The Org Manual

Org Mode Manual

This manual is for Org (version 6.03).

Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 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 freedom to copy and modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.”

• Introduction: Getting started
• Document Structure: A tree works like your brain
• Tables: Pure magic for quick formatting
• Hyperlinks: Notes in context
• TODO Items: Every tree branch can be a TODO item
• Tags: Tagging headlines and matching sets of tags
• Properties and Columns: Storing information about an entry
• Dates and Times: Making items useful for planning
• Remember: Quickly adding nodes to the outline tree
• Agenda Views: Collecting information into views
• Embedded LaTeX: LaTeX fragments and formulas
• Exporting: Sharing and publishing of notes
• Publishing: Create a web site of linked Org files
• Miscellaneous: All the rest which did not fit elsewhere
• Extensions and Hacking: It is possible to write add-on code
• History and Acknowledgments: How Org came into being
• Main Index: An index of Org's concepts and features
• Key Index: Key bindings and where they are described

--- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Introduction

• Summary: Brief summary of what Org does
• Installation: How to install a downloaded version of Org
• Activation: How to activate Org for certain buffers
• Feedback: Bug reports, ideas, patches etc.
• Conventions: Type-setting conventions in the manual

Document Structure

• Outlines: Org is based on Outline mode
• Headlines: How to typeset Org tree headlines
• Visibility cycling: Show and hide, much simplified
• Motion: Jumping to other headlines
• Structure editing: Changing sequence and level of headlines
• Archiving: Move done task trees to a different place
• Sparse trees: Matches embedded in context
• Plain lists: Additional structure within an entry
• Drawers: Tucking stuff away
• Orgstruct mode: Structure editing outside Org

Archiving

• ARCHIVE tag: Marking a tree as inactive
• Moving subtrees: Moving a tree to an archive file

Tables

• Built-in table editor: Simple tables
• Narrow columns: Stop wasting space in tables
• Column groups: Grouping to trigger vertical lines
• Orgtbl mode: The table editor as minor mode
• The spreadsheet: The table editor has spreadsheet capabilities

The spreadsheet

• References: How to refer to another field or range
• Formula syntax for Calc: Using Calc to compute stuff
• Formula syntax for Lisp: Writing formulas in Emacs Lisp
• Field formulas: Formulas valid for a single field
• Column formulas: Formulas valid for an entire column
• Editing and debugging formulas: Fixing formulas
• Updating the table: Recomputing all dependent fields
• Advanced features: Field names, parameters and automatic recalc

Hyperlinks

• Link format: How links in Org are formatted
• Internal links: Links to other places in the current file
• External links: URL-like links to the world
• Handling links: Creating, inserting and following
• Using links outside Org: Linking from my C source code?
• Link abbreviations: Shortcuts for writing complex links
• Search options: Linking to a specific location
• Custom searches: When the default search is not enough

Internal links

• Radio targets: Make targets trigger links in plain text

TODO Items

• TODO basics: Marking and displaying TODO entries
• TODO extensions: Workflow and assignments
• Progress logging: Dates and notes for progress
• Priorities: Some things are more important than others
• Breaking down tasks: Splitting a task into manageable pieces
• Checkboxes: Tick-off lists

Extended use of TODO keywords

• Workflow states: From TODO to DONE in steps
• TODO types: I do this, Fred does the rest
• Multiple sets in one file: Mixing it all, and still finding your way
• Fast access to TODO states: Single letter selection of a state
• Per-file keywords: Different files, different requirements
• Faces for TODO keywords: Highlighting states

Progress logging

• Closing items: When was this entry marked DONE?
• Tracking TODO state changes: When did the status change?

Tags

• Tag inheritance: Tags use the tree structure of the outline
• Setting tags: How to assign tags to a headline
• Tag searches: Searching for combinations of tags

Properties and Columns

• Property syntax: How properties are spelled out
• Special properties: Access to other Org mode features
• Property searches: Matching property values
• Property inheritance: Passing values down the tree
• Column view: Tabular viewing and editing
• Property API: Properties for Lisp programmers

Column view

• Defining columns: The COLUMNS format property
• Using column view: How to create and use column view
• Capturing column view: A dynamic block for column view

Defining columns

• Scope of column definitions: Where defined, where valid?
• Column attributes: Appearance and content of a column

Dates and Times

• Timestamps: Assigning a time to a tree entry
• Creating timestamps: Commands which insert timestamps
• Deadlines and scheduling: Planning your work
• Clocking work time: Tracking how long you spend on a task
• Effort estimates: Planning work effort in advance

Creating timestamps

• The date/time prompt: How Org mode helps you entering date and time
• Custom time format: Making dates look different

Deadlines and scheduling

• Inserting deadline/schedule: Planning items
• Repeated tasks: Items that show up again and again

Remember

• Setting up Remember: Some code for .emacs to get things going
• Remember templates: Define the outline of different note types
• Storing notes: Directly get the note to where it belongs
• Refiling notes: Moving a note or task to a project

Agenda Views

• Agenda files: Files being searched for agenda information
• Agenda dispatcher: Keyboard access to agenda views
• Built-in agenda views: What is available out of the box?
• Presentation and sorting: How agenda items are prepared for display
• Agenda commands: Remote editing of Org trees
• Custom agenda views: Defining special searches and views
• Agenda column view: Using column view for collected entries

The built-in agenda views

• Weekly/daily agenda: The calendar page with current tasks
• Global TODO list: All unfinished action items
• Matching tags and properties: Structured information with fine-tuned search
• Timeline: Time-sorted view for single file
• Keyword search: Finding entries by keyword
• Stuck projects: Find projects you need to review

Presentation and sorting

• Categories: Not all tasks are equal
• Time-of-day specifications: How the agenda knows the time
• Sorting of agenda items: The order of things

Custom agenda views

• Storing searches: Type once, use often
• Block agenda: All the stuff you need in a single buffer
• Setting Options: Changing the rules
• Exporting Agenda Views: Writing agendas to files
• Using the agenda elsewhere: Using agenda information in other programs

Embedded LaTeX

• Math symbols: TeX macros for symbols and Greek letters
• Subscripts and superscripts: Simple syntax for raising/lowering text
• LaTeX fragments: Complex formulas made easy
• Processing LaTeX fragments: Previewing LaTeX processing
• CDLaTeX mode: Speed up entering of formulas

Exporting

• Markup rules: Which structures are recognized?
• Export options: Per-file export settings
• The export dispatcher: How to access exporter commands
• ASCII export: Exporting to plain ASCII
• HTML export: Exporting to HTML
• LaTeX export: Exporting to LaTeX
• XOXO export: Exporting to XOXO
• iCalendar export: Exporting in iCalendar format

Markup rules

• Document title: How the document title is determined
• Headings and sections: The main structure of the exported document
• Table of contents: If, where, how to create a table of contents
• Initial text: Text before the first headline
• Lists: Plain lists are exported
• Paragraphs: What determines beginning and ending
• Literal examples: Source code and other examples
• Include files: Include the contents of a file during export
• Tables exported: Tables are exported richly
• Footnotes: Numbers like [1]
• Emphasis and monospace: To bold or not to bold
• TeX macros and LaTeX fragments: Create special, rich export.
• Horizontal rules: A line across the page
• Comment lines: Some lines will not be exported

HTML export

• HTML Export commands: How to invoke HTML export
• Quoting HTML tags: Using direct HTML in Org mode
• Links: Transformation of links for HTML
• Images: How to include images
• CSS support: Changing the appearance of the output
• Javascript support: Info and Folding in a web browser

LaTeX export

• LaTeX export commands: How to invoke LaTeX export
• Quoting LaTeX code: Incorporating literal LaTeX code
• Sectioning structure: Changing sectioning in LaTeX output

Publishing

• Configuration: Defining projects
• Sample configuration: Example projects
• Triggering publication: Publication commands

Configuration

• Project alist: The central configuration variable
• Sources and destinations: From here to there
• Selecting files: What files are part of the project?
• Publishing action: Setting the function doing the publishing
• Publishing options: Tweaking HTML export
• Publishing links: Which links keep working after publishing?
• Project page index: Publishing a list of project files

Sample configuration

• Simple example: One-component publishing
• Complex example: A multi-component publishing example

Miscellaneous

• Completion: M-TAB knows what you need
• Customization: Adapting Org to your taste
• In-buffer settings: Overview of the #+KEYWORDS
• The very busy C-c C-c key: When in doubt, press C-c C-c
• Clean view: Getting rid of leading stars in the outline
• TTY keys: Using Org on a tty
• Interaction: Other Emacs packages
• Bugs: Things which do not work perfectly

Interaction with other packages

• Cooperation: Packages Org cooperates with
• Conflicts: Packages that lead to conflicts

Extensions, Hooks and Hacking

• Extensions: Existing 3rd-party extensions
• Adding hyperlink types: New custom link types
• Tables in arbitrary syntax: Orgtbl for LaTeX and other programs
• Dynamic blocks: Automatically filled blocks
• Special agenda views: Customized views
• Using the property API: Writing programs that use entry properties

Tables and lists in arbitrary syntax

• Radio tables: Sending and receiving
• A LaTeX example: Step by step, almost a tutorial
• Translator functions: Copy and modify
• Radio lists: Doing the same for lists