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### 7.1 General Mode Commands

You can save all of the current mode settings in your Calc init file (the file given by the variable `calc-settings-file`, typically `~/.emacs.d/calc.el`) with the `m m` (`calc-save-modes`) command. This will cause Emacs to reestablish these modes each time it starts up. The modes saved in the file include everything controlled by the `m` and `d` prefix keys, the current precision and binary word size, whether or not the trail is displayed, the current height of the Calc window, and more. The current interface (used when you type `C-x * *`) is also saved. If there were already saved mode settings in the file, they are replaced. Otherwise, the new mode information is appended to the end of the file.

The `m R` (`calc-mode-record-mode`) command tells Calc to record all the mode settings (as if by pressing `m m`) every time a mode setting changes. If the modes are saved this way, then this “automatic mode recording” mode is also saved. Type `m R` again to disable this method of recording the mode settings. To turn it off permanently, the `m m` command will also be necessary. (If Embedded mode is enabled, other options for recording the modes are available; see Mode Settings in Embedded Mode.)

The `m F` (`calc-settings-file-name`) command allows you to choose a different file than the current value of `calc-settings-file` for `m m`, `Z P`, and similar commands to save permanent information. You are prompted for a file name. All Calc modes are then reset to their default values, then settings from the file you named are loaded if this file exists, and this file becomes the one that Calc will use in the future for commands like `m m`. The default settings file name is `~/.emacs.d/calc.el`. You can see the current file name by giving a blank response to the `m F` prompt. See also the discussion of the `calc-settings-file` variable; see Customizing Calc.

If the file name you give is your user init file (typically `~/.emacs`), `m F` will not automatically load the new file. This is because your user init file may contain other things you don't want to reread. You can give a numeric prefix argument of 1 to `m F` to force it to read the file no matter what. Conversely, an argument of -1 tells `m F` not to read the new file. An argument of 2 or -2 tells `m F` not to reset the modes to their defaults beforehand, which is useful if you intend your new file to have a variant of the modes present in the file you were using before.

The `m x` (`calc-always-load-extensions`) command enables a mode in which the first use of Calc loads the entire program, including all extensions modules. Otherwise, the extensions modules will not be loaded until the various advanced Calc features are used. Since this mode only has effect when Calc is first loaded, `m x` is usually followed by `m m` to make the mode-setting permanent. To load all of Calc just once, rather than always in the future, you can press `C-x * L`.

The `m S` (`calc-shift-prefix`) command enables a mode in which all of Calc's letter prefix keys may be typed shifted as well as unshifted. If you are typing, say, `a S` (`calc-solve-for`) quite often you might find it easier to turn this mode on so that you can type `A S` instead. When this mode is enabled, the commands that used to be on those single shifted letters (e.g., `A` (`calc-abs`)) can now be invoked by pressing the shifted letter twice: `A A`. Note that the `v` prefix key always works both shifted and unshifted, and the `z` and `Z` prefix keys are always distinct. Also, the `h` prefix is not affected by this mode. Press `m S` again to disable shifted-prefix mode.