The initialization file for emacs (.emacs in your home directory) will have lines added to allow the Macaulay 2 emacs mode to operate. The user is prompted before the file is modified and offered the opportunity to review or reject the change.
Description
A backup files is made carefully, and if a mangled initialization file is detected, it will not be modified. The lines added are bracketed by comment lines containing the phrases Macaulay 2 start and Macaulay 2 end.