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"Narrowing" means focusing in on some portion of the buffer, making
the rest temporarily inaccessible. The portion which you can still get
to is called the "accessible portion". Cancelling the narrowing, and
making the entire buffer once again accessible, is called "widening".
The amount of narrowing in effect in a buffer at any time is called the
`C-x n n'
Narrow down to between point and mark (`narrow-to-region').
`C-x n w'
Widen to make the entire buffer accessible again (`widen').
`C-x n p'
Narrow down to the current page (`narrow-to-page').
When you have narrowed down to a part of the buffer, that part
appears to be all there is. You can't see the rest, you can't move
into it (motion commands won't go outside the accessible part), you
can't change it in any way. However, it is not gone, and if you save
the file all the inaccessible text will be saved. In addition to
sometimes making it easier to concentrate on a single subroutine or
paragraph by eliminating clutter, narrowing can be used to restrict the
range of operation of a replace command or repeating keyboard macro.
The word `Narrow' appears in the mode line whenever narrowing is in
The primary narrowing command is `C-x n n' (`narrow-to-region'). It
sets the current buffer's restrictions so that the text in the current
region remains accessible but all text before the region or after the
region is invisible. Point and mark do not change.
Alternatively, use `C-x n p' (`narrow-to-page') to narrow down to
the current page. Note: Pages, for the definition of a page.
The way to undo narrowing is to widen with `C-x n w' (`widen').
This makes all text in the buffer accessible again.
You can get information on what part of the buffer you are narrowed
down to using the `C-x =' command. Note: Position Info.
Because narrowing can easily confuse users who do not understand it,
`narrow-to-region' is normally a disabled command. Attempting to use
this command asks for confirmation and gives you the option of enabling
it; once you enable the command, confirmation will no longer be
required for it. Note: Disabling.
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