How to set copy to C-c in Emacs?

Question

I have tried using Cua mode (via adding (cua-mode t) to my ~/.emacs file) but it doesn't seem to set the copy keybinding to Ctrl-c. See for example this screenshot showing my Edit menu:

I have tried adding this line to my ~/.emacs file:

(global-set-key (kbd "C-c") 'kill-ring-save)

but still C-c doesn't copy selected text in an Emacs buffer (and the Edit menu looks the same as in the above screenshot). If you are wondering whether some other line in my ~/.emacs file is overriding this one, feel free to see for yourself. Here is my ~/.emacs file.

Answer 1

I have tried using Cua mode (via adding (cua-mode t) to my ~/.emacs file) but it doesn't seem to set the copy keybinding to Ctrl-c.

It does, but only when you highlight text, see CUA Bindings f1rmcuaRET

The command M-x cua-mode sets up key bindings that are compatible with the Common User Access (CUA) system used in many other applications.

When CUA mode is enabled, the keys C-x, C-c, C-v, and C-z invoke commands that cut (kill), copy, paste (yank), and undo respectively. The C-x and C-c keys perform cut and copy only if the region is active. Otherwise, they still act as prefix keys, so that standard Emacs commands like C-x C-c still work. Note that this means the variable mark-even-if-inactive has no effect for C-x and C-c (see Using Region).

For technical reasons, f1cC-c when text is highlighted says C-c runs the command cua--prefix-override-handler rather than kill-ring-save or cua-copy-region, and similarly the menu won't reflect the CUA bindings.