devdocs/elisp/visiting-files.html


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 <h3 class="section">Visiting Files</h3>   <p>Visiting a file means reading a file into a buffer. Once this is done, we say that the buffer is <em>visiting</em> that file, and call the file <em>the visited file</em> of the buffer. </p> <p>A file and a buffer are two different things. A file is information recorded permanently in the computer (unless you delete it). A buffer, on the other hand, is information inside of Emacs that will vanish at the end of the editing session (or when you kill the buffer). When a buffer is visiting a file, it contains information copied from the file. The copy in the buffer is what you modify with editing commands. Changes to the buffer do not change the file; to make the changes permanent, you must <em>save</em> the buffer, which means copying the altered buffer contents back into the file. </p> <p>Despite the distinction between files and buffers, people often refer to a file when they mean a buffer and vice-versa. Indeed, we say, “I am editing a file”, rather than, “I am editing a buffer that I will soon save as a file of the same name”. Humans do not usually need to make the distinction explicit. When dealing with a computer program, however, it is good to keep the distinction in mind. </p> <table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="visiting-functions" accesskey="1">Visiting Functions</a>
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<td> </td>
<td align="left" valign="top">The usual interface functions for visiting. </td>
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<td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="subroutines-of-visiting" accesskey="2">Subroutines of Visiting</a>
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<td align="left" valign="top">Lower-level subroutines that they use. </td>
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  <p class="_attribution-p">
    Copyright &copy; 1990-1996, 1998-2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc. <br>Licensed under the GNU GPL license.<br>
    <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Visiting-Files.html" class="_attribution-link">https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Visiting-Files.html</a>
  </p>
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