RE: How to mark and search text in less keystrokes ?

[Drew Adams]

> > I thought the OP meant that he exited search and later wanted to get
> > back to the search start. For that, just use `C-x C-x'.
> 
> But that will activate the mark in transient-mark-mode.

And?

I use `transient-mark-mode' (via `delete-selection-mode), and I still typically
use `C-x C-x', not `C-u C-SPC', in this context. `C-g' deactivates the mark, if
you don't want it to remain active - so `C-x C-x C-g'.

> C-u C-SPC will just jump to the previous mark (and pop it off 
> the mark ring).

But `C-x C-x' lets you go back and forth between the search hit and the origin.
To get back to the search hit after you've done `C-u C-SPC', you must cycle all
the way around the `mark-ring' (or use a numeric arg).

Anyway, glad you mentioned `C-u C-SPC' here. It's good to be aware of multiple
possibilities and what each does. The important thing here is that `C-s' sets
the mark before it sets off on its quest for search hits.