9.1.3 Commands to Mark Textual Objects

There are commands for placing point and the mark around a textual object such as a word, list, paragraph or page.

M-@

Set mark after end of next word (mark-word). This command and the following one do not move point.

C-M-@

Set mark after end of next Lisp expression (mark-sexp).

M-h

Put region around current paragraph (mark-paragraph).

C-M-h

Put region around current Lisp defun (mark-defun).

C-x h

Put region around entire buffer (mark-whole-buffer).

C-x C-p

Put region around current page (mark-page).

M-@ (mark-word) puts the mark at the end of the next word, while C-M-@ (mark-sexp) puts it at the end of the next Lisp expression. These characters sometimes save you some typing.

A number of commands are available that set both point and mark and thus delimit an object in the buffer. M-h (mark-paragraph) moves point to the beginning of the paragraph that surrounds or follows point, and puts the mark at the end of that paragraph (see Paragraphs). You can then indent, case-convert, or kill the whole paragraph. In the same fashion, C-M-h (mark-defun) puts point before and the mark after the current or following defun (see Defuns). C-x C-p (mark-page) puts point before the current page (or the next or previous, depending on the argument), and mark at the end (see Pages). The mark goes after the terminating page delimiter (to include it), while point goes after the preceding page delimiter (to exclude it). Finally, C-x h (mark-whole-buffer) sets up the entire buffer as the region by putting point at the beginning and the mark at the end.