The Org Manual
Release 9.1.6 (release 9.1.6)
by Carsten Dominik
with contributions by Bastien Guerry, Nicolas Goaziou, Eric Schulte, Jambunathan K, Dan
Davison, Thomas Dye, David O’Toole, and Philip Rooke.
This manual is for Org version 9.1.6 (release 9.1.6).
Copyright c 2004–2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under
the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later
version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections,
with the Front-Cover Texts being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover
Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
“GNU Free Documentation License.”
(a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and modify
this GNU manual.”
i
Short Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Document structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4 Hyperlinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5 TODO items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6 Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
7 Properties and columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
8 Dates and times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
9 Capture - Refile - Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
10 Agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
11 Markup for rich export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
12 Exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
13 Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14 Working with source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
15 Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
A Hacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
B MobileOrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
C History and acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
D GNU Free Documentation License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Concept index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Key index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Command and function index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Variable index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
ii
Table of Contents
1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Typesetting conventions used in this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
2
3
3
4
Document structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1
2.2
2.3
Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Visibility cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.1 Global and local cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.2 Initial visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.3 Catching invisible edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5 Structure editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.6 Sparse trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.7 Plain lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.8 Drawers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.9 Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.10 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.11 The Orgstruct minor mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.12 Org syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3
Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
The built-in table editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Column width and alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Column groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Orgtbl minor mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The spreadsheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.2 Formula syntax for Calc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.3 Emacs Lisp forms as formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.4 Durations and time values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.5 Field and range formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.6 Column formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.7 Lookup functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.8 Editing and debugging formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.9 Updating the table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.10 Advanced features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.6 Org-Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
22
23
24
24
24
27
29
29
30
30
31
31
34
34
36
iii
4
Hyperlinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.1
4.2
Link format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Internal links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.1 Radio targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Handling links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.5 Using links outside Org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6 Link abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.7 Search options in file links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.8 Custom Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
TODO items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5.1
5.2
Basic TODO functionality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extended use of TODO keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.1 TODO keywords as workflow states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.2 TODO keywords as types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.3 Multiple keyword sets in one file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.4 Fast access to TODO states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.5 Setting up keywords for individual files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.6 Faces for TODO keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.7 TODO dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Progress logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.1 Closing items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.2 Tracking TODO state changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.3 Tracking your habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4 Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5 Breaking tasks down into subtasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6 Checkboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
46
47
47
48
48
49
49
50
50
52
52
52
53
55
56
56
Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
7
38
38
39
39
41
44
44
45
45
Tag inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tag hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tag searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
59
62
63
Properties and columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
Property syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Special properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Property searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Property Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Column view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5.1 Defining columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5.1.1 Scope of column definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5.1.2 Column attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5.2 Using column view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5.3 Capturing column view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.6 The Property API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
66
66
67
67
68
68
68
70
71
72
iv
8
Dates and times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
8.1
8.2
Timestamps, deadlines, and scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating timestamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2.1 The date/time prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2.2 Custom time format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3 Deadlines and scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.1 Inserting deadlines or schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.3.2 Repeated tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4 Clocking work time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4.1 Clocking commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4.2 The clock table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.4.3 Resolving idle time and continuous clocking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.5 Effort estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.6 Taking notes with a timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
73
74
75
77
77
78
79
80
81
83
85
86
87
Capture - Refile - Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.1
Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.1.1 Setting up capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.1.2 Using capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.1.3 Capture templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
9.1.3.1 Template elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
9.1.3.2 Template expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
9.1.3.3 Templates in contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
9.2 Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
9.3 RSS feeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9.4 Protocols for external access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
9.4.1 store-link protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
9.4.2 capture protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
9.4.3 open-source protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
9.5 Refile and copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9.6 Archiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
9.6.1 Moving a tree to the archive file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
9.6.2 Internal archiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
10
Agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
10.1 Agenda files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.2 The agenda dispatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3 The built-in agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.1 The weekly/daily agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.2 The global TODO list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.3 Matching tags and properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.4 Search view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3.5 Stuck projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4 Presentation and sorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4.1 Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4.2 Time-of-day specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.4.3 Sorting agenda items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
102
103
104
104
106
107
110
110
111
111
111
112
v
10.4.4 Filtering/limiting agenda items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.5 Commands in the agenda buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6 Custom agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6.1 Storing searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6.2 Block agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.6.3 Setting options for custom commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.7 Exporting agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.8 Using column view in the agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Markup for rich export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
11.1 Paragraphs, line breaks, and quoting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.2 Emphasis and monospace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3 Horizontal rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.4 Images and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.5 Literal examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.6 Special symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.7 Subscripts and superscripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.8 Embedded LATEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.8.1 LATEX fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.8.2 Previewing LATEX fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.8.3 Using CDLATEX to enter math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
112
115
123
124
125
125
126
128
130
130
131
131
131
133
134
134
134
135
136
Exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
12.1 The export dispatcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.2 Export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.3 Table of contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.4 Include files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.5 Macro replacement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.6 Comment lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.7 ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8 Beamer export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.1 Beamer export commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.2 Beamer specific export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.3 Sectioning, Frames and Blocks in Beamer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.4 Beamer specific syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.5 Editing support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.8.6 A Beamer example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9 HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.1 HTML export commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.2 HTML Specific export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.3 HTML doctypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.4 HTML preamble and postamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.5 Quoting HTML tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.6 Links in HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.7 Tables in HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.8 Images in HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.9 Math formatting in HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.10 Text areas in HTML export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
137
138
141
142
142
144
144
145
146
146
147
148
148
149
149
149
150
151
152
152
152
153
153
154
154
vi
12.9.11 CSS support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.9.12 JavaScript supported display of web pages. . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10 LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.1 LATEX export commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.2 LATEX specific export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.3 LATEX header and sectioning structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.4 Quoting LATEX code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.5 Tables in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.6 Images in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.7 Plain lists in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.8 Source blocks in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.9 Example blocks in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.10 Special blocks in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.10.11 Horizontal rules in LATEX export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.11 Markdown export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12 OpenDocument Text export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.1 Pre-requisites for ODT export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.2 ODT export commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.3 ODT specific export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.4 Extending ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.5 Applying custom styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.6 Links in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.7 Tables in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.8 Images in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.9 Math formatting in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.10 Labels and captions in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.11 Literal examples in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.12.12 Advanced topics in ODT export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.13 Org export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14 Texinfo export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.1 Texinfo export commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.2 Texinfo specific export settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.3 Texinfo file header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.4 Texinfo title and copyright page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.5 Info directory file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.6 Headings and sectioning structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.7 Indices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.8 Quoting Texinfo code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.9 Plain lists in Texinfo export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.10 Tables in Texinfo export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.11 Images in Texinfo export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.12 Special blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.14.13 A Texinfo example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.15 iCalendar export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.16 Other built-in back-ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.17 Advanced configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.18 Export in foreign buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
155
156
157
157
158
159
159
160
161
162
163
163
163
164
164
165
165
165
165
166
166
167
167
168
169
170
171
171
175
176
176
176
177
177
177
178
178
179
179
179
180
180
180
182
183
183
185
vii
13
Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
13.1 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.1 The variable org-publish-project-alist . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.2 Sources and destinations for files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.3 Selecting files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.4 Publishing action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.5 Options for the exporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.6 Links between published files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.7 Generating a sitemap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.1.8 Generating an index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.2 Uploading files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3 Sample configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.1 Example: simple publishing configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.3.2 Example: complex publishing configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13.4 Triggering publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
187
187
187
188
188
189
193
193
194
195
195
195
196
196
Working with source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
14.1 Structure of code blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.2 Editing source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.3 Exporting code blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.4 Extracting source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.5 Evaluating code blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.6 Library of Babel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.7 Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8 Header arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.1 Using header arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2 Specific header arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.1 :var . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.2 :results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.3 :file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.4 :file-desc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.5 :file-ext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.6 :output-dir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.7 :dir and remote execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.8 :exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.9 :tangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.10 :mkdirp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.11 :comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.12 :padline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.13 :no-expand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.14 :session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.15 :noweb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.16 :noweb-ref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.17 :noweb-sep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.18 :cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.19 :sep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.20 :hlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.21 :colnames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
199
200
201
202
203
204
204
205
205
207
208
212
213
213
213
213
214
214
215
215
215
215
215
216
216
217
218
218
219
219
220
viii
14.8.2.22 :rownames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.23 :shebang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.24 :tangle-mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.25 :eval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.26 :wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.27 :post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.28 :prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.8.2.29 :epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9 Results of evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.1 Non-session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.1.1 :results value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.1.2 :results output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.2 Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.2.1 :results value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.9.2.2 :results output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.10 Noweb reference syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.11 Key bindings and useful functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.12 Batch execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
221
221
221
222
222
222
223
223
224
224
224
224
224
224
224
225
226
227
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
15.1 Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.2 Easy templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.3 Speed keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.4 Code evaluation and security issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.5 Customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.6 Summary of in-buffer settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.7 The very busy C-c C-c key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.8 A cleaner outline view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.9 Using Org on a tty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.10 Interaction with other packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.10.1 Packages that Org cooperates with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.10.2 Packages that conflict with Org mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15.11 org-crypt.el . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix A
228
228
229
229
230
230
234
234
236
236
237
238
239
Hacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
A.1 Hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.2 Add-on packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.3 Adding hyperlink types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.4 Adding export back-ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.5 Context-sensitive commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6 Tables and lists in arbitrary syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6.1 Radio tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6.2 A LATEX example of radio tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6.3 Translator functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.6.4 Radio lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.7 Dynamic blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.8 Special agenda views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.9 Speeding up your agendas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
241
241
241
242
243
243
243
244
246
246
247
248
249
ix
A.10
A.11
A.12
Extracting agenda information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Using the property API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Using the mapping API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Appendix B
B.1
B.2
B.3
MobileOrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Setting up the staging area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Pushing to MobileOrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Pulling from MobileOrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Appendix C History and acknowledgments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
C.1
C.2
C.3
From Carsten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
From Bastien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
List of contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Appendix D GNU Free Documentation License
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Concept index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Key index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Command and function index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Variable index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Chapter 1: Introduction
1
1 Introduction
1.1 Summary
Org is a mode for keeping notes, maintaining TODO lists, and project planning with a
fast and effective plain-text system. It also is an authoring system with unique support for
literate programming and reproducible research.
Org is implemented on top of Outline mode, which makes it possible to keep the content
of large files well structured. Visibility cycling and structure editing help to work with the
tree. Tables are easily created with a built-in table editor. Plain text URL-like links connect
to websites, emails, Usenet messages, BBDB entries, and any files related to the projects.
Org develops organizational tasks around notes files that contain lists or information
about projects as plain text. Project planning and task management makes use of metadata
which is part of an outline node. Based on this data, specific entries can be extracted in
queries and create dynamic agenda views that also integrate the Emacs calendar and diary.
Org can be used to implement many different project planning schemes, such as David
Allen’s GTD system.
Org files can serve as a single source authoring system with export to many different
formats such as HTML, LATEX, Open Document, and Markdown. New export backends can
be derived from existing ones, or defined from scratch.
Org files can include source code blocks, which makes Org uniquely suited for authoring
technical documents with code examples. Org source code blocks are fully functional; they
can be evaluated in place and their results can be captured in the file. This makes it possible
to create a single file reproducible research compendium.
Org keeps simple things simple. When first fired up, it should feel like a straightforward,
easy to use outliner. Complexity is not imposed, but a large amount of functionality is
available when needed. Org is a toolbox. Many users actually run only a (very personal)
fraction of Org’s capabilities, and know that there is more whenever they need it.
All of this is achieved with strictly plain text files, the most portable and future-proof
file format. Org runs in Emacs. Emacs is one of the most widely ported programs, so that
Org mode is available on every major platform.
There is a website for Org which provides links to the newest version of Org, as well as
additional information, frequently asked questions (FAQ), links to tutorials, etc. This page
is located at http://orgmode.org.
An earlier version (7.3) of this manual is available as a paperback book from Network
Theory Ltd.
Chapter 1: Introduction
2
1.2 Installation
Org is part of recent distributions of GNU Emacs, so you normally don’t need to install it.
If, for one reason or another, you want to install Org on top of this pre-packaged version,
there are three ways to do it:
• By using Emacs package system.
• By downloading Org as an archive.
• By using Org’s git repository.
We strongly recommend to stick to a single installation method.
Using Emacs packaging system
Recent Emacs distributions include a packaging system which lets you install Elisp libraries.
You can install Org with M-x package-install RET org.
Important: you need to do this in a session where no .org file has been visited, i.e., where
no Org built-in function have been loaded. Otherwise autoload Org functions will mess up
the installation.
Then, to make sure your Org configuration is taken into account, initialize the package
system with (package-initialize) in your Emacs init file before setting any Org option.
If you want to use Org’s package repository, check out the Org ELPA page.
Downloading Org as an archive
You can download Org latest release from Org’s website. In this case, make sure you set
the load-path correctly in your Emacs init file:
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/path/to/orgdir/lisp")
The downloaded archive contains contributed libraries that are not included in Emacs.
If you want to use them, add the contrib directory to your load-path:
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/path/to/orgdir/contrib/lisp" t)
Optionally, you can compile the files and/or install them in your system. Run make help
to list compilation and installation options.
Using Org’s git repository
You can clone Org’s repository and install Org like this:
$ cd ~/src/
$ git clone git://orgmode.org/org-mode.git
$ make autoloads
Note that in this case, make autoloads is mandatory: it defines Org’s version in
org-version.el and Org’s autoloads in org-loaddefs.el.
Remember to add the correct load-path as described in the method above.
You can also compile with make, generate the documentation with make doc, create a
local configuration with make config and install Org with make install. Please run make
help to get the list of compilation/installation options.
For more detailed explanations on Org’s build system, please check the Org Build System
page on Worg.
Chapter 1: Introduction
3
1.3 Activation
Org mode buffers need font-lock to be turned on: this is the default in Emacs1 .
There are compatibility issues between Org mode and some other Elisp packages, please
take the time to check the list (see Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts], page 238).
The four Org commands org-store-link, org-capture, org-agenda, and
org-iswitchb should be accessible through global keys (i.e., anywhere in Emacs, not just
in Org buffers). Here are suggested bindings for these keys, please modify the keys to your
own liking.
(global-set-key "\C-cl" 'org-store-link)
(global-set-key "\C-ca" 'org-agenda)
(global-set-key "\C-cc" 'org-capture)
(global-set-key "\C-cb" 'org-iswitchb)
Files with the .org extension use Org mode by default. To turn on Org mode in a file
that does not have the extension .org, make the first line of a file look like this:
MY PROJECTS
-*- mode: org; -*which will select Org mode for this buffer no matter what the file’s name is. See also the
variable org-insert-mode-line-in-empty-file.
Many commands in Org work on the region if the region is active. To make use of this,
you need to have transient-mark-mode turned on, which is the default. If you do not
like transient-mark-mode, you can create an active region by using the mouse to select a
region, or pressing C-SPC twice before moving the cursor.
1.4 Feedback
If you find problems with Org, or if you have questions, remarks, or ideas about it, please
mail to the Org mailing list emacs-orgmode@gnu.org. You can subscribe to the list on this
web page. If you are not a member of the mailing list, your mail will be passed to the list
after a moderator has approved it2 .
For bug reports, please first try to reproduce the bug with the latest version of Org
available—if you are running an outdated version, it is quite possible that the bug has been
fixed already. If the bug persists, prepare a report and provide as much information as
possible, including the version information of Emacs (M-x emacs-version RET) and Org
(M-x org-version RET), as well as the Org related setup in the Emacs init file. The easiest
way to do this is to use the command
M-x org-submit-bug-report RET
which will put all this information into an Emacs mail buffer so that you only need to add
your description. If you are not sending the Email from within Emacs, please copy and
paste the content into your Email program.
Sometimes you might face a problem due to an error in your Emacs or Org mode setup.
Before reporting a bug, it is very helpful to start Emacs with minimal customizations and
1
2
If you don’t use font-lock globally, turn it on in Org buffer with (add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-onfont-lock)
Please consider subscribing to the mailing list, in order to minimize the work the mailing list moderators
have to do.
Chapter 1: Introduction
4
reproduce the problem. Doing so often helps you determine if the problem is with your
customization or with Org mode itself. You can start a typical minimal session with a
command like the example below.
$ emacs -Q -l /path/to/minimal-org.el
However if you are using Org mode as distributed with Emacs, a minimal setup is not
necessary. In that case it is sufficient to start Emacs as emacs -Q. The minimal-org.el
setup file can have contents as shown below.
;;; Minimal setup to load latest 'org-mode'
;; activate debugging
(setq debug-on-error t
debug-on-signal nil
debug-on-quit nil)
;; add latest org-mode to load path
(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/org-mode/lisp")
(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/org-mode/contrib/lisp" t)
If an error occurs, a backtrace can be very useful (see below on how to create one). Often
a small example file helps, along with clear information about:
1. What exactly did you do?
2. What did you expect to happen?
3. What happened instead?
Thank you for helping to improve this program.
How to create a useful backtrace
If working with Org produces an error with a message you don’t understand, you may have
hit a bug. The best way to report this is by providing, in addition to what was mentioned
above, a backtrace. This is information from the built-in debugger about where and how
the error occurred. Here is how to produce a useful backtrace:
1. Reload uncompiled versions of all Org mode Lisp files. The backtrace contains much
more information if it is produced with uncompiled code. To do this, use
C-u M-x org-reload RET
or select Org -> Refresh/Reload -> Reload Org uncompiled from the menu.
2. Go to the Options menu and select Enter Debugger on Error.
3. Do whatever you have to do to hit the error. Don’t forget to document the steps you
take.
4. When you hit the error, a *Backtrace* buffer will appear on the screen. Save this
buffer to a file (for example using C-x C-w) and attach it to your bug report.
1.5 Typesetting conventions used in this manual
Chapter 1: Introduction
5
TODO keywords, tags, properties, etc.
Org mainly uses three types of keywords: TODO keywords, tags and property names. In
this manual we use the following conventions:
TODO
WAITING
boss
ARCHIVE
Release
PRIORITY
TODO keywords are written with all capitals, even if they are user-defined.
User-defined tags are written in lowercase; built-in tags with special meaning
are written with all capitals.
User-defined properties are capitalized; built-in properties with special meaning
are written with all capitals.
Moreover, Org uses option keywords (like #+TITLE to set the title) and environment
keywords (like #+BEGIN_EXPORT html to start a HTML environment). They are written in
uppercase in the manual to enhance its readability, but you can use lowercase in your Org
file.
Key bindings and commands
The manual suggests a few global key bindings, in particular C-c a for org-agenda and C-c
c for org-capture. These are only suggestions, but the rest of the manual assumes that
these key bindings are in place in order to list commands by key access.
Also, the manual lists both the keys and the corresponding commands for accessing
a functionality. Org mode often uses the same key for different functions, depending on
context. The command that is bound to such keys has a generic name, like org-metaright.
In the manual we will, wherever possible, give the function that is internally called by
the generic command. For example, in the chapter on document structure, M-right will
be listed to call org-do-demote, while in the chapter on tables, it will be listed to call
org-table-move-column-right. If you prefer, you can compile the manual without the
command names by unsetting the flag cmdnames in org.texi.
Chapter 2: Document structure
6
2 Document structure
Org is based on Outline mode and provides flexible commands to edit the structure of the
document.
2.1 Outlines
Org is implemented on top of Outline mode. Outlines allow a document to be organized
in a hierarchical structure, which (at least for me) is the best representation of notes and
thoughts. An overview of this structure is achieved by folding (hiding) large parts of the
document to show only the general document structure and the parts currently being worked
on. Org greatly simplifies the use of outlines by compressing the entire show/hide functionality into a single command, org-cycle, which is bound to the TAB key.
2.2 Headlines
Headlines define the structure of an outline tree. The headlines in Org start with one or
more stars, on the left margin12 . For example:
* Top level headline
** Second level
*** 3rd level
some text
*** 3rd level
more text
* Another top level headline
Note that a headline named after org-footnote-section, which defaults to ‘Footnotes’,
is considered as special. A subtree with this headline will be silently ignored by exporting
functions.
Some people find the many stars too noisy and would prefer an outline that has whitespace followed by a single star as headline starters. Section 15.8 [Clean view], page 234,
describes a setup to realize this.
An empty line after the end of a subtree is considered part of it and will be hidden when
the subtree is folded. However, if you leave at least two empty lines, one empty line will
remain visible after folding the subtree, in order to structure the collapsed view. See the
variable org-cycle-separator-lines to modify this behavior.
2.3 Visibility cycling
2.3.1 Global and local cycling
Outlines make it possible to hide parts of the text in the buffer. Org uses just two commands,
bound to TAB and S-TAB to change the visibility in the buffer.
1
2
See the variables org-special-ctrl-a/e, org-special-ctrl-k, and org-ctrl-k-protect-subtree to
configure special behavior of C-a, C-e, and C-k in headlines.
Clocking only works with headings indented less than 30 stars.
Chapter 2: Document structure
TAB
7
org-cycle
Subtree cycling: Rotate current subtree among the states
,-> FOLDED -> CHILDREN -> SUBTREE --.
'-----------------------------------'
The cursor must be on a headline for this to work3 .
S-TAB
C-u TAB
org-global-cycle
Global cycling: Rotate the entire buffer among the states
,-> OVERVIEW -> CONTENTS -> SHOW ALL --.
'--------------------------------------'
When S-TAB is called with a numeric prefix argument N, the CONTENTS view
up to headlines of level N will be shown. Note that inside tables, S-TAB jumps
to the previous field.
You can run global cycling using TAB only if point is at the very beginning of
the buffer, but not on a headline, and org-cycle-global-at-bob is set to a
non-nil value.
C-u C-u TAB
org-set-startup-visibility
Switch back to the startup visibility of the buffer (see Section 2.3.2 [Initial
visibility], page 8).
C-u C-u C-u TAB
Show all, including drawers.
outline-show-all
C-c C-r
org-reveal
Reveal context around point, showing the current entry, the following heading
and the hierarchy above. Useful for working near a location that has been
exposed by a sparse tree command (see Section 2.6 [Sparse trees], page 11) or
an agenda command (see Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115). With a
prefix argument show, on each level, all sibling headings. With a double prefix
argument, also show the entire subtree of the parent.
C-c C-k
outline-show-branches
Expose all the headings of the subtree, CONTENTS view for just one subtree.
C-c TAB
outline-show-children
Expose all direct children of the subtree. With a numeric prefix argument N,
expose all children down to level N.
C-c C-x b
org-tree-to-indirect-buffer
Show the current subtree in an indirect buffer4 . With a numeric prefix argument
N, go up to level N and then take that tree. If N is negative then go up that
many levels. With a C-u prefix, do not remove the previously used indirect
buffer.
3
4
see, however, the option org-cycle-emulate-tab.
The indirect buffer (see Section “Indirect Buffers” in GNU Emacs Manual) will contain the entire buffer,
but will be narrowed to the current tree. Editing the indirect buffer will also change the original buffer,
but without affecting visibility in that buffer.
Chapter 2: Document structure
8
C-c C-x v
org-copy-visible
Copy the visible text in the region into the kill ring.
2.3.2 Initial visibility
When Emacs first visits an Org file, the global state is set to OVERVIEW, i.e., only the
top level headlines are visible5 . This can be configured through the variable org-startupfolded, or on a per-file basis by adding one of the following lines anywhere in the buffer:
#+STARTUP: overview
#+STARTUP: content
#+STARTUP: showall
#+STARTUP: showeverything
Furthermore, any entries with a ‘VISIBILITY’ property (see Chapter 7 [Properties and
columns], page 64) will get their visibility adapted accordingly. Allowed values for this
property are folded, children, content, and all.
C-u C-u TAB
org-set-startup-visibility
Switch back to the startup visibility of the buffer, i.e., whatever is requested by
startup options and ‘VISIBILITY’ properties in individual entries.
2.3.3 Catching invisible edits
Sometimes you may inadvertently edit an invisible part of the buffer and be confused on
what has been edited and how to undo the mistake. Setting org-catch-invisible-edits
to non-nil will help prevent this. See the docstring of this option on how Org should catch
invisible edits and process them.
2.4 Motion
The following commands jump to other headlines in the buffer.
C-c C-n
org-next-visible-heading
Next heading.
C-c C-p
org-previous-visible-heading
Previous heading.
C-c C-f
org-forward-same-level
Next heading same level.
C-c C-b
org-backward-same-level
Previous heading same level.
C-c C-u
outline-up-heading
Backward to higher level heading.
C-c C-j
5
org-goto
Jump to a different place without changing the current outline visibility. Shows
the document structure in a temporary buffer, where you can use the following
keys to find your destination:
When org-agenda-inhibit-startup is non-nil, Org will not honor the default visibility state when first
opening a file for the agenda (see Section A.9 [Speeding up your agendas], page 249).
Chapter 2: Document structure
TAB
down / up
RET
/
The following
n / p
f / b
u
0-9
q
9
Cycle visibility.
Next/previous visible headline.
Select this location.
Do a Sparse-tree search
keys work if you turn off org-goto-auto-isearch
Next/previous visible headline.
Next/previous headline same level.
One level up.
Digit argument.
Quit
See also the option org-goto-interface.
2.5 Structure editing
M-RET
org-meta-return
Insert a new heading, item or row.
If the command is used at the beginning of a line, and if there is a heading
or a plain list item (see Section 2.7 [Plain lists], page 12) at point, the new
heading/item is created before the current line. When used at the beginning of
a regular line of text, turn that line into a heading.
When this command is used in the middle of a line, the line is split and the
rest of the line becomes the new item or headline. If you do not want the line
to be split, customize org-M-RET-may-split-line.
Calling the command with a C-u prefix unconditionally inserts a new heading
at the end of the current subtree, thus preserving its contents. With a double
C-u C-u prefix, the new heading is created at the end of the parent subtree
instead.
C-RET
org-insert-heading-respect-content
Insert a new heading at the end of the current subtree.
M-S-RET
org-insert-todo-heading
Insert new TODO entry with same level as current heading. See also the variable org-treat-insert-todo-heading-as-state-change.
C-S-RET
org-insert-todo-heading-respect-content
Insert new TODO entry with same level as current heading. Like C-RET, the
new headline will be inserted after the current subtree.
TAB
org-cycle
In a new entry with no text yet, the first TAB demotes the entry to become a
child of the previous one. The next TAB makes it a parent, and so on, all the
way to top level. Yet another TAB, and you are back to the initial level.
M-left
org-do-promote
Promote current heading by one level.
M-right
org-do-demote
Demote current heading by one level.
Chapter 2: Document structure
M-S-left
10
org-promote-subtree
Promote the current subtree by one level.
M-S-right
org-demote-subtree
Demote the current subtree by one level.
M-up
org-move-subtree-up
Move subtree up (swap with previous subtree of same level).
M-down
org-move-subtree-down
Move subtree down (swap with next subtree of same level).
M-h
org-mark-element
Mark the element at point. Hitting repeatedly will mark subsequent elements
of the one just marked. E.g., hitting M-h on a paragraph will mark it, hitting
M-h immediately again will mark the next one.
C-c @
org-mark-subtree
Mark the subtree at point. Hitting repeatedly will mark subsequent subtrees
of the same level than the marked subtree.
C-c C-x C-w
org-cut-subtree
Kill subtree, i.e., remove it from buffer but save in kill ring. With a numeric
prefix argument N, kill N sequential subtrees.
C-c C-x M-w
org-copy-subtree
Copy subtree to kill ring. With a numeric prefix argument N, copy the N
sequential subtrees.
C-c C-x C-y
org-paste-subtree
Yank subtree from kill ring. This does modify the level of the subtree to make
sure the tree fits in nicely at the yank position. The yank level can also be
specified with a numeric prefix argument, or by yanking after a headline marker
like ‘****’.
C-y
org-yank
Depending on the options org-yank-adjusted-subtrees and org-yankfolded-subtrees, Org’s internal yank command will paste subtrees folded
and in a clever way, using the same command as C-c C-x C-y. With the
default settings, no level adjustment will take place, but the yanked tree will
be folded unless doing so would swallow text previously visible. Any prefix
argument to this command will force a normal yank to be executed, with the
prefix passed along. A good way to force a normal yank is C-u C-y. If you
use yank-pop after a yank, it will yank previous kill items plainly, without
adjustment and folding.
C-c C-x c
org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift
Clone a subtree by making a number of sibling copies of it. You will be prompted
for the number of copies to make, and you can also specify if any timestamps
in the entry should be shifted. This can be useful, for example, to create a
number of tasks related to a series of lectures to prepare. For more details, see
the docstring of the command org-clone-subtree-with-time-shift.
Chapter 2: Document structure
11
C-c C-w
org-refile
Refile entry or region to a different location. See Section 9.5 [Refile and copy],
page 99.
C-c ^
org-sort
Sort same-level entries. When there is an active region, all entries in the region
will be sorted. Otherwise the children of the current headline are sorted. The
command prompts for the sorting method, which can be alphabetically, numerically, by time (first timestamp with active preferred, creation time, scheduled
time, deadline time), by priority, by TODO keyword (in the sequence the keywords have been defined in the setup) or by the value of a property. Reverse
sorting is possible as well. You can also supply your own function to extract
the sorting key. With a C-u prefix, sorting will be case-sensitive.
C-x n s
org-narrow-to-subtree
Narrow buffer to current subtree.
C-x n b
org-narrow-to-block
Narrow buffer to current block.
C-x n w
widen
Widen buffer to remove narrowing.
C-c *
org-toggle-heading
Turn a normal line or plain list item into a headline (so that it becomes a
subheading at its location). Also turn a headline into a normal line by removing
the stars. If there is an active region, turn all lines in the region into headlines.
If the first line in the region was an item, turn only the item lines into headlines.
Finally, if the first line is a headline, remove the stars from all headlines in the
region.
When there is an active region (Transient Mark mode), promotion and demotion work
on all headlines in the region. To select a region of headlines, it is best to place both point
and mark at the beginning of a line, mark at the beginning of the first headline, and point
at the line just after the last headline to change. Note that when the cursor is inside a table
(see Chapter 3 [Tables], page 19), the Meta-Cursor keys have different functionality.
2.6 Sparse trees
An important feature of Org mode is the ability to construct sparse trees for selected
information in an outline tree, so that the entire document is folded as much as possible,
but the selected information is made visible along with the headline structure above it6 .
Just try it out and you will see immediately how it works.
Org mode contains several commands for creating such trees, all these commands can
be accessed through a dispatcher:
C-c /
6
org-sparse-tree
This prompts for an extra key to select a sparse-tree creating command.
See also the variable org-show-context-detail to decide how much context is shown around each match.
Chapter 2: Document structure
12
C-c / r or C-c / /
org-occur
Prompts for a regexp and shows a sparse tree with all matches. If the match
is in a headline, the headline is made visible. If the match is in the body
of an entry, headline and body are made visible. In order to provide minimal
context, also the full hierarchy of headlines above the match is shown, as well as
the headline following the match. Each match is also highlighted; the highlights
disappear when the buffer is changed by an editing command7 , or by pressing
C-c C-c. When called with a C-u prefix argument, previous highlights are kept,
so several calls to this command can be stacked.
M-g n or M-g M-n
Jump to the next sparse tree match in this buffer.
M-g p or M-g M-p
Jump to the previous sparse tree match in this buffer.
next-error
previous-error
For frequently used sparse trees of specific search strings, you can use the option
org-agenda-custom-commands to define fast keyboard access to specific sparse trees.
These commands will then be accessible through the agenda dispatcher (see Section 10.2
[Agenda dispatcher], page 103). For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("f" occur-tree "FIXME")))
will define the key C-c a f as a shortcut for creating a sparse tree matching the string
‘FIXME’.
The other sparse tree commands select headings based on TODO keywords, tags, or
properties and will be discussed later in this manual.
To print a sparse tree, you can use the Emacs command ps-print-buffer-with-faces
which does not print invisible parts of the document. Or you can use C-c C-e C-v to export
only the visible part of the document and print the resulting file.
2.7 Plain lists
Within an entry of the outline tree, hand-formatted lists can provide additional structure.
They also provide a way to create lists of checkboxes (see Section 5.6 [Checkboxes], page 56).
Org supports editing such lists, and every exporter (see Chapter 12 [Exporting], page 137)
can parse and format them.
Org knows ordered lists, unordered lists, and description lists.
• Unordered list items start with ‘-’, ‘+’, or ‘*’8 as bullets.
• Ordered list items start with a numeral followed by either a period or a right parenthesis9 , such as ‘1.’ or ‘1)’10 . If you want a list to start with a different value (e.g., 20),
7
8
9
10
This depends on the option org-remove-highlights-with-change
When using ‘*’ as a bullet, lines must be indented or they will be seen as top-level headlines. Also, when
you are hiding leading stars to get a clean outline view, plain list items starting with a star may be hard
to distinguish from true headlines. In short: even though ‘*’ is supported, it may be better to not use it
for plain list items.
You can filter out any of them by configuring org-plain-list-ordered-item-terminator.
You can also get ‘a.’, ‘A.’, ‘a)’ and ‘A)’ by configuring org-list-allow-alphabetical. To minimize
confusion with normal text, those are limited to one character only. Beyond that limit, bullets will
automatically fallback to numbers.
Chapter 2: Document structure
13
start the text of the item with [@20]11 . Those constructs can be used in any item of
the list in order to enforce a particular numbering.
• Description list items are unordered list items, and contain the separator ‘ :: ’ to
distinguish the description term from the description.
Items belonging to the same list must have the same indentation on the first line. In
particular, if an ordered list reaches number ‘10.’, then the 2–digit numbers must be written
left-aligned with the other numbers in the list. An item ends before the next line that is
less or equally indented than its bullet/number.
A list ends whenever every item has ended, which means before any line less or equally
indented than items at top level. It also ends before two blank lines. In that case, all items
are closed. Here is an example:
** Lord of the Rings
My favorite scenes are (in this order)
1. The attack of the Rohirrim
2. Eowyn's fight with the witch king
+ this was already my favorite scene in the book
+ I really like Miranda Otto.
3. Peter Jackson being shot by Legolas
- on DVD only
He makes a really funny face when it happens.
But in the end, no individual scenes matter but the film as a whole.
Important actors in this film are:
- Elijah Wood :: He plays Frodo
- Sean Astin :: He plays Sam, Frodo's friend. I still remember
him very well from his role as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies.
Org supports these lists by tuning filling and wrapping commands to deal with them
correctly, and by exporting them properly (see Chapter 12 [Exporting], page 137). Since
indentation is what governs the structure of these lists, many structural constructs like
#+BEGIN_... blocks can be indented to signal that they belong to a particular item.
If you find that using a different bullet for a sub-list (than that used for the current
list-level) improves readability, customize the variable org-list-demote-modify-bullet.
To get a greater difference of indentation between items and their sub-items, customize
org-list-indent-offset.
The following commands act on items when the cursor is in the first line of an item (the
line with the bullet or number). Some of them imply the application of automatic rules to
keep list structure intact. If some of these actions get in your way, configure org-listautomatic-rules to disable them individually.
TAB
11
org-cycle
Items can be folded just like headline levels. Normally this works only if the
cursor is on a plain list item. For more details, see the variable org-cycleinclude-plain-lists. If this variable is set to integrate, plain list items
will be treated like low-level headlines. The level of an item is then given by
If there’s a checkbox in the item, the cookie must be put before the checkbox. If you have activated
alphabetical lists, you can also use counters like [@b].
Chapter 2: Document structure
14
the indentation of the bullet/number. Items are always subordinate to real
headlines, however; the hierarchies remain completely separated. In a new
item with no text yet, the first TAB demotes the item to become a child of the
previous one. Subsequent TABs move the item to meaningful levels in the list
and eventually get it back to its initial position.
M-RET
org-insert-heading
Insert new item at current level. With a prefix argument, force a new heading
(see Section 2.5 [Structure editing], page 9). If this command is used in the
middle of an item, that item is split in two, and the second part becomes the
new item12 . If this command is executed before item’s body, the new item is
created before the current one.
M-S-RET
Insert a new item with a checkbox (see Section 5.6 [Checkboxes], page 56).
S-up
S-down
M-up
M-down
M-left
M-right
Jump to the previous/next item in the current list13 , but only if org-supportshift-select is off. If not, you can still use paragraph jumping commands
like C-up and C-down to quite similar effect.
Move the item including subitems up/down14 (swap with previous/next item
of same indentation). If the list is ordered, renumbering is automatic.
Decrease/increase the indentation of an item, leaving children alone.
M-S-left
M-S-right
Decrease/increase the indentation of the item, including subitems. Initially, the
item tree is selected based on current indentation. When these commands are
executed several times in direct succession, the initially selected region is used,
even if the new indentation would imply a different hierarchy. To use the new
hierarchy, break the command chain with a cursor motion or so.
As a special case, using this command on the very first item of a list will
move the whole list. This behavior can be disabled by configuring org-listautomatic-rules. The global indentation of a list has no influence on the text
after the list.
C-c C-c
If there is a checkbox (see Section 5.6 [Checkboxes], page 56) in the item line,
toggle the state of the checkbox. In any case, verify bullets and indentation
consistency in the whole list.
C-c -
Cycle the entire list level through the different itemize/enumerate bullets (‘-’,
‘+’, ‘*’, ‘1.’, ‘1)’) or a subset of them, depending on org-plain-list-ordereditem-terminator, the type of list, and its indentation. With a numeric prefix
argument N, select the Nth bullet from this list. If there is an active region
12
13
14
If you do not want the item to be split, customize the variable org-M-RET-may-split-line.
If you want to cycle around items that way, you may customize org-list-use-circular-motion.
See org-list-use-circular-motion for a cyclic behavior.
Chapter 2: Document structure
15
when calling this, all selected lines are converted to list items. With a prefix
argument, selected text is changed into a single item. If the first line already
was a list item, any item marker will be removed from the list. Finally, even
without an active region, a normal line will be converted into a list item.
C-c *
Turn a plain list item into a headline (so that it becomes a subheading at its
location). See Section 2.5 [Structure editing], page 9, for a detailed explanation.
C-c C-*
Turn the whole plain list into a subtree of the current heading. Checkboxes (see
Section 5.6 [Checkboxes], page 56) will become TODO (resp. DONE) keywords
when unchecked (resp. checked).
S-left/right
This command also cycles bullet styles when the cursor in on the bullet or
anywhere in an item line, details depending on org-support-shift-select.
C-c ^
Sort the plain list. You will be prompted for the sorting method: numerically, alphabetically, by time, by checked status for check lists, or by a custom
function.
2.8 Drawers
Sometimes you want to keep information associated with an entry, but you normally don’t
want to see it. For this, Org mode has drawers. They can contain anything but a headline
and another drawer. Drawers look like this:
** This is a headline
Still outside the drawer
:DRAWERNAME:
This is inside the drawer.
:END:
After the drawer.
You can interactively insert drawers at point by calling org-insert-drawer, which is
bound to C-c C-x d. With an active region, this command will put the region inside the
drawer. With a prefix argument, this command calls org-insert-property-drawer and
add a property drawer right below the current headline. Completion over drawer keywords
is also possible using M-TAB15 .
Visibility cycling (see Section 2.3 [Visibility cycling], page 6) on the headline will hide
and show the entry, but keep the drawer collapsed to a single line. In order to look inside
the drawer, you need to move the cursor to the drawer line and press TAB there. Org mode
uses the PROPERTIES drawer for storing properties (see Chapter 7 [Properties and columns],
page 64), and you can also arrange for state change notes (see Section 5.3.2 [Tracking TODO
state changes], page 52) and clock times (see Section 8.4 [Clocking work time], page 80) to
be stored in a drawer LOGBOOK. If you want to store a quick note in the LOGBOOK drawer,
in a similar way to state changes, use
C-c C-z
15
Add a time-stamped note to the LOGBOOK drawer.
Many desktops intercept M-TAB to switch windows. Use C-M-i or ESC TAB instead for completion (see
Section 15.1 [Completion], page 228).
Chapter 2: Document structure
16
You can select the name of the drawers which should be exported with org-exportwith-drawers. In that case, drawer contents will appear in export output. Property
drawers are not affected by this variable: configure org-export-with-properties instead.
2.9 Blocks
Org mode uses begin...end blocks for various purposes from including source code examples
(see Section 11.5 [Literal examples], page 131) to capturing time logging information (see
Section 8.4 [Clocking work time], page 80). These blocks can be folded and unfolded by
pressing TAB in the begin line. You can also get all blocks folded at startup by configuring
the option org-hide-block-startup or on a per-file basis by using
#+STARTUP: hideblocks
#+STARTUP: nohideblocks
2.10 Footnotes
Org mode supports the creation of footnotes.
A footnote is started by a footnote marker in square brackets in column 0, no indentation
allowed. It ends at the next footnote definition, headline, or after two consecutive empty
lines. The footnote reference is simply the marker in square brackets, inside text. Markers
always start with fn:. For example:
The Org homepage[fn:1] now looks a lot better than it used to.
...
[fn:1] The link is: http://orgmode.org
Org mode extends the number-based syntax to named footnotes and optional inline
definition. Here are the valid references:
[fn:name]
A named footnote reference, where name is a unique label word, or, for simplicity
of automatic creation, a number.
[fn::This is the inline definition of this footnote]
A LATEX-like anonymous footnote where the definition is given directly at the
reference point.
[fn:name:a definition]
An inline definition of a footnote, which also specifies a name for the note. Since
Org allows multiple references to the same note, you can then use [fn:name]
to create additional references.
Footnote labels can be created automatically, or you can create names yourself. This
is handled by the variable org-footnote-auto-label and its corresponding #+STARTUP
keywords. See the docstring of that variable for details.
The following command handles footnotes:
C-c C-x f The footnote action command.
When the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. When it is
at a definition, jump to the (first) reference.
Chapter 2: Document structure
17
Otherwise, create a new footnote. Depending on the option org-footnotedefine-inline16 , the definition will be placed right into the text as part
of the reference, or separately into the location determined by the option
org-footnote-section.
When this command is called with a prefix argument, a menu of additional
options is offered:
s
r
S
n
d
Sort the footnote definitions by reference sequence. During editing,
Org makes no effort to sort footnote definitions into a particular
sequence. If you want them sorted, use this command, which will
also move entries according to org-footnote-section. Automatic
sorting after each insertion/deletion can be configured using the
option org-footnote-auto-adjust.
Renumber the simple fn:N footnotes. Automatic renumbering
after each insertion/deletion can be configured using the option
org-footnote-auto-adjust.
Short for first r, then s action.
Normalize the footnotes by collecting all definitions (including
inline definitions) into a special section, and then numbering them
in sequence. The references will then also be numbers.
Delete the footnote at point, and all definitions of and references
to it.
Depending on the variable org-footnote-auto-adjust17 , renumbering and
sorting footnotes can be automatic after each insertion or deletion.
C-c C-c
If the cursor is on a footnote reference, jump to the definition. If it is a the
definition, jump back to the reference. When called at a footnote location with
a prefix argument, offer the same menu as C-c C-x f.
C-c C-o or mouse-1/2
Footnote labels are also links to the corresponding definition/reference, and you
can use the usual commands to follow these links.
C-c '
C-c '
Edit the footnote definition corresponding to the reference at point in a separate
window. The window can be closed by pressing C-c '.
2.11 The Orgstruct minor mode
If you like the intuitive way the Org mode structure editing and list formatting works,
you might want to use these commands in other modes like Text mode or Mail mode as
well. The minor mode orgstruct-mode makes this possible. Toggle the mode with M-x
orgstruct-mode RET, or turn it on by default, for example in Message mode, with one of:
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgstruct)
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgstruct++)
16
17
The corresponding in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP: fninline or #+STARTUP: nofninline
the corresponding in-buffer options are fnadjust and nofnadjust.
Chapter 2: Document structure
18
When this mode is active and the cursor is on a line that looks to Org like a headline
or the first line of a list item, most structure editing commands will work, even if the same
keys normally have different functionality in the major mode you are using. If the cursor is
not in one of those special lines, Orgstruct mode lurks silently in the shadows.
When you use orgstruct++-mode, Org will also export indentation and autofill settings
into that mode, and detect item context after the first line of an item.
You can also use Org structure editing to fold and unfold headlines in any file, provided
you defined orgstruct-heading-prefix-regexp: the regular expression must match the
local prefix to use before Org’s headlines. For example, if you set this variable to ";;
" in Emacs Lisp files, you will be able to fold and unfold headlines in Emacs Lisp commented lines. Some commands like org-demote are disabled when the prefix is set, but
folding/unfolding will work correctly.
2.12 Org syntax
A reference document providing a formal description of Org’s syntax is available as a draft
on Worg, written and maintained by Nicolas Goaziou. It defines Org’s core internal concepts
such as headlines, sections, affiliated keywords, (greater) elements and objects.
Each part of an Org file falls into one of the categories above.
To explore the abstract structure of an Org buffer, run this in a buffer:
M-: (org-element-parse-buffer) RET
It will output a list containing the buffer’s content represented as an abstract structure.
The export engine relies on the information stored in this list. Most interactive commands
(e.g., for structure editing) also rely on the syntactic meaning of the surrounding context.
You can check syntax in your documents using org-lint command.
Chapter 3: Tables
19
3 Tables
Org comes with a fast and intuitive table editor. Spreadsheet-like calculations are supported
using the Emacs calc package (see Gnu Emacs Calculator Manual).
3.1 The built-in table editor
Org makes it easy to format tables in plain ASCII. Any line with ‘|’ as the first nonwhitespace character is considered part of a table. ‘|’ is also the column separator1 . A
table might look like this:
| Name | Phone | Age |
|-------+-------+-----|
| Peter | 1234 | 17 |
| Anna | 4321 | 25 |
A table is re-aligned automatically each time you press TAB or RET or C-c C-c inside the
table. TAB also moves to the next field (RET to the next row) and creates new table rows
at the end of the table or before horizontal lines. The indentation of the table is set by the
first line. Any line starting with ‘|-’ is considered as a horizontal separator line and will be
expanded on the next re-align to span the whole table width. So, to create the above table,
you would only type
|Name|Phone|Age|
|and then press TAB to align the table and start filling in fields. Even faster would be to
type |Name|Phone|Age followed by C-c RET.
When typing text into a field, Org treats DEL, Backspace, and all character keys in a
special way, so that inserting and deleting avoids shifting other fields. Also, when typing
immediately after the cursor was moved into a new field with TAB, S-TAB or RET, the field
is automatically made blank. If this behavior is too unpredictable for you, configure the
option org-table-auto-blank-field.
Creation and conversion
C-c |
org-table-create-or-convert-from-region
Convert the active region to a table. If every line contains at least one TAB
character, the function assumes that the material is tab separated. If every line
contains a comma, comma-separated values (CSV) are assumed. If not, lines are
split at whitespace into fields. You can use a prefix argument to force a specific
separator: C-u forces CSV, C-u C-u forces TAB, C-u C-u C-u will prompt for a
regular expression to match the separator, and a numeric argument N indicates
that at least N consecutive spaces, or alternatively a TAB will be the separator.
If there is no active region, this command creates an empty Org table. But it
is easier just to start typing, like |Name|Phone|Age RET |- TAB.
Re-aligning and field motion
C-c C-c
Re-align the table and don’t move to another field.
1
org-table-align
To insert a vertical bar into a table field, use \vert or, inside a word abc\vert{}def.
Chapter 3: Tables
C-c SPC
20
org-table-blank-field
Blank the field at point.
TAB
org-table-next-field
Re-align the table, move to the next field. Creates a new row if necessary.
S-TAB
org-table-previous-field
Re-align, move to previous field.
RET
org-table-next-row
Re-align the table and move down to next row. Creates a new row if necessary.
At the beginning or end of a line, RET still does NEWLINE, so it can be used
to split a table.
M-a
org-table-beginning-of-field
Move to beginning of the current table field, or on to the previous field.
M-e
org-table-end-of-field
Move to end of the current table field, or on to the next field.
Column and row editing
M-left
M-right
Move the current column left/right.
M-S-left
org-table-move-column-left
org-table-move-column-right
org-table-delete-column
Kill the current column.
M-S-right
org-table-insert-column
Insert a new column to the left of the cursor position.
M-up
M-down
org-table-move-row-up
org-table-move-row-down
Move the current row up/down.
M-S-up
org-table-kill-row
Kill the current row or horizontal line.
M-S-down
org-table-insert-row
Insert a new row above the current row. With a prefix argument, the line is
created below the current one.
C-c -
org-table-insert-hline
Insert a horizontal line below current row. With a prefix argument, the line is
created above the current line.
C-c RET
org-table-hline-and-move
Insert a horizontal line below current row, and move the cursor into the row
below that line.
C-c ^
org-table-sort-lines
Sort the table lines in the region. The position of point indicates the column
to be used for sorting, and the range of lines is the range between the nearest
horizontal separator lines, or the entire table. If point is before the first column,
you will be prompted for the sorting column. If there is an active region, the
Chapter 3: Tables
21
mark specifies the first line and the sorting column, while point should be in the
last line to be included into the sorting. The command prompts for the sorting
type (alphabetically, numerically, or by time). You can sort in normal or reverse
order. You can also supply your own key extraction and comparison functions.
When called with a prefix argument, alphabetic sorting will be case-sensitive.
Regions
C-c C-x M-w
org-table-copy-region
Copy a rectangular region from a table to a special clipboard. Point and mark
determine edge fields of the rectangle. If there is no active region, copy just the
current field. The process ignores horizontal separator lines.
C-c C-x C-w
org-table-cut-region
Copy a rectangular region from a table to a special clipboard, and blank all
fields in the rectangle. So this is the “cut” operation.
C-c C-x C-y
org-table-paste-rectangle
Paste a rectangular region into a table. The upper left corner ends up in the
current field. All involved fields will be overwritten. If the rectangle does not
fit into the present table, the table is enlarged as needed. The process ignores
horizontal separator lines.
M-RET
org-table-wrap-region
Split the current field at the cursor position and move the rest to the line below.
If there is an active region, and both point and mark are in the same column,
the text in the column is wrapped to minimum width for the given number of
lines. A numeric prefix argument may be used to change the number of desired
lines. If there is no region, but you specify a prefix argument, the current field
is made blank, and the content is appended to the field above.
Calculations
C-c +
org-table-sum
Sum the numbers in the current column, or in the rectangle defined by the
active region. The result is shown in the echo area and can be inserted with
C-y.
S-RET
org-table-copy-down
When current field is empty, copy from first non-empty field above. When not
empty, copy current field down to next row and move cursor along with it.
Depending on the option org-table-copy-increment, integer field values will
be incremented during copy. Integers that are too large will not be incremented.
Also, a 0 prefix argument temporarily disables the increment. This key is
also used by shift-selection and related modes (see Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts],
page 238).
Miscellaneous
C-c `
org-table-edit-field
Edit the current field in a separate window. This is useful for fields that are not
fully visible (see Section 3.2 [Column width and alignment], page 22). When
called with a C-u prefix, just make the full field visible, so that it can be edited
Chapter 3: Tables
22
in place. When called with two C-u prefixes, make the editor window follow the
cursor through the table and always show the current field. The follow mode
exits automatically when the cursor leaves the table, or when you repeat this
command with C-u C-u C-c `.
M-x org-table-import RET
Import a file as a table. The table should be TAB or whitespace separated. Use,
for example, to import a spreadsheet table or data from a database, because
these programs generally can write TAB-separated text files. This command
works by inserting the file into the buffer and then converting the region to
a table. Any prefix argument is passed on to the converter, which uses it to
determine the separator.
C-c |
org-table-create-or-convert-from-region
Tables can also be imported by pasting tabular text into the Org buffer, selecting the pasted text with C-x C-x and then using the C-c | command (see
above under Creation and conversion).
M-x org-table-export RET
Export the table, by default as a TAB-separated file. Use for data exchange
with, for example, spreadsheet or database programs. The format used to
export the file can be configured in the option org-table-export-defaultformat. You may also use properties TABLE_EXPORT_FILE and TABLE_EXPORT_
FORMAT to specify the file name and the format for table export in a subtree. Org
supports quite general formats for exported tables. The exporter format is the
same as the format used by Orgtbl radio tables, see Section A.6.3 [Translator
functions], page 246, for a detailed description.
If you don’t like the automatic table editor because it gets in your way on lines which
you would like to start with ‘|’, you can turn it off with
(setq org-enable-table-editor nil)
Then the only table command that still works is C-c C-c to do a manual re-align.
3.2 Column width and alignment
The width of columns is automatically determined by the table editor. And also the alignment of a column is determined automatically from the fraction of number-like versus
non-number fields in the column.
Sometimes a single field or a few fields need to carry more text, leading to inconveniently
wide columns. Or maybe you want to make a table with several columns having a fixed
width, regardless of content. To set the width of a column, one field anywhere in the column
may contain just the string ‘’ where ‘N’ is an integer specifying the width of the column
in characters. The next re-align will then set the width of this column to this value.
Chapter 3: Tables
|---+------------------------------|
|
|
|
| 1 | one
|
| 2 | two
|
| 3 | This is a long chunk of text |
| 4 | four
|
|---+------------------------------|
23
----\
----/
|---+--------|
|
| <6>
|
| 1 | one
|
| 2 | two
|
| 3 | This=> |
| 4 | four
|
|---+--------|
Fields that are wider become clipped and end in the string ‘=>’. Note that the full text
is still in the buffer but is hidden. To see the full text, hold the mouse over the field—a
tool-tip window will show the full content. To edit such a field, use the command C-c `
(that is C-c followed by the grave accent). This will open a new window with the full field.
Edit it and finish with C-c C-c.
When visiting a file containing a table with narrowed columns, the necessary character
hiding has not yet happened, and the table needs to be aligned before it looks nice. Setting
the option org-startup-align-all-tables will realign all tables in a file upon visiting,
but also slow down startup. You can also set this option on a per-file basis with:
#+STARTUP: align
#+STARTUP: noalign
If you would like to overrule the automatic alignment of number-rich columns to the
right and of string-rich columns to the left, you can use ‘’, ‘’2 or ‘’ in a similar
fashion. You may also combine alignment and field width like this: ‘’.
Lines which only contain these formatting cookies will be removed automatically when
exporting the document.
3.3 Column groups
When Org exports tables, it does so by default without vertical lines because that is visually
more satisfying in general. Occasionally however, vertical lines can be useful to structure a
table into groups of columns, much like horizontal lines can do for groups of rows. In order
to specify column groups, you can use a special row where the first field contains only ‘/’.
The further fields can either contain ‘<’ to indicate that this column should start a group,
‘>’ to indicate the end of a group, or ‘<>’ (no space between ‘<’ and ‘>’) to make a column
a group of its own. Boundaries between column groups will upon export be marked with
vertical lines. Here is an example:
| N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | ~sqrt(n)~ | ~sqrt[4](N)~ |
|---+-----+-----+-----+-----------+--------------|
| / |
< |
|
> |
< |
> |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| 2 |
4 |
8 | 16 |
1.4142 |
1.1892 |
| 3 |
9 | 27 | 81 |
1.7321 |
1.3161 |
|---+-----+-----+-----+-----------+--------------|
#+TBLFM: $2=$1^2::$3=$1^3::$4=$1^4::$5=sqrt($1)::$6=sqrt(sqrt(($1)))
It is also sufficient to just insert the column group starters after every vertical line you
would like to have:
2
Centering does not work inside Emacs, but it does have an effect when exporting to HTML.
Chapter 3: Tables
24
| N | N^2 | N^3 | N^4 | sqrt(n) | sqrt[4](N) |
|----+-----+-----+-----+---------+------------|
| / | <
|
|
| <
|
|
3.4 The Orgtbl minor mode
If you like the intuitive way the Org table editor works, you might also want to use it
in other modes like Text mode or Mail mode. The minor mode Orgtbl mode makes this
possible. You can always toggle the mode with M-x orgtbl-mode RET. To turn it on by
default, for example in Message mode, use
(add-hook 'message-mode-hook 'turn-on-orgtbl)
Furthermore, with some special setup, it is possible to maintain tables in arbitrary
syntax with Orgtbl mode. For example, it is possible to construct LATEX tables with the
underlying ease and power of Orgtbl mode, including spreadsheet capabilities. For details,
see Section A.6 [Tables in arbitrary syntax], page 243.
3.5 The spreadsheet
The table editor makes use of the Emacs calc package to implement spreadsheet-like capabilities. It can also evaluate Emacs Lisp forms to derive fields from other fields. While
fully featured, Org’s implementation is not identical to other spreadsheets. For example,
Org knows the concept of a column formula that will be applied to all non-header fields
in a column without having to copy the formula to each relevant field. There is also a
formula debugger, and a formula editor with features for highlighting fields in the table
corresponding to the references at the point in the formula, moving these references by
arrow keys
3.5.1 References
To compute fields in the table from other fields, formulas must reference other fields or
ranges. In Org, fields can be referenced by name, by absolute coordinates, and by relative
coordinates. To find out what the coordinates of a field are, press C-c ? in that field, or
press C-c } to toggle the display of a grid.
Field references
Formulas can reference the value of another field in two ways. Like in any other spreadsheet,
you may reference fields with a letter/number combination like B3, meaning the 2nd field in
the 3rd row. However, Org prefers3 to use another, more general representation that looks
like this:
@row$column
Column specifications can be absolute like $1, $2,...$N, or relative to the current column
(i.e., the column of the field which is being computed) like $+1 or $-2. $< and $> are
immutable references to the first and last column, respectively, and you can use $>>> to
indicate the third column from the right.
3
Org will understand references typed by the user as ‘B4’, but it will not use this syntax when offering
a formula for editing. You can customize this behavior using the option org-table-use-standardreferences.
Chapter 3: Tables
25
The row specification only counts data lines and ignores horizontal separator lines
(hlines). Like with columns, you can use absolute row numbers @1, @2,...@N, and row
numbers relative to the current row like @+3 or @-1. @< and @> are immutable references
the first and last4 row in the table, respectively. You may also specify the row relative to
one of the hlines: @I refers to the first hline, @II to the second, etc. @-I refers to the first
such line above the current line, @+I to the first such line below the current line. You can
also write @III+2 which is the second data line after the third hline in the table.
@0 and $0 refer to the current row and column, respectively, i.e., to the row/column
for the field being computed. Also, if you omit either the column or the row part of the
reference, the current row/column is implied.
Org’s references with unsigned numbers are fixed references in the sense that if you use
the same reference in the formula for two different fields, the same field will be referenced
each time. Org’s references with signed numbers are floating references because the same
reference operator can reference different fields depending on the field being calculated by
the formula.
Here are a few examples:
@2$3
$5
@2
@-1$-3
@-I$2
@>$5
2nd row, 3rd column (same as C2)
column 5 in the current row (same as E&)
current column, row 2
the field one row up, three columns to the left
field just under hline above current row, column 2
field in the last row, in column 5
Range references
You may reference a rectangular range of fields by specifying two field references connected
by two dots ‘..’. If both fields are in the current row, you may simply use ‘$2..$7’, but
if at least one field is in a different row, you need to use the general @row$column format
at least for the first field (i.e the reference must start with ‘@’ in order to be interpreted
correctly). Examples:
$1..$3
$P..$Q
$<<<..$>>
@2$1..@4$3
@-1$-2..@-1
@I..II
first three fields in the current row
range, using column names (see under Advanced)
start in third column, continue to the last but one
6 fields between these two fields (same as A2..C4)
3 fields in the row above, starting from 2 columns on the left
between first and second hline, short for @I..@II
Range references return a vector of values that can be fed into Calc vector functions. Empty
fields in ranges are normally suppressed, so that the vector contains only the non-empty
fields. For other options with the mode switches ‘E’, ‘N’ and examples see Section 3.5.2
[Formula syntax for Calc], page 27.
4
For backward compatibility you can also use special names like $LR5 and $LR12 to refer in a stable way
to the 5th and 12th field in the last row of the table. However, this syntax is deprecated, it should not
be used for new documents. Use @>$ instead.
Chapter 3: Tables
26
Field coordinates in formulas
One of the very first actions during evaluation of Calc formulas and Lisp formulas is to
substitute @# and $# in the formula with the row or column number of the field where the
current result will go to. The traditional Lisp formula equivalents are org-table-currentdline and org-table-current-column. Examples:
if(@# % 2, $#, string(""))
Insert column number on odd rows, set field to empty on even rows.
$2 = '(identity remote(FOO, @@#$1))
Copy text or values of each row of column 1 of the table named FOO into column
2 of the current table.
@3 = 2 * remote(FOO, @1$$#)
Insert the doubled value of each column of row 1 of the table named FOO into
row 3 of the current table.
For the second/third example, the table named FOO must have at least as many
rows/columns as the current table. Note that this is inefficient5 for large number of
rows/columns.
Named references
‘$name’ is interpreted as the name of a column, parameter or constant. Constants are
defined globally through the option org-table-formula-constants, and locally (for the
file) through a line like
#+CONSTANTS: c=299792458. pi=3.14 eps=2.4e-6
Also properties (see Chapter 7 [Properties and columns], page 64) can be used as constants
in table formulas: for a property ‘:Xyz:’ use the name ‘$PROP_Xyz’, and the property
will be searched in the current outline entry and in the hierarchy above it. If you have
the constants.el package, it will also be used to resolve constants, including natural
constants like ‘$h’ for Planck’s constant, and units like ‘$km’ for kilometers6 . Column
names and parameters can be specified in special table lines. These are described below,
see Section 3.5.10 [Advanced features], page 34. All names must start with a letter, and
further consist of letters and numbers.
Remote references
You may also reference constants, fields and ranges from a different table, either in the
current file or even in a different file. The syntax is
remote(NAME-OR-ID,REF)
where NAME can be the name of a table in the current file as set by a #+NAME: Name line
before the table. It can also be the ID of an entry, even in a different file, and the reference
then refers to the first table in that entry. REF is an absolute field or range reference as
described above for example @3$3 or $somename, valid in the referenced table.
5
6
The computation time scales as O(N^2) because the table named FOO is parsed for each field to be read.
constants.el can supply the values of constants in two different unit systems, SI and cgs. Which one is
used depends on the value of the variable constants-unit-system. You can use the #+STARTUP options
constSI and constcgs to set this value for the current buffer.
Chapter 3: Tables
27
Indirection of NAME-OR-ID: When NAME-OR-ID has the format @ROW$COLUMN it will
be substituted with the name or ID found in this field of the current table. For example
remote($1, @>$2) => remote(year_2013, @>$1). The format B3 is not supported because
it can not be distinguished from a plain table name or ID.
3.5.2 Formula syntax for Calc
A formula can be any algebraic expression understood by the Emacs Calc package. Note
that calc has the non-standard convention that ‘/’ has lower precedence than ‘*’, so that
‘a/b*c’ is interpreted as ‘a/(b*c)’. Before evaluation by calc-eval (see Section “Calling
Calc from Your Lisp Programs” in GNU Emacs Calc Manual), variable substitution takes
place according to the rules described above. The range vectors can be directly fed into the
Calc vector functions like ‘vmean’ and ‘vsum’.
A formula can contain an optional mode string after a semicolon. This string consists
of flags to influence Calc and other modes during execution. By default, Org uses the
standard Calc modes (precision 12, angular units degrees, fraction and symbolic modes
off). The display format, however, has been changed to (float 8) to keep tables compact.
The default settings can be configured using the option org-calc-default-modes.
List of modes:
p20
Set the internal Calc calculation precision to 20 digits.
n3, s3, e2, f4
Normal, scientific, engineering or fixed format of the result of Calc passed back
to Org. Calc formatting is unlimited in precision as long as the Calc calculation
precision is greater.
D, R
Degree and radian angle modes of Calc.
F, S
Fraction and symbolic modes of Calc.
T, t, U
Duration computations in Calc or Lisp, see Section 3.5.4 [Durations and time
values], page 29.
E
If and how to consider empty fields. Without ‘E’ empty fields in range references
are suppressed so that the Calc vector or Lisp list contains only the non-empty
fields. With ‘E’ the empty fields are kept. For empty fields in ranges or empty
field references the value ‘nan’ (not a number) is used in Calc formulas and
the empty string is used for Lisp formulas. Add ‘N’ to use 0 instead for both
formula types. For the value of a field the mode ‘N’ has higher precedence than
‘E’.
N
Interpret all fields as numbers, use 0 for non-numbers. See the next section to
see how this is essential for computations with Lisp formulas. In Calc formulas
it is used only occasionally because there number strings are already interpreted
as numbers without ‘N’.
L
Literal, for Lisp formulas only. See the next section.
Unless you use large integer numbers or high-precision-calculation and -display for floating
point numbers you may alternatively provide a ‘printf’ format specifier to reformat the
Chapter 3: Tables
28
Calc result after it has been passed back to Org instead of letting Calc already do the
formatting7 . A few examples:
$1+$2
$1+$2;%.2f
exp($2)+exp($1)
$0;%.1f
($3-32)*5/9
$c/$1/$cm
tan($1);Dp3s1
sin($1);Dp3%.1e
taylor($3,x=7,2)
Sum of first and second field
Same, format result to two decimals
Math functions can be used
Reformat current cell to 1 decimal
Degrees F -> C conversion
Hz -> cm conversion, using constants.el
Compute in degrees, precision 3, display SCI 1
Same, but use printf specifier for display
Taylor series of $3, at x=7, second degree
Calc also contains a complete set of logical operations, (see Section “Logical Operations”
in GNU Emacs Calc Manual). For example
if($1 < 20, teen, string(""))
"teen" if age $1 is less than 20, else the Org table result field is set to empty
with the empty string.
if("$1" == "nan" || "$2" == "nan", string(""), $1 + $2); E f-1
Sum of the first two columns. When at least one of the input fields is empty
the Org table result field is set to empty. ‘E’ is required to not convert empty
fields to 0. ‘f-1’ is an optional Calc format string similar to ‘%.1f’ but leaves
empty results empty.
if(typeof(vmean($1..$7)) == 12, string(""), vmean($1..$7); E
Mean value of a range unless there is any empty field. Every field in the range
that is empty is replaced by ‘nan’ which lets ‘vmean’ result in ‘nan’. Then
‘typeof == 12’ detects the ‘nan’ from ‘vmean’ and the Org table result field is
set to empty. Use this when the sample set is expected to never have missing
values.
if("$1..$7" == "[]", string(""), vmean($1..$7))
Mean value of a range with empty fields skipped. Every field in the range that
is empty is skipped. When all fields in the range are empty the mean value is
not defined and the Org table result field is set to empty. Use this when the
sample set can have a variable size.
vmean($1..$7); EN
To complete the example before: Mean value of a range with empty fields
counting as samples with value 0. Use this only when incomplete sample sets
should be padded with 0 to the full size.
You can add your own Calc functions defined in Emacs Lisp with defmath and use them
in formula syntax for Calc.
7
The ‘printf’ reformatting is limited in precision because the value passed to it is converted into an
‘integer’ or ‘double’. The ‘integer’ is limited in size by truncating the signed value to 32 bits. The
‘double’ is limited in precision to 64 bits overall which leaves approximately 16 significant decimal digits.
Chapter 3: Tables
29
3.5.3 Emacs Lisp forms as formulas
It is also possible to write a formula in Emacs Lisp. This can be useful for string manipulation and control structures, if Calc’s functionality is not enough.
If a formula starts with an apostrophe followed by an opening parenthesis, then it is
evaluated as a Lisp form. The evaluation should return either a string or a number. Just
as with calc formulas, you can specify modes and a printf format after a semicolon.
With Emacs Lisp forms, you need to be conscious about the way field references are
interpolated into the form. By default, a reference will be interpolated as a Lisp string
(in double-quotes) containing the field. If you provide the ‘N’ mode switch, all referenced
elements will be numbers (non-number fields will be zero) and interpolated as Lisp numbers,
without quotes. If you provide the ‘L’ flag, all fields will be interpolated literally, without
quotes. I.e., if you want a reference to be interpreted as a string by the Lisp form, enclose the
reference operator itself in double-quotes, like "$3". Ranges are inserted as space-separated
fields, so you can embed them in list or vector syntax.
Here are a few examples—note how the ‘N’ mode is used when we do computations in
Lisp:
'(concat (substring $1 1 2) (substring $1 0 1) (substring $1 2))
Swap the first two characters of the content of column 1.
'(+ $1 $2);N
Add columns 1 and 2, equivalent to Calc’s $1+$2.
'(apply '+ '($1..$4));N
Compute the sum of columns 1 to 4, like Calc’s vsum($1..$4).
3.5.4 Durations and time values
If you want to compute time values use the T, t, or U flag, either in Calc formulas or Elisp
formulas:
| Task 1 |
Task 2 |
Total |
|---------+----------+----------|
|
2:12 |
1:47 | 03:59:00 |
|
2:12 |
1:47 |
03:59 |
| 3:02:20 | -2:07:00 |
0.92 |
#+TBLFM: @2$3=$1+$2;T::@3$3=$1+$2;U::@4$3=$1+$2;t
Input duration values must be of the form HH:MM[:SS], where seconds are optional.
With the T flag, computed durations will be displayed as HH:MM:SS (see the first formula
above). With the U flag, seconds will be omitted so that the result will be only HH:MM (see
second formula above). Zero-padding of the hours field will depend upon the value of the
variable org-table-duration-hour-zero-padding.
With the t flag, computed durations will be displayed according to the value of the
option org-table-duration-custom-format, which defaults to 'hours and will display
the result as a fraction of hours (see the third formula in the example above).
Negative duration values can be manipulated as well, and integers will be considered as
seconds in addition and subtraction.
Chapter 3: Tables
30
3.5.5 Field and range formulas
To assign a formula to a particular field, type it directly into the field, preceded by ‘:=’,
for example ‘:=vsum(@II..III)’. When you press TAB or RET or C-c C-c with the cursor
still in the field, the formula will be stored as the formula for this field, evaluated, and the
current field will be replaced with the result.
Formulas are stored in a special line starting with ‘#+TBLFM:’ directly below the table.
If you type the equation in the 4th field of the 3rd data line in the table, the formula
will look like ‘@3$4=$1+$2’. When inserting/deleting/swapping columns and rows with the
appropriate commands, absolute references (but not relative ones) in stored formulas are
modified in order to still reference the same field. To avoid this, in particular in range
references, anchor ranges at the table borders (using @<, @>, $<, $>), or at hlines using
the @I notation. Automatic adaptation of field references does of course not happen if you
edit the table structure with normal editing commands—then you must fix the equations
yourself.
Instead of typing an equation into the field, you may also use the following command
C-u C-c =
org-table-eval-formula
Install a new formula for the current field. The command prompts for a formula
with default taken from the ‘#+TBLFM:’ line, applies it to the current field, and
stores it.
The left-hand side of a formula can also be a special expression in order to assign the
formula to a number of different fields. There is no keyboard shortcut to enter such range
formulas. To add them, use the formula editor (see Section 3.5.8 [Editing and debugging
formulas], page 31) or edit the #+TBLFM: line directly.
$2=
Column formula, valid for the entire column. This is so common that Org treats
these formulas in a special way, see Section 3.5.6 [Column formulas], page 30.
@3=
Row formula, applies to all fields in the specified row. @>= means the last row.
@1$2..@4$3=
Range formula, applies to all fields in the given rectangular range. This can
also be used to assign a formula to some but not all fields in a row.
$name=
Named field, see Section 3.5.10 [Advanced features], page 34.
3.5.6 Column formulas
When you assign a formula to a simple column reference like $3=, the same formula will be
used in all fields of that column, with the following very convenient exceptions: (i) If the
table contains horizontal separator hlines with rows above and below, everything before the
first such hline is considered part of the table header and will not be modified by column
formulas. Therefore a header is mandatory when you use column formulas and want to
add hlines to group rows, like for example to separate a total row at the bottom from the
summand rows above. (ii) Fields that already get a value from a field/range formula will
be left alone by column formulas. These conditions make column formulas very easy to use.
To assign a formula to a column, type it directly into any field in the column, preceded
by an equal sign, like ‘=$1+$2’. When you press TAB or RET or C-c C-c with the cursor
still in the field, the formula will be stored as the formula for the current column, evaluated
Chapter 3: Tables
31
and the current field replaced with the result. If the field contains only ‘=’, the previously
stored formula for this column is used. For each column, Org will only remember the most
recently used formula. In the ‘#+TBLFM:’ line, column formulas will look like ‘$4=$1+$2’.
The left-hand side of a column formula cannot be the name of column, it must be the
numeric column reference or $>.
Instead of typing an equation into the field, you may also use the following command:
C-c =
org-table-eval-formula
Install a new formula for the current column and replace current field with the
result of the formula. The command prompts for a formula, with default taken
from the ‘#+TBLFM’ line, applies it to the current field and stores it. With a
numeric prefix argument(e.g., C-5 C-c =) the command will apply it to that
many consecutive fields in the current column.
3.5.7 Lookup functions
Org has three predefined Emacs Lisp functions for lookups in tables.
(org-lookup-first VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
Searches for the first element S in list S-LIST for which
(PREDICATE VAL S)
is t; returns the value from the corresponding position in list R-LIST. The
default PREDICATE is equal. Note that the parameters VAL and S are passed
to PREDICATE in the same order as the corresponding parameters are in the
call to org-lookup-first, where VAL precedes S-LIST. If R-LIST is nil, the
matching element S of S-LIST is returned.
(org-lookup-last VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
Similar to org-lookup-first above, but searches for the last element for which
PREDICATE is t.
(org-lookup-all VAL S-LIST R-LIST &optional PREDICATE)
Similar to org-lookup-first, but searches for all elements for which
PREDICATE is t, and returns all corresponding values. This function can not
be used by itself in a formula, because it returns a list of values. However,
powerful lookups can be built when this function is combined with other
Emacs Lisp functions.
If the ranges used in these functions contain empty fields, the E mode for the formula
should usually be specified: otherwise empty fields will not be included in S-LIST and/or
R-LIST which can, for example, result in an incorrect mapping from an element of S-LIST
to the corresponding element of R-LIST.
These three functions can be used to implement associative arrays, count matching cells,
rank results, group data etc. For practical examples see this tutorial on Worg.
3.5.8 Editing and debugging formulas
You can edit individual formulas in the minibuffer or directly in the field. Org can also prepare a special buffer with all active formulas of a table. When offering a formula for editing,
Org converts references to the standard format (like B3 or D&) if possible. If you prefer to
Chapter 3: Tables
32
only work with the internal format (like @3$2 or $4), configure the option org-table-usestandard-references.
C-c = or C-u C-c =
org-table-eval-formula
Edit the formula associated with the current column/field in the minibuffer. See
Section 3.5.6 [Column formulas], page 30, and Section 3.5.5 [Field and range
formulas], page 30.
C-u C-u C-c =
org-table-eval-formula
Re-insert the active formula (either a field formula, or a column formula) into
the current field, so that you can edit it directly in the field. The advantage
over editing in the minibuffer is that you can use the command C-c ?.
C-c ?
org-table-field-info
While editing a formula in a table field, highlight the field(s) referenced by the
reference at the cursor position in the formula.
C-c }
Toggle the display of row and column numbers for a table, using overlays
(org-table-toggle-coordinate-overlays). These are updated each time the
table is aligned; you can force it with C-c C-c.
C-c {
Toggle the formula debugger on and off (org-table-toggle-formuladebugger). See below.
C-c '
org-table-edit-formulas
Edit all formulas for the current table in a special buffer, where the formulas
will be displayed one per line. If the current field has an active formula, the
cursor in the formula editor will mark it. While inside the special buffer, Org
will automatically highlight any field or range reference at the cursor position.
You may edit, remove and add formulas, and use the following commands:
C-c C-c or C-x C-s
org-table-fedit-finish
Exit the formula editor and store the modified formulas. With C-u
prefix, also apply the new formulas to the entire table.
8
C-c C-q
org-table-fedit-abort
Exit the formula editor without installing changes.
C-c C-r
org-table-fedit-toggle-ref-type
Toggle all references in the formula editor between standard (like
B3) and internal (like @3$2).
TAB
org-table-fedit-lisp-indent
Pretty-print or indent Lisp formula at point. When in a line containing a Lisp formula, format the formula according to Emacs Lisp
rules. Another TAB collapses the formula back again. In the open
formula, TAB re-indents just like in Emacs Lisp mode.
M-TAB
lisp-complete-symbol
Complete Lisp symbols, just like in Emacs Lisp mode.8
Many desktops intercept M-TAB to switch windows. Use C-M-i or ESC TAB instead for completion (see
Section 15.1 [Completion], page 228).
Chapter 3: Tables
33
S-up/down/left/right
Shift the reference at point. For example, if the reference is B3 and
you press S-right, it will become C3. This also works for relative
references and for hline references.
M-S-up
M-S-down
org-table-fedit-line-up
org-table-fedit-line-down
Move the test line for column formulas in the Org buffer up and
down.
M-up
M-down
org-table-fedit-scroll-down
org-table-fedit-scroll-up
Scroll the window displaying the table.
C-c }
Turn the coordinate grid in the table on and off.
Making a table field blank does not remove the formula associated with the field, because
that is stored in a different line (the ‘#+TBLFM’ line)—during the next recalculation the field
will be filled again. To remove a formula from a field, you have to give an empty reply when
prompted for the formula, or to edit the ‘#+TBLFM’ line.
You may edit the ‘#+TBLFM’ directly and re-apply the changed equations with C-c C-c
in that line or with the normal recalculation commands in the table.
Using multiple #+TBLFM lines
You may apply the formula temporarily. This is useful when you switch the formula. Place
multiple ‘#+TBLFM’ lines right after the table, and then press C-c C-c on the formula to
apply. Here is an example:
| x | y |
|---+---|
| 1 |
|
| 2 |
|
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*1
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Pressing C-c C-c in the line of ‘#+TBLFM: $2=$1*2’ yields:
| x | y |
|---+---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 4 |
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*1
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Note: If you recalculate this table (with C-u C-c *, for example), you will get the following
result of applying only the first ‘#+TBLFM’ line.
| x | y |
|---+---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*1
#+TBLFM: $2=$1*2
Chapter 3: Tables
34
Debugging formulas
When the evaluation of a formula leads to an error, the field content becomes the string
‘#ERROR’. If you would like see what is going on during variable substitution and calculation
in order to find a bug, turn on formula debugging in the Tbl menu and repeat the calculation,
for example by pressing C-u C-u C-c = RET in a field. Detailed information will be displayed.
3.5.9 Updating the table
Recalculation of a table is normally not automatic, but needs to be triggered by a command.
See Section 3.5.10 [Advanced features], page 34, for a way to make recalculation at least
semi-automatic.
In order to recalculate a line of a table or the entire table, use the following commands:
C-c *
org-table-recalculate
Recalculate the current row by first applying the stored column formulas from
left to right, and all field/range formulas in the current row.
C-u C-c *
C-u C-c C-c
Recompute the entire table, line by line. Any lines before the first hline are left
alone, assuming that these are part of the table header.
C-u C-u C-c * or C-u C-u C-c C-c
org-table-iterate
Iterate the table by recomputing it until no further changes occur. This may be
necessary if some computed fields use the value of other fields that are computed
later in the calculation sequence.
M-x org-table-recalculate-buffer-tables RET
Recompute all tables in the current buffer.
M-x org-table-iterate-buffer-tables RET
Iterate all tables in the current buffer, in order to converge table-to-table dependencies.
3.5.10 Advanced features
If you want the recalculation of fields to happen automatically, or if you want to be able to
assign names 9 to fields and columns, you need to reserve the first column of the table for
special marking characters.
C-#
org-table-rotate-recalc-marks
Rotate the calculation mark in first column through the states ‘ ’, ‘#’, ‘*’, ‘!’,
‘$’. When there is an active region, change all marks in the region.
Here is an example of a table that collects exam results of students and makes use of
these features:
9
Such names must start by an alphabetic character and use only alphanumeric/underscore characters.
Chapter 3: Tables
35
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------|
|
| Student | Prob 1 | Prob 2 | Prob 3 | Total | Note |
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------|
| ! |
|
P1 |
P2 |
P3 |
Tot |
|
| # | Maximum |
10 |
15 |
25 |
50 | 10.0 |
| ^ |
|
m1 |
m2 |
m3 |
mt |
|
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------|
| # | Peter
|
10 |
8 |
23 |
41 | 8.2 |
| # | Sam
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
9 | 1.8 |
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------|
|
| Average |
|
|
| 25.0 |
|
| ^ |
|
|
|
|
at |
|
| $ | max=50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|---+---------+--------+--------+--------+-------+------|
#+TBLFM: $6=vsum($P1..$P3)::$7=10*$Tot/$max;%.1f::$at=vmean(@-II..@-I);%.1f
Important: please note that for these special tables, recalculating the table with C-u C-c *
will only affect rows that are marked ‘#’ or ‘*’, and fields that have a formula assigned to
the field itself. The column formulas are not applied in rows with empty first field.
The marking characters have the following meaning:
‘!’
The fields in this line define names for the columns, so that you may refer to a
column as ‘$Tot’ instead of ‘$6’.
‘^’
This row defines names for the fields above the row. With such a definition,
any formula in the table may use ‘$m1’ to refer to the value ‘10’. Also, if you
assign a formula to a names field, it will be stored as ‘$name=...’.
‘_’
Similar to ‘^’, but defines names for the fields in the row below.
‘$’
Fields in this row can define parameters for formulas. For example, if a field in
a ‘$’ row contains ‘max=50’, then formulas in this table can refer to the value
50 using ‘$max’. Parameters work exactly like constants, only that they can be
defined on a per-table basis.
‘#’
Fields in this row are automatically recalculated when pressing TAB or RET or
S-TAB in this row. Also, this row is selected for a global recalculation with C-u
C-c *. Unmarked lines will be left alone by this command.
‘*’
Selects this line for global recalculation with C-u C-c *, but not for automatic
recalculation. Use this when automatic recalculation slows down editing too
much.
‘’
Unmarked lines are exempt from recalculation with C-u C-c *. All lines that
should be recalculated should be marked with ‘#’ or ‘*’.
‘/’
Do not export this line. Useful for lines that contain the narrowing ‘’ markers
or column group markers.
Finally, just to whet your appetite for what can be done with the fantastic calc.el
package, here is a table that computes the Taylor series of degree n at location x for a
couple of functions.
Chapter 3: Tables
36
|---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------|
|
| Func
| n | x
| Result
|
|---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------|
| # | exp(x)
| 1 | x
| 1 + x
|
| # | exp(x)
| 2 | x
| 1 + x + x^2 / 2
|
| # | exp(x)
| 3 | x
| 1 + x + x^2 / 2 + x^3 / 6
|
| # | x^2+sqrt(x) | 2 | x=0 | x*(0.5 / 0) + x^2 (2 - 0.25 / 0) / 2 |
| # | x^2+sqrt(x) | 2 | x=1 | 2 + 2.5 x - 2.5 + 0.875 (x - 1)^2
|
| * | tan(x)
| 3 | x
| 0.0175 x + 1.77e-6 x^3
|
|---+-------------+---+-----+--------------------------------------|
#+TBLFM: $5=taylor($2,$4,$3);n3
3.6 Org-Plot
Org-Plot can produce graphs of information stored in org tables, either graphically or in
ASCII-art.
Graphical plots using Gnuplot
Org-Plot produces 2D and 3D graphs using Gnuplot http://www.gnuplot.info/ and
gnuplot-mode http://xafs.org/BruceRavel/GnuplotMode. To see this in action, ensure
that you have both Gnuplot and Gnuplot mode installed on your system, then call C-c " g
or M-x org-plot/gnuplot RET on the following table.
#+PLOT: title:"Citas" ind:1 deps:(3) type:2d with:histograms set:"yrange [0:]"
| Sede
| Max cites | H-index |
|-----------+-----------+---------|
| Chile
|
257.72 |
21.39 |
| Leeds
|
165.77 |
19.68 |
| Sao Paolo |
71.00 |
11.50 |
| Stockholm |
134.19 |
14.33 |
| Morelia
|
257.56 |
17.67 |
Notice that Org Plot is smart enough to apply the table’s headers as labels. Further
control over the labels, type, content, and appearance of plots can be exercised through the
#+PLOT: lines preceding a table. See below for a complete list of Org-plot options. The
#+PLOT: lines are optional. For more information and examples see the Org-plot tutorial
at http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-plot.html.
Plot Options
set
Specify any gnuplot option to be set when graphing.
title
Specify the title of the plot.
ind
Specify which column of the table to use as the x axis.
deps
Specify the columns to graph as a Lisp style list, surrounded by parentheses
and separated by spaces for example dep:(3 4) to graph the third and fourth
columns (defaults to graphing all other columns aside from the ind column).
type
Specify whether the plot will be 2d, 3d, or grid.
Chapter 3: Tables
37
with
Specify a with option to be inserted for every col being plotted (e.g., lines,
points, boxes, impulses, etc...). Defaults to lines.
file
If you want to plot to a file, specify "path/to/desired/output-file".
labels
List of labels to be used for the deps (defaults to the column headers if they
exist).
line
Specify an entire line to be inserted in the Gnuplot script.
map
When plotting 3d or grid types, set this to t to graph a flat mapping rather
than a 3d slope.
timefmt
Specify format of Org mode timestamps as they will be parsed by Gnuplot.
Defaults to ‘%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S’.
script
If you want total control, you can specify a script file (place the file name between double-quotes) which will be used to plot. Before plotting, every instance
of $datafile in the specified script will be replaced with the path to the generated data file. Note: even if you set this option, you may still want to specify
the plot type, as that can impact the content of the data file.
ASCII bar plots
While the cursor is on a column, typing C-c " a or M-x orgtbl-ascii-plot RET create
a new column containing an ASCII-art bars plot. The plot is implemented through a
regular column formula. When the source column changes, the bar plot may be updated
by refreshing the table, for example typing C-u C-c *.
| Sede
| Max cites |
|
|---------------+-----------+--------------|
| Chile
|
257.72 | WWWWWWWWWWWW |
| Leeds
|
165.77 | WWWWWWWh
|
| Sao Paolo
|
71.00 | WWW;
|
| Stockholm
|
134.19 | WWWWWW:
|
| Morelia
|
257.56 | WWWWWWWWWWWH |
| Rochefourchat |
0.00 |
|
#+TBLFM: $3='(orgtbl-ascii-draw $2 0.0 257.72 12)
The formula is an elisp call:
(orgtbl-ascii-draw COLUMN MIN MAX WIDTH)
COLUMN
is a reference to the source column.
MIN MAX
are the minimal and maximal values displayed. Sources values outside this
range are displayed as ‘too small’ or ‘too large’.
WIDTH
is the width in characters of the bar-plot. It defaults to ‘12’.
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
38
4 Hyperlinks
Like HTML, Org provides links inside a file, external links to other files, Usenet articles,
emails, and much more.
4.1 Link format
Org will recognize plain URL-like links and activate them as clickable links. The general
link format, however, looks like this:
[[link][description]]
or alternatively
[[link]]
Once a link in the buffer is complete (all brackets present), Org will change the display so
that ‘description’ is displayed instead of ‘[[link][description]]’ and ‘link’ is displayed
instead of ‘[[link]]’. Links will be highlighted in the face org-link, which by default is
an underlined face. You can directly edit the visible part of a link. Note that this can be
either the ‘link’ part (if there is no description) or the ‘description’ part. To edit also
the invisible ‘link’ part, use C-c C-l with the cursor on the link.
If you place the cursor at the beginning or just behind the end of the displayed text and
press BACKSPACE, you will remove the (invisible) bracket at that location. This makes the
link incomplete and the internals are again displayed as plain text. Inserting the missing
bracket hides the link internals again. To show the internal structure of all links, use the
menu entry Org->Hyperlinks->Literal links.
4.2 Internal links
If the link does not look like a URL, it is considered to be internal in the current file. The
most important case is a link like ‘[[#my-custom-id]]’ which will link to the entry with
the CUSTOM_ID property ‘my-custom-id’. You are responsible yourself to make sure these
custom IDs are unique in a file.
Links such as ‘[[My Target]]’ or ‘[[My Target][Find my target]]’ lead to a text
search in the current file.
The link can be followed with C-c C-o when the cursor is on the link, or with a mouse
click (see Section 4.4 [Handling links], page 41). Links to custom IDs will point to the
corresponding headline. The preferred match for a text link is a dedicated target: the same
string in double angular brackets, like ‘<>’.
If no dedicated target exists, the link will then try to match the exact name of an element
within the buffer. Naming is done with the #+NAME keyword, which has to be put in the
line before the element it refers to, as in the following example
#+NAME: My Target
| a | table
|
|----+------------|
| of | four cells |
If none of the above succeeds, Org will search for a headline that is exactly the link text
but may also include a TODO keyword and tags1 .
1
To insert a link targeting a headline, in-buffer completion can be used. Just type a star followed by a
few optional letters into the buffer and press M-TAB. All headlines in the current buffer will be offered as
completions.
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
39
During export, internal links will be used to mark objects and assign them a number.
Marked objects will then be referenced by links pointing to them. In particular, links
without a description will appear as the number assigned to the marked object2 . In the
following excerpt from an Org buffer
- one item
- <>another item
Here we refer to item [[target]].
The last sentence will appear as ‘Here we refer to item 2’ when exported.
In non-Org files, the search will look for the words in the link text. In the above example
the search would be for ‘my target’.
Following a link pushes a mark onto Org’s own mark ring. You can return to the previous
position with C-c &. Using this command several times in direct succession goes back to
positions recorded earlier.
4.2.1 Radio targets
Org can automatically turn any occurrences of certain target names in normal text into
a link. So without explicitly creating a link, the text connects to the target radioing its
position. Radio targets are enclosed by triple angular brackets. For example, a target ‘<<>>’ causes each occurrence of ‘my target’ in normal text to become activated as
a link. The Org file is scanned automatically for radio targets only when the file is first
loaded into Emacs. To update the target list during editing, press C-c C-c with the cursor
on or at a target.
4.3 External links
Org supports links to files, websites, Usenet and email messages, BBDB database entries
and links to both IRC conversations and their logs. External links are URL-like locators.
They start with a short identifying string followed by a colon. There can be no space after
the colon. The following list shows examples for each link type.
http://www.astro.uva.nl/~dominik
doi:10.1000/182
file:/home/dominik/images/jupiter.jpg
/home/dominik/images/jupiter.jpg
file:papers/last.pdf
./papers/last.pdf
file:/ssh:myself@some.where:papers/last.pdf
/ssh:myself@some.where:papers/last.pdf
file:sometextfile::NNN
file:projects.org
file:projects.org::some words
2
on the web
DOI for an electronic resource
file, absolute path
same as above
file, relative path
same as above
file, path on remote machine
same as above
file, jump to line number
another Org file
text search in Org file3
When targeting a #+NAME keyword, #+CAPTION keyword is mandatory in order to get proper numbering
(see Section 11.4 [Images and tables], page 131).
3
The actual behavior of the search will depend on the value of
the option org-link-search-must-match-exact-headline. If its value
is nil, then a fuzzy text search will be done. If it is t, then only
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
file:projects.org::*task title
docview:papers/last.pdf::NNN
id:B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9
news:comp.emacs
mailto:adent@galaxy.net
mhe:folder
mhe:folder#id
rmail:folder
rmail:folder#id
gnus:group
gnus:group#id
bbdb:R.*Stallman
irc:/irc.com/#emacs/bob
info:org#External links
shell:ls *.org
elisp:org-agenda
elisp:(find-file-other-frame "Elisp.org")
40
heading search in Org file4
open in doc-view mode at page
Link to heading by ID
Usenet link
Mail link
MH-E folder link
MH-E message link
RMAIL folder link
RMAIL message link
Gnus group link
Gnus article link
BBDB link (with regexp)
IRC link
Info node or index link
A shell command
Interactive Elisp command
Elisp form to evaluate
On top of these built-in link types, some are available through the contrib/ directory
(see Section 1.2 [Installation], page 2). For example, these links to VM or Wanderlust messages are available when you load the corresponding libraries from the contrib/ directory:
vm:folder
vm:folder#id
vm://myself@some.where.org/folder#id
vm-imap:account:folder
vm-imap:account:folder#id
wl:folder
wl:folder#id
VM folder link
VM message link
VM on remote machine
VM IMAP folder link
VM IMAP message link
WANDERLUST folder link
WANDERLUST message link
For customizing Org to add new link types Section A.3 [Adding hyperlink types],
page 241.
A link should be enclosed in double brackets and may contain a descriptive text to be
displayed instead of the URL (see Section 4.1 [Link format], page 38), for example:
[[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/][GNU Emacs]]
If the description is a file name or URL that points to an image, HTML export (see
Section 12.9 [HTML export], page 149) will inline the image as a clickable button. If
there is no description at all and the link points to an image, that image will be inlined into
the exported HTML file.
the exact headline will be matched, ignoring spaces and cookies. If the
value is query-to-create, then an exact headline will be searched; if
it is not found, then the user will be queried to create it.
4
Headline searches always match the exact headline, ignoring
spaces and cookies. If the headline is not found and the value of the option
org-link-search-must-match-exact-headline is query-to-create,
then the user will be queried to create it.
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
41
Org also finds external links in the normal text and activates them as links. If spaces
must be part of the link (for example in ‘bbdb:Richard Stallman’), or if you need to remove
ambiguities about the end of the link, enclose them in square brackets.
4.4 Handling links
Org provides methods to create a link in the correct syntax, to insert it into an Org file,
and to follow the link.
C-c l
5
6
org-store-link
Store a link to the current location. This is a global command (you must create
the key binding yourself) which can be used in any buffer to create a link. The
link will be stored for later insertion into an Org buffer (see below). What kind
of link will be created depends on the current buffer:
Org mode buffers
For Org files, if there is a ‘<>’ at the cursor, the link points to the
target. Otherwise it points to the current headline, which will also be the
description5 .
If the headline has a CUSTOM_ID property, a link to this custom ID will be stored.
In addition or alternatively (depending on the value of org-id-link-to-orguse-id), a globally unique ID property will be created and/or used to construct
a link6 . So using this command in Org buffers will potentially create two links:
a human-readable from the custom ID, and one that is globally unique and
works even if the entry is moved from file to file. Later, when inserting the link,
you need to decide which one to use.
Email/News clients: VM, Rmail, Wanderlust, MH-E, Gnus
Pretty much all Emacs mail clients are supported. The link will point to the
current article, or, in some GNUS buffers, to the group. The description is
constructed from the author and the subject.
Web browsers: Eww, W3 and W3M
Here the link will be the current URL, with the page title as description.
Contacts: BBDB
Links created in a BBDB buffer will point to the current entry.
Chat: IRC
For IRC links, if you set the option org-irc-link-to-logs to t, a ‘file:/’
style link to the relevant point in the logs for the current conversation is created.
Otherwise an ‘irc:/’ style link to the user/channel/server under the point will
be stored.
Other files
For any other files, the link will point to the file, with a search string (see
Section 4.7 [Search options], page 45) pointing to the contents of the current line.
If there is an active region, the selected words will form the basis of the search
If the headline contains a timestamp, it will be removed from the link and result in a wrong link—you
should avoid putting timestamp in the headline.
The library org-id.el must first be loaded, either through org-customize by enabling org-id in
org-modules, or by adding (require 'org-id) in your Emacs init file.
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
42
string. If the automatically created link is not working correctly or accurately
enough, you can write custom functions to select the search string and to do the
search for particular file types—see Section 4.8 [Custom searches], page 45. The
key binding C-c l is only a suggestion—see Section 1.2 [Installation], page 2.
Agenda view
When the cursor is in an agenda view, the created link points to the entry
referenced by the current line.
C-c C-l
org-insert-link
Insert a link7 . This prompts for a link to be inserted into the buffer. You can
just type a link, using text for an internal link, or one of the link type prefixes
mentioned in the examples above. The link will be inserted into the buffer8 ,
along with a descriptive text. If some text was selected when this command is
called, the selected text becomes the default description.
Inserting stored links
All links stored during the current session are part of the history for this prompt,
so you can access them with up and down (or M-p/n).
Completion support
Completion with TAB will help you to insert valid link prefixes like ‘https:’,
including the prefixes defined through link abbreviations (see Section 4.6 [Link
abbreviations], page 44). If you press RET after inserting only the prefix, Org will
offer specific completion support for some link types9 For example, if you type
file RET, file name completion (alternative access: C-u C-c C-l, see below)
will be offered, and after bbdb RET you can complete contact names.
C-u C-c C-l
When C-c C-l is called with a C-u prefix argument, a link to a file will be
inserted and you may use file name completion to select the name of the file.
The path to the file is inserted relative to the directory of the current Org file, if
the linked file is in the current directory or in a sub-directory of it, or if the path
is written relative to the current directory using ‘../’. Otherwise an absolute
path is used, if possible with ‘~/’ for your home directory. You can force an
absolute path with two C-u prefixes.
C-c C-l (with cursor on existing link)
When the cursor is on an existing link, C-c C-l allows you to edit the link and
description parts of the link.
C-c C-o
7
8
9
org-open-at-point
Open link at point. This will launch a web browser for URLs (using
browse-url-at-point), run VM/MH-E/Wanderlust/Rmail/Gnus/BBDB for
Note that you don’t have to use this command to insert a link. Links in Org are plain text, and you can
type or paste them straight into the buffer. By using this command, the links are automatically enclosed
in double brackets, and you will be asked for the optional descriptive text.
After insertion of a stored link, the link will be removed from the list of stored links. To keep it in the
list later use, use a triple C-u prefix argument to C-c C-l, or configure the option org-keep-storedlink-after-insertion.
This works if a completion function is defined in the ‘:complete’ property of a link in org-linkparameters.
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
43
the corresponding links, and execute the command in a shell link. When the
cursor is on an internal link, this command runs the corresponding search.
When the cursor is on a TAG list in a headline, it creates the corresponding
TAGS view. If the cursor is on a timestamp, it compiles the agenda for that
date. Furthermore, it will visit text and remote files in ‘file:’ links with
Emacs and select a suitable application for local non-text files. Classification
of files is based on file extension only. See option org-file-apps. If you want
to override the default application and visit the file with Emacs, use a C-u
prefix. If you want to avoid opening in Emacs, use a C-u C-u prefix.
If the cursor is on a headline, but not on a link, offer all links in the headline
and entry text. If you want to setup the frame configuration for following
links, customize org-link-frame-setup.
RET
When org-return-follows-link is set, RET will also follow the link at point.
mouse-2
mouse-1
On links, mouse-1 and mouse-2 will open the link just as C-c C-o would.
mouse-3
Like mouse-2, but force file links to be opened with Emacs, and internal links
to be displayed in another window10 .
C-c C-x C-v
org-toggle-inline-images
Toggle the inline display of linked images. Normally this will only inline images
that have no description part in the link, i.e., images that will also be inlined
during export. When called with a prefix argument, also display images that
do have a link description. You can ask for inline images to be displayed at
startup by configuring the variable org-startup-with-inline-images11 .
C-c %
org-mark-ring-push
Push the current position onto the mark ring, to be able to return easily. Commands following an internal link do this automatically.
C-c &
org-mark-ring-goto
Jump back to a recorded position. A position is recorded by the commands
following internal links, and by C-c %. Using this command several times in
direct succession moves through a ring of previously recorded positions.
C-c C-x C-n
org-next-link
C-c C-x C-p
org-previous-link
Move forward/backward to the next link in the buffer. At the limit of the
buffer, the search fails once, and then wraps around. The key bindings for this
are really too long; you might want to bind this also to C-n and C-p
(add-hook 'org-load-hook
(lambda ()
(define-key org-mode-map "\C-n" 'org-next-link)
(define-key org-mode-map "\C-p" 'org-previous-link)))
10
11
See the option org-display-internal-link-with-indirect-buffer
with corresponding #+STARTUP keywords inlineimages and noinlineimages
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
44
4.5 Using links outside Org
You can insert and follow links that have Org syntax not only in Org, but in any Emacs
buffer. For this, you should create two global commands, like this (please select suitable
global keys yourself):
(global-set-key "\C-c L" 'org-insert-link-global)
(global-set-key "\C-c o" 'org-open-at-point-global)
4.6 Link abbreviations
Long URLs can be cumbersome to type, and often many similar links are needed in a
document. For this you can use link abbreviations. An abbreviated link looks like this
[[linkword:tag][description]]
where the tag is optional. The linkword must be a word, starting with a letter, followed by
letters, numbers, ‘-’, and ‘_’. Abbreviations are resolved according to the information in
the variable org-link-abbrev-alist that relates the linkwords to replacement text. Here
is an example:
(setq org-link-abbrev-alist
'(("bugzilla" . "http://10.1.2.9/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=")
("url-to-ja" . "http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=en&tl=ja&u=%h")
("google"
. "http://www.google.com/search?q=")
("gmap"
. "http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%s")
("omap"
. "http://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search?q=%s&polygon=1")
("ads"
. "http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?author=%s&db_key=AST")))
If the replacement text contains the string ‘%s’, it will be replaced with the tag. Using
‘%h’ instead of ‘%s’ will url-encode the tag (see the example above, where we need to encode
the URL parameter.) Using ‘%(my-function)’ will pass the tag to a custom function, and
replace it by the resulting string.
If the replacement text doesn’t contain any specifier, the tag will simply be appended in
order to create the link.
Instead of a string, you may also specify a function that will be called with the tag as
the only argument to create the link.
With the above setting, you could link to a specific bug with [[bugzilla:129]],
search the web for ‘OrgMode’ with [[google:OrgMode]], show the map location of the
Free Software Foundation [[gmap:51 Franklin Street, Boston]] or of Carsten office
[[omap:Science Park 904, Amsterdam, The Netherlands]] and find out what the Org
author is doing besides Emacs hacking with [[ads:Dominik,C]].
If you need special abbreviations just for a single Org buffer, you can define them in the
file with
#+LINK: bugzilla http://10.1.2.9/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=
#+LINK: google
http://www.google.com/search?q=%s
In-buffer completion (see Section 15.1 [Completion], page 228) can be used after ‘[’ to
complete link abbreviations. You may also define a function that implements special (e.g.,
completion) support for inserting such a link with C-c C-l. Such a function should not
accept any arguments, and return the full link with prefix. You can add a completion
function to a link like this:
(org-link-set-parameters ``type'' :complete #'some-function)
Chapter 4: Hyperlinks
45
4.7 Search options in file links
File links can contain additional information to make Emacs jump to a particular location in
the file when following a link. This can be a line number or a search option after a double12
colon. For example, when the command C-c l creates a link (see Section 4.4 [Handling
links], page 41) to a file, it encodes the words in the current line as a search string that can
be used to find this line back later when following the link with C-c C-o.
Here is the syntax of the different ways to attach a search to a file link, together with
an explanation:
[[file:~/code/main.c::255]]
[[file:~/xx.org::My Target]]
[[file:~/xx.org::*My Target]]
[[file:~/xx.org::#my-custom-id]]
[[file:~/xx.org::/regexp/]]
255
Jump to line 255.
My Target Search for a link target ‘<>’, or do a text search for ‘my target’,
similar to the search in internal links, see Section 4.2 [Internal links], page 38. In
HTML export (see Section 12.9 [HTML export], page 149), such a file link will
become an HTML reference to the corresponding named anchor in the linked
file.
*My Target
In an Org file, restrict search to headlines.
#my-custom-id
Link to a heading with a CUSTOM_ID property
/regexp/
Do a regular expression search for regexp. This uses the Emacs command
occur to list all matches in a separate window. If the target file is in Org
mode, org-occur is used to create a sparse tree with the matches.
As a degenerate case, a file link with an empty file name can be used to search the
current file. For example, [[file:::find me]] does a search for ‘find me’ in the current
file, just as ‘[[find me]]’ would.
4.8 Custom Searches
The default mechanism for creating search strings and for doing the actual search related
to a file link may not work correctly in all cases. For example, BibTEX database files have
many entries like ‘year="1993"’ which would not result in good search strings, because the
only unique identification for a BibTEX entry is the citation key.
If you come across such a problem, you can write custom functions to set the right
search string for a particular file type, and to do the search for the string in the file.
Using add-hook, these functions need to be added to the hook variables org-createfile-search-functions and org-execute-file-search-functions. See the docstring
for these variables for more information. Org actually uses this mechanism for BibTEX
database files, and you can use the corresponding code as an implementation example. See
the file org-bibtex.el.
12
For backward compatibility, line numbers can also follow a single colon.
Chapter 5: TODO items
46
5 TODO items
Org mode does not maintain TODO lists as separate documents1 . Instead, TODO items
are an integral part of the notes file, because TODO items usually come up while taking
notes! With Org mode, simply mark any entry in a tree as being a TODO item. In this way,
information is not duplicated, and the entire context from which the TODO item emerged
is always present.
Of course, this technique for managing TODO items scatters them throughout your
notes file. Org mode compensates for this by providing methods to give you an overview of
all the things that you have to do.
5.1 Basic TODO functionality
Any headline becomes a TODO item when it starts with the word ‘TODO’, for example:
*** TODO Write letter to Sam Fortune
The most important commands to work with TODO entries are:
C-c C-t
org-todo
Rotate the TODO state of the current item among
,-> (unmarked) -> TODO -> DONE --.
'--------------------------------'
If TODO keywords have fast access keys (see Section 5.2.4 [Fast access to TODO
states], page 49), you will be prompted for a TODO keyword through the
fast selection interface; this is the default behavior when org-use-fast-todoselection is non-nil.
The same rotation can also be done “remotely” from agenda buffers with the t
command key (see Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115).
C-u C-c C-t
When TODO keywords have no selection keys, select a specific keyword using
completion; otherwise force cycling through TODO states with no prompt.
When org-use-fast-todo-selection is set to prefix, use the fast selection
interface.
S-right / S-left
Select the following/preceding TODO state, similar to cycling. Useful mostly if
more than two TODO states are possible (see Section 5.2 [TODO extensions],
page 47). See also Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts], page 238, for a discussion of the
interaction with shift-selection-mode. See also the variable org-treat-Scursor-todo-selection-as-state-change.
C-c / t
1
org-show-todo-tree
View TODO items in a sparse tree (see Section 2.6 [Sparse trees], page 11).
Folds the entire buffer, but shows all TODO items (with not-DONE state) and
the headings hierarchy above them. With a prefix argument (or by using C-c
Of course, you can make a document that contains only long lists of TODO items, but this is not
required.
Chapter 5: TODO items
47
/ T), search for a specific TODO. You will be prompted for the keyword, and
you can also give a list of keywords like KWD1|KWD2|... to list entries that
match any one of these keywords. With a numeric prefix argument N, show the
tree for the Nth keyword in the option org-todo-keywords. With two prefix
arguments, find all TODO states, both un-done and done.
C-c a t
org-todo-list
Show the global TODO list. Collects the TODO items (with not-DONE
states) from all agenda files (see Chapter 10 [Agenda views], page 102) into
a single buffer. The new buffer will be in agenda-mode, which provides
commands to examine and manipulate the TODO entries from the new buffer
(see Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115). See Section 10.3.2 [Global
TODO list], page 106, for more information.
S-M-RET
org-insert-todo-heading
Insert a new TODO entry below the current one.
Changing a TODO state can also trigger tag changes. See the docstring of the option
org-todo-state-tags-triggers for details.
5.2 Extended use of TODO keywords
By default, marked TODO entries have one of only two states: TODO and DONE. Org
mode allows you to classify TODO items in more complex ways with TODO keywords
(stored in org-todo-keywords). With special setup, the TODO keyword system can work
differently in different files.
Note that tags are another way to classify headlines in general and TODO items in
particular (see Chapter 6 [Tags], page 59).
5.2.1 TODO keywords as workflow states
You can use TODO keywords to indicate different sequential states in the process of working
on an item, for example2 :
(setq org-todo-keywords
'((sequence "TODO" "FEEDBACK" "VERIFY" "|" "DONE" "DELEGATED")))
The vertical bar separates the TODO keywords (states that need action) from the DONE
states (which need no further action). If you don’t provide the separator bar, the last state
is used as the DONE state. With this setup, the command C-c C-t will cycle an entry
from TODO to FEEDBACK, then to VERIFY, and finally to DONE and DELEGATED.
You may also use a numeric prefix argument to quickly select a specific state. For example
C-3 C-c C-t will change the state immediately to VERIFY. Or you can use S-left to
go backward through the sequence. If you define many keywords, you can use in-buffer
completion (see Section 15.1 [Completion], page 228) or even a special one-key selection
scheme (see Section 5.2.4 [Fast access to TODO states], page 49) to insert these words into
the buffer. Changing a TODO state can be logged with a timestamp, see Section 5.3.2
[Tracking TODO state changes], page 52, for more information.
2
Changing this variable only becomes effective after restarting Org mode in a buffer.
Chapter 5: TODO items
48
5.2.2 TODO keywords as types
The second possibility is to use TODO keywords to indicate different types of action items.
For example, you might want to indicate that items are for “work” or “home”. Or, when
you work with several people on a single project, you might want to assign action items
directly to persons, by using their names as TODO keywords. This would be set up like
this:
(setq org-todo-keywords '((type "Fred" "Sara" "Lucy" "|" "DONE")))
In this case, different keywords do not indicate a sequence, but rather different types.
So the normal work flow would be to assign a task to a person, and later to mark it DONE.
Org mode supports this style by adapting the workings of the command C-c C-t3 . When
used several times in succession, it will still cycle through all names, in order to first select
the right type for a task. But when you return to the item after some time and execute
C-c C-t again, it will switch from any name directly to DONE. Use prefix arguments or
completion to quickly select a specific name. You can also review the items of a specific
TODO type in a sparse tree by using a numeric prefix to C-c / t. For example, to see all
things Lucy has to do, you would use C-3 C-c / t. To collect Lucy’s items from all agenda
files into a single buffer, you would use the numeric prefix argument as well when creating
the global TODO list: C-3 C-c a t.
5.2.3 Multiple keyword sets in one file
Sometimes you may want to use different sets of TODO keywords in parallel. For example,
you may want to have the basic TODO/DONE, but also a workflow for bug fixing, and a
separate state indicating that an item has been canceled (so it is not DONE, but also does
not require action). Your setup would then look like this:
(setq org-todo-keywords
'((sequence "TODO" "|" "DONE")
(sequence "REPORT" "BUG" "KNOWNCAUSE" "|" "FIXED")
(sequence "|" "CANCELED")))
The keywords should all be different, this helps Org mode to keep track of which subsequence should be used for a given entry. In this setup, C-c C-t only operates within a
subsequence, so it switches from DONE to (nothing) to TODO, and from FIXED to (nothing)
to REPORT. Therefore you need a mechanism to initially select the correct sequence. Besides the obvious ways like typing a keyword or using completion, you may also apply the
following commands:
C-u C-u C-c C-t
C-S-right
C-S-left These keys jump from one TODO subset to the next. In the above example,
C-u C-u C-c C-t or C-S-right would jump from TODO or DONE to REPORT, and
any of the words in the second row to CANCELED. Note that the C-S- key
binding conflict with shift-selection-mode (see Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts],
page 238).
3
This is also true for the t command in the agenda buffers.
Chapter 5: TODO items
S-right
S-left
49
S-left and S-right and walk through all keywords from all sets, so for example
S-right would switch from DONE to REPORT in the example above. See also
Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts], page 238, for a discussion of the interaction with
shift-selection-mode.
5.2.4 Fast access to TODO states
If you would like to quickly change an entry to an arbitrary TODO state instead of cycling
through the states, you can set up keys for single-letter access to the states. This is done
by adding the selection character after each keyword, in parentheses4 . For example:
(setq org-todo-keywords
'((sequence "TODO(t)" "|" "DONE(d)")
(sequence "REPORT(r)" "BUG(b)" "KNOWNCAUSE(k)" "|" "FIXED(f)")
(sequence "|" "CANCELED(c)")))
If you then press C-c C-t followed by the selection key, the entry will be switched to
this state. SPC can be used to remove any TODO keyword from an entry.5
5.2.5 Setting up keywords for individual files
It can be very useful to use different aspects of the TODO mechanism in different files.
For file-local settings, you need to add special lines to the file which set the keywords and
interpretation for that file only. For example, to set one of the two examples discussed
above, you need one of the following lines anywhere in the file:
#+TODO: TODO FEEDBACK VERIFY | DONE CANCELED
(you may also write #+SEQ_TODO to be explicit about the interpretation, but it means the
same as #+TODO), or
#+TYP_TODO: Fred Sara Lucy Mike | DONE
A setup for using several sets in parallel would be:
#+TODO: TODO | DONE
#+TODO: REPORT BUG KNOWNCAUSE | FIXED
#+TODO: | CANCELED
To make sure you are using the correct keyword, type ‘#+’ into the buffer and then use
M-TAB completion.
Remember that the keywords after the vertical bar (or the last keyword if no bar is
there) must always mean that the item is DONE (although you may use a different word).
After changing one of these lines, use C-c C-c with the cursor still in the line to make the
changes known to Org mode6 .
4
5
6
All characters are allowed except @^!, which have a special meaning here.
Check also the option org-fast-tag-selection-include-todo, it allows you to change the TODO state
through the tags interface (see Section 6.2 [Setting tags], page 59), in case you like to mingle the two
concepts. Note that this means you need to come up with unique keys across both sets of keywords.
Org mode parses these lines only when Org mode is activated after visiting a file. C-c C-c with the
cursor in a line starting with ‘#+’ is simply restarting Org mode for the current buffer.
Chapter 5: TODO items
50
5.2.6 Faces for TODO keywords
Org mode highlights TODO keywords with special faces: org-todo for keywords indicating
that an item still has to be acted upon, and org-done for keywords indicating that an item
is finished. If you are using more than 2 different states, you might want to use special
faces for some of them. This can be done using the option org-todo-keyword-faces. For
example:
(setq org-todo-keyword-faces
'(("TODO" . org-warning) ("STARTED" . "yellow")
("CANCELED" . (:foreground "blue" :weight bold))))
While using a list with face properties as shown for CANCELED should work, this does
not always seem to be the case. If necessary, define a special face and use that. A string is
interpreted as a color. The option org-faces-easy-properties determines if that color is
interpreted as a foreground or a background color.
5.2.7 TODO dependencies
The structure of Org files (hierarchy and lists) makes it easy to define TODO dependencies.
Usually, a parent TODO task should not be marked DONE until all subtasks (defined as
children tasks) are marked as DONE. And sometimes there is a logical sequence to a number
of (sub)tasks, so that one task cannot be acted upon before all siblings above it are done.
If you customize the option org-enforce-todo-dependencies, Org will block entries from
changing state to DONE while they have children that are not DONE. Furthermore, if an
entry has a property ORDERED, each of its children will be blocked until all earlier siblings
are marked DONE. Here is an example:
* TODO Blocked until (two) is done
** DONE one
** TODO two
* Parent
:PROPERTIES:
:ORDERED: t
:END:
** TODO a
** TODO b, needs to wait for (a)
** TODO c, needs to wait for (a) and (b)
You can ensure an entry is never blocked by using the NOBLOCKING property:
* This entry is never blocked
:PROPERTIES:
:NOBLOCKING: t
:END:
C-c C-x o
org-toggle-ordered-property
Toggle the ORDERED property of the current entry. A property is used for this
behavior because this should be local to the current entry, not inherited like
a tag. However, if you would like to track the value of this property with a
tag for better visibility, customize the option org-track-ordered-propertywith-tag.
Chapter 5: TODO items
51
C-u C-u C-u C-c C-t
Change TODO state, circumventing any state blocking.
If you set the option org-agenda-dim-blocked-tasks, TODO entries that cannot be
closed because of such dependencies will be shown in a dimmed font or even made invisible
in agenda views (see Chapter 10 [Agenda views], page 102).
You can also block changes of TODO states by looking at checkboxes (see Section 5.6
[Checkboxes], page 56). If you set the option org-enforce-todo-checkbox-dependencies,
an entry that has unchecked checkboxes will be blocked from switching to DONE.
If you need more complex dependency structures, for example dependencies between
entries in different trees or files, check out the contributed module org-depend.el.
Chapter 5: TODO items
52
5.3 Progress logging
Org mode can automatically record a timestamp and possibly a note when you mark a
TODO item as DONE, or even each time you change the state of a TODO item. This
system is highly configurable; settings can be on a per-keyword basis and can be localized
to a file or even a subtree. For information on how to clock working time for a task, see
Section 8.4 [Clocking work time], page 80.
5.3.1 Closing items
The most basic logging is to keep track of when a certain TODO item was finished. This is
achieved with1
(setq org-log-done 'time)
Then each time you turn an entry from a TODO (not-done) state into any of the DONE
states, a line ‘CLOSED: [timestamp]’ will be inserted just after the headline. If you turn the
entry back into a TODO item through further state cycling, that line will be removed again.
If you turn the entry back to a non-TODO state (by pressing C-c C-t SPC for example),
that line will also be removed, unless you set org-closed-keep-when-no-todo to non-nil.
If you want to record a note along with the timestamp, use2
(setq org-log-done 'note)
You will then be prompted for a note, and that note will be stored below the entry with a
‘Closing Note’ heading.
5.3.2 Tracking TODO state changes
When TODO keywords are used as workflow states (see Section 5.2.1 [Workflow states],
page 47), you might want to keep track of when a state change occurred and maybe take
a note about this change. You can either record just a timestamp, or a time-stamped note
for a change. These records will be inserted after the headline as an itemized list, newest
first3 . When taking a lot of notes, you might want to get the notes out of the way into a
drawer (see Section 2.8 [Drawers], page 15). Customize org-log-into-drawer to get this
behavior—the recommended drawer for this is called LOGBOOK4 . You can also overrule the
setting of this variable for a subtree by setting a LOG_INTO_DRAWER property.
Since it is normally too much to record a note for every state, Org mode expects configuration on a per-keyword basis for this. This is achieved by adding special markers ‘!’
(for a timestamp) or ‘@’ (for a note with timestamp) in parentheses after each keyword. For
example, with the setting
(setq org-todo-keywords
'((sequence "TODO(t)" "WAIT(w@/!)" "|" "DONE(d!)" "CANCELED(c@)")))
To record a timestamp without a note for TODO keywords configured with ‘@’, just type
C-c C-c to enter a blank note when prompted.
1
2
3
4
The corresponding in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP: logdone
The corresponding in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP: lognotedone.
See the option org-log-states-order-reversed
Note that the LOGBOOK drawer is unfolded when pressing SPC in the agenda to show an entry—use C-u
SPC to keep it folded here
Chapter 5: TODO items
53
You not only define global TODO keywords and fast access keys, but also request that a
time is recorded when the entry is set to DONE5 , and that a note is recorded when switching
to WAIT or CANCELED. The setting for WAIT is even more special: the ‘!’ after the
slash means that in addition to the note taken when entering the state, a timestamp should
be recorded when leaving the WAIT state, if and only if the target state does not configure
logging for entering it. So it has no effect when switching from WAIT to DONE, because
DONE is configured to record a timestamp only. But when switching from WAIT back to
TODO, the ‘/!’ in the WAIT setting now triggers a timestamp even though TODO has no
logging configured.
You can use the exact same syntax for setting logging preferences local to a buffer:
#+TODO: TODO(t) WAIT(w@/!) | DONE(d!) CANCELED(c@)
In order to define logging settings that are local to a subtree or a single item, define a
LOGGING property in this entry. Any non-empty LOGGING property resets all logging
settings to nil. You may then turn on logging for this specific tree using STARTUP
keywords like lognotedone or logrepeat, as well as adding state specific settings like
TODO(!). For example
* TODO Log each state with only a time
:PROPERTIES:
:LOGGING: TODO(!) WAIT(!) DONE(!) CANCELED(!)
:END:
* TODO Only log when switching to WAIT, and when repeating
:PROPERTIES:
:LOGGING: WAIT(@) logrepeat
:END:
* TODO No logging at all
:PROPERTIES:
:LOGGING: nil
:END:
5.3.3 Tracking your habits
Org has the ability to track the consistency of a special category of TODOs, called “habits”.
A habit has the following properties:
1. You have enabled the habits module by customizing org-modules.
2. The habit is a TODO item, with a TODO keyword representing an open state.
3. The property STYLE is set to the value habit.
4. The TODO has a scheduled date, usually with a .+ style repeat interval. A ++ style
may be appropriate for habits with time constraints, e.g., must be done on weekends,
or a + style for an unusual habit that can have a backlog, e.g., weekly reports.
5. The TODO may also have minimum and maximum ranges specified by using the syntax
‘.+2d/3d’, which says that you want to do the task at least every three days, but at
most every two days.
5
It is possible that Org mode will record two timestamps when you are using both org-log-done and
state change logging. However, it will never prompt for two notes—if you have configured both, the state
change recording note will take precedence and cancel the ‘Closing Note’.
Chapter 5: TODO items
54
6. You must also have state logging for the DONE state enabled (see Section 5.3.2 [Tracking
TODO state changes], page 52), in order for historical data to be represented in the
consistency graph. If it is not enabled it is not an error, but the consistency graphs
will be largely meaningless.
To give you an idea of what the above rules look like in action, here’s an actual habit
with some history:
** TODO Shave
SCHEDULED: <2009-10-17 Sat .+2d/4d>
:PROPERTIES:
:STYLE:
habit
:LAST_REPEAT: [2009-10-19 Mon 00:36]
:END:
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-10-15 Thu]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-10-12 Mon]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-10-10 Sat]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-10-04 Sun]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-10-02 Fri]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-09-29 Tue]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-09-25 Fri]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-09-19 Sat]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-09-16 Wed]
- State "DONE"
from "TODO"
[2009-09-12 Sat]
What this habit says is: I want to shave at most every 2 days (given by the SCHEDULED
date and repeat interval) and at least every 4 days. If today is the 15th, then the habit first
appears in the agenda on Oct 17, after the minimum of 2 days has elapsed, and will appear
overdue on Oct 19, after four days have elapsed.
What’s really useful about habits is that they are displayed along with a consistency
graph, to show how consistent you’ve been at getting that task done in the past. This
graph shows every day that the task was done over the past three weeks, with colors for
each day. The colors used are:
Blue
If the task wasn’t to be done yet on that day.
Green
If the task could have been done on that day.
Yellow
If the task was going to be overdue the next day.
Red
If the task was overdue on that day.
In addition to coloring each day, the day is also marked with an asterisk if the task was
actually done that day, and an exclamation mark to show where the current day falls in the
graph.
There are several configuration variables that can be used to change the way habits are
displayed in the agenda.
org-habit-graph-column
The buffer column at which the consistency graph should be drawn. This will
overwrite any text in that column, so it is a good idea to keep your habits’ titles
brief and to the point.
Chapter 5: TODO items
55
org-habit-preceding-days
The amount of history, in days before today, to appear in consistency graphs.
org-habit-following-days
The number of days after today that will appear in consistency graphs.
org-habit-show-habits-only-for-today
If non-nil, only show habits in today’s agenda view. This is set to true by
default.
Lastly, pressing K in the agenda buffer will cause habits to temporarily be disabled and
they won’t appear at all. Press K again to bring them back. They are also subject to tag
filtering, if you have habits which should only be done in certain contexts, for example.
5.4 Priorities
If you use Org mode extensively, you may end up with enough TODO items that it starts
to make sense to prioritize them. Prioritizing can be done by placing a priority cookie into
the headline of a TODO item, like this
*** TODO [#A] Write letter to Sam Fortune
By default, Org mode supports three priorities: ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’. ‘A’ is the highest priority.
An entry without a cookie is treated just like priority ‘B’. Priorities make a difference only
for sorting in the agenda (see Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda], page 104); outside the
agenda, they have no inherent meaning to Org mode. The cookies can be highlighted with
special faces by customizing org-priority-faces.
Priorities can be attached to any outline node; they do not need to be TODO items.
C-c ,
Set the priority of the current headline (org-priority). The command
prompts for a priority character ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’. When you press SPC instead,
the priority cookie is removed from the headline. The priorities can also
be changed “remotely” from the agenda buffer with the , command (see
Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115).
S-up
S-down
org-priority-up
org-priority-down
Increase/decrease priority of current headline6 . Note that these keys are also
used to modify timestamps (see Section 8.2 [Creating timestamps], page 74).
See also Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts], page 238, for a discussion of the interaction
with shift-selection-mode.
You can change the range of allowed priorities by setting the options org-highestpriority, org-lowest-priority, and org-default-priority. For an individual buffer,
you may set these values (highest, lowest, default) like this (please make sure that the
highest priority is earlier in the alphabet than the lowest priority):
#+PRIORITIES: A C B
6
See also the option org-priority-start-cycle-with-default.
Chapter 5: TODO items
56
5.5 Breaking tasks down into subtasks
It is often advisable to break down large tasks into smaller, manageable subtasks. You
can do this by creating an outline tree below a TODO item, with detailed subtasks on the
tree7 . To keep the overview over the fraction of subtasks that are already completed, insert
either ‘[/]’ or ‘[%]’ anywhere in the headline. These cookies will be updated each time the
TODO status of a child changes, or when pressing C-c C-c on the cookie. For example:
* Organize Party [33%]
** TODO Call people [1/2]
*** TODO Peter
*** DONE Sarah
** TODO Buy food
** DONE Talk to neighbor
If a heading has both checkboxes and TODO children below it, the meaning of the
statistics cookie become ambiguous. Set the property COOKIE_DATA to either ‘checkbox’ or
‘todo’ to resolve this issue.
If you would like to have the statistics cookie count any TODO entries in the subtree
(not just direct children), configure org-hierarchical-todo-statistics. To do this for
a single subtree, include the word ‘recursive’ into the value of the COOKIE_DATA property.
* Parent capturing statistics [2/20]
:PROPERTIES:
:COOKIE_DATA: todo recursive
:END:
If you would like a TODO entry to automatically change to DONE when all children
are done, you can use the following setup:
(defun org-summary-todo (n-done n-not-done)
"Switch entry to DONE when all subentries are done, to TODO otherwise."
(let (org-log-done org-log-states)
; turn off logging
(org-todo (if (= n-not-done 0) "DONE" "TODO"))))
(add-hook 'org-after-todo-statistics-hook 'org-summary-todo)
Another possibility is the use of checkboxes to identify (a hierarchy of) a large number
of subtasks (see Section 5.6 [Checkboxes], page 56).
5.6 Checkboxes
Every item in a plain list8 (see Section 2.7 [Plain lists], page 12) can be made into a checkbox
by starting it with the string ‘[ ]’. This feature is similar to TODO items (see Chapter 5
[TODO items], page 46), but is more lightweight. Checkboxes are not included in the global
TODO list, so they are often great to split a task into a number of simple steps. Or you can
use them in a shopping list. To toggle a checkbox, use C-c C-c, or use the mouse (thanks
to Piotr Zielinski’s org-mouse.el).
Here is an example of a checkbox list.
7
8
To keep subtasks out of the global TODO list, see the org-agenda-todo-list-sublevels.
With the exception of description lists. But you can allow it by modifying org-list-automatic-rules
accordingly.
Chapter 5: TODO items
57
* TODO Organize party [2/4]
- [-] call people [1/3]
- [ ] Peter
- [X] Sarah
- [ ] Sam
- [X] order food
- [ ] think about what music to play
- [X] talk to the neighbors
Checkboxes work hierarchically, so if a checkbox item has children that are checkboxes,
toggling one of the children checkboxes will make the parent checkbox reflect if none, some,
or all of the children are checked.
The ‘[2/4]’ and ‘[1/3]’ in the first and second line are cookies indicating how many
checkboxes present in this entry have been checked off, and the total number of checkboxes
present. This can give you an idea on how many checkboxes remain, even without opening a
folded entry. The cookies can be placed into a headline or into (the first line of) a plain list
item. Each cookie covers checkboxes of direct children structurally below the headline/item
on which the cookie appears9 . You have to insert the cookie yourself by typing either ‘[/]’
or ‘[%]’. With ‘[/]’ you get an ‘n out of m’ result, as in the examples above. With ‘[%]’
you get information about the percentage of checkboxes checked (in the above example,
this would be ‘[50%]’ and ‘[33%]’, respectively). In a headline, a cookie can count either
checkboxes below the heading or TODO states of children, and it will display whatever was
changed last. Set the property COOKIE_DATA to either ‘checkbox’ or ‘todo’ to resolve this
issue.
If the current outline node has an ORDERED property, checkboxes must be checked off in
sequence, and an error will be thrown if you try to check off a box while there are unchecked
boxes above it.
The following commands work with checkboxes:
C-c C-c
org-toggle-checkbox
Toggle checkbox status or (with prefix arg) checkbox presence at point. With
a single prefix argument, add an empty checkbox or remove the current one10 .
With a double prefix argument, set it to ‘[-]’, which is considered to be an
intermediate state.
C-c C-x C-b
org-toggle-checkbox
Toggle checkbox status or (with prefix arg) checkbox presence at point. With
double prefix argument, set it to ‘[-]’, which is considered to be an intermediate
state.
− If there is an active region, toggle the first checkbox in the region and set
all remaining boxes to the same status as the first. With a prefix arg, add
or remove the checkbox for all items in the region.
− If the cursor is in a headline, toggle the state of the first checkbox in the
region between this headline and the next—so not the entire subtree—and
propagate this new state to all other checkboxes in the same area.
9
10
Set the option org-checkbox-hierarchical-statistics if you want such cookies to count all checkboxes
below the cookie, not just those belonging to direct children.
C-u C-c C-c before the first bullet in a list with no checkbox will add checkboxes to the rest of the list.
Chapter 5: TODO items
58
− If there is no active region, just toggle the checkbox at point.
M-S-RET
org-insert-todo-heading
Insert a new item with a checkbox. This works only if the cursor is already in
a plain list item (see Section 2.7 [Plain lists], page 12).
C-c C-x o
org-toggle-ordered-property
Toggle the ORDERED property of the entry, to toggle if checkboxes must be
checked off in sequence. A property is used for this behavior because this
should be local to the current entry, not inherited like a tag. However, if you
would like to track the value of this property with a tag for better visibility,
customize org-track-ordered-property-with-tag.
C-c #
org-update-statistics-cookies
Update the statistics cookie in the current outline entry. When called with
a C-u prefix, update the entire file. Checkbox statistic cookies are updated
automatically if you toggle checkboxes with C-c C-c and make new ones with
M-S-RET. TODO statistics cookies update when changing TODO states. If you
delete boxes/entries or add/change them by hand, use this command to get
things back into sync.
Chapter 6: Tags
59
6 Tags
An excellent way to implement labels and contexts for cross-correlating information is to
assign tags to headlines. Org mode has extensive support for tags.
Every headline can contain a list of tags; they occur at the end of the headline. Tags are
normal words containing letters, numbers, ‘_’, and ‘@’. Tags must be preceded and followed
by a single colon, e.g., ‘:work:’. Several tags can be specified, as in ‘:work:urgent:’. Tags
will by default be in bold face with the same color as the headline. You may specify special
faces for specific tags using the option org-tag-faces, in much the same way as you can
for TODO keywords (see Section 5.2.6 [Faces for TODO keywords], page 50).
6.1 Tag inheritance
Tags make use of the hierarchical structure of outline trees. If a heading has a certain tag,
all subheadings will inherit the tag as well. For example, in the list
* Meeting with the French group
:work:
** Summary by Frank
:boss:notes:
*** TODO Prepare slides for him
:action:
the final heading will have the tags ‘:work:’, ‘:boss:’, ‘:notes:’, and ‘:action:’ even
though the final heading is not explicitly marked with all those tags. You can also set tags
that all entries in a file should inherit just as if these tags were defined in a hypothetical
level zero that surrounds the entire file. Use a line like this1 :
#+FILETAGS: :Peter:Boss:Secret:
To limit tag inheritance to specific tags, use org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance. To
turn it off entirely, use org-use-tag-inheritance.
When a headline matches during a tags search while tag inheritance is turned on, all
the sublevels in the same tree will (for a simple match form) match as well2 . The list of
matches may then become very long. If you only want to see the first tags match in a
subtree, configure org-tags-match-list-sublevels (not recommended).
Tag inheritance is relevant when the agenda search tries to match a tag, either in the
tags or tags-todo agenda types. In other agenda types, org-use-tag-inheritance has
no effect. Still, you may want to have your tags correctly set in the agenda, so that tag
filtering works fine, with inherited tags. Set org-agenda-use-tag-inheritance to control
this: the default value includes all agenda types, but setting this to nil can really speed
up agenda generation.
6.2 Setting tags
Tags can simply be typed into the buffer at the end of a headline. After a colon, M-TAB
offers completion on tags. There is also a special command for inserting tags:
C-c C-q
1
2
org-set-tags-command
Enter new tags for the current headline. Org mode will either offer completion
or a special single-key interface for setting tags, see below. After pressing RET,
As with all these in-buffer settings, pressing C-c C-c activates any changes in the line.
This is only true if the search does not involve more complex tests including properties (see Section 7.3
[Property searches], page 66).
Chapter 6: Tags
60
the tags will be inserted and aligned to org-tags-column. When called with
a C-u prefix, all tags in the current buffer will be aligned to that column, just
to make things look nice. TAGS are automatically realigned after promotion,
demotion, and TODO state changes (see Section 5.1 [TODO basics], page 46).
C-c C-c
org-set-tags-command
When the cursor is in a headline, this does the same as C-c C-q.
Org supports tag insertion based on a list of tags. By default this list is constructed
dynamically, containing all tags currently used in the buffer. You may also globally specify
a hard list of tags with the variable org-tag-alist. Finally you can set the default tags
for a given file with lines like
#+TAGS: @work @home @tennisclub
#+TAGS: laptop car pc sailboat
If you have globally defined your preferred set of tags using the variable org-tag-alist,
but would like to use a dynamic tag list in a specific file, add an empty TAGS option line
to that file:
#+TAGS:
If you have a preferred set of tags that you would like to use in every file, in addition to
those defined on a per-file basis by TAGS option lines, then you may specify a list of tags
with the variable org-tag-persistent-alist. You may turn this off on a per-file basis by
adding a STARTUP option line to that file:
#+STARTUP: noptag
By default Org mode uses the standard minibuffer completion facilities for entering tags.
However, it also implements another, quicker, tag selection method called fast tag selection.
This allows you to select and deselect tags with just a single key press. For this to work
well you should assign unique, case-sensitive, letters to most of your commonly used tags.
You can do this globally by configuring the variable org-tag-alist in your Emacs init file.
For example, you may find the need to tag many items in different files with ‘:@home:’. In
this case you can set something like:
(setq org-tag-alist '(("@work" . ?w) ("@home" . ?h) ("laptop" . ?l)))
If the tag is only relevant to the file you are working on, then you can instead set the TAGS
option line as:
#+TAGS: @work(w)
@home(h)
@tennisclub(t)
laptop(l)
pc(p)
The tags interface will show the available tags in a splash window. If you want to start a
new line after a specific tag, insert ‘\n’ into the tag list
#+TAGS: @work(w)
@home(h)
@tennisclub(t) \n laptop(l)
pc(p)
or write them in two lines:
#+TAGS: @work(w) @home(h)
#+TAGS: laptop(l) pc(p)
@tennisclub(t)
You can also group together tags that are mutually exclusive by using braces, as in:
#+TAGS: { @work(w)
@home(h)
@tennisclub(t) }
laptop(l)
pc(p)
you indicate that at most one of ‘@work’, ‘@home’, and ‘@tennisclub’ should be selected.
Multiple such groups are allowed.
Chapter 6: Tags
61
Don’t forget to press C-c C-c with the cursor in one of these lines to activate any changes.
To set these mutually exclusive groups in the variable org-tag-alist, you must use the
dummy tags :startgroup and :endgroup instead of the braces. Similarly, you can use
:newline to indicate a line break. The previous example would be set globally by the
following configuration:
(setq org-tag-alist '((:startgroup . nil)
("@work" . ?w) ("@home" . ?h)
("@tennisclub" . ?t)
(:endgroup . nil)
("laptop" . ?l) ("pc" . ?p)))
If at least one tag has a selection key then pressing C-c C-c will automatically present
you with a special interface, listing inherited tags, the tags of the current headline, and a
list of all valid tags with corresponding keys3 .
Pressing keys assigned to tags will add or remove them from the list of tags in the current
line. Selecting a tag in a group of mutually exclusive tags will turn off any other tags from
that group.
In this interface, you can also use the following special keys:
TAB
Enter a tag in the minibuffer, even if the tag is not in the predefined list. You
will be able to complete on all tags present in the buffer. You can also add
several tags: just separate them with a comma.
SPC
Clear all tags for this line.
RET
Accept the modified set.
C-g
Abort without installing changes.
q
If q is not assigned to a tag, it aborts like C-g.
!
Turn off groups of mutually exclusive tags. Use this to (as an exception) assign
several tags from such a group.
C-c
Toggle auto-exit after the next change (see below). If you are using expert
mode, the first C-c will display the selection window.
This method lets you assign tags to a headline with very few keys. With the above setup,
you could clear the current tags and set ‘@home’, ‘laptop’ and ‘pc’ tags with just the
following keys: C-c C-c SPC h l p RET. Switching from ‘@home’ to ‘@work’ would be done
with C-c C-c w RET or alternatively with C-c C-c C-c w. Adding the non-predefined tag
‘Sarah’ could be done with C-c C-c TAB S a r a h RET RET.
If you find that most of the time you need only a single key press to modify your list
of tags, set org-fast-tag-selection-single-key. Then you no longer have to press
RET to exit fast tag selection—it will immediately exit after the first change. If you then
occasionally need more keys, press C-c to turn off auto-exit for the current tag selection
process (in effect: start selection with C-c C-c C-c instead of C-c C-c). If you set the
variable to the value expert, the special window is not even shown for single-key tag
selection, it comes up only when you press an extra C-c.
3
Keys will automatically be assigned to tags which have no configured keys.
Chapter 6: Tags
62
6.3 Tag hierarchy
Tags can be defined in hierarchies. A tag can be defined as a group tag for a set of other
tags. The group tag can be seen as the “broader term” for its set of tags. Defining multiple
group tags and nesting them creates a tag hierarchy.
One use-case is to create a taxonomy of terms (tags) that can be used to classify nodes
in a document or set of documents.
When you search for a group tag, it will return matches for all members in the group
and its subgroups. In an agenda view, filtering by a group tag will display or hide headlines
tagged with at least one of the members of the group or any of its subgroups. This makes
tag searches and filters even more flexible.
You can set group tags by using brackets and inserting a colon between the group tag
and its related tags—beware that all whitespaces are mandatory so that Org can parse this
line correctly:
#+TAGS: [ GTD : Control Persp ]
In this example, ‘GTD’ is the group tag and it is related to two other tags: ‘Control’,
‘Persp’. Defining ‘Control’ and ‘Persp’ as group tags creates an hierarchy of tags:
#+TAGS: [ Control : Context Task ]
#+TAGS: [ Persp : Vision Goal AOF Project ]
That can conceptually be seen as a hierarchy of tags:
- GTD
- Persp
- Vision
- Goal
- AOF
- Project
- Control
- Context
- Task
You can use the :startgrouptag, :grouptags and :endgrouptag keyword directly
when setting org-tag-alist directly:
(setq org-tag-alist '((:startgrouptag)
("GTD")
(:grouptags)
("Control")
("Persp")
(:endgrouptag)
(:startgrouptag)
("Control")
(:grouptags)
("Context")
("Task")
(:endgrouptag)))
The tags in a group can be mutually exclusive if using the same group syntax as is used
for grouping mutually exclusive tags together; using curly brackets.
Chapter 6: Tags
63
#+TAGS: { Context : @Home @Work @Call }
When setting org-tag-alist you can use :startgroup & :endgroup instead of
:startgrouptag & :endgrouptag to make the tags mutually exclusive.
Furthermore, the members of a group tag can also be regular expressions, creating the
possibility of a more dynamic and rule-based tag structure. The regular expressions in the
group must be specified within { }. Here is an expanded example:
#+TAGS: [ Vision : {V@.+} ]
#+TAGS: [ Goal : {G@.+} ]
#+TAGS: [ AOF : {AOF@.+} ]
#+TAGS: [ Project : {P@.+} ]
Searching for the tag ‘Project’ will now list all tags also including regular expression
matches for ‘P@.+’, and similarly for tag searches on ‘Vision’, ‘Goal’ and ‘AOF’. For example, this would work well for a project tagged with a common project-identifier, e.g.
‘P@2014_OrgTags’.
If you want to ignore group tags temporarily, toggle group tags support with
org-toggle-tags-groups, bound to C-c C-x q. If you want to disable tag groups
completely, set org-group-tags to nil.
6.4 Tag searches
Once a system of tags has been set up, it can be used to collect related information into
special lists.
C-c / m or C-c \
org-match-sparse-tree
Create a sparse tree with all headlines matching a tags/property/TODO search.
With a C-u prefix argument, ignore headlines that are not a TODO line. See
Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107.
C-c a m
org-tags-view
Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files. See Section 10.3.3
[Matching tags and properties], page 107.
C-c a M
org-tags-view
Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files, but check only TODO
items and force checking subitems (see the option org-tags-match-listsublevels).
These commands all prompt for a match string which allows basic Boolean logic
like ‘+boss+urgent-project1’, to find entries with tags ‘boss’ and ‘urgent’, but not
‘project1’, or ‘Kathy|Sally’ to find entries tagged as ‘Kathy’ or ‘Sally’. The full syntax
of the search string is rich and allows also matching against TODO keywords, entry
levels and properties. For a complete description with many examples, see Section 10.3.3
[Matching tags and properties], page 107.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
64
7 Properties and columns
A property is a key-value pair associated with an entry. Properties can be set so they are
associated with a single entry, with every entry in a tree, or with every entry in an Org
mode file.
There are two main applications for properties in Org mode. First, properties are like
tags, but with a value. Imagine maintaining a file where you document bugs and plan
releases for a piece of software. Instead of using tags like :release_1:, :release_2:, you
can use a property, say :Release:, that in different subtrees has different values, such as
1.0 or 2.0. Second, you can use properties to implement (very basic) database capabilities
in an Org buffer. Imagine keeping track of your music CDs, where properties could be
things such as the album, artist, date of release, number of tracks, and so on.
Properties can be conveniently edited and viewed in column view (see Section 7.5 [Column view], page 67).
7.1 Property syntax
Properties are key-value pairs. When they are associated with a single entry or with a tree
they need to be inserted into a special drawer (see Section 2.8 [Drawers], page 15) with the
name PROPERTIES, which has to be located right below a headline, and its planning line
(see Section 8.3 [Deadlines and scheduling], page 77) when applicable. Each property is
specified on a single line, with the key (surrounded by colons) first, and the value after it.
Keys are case-insensitive. Here is an example:
* CD collection
** Classic
*** Goldberg Variations
:PROPERTIES:
:Title:
Goldberg Variations
:Composer: J.S. Bach
:Artist:
Glen Gould
:Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
:NDisks:
1
:END:
Depending on the value of org-use-property-inheritance, a property set this way will
either be associated with a single entry, or the subtree defined by the entry, see Section 7.4
[Property inheritance], page 67.
You may define the allowed values for a particular property ‘:Xyz:’ by setting a property
‘:Xyz_ALL:’. This special property is inherited, so if you set it in a level 1 entry, it will
apply to the entire tree. When allowed values are defined, setting the corresponding property
becomes easier and is less prone to typing errors. For the example with the CD collection,
we can predefine publishers and the number of disks in a box like this:
* CD collection
:PROPERTIES:
:NDisks_ALL: 1 2 3 4
:Publisher_ALL: "Deutsche Grammophon" Philips EMI
:END:
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
65
If you want to set properties that can be inherited by any entry in a file, use a line like
#+PROPERTY: NDisks_ALL 1 2 3 4
Contrary to properties set from a special drawer, you have to refresh the buffer with C-c
C-c to activate this change.
If you want to add to the value of an existing property, append a + to the property name.
The following results in the property var having the value “foo=1 bar=2”.
#+PROPERTY: var foo=1
#+PROPERTY: var+ bar=2
It is also possible to add to the values of inherited properties. The following results in
the genres property having the value “Classic Baroque” under the Goldberg Variations
subtree.
* CD collection
** Classic
:PROPERTIES:
:GENRES: Classic
:END:
*** Goldberg Variations
:PROPERTIES:
:Title:
Goldberg Variations
:Composer: J.S. Bach
:Artist:
Glen Gould
:Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
:NDisks:
1
:GENRES+:
Baroque
:END:
Note that a property can only have one entry per Drawer.
Property values set with the global variable org-global-properties can be inherited
by all entries in all Org files.
The following commands help to work with properties:
M-TAB
pcomplete
After an initial colon in a line, complete property keys. All keys used in the
current file will be offered as possible completions.
C-c C-x p
org-set-property
Set a property. This prompts for a property name and a value. If necessary,
the property drawer is created as well.
C-u M-x org-insert-drawer RET
Insert a property drawer into the current entry. The drawer will be inserted
early in the entry, but after the lines with planning information like deadlines.
C-c C-c
org-property-action
With the cursor in a property drawer, this executes property commands.
C-c C-c s
org-set-property
Set a property in the current entry. Both the property and the value can be
inserted using completion.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
S-right
S-left
66
org-property-next-allowed-value
org-property-previous-allowed-value
Switch property at point to the next/previous allowed value.
C-c C-c d
org-delete-property
Remove a property from the current entry.
C-c C-c D
org-delete-property-globally
Globally remove a property, from all entries in the current file.
C-c C-c c
org-compute-property-at-point
Compute the property at point, using the operator and scope from the nearest
column format definition.
7.2 Special properties
Special properties provide an alternative access method to Org mode features, like the
TODO state or the priority of an entry, discussed in the previous chapters. This interface
exists so that you can include these states in a column view (see Section 7.5 [Column view],
page 67), or to use them in queries. The following property names are special and should
not be used as keys in the properties drawer:
ALLTAGS
All tags, including inherited ones.
BLOCKED
"t" if task is currently blocked by children or siblings.
CLOCKSUM
The sum of CLOCK intervals in the subtree. org-clock-sum
must be run first to compute the values in the current buffer.
CLOCKSUM_T
The sum of CLOCK intervals in the subtree for today.
org-clock-sum-today must be run first to compute the
values in the current buffer.
CLOSED
When was this entry closed?
DEADLINE
The deadline time string, without the angular brackets.
FILE
The filename the entry is located in.
ITEM
The headline of the entry.
PRIORITY
The priority of the entry, a string with a single letter.
SCHEDULED
The scheduling timestamp, without the angular brackets.
TAGS
The tags defined directly in the headline.
TIMESTAMP
The first keyword-less timestamp in the entry.
TIMESTAMP_IA The first inactive timestamp in the entry.
TODO
The TODO keyword of the entry.
7.3 Property searches
To create sparse trees and special lists with selection based on properties, the same commands are used as for tag searches (see Section 6.4 [Tag searches], page 63).
C-c / m or C-c \
org-match-sparse-tree
Create a sparse tree with all matching entries. With a C-u prefix argument,
ignore headlines that are not a TODO line.
C-c a m
org-tags-view
Create a global list of tag/property matches from all agenda files. See
Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
C-c a M
67
org-tags-view
Create a global list of tag matches from all agenda files, but check only TODO
items and force checking of subitems (see the option org-tags-match-listsublevels).
The syntax for the search string is described in Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107.
There is also a special command for creating sparse trees based on a single property:
C-c / p
Create a sparse tree based on the value of a property. This first prompts for
the name of a property, and then for a value. A sparse tree is created with all
entries that define this property with the given value. If you enclose the value
in curly braces, it is interpreted as a regular expression and matched against
the property values.
7.4 Property Inheritance
The outline structure of Org mode documents lends itself to an inheritance model of properties: if the parent in a tree has a certain property, the children can inherit this property.
Org mode does not turn this on by default, because it can slow down property searches
significantly and is often not needed. However, if you find inheritance useful, you can turn
it on by setting the variable org-use-property-inheritance. It may be set to t to make
all properties inherited from the parent, to a list of properties that should be inherited, or
to a regular expression that matches inherited properties. If a property has the value nil,
this is interpreted as an explicit undefine of the property, so that inheritance search will
stop at this value and return nil.
Org mode has a few properties for which inheritance is hard-coded, at least for the
special applications for which they are used:
COLUMNS
The :COLUMNS: property defines the format of column view (see Section 7.5
[Column view], page 67). It is inherited in the sense that the level where a
:COLUMNS: property is defined is used as the starting point for a column view
table, independently of the location in the subtree from where columns view is
turned on.
CATEGORY
For agenda view, a category set through a :CATEGORY: property applies to the
entire subtree.
ARCHIVE
For archiving, the :ARCHIVE: property may define the archive location for the
entire subtree (see Section 9.6.1 [Moving subtrees], page 100).
LOGGING
The LOGGING property may define logging settings for an entry or a subtree
(see Section 5.3.2 [Tracking TODO state changes], page 52).
7.5 Column view
A great way to view and edit properties in an outline tree is column view. In column
view, each outline node is turned into a table row. Columns in this table provide access to
properties of the entries. Org mode implements columns by overlaying a tabular structure
over the headline of each item. While the headlines have been turned into a table row, you
can still change the visibility of the outline tree. For example, you get a compact table
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
68
by switching to CONTENTS view (S-TAB S-TAB, or simply c while column view is active),
but you can still open, read, and edit the entry below each headline. Or, you can switch to
column view after executing a sparse tree command and in this way get a table only for the
selected items. Column view also works in agenda buffers (see Chapter 10 [Agenda views],
page 102) where queries have collected selected items, possibly from a number of files.
7.5.1 Defining columns
Setting up a column view first requires defining the columns. This is done by defining a
column format line.
7.5.1.1 Scope of column definitions
To define a column format for an entire file, use a line like
#+COLUMNS: %25ITEM %TAGS %PRIORITY %TODO
To specify a format that only applies to a specific tree, add a :COLUMNS: property to the
top node of that tree, for example:
** Top node for columns view
:PROPERTIES:
:COLUMNS: %25ITEM %TAGS %PRIORITY %TODO
:END:
If a :COLUMNS: property is present in an entry, it defines columns for the entry itself,
and for the entire subtree below it. Since the column definition is part of the hierarchical
structure of the document, you can define columns on level 1 that are general enough for
all sublevels, and more specific columns further down, when you edit a deeper part of the
tree.
7.5.1.2 Column attributes
A column definition sets the attributes of a column. The general definition looks like this:
%[width]property[(title)][{summary-type}]
Except for the percent sign and the property name, all items are optional. The individual
parts have the following meaning:
width
property
title
{summary-type}
1
An integer specifying the width of the column in characters.
If omitted, the width will be determined automatically.
The property that should be edited in this column.
Special properties representing meta data are allowed here
as well (see Section 7.2 [Special properties], page 66)
The header text for the column. If omitted, the property
name is used.
The summary type. If specified, the column values for
parent nodes are computed from the children1 .
Supported summary types are:
{+}
Sum numbers in this column.
If
more than one summary type apply to the property, the parent
values are computed according to the first of them.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
69
{+;%.1f} Like ‘+’, but format result with ‘%.1f’.
{$}
Currency, short for ‘+;%.2f’.
{min}
Smallest number in column.
{max}
Largest number.
{mean}
Arithmetic mean of numbers.
{X}
Checkbox status, ‘[X]’ if all children are ‘[X]’.
{X/}
Checkbox status, ‘[n/m]’.
{X%}
Checkbox status, ‘[n%]’.
{:}
Sum times, HH:MM, plain numbers are
hours2 .
{:min}
Smallest time value in column.
{:max}
Largest time value.
{:mean}
Arithmetic mean of time values.
{@min}
Minimum age3 (in
days/hours/mins/seconds).
{@max}
Maximum age (in days/hours/mins/seconds).
{@mean}
Arithmetic mean of ages (in days/hours/mins/seconds).
{est+}
Add ‘low-high’ estimates.
The est+ summary type requires further explanation. It is used for combining estimates,
expressed as ‘low-high’ ranges or plain numbers. For example, instead of estimating a
particular task will take 5 days, you might estimate it as 5–6 days if you’re fairly confident
you know how much work is required, or 1–10 days if you don’t really know what needs
to be done. Both ranges average at 5.5 days, but the first represents a more predictable
delivery.
When combining a set of such estimates, simply adding the lows and highs produces
an unrealistically wide result. Instead, est+ adds the statistical mean and variance of the
sub-tasks, generating a final estimate from the sum. For example, suppose you had ten
tasks, each of which was estimated at 0.5 to 2 days of work. Straight addition produces an
estimate of 5 to 20 days, representing what to expect if everything goes either extremely
well or extremely poorly. In contrast, est+ estimates the full job more realistically, at 10–15
days.
Numbers are right-aligned when a format specifier with an explicit width like %5d or
%5.1f is used.
You can also define custom summary types by setting org-columns-summary-types,
which see.
Here is an example for a complete columns definition, along with allowed values.
2
3
A time can also be a duration, using effort
modifiers defined in org-effort-durations, e.g.,
‘3d 1h’. If any value in the column is as such, the
summary will also be an effort duration.
An age is defined as
a duration since a given time-stamp (see Section 8.1 [Timestamps], page 73). It
can also be expressed as days, hours, minutes and seconds,
identified by ‘d’, ‘h’, ‘m’ and ‘s’
suffixes, all mandatory, e.g., ‘0d 13h 0m 10s’.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
70
%25ITEM %9Approved(Approved?){X} %Owner %11Status \4
%10Time_Estimate{:} %CLOCKSUM %CLOCKSUM_T
:Owner_ALL:
Tammy Mark Karl Lisa Don
:Status_ALL:
"In progress" "Not started yet" "Finished" ""
:Approved_ALL: "[ ]" "[X]"
:COLUMNS:
The first column, ‘%25ITEM’, means the first 25 characters of the item itself, i.e., of the headline. You probably always should start the column definition with the ‘ITEM’ specifier. The
other specifiers create columns ‘Owner’ with a list of names as allowed values, for ‘Status’
with four different possible values, and for a checkbox field ‘Approved’. When no width is
given after the ‘%’ character, the column will be exactly as wide as it needs to be in order
to fully display all values. The ‘Approved’ column does have a modified title (‘Approved?’,
with a question mark). Summaries will be created for the ‘Time_Estimate’ column by
adding time duration expressions like HH:MM, and for the ‘Approved’ column, by providing an ‘[X]’ status if all children have been checked. The ‘CLOCKSUM’ and ‘CLOCKSUM_T’
columns are special, they lists the sums of CLOCK intervals in the subtree, either for all
clocks or just for today.
7.5.2 Using column view
Turning column view on and off
C-c C-x C-c
org-columns
Turn on column view. If the cursor is before the first headline in the file, or the
function called with the universal prefix argument, column view is turned on
for the entire file, using the #+COLUMNS definition. If the cursor is somewhere
inside the outline, this command searches the hierarchy, up from point, for a
:COLUMNS: property that defines a format. When one is found, the column
view table is established for the tree starting at the entry that contains the
:COLUMNS: property. If no such property is found, the format is taken from
the #+COLUMNS line or from the variable org-columns-default-format, and
column view is established for the current entry and its subtree.
r
org-columns-redo
Recreate the column view, to include recent changes made in the buffer.
g
org-columns-redo
Same as r.
q
org-columns-quit
Exit column view.
Editing values
left right up down
Move through the column view from field to field.
S-left/right
Switch to the next/previous allowed value of the field. For this, you have to
have specified allowed values for a property.
4
Please note that the COLUMNS definition must be on a single line—it is wrapped here only because of formatting constraints.
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
1..9,0
71
Directly select the Nth allowed value, 0 selects the 10th value.
n
p
org-columns-next-allowed-value
org-columns-previous-allowed-value
Same as S-left/right
e
org-columns-edit-value
Edit the property at point. For the special properties, this will invoke the same
interface that you normally use to change that property. For example, when
editing a TAGS property, the tag completion or fast selection interface will pop
up.
C-c C-c
org-columns-set-tags-or-toggle
When there is a checkbox at point, toggle it.
v
org-columns-show-value
View the full value of this property. This is useful if the width of the column is
smaller than that of the value.
a
org-columns-edit-allowed
Edit the list of allowed values for this property. If the list is found in the
hierarchy, the modified value is stored there. If no list is found, the new value
is stored in the first entry that is part of the current column view.
Modifying the table structure
<
>
Make the column narrower/wider by one character.
S-M-right
org-columns-narrow
org-columns-widen
org-columns-new
Insert a new column, to the left of the current column.
S-M-left
org-columns-delete
Delete the current column.
7.5.3 Capturing column view
Since column view is just an overlay over a buffer, it cannot be exported or printed directly.
If you want to capture a column view, use a columnview dynamic block (see Section A.7
[Dynamic blocks], page 247). The frame of this block looks like this:
* The column view
#+BEGIN: columnview :hlines 1 :id "label"
#+END:
This dynamic block has the following parameters:
:id
This is the most important parameter. Column view is a feature that is often
localized to a certain (sub)tree, and the capture block might be at a different
location in the file. To identify the tree whose view to capture, you can use 4
values:
local
use the tree in which the capture block is located
global
make a global view, including all headings in the file
Chapter 7: Properties and columns
72
"file:path-to-file"
run column view at the top of this file
"ID"
call column view in the tree that has an :ID:
property with the value label. You can use
M-x org-id-copy RET to create a globally unique ID for
the current entry and copy it to the kill-ring.
:hlines
When t, insert an hline after every line. When a number N, insert an hline
before each headline with level <= N.
:vlines
When set to t, force column groups to get vertical lines.
:maxlevel
When set to a number, don’t capture entries below this level.
:skip-empty-rows
When set to t, skip rows where the only non-empty specifier of the column view
is ITEM.
:indent
When non-nil, indent each ITEM field according to its level.
The following commands insert or update the dynamic block:
C-c C-x i
org-insert-columns-dblock
Insert a dynamic block capturing a column view. You will be prompted for the
scope or ID of the view.
C-c C-c or C-c C-x C-u
Update dynamic block at point.
org-dblock-update
C-u C-c C-x C-u
org-update-all-dblocks
Update all dynamic blocks (see Section A.7 [Dynamic blocks], page 247). This
is useful if you have several clock table blocks, column-capturing blocks or other
dynamic blocks in a buffer.
You can add formulas to the column view table and you may add plotting instructions
in front of the table—these will survive an update of the block. If there is a #+TBLFM: after
the table, the table will actually be recalculated automatically after an update.
An alternative way to capture and process property values into a table is provided by
Eric Schulte’s org-collector.el which is a contributed package5 . It provides a general
API to collect properties from entries in a certain scope, and arbitrary Lisp expressions to
process these values before inserting them into a table or a dynamic block.
7.6 The Property API
There is a full API for accessing and changing properties. This API can be used by Emacs
Lisp programs to work with properties and to implement features based on them. For more
information see Section A.11 [Using the property API], page 251.
5
Contributed packages are not part of Emacs, but are distributed with the main distribution of Org (visit
http://orgmode.org).
Chapter 8: Dates and times
73
8 Dates and times
To assist project planning, TODO items can be labeled with a date and/or a time. The
specially formatted string carrying the date and time information is called a timestamp in
Org mode. This may be a little confusing because timestamp is often used to indicate when
something was created or last changed. However, in Org mode this term is used in a much
wider sense.
8.1 Timestamps, deadlines, and scheduling
A timestamp is a specification of a date (possibly with a time or a range of times) in a
special format, either ‘<2003-09-16 Tue>’1 or ‘<2003-09-16 Tue 09:39>’ or ‘<2003-09-16
Tue 12:00-12:30>’2 . A timestamp can appear anywhere in the headline or body of an Org
tree entry. Its presence causes entries to be shown on specific dates in the agenda (see
Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda], page 104). We distinguish:
Plain timestamp; Event; Appointment
A simple timestamp just assigns a date/time to an item. This is just like writing
down an appointment or event in a paper agenda. In the agenda display, the
headline of an entry associated with a plain timestamp will be shown exactly
on that date.
* Meet Peter at the movies
<2006-11-01 Wed 19:15>
* Discussion on climate change
<2006-11-02 Thu 20:00-22:00>
Timestamp with repeater interval
A timestamp may contain a repeater interval, indicating that it applies not only
on the given date, but again and again after a certain interval of N days (d),
weeks (w), months (m), or years (y). The following will show up in the agenda
every Wednesday:
* Pick up Sam at school
<2007-05-16 Wed 12:30 +1w>
Diary-style sexp entries
For more complex date specifications, Org mode supports using the special sexp
diary entries implemented in the Emacs calendar/diary package3 . For example
with optional time
1
2
3
In this simplest form, the day name is optional when you type the date yourself. However, any dates
inserted or modified by Org will add that day name, for reading convenience.
This is inspired by the standard ISO 8601 date/time format. To use an alternative format, see
Section 8.2.2 [Custom time format], page 77.
When working with the standard diary sexp functions, you need to be very careful with the order of
the arguments. That order depends evilly on the variable calendar-date-style (or, for older Emacs
versions, european-calendar-style). For example, to specify a date December 1, 2005, the call might
look like (diary-date 12 1 2005) or (diary-date 1 12 2005) or (diary-date 2005 12 1), depending on
the settings. This has been the source of much confusion. Org mode users can resort to special versions
of these functions like org-date or org-anniversary. These work just like the corresponding diaryfunctions, but with stable ISO order of arguments (year, month, day) wherever applicable, independent
of the value of calendar-date-style.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
74
* 22:00-23:00 The nerd meeting on every 2nd Thursday of the month
<%%(diary-float t 4 2)>
Time/Date range
Two timestamps connected by ‘--’ denote a range. The headline will be shown
on the first and last day of the range, and on any dates that are displayed and
fall in the range. Here is an example:
** Meeting in Amsterdam
<2004-08-23 Mon>--<2004-08-26 Thu>
Inactive timestamp
Just like a plain timestamp, but with square brackets instead of angular ones.
These timestamps are inactive in the sense that they do not trigger an entry
to show up in the agenda.
* Gillian comes late for the fifth time
[2006-11-01 Wed]
8.2 Creating timestamps
For Org mode to recognize timestamps, they need to be in the specific format. All commands
listed below produce timestamps in the correct format.
C-c .
org-time-stamp
Prompt for a date and insert a corresponding timestamp. When the cursor is
at an existing timestamp in the buffer, the command is used to modify this
timestamp instead of inserting a new one. When this command is used twice
in succession, a time range is inserted.
C-c !
org-time-stamp-inactive
Like C-c ., but insert an inactive timestamp that will not cause an agenda
entry.
C-u C-c .
C-u C-c ! Like C-c . and C-c !, but use the alternative format which contains date and
time. The default time can be rounded to multiples of 5 minutes, see the option
org-time-stamp-rounding-minutes.
C-c C-c
Normalize timestamp, insert/fix day name if missing or wrong.
C-c <
org-date-from-calendar
Insert a timestamp corresponding to the cursor date in the Calendar.
C-c >
org-goto-calendar
Access the Emacs calendar for the current date. If there is a timestamp in the
current line, go to the corresponding date instead.
C-c C-o
org-open-at-point
Access the agenda for the date given by the timestamp or -range at point (see
Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda], page 104).
S-left
S-right
org-timestamp-down-day
org-timestamp-up-day
Change date at cursor by one day. These key bindings conflict with shiftselection and related modes (see Section 15.10.2 [Conflicts], page 238).
Chapter 8: Dates and times
75
S-up
S-down
org-timestamp-up
org-timestamp-down-down
Change the item under the cursor in a timestamp. The cursor can be on a year,
month, day, hour or minute. When the timestamp contains a time range like
‘15:30-16:30’, modifying the first time will also shift the second, shifting the
time block with constant length. To change the length, modify the second time.
Note that if the cursor is in a headline and not at a timestamp, these same keys
modify the priority of an item. (see Section 5.4 [Priorities], page 55). The key
bindings also conflict with shift-selection and related modes (see Section 15.10.2
[Conflicts], page 238).
C-c C-y
org-evaluate-time-range
Evaluate a time range by computing the difference between start and end.
With a prefix argument, insert result after the time range (in a table: into the
following column).
8.2.1 The date/time prompt
When Org mode prompts for a date/time, the default is shown in default date/time format,
and the prompt therefore seems to ask for a specific format. But it will in fact accept
date/time information in a variety of formats. Generally, the information should start at
the beginning of the string. Org mode will find whatever information is in there and derive
anything you have not specified from the default date and time. The default is usually
the current date and time, but when modifying an existing timestamp, or when entering
the second stamp of a range, it is taken from the stamp in the buffer. When filling in
information, Org mode assumes that most of the time you will want to enter a date in the
future: if you omit the month/year and the given day/month is before today, it will assume
that you mean a future date4 . If the date has been automatically shifted into the future,
the time prompt will show this with ‘(=>F).’
For example, let’s assume that today is June 13, 2006. Here is how various inputs will
be interpreted, the items filled in by Org mode are in bold.
3-2-5
2/5/3
14
12
2/5
Fri
sep 15
feb 15
sep 12 9
12:45
22 sept 0:34
w4
2012 w4 fri
2012-w04-5
4
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
2003-02-05
2003-02-05
2006-06-14
2006-07-12
2007-02-05
nearest Friday after the default date
2006-09-15
2007-02-15
2009-09-12
2006-06-13 12:45
2006-09-22 00:34
ISO week four of the current year 2006
Friday of ISO week 4 in 2012
Same as above
See the variable org-read-date-prefer-future. You may set that variable to the symbol time to even
make a time before now shift the date to tomorrow.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
76
Furthermore you can specify a relative date by giving, as the first thing in the input: a
plus/minus sign, a number and a letter ([hdwmy]) to indicate change in hours, days, weeks,
months, or years. With a single plus or minus, the date is always relative to today. With a
double plus or minus, it is relative to the default date. If instead of a single letter, you use
the abbreviation of day name, the date will be the Nth such day, e.g.:
+0
.
+4d
+4
+2w
++5
+2tue
-wed
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
today
today
four days from
same as above
two weeks from
five days from
second Tuesday
last Wednesday
today
today
default date
from now
The function understands English month and weekday abbreviations. If you want to use
unabbreviated names and/or other languages, configure the variables parse-time-months
and parse-time-weekdays.
Not all dates can be represented in a given Emacs implementation. By default Org mode
forces dates into the compatibility range 1970–2037 which works on all Emacs implementations. If you want to use dates outside of this range, read the docstring of the variable
org-read-date-force-compatible-dates.
You can specify a time range by giving start and end times or by giving a start time
and a duration (in HH:MM format). Use one or two dash(es) as the separator in the former
case and use ’+’ as the separator in the latter case, e.g.:
11am-1:15pm
11am--1:15pm
11am+2:15
⇒ 11:00-13:15
⇒ same as above
⇒ same as above
Parallel to the minibuffer prompt, a calendar is popped up5 . When you exit the date
prompt, either by clicking on a date in the calendar, or by pressing RET, the date selected in
the calendar will be combined with the information entered at the prompt. You can control
the calendar fully from the minibuffer:
RET
mouse-1
S-right/left
S-down/up
M-S-right/left
> / <
M-v / C-v
M-S-down/up
Choose date at cursor in calendar.
Select date by clicking on it.
One day forward/backward.
One week forward/backward.
One month forward/backward.
Scroll calendar forward/backward by one month.
Scroll calendar forward/backward by 3 months.
Scroll calendar forward/backward by one year.
The actions of the date/time prompt may seem complex, but I assure you they will grow
on you, and you will start getting annoyed by pretty much any other way of entering a
date/time out there. To help you understand what is going on, the current interpretation
of your input will be displayed live in the minibuffer6 .
5
6
If you don’t need/want the calendar, configure the variable org-popup-calendar-for-date-prompt.
If you find this distracting, turn the display off with org-read-date-display-live.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
77
8.2.2 Custom time format
Org mode uses the standard ISO notation for dates and times as it is defined in ISO 8601.
If you cannot get used to this and require another representation of date and time to keep
you happy, you can get it by customizing the options org-display-custom-times and
org-time-stamp-custom-formats.
C-c C-x C-t
org-toggle-time-stamp-overlays
Toggle the display of custom formats for dates and times.
Org mode needs the default format for scanning, so the custom date/time format does not
replace the default format—instead it is put over the default format using text properties.
This has the following consequences:
• You cannot place the cursor onto a timestamp anymore, only before or after.
• The S-up/down keys can no longer be used to adjust each component of a timestamp.
If the cursor is at the beginning of the stamp, S-up/down will change the stamp by one
day, just like S-left/right. At the end of the stamp, the time will be changed by one
minute.
• If the timestamp contains a range of clock times or a repeater, these will not be overlaid,
but remain in the buffer as they were.
• When you delete a timestamp character-by-character, it will only disappear from the
buffer after all (invisible) characters belonging to the ISO timestamp have been removed.
• If the custom timestamp format is longer than the default and you are using dates in
tables, table alignment will be messed up. If the custom format is shorter, things do
work as expected.
8.3 Deadlines and scheduling
A timestamp may be preceded by special keywords to facilitate planning. Both the timestamp and the keyword have to be positioned immediately after the task they refer to.
DEADLINE
Meaning: the task (most likely a TODO item, though not necessarily) is supposed to be finished on that date.
On the deadline date, the task will be listed in the agenda. In addition, the
agenda for today will carry a warning about the approaching or missed deadline,
starting org-deadline-warning-days before the due date, and continuing until
the entry is marked DONE. An example:
*** TODO write article about the Earth for the Guide
DEADLINE: <2004-02-29 Sun>
The editor in charge is [[bbdb:Ford Prefect]]
You can specify a different lead time for warnings for a specific deadline using the following syntax. Here is an example with a warning period of 5
days DEADLINE: <2004-02-29 Sun -5d>. This warning is deactivated if the
task gets scheduled and you set org-agenda-skip-deadline-prewarning-ifscheduled to t.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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SCHEDULED
Meaning: you are planning to start working on that task on the given date.
The headline will be listed under the given date7 . In addition, a reminder that
the scheduled date has passed will be present in the compilation for today, until
the entry is marked DONE, i.e., the task will automatically be forwarded until
completed.
*** TODO Call Trillian for a date on New Years Eve.
SCHEDULED: <2004-12-25 Sat>
If you want to delay the display of this task in the agenda, use SCHEDULED:
<2004-12-25 Sat -2d>: the task is still scheduled on the 25th but will appear
two days later. In case the task contains a repeater, the delay is considered to
affect all occurrences; if you want the delay to only affect the first scheduled
occurrence of the task, use --2d instead. See org-scheduled-delay-days
and org-agenda-skip-scheduled-delay-if-deadline for details on how to
control this globally or per agenda.
Important: Scheduling an item in Org mode should not be understood in the
same way that we understand scheduling a meeting. Setting a date for a meeting is just a simple appointment, you should mark this entry with a simple
plain timestamp, to get this item shown on the date where it applies. This
is a frequent misunderstanding by Org users. In Org mode, scheduling means
setting a date when you want to start working on an action item.
You may use timestamps with repeaters in scheduling and deadline entries. Org mode
will issue early and late warnings based on the assumption that the timestamp represents the nearest instance of the repeater. However, the use of diary sexp entries like
<%%(diary-float t 42)> in scheduling and deadline timestamps is limited. Org mode
does not know enough about the internals of each sexp function to issue early and late
warnings. However, it will show the item on each day where the sexp entry matches.
8.3.1 Inserting deadlines or schedules
The following commands allow you to quickly insert a deadline or to schedule an item:
C-c C-d
org-deadline
Insert ‘DEADLINE’ keyword along with a stamp. Any CLOSED timestamp will
be removed. When called with a prefix arg, an existing deadline will be removed
from the entry. Depending on the variable org-log-redeadline8 , a note will
be taken when changing an existing deadline.
C-c C-s
org-schedule
Insert ‘SCHEDULED’ keyword along with a stamp. Any CLOSED timestamp will
be removed. When called with a prefix argument, remove the scheduling date
from the entry. Depending on the variable org-log-reschedule9 , a note will
be taken when changing an existing scheduling time.
7
8
9
It will still be listed on that date after it has been marked DONE. If you don’t like this, set the variable
org-agenda-skip-scheduled-if-done.
with corresponding #+STARTUP keywords logredeadline, lognoteredeadline, and nologredeadline
with corresponding #+STARTUP keywords logreschedule, lognotereschedule, and nologreschedule
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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C-c / d
org-check-deadlines
Create a sparse tree with all deadlines that are either past-due, or which will
become due within org-deadline-warning-days. With C-u prefix, show all
deadlines in the file. With a numeric prefix, check that many days. For example,
C-1 C-c / d shows all deadlines due tomorrow.
C-c / b
org-check-before-date
Sparse tree for deadlines and scheduled items before a given date.
C-c / a
org-check-after-date
Sparse tree for deadlines and scheduled items after a given date.
Note that org-schedule and org-deadline supports setting the date by indicating a
relative time: e.g., +1d will set the date to the next day after today, and –1w will set the
date to the previous week before any current timestamp.
8.3.2 Repeated tasks
Some tasks need to be repeated again and again. Org mode helps to organize such tasks
using a so-called repeater in a DEADLINE, SCHEDULED, or plain timestamp. In the
following example
** TODO Pay the rent
DEADLINE: <2005-10-01 Sat +1m>
the +1m is a repeater; the intended interpretation is that the task has a deadline on <200510-01> and repeats itself every (one) month starting from that time. You can use yearly,
monthly, weekly, daily and hourly repeat cookies by using the y/w/m/d/h letters. If you
need both a repeater and a special warning period in a deadline entry, the repeater should
come first and the warning period last: DEADLINE: <2005-10-01 Sat +1m -3d>.
Deadlines and scheduled items produce entries in the agenda when they are over-due,
so it is important to be able to mark such an entry as completed once you have done so.
When you mark a DEADLINE or a SCHEDULE with the TODO keyword DONE, it will
no longer produce entries in the agenda. The problem with this is, however, that then also
the next instance of the repeated entry will not be active. Org mode deals with this in the
following way: When you try to mark such an entry DONE (using C-c C-t), it will shift
the base date of the repeating timestamp by the repeater interval, and immediately set
the entry state back to TODO10 . In the example above, setting the state to DONE would
actually switch the date like this:
** TODO Pay the rent
DEADLINE: <2005-11-01 Tue +1m>
To mark a task with a repeater as DONE, use C-- 1 C-c C-t (i.e., org-todo with a numeric
prefix argument of -1.)
A timestamp11 will be added under the deadline, to keep a record that you actually
acted on the previous instance of this deadline.
10
11
In fact, the target state is taken from, in this sequence, the REPEAT_TO_STATE property or the variable
org-todo-repeat-to-state. If neither of these is specified, the target state defaults to the first state of
the TODO state sequence.
You can change this using the option org-log-repeat, or the #+STARTUP options logrepeat,
lognoterepeat, and nologrepeat. With lognoterepeat, you will also be prompted for a note.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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As a consequence of shifting the base date, this entry will no longer be visible in the
agenda when checking past dates, but all future instances will be visible.
With the ‘+1m’ cookie, the date shift will always be exactly one month. So if you have
not paid the rent for three months, marking this entry DONE will still keep it as an overdue
deadline. Depending on the task, this may not be the best way to handle it. For example,
if you forgot to call your father for 3 weeks, it does not make sense to call him 3 times in a
single day to make up for it. Finally, there are tasks like changing batteries which should
always repeat a certain time after the last time you did it. For these tasks, Org mode has
special repeaters ‘++’ and ‘.+’. For example:
** TODO Call Father
DEADLINE: <2008-02-10 Sun ++1w>
Marking this DONE will shift the date by at least one week,
but also by as many weeks as it takes to get this date into
the future. However, it stays on a Sunday, even if you called
and marked it done on Saturday.
** TODO Empty kitchen trash
DEADLINE: <2008-02-08 Fri 20:00 ++1d>
Marking this DONE will shift the date by at least one day, and
also by as many days as it takes to get the timestamp into the
future. Since there is a time in the timestamp, the next
deadline in the future will be on today's date if you
complete the task before 20:00.
** TODO Check the batteries in the smoke detectors
DEADLINE: <2005-11-01 Tue .+1m>
Marking this DONE will shift the date to one month after
today.
You may have both scheduling and deadline information for a specific task. If the
repeater is set for the scheduling information only, you probably want the repeater to
be ignored after the deadline. If so, set the variable org-agenda-skip-scheduled-ifdeadline-is-shown to repeated-after-deadline. However, any scheduling information
without a repeater is no longer relevant once the task is done, and thus, removed upon
repeating the task. If you want both scheduling and deadline information to repeat after
the same interval, set the same repeater for both timestamps.
An alternative to using a repeater is to create a number of copies of a task subtree,
with dates shifted in each copy. The command C-c C-x c was created for this purpose, it
is described in Section 2.5 [Structure editing], page 9.
8.4 Clocking work time
Org mode allows you to clock the time you spend on specific tasks in a project. When you
start working on an item, you can start the clock. When you stop working on that task,
or when you mark the task done, the clock is stopped and the corresponding time interval
is recorded. It also computes the total time spent on each subtree12 of a project. And
12
Clocking only works if all headings are indented with less than 30 stars. This is a hardcoded limitation
of lmax in org-clock-sum.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
81
it remembers a history or tasks recently clocked, so that you can jump quickly between a
number of tasks absorbing your time.
To save the clock history across Emacs sessions, use
(setq org-clock-persist 'history)
(org-clock-persistence-insinuate)
When you clock into a new task after resuming Emacs, the incomplete clock13 will be
found (see Section 8.4.3 [Resolving idle time], page 85) and you will be prompted about
what to do with it.
8.4.1 Clocking commands
C-c C-x C-i
org-clock-in
Start the clock on the current item (clock-in). This inserts the CLOCK keyword together with a timestamp. If this is not the first clocking of this item, the
multiple CLOCK lines will be wrapped into a :LOGBOOK: drawer (see also the
variable org-clock-into-drawer). You can also overrule the setting of this
variable for a subtree by setting a CLOCK_INTO_DRAWER or LOG_INTO_DRAWER
property. When called with a C-u prefix argument, select the task from a list of
recently clocked tasks. With two C-u C-u prefixes, clock into the task at point
and mark it as the default task; the default task will then always be available
with letter d when selecting a clocking task. With three C-u C-u C-u prefixes,
force continuous clocking by starting the clock when the last clock stopped.
While the clock is running, the current clocking time is shown in the mode
line, along with the title of the task. The clock time shown will be all time
ever clocked for this task and its children. If the task has an effort estimate
(see Section 8.5 [Effort estimates], page 86), the mode line displays the current
clocking time against it14 If the task is a repeating one (see Section 8.3.2 [Repeated tasks], page 79), only the time since the last reset of the task15 will be
shown. More control over what time is shown can be exercised with the CLOCK_
MODELINE_TOTAL property. It may have the values current to show only the
current clocking instance, today to show all time clocked on this task today
(see also the variable org-extend-today-until), all to include all time, or
auto which is the default16 .
Clicking with mouse-1 onto the mode line entry will pop up a menu with clocking options.
C-c C-x C-o
org-clock-out
Stop the clock (clock-out). This inserts another timestamp at the same location
where the clock was last started. It also directly computes the resulting time
and inserts it after the time range as ‘=> HH:MM’. See the variable org-log13
14
15
16
To resume the clock under the assumption that you have worked on this task while outside Emacs, use
(setq org-clock-persist t).
To add an effort estimate “on the fly”, hook a function doing this to org-clock-in-prepare-hook.
as recorded by the LAST_REPEAT property
See also the variable org-clock-modeline-total.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
82
note-clock-out for the possibility to record an additional note together with
the clock-out timestamp17 .
C-c C-x C-x
org-clock-in-last
Reclock the last clocked task. With one C-u prefix argument, select the task
from the clock history. With two C-u prefixes, force continuous clocking by
starting the clock when the last clock stopped.
C-c C-x C-e
org-clock-modify-effort-estimate
Update the effort estimate for the current clock task.
C-c C-c or C-c C-y
org-evaluate-time-range
Recompute the time interval after changing one of the timestamps. This is
only necessary if you edit the timestamps directly. If you change them with
S-cursor keys, the update is automatic.
C-S-up/down
org-clock-timestamps-up/down
On CLOCK log lines, increase/decrease both timestamps so that the clock duration keeps the same.
S-M-up/down
org-timestamp-up/down
On CLOCK log lines, increase/decrease the timestamp at point and the one of
the previous (or the next clock) timestamp by the same duration. For example,
if you hit S-M-up to increase a clocked-out timestamp by five minutes, then the
clocked-in timestamp of the next clock will be increased by five minutes.
C-c C-t
org-todo
Changing the TODO state of an item to DONE automatically stops the clock
if it is running in this same item.
C-c C-x C-q
org-clock-cancel
Cancel the current clock. This is useful if a clock was started by mistake, or if
you ended up working on something else.
C-c C-x C-j
org-clock-goto
Jump to the headline of the currently clocked in task. With a C-u prefix arg,
select the target task from a list of recently clocked tasks.
C-c C-x C-d
org-clock-display
Display time summaries for each subtree in the current buffer. This puts overlays at the end of each headline, showing the total time recorded under that
heading, including the time of any subheadings. You can use visibility cycling
to study the tree, but the overlays disappear when you change the buffer (see
variable org-remove-highlights-with-change) or press C-c C-c.
The l key may be used the agenda (see Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda], page 104)
to show which tasks have been worked on or closed during a day.
Important: note that both org-clock-out and org-clock-in-last can have a global
key binding and will not modify the window disposition.
17
The corresponding in-buffer setting is: #+STARTUP: lognoteclock-out
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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8.4.2 The clock table
Org mode can produce quite complex reports based on the time clocking information. Such
a report is called a clock table, because it is formatted as one or several Org tables.
C-c C-x C-r
org-clock-report
Insert a dynamic block (see Section A.7 [Dynamic blocks], page 247) containing
a clock report as an Org mode table into the current file. When the cursor is
at an existing clock table, just update it. When called with a prefix argument,
jump to the first clock report in the current document and update it. The clock
table always includes also trees with :ARCHIVE: tag.
C-c C-c or C-c C-x C-u
Update dynamic block at point.
org-dblock-update
C-u C-c C-x C-u
Update all dynamic blocks (see Section A.7 [Dynamic blocks], page 247). This
is useful if you have several clock table blocks in a buffer.
S-left
S-right
org-clocktable-try-shift
Shift the current :block interval and update the table. The cursor needs to be
in the #+BEGIN: clocktable line for this command. If :block is today, it will
be shifted to today-1 etc.
Here is an example of the frame for a clock table as it is inserted into the buffer with
the C-c C-x C-r command:
#+BEGIN: clocktable :maxlevel 2 :emphasize nil :scope file
#+END: clocktable
The ‘BEGIN’ line specifies a number of options to define the scope, structure, and formatting of the report. Defaults for all these options can be configured in the variable
org-clocktable-defaults.
First there are options that determine which clock entries are to be selected:
:maxlevel
:scope
:block
Maximum level depth to which times are listed in the table.
Clocks at deeper levels will be summed into the upper level.
The scope to consider. This can be any of the following:
nil
the current buffer or narrowed region
file
the full current buffer
subtree
the subtree where the clocktable is located
treeN
the surrounding level N tree, for example tree3
tree
the surrounding level 1 tree
agenda
all agenda files
("file"..) scan these files
function
the list of files returned by a function of no argument
file-with-archives
current file and its archives
agenda-with-archives all agenda files, including archives
The time block to consider. This block is specified either
absolutely, or relative to the current time and may be any of
these formats:
Chapter 8: Dates and times
84
2007-12-31
New year eve 2007
2007-12
December 2007
2007-W50
ISO-week 50 in 2007
2007-Q2
2nd quarter in 2007
2007
the year 2007
today, yesterday, today-N
a relative day
thisweek, lastweek, thisweek-N
a relative week
thismonth, lastmonth, thismonth-N a relative month
thisyear, lastyear, thisyear-N
a relative year
untilnow
Use S-left/right keys to shift the time interval.
:tstart
A time string specifying when to start considering times.
Relative times like "<-2w>" can also be used. See
Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107 for relative time syntax.
:tend
A time string specifying when to stop considering times.
Relative times like "" can also be used. See
Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107 for relative time syntax.
:wstart
The starting day of the week. The default is 1 for monday.
:mstart
The starting day of the month. The default 1 is for the first
day of the month.
:step
week or day, to split the table into chunks.
To use this, :block or :tstart, :tend are needed.
:stepskip0
Do not show steps that have zero time.
:fileskip0
Do not show table sections from files which did not contribute.
:tags
A tags match to select entries that should contribute. See
Section 10.3.3 [Matching tags and properties], page 107 for the match syntax.
Then there are options which determine the formatting of the table. These options are
interpreted by the function org-clocktable-write-default, but you can specify your own
function using the :formatter parameter.
:emphasize
When t, emphasize level one and level two items.
:lang
Language18 to use for descriptive cells like "Task".
:link
Link the item headlines in the table to their origins.
:narrow
An integer to limit the width of the headline column in
the org table. If you write it like ‘50!’, then the
headline will also be shortened in export.
:indent
Indent each headline field according to its level.
:tcolumns
Number of columns to be used for times. If this is smaller
than :maxlevel, lower levels will be lumped into one column.
:level
Should a level number column be included?
:sort
A cons cell like containing the column to sort and a sorting type.
E.g., :sort (1 . ?a) sorts the first column alphabetically.
:compact
Abbreviation for :level nil :indent t :narrow 40! :tcolumns 1
All are overwritten except if there is an explicit :narrow
:timestamp
A timestamp for the entry, when available. Look for SCHEDULED,
DEADLINE, TIMESTAMP and TIMESTAMP IA, in this order.
18
Language terms can be set through the variable org-clock-clocktable-language-setup.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
85
List of properties that should be shown in the table. Each
property will get its own column.
:inherit-props When this flag is t, the values for :properties will be inherited.
:formula
Content of a #+TBLFM line to be added and evaluated.
As a special case, ‘:formula %’ adds a column with % time.
If you do not specify a formula here, any existing formula
below the clock table will survive updates and be evaluated.
:formatter
A function to format clock data and insert it into the buffer.
:properties
To get a clock summary of the current level 1 tree, for the current day, you could write
#+BEGIN: clocktable :maxlevel 2 :block today :scope tree1 :link t
#+END: clocktable
and to use a specific time range you could write19
#+BEGIN: clocktable :tstart "<2006-08-10 Thu 10:00>"
:tend "<2006-08-10 Thu 12:00>"
#+END: clocktable
A range starting a week ago and ending right now could be written as
#+BEGIN: clocktable :tstart "<-1w>" :tend ""
#+END: clocktable
A summary of the current subtree with % times would be
#+BEGIN: clocktable :scope subtree :link t :formula %
#+END: clocktable
A horizontally compact representation of everything clocked during last week would be
#+BEGIN: clocktable :scope agenda :block lastweek :compact t
#+END: clocktable
8.4.3 Resolving idle time and continuous clocking
Resolving idle time
If you clock in on a work item, and then walk away from your computer—perhaps to take
a phone call—you often need to “resolve” the time you were away by either subtracting it
from the current clock, or applying it to another one.
By customizing the variable org-clock-idle-time to some integer, such as 10 or 15,
Emacs can alert you when you get back to your computer after being idle for that many
minutes20 , and ask what you want to do with the idle time. There will be a question waiting
for you when you get back, indicating how much idle time has passed (constantly updated
with the current amount), as well as a set of choices to correct the discrepancy:
19
20
Note that all parameters must be specified in a single line—the line is broken here only to fit it into the
manual.
On computers using Mac OS X, idleness is based on actual user idleness, not just Emacs’ idle time. For
X11, you can install a utility program x11idle.c, available in the contrib/scripts directory of the
Org git distribution, or install the xprintidle package and set it to the variable org-clock-x11idleprogram-name if you are running Debian, to get the same general treatment of idleness. On other systems,
idle time refers to Emacs idle time only.
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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k
To keep some or all of the minutes and stay clocked in, press k. Org will ask how
many of the minutes to keep. Press RET to keep them all, effectively changing
nothing, or enter a number to keep that many minutes.
K
If you use the shift key and press K, it will keep however many minutes you
request and then immediately clock out of that task. If you keep all of the
minutes, this is the same as just clocking out of the current task.
s
To keep none of the minutes, use s to subtract all the away time from the clock,
and then check back in from the moment you returned.
S
To keep none of the minutes and just clock out at the start of the away time,
use the shift key and press S. Remember that using shift will always leave you
clocked out, no matter which option you choose.
C
To cancel the clock altogether, use C. Note that if instead of canceling you
subtract the away time, and the resulting clock amount is less than a minute,
the clock will still be canceled rather than clutter up the log with an empty
entry.
What if you subtracted those away minutes from the current clock, and now want to
apply them to a new clock? Simply clock in to any task immediately after the subtraction.
Org will notice that you have subtracted time “on the books”, so to speak, and will ask if
you want to apply those minutes to the next task you clock in on.
There is one other instance when this clock resolution magic occurs. Say you were
clocked in and hacking away, and suddenly your cat chased a mouse who scared a hamster
that crashed into your UPS’s power button! You suddenly lose all your buffers, but thanks
to auto-save you still have your recent Org mode changes, including your last clock in.
If you restart Emacs and clock into any task, Org will notice that you have a dangling
clock which was never clocked out from your last session. Using that clock’s starting time
as the beginning of the unaccounted-for period, Org will ask how you want to resolve that
time. The logic and behavior is identical to dealing with away time due to idleness; it is
just happening due to a recovery event rather than a set amount of idle time.
You can also check all the files visited by your Org agenda for dangling clocks at any
time using M-x org-resolve-clocks RET (or C-c C-x C-z).
Continuous clocking
You may want to start clocking from the time when you clocked out the previous task. To
enable this systematically, set org-clock-continuously to t. Each time you clock in, Org
retrieves the clock-out time of the last clocked entry for this session, and start the new clock
from there.
If you only want this from time to time, use three universal prefix arguments with
org-clock-in and two C-u C-u with org-clock-in-last.
8.5 Effort estimates
If you want to plan your work in a very detailed way, or if you need to produce offers with
quotations of the estimated work effort, you may want to assign effort estimates to entries.
If you are also clocking your work, you may later want to compare the planned effort with
Chapter 8: Dates and times
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the actual working time, a great way to improve planning estimates. Effort estimates are
stored in a special property EFFORT. You can set the effort for an entry with the following
commands:
C-c C-x e
org-set-effort
Set the effort estimate for the current entry. With a numeric prefix argument,
set it to the Nth allowed value (see below). This command is also accessible
from the agenda with the e key.
C-c C-x C-e
org-clock-modify-effort-estimate
Modify the effort estimate of the item currently being clocked.
Clearly the best way to work with effort estimates is through column view (see Section 7.5
[Column view], page 67). You should start by setting up discrete values for effort estimates,
and a COLUMNS format that displays these values together with clock sums (if you want to
clock your time). For a specific buffer you can use
#+PROPERTY: Effort_ALL 0 0:10 0:30 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00
#+COLUMNS: %40ITEM(Task) %17Effort(Estimated Effort){:} %CLOCKSUM
or, even better, you can set up these values globally by customizing the variables
org-global-properties and org-columns-default-format. In particular if you want to
use this setup also in the agenda, a global setup may be advised.
The way to assign estimates to individual items is then to switch to column mode, and
to use S-right and S-left to change the value. The values you enter will immediately be
summed up in the hierarchy. In the column next to it, any clocked time will be displayed.
If you switch to column view in the daily/weekly agenda, the effort column will summarize the estimated work effort for each day21 , and you can use this to find space in your
schedule. To get an overview of the entire part of the day that is committed, you can set
the option org-agenda-columns-add-appointments-to-effort-sum. The appointments
on a day that take place over a specified time interval will then also be added to the load
estimate of the day.
Effort estimates can be used in secondary agenda filtering that is triggered with the
/ key in the agenda (see Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115). If you have these
estimates defined consistently, two or three key presses will narrow down the list to stuff
that fits into an available time slot.
8.6 Taking notes with a timer
Org provides two types of timers. There is a relative timer that counts up, which can be
useful when taking notes during, for example, a meeting or a video viewing. There is also
a countdown timer.
The relative and countdown are started with separate commands.
C-c C-x 0
21
org-timer-start
Start or reset the relative timer. By default, the timer is set to 0. When
called with a C-u prefix, prompt the user for a starting offset. If there is a
timer string at point, this is taken as the default, providing a convenient way
Please note the pitfalls of summing hierarchical data in a flat list (see Section 10.8 [Agenda column view],
page 128).
Chapter 8: Dates and times
88
to restart taking notes after a break in the process. When called with a double
prefix argument C-u C-u, change all timer strings in the active region by a
certain amount. This can be used to fix timer strings if the timer was not
started at exactly the right moment.
C-c C-x ;
org-timer-set-timer
Start a countdown timer. The user is prompted for a duration. org-timerdefault-timer sets the default countdown value. Giving a numeric prefix
argument overrides this default value. This command is available as ; in agenda
buffers.
Once started, relative and countdown timers are controlled with the same commands.
C-c C-x .
org-timer
Insert the value of the current relative or countdown timer into the buffer. If no
timer is running, the relative timer will be started. When called with a prefix
argument, the relative timer is restarted.
C-c C-x -
org-timer-item
Insert a description list item with the value of the current relative or countdown
timer. With a prefix argument, first reset the relative timer to 0.
M-RET
org-insert-heading
Once the timer list is started, you can also use M-RET to insert new timer items.
C-c C-x ,
org-timer-pause-or-continue
Pause the timer, or continue it if it is already paused.
C-c C-x _
org-timer-stop
Stop the timer. After this, you can only start a new timer, not continue the old
one. This command also removes the timer from the mode line.
Chapter 9: Capture - Refile - Archive
89
9 Capture - Refile - Archive
An important part of any organization system is the ability to quickly capture new ideas
and tasks, and to associate reference material with them. Org does this using a process
called capture. It also can store files related to a task (attachments) in a special directory.
Once in the system, tasks and projects need to be moved around. Moving completed project
trees to an archive file keeps the system compact and fast.
9.1 Capture
Capture lets you quickly store notes with little interruption of your work flow. Org’s method
for capturing new items is heavily inspired by John Wiegley excellent remember.el package. Up to version 6.36, Org used a special setup for remember.el, then replaced it with
org-remember.el. As of version 8.0, org-remember.el has been completely replaced by
org-capture.el.
If your configuration depends on org-remember.el, you need to update it and use the
setup described below. To convert your org-remember-templates, run the command
M-x org-capture-import-remember-templates RET
and then customize the new variable with M-x customize-variable org-capturetemplates, check the result, and save the customization.
9.1.1 Setting up capture
The following customization sets a default target file for notes, and defines a global key1
for capturing new material.
(setq org-default-notes-file (concat org-directory "/notes.org"))
(define-key global-map "\C-cc" 'org-capture)
9.1.2 Using capture
C-c c
org-capture
Call the command org-capture. Note that this key binding is global and
not active by default: you need to install it. If you have templates defined
see Section 9.1.3 [Capture templates], page 90, it will offer these templates for
selection or use a new Org outline node as the default template. It will insert
the template into the target file and switch to an indirect buffer narrowed to
this new node. You may then insert the information you want.
C-c C-c
org-capture-finalize
Once you have finished entering information into the capture buffer, C-c C-c
will return you to the window configuration before the capture process, so that
you can resume your work without further distraction. When called with a
prefix arg, finalize and then jump to the captured item.
C-c C-w
org-capture-refile
Finalize the capture process by refiling (see Section 9.5 [Refile and copy],
page 99) the note to a different place. Please realize that this is a normal
1
Please select your own key, C-c c is only a suggestion.
Chapter 9: Capture - Refile - Archive
90
refiling command that will be executed—so the cursor position at the moment
you run this command is important. If you have inserted a tree with a parent
and children, first move the cursor back to the parent. Any prefix argument
given to this command will be passed on to the org-refile command.
C-c C-k
org-capture-kill
Abort the capture process and return to the previous state.
You can also call org-capture in a special way from the agenda, using the k c key
combination. With this access, any timestamps inserted by the selected capture template
will default to the cursor date in the agenda, rather than to the current date.
To find the locations of the last stored capture, use org-capture with prefix commands:
C-u C-c c
Visit the target location of a capture template. You get to select the template
in the usual way.
C-u C-u C-c c
Visit the last stored capture item in its buffer.
You can also jump to the bookmark org-capture-last-stored, which will automatically be created unless you set org-capture-bookmark to nil.
To insert the capture at point in an Org buffer, call org-capture with a C-0 prefix
argument.
9.1.3 Capture templates
You can use templates for different types of capture items, and for different target locations.
The easiest way to create such templates is through the customize interface.
C-c c C
Customize the variable org-capture-templates.
Before we give the formal description of template definitions, let’s look at an example.
Say you would like to use one template to create general TODO entries, and you want to
put these entries under the heading ‘Tasks’ in your file ~/org/gtd.org. Also, a date tree
in the file journal.org should capture journal entries. A possible configuration would look
like:
(setq org-capture-templates
'(("t" "Todo" entry (file+headline "~/org/gtd.org" "Tasks")
"* TODO %?\n %i\n %a")
("j" "Journal" entry (file+olp+datetree "~/org/journal.org")
"* %?\nEntered on %U\n %i\n %a")))
If you then press C-c c t, Org will prepare the template for you like this:
* TODO
[[file:link to where you initiated capture]]
During expansion of the template, %a has been replaced by a link to the location from
where you called the capture command. This can be extremely useful for deriving tasks
from emails, for example. You fill in the task definition, press C-c C-c and Org returns you
to the same place where you started the capture process.
To define special keys to capture to a particular template without going through the
interactive template selection, you can create your key binding like this:
Chapter 9: Capture - Refile - Archive
91
(define-key global-map "\C-cx"
(lambda () (interactive) (org-capture nil "x")))
9.1.3.1 Template elements
Now lets look at the elements of a template definition. Each entry in org-capturetemplates is a list with the following items:
keys
The keys that will select the template, as a string, characters only, for example
"a" for a template to be selected with a single key, or "bt" for selection with
two keys. When using several keys, keys using the same prefix key must be
sequential in the list and preceded by a 2-element entry explaining the prefix
key, for example
("b" "Templates for marking stuff to buy")
If you do not define a template for the C key, this key will be used to open the
customize buffer for this complex variable.
description
A short string describing the template, which will be shown during selection.
type
The type of entry, a symbol. Valid values are:
entry
An Org mode node, with a headline. Will be filed as the child of
the target entry or as a top-level entry. The target file should be
an Org mode file.
item
A plain list item, placed in the first plain list at the target location.
Again the target file should be an Org file.
checkitem
A checkbox item. This only differs from the plain list item by the
default template.
table-line
a new line in the first table at the target location. Where exactly
the line will be inserted depends on the properties :prepend and
:table-line-pos (see below).
plain
target
Text to be inserted as it is.
Specification of where the captured item should be placed. In Org mode files,
targets usually define a node. Entries will become children of this node. Other
types will be added to the table or list in the body of this node. Most target
specifications contain a file name. If that file name is the empty string, it
defaults to org-default-notes-file. A file can also be given as a variable or
as a function called with no argument. When an absolute path is not specified
for a target, it is taken as relative to org-directory.
Valid values are:
(file "path/to/file")
Text will be placed at the beginning or end of that file.
(id "id of existing org entry")
Filing as child of this entry, or in the body of the entry.
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(file+headline "path/to/file" "node headline")
Fast configuration if the target heading is unique in the file.
(file+olp "path/to/file" "Level 1 heading" "Level 2" ...)
For non-unique headings, the full path is safer.
(file+regexp "path/to/file" "regexp to find location")
Use a regular expression to position the cursor.
(file+olp+datetree "path/to/file" [ "Level 1 heading" ....])
This target2 will create a heading in a date tree3 for today’s date.
If the optional outline path is given, the tree will be built under
the node it is pointing to, instead of at top level. Check out the
:time-prompt and :tree-type properties below for additional options.
(file+function "path/to/file" function-finding-location)
A function to find the right location in the file.
(clock)
File to the entry that is currently being clocked.
(function function-finding-location)
Most general way: write your own function which both visits the
file and moves point to the right location.
template
The template for creating the capture item. If you leave this empty, an appropriate default template will be used. Otherwise this is a string with escape
codes, which will be replaced depending on time and context of the capture
call. The string with escapes may be loaded from a template file, using the
special syntax (file "path/to/template"). See below for more details.
properties The rest of the entry is a property list of additional options. Recognized properties are:
:prepend
Normally new captured information will be appended at the target
location (last child, last table line, last list item...). Setting this
property will change that.
:immediate-finish
When set, do not offer to edit the information, just file it away immediately. This makes sense if the template only needs information
that can be added automatically.
:empty-lines
Set this to the number of lines to insert before and after the new
item. Default 0, only common other value is 1.
:clock-in
Start the clock in this item.
2
3
Org used to offer four different targets for date/week tree capture. Now, Org automatically translates
these to use file+olp+datetree, applying the :time-prompt and :tree-type properties. Please rewrite
your date/week-tree targets using file+olp+datetree since the older targets are now deprecated.
A date tree is an outline structure with years on the highest level, months or ISO-weeks as sublevels and
then dates on the lowest level. Tags are allowed in the tree structure.
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:clock-keep
Keep the clock running when filing the captured entry.
:clock-resume
If starting the capture interrupted a clock, restart that clock when
finished with the capture. Note that :clock-keep has precedence
over :clock-resume. When setting both to t, the current clock
will run and the previous one will not be resumed.
:time-prompt
Prompt for a date/time to be used for date/week trees and when
filling the template. Without this property, capture uses the current
date and time. Even if this property has not been set, you can
force the same behavior by calling org-capture with a C-1 prefix
argument.
:tree-type
When ‘week’, make a week tree instead of the month tree, i.e. place
the headings for each day under a heading with the current iso week.
:unnarrowed
Do not narrow the target buffer, simply show the full buffer. Default is to narrow it so that you only see the new material.
:table-line-pos
Specification of the location in the table where the new line should
be inserted. It can be a string, a variable holding a string or a
function returning a string. The string should look like "II-3"
meaning that the new line should become the third line before the
second horizontal separator line.
:kill-buffer
If the target file was not yet visited when capture was invoked, kill
the buffer again after capture is completed.
9.1.3.2 Template expansion
In the template itself, special %-escapes4 allow dynamic insertion of content. The templates
are expanded in the order given here:
%[file]
%(sexp)
%<...>
%t
%T
%u, %U
%i
%a
4
Insert the contents of the file given by file.
Evaluate Elisp sexp and replace with the result.
For convenience, %:keyword (see below) placeholders
within the expression will be expanded prior to this.
The sexp must return a string.
The result of format-time-string on the ... format specification.
Timestamp, date only.
Timestamp, with date and time.
Like the above, but inactive timestamps.
Initial content, the region when capture is called while the
region is active.
The entire text will be indented like %i itself.
Annotation, normally the link created with org-store-link.
If you need one of these sequences literally, escape the % with a backslash.
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Like %a, but prompt for the description part.
Like %a, but only insert the literal link.
Current kill ring head.
Content of the X clipboard.
Title of the currently clocked task.
Link to the currently clocked task.
User name (taken from user-full-name).
File visited by current buffer when org-capture was called.
Full path of the file or directory visited by current buffer.
Specific information for certain link types, see below.
Prompt for tags, with completion on tags in target file.
Prompt for tags, with completion all tags in all agenda files.
Like %t, but prompt for date. Similarly %^T, %^u, %^U.
You may define a prompt like %^{Birthday}t.
%^C
Interactive selection of which kill or clip to use.
%^L
Like %^C, but insert as link.
%^{prop}p
Prompt the user for a value for property prop.
%^{prompt} prompt the user for a string and replace this sequence with it.
You may specify a default value and a completion table with
%^{prompt|default|completion2|completion3...}.
The arrow keys access a prompt-specific history.
%\1 ... %\N Insert the text entered at the Nth %^{prompt}, where N is
a number, starting from 1.5
%?
After completing the template, position cursor here.
%A
%l
%c
%x
%k
%K
%n
%f
%F
%:keyword
%^g
%^G
%^t
For specific link types, the following keywords will be defined6 :
Link type
| Available keywords
---------------------------------+---------------------------------------------bbdb
| %:name %:company
irc
| %:server %:port %:nick
vm, vm-imap, wl, mh, mew, rmail, | %:type %:subject %:message-id
gnus, notmuch
| %:from %:fromname %:fromaddress
| %:to
%:toname
%:toaddress
| %:date (message date header field)
| %:date-timestamp (date as active timestamp)
| %:date-timestamp-inactive (date as inactive timestamp)
| %:fromto (either "to NAME" or "from NAME")7
gnus
| %:group, for messages also all email fields
eww, w3, w3m
| %:url
info
| %:file %:node
calendar
| %:date
org-protocol
| %:link %:description %:annotation
To place the cursor after template expansion use:
%?
After completing the template, position cursor here.
9.1.3.3 Templates in contexts
To control whether a capture template should be accessible from a specific context, you
can customize org-capture-templates-contexts. Let’s say for example that you have a
5
6
7
As required in Emacs
Lisp, it is necessary to escape any backslash character in
a string with another backslash. So, in order to use
‘%\1’ placeholder, you need to write ‘%\\1’ in
the template.
If you define your own link types (see Section A.3 [Adding hyperlink types], page 241), any property you
store with org-store-link-props can be accessed in capture templates in a similar way.
This will always be the other, not the user. See the variable org-from-is-user-regexp.
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capture template "p" for storing Gnus emails containing patches. Then you would configure
this option like this:
(setq org-capture-templates-contexts
'(("p" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
You can also tell that the command key "p" should refer to another template. In that
case, add this command key like this:
(setq org-capture-templates-contexts
'(("p" "q" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
See the docstring of the variable for more information.
9.2 Attachments
It is often useful to associate reference material with an outline node/task. Small chunks of
plain text can simply be stored in the subtree of a project. Hyperlinks (see Chapter 4 [Hyperlinks], page 38) can establish associations with files that live elsewhere on your computer
or in the cloud, like emails or source code files belonging to a project. Another method is
attachments, which are files located in a directory belonging to an outline node. Org uses
directories named by the unique ID of each entry. These directories are located in the data
directory which lives in the same directory where your Org file lives8 . If you initialize this
directory with git init, Org will automatically commit changes when it sees them. The
attachment system has been contributed to Org by John Wiegley.
In cases where it seems better to do so, you can also attach a directory of your choice
to an entry. You can also make children inherit the attachment directory from a parent, so
that an entire subtree uses the same attached directory.
The following commands deal with attachments:
C-c C-a
org-attach
The dispatcher for commands related to the attachment system. After these
keys, a list of commands is displayed and you must press an additional key to
select a command:
a
org-attach-attach
Select a file and move it into the task’s attachment directory. The
file will be copied, moved, or linked, depending on org-attachmethod. Note that hard links are not supported on all systems.
c/m/l
Attach a file using the copy/move/link method. Note that hard
links are not supported on all systems.
u
org-attach-url
Attach a file from URL
n
org-attach-new
Create a new attachment as an Emacs buffer.
z
8
org-attach-sync
Synchronize the current task with its attachment directory, in case
you added attachments yourself.
If you move entries or Org files from one directory to another, you may want to configure org-attachdirectory to contain an absolute path.
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o
org-attach-open
Open current task’s attachment. If there is more than one, prompt
for a file name first. Opening will follow the rules set by org-fileapps. For more details, see the information on following hyperlinks
(see Section 4.4 [Handling links], page 41).
O
org-attach-open-in-emacs
Also open the attachment, but force opening the file in Emacs.
f
org-attach-reveal
Open the current task’s attachment directory.
F
org-attach-reveal-in-emacs
Also open the directory, but force using dired in Emacs.
d
org-attach-delete-one
Select and delete a single attachment.
D
org-attach-delete-all
Delete all of a task’s attachments. A safer way is to open the
directory in dired and delete from there.
s
org-attach-set-directory
Set a specific directory as the entry’s attachment directory. This
works by putting the directory path into the ATTACH_DIR property.
i
org-attach-set-inherit
Set the ATTACH_DIR_INHERIT property, so that children will use the
same directory for attachments as the parent does.
9.3 RSS feeds
Org can add and change entries based on information found in RSS feeds and Atom feeds.
You could use this to make a task out of each new podcast in a podcast feed. Or you could
use a phone-based note-creating service on the web to import tasks into Org. To access
feeds, configure the variable org-feed-alist. The docstring of this variable has detailed
information. Here is just an example:
(setq org-feed-alist
'(("Slashdot"
"http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot"
"~/txt/org/feeds.org" "Slashdot Entries")))
will configure that new items from the feed provided by rss.slashdot.org will result in
new entries in the file ~/org/feeds.org under the heading ‘Slashdot Entries’, whenever
the following command is used:
C-c C-x g
org-feed-update-all
C-c C-x g Collect items from the feeds configured in org-feed-alist and act upon them.
C-c C-x G
org-feed-goto-inbox
Prompt for a feed name and go to the inbox configured for this feed.
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Under the same headline, Org will create a drawer ‘FEEDSTATUS’ in which it will store
information about the status of items in the feed, to avoid adding the same item several
times.
For more information, including how to read atom feeds, see org-feed.el and the
docstring of org-feed-alist.
9.4 Protocols for external access
Org protocol is a mean to trigger custom actions in Emacs from external applications. Any
application that supports calling external programs with an URL as argument may be used
with this functionality. For example, you can configure bookmarks in your web browser
to send a link to the current page to Org and create a note from it using capture (see
Section 9.1 [Capture], page 89). You can also create a bookmark that tells Emacs to open
the local source file of a remote website you are browsing.
In order to use Org protocol from an application, you need to register ‘org-protocol://’
as a valid scheme-handler. External calls are passed to Emacs through the emacsclient
command, so you also need to ensure an Emacs server is running. More precisely, when the
application calls
emacsclient org-protocol://PROTOCOL?key1=val1&key2=val2
Emacs calls the handler associated to ‘PROTOCOL’ with argument ‘(:key1 val1 :key2
val2)’.
Org protocol comes with three predefined protocols, detailed in the following sections.
Configure org-protocol-protocol-alist to define your own.
9.4.1 store-link protocol
Using store-link handler, you can copy links, insertable through M-x org-insert-link
or yanking thereafter. More precisely, the command
emacsclient org-protocol://store-link?url=URL&title=TITLE
stores the following link:
[[URL][TITLE]]
In addition, ‘URL’ is pushed on the kill-ring for yanking. You need to encode ‘URL’ and
‘TITLE’ if they contain slashes, and probably quote those for the shell.
To use this feature from a browser, add a bookmark with an arbitrary name, e.g., ‘Org:
store-link’ and enter this as Location:
javascript:location.href='org-protocol://store-link?url='+
encodeURIComponent(location.href);
9.4.2 capture protocol
Activating capture handler pops up a ‘Capture’ buffer and fills the capture template associated to the ‘X’ key with them.
emacsclient org-protocol://capture?template=X?url=URL?title=TITLE?body=BODY
To use this feature, add a bookmark with an arbitrary name, e.g. ‘Org: capture’ and
enter this as ‘Location’:
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javascript:location.href='org-protocol://template=x'+
'&url='+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href)+
'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title)+
'&body='+encodeURIComponent(window.getSelection());
The result depends on the capture template used, which is set in the bookmark itself,
as in the example above, or in org-protocol-default-template-key.
The following template placeholders are available:
%:link
%:description
%:annotation
%i
The URL
The webpage title
Equivalent to [[%:link][%:description]]
The selected text
9.4.3 open-source protocol
The open-source handler is designed to help with editing local sources when reading a
document. To that effect, you can use a bookmark with the following location:
javascript:location.href='org-protocol://open-source?&url='+
encodeURIComponent(location.href)
The variable org-protocol-project-alist maps URLs to local file names, by stripping
URL parameters from the end and replacing the :base-url with :working-directory and
:online-suffix with :working-suffix. For example, assuming you own a local copy of
http://orgmode.org/worg/ contents at /home/user/worg, you can set org-protocolproject-alist to the following
(setq org-protocol-project-alist
'(("Worg"
:base-url "http://orgmode.org/worg/"
:working-directory "/home/user/worg/"
:online-suffix ".html"
:working-suffix ".org")))
If you are now browsing http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-protocol.html
and find a typo or have an idea about how to enhance the documentation, simply click the
bookmark and start editing.
However, such mapping may not yield the desired results. Suppose you maintain
an online store located at http: / / example . com / . The local sources reside in
/home/user/example/. It is common practice to serve all products in such a store
through one file and rewrite URLs that do not match an existing file on the server.
That way, a request to http: / / example . com / print / posters . html might be
rewritten on the server to something like http: / /example .com /shop /products .php /
posters . html . php. The open-source handler probably cannot find a file named
/home/user/example/print/posters.html.php and fails.
Such an entry in org-protocol-project-alist may hold an additional property
:rewrites. This property is a list of cons cells, each of which maps a regular expression
to a path relative to the :working-directory.
Now map the URL to the path /home/user/example/products.php by adding
:rewrites rules like this:
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(setq org-protocol-project-alist
'(("example.com"
:base-url "http://example.com/"
:working-directory "/home/user/example/"
:online-suffix ".php"
:working-suffix ".php"
:rewrites (("example.com/print/" . "products.php")
("example.com/$" . "index.php")))))
Since ‘example.com/$’ is used as a regular expression, it maps http: / / example .
com / , https: / / example . com, http: / / www . example . com / and similar to
/home/user/example/index.php.
The :rewrites rules are searched as a last resort if and only if no existing file name is
matched.
Two functions can help you filling org-protocol-project-alist with valid contents:
org-protocol-create and org-protocol-create-for-org. The latter is of use if you’re
editing an Org file that is part of a publishing project.
9.5 Refile and copy
When reviewing the captured data, you may want to refile or to copy some of the entries
into a different list, for example into a project. Cutting, finding the right location, and then
pasting the note is cumbersome. To simplify this process, you can use the following special
command:
C-c M-w
org-copy
Copying works like refiling, except that the original note is not deleted.
C-c C-w
org-refile
Refile the entry or region at point. This command offers possible locations for
refiling the entry and lets you select one with completion. The item (or all
items in the region) is filed below the target heading as a subitem. Depending
on org-reverse-note-order, it will be either the first or last subitem.
By default, all level 1 headlines in the current buffer are considered to be targets,
but you can have more complex definitions across a number of files. See the variable org-refile-targets for details. If you would like to select a location via a
file-path-like completion along the outline path, see the variables org-refileuse-outline-path and org-outline-path-complete-in-steps. If you would
like to be able to create new nodes as new parents for refiling on the fly, check
the variable org-refile-allow-creating-parent-nodes. When the variable
org-log-refile9 is set, a timestamp or a note will be recorded when an entry
has been refiled.
C-u C-c C-w
Use the refile interface to jump to a heading.
C-u C-u C-c C-w
org-refile-goto-last-stored
Jump to the location where org-refile last moved a tree to.
9
with corresponding #+STARTUP keywords logrefile, lognoterefile, and nologrefile
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C-2 C-c C-w
Refile as the child of the item currently being clocked.
C-3 C-c C-w
Refile and keep the entry in place. Also see org-refile-keep to make this the
default behavior, and beware that this may result in duplicated ID properties.
C-0 C-c C-w or C-u C-u C-u C-c C-w
org-refile-cache-clear
Clear the target cache. Caching of refile targets can be turned on by setting
org-refile-use-cache. To make the command see new possible targets, you
have to clear the cache with this command.
9.6 Archiving
When a project represented by a (sub)tree is finished, you may want to move the tree out
of the way and to stop it from contributing to the agenda. Archiving is important to keep
your working files compact and global searches like the construction of agenda views fast.
C-c C-x C-a
org-archive-subtree-default
Archive the current entry using the command specified in the variable
org-archive-default-command.
9.6.1 Moving a tree to the archive file
The most common archiving action is to move a project tree to another file, the archive file.
C-c C-x C-s or short C-c $
org-archive-subtree
Archive the subtree starting at the cursor position to the location given by
org-archive-location.
C-u C-c C-x C-s
Check if any direct children of the current headline could be moved to the
archive. To do this, each subtree is checked for open TODO entries. If none
are found, the command offers to move it to the archive location. If the cursor
is not on a headline when this command is invoked, the level 1 trees will be
checked.
C-u C-u C-c C-x C-s
As above, but check subtree for timestamps instead of TODO entries. The
command will offer to archive the subtree if it does contain a timestamp, and
that timestamp is in the past.
The default archive location is a file in the same directory as the current file, with the
name derived by appending _archive to the current file name. You can also choose what
heading to file archived items under, with the possibility to add them to a datetree in a
file. For information and examples on how to specify the file and the heading, see the
documentation string of the variable org-archive-location.
There is also an in-buffer option for setting this variable, for example:
#+ARCHIVE: %s_done::
If you would like to have a special ARCHIVE location for a single entry or a (sub)tree, give
the entry an :ARCHIVE: property with the location as the value (see Chapter 7 [Properties
and columns], page 64).
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When a subtree is moved, it receives a number of special properties that record context
information like the file from where the entry came, its outline path the archiving time
etc. Configure the variable org-archive-save-context-info to adjust the amount of
information added.
9.6.2 Internal archiving
If you want to just switch off—for agenda views—certain subtrees without moving them to
a different file, you can use the archive tag.
A headline that is marked with the ‘:ARCHIVE:’ tag (see Chapter 6 [Tags], page 59) stays
at its location in the outline tree, but behaves in the following way:
− It does not open when you attempt to do so with a visibility cycling command (see
Section 2.3 [Visibility cycling], page 6). You can force cycling archived subtrees with CTAB, or by setting the option org-cycle-open-archived-trees. Also normal outline
commands like show-all will open archived subtrees.
− During sparse tree construction (see Section 2.6 [Sparse trees], page 11), matches in
archived subtrees are not exposed, unless you configure the option org-sparse-treeopen-archived-trees.
− During agenda view construction (see Chapter 10 [Agenda views], page 102), the content of archived trees is ignored unless you configure the option org-agenda-skiparchived-trees, in which case these trees will always be included. In the agenda you
can press v a to get archives temporarily included.
− Archived trees are not exported (see Chapter 12 [Exporting], page 137), only the headline is. Configure the details using the variable org-export-with-archived-trees.
− Archived trees are excluded from column view unless the variable org-columns-skiparchived-trees is configured to nil.
The following commands help manage the ARCHIVE tag:
C-c C-x a
org-toggle-archive-tag
Toggle the ARCHIVE tag for the current headline. When the tag is set, the
headline changes to a shadowed face, and the subtree below it is hidden.
C-u C-c C-x a
Check if any direct children of the current headline should be archived. To do
this, each subtree is checked for open TODO entries. If none are found, the
command offers to set the ARCHIVE tag for the child. If the cursor is not on
a headline when this command is invoked, the level 1 trees will be checked.
C-TAB
org-force-cycle-archived
Cycle a tree even if it is tagged with ARCHIVE.
C-c C-x A
org-archive-to-archive-sibling
Move the current entry to the Archive Sibling. This is a sibling of the entry
with the heading ‘Archive’ and the tag ‘ARCHIVE’. The entry becomes a child
of that sibling and in this way retains a lot of its original context, including
inherited tags and approximate position in the outline.
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10 Agenda views
Due to the way Org works, TODO items, time-stamped items, and tagged headlines can be
scattered throughout a file or even a number of files. To get an overview of open action items,
or of events that are important for a particular date, this information must be collected,
sorted and displayed in an organized way.
Org can select items based on various criteria and display them in a separate buffer. Six
different view types are provided:
• an agenda that is like a calendar and shows information for specific dates,
• a TODO list that covers all unfinished action items,
• a match view, showings headlines based on the tags, properties, and TODO state
associated with them,
• a text search view that shows all entries from multiple files that contain specified keywords,
• a stuck projects view showing projects that currently don’t move along, and
• custom views that are special searches and combinations of different views.
The extracted information is displayed in a special agenda buffer. This buffer is read-only,
but provides commands to visit the corresponding locations in the original Org files, and
even to edit these files remotely.
By default, the report ignores commented (see Section 12.6 [Comment lines], page 144)
and archived (see Section 9.6.2 [Internal archiving], page 101) entries. You can override this
by setting org-agenda-skip-comment-trees and org-agenda-skip-archived-trees to
nil.
Two variables control how the agenda buffer is displayed and whether the window configuration is restored when the agenda exits: org-agenda-window-setup and org-agendarestore-windows-after-quit.
10.1 Agenda files
The information to be shown is normally collected from all agenda files, the files listed in the
variable org-agenda-files1 . If a directory is part of this list, all files with the extension
.org in this directory will be part of the list.
Thus, even if you only work with a single Org file, that file should be put into the list2 .
You can customize org-agenda-files, but the easiest way to maintain it is through the
following commands
C-c [
1
2
org-agenda-file-to-front
Add current file to the list of agenda files. The file is added to the front of
the list. If it was already in the list, it is moved to the front. With a prefix
argument, file is added/moved to the end.
If the value of that variable is not a list, but a single file name, then the list of agenda files will be
maintained in that external file.
When using the dispatcher, pressing < before selecting a command will actually limit the command to
the current file, and ignore org-agenda-files until the next dispatcher command.
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C-c ]
org-remove-file
Remove current file from the list of agenda files.
C-'
C-,
org-cycle-agenda-files
Cycle through agenda file list, visiting one file after the other.
M-x org-iswitchb RET
Command to use an iswitchb-like interface to switch to and between Org
buffers.
The Org menu contains the current list of files and can be used to visit any of them.
If you would like to focus the agenda temporarily on a file not in this list, or on just one
file in the list, or even on only a subtree in a file, then this can be done in different ways.
For a single agenda command, you may press < once or several times in the dispatcher (see
Section 10.2 [Agenda dispatcher], page 103). To restrict the agenda scope for an extended
period, use the following commands:
C-c C-x <
org-agenda-set-restriction-lock
Permanently restrict the agenda to the current subtree. When with a prefix
argument, or with the cursor before the first headline in a file, the agenda scope
is set to the entire file. This restriction remains in effect until removed with C-c
C-x >, or by typing either < or > in the agenda dispatcher. If there is a window
displaying an agenda view, the new restriction takes effect immediately.
C-c C-x >
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
Remove the permanent restriction created by C-c C-x <.
When working with speedbar.el, you can use the following commands in the Speedbar
frame:
< in the speedbar frame
org-speedbar-set-agenda-restriction
Permanently restrict the agenda to the item—either an Org file or a subtree in
such a file—at the cursor in the Speedbar frame. If there is a window displaying
an agenda view, the new restriction takes effect immediately.
> in the speedbar frame
Lift the restriction.
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
10.2 The agenda dispatcher
The views are created through a dispatcher, which should be bound to a global key—
for example C-c a (see Section 1.3 [Activation], page 3). In the following we will assume
that C-c a is indeed how the dispatcher is accessed and list keyboard access to commands
accordingly. After pressing C-c a, an additional letter is required to execute a command.
The dispatcher offers the following default commands:
a
Create the calendar-like agenda (see Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda],
page 104).
t/T
Create a list of all TODO items (see Section 10.3.2 [Global TODO list],
page 106).
m/M
Create a list of headlines matching a TAGS expression (see Section 10.3.3
[Matching tags and properties], page 107).
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s
Create a list of entries selected by a boolean expression of keywords and/or
regular expressions that must or must not occur in the entry.
/
Search for a regular expression in all agenda files and additionally in the files
listed in org-agenda-text-search-extra-files. This uses the Emacs command multi-occur. A prefix argument can be used to specify the number of
context lines for each match, default is 1.
#/!
Create a list of stuck projects (see Section 10.3.5 [Stuck projects], page 110).
<
Restrict an agenda command to the current buffer3 . After pressing <, you still
need to press the character selecting the command.
<<
If there is an active region, restrict the following agenda command to the region.
Otherwise, restrict it to the current subtree4 . After pressing < <, you still need
to press the character selecting the command.
*
Toggle sticky agenda views. By default, Org maintains only a single agenda
buffer and rebuilds it each time you change the view, to make sure everything is
always up to date. If you often switch between agenda views and the build time
bothers you, you can turn on sticky agenda buffers or make this the default by
customizing the variable org-agenda-sticky. With sticky agendas, the agenda
dispatcher will not recreate agenda views from scratch, it will only switch to
the selected one, and you need to update the agenda by hand with r or g when
needed. You can toggle sticky agenda view any time with org-toggle-stickyagenda.
You can also define custom commands that will be accessible through the dispatcher, just
like the default commands. This includes the possibility to create extended agenda buffers
that contain several blocks together, for example the weekly agenda, the global TODO list
and a number of special tags matches. See Section 10.6 [Custom agenda views], page 123.
10.3 The built-in agenda views
In this section we describe the built-in views.
10.3.1 The weekly/daily agenda
The purpose of the weekly/daily agenda is to act like a page of a paper agenda, showing
all the tasks for the current week or day.
C-c a a
org-agenda-list
Compile an agenda for the current week from a list of Org files. The agenda
shows the entries for each day. With a numeric prefix5 (like C-u 2 1 C-c a a)
you may set the number of days to be displayed.
The default number of days displayed in the agenda is set by the variable org-agendaspan (or the obsolete org-agenda-ndays). This variable can be set to any number of
3
4
5
For backward compatibility, you can also press 1 to restrict to the current buffer.
For backward compatibility, you can also press 0 to restrict to the current region/subtree.
For backward compatibility, the universal prefix C-u causes all TODO entries to be listed before the
agenda. This feature is deprecated, use the dedicated TODO list, or a block agenda instead (see
Section 10.6.2 [Block agenda], page 125).
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days you want to see by default in the agenda, or to a span name, such as day, week,
month or year. For weekly agendas, the default is to start on the previous monday (see
org-agenda-start-on-weekday). You can also set the start date using a date shift: (setq
org-agenda-start-day "+10d") will start the agenda ten days from today in the future.
Remote editing from the agenda buffer means, for example, that you can change the
dates of deadlines and appointments from the agenda buffer. The commands available in
the Agenda buffer are listed in Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115.
Calendar/Diary integration
Emacs contains the calendar and diary by Edward M. Reingold. The calendar displays
a three-month calendar with holidays from different countries and cultures. The diary
allows you to keep track of anniversaries, lunar phases, sunrise/set, recurrent appointments
(weekly, monthly) and more. In this way, it is quite complementary to Org. It can be very
useful to combine output from Org with the diary.
In order to include entries from the Emacs diary into Org mode’s agenda, you only need
to customize the variable
(setq org-agenda-include-diary t)
After that, everything will happen automatically. All diary entries including holidays,
anniversaries, etc., will be included in the agenda buffer created by Org mode. SPC, TAB,
and RET can be used from the agenda buffer to jump to the diary file in order to edit existing
diary entries. The i command to insert new entries for the current date works in the agenda
buffer, as well as the commands S, M, and C to display Sunrise/Sunset times, show lunar
phases and to convert to other calendars, respectively. c can be used to switch back and
forth between calendar and agenda.
If you are using the diary only for sexp entries and holidays, it is faster to not use the
above setting, but instead to copy or even move the entries into an Org file. Org mode
evaluates diary-style sexp entries, and does it faster because there is no overhead for first
creating the diary display. Note that the sexp entries must start at the left margin, no
whitespace is allowed before them. For example, the following segment of an Org file will
be processed and entries will be made in the agenda:
* Holidays
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: Holiday
:END:
%%(org-calendar-holiday)
; special function for holiday names
* Birthdays
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: Ann
:END:
%%(org-anniversary 1956 5 14)6 Arthur Dent is %d years old
%%(org-anniversary 1869 10 2) Mahatma Gandhi would be %d years old
6
org-anniversary is just like diary-anniversary, but the argument order is always according to ISO and therefore independent of the value of calendar-date-style.
Chapter 10: Agenda views
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Anniversaries from BBDB
If you are using the Big Brothers Database to store your contacts, you will very likely prefer
to store anniversaries in BBDB rather than in a separate Org or diary file. Org supports
this and will show BBDB anniversaries as part of the agenda. All you need to do is to add
the following to one of your agenda files:
* Anniversaries
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: Anniv
:END:
%%(org-bbdb-anniversaries)
You can then go ahead and define anniversaries for a BBDB record. Basically, you need
to press C-o anniversary RET with the cursor in a BBDB record and then add the date
in the format YYYY-MM-DD or MM-DD, followed by a space and the class of the anniversary
(‘birthday’ or ‘wedding’, or a format string). If you omit the class, it will default to
‘birthday’. Here are a few examples, the header for the file org-bbdb.el contains more
detailed information.
1973-06-22
06-22
1955-08-02 wedding
2008-04-14 %s released version 6.01 of org mode, %d years ago
After a change to BBDB, or for the first agenda display during an Emacs session,
the agenda display will suffer a short delay as Org updates its hash with anniversaries.
However, from then on things will be very fast—much faster in fact than a long list of
‘%%(diary-anniversary)’ entries in an Org or Diary file.
If you would like to see upcoming anniversaries with a bit of forewarning, you can use
the following instead:
* Anniversaries
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: Anniv
:END:
%%(org-bbdb-anniversaries-future 3)
That will give you three days’ warning: on the anniversary date itself and the two days
prior. The argument is optional: if omitted, it defaults to 7.
Appointment reminders
Org can interact with Emacs appointments notification facility. To add the appointments
of your agenda files, use the command org-agenda-to-appt. This command lets you filter
through the list of your appointments and add only those belonging to a specific category
or matching a regular expression. It also reads a APPT_WARNTIME property which will then
override the value of appt-message-warning-time for this appointment. See the docstring
for details.
10.3.2 The global TODO list
The global TODO list contains all unfinished TODO items formatted and collected into a
single place.
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C-c a t
org-todo-list
Show the global TODO list. This collects the TODO items from all agenda files
(see Chapter 10 [Agenda views], page 102) into a single buffer. By default, this
lists items with a state the is not a DONE state. The buffer is in agenda-mode,
so there are commands to examine and manipulate the TODO entries directly
from that buffer (see Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115).
C-c a T
org-todo-list
Like the above, but allows selection of a specific TODO keyword. You can also
do this by specifying a prefix argument to C-c a t. You are prompted for a
keyword, and you may also specify several keywords by separating them with
‘|’ as the boolean OR operator. With a numeric prefix, the Nth keyword in
org-todo-keywords is selected. The r key in the agenda buffer regenerates it,
and you can give a prefix argument to this command to change the selected
TODO keyword, for example 3 r. If you often need a search for a specific
keyword, define a custom command for it (see Section 10.2 [Agenda dispatcher],
page 103).
Matching specific TODO keywords can also be done as part of a tags search
(see Section 6.4 [Tag searches], page 63).
Remote editing of TODO items means that you can change the state of a TODO entry with a single key press. The commands available in the TODO list are described in
Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115.
Normally the global TODO list simply shows all headlines with TODO keywords. This
list can become very long. There are two ways to keep it more compact:
− Some people view a TODO item that has been scheduled for execution or have a
deadline (see Section 8.1 [Timestamps], page 73) as no longer open. Configure the variables org-agenda-todo-ignore-scheduled, org-agenda-todo-ignore-deadlines,
org-agenda-todo-ignore-timestamp and/or org-agenda-todo-ignore-with-date
to exclude such items from the global TODO list.
− TODO items may have sublevels to break up the task into subtasks. In such cases it
may be enough to list only the highest level TODO headline and omit the sublevels
from the global list. Configure the variable org-agenda-todo-list-sublevels to get
this behavior.
10.3.3 Matching tags and properties
If headlines in the agenda files are marked with tags (see Chapter 6 [Tags], page 59), or
have properties (see Chapter 7 [Properties and columns], page 64), you can select headlines
based on this metadata and collect them into an agenda buffer. The match syntax described
here also applies when creating sparse trees with C-c / m.
C-c a m
org-tags-view
Produce a list of all headlines that match a given set of tags. The command prompts for a selection criterion, which is a boolean logic expression
with tags, like ‘+work+urgent-withboss’ or ‘work|home’ (see Chapter 6 [Tags],
page 59). If you often need a specific search, define a custom command for it
(see Section 10.2 [Agenda dispatcher], page 103).
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C-c a M
108
org-tags-view
Like C-c a m, but only select headlines that are also TODO items in a
not-DONE state and force checking subitems (see variable org-tags-matchlist-sublevels). To exclude scheduled/deadline items, see the variable
org-agenda-tags-todo-honor-ignore-options. Matching specific TODO
keywords together with a tags match is also possible, see Section 6.4 [Tag
searches], page 63.
The commands available in the tags list are described in Section 10.5 [Agenda commands], page 115.
Match syntax
A search string can use Boolean operators ‘&’ for AND and ‘|’ for OR. ‘&’ binds more strongly
than ‘|’. Parentheses are not implemented. Each element in the search is either a tag, a
regular expression matching tags, or an expression like PROPERTY OPERATOR VALUE with a
comparison operator, accessing a property value. Each element may be preceded by ‘-’, to
select against it, and ‘+’ is syntactic sugar for positive selection. The AND operator ‘&’ is
optional when ‘+’ or ‘-’ is present. Here are some examples, using only tags.
‘work’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’.
‘work&boss’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’ and ‘:boss:’.
‘+work-boss’
Select headlines tagged ‘:work:’, but discard those also tagged ‘:boss:’.
‘work|laptop’
Selects lines tagged ‘:work:’ or ‘:laptop:’.
‘work|laptop+night’
Like before, but require the ‘:laptop:’ lines to be tagged also ‘:night:’.
Instead of a tag, you may also specify a regular expression enclosed in curly braces. For
example, ‘work+{^boss.*}’ matches headlines that contain the tag ‘:work:’ and any tag
starting with ‘boss’.
Group tags (see Section 6.3 [Tag hierarchy], page 62) are expanded as regular expressions.
E.g., if ‘:work:’ is a group tag for the group ‘:work:lab:conf:’, then searching for ‘work’
will search for ‘{\(?:work\|lab\|conf\)}’ and searching for ‘-work’ will search for all
headlines but those with one of the tags in the group (i.e., ‘-{\(?:work\|lab\|conf\)}’).
You may also test for properties (see Chapter 7 [Properties and columns], page 64)
at the same time as matching tags. The properties may be real properties, or special
properties that represent other metadata (see Section 7.2 [Special properties], page 66).
For example, the “property” TODO represents the TODO keyword of the entry and the
“property” PRIORITY represents the PRIORITY keyword of the entry.
In addition to the properties mentioned above, LEVEL represents the level of an entry.
So a search ‘+LEVEL=3+boss-TODO="DONE"’ lists all level three headlines that have the tag
‘boss’ and are not marked with the TODO keyword DONE. In buffers with org-oddlevels-only set, ‘LEVEL’ does not count the number of stars, but ‘LEVEL=2’ will correspond
to 3 stars etc.
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Here are more examples:
‘work+TODO="WAITING"’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines with the specific TODO keyword ‘WAITING’.
‘work+TODO="WAITING"|home+TODO="WAITING"’
Waiting tasks both at work and at home.
When matching properties, a number of different operators can be used to test the value
of a property. Here is a complex example:
+work-boss+PRIORITY="A"+Coffee="unlimited"+Effort<2
\
+With={Sarah\|Denny}+SCHEDULED>="<2008-10-11>"
The type of comparison will depend on how the comparison value is written:
− If the comparison value is a plain number, a numerical comparison is done, and the
allowed operators are ‘<’, ‘=’, ‘>’, ‘<=’, ‘>=’, and ‘<>’.
− If the comparison value is enclosed in double-quotes, a string comparison is done, and
the same operators are allowed.
− If the comparison value is enclosed in double-quotes and angular brackets (like
‘DEADLINE<="<2008-12-24 18:30>"’), both values are assumed to be date/time
specifications in the standard Org way, and the comparison will be done accordingly.
Special values that will be recognized are "" for now (including time), and
"", and "" for these days at 00:00 hours, i.e., without a time
specification. Also strings like "<+5d>" or "<-2m>" with units d, w, m, and y for day,
week, month, and year, respectively, can be used.
− If the comparison value is enclosed in curly braces, a regexp match is performed, with
‘=’ meaning that the regexp matches the property value, and ‘<>’ meaning that it does
not match.
So the search string in the example finds entries tagged ‘:work:’ but not ‘:boss:’, which
also have a priority value ‘A’, a ‘:Coffee:’ property with the value ‘unlimited’, an ‘Effort’
property that is numerically smaller than 2, a ‘:With:’ property that is matched by the
regular expression ‘Sarah\|Denny’, and that are scheduled on or after October 11, 2008.
You can configure Org mode to use property inheritance during a search, but beware that
this can slow down searches considerably. See Section 7.4 [Property inheritance], page 67,
for details.
For backward compatibility, and also for typing speed, there is also a different way to test
TODO states in a search. For this, terminate the tags/property part of the search string
(which may include several terms connected with ‘|’) with a ‘/’ and then specify a Boolean
expression just for TODO keywords. The syntax is then similar to that for tags, but should
be applied with care: for example, a positive selection on several TODO keywords cannot
meaningfully be combined with boolean AND. However, negative selection combined with
AND can be meaningful. To make sure that only lines are checked that actually have any
TODO keyword (resulting in a speed-up), use C-c a M, or equivalently start the TODO part
after the slash with ‘!’. Using C-c a M or ‘/!’ will not match TODO keywords in a DONE
state. Examples:
‘work/WAITING’
Same as ‘work+TODO="WAITING"’
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‘work/!-WAITING-NEXT’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines that are neither ‘WAITING’ nor ‘NEXT’
‘work/!+WAITING|+NEXT’
Select ‘:work:’-tagged TODO lines that are either ‘WAITING’ or ‘NEXT’.
10.3.4 Search view
This agenda view is a general text search facility for Org mode entries. It is particularly
useful to find notes.
C-c a s
org-search-view
This is a special search that lets you select entries by matching a substring or
specific words using a boolean logic.
For example, the search string ‘computer equipment’ will find entries that contain
‘computer equipment’ as a substring. If the two words are separated by more space or
a line break, the search will still match. Search view can also search for specific keywords in the entry, using Boolean logic. The search string ‘+computer +wifi -ethernet
-{8\.11[bg]}’ will search for note entries that contain the keywords computer and wifi,
but not the keyword ethernet, and which are also not matched by the regular expression
8\.11[bg], meaning to exclude both 8.11b and 8.11g. The first ‘+’ is necessary to turn on
word search, other ‘+’ characters are optional. For more details, see the docstring of the
command org-search-view.
Note that in addition to the agenda files, this command will also search the files listed
in org-agenda-text-search-extra-files.
10.3.5 Stuck projects
If you are following a system like David Allen’s GTD to organize your work, one of the
“duties” you have is a regular review to make sure that all projects move along. A stuck
project is a project that has no defined next actions, so it will never show up in the TODO
lists Org mode produces. During the review, you need to identify such projects and define
next actions for them.
C-c a #
org-agenda-list-stuck-projects
List projects that are stuck.
C-c a !
Customize the variable org-stuck-projects to define what a stuck project is
and how to find it.
You almost certainly will have to configure this view before it will work for you. The
built-in default assumes that all your projects are level-2 headlines, and that a project is
not stuck if it has at least one entry marked with a TODO keyword TODO or NEXT or
NEXTACTION.
Let’s assume that you, in your own way of using Org mode, identify projects with a tag
PROJECT, and that you use a TODO keyword MAYBE to indicate a project that should
not be considered yet. Let’s further assume that the TODO keyword DONE marks finished
projects, and that NEXT and TODO indicate next actions. The tag @SHOP indicates
shopping and is a next action even without the NEXT tag. Finally, if the project contains
the special word IGNORE anywhere, it should not be listed either. In this case you would
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start by identifying eligible projects with a tags/todo match7 ‘+PROJECT/-MAYBE-DONE’, and
then check for TODO, NEXT, @SHOP, and IGNORE in the subtree to identify projects
that are not stuck. The correct customization for this is
(setq org-stuck-projects
'("+PROJECT/-MAYBE-DONE" ("NEXT" "TODO") ("@SHOP")
"\\"))
Note that if a project is identified as non-stuck, the subtree of this entry will still be
searched for stuck projects.
10.4 Presentation and sorting
Before displaying items in an agenda view, Org mode visually prepares the items and sorts
them. Each item occupies a single line. The line starts with a prefix that contains the category (see Section 10.4.1 [Categories], page 111) of the item and other important information.
You can customize in which column tags will be displayed through org-agenda-tagscolumn. You can also customize the prefix using the option org-agenda-prefix-format.
This prefix is followed by a cleaned-up version of the outline headline associated with the
item.
10.4.1 Categories
The category is a broad label assigned to each agenda item. By default, the category is
simply derived from the file name, but you can also specify it with a special line in the
buffer, like this:
#+CATEGORY: Thesis
If you would like to have a special CATEGORY for a single entry or a (sub)tree, give the
entry a :CATEGORY: property with the special category you want to apply as the value.
The display in the agenda buffer looks best if the category is not longer than 10 characters.
You can set up icons for category by customizing the org-agenda-category-icon-alist
variable.
10.4.2 Time-of-day specifications
Org mode checks each agenda item for a time-of-day specification. The time can be
part of the timestamp that triggered inclusion into the agenda, for example as in
‘<2005-05-10 Tue 19:00>’. Time ranges can be specified with two timestamps, like
‘<2005-05-10 Tue 20:30>--<2005-05-10 Tue 22:15>’.
In the headline of the entry itself, a time(range) may also appear as plain text (like
‘12:45’ or a ‘8:30-1pm’). If the agenda integrates the Emacs diary (see Section 10.3.1
[Weekly/daily agenda], page 104), time specifications in diary entries are recognized as
well.
For agenda display, Org mode extracts the time and displays it in a standard 24 hour
format as part of the prefix. The example times in the previous paragraphs would end up
in the agenda like this:
7
See Section 6.4 [Tag searches], page 63.
Chapter 10: Agenda views
8:30-13:00
12:45......
19:00......
20:30-22:15
112
Arthur Dent lies in front of the bulldozer
Ford Prefect arrives and takes Arthur to the pub
The Vogon reads his poem
Marvin escorts the Hitchhikers to the bridge
If the agenda is in single-day mode, or for the display of today, the timed entries are
embedded in a time grid, like
8:00......
8:30-13:00
10:00......
12:00......
12:45......
14:00......
16:00......
18:00......
19:00......
20:00......
20:30-22:15
-----------------Arthur Dent lies in front of the bulldozer
----------------------------------Ford Prefect arrives and takes Arthur to the pub
---------------------------------------------------The Vogon reads his poem
-----------------Marvin escorts the Hitchhikers to the bridge
The time grid can be turned on and off with the variable org-agenda-use-time-grid,
and can be configured with org-agenda-time-grid.
10.4.3 Sorting agenda items
Before being inserted into a view, the items are sorted. How this is done depends on the
type of view.
• For the daily/weekly agenda, the items for each day are sorted. The default order is
to first collect all items containing an explicit time-of-day specification. These entries
will be shown at the beginning of the list, as a schedule for the day. After that, items
remain grouped in categories, in the sequence given by org-agenda-files. Within
each category, items are sorted by priority (see Section 5.4 [Priorities], page 55), which
is composed of the base priority (2000 for priority ‘A’, 1000 for ‘B’, and 0 for ‘C’), plus
additional increments for overdue scheduled or deadline items.
• For the TODO list, items remain in the order of categories, but within each category,
sorting takes place according to priority (see Section 5.4 [Priorities], page 55). The
priority used for sorting derives from the priority cookie, with additions depending on
how close an item is to its due or scheduled date.
• For tags matches, items are not sorted at all, but just appear in the sequence in which
they are found in the agenda files.
Sorting can be customized using the variable org-agenda-sorting-strategy, and may
also include criteria based on the estimated effort of an entry (see Section 8.5 [Effort estimates], page 86).
10.4.4 Filtering/limiting agenda items
Agenda built-in or customized commands are statically defined. Agenda filters and limits
provide two ways of dynamically narrowing down the list of agenda entries: filters and
limits. Filters only act on the display of the items, while limits take effect before the list
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of agenda entries is built. Filters are more often used interactively, while limits are mostly
useful when defined as local variables within custom agenda commands.
Filtering in the agenda
/
org-agenda-filter-by-tag
Filter the agenda view with respect to a tag and/or effort estimates. The
difference between this and a custom agenda command is that filtering is very
fast, so that you can switch quickly between different filters without having to
recreate the agenda.8
You will be prompted for a tag selection letter; SPC will mean any tag at all.
Pressing TAB at that prompt will offer use completion to select a tag (including
any tags that do not have a selection character). The command then hides all
entries that do not contain or inherit this tag. When called with prefix arg,
remove the entries that do have the tag. A second / at the prompt will turn
off the filter and unhide any hidden entries. Pressing + or - switches between
filtering and excluding the next tag.
Org also supports automatic, context-aware tag filtering. If the variable
org-agenda-auto-exclude-function is set to a user-defined function,
that function can decide which tags should be excluded from the agenda
automatically. Once this is set, the / command then accepts RET as a
sub-option key and runs the auto exclusion logic. For example, let’s say
you use a Net tag to identify tasks which need network access, an Errand
tag for errands in town, and a Call tag for making phone calls. You could
auto-exclude these tags based on the availability of the Internet, and outside
of business hours, with something like this:
(defun org-my-auto-exclude-function (tag)
(and (cond
((string= tag "Net")
(/= 0 (call-process "/sbin/ping" nil nil nil
"-c1" "-q" "-t1" "mail.gnu.org")))
((or (string= tag "Errand") (string= tag "Call"))
(let ((hour (nth 2 (decode-time))))
(or (< hour 8) (> hour 21)))))
(concat "-" tag)))
(setq org-agenda-auto-exclude-function 'org-my-auto-exclude-function)
[]{}
in search view
add new search words ([ and ]) or new regular expressions ({ and })
to the query string. The opening bracket/brace will add a positive
search term prefixed by ‘+’, indicating that this search term must
occur/match in the entry. The closing bracket/brace will add a
negative search term which must not occur/match in the entry for
it to be selected.
8
Custom commands can preset a filter by binding the variable org-agenda-tag-filter-preset as an
option. This filter will then be applied to the view and persist as a basic filter through refreshes and
more secondary filtering. The filter is a global property of the entire agenda view—in a block agenda,
you should only set this in the global options section, not in the section of an individual block.
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<
org-agenda-filter-by-category
Filter the current agenda view with respect to the category of the item at
point. Pressing < another time will remove this filter. When called with a
prefix argument exclude the category of the item at point from the agenda.
You can add a filter preset in custom agenda commands through the option
org-agenda-category-filter-preset. See Section 10.6.3 [Setting options],
page 125.
^
org-agenda-filter-by-top-headline
Filter the current agenda view and only display the siblings and the parent
headline of the one at point.
=
org-agenda-filter-by-regexp
Filter the agenda view by a regular expression: only show agenda entries matching the regular expression the user entered. When called with a prefix argument, it will filter out entries matching the regexp. With two universal prefix
arguments, it will remove all the regexp filters, which can be accumulated.
You can add a filter preset in custom agenda commands through the option org-agenda-regexp-filter-preset. See Section 10.6.3 [Setting options],
page 125.
_
org-agenda-filter-by-effort
Filter the agenda view with respect to effort estimates. You first need to set
up allowed efforts globally, for example
(setq org-global-properties
'(("Effort_ALL". "0 0:10 0:30 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00")))
You can then filter for an effort by first typing an operator, one of <, >, and
=, and then the one-digit index of an effort estimate in your array of allowed
values, where 0 means the 10th value. The filter will then restrict to entries
with effort smaller-or-equal, equal, or larger-or-equal than the selected value.
For application of the operator, entries without a defined effort will be treated
according to the value of org-sort-agenda-noeffort-is-high.
When called with a prefix argument, it will remove entries matching the condition. With two universal prefix arguments, it will clear effort filters, which can
be accumulated.
You can add a filter preset in custom agenda commands through the option org-agenda-effort-filter-preset. See Section 10.6.3 [Setting options],
page 125.
|
org-agenda-filter-remove-all
Remove all filters in the current agenda view.
Setting limits for the agenda
Here is a list of options that you can set, either globally, or locally in your custom agenda
views (see Section 10.6 [Custom agenda views], page 123).
org-agenda-max-entries
Limit the number of entries.
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org-agenda-max-effort
Limit the duration of accumulated efforts (as minutes).
org-agenda-max-todos
Limit the number of entries with TODO keywords.
org-agenda-max-tags
Limit the number of tagged entries.
When set to a positive integer, each option will exclude entries from other categories:
for example, (setq org-agenda-max-effort 100) will limit the agenda to 100 minutes of
effort and exclude any entry that has no effort property. If you want to include entries with
no effort property, use a negative value for org-agenda-max-effort.
One useful setup is to use org-agenda-max-entries locally in a custom command.
For example, this custom command will display the next five entries with a NEXT TODO
keyword.
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("n" todo "NEXT"
((org-agenda-max-entries 5)))))
Once you mark one of these five entry as DONE, rebuilding the agenda will again the next
five entries again, including the first entry that was excluded so far.
You can also dynamically set temporary limits, which will be lost when rebuilding the
agenda:
~
org-agenda-limit-interactively
This prompts for the type of limit to apply and its value.
10.5 Commands in the agenda buffer
Entries in the agenda buffer are linked back to the Org file or diary file where they originate.
You are not allowed to edit the agenda buffer itself, but commands are provided to show and
jump to the original entry location, and to edit the Org files “remotely” from the agenda
buffer. In this way, all information is stored only once, removing the risk that your agenda
and note files may diverge.
Some commands can be executed with mouse clicks on agenda lines. For the other
commands, the cursor needs to be in the desired line.
Motion
n
org-agenda-next-line
Next line (same as down and C-n).
p
org-agenda-previous-line
Previous line (same as up and C-p).
N
org-agenda-next-item
Next item: same as next line, but only consider items.
P
org-agenda-previous-item
Previous item: same as previous line, but only consider items.
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View/Go to Org file
SPC or mouse-3
org-agenda-show-and-scroll-up
Display the original location of the item in another window. With prefix arg,
make sure that drawers stay folded.
L
org-agenda-recenter
Display original location and recenter that window.
TAB or mouse-2
org-agenda-goto
Go to the original location of the item in another window.
RET
org-agenda-switch-to
Go to the original location of the item and delete other windows.
F
org-agenda-follow-mode
Toggle Follow mode. In Follow mode, as you move the cursor through the
agenda buffer, the other window always shows the corresponding location in
the Org file. The initial setting for this mode in new agenda buffers can be set
with the variable org-agenda-start-with-follow-mode.
C-c C-x b
org-agenda-tree-to-indirect-buffer
Display the entire subtree of the current item in an indirect buffer. With a
numeric prefix argument N, go up to level N and then take that tree. If N
is negative, go up that many levels. With a C-u prefix, do not remove the
previously used indirect buffer.
C-c C-o
org-agenda-open-link
Follow a link in the entry. This will offer a selection of any links in the text
belonging to the referenced Org node. If there is only one link, it will be followed
without a selection prompt.
Change display
A
Interactively select another agenda view and append it to the current view.
o
v
v
v
v
v
v
Delete other windows.
d or short d
org-agenda-day-view
w or short w
org-agenda-week-view
t
org-agenda-fortnight-view
m
org-agenda-month-view
y
org-agenda-year-view
SPC
org-agenda-reset-view
Switch to day/week/month/year view. When switching to day or week view,
this setting becomes the default for subsequent agenda refreshes. Since month
and year views are slow to create, they do not become the default. A numeric
prefix argument may be used to jump directly to a specific day of the year, ISO
week, month, or year, respectively. For example, 32 d jumps to February 1st, 9
w to ISO week number 9. When setting day, week, or month view, a year may
be encoded in the prefix argument as well. For example, 200712 w will jump
to week 12 in 2007. If such a year specification has only one or two digits, it
will be mapped to the interval 1938–2037. v SPC will reset to what is set in
org-agenda-span.
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117
org-agenda-later
Go forward in time to display the following org-agenda-current-span days.
For example, if the display covers a week, switch to the following week. With
prefix arg, go forward that many times org-agenda-current-span days.
b
org-agenda-earlier
Go backward in time to display earlier dates.
.
org-agenda-goto-today
Go to today.
j
org-agenda-goto-date
Prompt for a date and go there.
J
org-agenda-clock-goto
Go to the currently clocked-in task in the agenda buffer.
D
org-agenda-toggle-diary
Toggle the inclusion of diary entries. See Section 10.3.1 [Weekly/daily agenda],
page 104.
v l or short l
org-agenda-log-mode
Toggle Logbook mode. In Logbook mode, entries that were marked DONE
while logging was on (variable org-log-done) are shown in the agenda, as
are entries that have been clocked on that day. You can configure the entry
types that should be included in log mode using the variable org-agenda-logmode-items. When called with a C-u prefix, show all possible logbook entries,
including state changes. When called with two prefix arguments C-u C-u, show
only logging information, nothing else. v L is equivalent to C-u v l.
v [ or short [
org-agenda-manipulate-query-add
Include inactive timestamps into the current view. Only for weekly/daily
agenda.
v a
v A
org-agenda-archives-mode
org-agenda-archives-mode 'files
Toggle Archives mode. In Archives mode, trees that are marked ARCHIVED are
also scanned when producing the agenda. When you use the capital A, even all
archive files are included. To exit archives mode, press v a again.
v R or short R
org-agenda-clockreport-mode
Toggle Clockreport mode. In Clockreport mode, the daily/weekly agenda will
always show a table with the clocked times for the time span and file scope covered by the current agenda view. The initial setting for this mode in new agenda
buffers can be set with the variable org-agenda-start-with-clockreportmode. By using a prefix argument when toggling this mode (i.e., C-u R), the
clock table will not show contributions from entries that are hidden by agenda
filtering9 . See also the variable org-clock-report-include-clocking-task.
v c
9
Show overlapping clock entries, clocking gaps, and other clocking problems in
the current agenda range. You can then visit clocking lines and fix them manually. See the variable org-agenda-clock-consistency-checks for information
Only tags filtering will be respected here, effort filtering is ignored.
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on how to customize the definition of what constituted a clocking problem. To
return to normal agenda display, press l to exit Logbook mode.
v E or short E
org-agenda-entry-text-mode
Toggle entry text mode. In entry text mode, a number of lines from the Org
outline node referenced by an agenda line will be displayed below the line.
The maximum number of lines is given by the variable org-agenda-entrytext-maxlines. Calling this command with a numeric prefix argument will
temporarily modify that number to the prefix value.
G
org-agenda-toggle-time-grid
Toggle the time grid on and off. See also the variables org-agenda-use-timegrid and org-agenda-time-grid.
r
org-agenda-redo
Recreate the agenda buffer, for example to reflect the changes after modification
of the timestamps of items with S-left and S-right. When the buffer is the
global TODO list, a prefix argument is interpreted to create a selective list for
a specific TODO keyword.
g
org-agenda-redo
Same as r.
C-x C-s or short s
org-save-all-org-buffers
Save all Org buffers in the current Emacs session, and also the locations of IDs.
C-c C-x C-c
org-agenda-columns
Invoke column view (see Section 7.5 [Column view], page 67) in the agenda
buffer. The column view format is taken from the entry at point, or (if there
is no entry at point), from the first entry in the agenda view. So whatever the
format for that entry would be in the original buffer (taken from a property,
from a #+COLUMNS line, or from the default variable org-columns-defaultformat), will be used in the agenda.
C-c C-x >
org-agenda-remove-restriction-lock
Remove the restriction lock on the agenda, if it is currently restricted to a file
or subtree (see Section 10.1 [Agenda files], page 102).
Secondary filtering and query editing
For a detailed description of these commands,
[Filtering/limiting agenda items], page 112.
see
Section
10.4.4
/
org-agenda-filter-by-tag
Filter the agenda view with respect to a tag and/or effort estimates.
<
org-agenda-filter-by-category
Filter the current agenda view with respect to the category of the item at point.
^
org-agenda-filter-by-top-headline
Filter the current agenda view and only display the siblings and the parent
headline of the one at point.
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=
org-agenda-filter-by-regexp
Filter the agenda view by a regular expression.
_
org-agenda-filter-by-effort
Filter the agenda view with respect to effort estimates.
|
org-agenda-filter-remove-all
Remove all filters in the current agenda view.
Remote editing
0--9
Digit argument.
C-_
org-agenda-undo
Undo a change due to a remote editing command. The change is undone both
in the agenda buffer and in the remote buffer.
t
org-agenda-todo
Change the TODO state of the item, both in the agenda and in the original
org file.
C-S-right
C-S-left
org-agenda-todo-nextset
org-agenda-todo-previousset
Switch to the next/previous set of TODO keywords.
C-k
org-agenda-kill
Delete the current agenda item along with the entire subtree belonging to it in
the original Org file. If the text to be deleted remotely is longer than one line,
the kill needs to be confirmed by the user. See variable org-agenda-confirmkill.
C-c C-w
org-agenda-refile
Refile the entry at point.
C-c C-x C-a or short a
org-agenda-archive-default-with-confirmation
Archive the subtree corresponding to the entry at point using the default archiving command set in org-archive-default-command. When using the a key,
confirmation will be required.
C-c C-x a
org-agenda-toggle-archive-tag
Toggle the ARCHIVE tag for the current headline.
C-c C-x A
org-agenda-archive-to-archive-sibling
Move the subtree corresponding to the current entry to its archive sibling.
C-c C-x C-s or short $
org-agenda-archive
Archive the subtree corresponding to the current headline. This means the
entry will be moved to the configured archive location, most likely a different
file.
T
org-agenda-show-tags
Show all tags associated with the current item. This is useful if you have
turned off org-agenda-show-inherited-tags, but still want to see all tags of
a headline occasionally.
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:
org-agenda-set-tags
Set tags for the current headline. If there is an active region in the agenda,
change a tag for all headings in the region.
,
Set the priority for the current item (org-agenda-priority). Org mode
prompts for the priority character. If you reply with SPC, the priority cookie is
removed from the entry.
P
org-agenda-show-priority
Display weighted priority of current item.
+ or S-up
org-agenda-priority-up
Increase the priority of the current item. The priority is changed in the original
buffer, but the agenda is not resorted. Use the r key for this.
- or S-down
Decrease the priority of the current item.
org-agenda-priority-down
z or C-c C-z
org-agenda-add-note
Add a note to the entry. This note will be recorded, and then filed to the
same location where state change notes are put. Depending on org-log-intodrawer, this may be inside a drawer.
C-c C-a
org-attach
Dispatcher for all command related to attachments.
C-c C-s
org-agenda-schedule
Schedule this item. With prefix arg remove the scheduling timestamp
C-c C-d
org-agenda-deadline
Set a deadline for this item. With prefix arg remove the deadline.
S-right
org-agenda-do-date-later
Change the timestamp associated with the current line by one day into the
future. If the date is in the past, the first call to this command will move it to
today.
With a numeric prefix argument, change it by that many days. For example,
3 6 5 S-right will change it by a year. With a C-u prefix, change the time by
one hour. If you immediately repeat the command, it will continue to change
hours even without the prefix arg. With a double C-u C-u prefix, do the same
for changing minutes.
The stamp is changed in the original Org file, but the change is not directly
reflected in the agenda buffer. Use r or g to update the buffer.
S-left
org-agenda-do-date-earlier
Change the timestamp associated with the current line by one day into the
past.
>
org-agenda-date-prompt
Change the timestamp associated with the current line. The key > has been
chosen, because it is the same as S-. on my keyboard.
I
org-agenda-clock-in
Start the clock on the current item. If a clock is running already, it is stopped
first.
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O
org-agenda-clock-out
Stop the previously started clock.
X
org-agenda-clock-cancel
Cancel the currently running clock.
J
org-agenda-clock-goto
Jump to the running clock in another window.
k
org-agenda-capture
Like org-capture, but use the date at point as the default date for the capture template. See org-capture-use-agenda-date to make this the default
behavior of org-capture.
Dragging agenda lines forward/backward
M-
org-agenda-drag-line-backward
Drag the line at point backward one line10 . With a numeric prefix argument,
drag backward by that many lines.
M-
org-agenda-drag-line-forward
Drag the line at point forward one line. With a numeric prefix argument, drag
forward by that many lines.
Bulk remote editing selected entries
m
org-agenda-bulk-mark
Mark the entry at point for bulk action. With numeric prefix argument, mark
that many successive entries.
*
org-agenda-bulk-mark-all
Mark all visible agenda entries for bulk action.
u
org-agenda-bulk-unmark
Unmark entry at point for bulk action.
U
org-agenda-bulk-remove-all-marks
Unmark all marked entries for bulk action.
M-m
org-agenda-bulk-toggle
Toggle mark of the entry at point for bulk action.
M-*
org-agenda-bulk-toggle-all
Toggle marks of all visible entries for bulk action.
%
org-agenda-bulk-mark-regexp
Mark entries matching a regular expression for bulk action.
B
org-agenda-bulk-action
Bulk action: act on all marked entries in the agenda. This will prompt for
another key to select the action to be applied. The prefix arg to B will be passed
through to the s and d commands, to bulk-remove these special timestamps.
By default, marks are removed after the bulk. If you want them to persist, set
org-agenda-persistent-marks to t or hit p at the prompt.
10
Moving agenda lines does not persist after an agenda refresh and does not modify the contributing .org
files
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*
Toggle persistent marks.
$
Archive all selected entries.
A
Archive entries by moving them to their respective archive siblings.
t
Change TODO state. This prompts for a single TODO keyword
and changes the state of all selected entries, bypassing blocking and
suppressing logging notes (but not timestamps).
+
Add a tag to all selected entries.
-
Remove a tag from all selected entries.
s
Schedule all items to a new date. To shift existing schedule dates
by a fixed number of days, use something starting with double plus
at the prompt, for example ‘++8d’ or ‘++2w’.
d
Set deadline to a specific date.
r
Prompt for a single refile target and move all entries. The entries
will no longer be in the agenda; refresh (g) to bring them back.
S
Reschedule randomly into the coming N days. N will be prompted
for. With prefix arg (C-u B S), scatter only across weekdays.
f
Apply a function11 to marked entries. For example, the function
below sets the CATEGORY property of the entries to web.
(defun set-category ()
(interactive "P")
(let* ((marker (or (org-get-at-bol 'org-hd-marker)
(org-agenda-error)))
(buffer (marker-buffer marker)))
(with-current-buffer buffer
(save-excursion
(save-restriction
(widen)
(goto-char marker)
(org-back-to-heading t)
(org-set-property "CATEGORY" "web"))))))
Calendar commands
c
org-agenda-goto-calendar
Open the Emacs calendar and move to the date at the agenda cursor.
c
org-calendar-goto-agenda
When in the calendar, compute and show the Org mode agenda for the date at
the cursor.
i
org-agenda-diary-entry
Insert a new entry into the diary, using the date at the cursor and (for block
entries) the date at the mark. This will add to the Emacs diary file12 , in a way
11
12
You can also create persistent custom functions through org-agenda-bulk-custom-functions.
This file is parsed for the agenda when org-agenda-include-diary is set.
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similar to the i command in the calendar. The diary file will pop up in another
window, where you can add the entry.
If you configure org-agenda-diary-file to point to an Org mode file, Org
will create entries (in Org mode syntax) in that file instead. Most entries will
be stored in a date-based outline tree that will later make it easy to archive
appointments from previous months/years. The tree will be built under an
entry with a DATE_TREE property, or else with years as top-level entries. Emacs
will prompt you for the entry text—if you specify it, the entry will be created
in org-agenda-diary-file without further interaction. If you directly press
RET at the prompt without typing text, the target file will be shown in another
window for you to finish the entry there. See also the k r command.
M
org-agenda-phases-of-moon
Show the phases of the moon for the three months around current date.
S
org-agenda-sunrise-sunset
Show sunrise and sunset times. The geographical location must be set with
calendar variables, see the documentation for the Emacs calendar.
C
org-agenda-convert-date
Convert the date at cursor into many other cultural and historic calendars.
H
org-agenda-holidays
Show holidays for three months around the cursor date.
M-x org-icalendar-combine-agenda-files RET
Export a single iCalendar file containing entries from all agenda files. This is a
globally available command, and also available in the agenda menu.
Exporting to a file
C-x C-w
org-agenda-write
Write the agenda view to a file. Depending on the extension of the selected
file name, the view will be exported as HTML (.html or .htm), Postscript
(.ps), PDF (.pdf), Org (.org) and plain text (any other extension). When
exporting to Org, only the body of original headlines are exported, not subtrees
or inherited tags. When called with a C-u prefix argument, immediately open
the newly created file. Use the variable org-agenda-exporter-settings to
set options for ps-print and for htmlize to be used during export.
Quit and Exit
q
Quit agenda, remove the agenda buffer.
x
org-agenda-quit
org-agenda-exit
Exit agenda, remove the agenda buffer and all buffers loaded by Emacs for the
compilation of the agenda. Buffers created by the user to visit Org files will not
be removed.
10.6 Custom agenda views
Custom agenda commands serve two purposes: to store and quickly access frequently used
TODO and tags searches, and to create special composite agenda buffers. Custom agenda
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commands will be accessible through the dispatcher (see Section 10.2 [Agenda dispatcher],
page 103), just like the default commands.
10.6.1 Storing searches
The first application of custom searches is the definition of keyboard shortcuts for frequently
used searches, either creating an agenda buffer, or a sparse tree (the latter covering of course
only the current buffer).
Custom commands are configured in the variable org-agenda-custom-commands. You
can customize this variable, for example by pressing C-c a C. You can also directly set it
with Emacs Lisp in the Emacs init file. The following example contains all valid agenda
views:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("x" agenda)
("y" agenda*)
("w" todo "WAITING")
("W" todo-tree "WAITING")
("u" tags "+boss-urgent")
("v" tags-todo "+boss-urgent")
("U" tags-tree "+boss-urgent")
("f" occur-tree "\\")
("h" . "HOME+Name tags searches") ; description for "h" prefix
("hl" tags "+home+Lisa")
("hp" tags "+home+Peter")
("hk" tags "+home+Kim")))
The initial string in each entry defines the keys you have to press after the dispatcher
command C-c a in order to access the command. Usually this will be just a single character,
but if you have many similar commands, you can also define two-letter combinations where
the first character is the same in several combinations and serves as a prefix key13 . The
second parameter is the search type, followed by the string or regular expression to be used
for the matching. The example above will therefore define:
C-c a x
as a global search for agenda entries planned14 this week/day.
C-c a y
as a global search for agenda entries planned this week/day, but only those with
an hour specification like [h]h:mm—think of them as appointments.
C-c a w
as a global search for TODO entries with ‘WAITING’ as the TODO keyword
C-c a W
as the same search, but only in the current buffer and displaying the results as
a sparse tree
C-c a u
as a global tags search for headlines marked ‘:boss:’ but not ‘:urgent:’
C-c a v
as the same search as C-c a u, but limiting the search to headlines that are also
TODO items
13
14
You can provide a description for a prefix key by inserting a cons cell with the prefix and the description.
Planned means here that these entries have some planning information attached to them, like a timestamp, a scheduled or a deadline string. See org-agenda-entry-types on how to set what planning
information will be taken into account.
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C-c a U
as the same search as C-c a u, but only in the current buffer and displaying the
result as a sparse tree
C-c a f
to create a sparse tree (again: current buffer only) with all entries containing
the word ‘FIXME’
C-c a h
as a prefix command for a HOME tags search where you have to press an
additional key (l, p or k) to select a name (Lisa, Peter, or Kim) as additional
tag to match.
Note that the *-tree agenda views need to be called from an Org buffer as they operate
on the current buffer only.
10.6.2 Block agenda
Another possibility is the construction of agenda views that comprise the results of several
commands, each of which creates a block in the agenda buffer. The available commands
include agenda for the daily or weekly agenda (as created with C-c a a), alltodo for the
global TODO list (as constructed with C-c a t), and the matching commands discussed
above: todo, tags, and tags-todo. Here are two examples:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks"
((agenda "")
(tags-todo "home")
(tags "garden")))
("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks"
((agenda "")
(tags-todo "work")
(tags "office")))))
This will define C-c a h to create a multi-block view for stuff you need to attend to at home.
The resulting agenda buffer will contain your agenda for the current week, all TODO items
that carry the tag ‘home’, and also all lines tagged with ‘garden’. Finally the command C-c
a o provides a similar view for office tasks.
10.6.3 Setting options for custom commands
Org mode contains a number of variables regulating agenda construction and display. The
global variables define the behavior for all agenda commands, including the custom commands. However, if you want to change some settings just for a single custom view, you
can do so. Setting options requires inserting a list of variable names and values at the right
spot in org-agenda-custom-commands. For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("w" todo "WAITING"
((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down))
(org-agenda-prefix-format " Mixed: ")))
("U" tags-tree "+boss-urgent"
((org-show-context-detail 'minimal)))
("N" search ""
((org-agenda-files '("~org/notes.org"))
(org-agenda-text-search-extra-files nil)))))
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Now the C-c a w command will sort the collected entries only by priority, and the prefix format is modified to just say ‘ Mixed: ’ instead of giving the category of the entry. The sparse
tags tree of C-c a U will now turn out ultra-compact, because neither the headline hierarchy
above the match, nor the headline following the match will be shown. The command C-c
a N will do a text search limited to only a single file.
For command sets creating a block agenda, org-agenda-custom-commands has two separate spots for setting options. You can add options that should be valid for just a single
command in the set, and options that should be valid for all commands in the set. The
former are just added to the command entry; the latter must come after the list of command entries. Going back to the block agenda example (see Section 10.6.2 [Block agenda],
page 125), let’s change the sorting strategy for the C-c a h commands to priority-down,
but let’s sort the results for GARDEN tags query in the opposite order, priority-up. This
would look like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks"
((agenda)
(tags-todo "home")
(tags "garden"
((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-up)))))
((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down))))
("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks"
((agenda)
(tags-todo "work")
(tags "office")))))
As you see, the values and parentheses setting is a little complex. When in doubt, use
the customize interface to set this variable—it fully supports its structure. Just one caveat:
when setting options in this interface, the values are just Lisp expressions. So if the value
is a string, you need to add the double-quotes around the value yourself.
To control whether an agenda command should be accessible from a specific context, you
can customize org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts. Let’s say for example that you
have an agenda command "o" displaying a view that you only need when reading emails.
Then you would configure this option like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts
'(("o" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
You can also tell that the command key "o" should refer to another command key "r".
In that case, add this command key like this:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands-contexts
'(("o" "r" (in-mode . "message-mode"))))
See the docstring of the variable for more information.
10.7 Exporting agenda views
If you are away from your computer, it can be very useful to have a printed version of some
agenda views to carry around. Org mode can export custom agenda views as plain text,
Chapter 10: Agenda views
127
HTML15 , Postscript, PDF16 , and iCalendar files. If you want to do this only occasionally,
use the command
C-x C-w
org-agenda-write
Write the agenda view to a file. Depending on the extension of the selected file
name, the view will be exported as HTML (extension .html or .htm), Postscript
(extension .ps), iCalendar (extension .ics), or plain text (any other extension).
Use the variable org-agenda-exporter-settings to set options for ps-print
and for htmlize to be used during export, for example
(setq org-agenda-exporter-settings
'((ps-number-of-columns 2)
(ps-landscape-mode t)
(org-agenda-add-entry-text-maxlines 5)
(htmlize-output-type 'css)))
If you need to export certain agenda views frequently, you can associate any custom
agenda command with a list of output file names17 . Here is an example that first defines
custom commands for the agenda and the global TODO list, together with a number of
files to which to export them. Then we define two block agenda commands and specify file
names for them as well. File names can be relative to the current working directory, or
absolute.
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("X" agenda "" nil ("agenda.html" "agenda.ps"))
("Y" alltodo "" nil ("todo.html" "todo.txt" "todo.ps"))
("h" "Agenda and Home-related tasks"
((agenda "")
(tags-todo "home")
(tags "garden"))
nil
("~/views/home.html"))
("o" "Agenda and Office-related tasks"
((agenda)
(tags-todo "work")
(tags "office"))
nil
("~/views/office.ps" "~/calendars/office.ics"))))
The extension of the file name determines the type of export. If it is .html, Org mode
will try to use the htmlize.el package to convert the buffer to HTML and save it to this file
name. If the extension is .ps, ps-print-buffer-with-faces is used to produce Postscript
output. If the extension is .ics, iCalendar export is run export over all files that were used
to construct the agenda, and limit the export to entries listed in the agenda. Any other
extension produces a plain ASCII file.
15
16
17
You need to install htmlize.el from Hrvoje Niksic’s repository.
To create PDF output, the ghostscript ps2pdf utility must be installed on the system. Selecting a PDF
file will also create the postscript file.
If you want to store standard views like the weekly agenda or the global TODO list as well, you need to
define custom commands for them in order to be able to specify file names.
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The export files are not created when you use one of those commands interactively
because this might use too much overhead. Instead, there is a special command to produce
all specified files in one step:
C-c a e
org-store-agenda-views
Export all agenda views that have export file names associated with them.
You can use the options section of the custom agenda commands to also set options for
the export commands. For example:
(setq org-agenda-custom-commands
'(("X" agenda ""
((ps-number-of-columns 2)
(ps-landscape-mode t)
(org-agenda-prefix-format " [ ] ")
(org-agenda-with-colors nil)
(org-agenda-remove-tags t))
("theagenda.ps"))))
This command sets two options for the Postscript exporter, to make it print in two columns
in landscape format—the resulting page can be cut in two and then used in a paper agenda.
The remaining settings modify the agenda prefix to omit category and scheduling information, and instead include a checkbox to check off items. We also remove the tags to
make the lines compact, and we don’t want to use colors for the black-and-white printer.
Settings specified in org-agenda-exporter-settings will also apply, but the settings in
org-agenda-custom-commands take precedence.
From the command line you may also use
emacs -eval (org-batch-store-agenda-views) -kill
or, if you need to modify some parameters18
emacs -eval '(org-batch-store-agenda-views
org-agenda-span (quote month)
org-agenda-start-day "2007-11-01"
org-agenda-include-diary nil
org-agenda-files (quote ("~/org/project.org")))'
-kill
\
\
\
\
\
which will create the agenda views restricted to the file ~/org/project.org, without diary
entries and with a 30-day extent.
You can also extract agenda information in a way that allows further processing by
other programs. See Section A.10 [Extracting agenda information], page 250, for more
information.
10.8 Using column view in the agenda
Column view (see Section 7.5 [Column view], page 67) is normally used to view and edit
properties embedded in the hierarchical structure of an Org file. It can be quite useful to
use column view also from the agenda, where entries are collected by certain criteria.
18
Quoting depends on the system you use, please check the FAQ for examples.
Chapter 10: Agenda views
C-c C-x C-c
Turn on column view in the agenda.
129
org-agenda-columns
To understand how to use this properly, it is important to realize that the entries in the
agenda are no longer in their proper outline environment. This causes the following issues:
1. Org needs to make a decision which COLUMNS format to use. Since the entries in the
agenda are collected from different files, and different files may have different COLUMNS
formats, this is a non-trivial problem. Org first checks if the variable org-agendaoverriding-columns-format is currently set, and if so, takes the format from there.
Otherwise it takes the format associated with the first item in the agenda, or, if that
item does not have a specific format—defined in a property, or in its file—it uses
org-columns-default-format.
2. If any of the columns has a summary type defined (see Section 7.5.1.2 [Column attributes], page 68), turning on column view in the agenda will visit all relevant agenda
files and make sure that the computations of this property are up to date. This is
also true for the special CLOCKSUM property. Org will then sum the values displayed in
the agenda. In the daily/weekly agenda, the sums will cover a single day; in all other
views they cover the entire block. It is vital to realize that the agenda may show the
same entry twice—for example as scheduled and as a deadline—and it may show two
entries from the same hierarchy—for example a parent and its child. In these cases, the
summation in the agenda will lead to incorrect results because some values will count
double.
3. When the column view in the agenda shows the CLOCKSUM, that is always the entire
clocked time for this item. So even in the daily/weekly agenda, the clocksum listed in
column view may originate from times outside the current view. This has the advantage
that you can compare these values with a column listing the planned total effort for
a task—one of the major applications for column view in the agenda. If you want
information about clocked time in the displayed period use clock table mode (press R
in the agenda).
4. When the column view in the agenda shows the CLOCKSUM_T, that is always today’s
clocked time for this item. So even in the weekly agenda, the clocksum listed in column
view only originates from today. This lets you compare the time you spent on a task
for today, with the time already spent —via CLOCKSUM—and with the planned total
effort for it.
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130
11 Markup for rich export
When exporting Org mode documents, the exporter tries to reflect the structure of the
document as accurately as possible in the back-end. Since export targets like HTML and
LATEX allow much richer formatting, Org mode has rules on how to prepare text for rich
export. This section summarizes the markup rules used in an Org mode buffer.
11.1 Paragraphs, line breaks, and quoting
Paragraphs are separated by at least one empty line. If you need to enforce a line break
within a paragraph, use ‘\\’ at the end of a line.
To preserve the line breaks, indentation and blank lines in a region, but otherwise use
normal formatting, you can use this construct, which can also be used to format poetry.
#+BEGIN_VERSE
Great clouds overhead
Tiny black birds rise and fall
Snow covers Emacs
-- AlexSchroeder
#+END_VERSE
When quoting a passage from another document, it is customary to format this as
a paragraph that is indented on both the left and the right margin. You can include
quotations in Org mode documents like this:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Everything should be made as simple as possible,
but not any simpler -- Albert Einstein
#+END_QUOTE
If you would like to center some text, do it like this:
#+BEGIN_CENTER
Everything should be made as simple as possible, \\
but not any simpler
#+END_CENTER
11.2 Emphasis and monospace
You can make words *bold*, /italic/, underlined , =verbatim= and ~code~, and, if you
must, ‘+strike-through+’. Text in the code and verbatim string is not processed for Org
mode specific syntax, it is exported verbatim.
To turn off fontification for marked up text, you can set org-fontify-emphasizedtext to nil. To narrow down the list of available markup syntax, you can customize
org-emphasis-alist. To fine tune what characters are allowed before and after the markup
characters, you can tweak org-emphasis-regexp-components. Beware that changing one
of the above variables will no take effect until you reload Org, for which you may need to
restart Emacs.
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11.3 Horizontal rules
A line consisting of only dashes, and at least 5 of them, will be exported as a horizontal
line.
11.4 Images and Tables
Both the native Org mode tables (see Chapter 3 [Tables], page 19) and tables formatted
with the table.el package will be exported properly. For Org mode tables, the lines before
the first horizontal separator line will become table header lines. You can use the following
lines somewhere before the table to assign a caption and a label for cross references, and
in the text you can refer to the object with [[tab:basic-data]] (see Section 4.2 [Internal
links], page 38):
#+CAPTION: This is the caption for the next table (or link)
#+NAME:
tab:basic-data
| ... | ...|
|-----|----|
Optionally, the caption can take the form:
#+CAPTION[Caption for list of tables]: Caption for table.
Some back-ends allow you to directly include images into the exported document.
Org does this, if a link to an image files does not have a description part, for example
[[./img/a.jpg]]. If you wish to define a caption for the image and maybe a label for
internal cross references, make sure that the link is on a line by itself and precede it with
#+CAPTION and #+NAME as follows:
#+CAPTION: This is the caption for the next figure link (or table)
#+NAME:
fig:SED-HR4049
[[./img/a.jpg]]
Such images can be displayed within the buffer. See Section 4.4 [Handling links], page 41.
Even though images and tables are prominent examples of captioned structures, the same
caption mechanism can apply to many others (e.g., LATEX equations, source code blocks).
Depending on the export back-end, those may or may not be handled.
11.5 Literal examples
You can include literal examples that should not be subjected to markup. Such examples
will be typeset in monospace, so this is well suited for source code and similar examples.
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
Some example from a text file.
#+END_EXAMPLE
Note that such blocks may be indented in order to align nicely with indented text and
in particular with plain list structure (see Section 2.7 [Plain lists], page 12). For simplicity
when using small examples, you can also start the example lines with a colon followed by a
space. There may also be additional whitespace before the colon:
Here is an example
: Some example from a text file.
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If the example is source code from a programming language, or any other text that can
be marked up by font-lock in Emacs, you can ask for the example to look like the fontified
Emacs buffer1 . This is done with the ‘src’ block, where you also need to specify the name
of the major mode that should be used to fontify the example2 , see Section 15.2 [Easy
templates], page 228 for shortcuts to easily insert code blocks.
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
(defun org-xor (a b)
"Exclusive or."
(if a (not b) b))
#+END_SRC
Both in example and in src snippets, you can add a -n switch to the end of the BEGIN
line, to get the lines of the example numbered. The -n takes an optional numeric argument
specifying the starting line number of the block. If you use a +n switch, the numbering
from the previous numbered snippet will be continued in the current one. The +n can also
take a numeric argument. The value of the argument will be added to the last line of the
previous block to determine the starting line number.
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp -n 20
;; this will export with line number 20
(message "This is line 21")
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp +n 10
;; This will be listed as line 31
(message "This is line 32")
#+END_SRC
In literal examples, Org will interpret strings like ‘(ref:name)’ as labels, and use them
as targets for special hyperlinks like [[(name)]] (i.e., the reference name enclosed in single
parenthesis). In HTML, hovering the mouse over such a link will remote-highlight the
corresponding code line, which is kind of cool.
You can also add a -r switch which removes the labels from the source code3 . With
the -n switch, links to these references will be labeled by the line numbers from the code
listing, otherwise links will use the labels with no parentheses. Here is an example:
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp -n -r
(save-excursion
(ref:sc)
(goto-char (point-min)))
(ref:jump)
#+END_SRC
In line [[(sc)]] we remember the current position.
jumps to point-min.
1
2
3
[[(jump)][Line (jump)]]
This works automatically for the HTML back-end (it requires version 1.34 of the htmlize.el package,
which you need to install). Fontified code chunks in LATEX can be achieved using either the listings or
the minted package. If you use minted or listing, you must load the packages manually, for example by
adding the desired package to org-latex-packages-alist. Refer to org-latex-listings for details.
Code in ‘src’ blocks may also be evaluated either interactively or on export. See Chapter 14 [Working
with source code], page 198, for more information on evaluating code blocks.
Adding -k to -n -r will keep the labels in the source code while using line numbers for the links, which
might be useful to explain those in an Org mode example code.
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Finally, you can use -i to preserve the indentation of a specific code block (see
Section 14.2 [Editing source code], page 200).
If the syntax for the label format conflicts with the language syntax, use a -l switch
to change the format, for example ‘#+BEGIN_SRC pascal -n -r -l "((%s))"’. See also the
variable org-coderef-label-format.
HTML export also allows examples to be published as text areas (see Section 12.9.10
[Text areas in HTML export], page 154).
Because the #+BEGIN_... and #+END_... patterns need to be added so often, shortcuts
are provided using the Easy templates facility (see Section 15.2 [Easy templates], page 228).
C-c '
Edit the source code example at point in its native mode. This works by
switching to a temporary buffer with the source code. You need to exit by
pressing C-c ' again4 . The edited version will then replace the old version
in the Org buffer. Fixed-width regions (where each line starts with a colon
followed by a space) will be edited using artist-mode5 to allow creating ASCII
drawings easily. Using this command in an empty line will create a new fixedwidth region.
C-c l
Calling org-store-link while editing a source code example in a temporary
buffer created with C-c ' will prompt for a label. Make sure that it is unique in
the current buffer, and insert it with the proper formatting like ‘(ref:label)’
at the end of the current line. Then the label is stored as a link ‘(label)’, for
retrieval with C-c C-l.
11.6 Special symbols
You can use LATEX-like syntax to insert special symbols—named entities—like ‘\alpha’ to
indicate the Greek letter, or ‘\to’ to indicate an arrow. Completion for these symbols is
available, just type ‘\’ and maybe a few letters, and press M-TAB to see possible completions.
If you need such a symbol inside a word, terminate it with a pair of curly brackets. For
example
Pro tip: Given a circle \Gamma of diameter d, the length of its circumference
is \pi{}d.
A large number of entities is provided, with names taken from both HTML and LATEX;
you can comfortably browse the complete list from a dedicated buffer using the command
org-entities-help. It is also possible to provide your own special symbols in the variable
org-entities-user.
During export, these symbols are transformed into the native format of the exporter
back-end. Strings like \alpha are exported as α in the HTML output, and as
\(\alpha\) in the LATEX output. Similarly, \nbsp becomes in HTML and ~ in
LATEX.
Entities may also be used as a may to escape markup in an Org document, e.g.,
‘\under{}not underlined\under’ exports as ‘_not underlined_’.
4
5
Upon exit, lines starting with ‘*’, ‘,*’, ‘#+’ and ‘,#+’ will get a comma prepended, to keep them from
being interpreted by Org as outline nodes or special syntax. These commas will be stripped for editing
with C-c ', and also for export.
You may select a different-mode with the variable org-edit-fixed-width-region-mode.
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If you would like to see entities displayed as UTF-8 characters, use the following command6 :
C-c C-x \ Toggle display of entities as UTF-8 characters. This does not change the buffer
content which remains plain ASCII, but it overlays the UTF-8 character for
display purposes only.
In addition to regular entities defined above, Org exports in a special way7 the following
commonly used character combinations: ‘\-’ is treated as a shy hyphen, ‘--’ and ‘---’ are
converted into dashes, and ‘...’ becomes a compact set of dots.
11.7 Subscripts and superscripts
‘^’ and ‘_’ are used to indicate super- and subscripts. To increase the readability of ASCII
text, it is not necessary—but OK—to surround multi-character sub- and superscripts with
curly braces. Those are, however, mandatory, when more than one word is involved. For
example
The radius of the sun is R_sun = 6.96 x 10^8 m. On the other hand, the
radius of Alpha Centauri is R_{Alpha Centauri} = 1.28 x R_{sun}.
If you write a text where the underscore is often used in a different context, Org’s
convention to always interpret these as subscripts can get in your way. Configure the
variable org-use-sub-superscripts to change this convention. For example, when setting
this variable to {}, ‘a_b’ will not be interpreted as a subscript, but ‘a_{b}’ will.
C-c C-x \ In addition to showing entities as UTF-8 characters, this command will also
format sub- and superscripts in a WYSIWYM way.
11.8 Embedded LATEX
Plain ASCII is normally sufficient for almost all note taking. Exceptions include scientific
notes, which often require mathematical symbols and the occasional formula. LATEX8 is
widely used to typeset scientific documents. Org mode supports embedding LATEX code
into its files, because many academics are used to writing and reading LATEX source code,
and because it can be readily processed to produce pretty output for a number of export
back-ends.
11.8.1 LATEX fragments
Org mode can contain LATEX math fragments, and it supports ways to process these for
several export back-ends. When exporting to LATEX, the code is left as it is. When exporting
to HTML, Org can use either MathJax (see Section 12.9.9 [Math formatting in HTML
export], page 154) or transcode the math into images (see see Section 11.8.2 [Previewing
LATEX fragments], page 135).
LATEX fragments don’t need any special marking at all. The following snippets will be
identified as LATEX source code:
6
7
8
You can turn this on by default by setting the variable org-pretty-entities, or on a per-file base with
the #+STARTUP option entitiespretty.
This behaviour can be disabled with - export setting (see Section 12.2 [Export settings], page 138).
LATEX is a macro system based on Donald E. Knuth’s TEX system. Many of the features described here
as “LATEX” are really from TEX, but for simplicity I am blurring this distinction.
Chapter 11: Markup for rich export
135
• Environments of any kind9 . The only requirement is that the \begin statement appears
on a new line, at the beginning of the line or after whitespaces only.
• Text within the usual LATEX math delimiters. To avoid conflicts with currency specifications, single ‘$’ characters are only recognized as math delimiters if the enclosed
text contains at most two line breaks, is directly attached to the ‘$’ characters with no
whitespace in between, and if the closing ‘$’ is followed by whitespace or punctuation
(parentheses and quotes are considered to be punctuation in this context). For the
other delimiters, there is no such restriction, so when in doubt, use ‘\(...\)’ as inline
math delimiters.
For example:
\begin{equation}
x=\sqrt{b}
\end{equation}
If $a^2=b$ and \( b=2 \), then the solution must be
either $$ a=+\sqrt{2} $$ or \[ a=-\sqrt{2} \].
LATEX processing can be configured with the variable org-export-with-latex. The
default setting is t which means MathJax for HTML, and no processing for ASCII and
LATEX back-ends. You can also set this variable on a per-file basis using one of these lines:
#+OPTIONS: tex:t
Do the right thing automatically (MathJax)
#+OPTIONS: tex:nil
Do not process LATEX fragments at all
#+OPTIONS: tex:verbatim
Verbatim export, for jsMath or so
11.8.2 Previewing LATEX fragments
If you have a working LATEX installation and dvipng, dvisvgm or convert installed10 ,
LATEX fragments can be processed to produce images of the typeset expressions to be used
for inclusion while exporting to HTML (see see Section 11.8.1 [LATEX fragments], page 134),
or for inline previewing within Org mode.
You can customize the variables org-format-latex-options and org-format-latexheader to influence some aspects of the preview. In particular, the :scale (and for HTML
export, :html-scale) property of the former can be used to adjust the size of the preview
images.
C-c C-x C-l
Produce a preview image of the LATEX fragment at point and overlay it over
the source code. If there is no fragment at point, process all fragments in the
current entry (between two headlines). When called with a prefix argument,
process the entire subtree. When called with two prefix arguments, or when
the cursor is before the first headline, process the entire buffer.
C-c C-c
9
10
Remove the overlay preview images.
When MathJax is used, only the environments recognized by MathJax will be processed. When dvipng
program, dvisvgm program or imagemagick suite is used to create images, any LATEX environment will
be handled.
These are respectively available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/dvipng/, http://dvisvgm.
bplaced . net / and from the imagemagick suite. Choose the converter by setting the variable
org-preview-latex-default-process accordingly.
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136
You can turn on the previewing of all LATEX fragments in a file with
#+STARTUP: latexpreview
To disable it, simply use
#+STARTUP: nolatexpreview
11.8.3 Using CDLATEX to enter math
CDLATEX mode is a minor mode that is normally used in combination with a major LATEX
mode like AUCTEX in order to speed-up insertion of environments and math templates.
Inside Org mode, you can make use of some of the features of CDLATEX mode. You need to
install cdlatex.el and texmathp.el (the latter comes also with AUCTEX) from https://
staff.fnwi.uva.nl/c.dominik/Tools/cdlatex. Don’t use CDLATEX mode itself under
Org mode, but use the light version org-cdlatex-mode that comes as part of Org mode.
Turn it on for the current buffer with M-x org-cdlatex-mode RET, or for all Org files with
(add-hook 'org-mode-hook 'turn-on-org-cdlatex)
When this mode is enabled, the following features are present (for more details see the
documentation of CDLATEX mode):
• Environment templates can be inserted with C-c {.
• The TAB key will do template expansion if the cursor is inside a LATEX fragment11 . For
example, TAB will expand fr to \frac{}{} and position the cursor correctly inside the
first brace. Another TAB will get you into the second brace. Even outside fragments,
TAB will expand environment abbreviations at the beginning of a line. For example,
if you write ‘equ’ at the beginning of a line and press TAB, this abbreviation will be
expanded to an equation environment. To get a list of all abbreviations, type M-x
cdlatex-command-help RET.
• Pressing _ and ^ inside a LATEX fragment will insert these characters together with a
pair of braces. If you use TAB to move out of the braces, and if the braces surround
only a single character or macro, they are removed again (depending on the variable
cdlatex-simplify-sub-super-scripts).
• Pressing the grave accent ` followed by a character inserts math macros, also outside
LATEX fragments. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the grave accent, a help
window will pop up.
• Pressing the apostrophe ' followed by another character modifies the symbol before
point with an accent or a font. If you wait more than 1.5 seconds after the apostrophe, a
help window will pop up. Character modification will work only inside LATEX fragments;
outside the quote is normal.
11
Org mode has a method to test if the cursor is inside such a fragment, see the documentation of the
function org-inside-LaTeX-fragment-p.
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137
12 Exporting
Sometimes, you may want to pretty print your notes, publish them on the web or even share
them with people not using Org. In these cases, the Org export facilities can be used to
convert your documents to a variety of other formats, while retaining as much structure (see
Chapter 2 [Document structure], page 6) and markup (see Chapter 11 [Markup], page 130)
as possible.
Libraries responsible for such translation are called back-ends. Org ships with the following ones
• ascii (ASCII format)
• beamer (LATEX Beamer format)
• html (HTML format)
• icalendar (iCalendar format)
• latex (LATEX format)
• md (Markdown format)
• odt (OpenDocument Text format)
• org (Org format)
• texinfo (Texinfo format)
• man (Man page format)
Org also uses additional libraries located in contrib/ directory (see Section 1.2 [Installation], page 2). Users can install additional export libraries for additional formats from
the Emacs packaging system. For easy discovery, these packages have a common naming
scheme: ox-NAME, where NAME is one of the formats. For example, ox-koma-letter for
koma-letter back-end.
Org loads back-ends for the following formats by default: ascii, html, icalendar,
latex and odt.
Org can load additional back-ends either of two ways: through the org-exportbackends variable configuration; or, by requiring the library in the Emacs init file like
this:
(require 'ox-md)
12.1 The export dispatcher
The export dispatcher is the main interface for Org’s exports. A hierarchical menu presents
the currently configured export formats. Options are shown as easy toggle switches on the
same screen.
Org also has a minimal prompt interface for the export dispatcher. When the variable org-export-dispatch-use-expert-ui is set to a non-nil value, Org prompts in the
minibuffer. To switch back to the hierarchical menu, press ?.
C-c C-e
org-export-dispatch
Invokes the export dispatcher interface. The options show default settings. The
C-u prefix argument preserves options from the previous export, including any
sub-tree selections.
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138
Org exports the entire buffer by default. If the Org buffer has an active region, then
Org exports just that region.
These are the export options, the key combinations that toggle them (see Section 12.2
[Export settings], page 138):
C-a
Toggles asynchronous export. Asynchronous export uses an external Emacs
process with a specially configured initialization file to complete the exporting process in the background thereby releasing the current interface. This is
particularly useful when exporting long documents.
Output from an asynchronous export is saved on the “the export stack”. To
view this stack, call the export dispatcher with a double C-u prefix argument.
If already in the export dispatcher menu, & displays the stack.
To make the background export process the default, customize the variable,
org-export-in-background.
C-b
Toggle body-only export. Useful for excluding headers and footers in the
export. Affects only those back-end formats that have such sections—like
... in HTML.
C-s
Toggle sub-tree export. When turned on, Org exports only the sub-tree starting
from the cursor position at the time the export dispatcher was invoked. Org
uses the top heading of this sub-tree as the document’s title. If the cursor is
not on a heading, Org uses the nearest enclosing header. If the cursor is in the
document preamble, Org signals an error and aborts export.
To make the sub-tree export the default, customize the variable, org-exportinitial-scope.
C-v
Toggle visible-only export. Useful for exporting only visible parts of an Org
document by adjusting outline visibility settings.
12.2 Export settings
Export options can be set: globally with variables; for an individual file by making variables
buffer-local with in-buffer settings (see Section 15.6 [In-buffer settings], page 230), by setting
individual keywords, or by specifying them in a compact form with the #+OPTIONS keyword;
or for a tree by setting properties (see Chapter 7 [Properties and columns], page 64). Options
set at a specific level override options set at a more general level.
In-buffer settings may appear anywhere in the file, either directly or indirectly through a
file included using ‘#+SETUPFILE: filename or URL’ syntax. Option keyword sets tailored
to a particular back-end can be inserted from the export dispatcher (see Section 12.1 [The
export dispatcher], page 137) using the Insert template command by pressing #. To insert
keywords individually, a good way to make sure the keyword is correct is to type #+ and
then to use M-TAB1 for completion.
The export keywords available for every back-end, and their equivalent global variables,
include:
‘AUTHOR’
1
The document author (user-full-name).
Many desktops intercept M-TAB to switch windows. Use C-M-i or ESC TAB instead.
Chapter 12: Exporting
‘CREATOR’
Entity responsible for output generation (org-export-creator-string).
‘DATE’
A date or a time-stamp2 .
‘EMAIL’
The email address (user-mail-address).
139
‘LANGUAGE’
Language to use for translating certain strings (org-export-defaultlanguage). With ‘#+LANGUAGE: fr’, for example, Org translates Table of
contents to the French Table des matières.
‘SELECT_TAGS’
The default value is :export:. When a tree is tagged with :export:
(org-export-select-tags), Org selects that tree and its sub-trees for export.
Org excludes trees with :noexport: tags, see below. When selectively
exporting files with :export: tags set, Org does not export any text that
appears before the first headline.
‘EXCLUDE_TAGS’
The default value is :noexport:. When a tree is tagged with :noexport:
(org-export-exclude-tags), Org excludes that tree and its sub-trees from
export. Entries tagged with :noexport: will be unconditionally excluded from
the export, even if they have an :export: tag. Even if a sub-tree is not exported, Org will execute any code blocks contained in them.
‘TITLE’
Org displays this title. For long titles, use multiple #+TITLE lines.
‘EXPORT_FILE_NAME’
The name of the output file to be generated. Otherwise, Org generates the
file name based on the buffer name and the extension based on the back-end
format.
The #+OPTIONS keyword is a compact form. To configure multiple options, use several
#+OPTIONS lines. #+OPTIONS recognizes the following arguments.
':
Toggle smart quotes (org-export-with-smart-quotes). Depending on the
language used, when activated, Org treats pairs of double quotes as primary
quotes, pairs of single quotes as secondary quotes, and single quote marks as
apostrophes.
*:
Toggle emphasized text (org-export-with-emphasize).
-:
Toggle conversion of special strings (org-export-with-special-strings).
::
Toggle fixed-width sections (org-export-with-fixed-width).
<:
Toggle inclusion of time/date active/inactive stamps (org-export-withtimestamps).
\n:
Toggles whether to preserve line breaks (org-export-preserve-breaks).
^:
Toggle TEX-like syntax for sub- and superscripts. If you write "^:{}", ‘a_{b}’
will be interpreted, but the simple ‘a_b’ will be left as it is (org-export-withsub-superscripts).
2
The variable org-export-date-timestamp-format defines how this time-stamp will be exported.
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140
arch:
Configure how archived trees are exported. When set to headline, the export
process skips the contents and processes only the headlines (org-export-witharchived-trees).
author:
Toggle inclusion of author name into exported file (org-export-with-author).
broken-links:
Toggles if Org should continue exporting upon finding a broken internal
link. When set to mark, Org clearly marks the problem link in the output
(org-export-with-broken-links).
c:
Toggle inclusion of CLOCK keywords (org-export-with-clocks).
creator:
Toggle inclusion of creator information in the exported file (org-export-withcreator).
d:
Toggles inclusion of drawers, or list of drawers to include, or list of drawers to
exclude (org-export-with-drawers).
date:
Toggle inclusion of a date into exported file (org-export-with-date).
e:
Toggle inclusion of entities (org-export-with-entities).
email:
Toggle inclusion of the author’s e-mail into exported file (org-export-withemail).
f:
Toggle the inclusion of footnotes (org-export-with-footnotes).
H:
Set the number of headline levels for export (org-export-headline-levels).
Below that level, headlines are treated differently. In most back-ends, they
become list items.
inline:
Toggle inclusion of inlinetasks (org-export-with-inlinetasks).
num:
Toggle section-numbers (org-export-with-section-numbers). When set to
number ‘n’, Org numbers only those headlines at level ‘n’ or above. Setting
UNNUMBERED property to non-nil disables numbering of a heading. Since subheadings inherit from this property, it affects their numbering, too.
p:
Toggle export of planning information (org-export-with-planning). “Planning information” comes from lines located right after the headline and contain
any combination of these cookies: SCHEDULED:, DEADLINE:, or CLOSED:.
pri:
Toggle inclusion of priority cookies (org-export-with-priority).
prop:
Toggle inclusion of property drawers, or list the properties to include
(org-export-with-properties).
stat:
Toggle inclusion
cookies).
tags:
Toggle inclusion of tags, may also be not-in-toc (org-export-with-tags).
tasks:
Toggle inclusion of tasks (TODO items); or nil to remove all tasks; or todo to
remove DONE tasks; or list the keywords to keep (org-export-with-tasks).
tex:
nil does not export; t exports; verbatim keeps everything in verbatim
(org-export-with-latex).
of
statistics
cookies
(org-export-with-statistics-
Chapter 12: Exporting
141
timestamp:
Toggle inclusion of the creation time in the exported file (org-export-timestamp-file).
title:
Toggle inclusion of title (org-export-with-title).
toc:
Toggle inclusion of the table of contents, or set the level limit (org-exportwith-toc).
todo:
Toggle inclusion of TODO keywords into exported text (org-export-withtodo-keywords).
|:
Toggle inclusion of tables (org-export-with-tables).
When exporting sub-trees, special node properties in them can override the above
keywords. They are special because they have an ‘EXPORT_’ prefix. For example,
‘DATE’ and ‘EXPORT_FILE_NAME’ keywords become, respectively, ‘EXPORT_DATE’ and
‘EXPORT_FILE_NAME’. Except for ‘SETUPFILE’, all other keywords listed above have an
‘EXPORT_’ equivalent.
If org-export-allow-bind-keywords is non-nil, Emacs variables can become bufferlocal during export by using the BIND keyword. Its syntax is ‘#+BIND: variable value’.
This is particularly useful for in-buffer settings that cannot be changed using keywords.
12.3 Table of contents
Org normally inserts the table of contents directly before the first headline of the file. Org
sets the TOC depth the same as the headline levels in the file. Use a lower number for lower
TOC depth. To turn off TOC entirely, use nil. This is configured in the org-export-withtoc variable or as keywords in an Org file as:
#+OPTIONS: toc:2
only include two levels in TOC
#+OPTIONS: toc:nil
no default TOC at all
To move the table of contents to a different location, first turn off the default with
org-export-with-toc variable or with #+OPTIONS: toc:nil.
Then insert #+TOC:
headlines N at the desired location(s).
#+OPTIONS: toc:nil
no default TOC
...
#+TOC: headlines 2
insert TOC here, with two headline levels
To adjust the TOC depth for a specific section of the Org document, append an additional
‘local’ parameter. This parameter becomes a relative depth for the current level.
Note that for this feature to work properly in LATEX export, the Org file requires the
inclusion of the titletoc package. Because of compatibility issues, titletoc has to be
loaded before hyperref. Customize the org-latex-default-packages-alist variable.
* Section #+TOC: headlines 1 local insert local TOC, with direct children
only
Use the TOC keyword to generate list of tables (resp. all listings) with captions.
#+TOC: listings
build a list of listings
#+TOC: tables
build a list of tables
Normally Org uses the headline for its entry in the table of contents. But with ALT_TITLE
property, a different entry can be specified for the table of contents.
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142
12.4 Include files
Include other files during export. For example, to include your .emacs file, you could use:
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" src emacs-lisp
The first parameter is the file name to include. The optional second parameter specifies
the block type: ‘example’, ‘export’ or ‘src’. The optional third parameter specifies the
source code language to use for formatting the contents. This is relevant to both ‘export’
and ‘src’ block types.
If an include file is specified as having a markup language, Org neither checks for valid
syntax nor changes the contents in any way. For ‘example’ and ‘src’ blocks, Org codeescapes the contents before inclusion.
If an include file is not specified as having any markup language, Org assumes it be in
Org format and proceeds as usual with a few exceptions. Org makes the footnote labels
(see Section 2.10 [Footnotes], page 16) in the included file local to that file. The contents of
the included file will belong to the same structure—headline, item—containing the INCLUDE
keyword. In particular, headlines within the file will become children of the current section.
That behavior can be changed by providing an additional keyword parameter, :minlevel.
It shifts the headlines in the included file to become the lowest level. For example, this
syntax makes the included file a sibling of the current top-level headline:
#+INCLUDE: "~/my-book/chapter2.org" :minlevel 1
Inclusion of only portions of files are specified using ranges parameter with :lines
keyword. The line at the upper end of the range will not be included. The start and/or the
end of the range may be omitted to use the obvious defaults.
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "5-10"
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "-10"
#+INCLUDE: "~/.emacs" :lines "10-"
Include lines 5 to 10, 10 excluded
Include lines 1 to 10, 10 excluded
Include lines from 10 to EOF
Inclusions may specify a file-link to extract an object matched by org-link-search3
(see Section 4.7 [Search options], page 45).
To extract only the contents of the matched object, set :only-contents property to
non-nil. This will omit any planning lines or property drawers. The ranges for :lines
keyword are relative to the requested element. Some examples:
#+INCLUDE: "./paper.org::#theory" :only-contents t
Include the body of the heading with the custom id ‘theory’
#+INCLUDE: "./paper.org::mytable" Include named element.
#+INCLUDE: "./paper.org::*conclusion" :lines 1-20
Include the first 20 lines of the headline named ‘conclusion’.
C-c '
Visit the include file at point.
12.5 Macro replacement
Macros replace text snippets during export. Macros are defined globally in org-exportglobal-macros, or document-wise with the following syntax:
3
Note that org-link-search-must-match-exact-headline is locally bound to non-nil.
org-link-search only matches headlines and named elements.
Therefore,
Chapter 12: Exporting
#+MACRO: name
143
replacement text $1, $2 are arguments
which can be referenced using {{{name(arg1, arg2)}}}4 .
Org recognizes macro references in following Org markup areas: paragraphs, headlines,
verse blocks, tables cells and lists. Org also recognizes macro references in keywords, such
as #+CAPTION, #+TITLE, #+AUTHOR, #+DATE, and for some back-end specific export options.
Org comes with following pre-defined macros:
{{{title}}}
{{{author}}}
{{{email}}}
Org replaces these macro references with available information at the time of
export.
{{{date}}}
{{{date(FORMAT)}}}
This macro refers to the #+DATE keyword. FORMAT is an optional argument
to the {{{date}}} macro that will be used only if #+DATE is a single timestamp.
FORMAT should be a format string understood by format-time-string.
{{{time(FORMAT)}}}
{{{modification-time(FORMAT, VC)}}}
These macros refer to the document’s date and time of export and date and time
of modification. FORMAT is a string understood by format-time-string. If
the second argument to the modification-time macro is non-nil, Org uses
vc.el to retrieve the document’s modification time from the version control
system. Otherwise Org reads the file attributes.
{{{input-file}}}
This macro refers to the filename of the exported file.
{{{property(PROPERTY-NAME)}}}
{{{property(PROPERTY-NAME,SEARCH-OPTION)}}}
This macro returns the value of property PROPERTY-NAME in the current
entry. If SEARCH-OPTION (see Section 4.7 [Search options], page 45) refers
to a remote entry, that will be used instead.
{{{n}}}
{{{n(NAME)}}}
{{{n(NAME,ACTION)}}}
This macro implements custom counters by returning the number of times the
macro has been expanded so far while exporting the buffer. You can create more
than one counter using different NAME values. If ACTION is -, previous value
of the counter is held, i.e. the specified counter is not incremented. If the value
is a number, the specified counter is set to that value. If it is any other nonempty string, the specified counter is reset to 1. You may leave NAME empty
to reset the default counter.
4
Since commas separate the arguments, commas within arguments have to be escaped with the backslash
character. So only those backslash characters before a comma need escaping with another backslash
character.
Chapter 12: Exporting
144
The surrounding brackets can be made invisible by setting org-hide-macro-markers
non-nil.
Org expands macros at the very beginning of the export process.
12.6 Comment lines
Lines starting with zero or more whitespace characters followed by one ‘#’ and a whitespace
are treated as comments and, as such, are not exported.
Likewise, regions surrounded by ‘#+BEGIN_COMMENT’ ... ‘#+END_COMMENT’ are not exported.
Finally, a ‘COMMENT’ keyword at the beginning of an entry, but after any other keyword
or priority cookie, comments out the entire subtree. In this case, the subtree is not exported
and no code block within it is executed either5 . The command below helps changing the
comment status of a headline.
C-c ;
Toggle the ‘COMMENT’ keyword at the beginning of an entry.
12.7 ASCII/Latin-1/UTF-8 export
ASCII export produces an output file containing only plain ASCII characters. This is the
most simplest and direct text output. It does not contain any Org markup either. Latin1 and UTF-8 export use additional characters and symbols available in these encoding
standards. All three of these export formats offer the most basic of text output for maximum
portability.
On export, Org fills and justifies text according to the text width set in org-asciitext-width.
Org exports links using a footnote-like style where the descriptive part is in the text and
the link is in a note before the next heading. See the variable org-ascii-links-to-notes
for details.
ASCII export commands
C-c C-e t a/l/u
org-ascii-export-to-ascii
Export as an ASCII file with a .txt extension. For myfile.org, Org exports
to myfile.txt, overwriting without warning. For myfile.txt, Org exports to
myfile.txt.txt in order to prevent data loss.
C-c C-e t A/L/U
org-ascii-export-as-ascii
Export to a temporary buffer. Does not create a file.
ASCII specific export settings
The ASCII export back-end has one extra keyword for customizing ASCII output. Setting this keyword works similar to the general options (see Section 12.2 [Export settings],
page 138).
5
For a less drastic behavior, consider using a select tag (see Section 12.2 [Export settings], page 138)
instead.
Chapter 12: Exporting
145
‘SUBTITLE’
The document subtitle. For long subtitles, use multiple #+SUBTITLE lines in
the Org file. Org prints them on one continuous line, wrapping into multiple
lines if necessary.
Header and sectioning structure
Org converts the first three outline levels into headlines for ASCII export. The remaining
levels are turned into lists. To change this cut-off point where levels become lists, see
Section 12.2 [Export settings], page 138.
Quoting ASCII text
To insert text within the Org file by the ASCII back-end, use one the following constructs,
inline, keyword, or export block:
Inline text @@ascii:and additional text@@ within a paragraph.
#+ASCII: Some text
#+BEGIN_EXPORT ascii
Org exports text in this block only when using ASCII back-end.
#+END_EXPORT
ASCII specific attributes
ASCII back-end recognizes only one attribute, :width, which specifies the width of an
horizontal rule in number of characters. The keyword and syntax for specifying widths is:
#+ATTR_ASCII: :width 10
-----
ASCII special blocks
Besides #+BEGIN_CENTER blocks (see Section 11.1 [Paragraphs], page 130), ASCII back-end
has these two left and right justification blocks:
#+BEGIN_JUSTIFYLEFT
It's just a jump to the left...
#+END_JUSTIFYLEFT
#+BEGIN_JUSTIFYRIGHT
...and then a step to the right.
#+END_JUSTIFYRIGHT
12.8 Beamer export
Org uses Beamer export to convert an Org file tree structure into a high-quality interactive
slides for presentations. Beamer is a LATEX document class for creating presentations in
PDF, HTML, and other popular display formats.
Chapter 12: Exporting
146
12.8.1 Beamer export commands
C-c C-e l b
org-beamer-export-to-latex
Export as LATEX file with a .tex extension. For myfile.org, Org exports to
myfile.tex, overwriting without warning.
C-c C-e l B
org-beamer-export-as-latex
Export to a temporary buffer. Does not create a file.
C-c C-e l P
org-beamer-export-to-pdf
Export as LATEX file and then convert it to PDF format.
C-c C-e l O
Export as LATEX file, convert it to PDF format, and then open the PDF file.
12.8.2 Beamer specific export settings
Beamer export back-end has several additional keywords for customizing Beamer output.
These keywords work similar to the general options settings (see Section 12.2 [Export settings], page 138).
‘BEAMER_THEME’
The Beamer layout theme (org-beamer-theme). Use square brackets for options. For example:
#+BEAMER_THEME: Rochester [height=20pt]
‘BEAMER_FONT_THEME’
The Beamer font theme.
‘BEAMER_INNER_THEME’
The Beamer inner theme.
‘BEAMER_OUTER_THEME’
The Beamer outer theme.
‘BEAMER_HEADER’
Arbitrary lines inserted in the preamble, just before the ‘hyperref’ settings.
‘DESCRIPTION’
The document description. For long descriptions, use multiple #+DESCRIPTION
keywords.
By default, ‘hyperref’ inserts #+DESCRIPTION as metadata.
Use org-latex-hyperref-template to configure document metadata. Use
org-latex-title-command to configure typesetting of description as part of
front matter.
‘KEYWORDS’
The keywords for defining the contents of the document. Use multiple
#+KEYWORDS lines if necessary. By default, ‘hyperref’ inserts #+KEYWORDS
as metadata. Use org-latex-hyperref-template to configure document
metadata.
Use org-latex-title-command to configure typesetting of
keywords as part of front matter.
‘SUBTITLE’
Document’s subtitle. For typesetting, use org-beamer-subtitle-format
string. Use org-latex-hyperref-template to configure document metadata.
Chapter 12: Exporting
147
Use org-latex-title-command to configure typesetting of subtitle as part of
front matter.
12.8.3 Sectioning, Frames and Blocks in Beamer
Org transforms heading levels into Beamer’s sectioning elements, frames and blocks. Any
Org tree with a not-too-deep-level nesting should in principle be exportable as a Beamer
presentation.
− Org headlines become Beamer frames when the heading level in Org is equal to
org-beamer-frame-level or H value in an OPTIONS line (see Section 12.2 [Export
settings], page 138).
Org overrides headlines to frames conversion for the current tree of an Org file if it
encounters the BEAMER_ENV property set to frame or fullframe. Org ignores whatever
org-beamer-frame-level happens to be for that headline level in the Org tree. In
Beamer terminology, a fullframe is a frame without its title.
− Org exports a Beamer frame’s objects as block environments. Org can enforce
wrapping in special block types when BEAMER_ENV property is set6 . For valid
values see org-beamer-environments-default.
To add more values, see
org-beamer-environments-extra.
− If BEAMER_ENV is set to appendix, Org exports the entry as an appendix. When set to
note, Org exports the entry as a note within the frame or between frames, depending on
the entry’s heading level. When set to noteNH, Org exports the entry as a note without
its title. When set to againframe, Org exports the entry with \againframe command,
which makes setting the BEAMER_REF property mandatory because \againframe needs
frame to resume.
When ignoreheading is set, Org export ignores the entry’s headline but not its content.
This is useful for inserting content between frames. It is also useful for properly closing
a column environment.
When BEAMER_ACT is set for a headline, Org export translates that headline as an overlay
or action specification. When enclosed in square brackets, Org export makes the overlay
specification a default. Use BEAMER_OPT to set any options applicable to the current Beamer
frame or block. The Beamer export back-end wraps with appropriate angular or square
brackets. It also adds the fragile option for any code that may require a verbatim block.
To create a column on the Beamer slide, use the BEAMER_COL property for its headline in
the Org file. Set the value of BEAMER_COL to a decimal number representing the fraction of
the total text width. Beamer export uses this value to set the column’s width and fills the
column with the contents of the Org entry. If the Org entry has no specific environment
defined, Beamer export ignores the heading. If the Org entry has a defined environment,
Beamer export uses the heading as title. Behind the scenes, Beamer export automatically
handles LATEX column separations for contiguous headlines. To manually adjust them for
any unique configurations needs, use the BEAMER_ENV property.
6
If BEAMER_ENV is set, Org export adds :B_environment: tag to make it visible. The tag serves as a visual
aid and has no semantic relevance.
Chapter 12: Exporting
148
12.8.4 Beamer specific syntax
Since Org’s Beamer export back-end is an extension of the LATEX back-end, it recognizes
other LATEX specific syntax—for example, ‘#+LATEX:’ or ‘#+ATTR_LATEX:’. See Section 12.10
[LATEX export], page 157, for details.
Beamer export wraps the table of contents generated with toc:t OPTION keyword in a
frame environment. Beamer export does not wrap the table of contents generated with TOC
keyword (see Section 12.3 [Table of contents], page 141). Use square brackets for specifying
options.
#+TOC: headlines [currentsection]
Insert Beamer-specific code using the following constructs:
#+BEAMER: \pause
#+BEGIN_EXPORT beamer
Only Beamer export back-end will export this line.
#+END_BEAMER
Text @@beamer:some code@@ within a paragraph.
Inline constructs, such as the last one above, are useful for adding overlay specifications
to objects with bold, item, link, radio-target and target types. Enclose the value in
angular brackets and place the specification at the beginning the object as shown in this
example:
A *@@beamer:<2->@@useful* feature
Beamer export recognizes the ATTR_BEAMER keyword with the following attributes from
Beamer configurations: :environment for changing local Beamer environment, :overlay
for specifying Beamer overlays in angular or square brackets, and :options for inserting
optional arguments.
#+ATTR_BEAMER: :environment nonindentlist
- item 1, not indented
- item 2, not indented
- item 3, not indented
#+ATTR_BEAMER: :overlay <+->
- item 1
- item 2
#+ATTR_BEAMER: :options [Lagrange]
Let $G$ be a finite group, and let $H$ be
a subgroup of $G$. Then the order of $H$ divides the order of $G$.
12.8.5 Editing support
The org-beamer-mode is a special minor mode for faster editing of Beamer documents.
#+STARTUP: beamer
C-c C-b
org-beamer-select-environment
The org-beamer-mode provides this key for quicker selections in Beamer normal
environments, and for selecting the BEAMER_COL property.
Chapter 12: Exporting
149
12.8.6 A Beamer example
Here is an example of an Org document ready for Beamer export.
#+TITLE: Example Presentation
#+AUTHOR: Carsten Dominik
#+OPTIONS: H:2 toc:t num:t
#+LATEX_CLASS: beamer
#+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [presentation]
#+BEAMER_THEME: Madrid
#+COLUMNS: %45ITEM %10BEAMER_ENV(Env) %10BEAMER_ACT(Act) %4BEAMER_COL(Col) %8BEAMER_OPT
* This is the first structural section
** Frame 1
*** Thanks to Eric Fraga
:PROPERTIES:
:BEAMER_COL: 0.48
:BEAMER_ENV: block
:END:
for the first viable Beamer setup in Org
*** Thanks to everyone else
:PROPERTIES:
:BEAMER_COL: 0.48
:BEAMER_ACT: <2->
:BEAMER_ENV: block
:END:
for contributing to the discussion
**** This will be formatted as a beamer note
:PROPERTIES:
:BEAMER_env: note
:END:
** Frame 2 (where we will not use columns)
*** Request
Please test this stuff!
:B_block:
:B_block:
:B_note:
12.9 HTML export
Org mode contains an HTML exporter with extensive HTML formatting compatible with
XHTML 1.0 strict standard.
12.9.1 HTML export commands
C-c C-e h h
org-html-export-to-html
Export as HTML file with a .html extension. For myfile.org, Org exports
to myfile.html, overwriting without warning. C-c C-e h o Exports to HTML
and opens it in a web browser.
C-c C-e h H
org-html-export-as-html
Exports to a temporary buffer. Does not create a file.
Chapter 12: Exporting
150
12.9.2 HTML Specific export settings
HTML export has a number of keywords, similar to the general options settings described
in Section 12.2 [Export settings], page 138.
‘DESCRIPTION’
This is the document’s description, which the HTML exporter inserts it as
a HTML meta tag in the HTML file. For long descriptions, use multiple
#+DESCRIPTION lines. The exporter takes care of wrapping the lines properly.
‘HTML_DOCTYPE’
Specify the document type, for example: HTML5 (org-html-doctype).
‘HTML_CONTAINER’
Specify the HTML container, such as ‘div’, for wrapping sections and elements
(org-html-container-element).
‘HTML_LINK_HOME’
The URL for home link (org-html-link-home).
‘HTML_LINK_UP’
The URL for the up link of exported HTML pages (org-html-link-up).
‘HTML_MATHJAX’
Options for MathJax (org-html-mathjax-options). MathJax is used to typeset LATEX math in HTML documents. See Section 12.9.9 [Math formatting in
HTML export], page 154, for an example.
‘HTML_HEAD’
Arbitrary lines for appending to the HTML document’s head (org-html-head).
‘HTML_HEAD_EXTRA’
More arbitrary lines for appending to the HTML document’s head (org-htmlhead-extra).
‘KEYWORDS’
Keywords to describe the document’s content. HTML exporter inserts these
keywords as HTML meta tags. For long keywords, use multiple #+KEYWORDS
lines.
‘LATEX_HEADER’
Arbitrary lines for appending to the preamble; HTML exporter appends when
transcoding LATEX fragments to images (see Section 12.9.9 [Math formatting in
HTML export], page 154).
‘SUBTITLE’
The document’s subtitle. HTML exporter formats subtitle if document type is
‘HTML5’ and the CSS has a ‘subtitle’ class.
Some of these keywords are explained in more detail in the following sections of the
manual.
Chapter 12: Exporting
151
12.9.3 HTML doctypes
Org can export to various (X)HTML flavors.
Set the org-html-doctype variable for different (X)HTML variants. Depending on the
variant, the HTML exporter adjusts the syntax of HTML conversion accordingly. Org
includes the following ready-made variants:
• “html4-strict”
• “html4-transitional”
• “html4-frameset”
• “xhtml-strict”
• “xhtml-transitional”
• “xhtml-frameset”
• “xhtml-11”
• “html5”
• “xhtml5”
See the variable org-html-doctype-alist for details. The default is “xhtml-strict”.
Org’s HTML exporter does not by default enable new block elements introduced with
the HTML5 standard. To enable them, set org-html-html5-fancy to non-nil. Or use an
OPTIONS line in the file to set html5-fancy. HTML5 documents can now have arbitrary
#+BEGIN and #+END blocks. For example:
#+BEGIN_aside
Lorem ipsum
#+END_aside
Will export to:
While this:
#+ATTR_HTML: :controls controls :width 350
#+BEGIN_video
#+HTML:
#+HTML:
Your browser does not support the video tag.
#+END_video
Exports to:
When special blocks do not have a corresponding HTML5 element, the HTML exporter
reverts to standard translation (see org-html-html5-elements). For example, #+BEGIN_
lederhosen exports to ‘
.