     Abbreviations permit you to create a shorthand way of typing "command
lines."  You can use single letters and short terms to stand for just about
anything you want.  Once these abbreviations (normally called abbrevs) are
created, they are stored for you in a "profile segment" until you change them.
In order to create and use abbrevs, you must turn on the abbrev processor by
typing the abbrev "command."  To create an abbrev, you first type a code that
begins with a period.  Then you type the intended abbrev and follow that with
whatever you intend it to stand for.  For example:

     .a M my_segment

sets the letter M to stand for my_segment anytime M appears on a command line.
This can be tricky.  Sometime you might type M to stand for itself and find
instead that it is replaced by what it is defined to stand for.  One way to
correct this is by turning the abbrev processor off.  This is done by typing
'.q' alone on a command line.  Another way to deal with this is to use upper
case letters as abbrevs.  Almost everthing on the Multics command line is
typed in lower case, so upper case abbrevs ordinarily won't interfere.

     Try creating an abbrev.  Press the function key F2 to get to command
level.  Then type the abbrev command.  When the next "ready message" appears,
create an abbrev.  You can even create an abbrev for a command (e.g., L for
the list command).  Use that abbrev and see what happens.
