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### 7.7 Blank Lines

Here are special commands and techniques for inserting and deleting blank lines.

`C-o`

  Insert a blank line after the cursor (`open-line`).

`C-x C-o`

  Delete all but one of many consecutive blank lines (`delete-blank-lines`).

We have seen how `RET` (`newline`) starts a new line of text. However, it may be easier to see what you are doing if you first make a blank line and then insert the desired text into it. This is easy to do using the key `C-o` (`open-line`), which inserts a newline after point but leaves point in front of the newline. After `C-o`, type the text for the new line.

You can make several blank lines by typing `C-o` several times, or by giving it a numeric argument specifying how many blank lines to make. See Arguments, for how. If you have a fill prefix, the `C-o` command inserts the fill prefix on the new line, if typed at the beginning of a line. See Fill Prefix.

The easy way to get rid of extra blank lines is with the command `C-x C-o` (`delete-blank-lines`). If point lies within a run of several blank lines, `C-x C-o` deletes all but one of them. If point is on a single blank line, `C-x C-o` deletes it. If point is on a nonblank line, `C-x C-o` deletes all following blank lines, if any exists.