This file documents GNU Info, a program for viewing the on-line formatted versions of Texinfo files, version 4.0. This documentation is different from the documentation for the Info reader that is part of GNU Emacs.
This manual is for Info version 4.0, updated 28 September 1999.
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.
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
--directory directory-path
-d directory-path
--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
--restore option below.
--file filename
-f filename
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 files1. 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 extensions2.
--help
-h
--index-search string
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.
--node nodename
-n nodename
--file3. 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
- for filename specifies
the standard output.
--restore=dribble-file
--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
M-x goto-invocation command (see goto-invocation) from inside
Info.
--speech-friendly
-b
--subnodes
--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
--vi-keys
vi and Less. The default key bindings are generally
modeled after Emacs.
menu-item
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.
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. See Characters, if you are unfamiliar with the notation4.
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-x5 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 universal-argument. 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.
next-line)
prev-line)
beginning-of-line)
end-of-line)
forward-char)
backward-char)
forward-word)
backward-word)
beginning-of-node)
end-of-node)
move-to-window-line)
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.
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
(see -vi-keys) is in effect. These key bindings are designated
with "vi-like operation".
scroll-forward)
The default scroll size is one screen-full, but it can be changed by
invoking the (scroll-forward-set-window) command, z under
--vi-keys, with a numeric argument.
The <NEXT> key is known as the <PageDown> key on some
keyboards. When you use <NEXT> or <PageDown> to scroll, Info
never scrolls beyond the end of the current node.
scroll-forward-set-window, vi-like operation)
scroll-forward and scroll-backward commands.
scroll-backward)
scroll-forward. The default scroll size can be changed by
invoking the(scroll-backward-set-window) command, w under
--vi-keys, with a numeric argument.
scroll-backward-set-window, vi-like operation)
scroll-forward and scroll-backward commands.
down-line, vi-like operation)
up-line, vi-like operation)
scroll-half-screen-down, vi-like operation)
d and u
commands.
scroll-half-screen-up, vi-like operation)
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. See scroll-behavior, for more information.
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.
redraw-display)
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.
toggle-wrap)
\ 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.
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:
next-node)
The <NEXT> key is known as the <PgDn> key on some
keyboards.
prev-node)
The <PREVIOUS> key is known as the <PgUp> key on some
keyboards.
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.
history-node)
Two additional commands make it easy to select the most commonly
selected nodes; they are t and d.
top-node)
Top in the current Info file.
dir-node)
(dir)).
Here are some other commands which immediately result in the selection of a different node in the current window:
first-node)
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)
global-next-node)
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)
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>; See scroll-behavior, for
more information.
goto-node)
g(emacs)Buffers
finds the node Buffers in the Info file emacs.
goto-invocation
--show-options command-line option (see -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.
menu-sequence)
(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 Info command-line arguments processing. 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.
kill-node)
view-file)
C-x C-f filename
g(filename)*
list-visited-nodes)
select-visited-node)
C-x C-b followed by m, but no window is
created.
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.
search)
search-backward, vi-like operation)
search-case-sensitively
search-next)
search-previous)
isearch-forward)
isearch-backward)
index-search)
next-index-match)
i command.
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 (see -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.
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.
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: See xref, for more information on creating your own texinfo cross
references.
The following table lists the Info commands which operate on menu items.
menu-digit)
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>.
last-menu-item)
menu-item)
This table lists the Info commands which operate on cross references.
xref-item)
Finally, the next few commands operate on menu or note references alike:
move-to-next-xref)
select-reference-this-line) to select the menu or note reference.
move-to-prev-xref)
On DOS/Windows only, the Shift-<TAB> key is an alias for
M-<TAB>. This key is sometimes called BackTab.
select-reference-this-line)
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.
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, see toggle-wrap) 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---------------------------------
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 (see The Mode Line) and history of nodes viewed in that
window (see history-node).
next-window)
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.
C-x o with a negative argument.
split-window)
automatic-tiling
can cause all of the windows on the screen to be resized for you
automatically, please see automatic-tiling for more
information.
delete-window)
keep-one-window)
scroll-other-window)
C-v might
scroll the current window. Given a negative argument, scroll the
"other" window backward.
grow-window)
tile-windows)
automatic-tiling can cause
tile-windows to be called when a window is created or deleted.
See automatic-tiling.
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:
echo-area-forward)
echo-area-backward)
echo-area-beg-of-line)
echo-area-end-of-line)
echo-area-forward-word)
On DOS/Windows, C-<RIGHT> moves forward by words.
echo-area-backward-word)
On DOS/Windows, C-<LEFT> moves backward by words.
echo-area-delete)
echo-area-rubout)
On some keyboards, this key is designated <BS>, for
BackSpace. Those keyboards will usually bind <DEL> in the
echo area to echo-area-delete.
echo-area-abort)
echo-area-newline)
echo-area-quoted-insert)
? character
when Info prompts with completion.
echo-area-insert)
M- commands, are also inserted verbatim; this is useful
for terminals which support Latin scripts.
echo-area-tab-insert)
On DOS/Windows only, the Shift-<TAB> key is an alias for
M-<TAB>. This key is sometimes called BackTab.
echo-area-transpose-chars)
The next group of commands deal with killing, and yanking text6. For an in depth discussion of killing and yanking, see Killing
echo-area-kill-word)
echo-area-backward-kill-word)
On some keyboards, the Backspace key is used instead of
DEL, so M-<Backspace> has the same effect as
M-<DEL>.
echo-area-kill-line)
echo-area-backward-kill-line)
echo-area-yank)
echo-area-yank-pop)
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:
echo-area-complete)
echo-area-possible-completions)
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.
echo-area-scroll-completions-window)
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.
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.
GNU Info contains several commands which self-document GNU Info:
get-help-window)
*Help*, and place
a node containing a quick reference card into it. This window displays
the most concise information about GNU Info available.
get-info-help-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:
universal-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.
add-digit-to-numeric-arg)
C-l a numeric argument of 32 by typing:
C-u 3 2 C-l
or
M-3 2 C-l
add-digit-to-numeric-arg
- 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.
abort-key)
The q command of Info simply quits running Info. Under
--vi-keys (see -vi-keys), you can also exit with :q
or ZZ.
quit)
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.
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:
show-footnotes)
automatic-footnotes. See automatic-footnotes.
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.
Here is a list of the variables that you can set in Info.
automatic-footnotes
On, footnotes appear and disappear automatically.
This variable is On 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
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.
visible-bell
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.
errors-ring-bell
On, errors cause the bell to ring. The default
setting of this variable is On.
gc-compressed-files
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.
show-index-match
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,
(see next-index-match), the portion of the
string that you had typed is highlighted by displaying it in the inverse
case from its surrounding characters.
scroll-behavior
Continuous. There
are three possible values for this variable:
Continuous
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
Next node.
Page Only
scroll-behavior is
Page Only, no scrolling command can change the node that is being
viewed.
scroll-step
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.
ISO-Latin
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.
', vi-like operation: Node Commands
,: Searching Commands
-: Miscellaneous Commands
--subnodes, command line option: Invoking Info
/: Searching Commands
0 ... 9, vi-like operation: Miscellaneous Commands
0, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
<: Node Commands
>: Node Commands
?, in Info windows: Miscellaneous Commands
?, in the echo area: The Echo Area
?, vi-like operation: Searching Commands
[: Node Commands
]: Node Commands
abort-key: Miscellaneous Commands
add-digit-to-numeric-arg: Miscellaneous Commands
automatic-footnotes: Variables
automatic-tiling: Variables
b, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
b, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
BackTab, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
BackTab, in the echo area: The Echo Area
backward-char: Cursor Commands
backward-word: Cursor Commands
beginning-of-line: Cursor Commands
beginning-of-node: Cursor Commands
BS (backspace): Scrolling Commands
C-a, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
C-a, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-b, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
C-b, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-b, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-CENTER: Node Commands
C-d, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-d, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-e, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
C-e, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-e, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-End: Cursor Commands
C-f, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
C-f, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-f, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-g, in Info windows: Miscellaneous Commands
C-g, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-h: Miscellaneous Commands
C-Home: Cursor Commands
C-k, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-k, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-l: Scrolling Commands
C-LEFT: Cursor Commands
C-LEFT, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-n: Cursor Commands
C-n, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-NEXT: Node Commands
C-p: Cursor Commands
C-p, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-PgDn: Node Commands
C-PgUp: Node Commands
C-PREVIOUS: Node Commands
C-q, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-r: Searching Commands
C-RIGHT: Cursor Commands
C-RIGHT, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-s: Searching Commands
C-t, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-u: Miscellaneous Commands
C-u cancels typeahead, vi-like operation: Miscellaneous Commands
C-u, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
C-u, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
C-UP: Node Commands
C-v: Scrolling Commands
C-v, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
C-w: Scrolling Commands
C-x 0: Basic Windows
C-x 1: Basic Windows
C-x 2: Basic Windows
C-x ^: Basic Windows
C-x b: Node Commands
C-x C-b: Node Commands
C-x C-c: Miscellaneous Commands
C-x C-f: Node Commands
C-x DEL, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-x g, vi-like operation: Node Commands
C-x k: Node Commands
C-x n: Searching Commands
C-x N: Searching Commands
C-x n, vi-like operation: Node Commands
C-x o: Basic Windows
C-x r, vi-like operation: Selecting Xrefs
C-x t: Basic Windows
C-x u, vi-like operation: Node Commands
C-y, in the echo area: The Echo Area
C-y, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
d: Node Commands
d, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
DEL, in Info windows: Scrolling Commands
DEL, in the echo area: The Echo Area
delete-window: Basic Windows
describe-command: Miscellaneous Commands
describe-key: Miscellaneous Commands
describe-variable: Variables
dir-node: Node Commands
DOWN (an arrow key): Cursor Commands
DOWN, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
down-line: Scrolling Commands
e, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
echo-area-abort: The Echo Area
echo-area-backward: The Echo Area
echo-area-backward-kill-line: The Echo Area
echo-area-backward-kill-word: The Echo Area
echo-area-backward-word: The Echo Area
echo-area-beg-of-line: The Echo Area
echo-area-complete: The Echo Area
echo-area-delete: The Echo Area
echo-area-end-of-line: The Echo Area
echo-area-forward: The Echo Area
echo-area-forward-word: The Echo Area
echo-area-insert: The Echo Area
echo-area-kill-line: The Echo Area
echo-area-kill-word: The Echo Area
echo-area-newline: The Echo Area
echo-area-possible-completions: The Echo Area
echo-area-quoted-insert: The Echo Area
echo-area-rubout: The Echo Area
echo-area-scroll-completions-window: The Echo Area
echo-area-tab-insert: The Echo Area
echo-area-transpose-chars: The Echo Area
echo-area-yank: The Echo Area
echo-area-yank-pop: The Echo Area
End: Cursor Commands
end-of-line: Cursor Commands
end-of-node: Cursor Commands
errors-ring-bell: Variables
ESC C-f: Miscellaneous Commands
ESC C-v, in Info windows: Basic Windows
ESC C-v, in the echo area: The Echo Area
f: Selecting Xrefs
f, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
F1: Miscellaneous Commands
find-menu: Selecting Xrefs
first-node: Node Commands
forward-char: Cursor Commands
forward-word: Cursor Commands
g: Node Commands
G: Node Commands
G, vi-like operation: Node Commands
g, vi-like operation: Node Commands
gc-compressed-files: Variables
get-help-window: Miscellaneous Commands
get-info-help-node: Miscellaneous Commands
global-next-node: Node Commands
global-prev-node: Node Commands
goto-invocation: Node Commands
goto-node: Node Commands
grow-window: Basic Windows
h: Miscellaneous Commands
h, vi-like operation: Miscellaneous Commands
history-node: Node Commands
Home: Cursor Commands
i: Searching Commands
I: Node Commands
index-search: Searching Commands
isearch-backward: Searching Commands
isearch-forward: Searching Commands
ISO-Latin: Variables
k, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
keep-one-window: Basic Windows
kill-node: Node Commands
l: Node Commands
last-menu-item: Selecting Xrefs
last-node: Node Commands
LEFT (an arrow key): Cursor Commands
LEFT, in the echo area: The Echo Area
LFD, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
list-visited-nodes: Node Commands
m: Selecting Xrefs
M-$, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M--: Miscellaneous Commands
M-0 ... M-9: Miscellaneous Commands
M-0, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-0, vi-like operation: Selecting Xrefs
M-1 ... M-9, vi-like operation: Selecting Xrefs
M-<: Cursor Commands
M->: Cursor Commands
M-b, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
M-b, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-b, vi-like operation: Cursor Commands
M-BS, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-d, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-d, vi-like operation: Node Commands
M-DEL, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-f, in Info windows: Cursor Commands
M-f, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-f, vi-like operation: Selecting Xrefs
M-g, vi-like operation: Selecting Xrefs
M-h, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-h, vi-like operation: Miscellaneous Commands
M-l, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-r: Cursor Commands
M-SPC, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
M-t, vi-like operation: Node Commands
M-TAB, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
M-TAB, in the echo area: The Echo Area
M-v: Scrolling Commands
M-w, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-x, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-X, in the echo area, vi-like operation: The Echo Area
M-y, in the echo area: The Echo Area
menu-digit: Selecting Xrefs
menu-item: Selecting Xrefs
menu-sequence: Node Commands
move-to-next-xref: Selecting Xrefs
move-to-prev-xref: Selecting Xrefs
move-to-window-line: Cursor Commands
n: Node Commands
n, vi-like operation: Searching Commands
NEXT: Scrolling Commands
next-index-match: Searching Commands
next-line: Cursor Commands
next-node: Node Commands
next-window: Basic Windows
O: Node Commands
p: Node Commands
PageDown: Scrolling Commands
PageUp: Scrolling Commands
prev-line: Cursor Commands
prev-node: Node Commands
prev-window: Basic Windows
PREVIOUS: Scrolling Commands
print-node: Printing Nodes
printing characters, in the echo area: The Echo Area
q: Miscellaneous Commands
quit: Miscellaneous Commands
r: Selecting Xrefs
redraw-display: Scrolling Commands
RET, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
RET, in the echo area: The Echo Area
RET, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
RIGHT (an arrow key): Cursor Commands
RIGHT, in the echo area: The Echo Area
S: Searching Commands
s: Searching Commands
scroll-backward: Scrolling Commands
scroll-backward-set-window: Scrolling Commands
scroll-behavior: Variables
scroll-forward: Scrolling Commands
scroll-forward-set-window: Scrolling Commands
scroll-half-screen-down: Scrolling Commands
scroll-half-screen-up: Scrolling Commands
scroll-other-window: Basic Windows
scroll-step: Variables
search: Searching Commands
search-backward: Searching Commands
search-case-sensitively: Searching Commands
search-next: Searching Commands
search-previous: Searching Commands
select-reference-this-line: Selecting Xrefs
select-visited-node: Node Commands
set-screen-height: Miscellaneous Commands
set-variable: Variables
Shift-TAB, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
Shift-TAB, in the echo area: The Echo Area
show-footnotes: Miscellaneous Commands
show-index-match: Variables
SPC, in Info windows: Scrolling Commands
SPC, in the echo area: The Echo Area
split-window: Basic Windows
t: Node Commands
TAB, in Info windows: Selecting Xrefs
TAB, in the echo area: The Echo Area
tile-windows: Basic Windows
toggle-wrap: Scrolling Commands
top-node: Node Commands
u: Node Commands
u, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
universal-argument: Miscellaneous Commands
UP (an arrow key): Cursor Commands
UP, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
up-line: Scrolling Commands
up-node: Node Commands
view-file: Node Commands
visible-bell: Variables
w, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
where-is: Miscellaneous Commands
xref-item: Selecting Xrefs
y, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
z, vi-like operation: Scrolling Commands
ZZ, vi-like operation: Miscellaneous Commands
.info, -info, /index, and .inf.
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.
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".
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.
M-x is also a command; it
invokes execute-extended-command. See M-x, for more detailed
information.
Some people are used to calling these operations cut and paste, respectively.