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I have a problem with some commands in info.

  1. I found that C-x means not C but Ctrl.
  2. In addition I have a problem with "M-x" (this is probably not "M" key (shift+m), and RET is the Enter key??
  3. There is also "LFD (select-reference-this-line)" and I have no idea which key is that.
Marcus
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  • Strange, only old timers knows how the answers. I’m still using emacs but didn’t used info in this century. – Archemar Apr 07 '22 at 16:30

2 Answers2

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The meaning of C and M is given in the section on moving the cursor in the info manual:

C-x means press the CTRL key and the key x. M-x means press the META key and the key x. On many terminals the META key is known as the ALT key.

M-x shortcuts can also be invoked by pressing Esc and then x.

LFD is less obvious; that’s “line feed”, aka Return (or ⏎ typically). See the entry for select-reference-this-line in the manual.

Stephen Kitt
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  1. You are correct, C-x is shorthand for Ctrl-X. This however you have presented as a statement and it unclear how this is a "problem".
  2. Firstly: Similarly, M-x is shorthand for Meta-X. The Meta key is usually mapped to L-Alt. Secondly: You are correct; RET is shorthand for the Enter key. This is due to historical stylings: the Enter key on a modern keyboard is where the Carriage Return (hence "Return") key was on slightly modern typewriters. Some computer peripheral manufacturers (e. g. Apple) decided to stick with this nomenclature, while others (e. g. IBM) re-defined the key as the key used to "Enter" data into the system, since a terminal did not have a carriage to actually Return.
  3. LFD is shorthand for "linefeed", which is the (or one of the, depending on your environment's line-ending preference) character(s) generated by the Enter key, which on some keyboard layouts is styled as Return (which in turn why RET is shorthand for the Return key).
DopeGhoti
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