How do I set marks in Emacs à la Vim?

Question

I'd like to be able to set multiple marks in Emacs like Vim does. In Vim you might press m b and that would set a mark at that line in the file. Later pressing ' b will move your cursor back to that line. You can make multiple marks with m{a-zA-Z}. Is there a way to have multiple marks like this in Emacs?

You want [evil-mode](https://github.com/emacs-evil/evil) ☺ — Hi-Angel, Apr 28 '19 at 17:52

score 35 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 23 '10 at 10:55

From Emacs documentation :

C-x r SPC r

Record the position of point and the current buffer in register r (point-to-register).

C-x r j r

Jump to the position and buffer saved in register r (jump-to-register).

But if you want your positions to persist automatically from one Emacs session to the next, you should use Bookmarks :

C-x r m RET

Set the bookmark for the visited file, at point.

C-x r m bookmark RET

Set the bookmark named bookmark at point (bookmark-set).

C-x r b bookmark RET

Jump to the bookmark named bookmark (bookmark-jump).

C-x r l

List all bookmarks (list-bookmarks).

M-x bookmark-save

Save all the current bookmark values in the default bookmark file.

score 17 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 22 '10 at 15:25

17

You can use what Emacs calls registers. The documentation explains them better than I can.

answered Sep 22 '10 at 15:25

High Performance Mark

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Thanks. For a bonus multiplier, do you know of any way/plugin to highlight marked lines? – MDCore Sep 22 '10 at 15:30
No, no way that I know of. There are commands, such as `highlight-phrase` and `highlight-regexp`, which may be useful, but nothing like `highlight-register` in the standard build. – High Performance Mark Sep 22 '10 at 15:37
@MDCore: I've been using Emacs for donkeys years, but still learn something new every time I check this tag on SO. Thanks. – High Performance Mark Sep 22 '10 at 16:20

score 6 · Answer 3 · answered May 27 '13 at 12:40

Try the mark ring for quick marks:

C-space

Make a mark at current position; also, add position to mark ring.

C-xC-x

Jump back to previous mark.

C-UC-space

Cycle through marks in the mark ring.

I used Vim for a decade before switching to Emacs a few years ago, and while the registers and bookmarks looked good at first, the mark ring is what I actually end up using 90% of the time. Usually I just use the C-space, C-x C-x, but cycling works, too.

Btw, realize that doing large non-arrow key movements like M-v will often add a mark to the mark ring. Just practice these key combos and you'll likely find them sufficient for most tasks.

Radix already did a good job explaining the registers and bookmarks, and those are useful for locations in files that will be referred to often or need annotation.

To avoid transient mark being activated when jumping (C-x C-x), use prefix argument (C-u C-x C-x). — arvidj, Oct 28 '15 at 13:05

score 5 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 02 '11 at 15:59

Vanilla Emacs makes you specify a name for each bookmark. What you want, it sounds like, is a quick way to create bookmarks without naming them -- just hit a key. You want autonamed bookmarks, available with Bookmark+. You can even have them be automatically highlighted, if you like (the fringe or the line).

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 22 '10 at 15:25

0

Have a look at this: http://www.cs.utah.edu/dept/old/texinfo/emacs18/emacs_13.html

answered Sep 22 '10 at 15:25

Yeah I'm looking for random access to my marks. That mark ring is a stack. – MDCore Sep 22 '10 at 15:27

How do I set marks in Emacs à la Vim?

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