only for M-x but for everything - any minibuffer input completion.

And BTW, Icicles does not "steal" your M-x key. Whether you keep M-x bound to standard command execute-extended-command or you bind it to Icicles multi-command icicle-execute-extended-command is up to you. And in either case you can take advantage of Icicles completion when icicle-mode is turned on. (If you turn off icicle-mode then you are back to vanilla Emacs behavior, for M-x and for everything else.)

By default, you do get special multi-command behavior for M-x, but it is trivial to customize option icicle-top-level-key-bindings to choose which keys you want to have take advantage of any special Icicles commands.

Drew
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