>but I still end up in weird jams where Emacs has opened up 3+ panes (buffers), and I can’t figure how to even close/quit them. <meta>-x close-buffer will do t

>but I still end up in weird jams where Emacs has opened up 3+ panes (buffers), and I can’t figure how to even close/quit them. <meta>-x close-buffer will do the job. Actually, using <meta>-x allows you to execute any emacs function, whether it has a key binding or not. Even better, emacs will suggest completions (and once you are down to a single potential completion, tab completion works nicely) as you type the function name. And if you don't know the name of the function you want/need, <meta>-x apropos will allow you to search for what you want -- with regexp support. All that said, depending on your use case, it mightn't even be necessary to modify your init file at all. I'm not a previously frustrated newbie (I started with Lugaru's epsilon[0] back in the early 1980s, moved to straight-up emacs in the late 1980s and never looked back), but I'd be happy to help. That said, using emacs' built in help/info/apropos tools, not to mention just using <meta>-x <start typing function names> would almost certainly be a better way to figure out how things work than asking me (but don't let that stop you from doing so). And definitely better than googling/ddging/whatevering what you're looking for. '<meta>-x info' and/or <meta>-x help are good places to start. HTHAL. [0] https://www.lugaru.com/ https://www.lugaru.com/