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#+TITLE: Org-mode beginning at the basics
#+AUTHOR: Alexander Poslavsky
#+EMAIL: alexander.poslavsky AT gmail DOT com
#+OPTIONS:   H:3 num:t toc:t 
#+LANGUAGE:  en
#+OPTIONS:   H:2 num:nil toc:t \n:nil @:t ::t |:t ^:nil f:t *:t TeX:t LaTeX:t skip:nil p:nil

[[file:../index.org][{Back to Worg's index}]]

Org-mode, as it says on the [[http://orgmode.org/ ][official web page]] is for keeping notes,
maintaining ToDo lists, doing project planning, and authoring with a
fast and effective plain-text system. Beginning with Emacs 22.2 and
XEmacs 22.1 it has been part of Emacs. The following is a simple
tutorial to help you get started using Emacs and org-mode.

* The absolute minimum you need to know about Emacs 
  The absolute minimum you need to know about Emacs, to be able to do
  /anything/, is more then you need to know about many other
  applications. But, you might compare it to a regular toy and
  lego. Lego is harder to begin with (you start with a box with little
  plastic pieces), but in the long run, you can do more with it.

  Emacs is heavy on shortcuts. starting out, that is rather
  annoying, but in time you'll notice you start to use the mouse less
  and less, and you actually start to work quicker.

  All the basic things can be done, with the mouse, from the menu,
  open file, save file , etc. You will notice, however, that in time it
  is faster to use shortcuts, and leave your hands on the keyboard.

  Emacs uses a lot of double shortcuts, so instead of Alt-F and
  Alt-S, like most applications, it uses *Control-X Control-F* and
  *Control-X Control-S*, this seems rather counter-productive in the
  beginning, but you'll get used to it.

  *Note:* Key abbreviations:
  - *M* -- Alt (used to be called Meta on ancient keyboards, that's why)
  - *C* -- Control
  - *S* -- Shift
  - *C-x f* -- means holding both Control /and/ x, release both, and
    press f

**  What version of Emacs should you choose?
    If it is all the same to you, then choose Emacs over XEmacs (if
    you disagree then you know already enough to skip this
    paragraph). Here are some links to help:
    - [[http://aquamacs.org/][Aquamacs: Emacs for Mac OS X]] (my favourite)
    - [[http://homepage.mac.com/zenitani/emacs-e.html][Carbon Emacs for OSX]]
    - [[http://Emacsformacosx.com/][Regular Emacs for OS X]]
    - [[http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/windows/Emacs/][Emacs for MS Windows]]
    On Linux, just use your package manager to install Emacs. On Debian:
#+BEGIN_SRC bash
sudo apt-get install emacs
#+END_SRC

** Configuration

   The biggest pain, when you just begin with Emacs, is the
   configuration. There is not really a menu for it (you might later
   hear there is, but they are lying, that menu is really there to
   trap innocent people), you need to edit a text-file. The location
   of that config-file (and even the name) is different on different
   OSes, but the text in it is mostly the same, across platforms. Many
   people actually use the same config-file on different OSes and even
   over many years, so in the long run, it is for the best!

   Location of the configuration file:
   - Aquamacs: ~/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Preferences.el
   - Regular emacs on Linux or OS X: ~/.emacs
   - On Windows: c:\emacs\.emacs.d\init.txt
     ([[http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/math/alee/emacs/emacs.html][according to this example installation]])
* Starting org-mode
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *C-x s* -- save document
  - *C-x f* -- open document
** Our first org-mode document
   By now, we know enough to start our first org-mode document. Start
   up Emacs. If you have a completely new Emacs install, then you
   should see the Emacs splash-screen. It has a couple of shortcuts,
   to the Emacs tutorial and some other documents, but for now, we
   don't need those.

   To start a new document, use the following short-cut: *C-x f*,
   which will offer you to open a document (or buffer as it is
   called in Emacs), call it *1.org*. This will give you a brand-new,
   empty document.
  
   To save the document, either press the save icon, or press *C-x s*,
   call it 1.org.

   Emacs does not actually understand you are editing an org-mode
   document, yet. To enable org-mode on your current document, type  
   : M-x org-mode
   Which will enable the org-mode on the current document.

   To make Emacs understand that this is an org-mode document, add the
   following to the *top* of your document:
#+BEGIN_SRC org
MY PROJECT -*- mode: org -*- 
#+END_SRC
   Those are minuses, /not/ underscores. MY PROJECT is the title of
   the document, this can be anything.

   This will enable org-mode for this document, no matter what the
   file-ending is.

   To enable org-mode to always work on all your org-files, you have
   to edit your Emacs configuration, we do that in the following paragraph.
** Our first edit to our Emacs configuration

   Open your Emacs configuration file (see [[Configuration]]), to open it
   in Emacs, use *C-x f* (open file), and put the following in it:

#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
;; -*- mode: elisp -*-

;;disable the splash screen (to enable it agin, replace the t with 0)
(setq inhibit-splash-screen t)

;;enable syntax highlighting
(global-font-lock-mode t)
(transient-mark-mode 1)

;;;;org-mode configuration
;;enable org-mode
(require 'org)
;;make org-mode work with files ending in .org
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.org$" . org-mode))
#+END_SRC

  Restart Emacs.

  *Note:* The mode-line, mentioned in the previous paragraph is only
  needed if you 1) have files with a different file-ending then
  configured in your Emacs config (for example myfile.txt). 2) Don't
  have the auto-mode-alist line in your configuration.
* Keep track of lists and notes
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *TAB* / *S-TAB* -- (un)fold
  - *M-up/down* -- move a headline up or down
  - *M-left/right* -- promote or demote a headline
  - *M-RET* -- insert a new headline
  - *C-x s* -- save file
  - *C-h t* -- Emacs tutorial

  Now that we have configured Emacs to work with org-mode document, we
  can actually start using it. Let's begin with an outline that will
  help us get to know org-mode. Start a new document (*C-x b), call it
  2.org, and copy and paste the following in it:
#+BEGIN_SRC org
 #-*- mode: org -*-
 #+STARTUP: showall

 * Welcome to org-mode

   Welcome, and thanks for trying out Org-mode. Making outlines in
   org is very simple. It is just text! Just start typing.
 * This is a headline, it starts with one or more stars
   A heading has one star, a sub-heading two, etc.
 * Working with lists
 ** Moving around in our outline
 ** Moving around headlines
#+END_SRC
   Save the file (*C-x s*) as 2.org, and you will notice that the
   colors change, syntax highlighting is turned on, and Emacs
   understands you are working in org-mode.

   Now we are ready to really start working with org-mode!
** Working with lists
   List are great for brainstorming and to keep track of things. Also
   it helps keeping the big picture in mind when taking notes.

   The first thing we will do is folding. Especially when you have a
   long document, this is very useful. In our example document, go to
   the first headline (just use the arrow keys), *Welcome to
   org-mode*, end press *TAB*, and now press *S-TAB*. *Tab* will fold
   and unfold parts or, using shift and tab, the whole document. 

   The basic idea of brainstorming is to write a list of items. Then,
   later, you might want to change the order of your items, for
   example in order of importance. To move a headline up or down, use
   *M-up/down*, try it on any of the headlines. Notice that your list
   folds in, showing only headings, to give a general overview of
   the document, and you don't get lost in the details.

   Next we will promote and demote headings. For example you might
   make *This is a headline, it starts with one or more stars*, a
   sub-heading of *Working with lists*, moving it down, and then using
   *M-right* to demote it.

   Finally, to add a new headline, press *M-RET*.

   Besides headlines there are still other kind of lists, ordered and
   unordered lists. They look like this:

#+BEGIN_SRC org
     ** 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 Austin :: He plays Sam, Frodo's friend.  I still remember
          him very well from his role as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies.
#+END_SRC

   Unordered lists start with -,+,or \*. Ordered lists start with a
   number and a dot. Descriptions use ::. 

   Further information: a short [[http://lumiere.ens.fr/~guerry/org-playing-with-lists-screencast.php][screencast]] presenting a few features
   of plain lists, also look at the [[http://orgmode.org/manual/Plain-lists.html#Plain-lists][manual]].
** Working with notes
   To keep notes, there is some markup to make things stand out a bit
   more. You can use the following markup:

   : You can make words *bold*, /italic/, _underlined_, =code= and ~verbatim~, and, if you must, +strike-through+.

   It will look like this:

  You can make words *bold*, /italic/, _underlined_, =code= and
  ~verbatim~, and, if you must, +strike-through+.
   
   If you like what you see so far, the it might be a good idea to do
   the Emacs tutorial, that comes with Emacs itself (*C-h t*). The
   tutorial will teach you some more Emacs shortcuts, used to move around
   in your documents.
* Working with todo items
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *S-left/right* -- cycle workflow
  - *C-c C-v* -- show todos in current document
** Basic todo functionality
   The biggest use-case of org-mode is using it to keep track of
   todos. To start working with todos you don't have to do anything,
   just add the TODO keyword in a headline:
#+BEGIN_SRC org
 ** TODO buy airplane
#+END_SRC
  To speed up working with todo-list there is the following shortcut,
  - *S-left/right*
  which will cycle through: *TODO* - *DONE* and empty.

  Imagine that you have a large document, with scattered all over the
  document todo entries, *C-c C-v* will show only your current todos,
  and folding the rest away.
** Configuring todos
*** In the file itself
    Org-mode files can be configured by adding workflow states to the
    beginning of the file, like so:
#+BEGIN_SRC org
#+TODO: TODO IN-PROGRESS WAITING DONE
#+END_SRC
    The line shoud be at the top of file, there should /not/ be any
    empty lines between the top and the #+TODO line.

    To activate the new workflow, either reopen the file, or go to the
    top of the file (any line starting with #) and press *C-c C-c*.

    Try copying the workflow to your test-file 1.org, seeing it helps
    understanding what you can do with it.
*** In the Emacs-config file
    Adding the workflow states to every org-file you create gets
    boring soon, so it also possible to do this in your config
    file. Add the following /after/ the (require 'org) line:
#+BEGIN_SRC lisp
     (setq org-todo-keywords
       '((sequence "TODO" "IN-PROGRESS" "WAITING" "DONE")))
#+END_SRC
    To activate the workflow states, restart Emacs.
* Agendas
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *C-c a* -- agenda
  - *C-c [* -- add document to the list of agenda files
  - *C-c ]* -- remove document from the list of agenda files
  - C-c .* -- add date
  - *C-u C-c .* -- add time and date
  - *C-g* -- stop doing what you are trying to do, escape

  The basic meaning of the word agenda is /things to be done/, coming
  from the latin /agendum/. Org-mode is very good in making different
  kind of agendas, or task-lists, collecting all the tasks from one or
  more org-documents.
** Creating lists of all active todos
   We will start with using 1.org as our basic agenda-file, later we
   will see how this works in the Emacs-config file.

   So, again, visit 1.org. Next press *C-c a*, which calls the
   agenda. It looks like this:
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
Press key for an agenda command
-------------------------------
a Agenda for the current week or day
t List of all TODO entries
#+END_EXAMPLE
   and then some more.

   Unfortunately, both will show just empty lists (you can try if you
   want). So just press *C-g* (the Emacs version of escape). Next we
   will add 1.org as agenda file, using *C-c [*. Now if you go to the
   agenda menu (*C-c a*), and press *t* you get a list off all your todo items. 
   
   You will also notice that, if you have added a more comprehensive
   workflow, as explained in [[working with todo items]], all items are
   listed, except DONE.

   This can be repeated for as many documents as you want, and agenda
   will give you a complete list of todos. If you want to remove a
   documents from the list of agenda files, press *C-c ]*.
** Appointments and deadlines
   When a task is time related, then we usually put it in our
   calendar. This can also be done in org-mode. And agenda can then
   show us a time-based list of all our todos. This is done in the
   following way.

   In 1.org, add a new (sub-)heading called: /Call fred/ (*M-RET*Call
   fred), but at the end press *C-c .*. This will give you, at the
   bottom of the screen, the date chooser. You can either type
   something by hand, or use *S-left/right* to change the date. If you
   want to add a time as well, use *C-u C-c .* instead of *C-c .*.

   Now, if you go to the agenda (*C-c a*) and press *a*, you get an
   agenda entry!

   Further reading:
   - [[http://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html#Clocking][Bernt Hansens extensive description Time Clocking: Usage, Customization,
   Workflow description]]
   - [[http://sachachua.com/wp/2007/12/30/clocking-time-with-emacs-org/][Clocking time with Emacs Org]]
   - And off course [[http://orgmode.org/manual/Dates-and-Times.html#Dates-and-Times][the manual]].
** Configuring the agenda in the Emacs configuration file
   If you open up your emacs configuration file, after you have used
   *C-c [*, you will see the following:
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp -n -r
(custom-set-variables
  ;; custom-set-variables was added by Custom.
  ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
  ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
  ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 '(org-agenda-files (quote ("~/Documents/Projects/org4beginners/2.org"
 "~/Documents/Projects/org4beginners/1.org"))))
(custom-set-faces
  ;; custom-set-faces was added by Custom.
  ;; If you edit it by hand, you could mess it up, so be careful.
  ;; Your init file should contain only one such instance.
  ;; If there is more than one, they won't work right.
 )
#+END_SRC
   Welcome to the world of Emacs lisp. This is what it looks like if
   Emacs changes your config file. (*Note:* on Aquamacs, this is in a
   seperate file called customizations.el)

   For us, the important part is in the middle (lines 5 and 6), the line with
   /org-agenda-files/. There we see the list of files agenda uses to
   create it's lists. For now we can just leave it there, but at least
   you know what it is, when you later look at your config-file.
   Further reading: [[http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-custom-agenda-commands.html][Custom agenda commands]]
* GTD
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *C-c C-c* -- add tag

  /Getting things done/, is one of the most popular ways to organize
  oneself, with 4.3 miljon hits on Google. It is quite possible to use
  the same kind of setup in org mode, using tags.

  Tags are used to organize different kind of todo-entries, for
  example all tasks on the phone, reading, shopping, etc.

  To add tags, add the following to the top your document:

#+BEGIN_SRC org
 #+TAGS: { @OFFICE(o) @HOME(h) } COMPUTER(c) PHONE(p) READING(r) 
#+END_SRC

  Reload the document, or press *C-c C-c* on a line starting with #.

  Now it is possible to add one or more tags, to any line in your
  document. If we press *C-c C-c*, the following will pop up:
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE
Inherited:
Current:
{ [o] @OFFICE     [h] @HOME    }
  [C] COMPUTER   [p] PHONE   [r] READING
#+END_EXAMPLE
  These are the shortcuts we defined at the beginning of our
  document. The first two tags (OFFICE and HOME) are mutually
  exclusive, the rest can just be added.

  A very good example of a GTD setup is: [[http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/GTD/gtd_workflow.html][How I use Emacs and Org-mode to implement GTD]]
** Adding tags to the Emacs config-file
   To add tags to the Emacs config-file, so it is available to al your
   documents, add the following.
#+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp
      (setq org-tag-alist '(("@work" . ?w) ("@home" . ?h) ("laptop" . ?l)))
#+END_SRC
   To set mutually exclusive groups, like the previous example, see
   [[http://orgmode.org/org.html#Setting-tags][here]] in the manual.

   It is always possible to override your settings by adding something
   else to the top of the document. This way every document can have
   it's own workflow and/or tags.

   An extensive example of working with tags can be found [[http://sachachua.com/wp/2008/01/04/tagging-in-org-plus-bonus-code-for-timeclocks-and-tags/][here]] as well.
* Export
  New shortcuts in this chapter:
  - *C-c C-e* -- export menu

  Working with org-mode documents is usually fine, but sometimes you
  might want to export your documents to another format.

  To export the current document to, for example, html, press *C-c C-e*,
  and then *b*. This will export the document and open the new
  document in your browser.

  Further reading: [[http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-publish-html-tutorial.html][html publishing tutorial]] (which goes further then
  just a document, you can use it to publish a complete website). And
  [[http://orgmode.org/manual/Exporting.html#Exporting][the manual]] which explains exporting to html, latex, pdf and others.
* Becoming proficient with org-mode

  To really save time with any efficiency tool, you have to know it
  well. To get to know org-mode, reading and using the manual is
  important.  Org-mode is well documented. The fastest way to read the
  org-mode documentation right in Emacs, in the so-called
  info-browser.
  
  to call the info browser, use *C-h i*, and use *TAB* to jump from
  hyperlink, to hyperlink.

  To move around in the info-browser use:
  - u -- up
  - n -- next
  - p -- previous

  Besides the org-mode manual, the is the [[http://orgmode.org/worg/][worg website]], which has
  many cool ideas and [[http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/index.html][tutorials]].

  For quick reminders there are the [[http://orgmode.org/index.html#sec-4.2][org-mode cheat-sheet]] and the
  emacs cheat-sheet, both will help you to remember those pesky
  short-cuts. 
* Beyond the basics
  
  As is often said in geek humor: "here be dragons!" From here on you
  are going into the die-hard section of using org-mode. Most of the
  following material is not really hard, but make sure to have backups
  of your important data. If you have questions about the following,
  look it up in the manual and the faq. Also irc (#orgmode on
  freenode) is a good place to ask questions.

** TODO Quickly adding tasks with remember
** Running the latest version of org-mode

   New commands in this section:
   - *M-x reload* -- reload org-mode after an update
   - *M-x org-version* -- show org-mode version

   Pretty soon you will notice that the development of org-mode goes a
   lot faster the speed Emacs get's updated with. It is quite possible
   to run the development version of org-mode daily.

   How do you go about that?
   
   1. Install git
      Not really part of an org-mode tutorial, but here are some
      places to start:
      - [[http://code.google.com/p/git-osx-installer/][Git OS X installer]]
      - [[http://code.google.com/p/msysgit/][Myssysgit]] git on Windows
      - On Linux, use your package manager:
      #+BEGIN_SRC bash
        sudo apt-get install git
      #+END_SRC

   2. Decide where you will keep the org-mode code, I use
      *~/Build/Emacs/org-mode*, but for Emacs it is really all the
      same, just choose something convenient, and stick with it.

   3. Download the latest version of org-mode:
      #+BEGIN_SRC bash
       mkdir ~/Build/Emacs
       cd ~/Build/Emacs
       git clone git://orgmode.org/org-mode.git
       cd org-mode && make && make doc
      #+END_SRC

   4. Add to your Emacs-init file:
     #+BEGIN_SRC Emacs-lisp
       (setq load-path (cons "~/Build/Emacs/org-mode/lisp" load-path))
       (setq load-path (cons "~/Build/Emacs/org-mode/contrib/lisp"
       load-path))

       (require 'org-install)
    #+END_SRC
    *Important!* If you run the regular version of org-mode, you have
    :(require 'org) 
    in your config-file. This line *must* be removed, if you use
    :(require 'org-install)

   5. To keep up-to-date with org-mode in the future do:
      #+BEGIN_SRC bash
       cd ~/Build/Emacs/org-mode
       git pull && make clean && make && make doc
      #+END_SRC

   6. Reload org mode, using: *M-x org-reload*, or restart Emacs.
   
   To see what version of org-mode you are running: *M-x org-version*