Finding Emacs - The Window is a Frame and the Frame is a Window

Emacs was written before Microsoft Windows came on the scene, so the terminology is different.  Consider when you first fire up Emacs.  There is one window looking at you with a menu bar and toolbar at the top.

Weeelllll .. almost.

The outer border is a FRAME.  Inside that is one WINDOW.  You can have several divisions inside a frame, each of which is called a window.  You can play with this with the File menu.  Select new Frame.  Split the window, and remove the splits.

Now for Buffy ... er ... Buffers.

• The term "buffer" is effectively a file in memory.  
• You can choose from the list of buffers to show one in a window using the buffer menu  and you can look at the same buffer in any number of windows.  
• You can open or close a buffer from the File menu.  
• One final twist.  If you are playing a game, or using one of the associated programs from within Emacs, that program is a buffer.  
• You can close it using the File-Close menu selection, or select another to use from the Buffer menu.

Easy ... er ... yes ....


Later.