Emacs: Abbrev Mode by Commands

Turn on Abbrev Mode

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

To turn on globally when emacs starts, put this in your Emacs Init File:

;; turn on abbrev mode globally
(setq-default abbrev-mode t)

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 you want the abbrev only for the current major mode,

Alt+x add-mode-abbrev

Define abbrev for current mode.

If the expanded text is more than one word, for example, suppose you want to define “faq” → “frequently asked questions”.

1. Type “frequently asked questions”.
2. Select the text.
3. Alt+x universal-argument 【Ctrl+u】, type “0”.
4. Alt+x add-global-abbrev, in the prompt, type “faq”.

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”.

Save Abbrev

When you quit, emacs will ask you if you want to save.

To auto save, put this in your Emacs Init File:

(setq save-abbrevs 'silently)

Abbrev File Location

The abbrevs is saved in a file at a path specified by the variable

abbrev-file-name

By default, it's at ~/.emacs.d/abbrev_defs

List Abbrevs

Alt+x list-abbrevs

Display a list of defined abbrevs.

Edit Abbrevs

Alt+x edit-abbrevs

Edit abbrev. This is the best way to add or remove abbrevs.

Emacs will display it like this:

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.

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.

I have about 8 hundred abbrevs from all modes. Here's a example:

;; math/unicode symbols
"zin"   0   "∈"
"znin"   0   "∉"
"zinf"   0   "∞"
"zluv"   0   "♥"
"zsmly"   0   "☺"

;; email
"zme"   0   "someone@example.com"

;; computing tech
"zwp"   0   "Wikipedia"
"zms"   0   "Microsoft"
"zg"   0   "Google"
"zit"   0   "IntelliType"
"zmsw"   0   "Microsoft Windows"
"zwin"   0   "Windows"
"zie"   0   "Internet Explorer"
"zahk"   0   "AutoHotkey"

;; normal english words
"zalt"   0   "alternative"
"zchar"   0   "character"
"zdef"   0   "definition"
"zbg"   0   "background"
"zkb"   0   "keyboard"
"zex"   0   "example"
"zkbd"   0   "keybinding"
"zenv"   0   "environment"
"zvar"   0   "variable"
"zev"   0   "environment variable"
"zcp"   0   "computer"

;; signature
"zxl"   0   "Xah Lee"

;; url
"zuxl"   0   "http://xahlee.info/"

;; emacs regex
"zd"   0   "\\([0-9]+?\\)"
"zstr"   0   "\\([^\"]+?\\)\""

;; shell commands
"zf"   0   "find . -type f -size 0 -exec rm {} ';'"

I put “z” in the beginning of my abbrevs. This way, i don't have to worry about clash with short words that i don't want to expand.

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 of Lisp code.