Emacs Outline Mode Cheat Sheet

Entering outline mode

To enter outline mode:

M-x outline-mode

Or, add this line to the beginning of the file (can be in a comment):

-*- mode: outline -*-

Format of outlines

Outlines indicate headings by using stars ('*') at the beginning of a line. Use one star for a top-level heading, two stars for a second-level heading and so on. Example:

* 1. Heading Level 1
** A. Heading Level 2
** B. Heading Level 2
*** (1) Heading Level 3
* 2. Heading Level 1

There are no "fields" for automatic numbering.

Movement

The following commands are for movement:

Keystroke	LISP command	Description
C-c C-n	outline-next-visible-heading	Moves point to the next visible heading line
C-c C-p	outline-previous-visible-heading	Moves point to previous visible heading line
C-c C-f	outline-forward-same-level	Moves point to next visible heading line at same level
C-c C-b	outline-backward-same-level	Moves point to previous visible heading line at same level
C-c C-u	outline-up-heading	Moves point up to previous visible super-heading line

Expanding/collapsing

The following commands are for expanding or collapsing the outline:

Keystroke	LISP command	Description
C-c C-t	hide-body	Hides all body lines in the buffer
C-c C-a	show-all	Shows all lines in the buffer
C-c C-d	hide-subtree	Hides everything under this heading
C-c C-s	show-subtree	Shows everything under this heading, including all bodies
C-c C-l	hide-leaves	Hides the bodies of the current heading and all its sub-headings
C-c C-k	show-branches	Shows all the sub-headings under current heading
C-c C-i	show-children	Shows all immediate sub-headings under current heading
C-c C-c	hide-entry	Hides body of current heading
C-c C-e	show-entry	Shows body of current heading
C-c C-q	hide-sublevels	Hides everything except the top n levels of headings
C-c C-o	hide-other	Hides everything except the current heading and its super-headings