Emacs: Abbrev Mode

What is Abbrev Mode

Emacs abbrev feature lets you type a short word and expand into a full word or code template.

For example:

• u → you
• ra → →
• lol → 😂
• rt → return
• fn → function f () { return 3; }
• findempty → find . -depth -empty -type d

Turn on Abbrev Mode

Alt+x abbrev-mode to turn it on. Call again to turn off.

Define Abbrev

Suppose you want to define “bg” → “background”.

1. Type “background”.
2. Alt+x add-global-abbrev, in the prompt, type “bg”.

Now, when you type “bg” followed by a space or return, it'll expand to “background”.

If the expanded text is more than one word, make a text selection first.

If you want the abbrev only for the current major mode,

Alt+x add-mode-abbrev

Define abbrev for current Major Mode only.

Alt+x inverse-add-mode-abbrev

Define global abbrev, but use current word as abbrev, and you type the expansion in prompt.

Remove Abbrev

To remove a definition, give a negative argument to add-global-abbrev or add-mode-abbrev.

For example, to undefine the abbrev “bg”.

1. universal-argument 【Ctrl+u】, type “-1”.
2. Alt+x add-global-abbrev, in the prompt, type “bg”.

List Abbrevs

Alt+x list-abbrevs

Display a list of defined abbrevs.

Edit Abbrevs

Alt+x edit-abbrevs

Edit abbrev.

The number in the middle column is the number of times you've used (expanded) the abbrev.

• To remove a abbrev, just delete the line.
• To add a abbrev, just add a line.

When done, to load and or save, call any of:

edit-abbrevs-redefine

Redefine abbrevs according to current buffer contents.

abbrev-edit-save-buffer

Redefine and save to abbrev file.

abbrev-edit-save-to-file

Redefine and save to abbrev file, but ask for new location.

Manual Load/Save Abbrev File

read-abbrev-file

Read abbrev definitions from file written with write-abbrev-file.

write-abbrev-file

Write all user-level abbrev definitions to a file.

Abbrev Example

You can use abbrev for:

• Long English words, e.g. “comm” for “communication”.
• Programing language function templates.
• emoji, such as “omg” for 😂
• math symbols such as “ra” for →
• Templates, such as license header.
• Address, url, telephone number, company name, etc.