Linux From Scratch .info files

This is info-stnd.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 from
info-stnd.texi.

This manual is for GNU Info (version 4.8, 14 December 2004), a
program for viewing documents in Info format (usually created from
Texinfo source files).

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software
Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts
being "A GNU Manual," and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a)
below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
"GNU Free Documentation License."

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have freedom to copy and
modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by
the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development."

INFO-DIR-SECTION Texinfo documentation system
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* info standalone: (info-stnd). Read Info documents without Emacs.
* infokey: (info-stnd)Invoking infokey. Compile Info customizations.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Top, Next: What is Info, Up: (dir)

GNU Info
********

This manual is for GNU Info (version 4.8, 14 December 2004), a program
for viewing documents in Info format (usually created from Texinfo
source files).

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have freedom to copy and
modify this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by
the Free Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development."

This documentation is different from the documentation for the Info
reader that is part of GNU Emacs. If you do not know how to use Info,
but have a working Info reader, you should read the Emacs documentation
first, as it includes more background information and a thorough
tutorial.

* Menu:

* What is Info:: What is Info?
* Invoking Info:: Options you can pass on the command line.
* Cursor Commands:: Commands which move the cursor within a node.
* Scrolling Commands:: Commands for reading the text within a node.
* Node Commands:: Commands for selecting a new node.
* Searching Commands:: Commands for searching an Info file.
* Xref Commands:: Commands for selecting cross references.
* Window Commands:: Commands which manipulate multiple windows.
* Printing Nodes:: How to print out the contents of a node.
* Miscellaneous Commands:: A few commands that defy categories.
* Variables:: How to change the default behavior of Info.
* Custom Key Bindings:: How to define your own key-to-command bindings.
* Copying This Manual:: The GNU Free Documentation License.
* Index:: Global index containing keystrokes,
command names, variable names,
and general concepts.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: What is Info, Next: Invoking Info, Prev: Top, Up: Top

1 What is Info?
***************

"Info" is a program which is used to view Info files on an ASCII
terminal. "Info files" are the result of processing Texinfo files with
the program `makeinfo' or with one of the Emacs commands, such as `M-x
texinfo-format-buffer'. Texinfo itself is a documentation system that
uses a single source file to produce both on-line information and
printed output. You can typeset and print the files that you read in
Info.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Invoking Info, Next: Cursor Commands, Prev: What is Info, Up: Top

2 Invoking Info
***************

GNU Info accepts several options to control the initial node being
viewed, and to specify which directories to search for Info files. Here
is a template showing an invocation of GNU Info from the shell:

info [OPTION]... [MENU-ITEM...]

The program accepts the following options:

`--apropos=STRING'
Specify a string to search in every index of every Info file
installed on your system. Info looks up the named STRING in all
the indices it can find, prints the results to standard output,
and then exits. If you are not sure which Info file explains
certain issues, this option is your friend. Note that if your
system has a lot of Info files installed, searching all of them
might take some time.

You can invoke the apropos command from inside Info; see *Note
Searching Commands::.

`--directory DIRECTORY-PATH'
`-d DIRECTORY-PATH'
Prepend DIRECTORY-PATH to the list of directory paths searched
when Info needs to find a file. You may issue `--directory'
multiple times; once for each directory which contains Info files.
The list of directories searched by Info is constructed from the
value of the environment variable `INFOPATH'; `--directory' causes
the named DIRECTORY-PATH to be prepended to that list. The value
of `INFOPATH' is a list of directories usually separated by a
colon; on MS-DOS/MS-Windows systems, the semicolon is used. If
you do not define `INFOPATH', Info uses a default path defined
when Info was built as the initial list of directories. If the
value of `INFOPATH' ends with a colon (or semicolon on
MS-DOS/MS-Windows), the initial list of directories is constructed
by appending the build-time default to the value of `INFOPATH'.

`--dribble=DRIBBLE-FILE'
Specify a file where all user keystrokes will be recorded. This
file can be used later to replay the same sequence of commands,
see the `--restore' option below.

`--file FILENAME'
`-f FILENAME'
Specify a particular Info file to visit. By default, Info visits
the file `dir'; if you use this option, Info will start with
`(FILENAME)Top' as the first file and node.

If FILENAME is an absolute file name, or begins with `./' or
`../', Info looks for FILENAME only in the directory of the
specified FILENAME, and adds the directory of FILENAME to the
value of `INFOPATH'. In contrast, if FILENAME is in the form of a
relative file name, but without the `./' or `../' prefix, Info
will only look for it in the directories specified in `INFOPATH'.
In other words, Info does _not_ treat file names which lack `./'
and `../' prefix as relative to the current directory.

In every directory Info tries, if FILENAME is not found, Info
looks for it with a number of known extensions of Info files(1).
For every known extension, Info looks for a compressed file, if a
regular file isn't found. Info supports files compressed with
`gzip', `bzip2', `compress' and `yabba' programs; it calls
`gunzip', `bunzip2', `uncompress' and `unyabba', accordingly, to
decompress such files. Compressed Info files are assumed to have
`.z', `.gz', `.bz2', `.Z', or `.Y' extensions, possibly in
addition to one of the known Info files extensions(2).

`--help'
`-h'
Produces a relatively brief description of the available Info
options.

`--index-search STRING'
After processing all command-line arguments, go to the index in
the Info file and search for index entries which match STRING. If
such an entry is found, the Info session begins with displaying
the node pointed to by the first matching index entry; press `,'
to step through the rest of the matching entries. If no such
entry exists, print `no entries found' and exit with nonzero
status. This can be used from another program as a way to provide
online help, or as a quick way of starting to read an Info file at
a certain node when you don't know the exact name of that node.

This command can also be invoked from inside Info; see *Note
Searching Commands::.

`--node NODENAME'
`-n NODENAME'
Specify a particular node to visit in the initial file that Info
loads. This is especially useful in conjunction with `--file'(3).
You may specify `--node' multiple times; for an interactive Info,
each NODENAME is visited in its own window, for a non-interactive
Info (such as when `--output' is given) each NODENAME is processed
sequentially.

`--output FILENAME'
`-o FILENAME'
Specify FILENAME as the name of a file to which to direct output.
Each node that Info visits will be output to FILENAME instead of
interactively viewed. A value of `-' for FILENAME specifies the
standard output.

`--raw-escapes'
`--no-raw-escapes'
`-R'
Do not remove ANSI escape sequences from documents. Some versions
of Groff, the GNU document formatter, produce man pages with ANSI
escape sequences for bold, italics, and underlined characters, and
for colorized text. By default, Info lets those escape sequences
pass through directly to the terminal. If your terminal does not
support these escapes, use `--no-raw-escapes' to make Info remove
them.

`--restore=DRIBBLE-FILE'
Read keystrokes from DRIBBLE-FILE, presumably recorded during
previous Info session (see the description of the `--dribble'
option above). When the keystrokes in the files are all read, Info
reverts its input to the usual interactive operation.

`--show-options'
`--usage'
`-O'
This option causes Info to look for the node that describes how to
invoke the program and its command-line options, and begin the
session by displaying that node. It is provided to make it easier
to find the most important usage information in a manual without
the need to wade through complex menu hierarchies. The effect is
similar to the `M-x goto-invocation' command (*note
goto-invocation::) from inside Info.

`--speech-friendly'
`-b'
On MS-DOS/MS-Windows only, this option causes Info to use standard
file I/O functions for screen writes. (By default, Info uses
direct writes to the video memory on these systems, for faster
operation and colored display support.) This allows the speech
synthesizers used by blind persons to catch the output and convert
it to audible speech.

`--subnodes'
This option only has meaning when given in conjunction with
`--output'. It means to recursively output the nodes appearing in
the menus of each node being output. Menu items which resolve to
external Info files are not output, and neither are menu items
which are members of an index. Each node is only output once.

`--version'
Prints the version information of Info and exits.

`--vi-keys'
This option binds functions to keys differently, to emulate the key
bindings of `vi' and Less. The default key bindings are generally
modeled after Emacs. (*Note Custom Key Bindings::, for a more
general way of altering GNU Info's key bindings.)

`--where'
`--location'
`-w'
Show the filename that would be read and exit, instead of actually
reading it and starting Info.

`MENU-ITEM'
Info treats its remaining arguments as the names of menu items.
The first argument is a menu item in the initial node visited
(generally `dir'), the second argument is a menu item in the first
argument's node, etc. You can easily move to the node of your
choice by specifying the menu names which describe the path to
that node. For example,

info emacs buffers

first selects the menu item `Emacs' in the node `(dir)Top', and
then selects the menu item `Buffers' in the node `(emacs)Top'.

To avoid searching the `dir' files and just show some arbitrary
file, use `-f' and the filename, as in `info -f ./foo.info'.

The index search and the search for the node which describes program
invocation and command-line options begins _after_ processing all the
command-line menu items. Therefore, the Info file searched for the
index or the invocation node is the file where Info finds itself after
following all the menu items given on the command line. This is so
`info emacs --show-options' does what you'd expect.

---------- Footnotes ----------

(1) `.info', `-info', `/index', and `.inf'.

(2) The MS-DOS version allows for the Info extension, such as
`.inf', and the short compressed file extensions, such as `.z' and
`.gz', to be merged into a single extension, since DOS doesn't allow
more than a single dot in the basename of a file. Thus, on MS-DOS, if
Info looks for `bison', file names like `bison.igz' and `bison.inz'
will be found and decompressed by `gunzip'.

(3) Of course, you can specify both the file and node in a `--node'
command; but don't forget to escape the open and close parentheses and
whitespace from the shell as in: `info --node "(emacs)Buffers"'.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Cursor Commands, Next: Scrolling Commands, Prev: Invoking Info, Up: Top

3 Moving the Cursor
*******************

Many people find that reading screens of text page by page is made
easier when one is able to indicate particular pieces of text with some
kind of pointing device. Since this is the case, GNU Info (both the
Emacs and standalone versions) have several commands which allow you to
move the cursor about the screen. The notation used in this manual to
describe keystrokes is identical to the notation used within the Emacs
manual, and the GNU Readline manual. *Note User Input: (emacs)User
Input, if you are unfamiliar with the notation.(1)

The following table lists the basic cursor movement commands in Info.
Each entry consists of the key sequence you should type to execute the
cursor movement, the `M-x'(2) command name (displayed in parentheses),
and a short description of what the command does. All of the cursor
motion commands can take a "numeric" argument (see *Note
`universal-argument': Miscellaneous Commands. With a numeric argument,
the motion commands are simply executed that many times; for example, a
numeric argument of 4 given to `next-line' causes the cursor to move
down 4 lines. With a negative numeric argument, the motion is
reversed; an argument of -4 given to the `next-line' command would
cause the cursor to move _up_ 4 lines.

<C-n> (`next-line')
<DOWN> (an arrow key)
Move the cursor down to the next line.

<C-p> (`prev-line')
<UP> (an arrow key)
Move the cursor up to the previous line.

<C-a> (`beginning-of-line')
<Home> (on DOS/Windows only)
Move the cursor to the start of the current line.

<C-e> (`end-of-line')
<End> (on DOS/Windows only)
Move the cursor to the end of the current line.

<C-f> (`forward-char')
<RIGHT> (an arrow key)
Move the cursor forward a character.

<C-b> (`backward-char')
<LEFT> (an arrow key)
Move the cursor backward a character.

<M-f> (`forward-word')
`C-<RIGHT>' (on DOS/Windows only)
Move the cursor forward a word.

<M-b> (`backward-word')
`C-<LEFT>' (on DOS/Windows only)
Move the cursor backward a word.

<M-<> (`beginning-of-node')
<C-<Home>> (on DOS/Windows only)

<M-b>, vi-like operation
Move the cursor to the start of the current node.

<M->> (`end-of-node')
<C-<End>> (on DOS/Windows only)
<e>
Move the cursor to the end of the current node.

<M-r> (`move-to-window-line')
Move the cursor to a specific line of the window. Without a
numeric argument, `M-r' moves the cursor to the start of the line
in the center of the window. With a numeric argument of N, `M-r'
moves the cursor to the start of the Nth line in the window.

---------- Footnotes ----------

(1) Here's a short summary. `C-X' means press the `CTRL' key and
the key X. `M-X' means press the `META' key and the key X. On many
terminals th `META' key is known as the `ALT' key. `SPC' is the space
bar. The other keys are usually called by the names imprinted on them.

(2) `M-x' is also a command; it invokes `execute-extended-command'.
*Note Executing an extended command: (emacs)M-x, for more detailed
information.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Scrolling Commands, Next: Node Commands, Prev: Cursor Commands, Up: Top

4 Moving Text Within a Window
*****************************

Sometimes you are looking at a screenful of text, and only part of the
current paragraph you are reading is visible on the screen. The
commands detailed in this section are used to shift which part of the
current node is visible on the screen.

Scrolling commands are bound differently when `--vi-keys' operation
is in effect (*note --vi-keys::). These key bindings are designated
with "vi-like operation".

<SPC> (`scroll-forward')
Shift the text in this window up. That is, show more of the node
which is currently below the bottom of the window. With a numeric
argument, show that many more lines at the bottom of the window; a
numeric argument of 4 would shift all of the text in the window up
4 lines (discarding the top 4 lines), and show you four new lines
at the bottom of the window. Without a numeric argument, <SPC>
takes the bottom two lines of the window and places them at the
top of the window, redisplaying almost a completely new screenful
of lines. If you are at the end of a node, <SPC> takes you to the
"next" node, so that you can read an entire manual from start to
finish by repeating <SPC>.

The default scroll size is one screen-full, but it can be changed
by invoking the (`scroll-forward-page-only-set-window') command,
`z' under `--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<NEXT> (an arrow key) (`scroll-forward-page-only')
<C-v>
<C-f>, vi-like operation
<f>, vi-like operation
<M-SPC>, vi-like operation
Shift the text in this window up. This is identical to the <SPC>
operation above, except that it never scrolls beyond the end of the
current node.

The <NEXT> key is known as the <PageDown> key on some keyboards.

<z> (`scroll-forward-page-only-set-window', vi-like operation)
Scroll forward, like with <NEXT>, but if a numeric argument is
specified, it becomes the default scroll size for subsequent
`scroll-forward' and `scroll-backward' commands and their ilk.

<DEL> (`scroll-backward')
Shift the text in this window down. The inverse of
`scroll-forward'. If you are at the start of a node, <DEL> takes
you to the "previous" node, so that you can read an entire manual
from finish to start by repeating <DEL>. The default scroll size
can be changed by invoking the
(`scroll-backward-page-only-set-window') command, `w' under
`--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<PREVIOUS> (arrow key) (`scroll-backward-page-only')
<PRIOR> (arrow key)
<M-v>
, vi-like operation
<C-b>, vi-like operation
Shift the text in this window down. The inverse of
`scroll-forward-page-only'. Does not scroll beyond the start of
the current node. The default scroll size can be changed by
invoking the(`scroll-backward-page-only-set-window') command, `w'
under `--vi-keys', with a numeric argument.

<w> (`scroll-backward-page-only-set-window', vi-like operation)
Scroll backward, like with <PREVIOUS>, but if a numeric argument is
specified, it becomes the default scroll size for subsequent
`scroll-forward' and `scroll-backward' commands.

<C-n> (`down-line', vi-like operation)
<C-e>, vi-like operation
<RET>, vi-like operation
<LFD>, vi-like operation
<DOWN>, vi-like operation
Scroll forward by one line. With a numeric argument, scroll
forward that many lines.

<C-p> (`up-line', vi-like operation)
<UP>, vi-like operation
<y>, vi-like operation
<k>, vi-like operation
<C-k>, vi-like operation
<C-y>, vi-like operation
Scroll backward one line. With a numeric argument, scroll
backward that many lines.

<d> (`scroll-half-screen-down', vi-like operation)
<C-d>, vi-like operation
Scroll forward by half of the screen size. With a numeric
argument, scroll that many lines. If an argument is specified, it
becomes the new default number of lines to scroll for subsequent
`d' and `u' commands.

(`scroll-half-screen-up', vi-like operation)
<C-u>, vi-like operation
Scroll back by half of the screen size. With a numeric argument,
scroll that many lines. If an argument is specified, it becomes
the new default number of lines to scroll for subsequent `u' and
`d' commands.

The `scroll-forward' and `scroll-backward' commands can also move
forward and backward through the node structure of the file. If you
press <SPC> while viewing the end of a node, or <DEL> while viewing the
beginning of a node, what happens is controlled by the variable
`scroll-behavior'. *Note `scroll-behavior': Variables, for more
information.

The `scroll-forward-page-only' and `scroll-backward-page-only'
commands never scroll beyond the current node.

The <PREVIOUS> key is the <PageUp> key on many keyboards. Emacs
refers to it by the name <PRIOR>. When you use <PRIOR> or <PageUp> to
scroll, Info never scrolls beyond the beginning of the current node.

If your keyboard lacks the <DEL> key, look for a key called <BS>, or
`BackSpace', sometimes designated with an arrow which points to the
left, which should perform the same function.

<C-l> (`redraw-display')
Redraw the display from scratch, or shift the line containing the
cursor to a specified location. With no numeric argument, `C-l'
clears the screen, and then redraws its entire contents. Given a
numeric argument of N, the line containing the cursor is shifted
so that it is on the Nth line of the window.

`C-x <w>' (`toggle-wrap')
Toggles the state of line wrapping in the current window.
Normally, lines which are longer than the screen width "wrap",
i.e., they are continued on the next line. Lines which wrap have
a `\' appearing in the rightmost column of the screen. You can
cause such lines to be terminated at the rightmost column by
changing the state of line wrapping in the window with `C-x w'.
When a line which needs more space than one screen width to
display is displayed, a `$' appears in the rightmost column of the
screen, and the remainder of the line is invisible. When long
lines are truncated, the modeline displays the `$' character near
its left edge.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Node Commands, Next: Searching Commands, Prev: Scrolling Commands, Up: Top

5 Selecting a Node
******************

This section details the numerous Info commands which select a new node
to view in the current window.

The most basic node commands are `n', `p', `u', and `l'. Note that
the commands to select nodes are mapped differently when `--vi-keys' is
in effect; these keybindings are designated below as "vi-like
operation".

When you are viewing a node, the top line of the node contains some
Info "pointers" which describe where the next, previous, and up nodes
are. Info uses this line to move about the node structure of the file
when you use the following commands:

<n> (`next-node')
`C-<NEXT>' (on DOS/Windows only)
`C-x <n>', vi-like operation
Select the `Next' node.

The <NEXT> key is known as the <PgDn> key on some keyboards.

(`prev-node')
`C-<PREVIOUS>' (on DOS/Windows only)
Select the `Prev' node.

The <PREVIOUS> key is known as the <PgUp> key on some keyboards.

(`up-node')
`C-<UP>' (an arrow key on DOS/Windows only)
`C-x ', vi-like operation
Select the `Up' node.

You can easily select a node that you have already viewed in this
window by using the `l' command--this name stands for "last", and
actually moves backwards through the history of visited nodes for this
window. This is handy when you followed a reference to another node,
possibly to read about a related issue, and would like then to resume
reading at the same place where you started the excursion.

Each node where you press `l' is discarded from the history. Thus,
by the time you get to the first node you visited in a window, the
entire history of that window is discarded.

<l> (`history-node')
<C-<CENTER>> (on DOS/Windows only)
<'>, vi-like operation
Pop the most recently selected node in this window from the node
history.

Two additional commands make it easy to select the most commonly
selected nodes; they are `t' and `d'.

<t> (`top-node')
<M-t>, vi-like operation
Select the node `Top' in the current Info file.

<d> (`dir-node')
<M-d>, vi-like operation
Select the directory node (i.e., the node `(dir)').

Here are some other commands which immediately result in the
selection of a different node in the current window:

<<> (`first-node')
<g>, vi-like operation
Selects the first node which appears in this file. This node is
most often `Top', but it does not have to be. With a numeric
argument N, select the Nth node (the first node is node 1). An
argument of zero is the same as the argument of 1.

<>> (`last-node')
<G>, vi-like operation
Select the last node which appears in this file. With a numeric
argument N, select the Nth node (the first node is node 1). An
argument of zero is the same as no argument, i.e., it selects the
last node.

<]> (`global-next-node')
Move forward or down through node structure. If the node that you
are currently viewing has a `Next' pointer, that node is selected.
Otherwise, if this node has a menu, the first menu item is
selected. If there is no `Next' and no menu, the same process is
tried with the `Up' node of this node.

<[> (`global-prev-node')
Move backward or up through node structure. If the node that you
are currently viewing has a `Prev' pointer, that node is selected.
Otherwise, if the node has an `Up' pointer, that node is selected,
and if it has a menu, the last item in the menu is selected.

You can get the same behavior as `global-next-node' and
`global-prev-node' while simply scrolling through the file with <SPC>
and <DEL>; *Note `scroll-behavior': Variables, for more information.

<g> (`goto-node')
`C-x <g>', vi-like operation
Read the name of a node and select it. While reading the node
name, completion (*note completion: The Echo Area.) is only done
for the nodes which reside in one of the Info files that were
loaded in the current Info session; if the desired node resides in
some other file, you must type the node exactly as it appears in
that Info file, and you must include the Info file of the other
file. For example,

`g(emacs)Buffers'

finds the node `Buffers' in the Info file `emacs'.

<O> (`goto-invocation'

Read the name of a program and look for a node in the current Info
file which describes the invocation and the command-line options
for that program. The default program name is derived from the
name of the current Info file. This command does the same as the
`--show-options' command-line option (*note --show-options::), but
it also allows to specify the program name; this is important for
those manuals which describe several programs.

If you need to find the Invocation node of a program that is
documented in another Info file, you need to visit that file
before invoking `I'. For example, if you are reading the Emacs
manual and want to see the command-line options of the `makeinfo'
program, type `g (texinfo) <RET>' and then `I makeinfo <RET>'. If
you don't know what Info file documents the command, or if
invoking `I' doesn't display the right node, go to the `(dir)'
node (using the `d' command) and invoke `I' from there.

<G> (`menu-sequence')
Read a sequence of menu entries and follow it. Info prompts for a
sequence of menu items separated by commas. (Since commas are not
allowed in a node name, they are a natural choice for a delimiter
in a list of menu items.) Info then looks up the first item in
the menu of the node `(dir)' (if the `(dir)' node cannot be found,
Info uses `Top'). If such an entry is found, Info goes to the
node it points to and looks up the second item in the menu of that
node, etc. In other words, you can specify a complete path which
descends through the menu hierarchy of a particular Info file
starting at the `(dir)' node. This has the same effect as if you
typed the menu item sequence on Info's command line, see *Note
Info command-line arguments processing: command-line menu items.
For example,

G Texinfo,Overview,Reporting Bugs <RET>

displays the node `Reporting Bugs' in the Texinfo manual. (You
don't actually need to type the menu items in their full length,
or in their exact letter-case. However, if you do type the menu
items exactly, Info will find it faster.)

If any of the menu items you type are not found, Info stops at the
last entry it did find and reports an error.

`C-x <k>' (`kill-node')
Kill a node. The node name is prompted for in the echo area, with
a default of the current node. "Killing" a node means that Info
tries hard to forget about it, removing it from the list of
history nodes kept for the window where that node is found.
Another node is selected in the window which contained the killed
node.

`C-x C-f' (`view-file')
Read the name of a file and selects the entire file. The command
`C-x C-f FILENAME'
is equivalent to typing
`g(FILENAME)*'

`C-x C-b' (`list-visited-nodes')
Make a window containing a menu of all of the currently visited
nodes. This window becomes the selected window, and you may use
the standard Info commands within it.

`C-x ' (`select-visited-node')
Select a node which has been previously visited in a visible
window. This is similar to `C-x C-b' followed by `m', but no
window is created.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Searching Commands, Next: Xref Commands, Prev: Node Commands, Up: Top

6 Searching an Info File
************************

GNU Info allows you to search for a sequence of characters throughout an
entire Info file, search through the indices of an Info file, or find
areas within an Info file which discuss a particular topic.

<s> (`search')
</>
Read a string in the echo area and search for it. If the string
includes upper-case characters, the Info file is searched
case-sensitively; otherwise Info ignores the letter case. With a
numeric argument of N, search for Nth occurrence of the string.
Negative arguments search backwards.

<?> (`search-backward', vi-like operation)
Read a string in the echo area and search backward through the
Info file for that string. If the string includes upper-case
characters, the Info file is searched case-sensitively; otherwise
Info ignores the letter case. With a numeric argument of N,
search for Nth occurrence of the string. Negative arguments
search forward.

<S> (`search-case-sensitively'
Read a string in the echo area and search for it case-sensitively,
even if the string includes only lower-case letters. With a
numeric argument of N, search for Nth occurrence of the string.
Negative arguments search backwards.

`C-x <n>' (`search-next')
<n>, vi-like operation
Search for the same string used in the last search command, in the
same direction, and with the same case-sensitivity option. With a
numeric argument of N, search for Nth next occurrence.

`C-x <N>' (`search-previous')
<N>, vi-like operation
Search for the same string used in the last search command, and
with the same case-sensitivity option, but in the reverse
direction. With a numeric argument of N, search for Nth previous
occurrence.

<C-s> (`isearch-forward')
Interactively search forward through the Info file for a string as
you type it. If the string includes upper-case characters, the
search is case-sensitive; otherwise Info ignores the letter case.

<C-r> (`isearch-backward')
Interactively search backward through the Info file for a string as
you type it. If the string includes upper-case characters, the
search is case-sensitive; otherwise Info ignores the letter case.

(`index-search')
Look up a string in the indices for this Info file, and select a
node to which the found index entry points.

<,> (`next-index-match')
Move to the node containing the next matching index item from the
last `i' command.

`M-x index-apropos'
Grovel the indices of all the known Info files on your system for a
string, and build a menu of the possible matches.

The most basic searching command is `s' or `/' (`search'). The `s'
command prompts you for a string in the echo area, and then searches
the remainder of the Info file for an occurrence of that string. If
the string is found, the node containing it is selected, and the cursor
is left positioned at the start of the found string. Subsequent `s'
commands show you the default search string within `[' and `]';
pressing <RET> instead of typing a new string will use the default
search string. Under `--vi-keys' (*note --vi-keys::), using the `n' or
`N' commands is a faster way of searching for the same string.

"Incremental searching" is similar to basic searching, but the
string is looked up while you are typing it, instead of waiting until
the entire search string has been specified.

Both incremental and non-incremental search by default ignore the
case of letters when comparing the Info file text with the search
string. However, an uppercase letter in the search string makes the
search case-sensitive. You can force a case-sensitive non-incremental
search, even for a string that includes only lower-case letters, by
using the `S' command (`search-case-sensitively'). The `n' and `N'
commands operate case-sensitively if the last search command was `S'.

The most efficient means of finding something quickly in a manual is
the `i' command (`index-search'). This command prompts for a string,
and then looks for that string in all the indices of the current Info
manual. If it finds a matching index entry, it displays the node to
which that entry refers and prints the full text of the entry in the
echo area. You can press `,' (`next-index-match') to find more
matches. A good Info manual has all of its important concepts indexed,
so the `i' command lets you use a manual as a reference.

If you don't know what manual documents something, try the `M-x
index-apropos' command. It prompts for a string and then looks up that
string in all the indices of all the Info documents installed on your
system. It can also be invoked from the command line; see *Note
--apropos::.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Xref Commands, Next: Window Commands, Prev: Searching Commands, Up: Top

7 Selecting Cross References
****************************

We have already discussed the `Next', `Prev', and `Up' pointers which
appear at the top of a node. In addition to these pointers, a node may
contain other pointers which refer you to a different node, perhaps in
another Info file. Such pointers are called "cross references", or
"xrefs" for short.

* Menu:

* Parts of an Xref:: What a cross reference is made of.
* Selecting Xrefs:: Commands for selecting menu or note items.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Parts of an Xref, Next: Selecting Xrefs, Up: Xref Commands

7.1 Parts of an Xref
====================

Cross references have two major parts: the first part is called the
"label"; it is the name that you can use to refer to the cross
reference, and the second is the "target"; it is the full name of the
node that the cross reference points to.

The target is separated from the label by a colon `:'; first the
label appears, and then the target. For example, in the sample menu
cross reference below, the single colon separates the label from the
target.

* Foo Label: Foo Target. More information about Foo.

Note the `.' which ends the name of the target. The `.' is not part
of the target; it serves only to let Info know where the target name
ends.

A shorthand way of specifying references allows two adjacent colons
to stand for a target name which is the same as the label name:

* Foo Commands:: Commands pertaining to Foo.

In the above example, the name of the target is the same as the name
of the label, in this case `Foo Commands'.

You will normally see two types of cross reference while viewing
nodes: "menu" references, and "note" references. Menu references
appear within a node's menu; they begin with a `*' at the beginning of
a line, and continue with a label, a target, and a comment which
describes what the contents of the node pointed to contains.

Note references appear within the body of the node text; they begin
with `*Note', and continue with a label and a target.

Like `Next', `Prev', and `Up' pointers, cross references can point
to any valid node. They are used to refer you to a place where more
detailed information can be found on a particular subject. Here is a
cross reference which points to a node within the Texinfo
documentation: *Note Writing an Xref: (texinfo)xref, for more
information on creating your own texinfo cross references.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Selecting Xrefs, Prev: Parts of an Xref, Up: Xref Commands

7.2 Selecting Xrefs
===================

The following table lists the Info commands which operate on menu items.

<1> (`menu-digit')
<2> ... <9>
<M-1>, vi-like operation
<M-2> ... <M-9>, vi-like operation
Within an Info window, pressing a single digit, (such as `1'),
selects that menu item, and places its node in the current window.
For convenience, there is one exception; pressing `0' selects the
_last_ item in the node's menu. When `--vi-keys' is in effect,
digits set the numeric argument, so these commands are remapped to
their `M-' varieties. For example, to select the last menu item,
press <M-0>.

<0> (`last-menu-item')
<M-0>, vi-like operation
Select the last item in the current node's menu.

<m> (`menu-item')
Reads the name of a menu item in the echo area and selects its
node. Completion is available while reading the menu label.
*Note completion: The Echo Area.

`M-x find-menu'
Move the cursor to the start of this node's menu.

This table lists the Info commands which operate on cross references.

<M-f>, vi-like operation
`C-x <r>', vi-like operation
Reads the name of a note cross reference in the echo area and
selects its node. Completion is available while reading the cross
reference label. *Note completion: The Echo Area.

Finally, the next few commands operate on menu or note references
alike:

<TAB> (`move-to-next-xref')
Move the cursor to the start of the next nearest menu item or note
reference in this node. You can then use <RET>
(`select-reference-this-line') to select the menu or note
reference.

<M-TAB> (`move-to-prev-xref')
<Shift-<TAB>> (on DOS/Windows only)
Move the cursor the start of the nearest previous menu item or note
reference in this node.

On DOS/Windows only, the `Shift-<TAB>' key is an alias for
`M-<TAB>'. This key is sometimes called `BackTab'.

<RET> (`select-reference-this-line')
<M-g>, vi-like operation
Select the menu item or note reference appearing on this line.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Window Commands, Next: Printing Nodes, Prev: Xref Commands, Up: Top

8 Manipulating Multiple Windows
*******************************

A "window" is a place to show the text of a node. Windows have a view
area where the text of the node is displayed, and an associated "mode
line", which briefly describes the node being viewed.

GNU Info supports multiple windows appearing in a single screen; each
window is separated from the next by its modeline. At any time, there
is only one "active" window, that is, the window in which the cursor
appears. There are commands available for creating windows, changing
the size of windows, selecting which window is active, and for deleting
windows.

* Menu:

* The Mode Line:: What appears in the mode line?
* Basic Windows:: Manipulating windows in Info.
* The Echo Area:: Used for displaying errors and reading input.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: The Mode Line, Next: Basic Windows, Up: Window Commands

8.1 The Mode Line
=================

A "mode line" is a line of inverse video which appears at the bottom of
an Info window. It describes the contents of the window just above it;
this information includes the name of the file and node appearing in
that window, the number of screen lines it takes to display the node,
and the percentage of text that is above the top of the window. It can
also tell you if the indirect tags table for this Info file needs to be
updated, and whether or not the Info file was compressed when stored on
disk.

Here is a sample mode line for a window containing an uncompressed
file named `dir', showing the node `Top'.

-----Info: (dir)Top, 40 lines --Top-------------------------------------
^^ ^ ^^^ ^^
(file)Node #lines where

When a node comes from a file which is compressed on disk, this is
indicated in the mode line with two small `z''s. In addition, if the
Info file containing the node has been split into subfiles, the name of
the subfile containing the node appears in the modeline as well:

--zz-Info: (emacs)Top, 291 lines --Top-- Subfile: emacs-1.Z-------------

Truncation of long lines (as opposed to wrapping them to the next
display line, *note toggle-wrap: Scrolling Commands.) is indicated by a
`$' at the left edge of the mode line:

--$--Info: (texinfo)Top, 480 lines --Top-- Subfile: texinfo-1-----------

When Info makes a node internally, such that there is no
corresponding info file on disk, the name of the node is surrounded by
asterisks (`*'). The name itself tells you what the contents of the
window are; the sample mode line below shows an internally constructed
node showing possible completions:

-----Info: *Completions*, 7 lines --All---------------------------------

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Basic Windows, Next: The Echo Area, Prev: The Mode Line, Up: Window Commands

8.2 Window Commands
===================

It can be convenient to view more than one node at a time. To allow
this, Info can display more than one "window". Each window has its own
mode line (*note The Mode Line::) and history of nodes viewed in that
window (*note `history-node': Node Commands.).

`C-x <o>' (`next-window')
Select the next window on the screen. Note that the echo area can
only be selected if it is already in use, and you have left it
temporarily. Normally, `C-x o' simply moves the cursor into the
next window on the screen, or if you are already within the last
window, into the first window on the screen. Given a numeric
argument, `C-x o' moves over that many windows. A negative
argument causes `C-x o' to select the previous window on the
screen.

`M-x prev-window'
Select the previous window on the screen. This is identical to
`C-x o' with a negative argument.

`C-x <2>' (`split-window')
Split the current window into two windows, both showing the same
node. Each window is one half the size of the original window,
and the cursor remains in the original window. The variable
`automatic-tiling' can cause all of the windows on the screen to
be resized for you automatically (*note automatic-tiling:
Variables.).

`C-x <0>' (`delete-window')
Delete the current window from the screen. If you have made too
many windows and your screen appears cluttered, this is the way to
get rid of some of them.

`C-x <1>' (`keep-one-window')
Delete all of the windows excepting the current one.

`ESC <C-v>' (`scroll-other-window')
Scroll the other window, in the same fashion that `C-v' might
scroll the current window. Given a negative argument, scroll the
"other" window backward.

`C-x <^>' (`grow-window')
Grow (or shrink) the current window. Given a numeric argument,
grow the current window that many lines; with a negative numeric
argument, shrink the window instead.

`C-x <t>' (`tile-windows')
Divide the available screen space among all of the visible windows.
Each window is given an equal portion of the screen in which to
display its contents. The variable `automatic-tiling' can cause
`tile-windows' to be called when a window is created or deleted.
*Note `automatic-tiling': Variables.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: The Echo Area, Prev: Basic Windows, Up: Window Commands

8.3 The Echo Area
=================

The "echo area" is a one line window which appears at the bottom of the
screen. It is used to display informative or error messages, and to
read lines of input from you when that is necessary. Almost all of the
commands available in the echo area are identical to their Emacs
counterparts, so please refer to that documentation for greater depth of
discussion on the concepts of editing a line of text. The following
table briefly lists the commands that are available while input is being
read in the echo area:

<C-f> (`echo-area-forward')
<RIGHT> (an arrow key)
<M-h>, vi-like operation
Move forward a character.

<C-b> (`echo-area-backward')
<LEFT> (an arrow key)
<M-l>, vi-like operation
Move backward a character.

<C-a> (`echo-area-beg-of-line')
<M-0>, vi-like operation
Move to the start of the input line.

<C-e> (`echo-area-end-of-line')
<M-$>, vi-like operation
Move to the end of the input line.

<M-f> (`echo-area-forward-word')
<C-<RIGHT>> (DOS/Windows only)
<M-w>, vi-like operation
Move forward a word.

On DOS/Windows, `C-<RIGHT>' moves forward by words.

<M-b> (`echo-area-backward-word')
<C-<LEFT>> (DOS/Windows only)
Move backward a word.

On DOS/Windows, `C-<LEFT>' moves backward by words.

<C-d> (`echo-area-delete')
<M-x>, vi-like operation
Delete the character under the cursor.

<DEL> (`echo-area-rubout')
Delete the character behind the cursor.

On some keyboards, this key is designated <BS>, for `BackSpace'.
Those keyboards will usually bind <DEL> in the echo area to
`echo-area-delete'.

<C-g> (`echo-area-abort')
<C-u>, vi-like operation
Cancel or quit the current operation. If completion is being
read, this command discards the text of the input line which does
not match any completion. If the input line is empty, it aborts
the calling function.

<RET> (`echo-area-newline')
Accept (or forces completion of) the current input line.

<C-q> (`echo-area-quoted-insert')
<C-v>, vi-like operation
Insert the next character verbatim. This is how you can insert
control characters into a search string, for example, or the `?'
character when Info prompts with completion.

PRINTING CHARACTER (`echo-area-insert')
Insert the character. Characters that have their 8th bit set, and
not bound to `M-' commands, are also inserted verbatim; this is
useful for terminals which support Latin scripts.

<M-TAB> (`echo-area-tab-insert')
<Shift-<TAB>> (on DOS/Windows only)
Insert a TAB character.

On DOS/Windows only, the `Shift-<TAB>' key is an alias for
`M-<TAB>'. This key is sometimes called `BackTab'.

<C-t> (`echo-area-transpose-chars')
Transpose the characters at the cursor.

The next group of commands deal with "killing", and "yanking"
text(1). For an in-depth discussion of killing and yanking, see *Note
Killing and Deleting: (emacs)Killing.

<M-d> (`echo-area-kill-word')
<M-X>, vi-like operation
Kill the word following the cursor.

<M-DEL> (`echo-area-backward-kill-word')
<M-<BS>>
Kill the word preceding the cursor.

On some keyboards, the `Backspace' key is used instead of `DEL',
so `M-<Backspace>' has the same effect as `M-<DEL>'.

<C-k> (`echo-area-kill-line')
Kill the text from the cursor to the end of the line.

`C-x <DEL>' (`echo-area-backward-kill-line')
Kill the text from the cursor to the beginning of the line.

<C-y> (`echo-area-yank')
Yank back the contents of the last kill.

<M-y> (`echo-area-yank-pop')
Yank back a previous kill, removing the last yanked text first.

Sometimes when reading input in the echo area, the command that
needed input will only accept one of a list of several choices. The
choices represent the "possible completions", and you must respond with
one of them. Since there are a limited number of responses you can
make, Info allows you to abbreviate what you type, only typing as much
of the response as is necessary to uniquely identify it. In addition,
you can request Info to fill in as much of the response as is possible;
this is called "completion".

The following commands are available when completing in the echo
area:

<TAB> (`echo-area-complete')
<SPC>
Insert as much of a completion as is possible.

<?> (`echo-area-possible-completions')
Display a window containing a list of the possible completions of
what you have typed so far. For example, if the available choices
are:

bar
foliate
food
forget

and you have typed an `f', followed by `?', Info will pop up a
window showing a node called `*Completions*' which lists the
possible completions like this:

3 completions:
foliate food
forget

i.e., all of the choices which begin with `f'. Pressing <SPC> or
<TAB> would result in `fo' appearing in the echo area, since all
of the choices which begin with `f' continue with `o'. Now,
typing `l' followed by `TAB' results in `foliate' appearing in the
echo area, since that is the only choice which begins with `fol'.

<ESC C-v> (`echo-area-scroll-completions-window')
Scroll the completions window, if that is visible, or the "other"
window if not.

---------- Footnotes ----------

(1) Some people are used to calling these operations "cut" and
"paste", respectively.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Printing Nodes, Next: Miscellaneous Commands, Prev: Window Commands, Up: Top

9 Printing Nodes
****************

In general, we recommend that you use TeX to format the document and
print sections of it, by running `tex' on the Texinfo source file.
However, you may wish to print out the contents of a node as a quick
reference document for later use, or if you don't have TeX installed.
Info provides you with a command for doing this.

`M-x print-node'
Pipe the contents of the current node through the command in the
environment variable `INFO_PRINT_COMMAND'. If the variable does
not exist, the node is simply piped to `lpr' (on DOS/Windows, the
default is to print the node to the local printer device, `PRN').

The value of `INFO_PRINT_COMMAND' may begin with the `>'
character, as in `>/dev/printer', in which case Info treats the
rest as the name of a file or a device. Instead of piping to a
command, Info opens the file, writes the node contents, and closes
the file, under the assumption that text written to that file will
be printed by the underlying OS.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Miscellaneous Commands, Next: Variables, Prev: Printing Nodes, Up: Top

10 Miscellaneous Commands
*************************

GNU Info contains several commands which self-document GNU Info:

`M-x describe-command'
Read the name of an Info command in the echo area and then display
a brief description of what that command does.

`M-x describe-key'
Read a key sequence in the echo area, and then display the name and
documentation of the Info command that the key sequence invokes.

`M-x describe-variable'
Read the name of a variable in the echo area and then display a
brief description of what the variable affects.

`M-x where-is'
Read the name of an Info command in the echo area, and then display
a key sequence which can be typed in order to invoke that command.

<C-h> (`get-help-window')
<?>
<F1> (on DOS/Windows only)
h, vi-like operation
Create (or Move into) the window displaying `*Help*', and place a
node containing a quick reference card into it. This window
displays the most concise information about GNU Info available.

<h> (`get-info-help-node')
<M-h>, vi-like operation
Try hard to visit the node `(info)Help'. The Info file
`info.texi' distributed with GNU Info contains this node. Of
course, the file must first be processed with `makeinfo', and then
placed into the location of your Info directory.

Here are the commands for creating a numeric argument:

<C-u> (`universal-argument')
Start (or multiply by 4) the current numeric argument. `C-u' is a
good way to give a small numeric argument to cursor movement or
scrolling commands; `C-u C-v' scrolls the screen 4 lines, while
`C-u C-u C-n' moves the cursor down 16 lines. `C-u' followed by
digit keys sets the numeric argument to the number thus typed:
`C-u 1 2 0' sets the argument to 120.

<M-1> (`add-digit-to-numeric-arg')
<1>, vi-like operation
<M-2> ... <M-9>
<2> ... <9>, vi-like operation
<M-0>
<0>, vi-like operation
Add the digit value of the invoking key to the current numeric
argument. Once Info is reading a numeric argument, you may just
type the digits of the argument, without the Meta prefix. For
example, you might give `C-l' a numeric argument of 32 by typing:

C-u 3 2 C-l

M-3 2 C-l

<M-> (`add-digit-to-numeric-arg'
<->
To make a negative argument, type `-'. Typing `-' alone makes a
negative argument with a value of -1. If you continue to type
digit or Meta-digit keys after `-', the result is a negative
number produced by those digits.

`-' doesn't work when you type in the echo area, because you need
to be able to insert the `-' character itself; use `M--' instead,
if you need to specify negative arguments in the echo area.

`C-g' is used to abort the reading of a multi-character key
sequence, to cancel lengthy operations (such as multi-file searches) and
to cancel reading input in the echo area.

<C-g> (`abort-key')
<C-u>, vi-like operation
Cancel current operation.

The `q' command of Info simply quits running Info. Under
`--vi-keys' (*note --vi-keys::), you can also exit with `:q' or `ZZ'.

<q> (`quit')
`C-x C-c'
`:q', vi-like operation
`ZZ', vi-like operation
Exit GNU Info.

If the operating system tells GNU Info that the screen is 60 lines
tall, and it is actually only 40 lines tall, here is a way to tell Info
that the operating system is correct.

`M-x set-screen-height'
Read a height value in the echo area and set the height of the
displayed screen to that value.

On MS-DOS/MS-Windows, this command actually tries to change the
dimensions of the visible screen to the value you type in the echo area.

Finally, Info provides a convenient way to display footnotes which
might be associated with the current node that you are viewing:

<ESC C-f> (`show-footnotes')
Show the footnotes (if any) associated with the current node in
another window. You can have Info automatically display the
footnotes associated with a node when the node is selected by
setting the variable `automatic-footnotes'. *Note
`automatic-footnotes': Variables.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Variables, Next: Custom Key Bindings, Prev: Miscellaneous Commands, Up: Top

11 Manipulating Variables
*************************

GNU Info contains several "variables" whose values are looked at by
various Info commands. You can change the values of these variables,
and thus change the behavior of Info to more closely match your
environment and Info file reading manner.

There are two ways to set the value of a variable: interactively,
using the `set-variable' command described below, or in the `#var'
section of the `.infokey' file. *Note Custom Key Bindings::.

`M-x set-variable'
Read the name of a variable, and the value for it, in the echo
area and then set the variable to that value. Completion is
available when reading the variable name (*note completion: The
Echo Area.); often, completion is available when reading the value
to give to the variable, but that depends on the variable itself.
If a variable does _not_ supply multiple choices to complete over,
it expects a numeric value.

`M-x describe-variable'
Read the name of a variable in the echo area and then display a
brief description of what the variable affects.

Here is a list of the variables that you can set in Info.

`automatic-footnotes'
When set to `On', footnotes appear and disappear automatically;
else, they appear at the bottom of the node text. This variable is
`Off' by default. When a node is selected, a window containing
the footnotes which appear in that node is created, and the
footnotes are displayed within the new window. The window that
Info creates to contain the footnotes is called `*Footnotes*'. If
a node is selected which contains no footnotes, and a
`*Footnotes*' window is on the screen, the `*Footnotes*' window is
deleted. Footnote windows created in this fashion are not
automatically tiled so that they can use as little of the display
as is possible.

`automatic-tiling'
When set to `On', creating or deleting a window resizes other
windows. This variable is `Off' by default. Normally, typing
`C-x 2' divides the current window into two equal parts. When
`automatic-tiling' is set to `On', all of the windows are resized
automatically, keeping an equal number of lines visible in each
window. There are exceptions to the automatic tiling;
specifically, the windows `*Completions*' and `*Footnotes*' are
_not_ resized through automatic tiling; they remain their original
size.

`errors-ring-bell'
When set to `On', errors cause the bell to ring. The default
setting of this variable is `On'.

`gc-compressed-files'
When set to `On', Info garbage collects files which had to be
uncompressed. The default value of this variable is `Off'.
Whenever a node is visited in Info, the Info file containing that
node is read into core, and Info reads information about the tags
and nodes contained in that file. Once the tags information is
read by Info, it is never forgotten. However, the actual text of
the nodes does not need to remain in core unless a particular Info
window needs it. For non-compressed files, the text of the nodes
does not remain in core when it is no longer in use. But
de-compressing a file can be a time consuming operation, and so
Info tries hard not to do it twice. `gc-compressed-files' tells
Info it is okay to garbage collect the text of the nodes of a file
which was compressed on disk.

`ISO-Latin'
When set to `On', Info accepts and displays ISO Latin characters.
By default, Info assumes an ASCII character set. `ISO-Latin' tells
Info that it is running in an environment where the European
standard character set is in use, and allows you to input such
characters to Info, as well as display them.

`scroll-behavior'
Control what happens when forward scrolling is requested at the
end of a node, or when backward scrolling is requested at the
beginning of a node. The default value for this variable is
`Continuous'. There are three possible values for this variable:

`Continuous'
Try to get the first item in this node's menu, or failing
that, the `Next' node, or failing that, the `Next' of the
`Up'. This behavior is identical to using the `]'
(`global-next-node') and `[' (`global-prev-node') commands.

`Next Only'
Only try to get the `Next' node.

`Page Only'
Simply give up, changing nothing. If `scroll-behavior' is
`Page Only', no scrolling command can change the node that is
being viewed.

`scroll-step'
The number of lines to scroll when the cursor moves out of the
window. Scrolling happens automatically if the cursor has moved
out of the visible portion of the node text when it is time to
display. Usually the scrolling is done so as to put the cursor on
the center line of the current window. However, if the variable
`scroll-step' has a nonzero value, Info attempts to scroll the
node text by that many lines; if that is enough to bring the
cursor back into the window, that is what is done. The default
value of this variable is 0, thus placing the cursor (and the text
it is attached to) in the center of the window. Setting this
variable to 1 causes a kind of "smooth scrolling" which some
people prefer.

`show-index-match'
When set to `On', the portion of the matched search string is
highlighted in the message which explains where the matched search
string was found. The default value of this variable is `On'.
When Info displays the location where an index match was found,
(*note `next-index-match': Searching Commands.), the portion of the
string that you had typed is highlighted by displaying it in the
inverse case from its surrounding characters.

`visible-bell'
When set to `On', GNU Info attempts to flash the screen instead of
ringing the bell. This variable is `Off' by default. Of course,
Info can only flash the screen if the terminal allows it; in the
case that the terminal does not allow it, the setting of this
variable has no effect. However, you can make Info perform
quietly by setting the `errors-ring-bell' variable to `Off'.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Custom Key Bindings, Next: Copying This Manual, Prev: Variables, Up: Top

12 Customizing Key Bindings and Variables
*****************************************

For those whose editor/pager of choice is not Emacs and who are not
entirely satisfied with the -vi-keys option (*note --vi-keys::), GNU
Info provides a way to define different key-to-command bindings and
variable settings from the defaults described in this document.

On startup, GNU Info looks for a configuration file in the invoker's
HOME directory called `.info'(1). If it is present, and appears to
contain Info configuration data, and was created with the current
version of the `infokey' command, then Info adopts the key bindings and
variable settings contained therein.

The `.info' file contains compact, non-textual data for reasons of
efficiency and because its design was lifted wholesale from the GNU Less
program, which also does it that way. It must be created by compiling a
textual source file using the `infokey' command.

* Menu:

* Invoking infokey::
* infokey source format::

---------- Footnotes ----------

(1) Due to the limitations of DOS filesystems, the MS-DOS version of
Info looks for a file `_info' instead. If the `HOME' variable is not
defined, Info additionally looks in the current directory.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Invoking infokey, Next: infokey source format, Up: Custom Key Bindings

12.1 Invoking `infokey'
=======================

`infokey' compiles a source file (`$HOME/.infokey'(1) by default)
containing Info customizations into a binary format (`$HOME/.info' by
default). GNU Info reads the binary file at startup to override the
default key bindings and variable definitions. Synopsis:

infokey [OPTION...] [INPUT-FILE]

Besides the standard `--help' and `--version', the only option is
`--output FILE'. This tells `infokey' to write the binary data to FILE
instead of `$HOME/.info'.

---------- Footnotes ----------

(1) This file is named `_infokey' in the MS-DOS version, and is
looked for in the current directory if `HOME' is undefined.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: infokey source format, Prev: Invoking infokey, Up: Custom Key Bindings

12.2 `infokey' source format
============================

The format of the source file read by `infokey' is most easily
illustrated by example. For instance, here is a sample `.infokey'
source file suitable for aficionados of `vi' or `less':

#info
j next-line
k prev-line
l forward-char
h backward-char
\kd next-line
\ku prev-line
\kr forward-char
\kl backward-char
\ scroll-forward
\kD scroll-forward-page-only
b scroll-backward
\kU scroll-backward-page-only
g beginning-of-node
\kh beginning-of-node
G end-of-node
\ke end-of-node
\t select-reference-this-line
- history-node
n next-node
p prev-node
u up-node
t top-node
d dir-node
#var
scroll-step=1

The source file consists of one or more "sections". Each section
starts with a line that identifies the type of section. Possible
sections are:

`#info'
Key bindings for Info windows. The start of this section is
indicated by a line containing just `#info' by itself. If this is
the first section in the source file, the `#info' line can be
omitted. The rest of this section consists of lines of the form:

STRING whitespace ACTION [ whitespace [ # comment ] ] newline

Whitespace is any sequence of one or more spaces and/or tabs.
Comment is any sequence of any characters, excluding newline.
STRING is the key sequence which invokes the action. ACTION is
the name of an Info command. The characters in STRING are
interpreted literally or prefixed by a caret (`^') to indicate a
control character. A backslash followed by certain characters
specifies input keystrokes as follows:

`\b'
Backspace

`\e'
Escape (ESC)

`\n'
Newline

`\r'
Return

`\t'
Tab

`\ku'
Up arrow

`\kd'
Down arrow

`\kl'
Left arrow

`\kr'
Right arrow

`\kU'
Page Up

`\kD'
Page Down

`\kh'
HOME

`\ke'
END

`\kx'
Delete (DEL)

`\mX'
Meta-X where X is any character as described above.

Backslash followed by any other character indicates that character
is to be taken literally. Characters which must be preceded by a
backslash include caret, space, tab, and backslash itself.

`#echo-area'
Key bindings for the echo area. The start of this section is
indicated by a line containing just `#echo-area' by itself. The
rest of this section has a syntax identical to that for the key
definitions for the Info area, described above.

`#var'
Variable initializations. The start of this section is indicated
by a line containing just `#var' by itself. Following this line
is a list of variable assignments, one per line. Each line
consists of a variable name (*Note Variables::,) followed by `='
followed by a value. There may be no white space between the
variable name and the `=', and all characters following the `=',
including white space, are included in the value.

Blank lines and lines starting with `#' are ignored, except for the
special section header lines.

Key bindings defined in the `.info' file take precedence over GNU
Info's default key bindings, whether or not `--vi-keys' is used. A
default key binding may be disabled by overriding it in the `.info'
file with the action `invalid'. In addition, _all_ default key
bindings can be disabled by adding this line _anywhere_ in the relevant
section:

#stop

This will cause GNU Info to ignore all the default key commands for
that section.

Beware: `#stop' can be dangerous. Since it disables all default key
bindings, you must supply enough new key bindings to enable all
necessary actions. Failure to bind any key to the `quit' command, for
example, can lead to frustration.

The order in which key bindings are defined in the `.info' file is
not important, except that the command summary produced by the
`get-help-window' command only displays the _first_ key that is bound
to each command.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Copying This Manual, Next: Index, Prev: Custom Key Bindings, Up: Top

Appendix A Copying This Manual
******************************

* Menu:

* GNU Free Documentation License:: License for copying this manual.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: GNU Free Documentation License, Up: Copying This Manual

A.1 GNU Free Documentation License
==================================

Version 1.2, November 2002

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

0. PREAMBLE

The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to
assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it,
with or without modifying it, either commercially or
noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the
author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not
being considered responsible for modifications made by others.

This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative
works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense.
It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft
license designed for free software.

We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for
free software, because free software needs free documentation: a
free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms
that the software does. But this License is not limited to
software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless
of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book.
We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is
instruction or reference.

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium,
that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it
can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice
grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration,
to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The
"Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member
of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You
accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a
way requiring permission under copyright law.

A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the
Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with
modifications and/or translated into another language.

A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section
of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the
publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall
subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could
fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document
is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not
explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of
historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or
of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position
regarding them.

The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose
titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in
the notice that says that the Document is released under this
License. If a section does not fit the above definition of
Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant.
The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document
does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.

The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are
listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice
that says that the Document is released under this License. A
Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may
be at most 25 words.

A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
represented in a format whose specification is available to the
general public, that is suitable for revising the document
straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images
composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some
widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to
text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of
formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an
otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of
markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent
modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is
not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A
copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".

Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain
ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format,
SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and
standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for
human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include
PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that
can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or
XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally
available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF
produced by some word processors for output purposes only.

The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself,
plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the
material this License requires to appear in the title page. For
works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title
Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the
work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.

A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document
whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses
following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ
stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as
"Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".)
To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the
Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according
to this definition.

The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice
which states that this License applies to the Document. These
Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in
this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other
implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and
has no effect on the meaning of this License.

2. VERBATIM COPYING

You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the
copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License
applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you
add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You
may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading
or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However,
you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you
distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow
the conditions in section 3.

You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above,
and you may publicly display copies.

3. COPYING IN QUANTITY

If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly
have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and
the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must
enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all
these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and
Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly
and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The
front cover must present the full title with all words of the
title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material
on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the
covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and
satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in
other respects.

If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
adjacent pages.

If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document
numbering more than 100, you must either include a
machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or
state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from
which the general network-using public has access to download
using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent
copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the
latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you
begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that
this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated
location until at least one year after the last time you
distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or
retailers) of that edition to the public.

It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
the Document well before redistributing any large number of
copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated
version of the Document.

4. MODIFICATIONS

You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you
release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with
the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus
licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to
whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these
things in the Modified Version:

A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
distinct from that of the Document, and from those of
previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed
in the History section of the Document). You may use the
same title as a previous version if the original publisher of
that version gives permission.

B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
the Modified Version, together with at least five of the
principal authors of the Document (all of its principal
authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you
from this requirement.

C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
Modified Version, as the publisher.

D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.

E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
adjacent to the other copyright notices.

F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in
the Addendum below.

G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's
license notice.

H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.

I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title,
and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new
authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on
the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in
the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors,
and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page,
then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in
the previous sentence.

J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document
for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
likewise the network locations given in the Document for
previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in
the "History" section. You may omit a network location for a
work that was published at least four years before the
Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version
it refers to gives permission.

K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications",
Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the
section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor
acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.

L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document,
unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers
or the equivalent are not considered part of the section
titles.

M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section
may not be included in the Modified Version.

N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled
"Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant
Section.

O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.

If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
material copied from the Document, you may at your option
designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this,
add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified
Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any
other section titles.

You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains
nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various
parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text
has been approved by an organization as the authoritative
definition of a standard.

You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end
of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one
passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be
added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the
Document already includes a cover text for the same cover,
previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity
you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may
replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous
publisher that added the old one.

The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.

5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS

You may combine the Document with other documents released under
this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for
modified versions, provided that you include in the combination
all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents,
unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your
combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all
their Warranty Disclaimers.

The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single
copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name
but different contents, make the title of each such section unique
by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the
original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a
unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in
the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the
combined work.

In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled
"History" in the various original documents, forming one section
Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled
"Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You
must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements."

6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
documents released under this License, and replace the individual
copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the
rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the
documents in all other respects.

You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert
a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow
this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of
that document.

7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS

A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of
a storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the
copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the
legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual
works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this
License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which
are not themselves derivative works of the Document.

If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half
of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed
on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the
electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic
form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket
the whole aggregate.

8. TRANSLATION

Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section
4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
permission from their copyright holders, but you may include
translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a
translation of this License, and all the license notices in the
Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also
include the original English version of this License and the
original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a
disagreement between the translation and the original version of
this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will
prevail.

If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements",
"Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to
Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the
actual title.

9. TERMINATION

You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other
attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this
License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights,
from you under this License will not have their licenses
terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.

10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new
versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See
`http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/'.

Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered
version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you
have the option of following the terms and conditions either of
that specified version or of any later version that has been
published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If
the Document does not specify a version number of this License,
you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the
Free Software Foundation.

A.1.1 ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
----------------------------------------------------------

To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
notices just after the title page:

Copyright (C) YEAR YOUR NAME.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
Free Documentation License''.

If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover
Texts, replace the "with...Texts." line with this:

with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with
the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts
being LIST.

If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other
combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the
situation.

If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of
free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to
permit their use in free software.

File: info-stnd.info, Node: Index, Prev: Copying This Manual, Up: Top

Appendix B Index
****************