info-stnd: Node Commands
1
1 5 Selecting a Node
1 ******************
1
1 This section details the numerous Info commands which select a new node
1 to view in the current window.
1
1 The most basic node commands are 'n', 'p', 'u', and 'l'.
1
1 When you are viewing a node, the top line of the node contains some
1 Info "pointers" which describe where the next, previous, and up nodes
1 are. Info uses this line to move about the node structure of the file
1 when you use the following commands:
1
1 'n' ('next-node')
1 'C-<NEXT>' (on DOS/Windows only)
1 Select the 'Next' node.
1
1 The <NEXT> key is known as the <PgDn> key on some keyboards.
1
1 'p' ('prev-node')
1 'C-<PREVIOUS>' (on DOS/Windows only)
1 Select the 'Prev' node.
1
1 The <PREVIOUS> key is known as the <PgUp> key on some keyboards.
1
1 'u' ('up-node')
1 'C-<UP>' (an arrow key on DOS/Windows only)
1 Select the 'Up' node.
1
1 You can easily select a node that you have already viewed in this
1 window by using the 'l' command--this name stands for "last", and
1 actually moves backwards through the history of visited nodes for this
1 window. This is handy when you followed a reference to another node,
1 possibly to read about a related issue, and would like then to resume
1 reading at the same place where you started the excursion.
1
1 Each node where you press 'l' is discarded from the history. Thus,
1 by the time you get to the first node you visited in a window, the
1 entire history of that window is discarded.
1
1 'l' ('history-node')
1 'C-<CENTER>' (on DOS/Windows only)
1 Pop the most recently selected node in this window from the node
1 history.
1
1 Two additional commands make it easy to select the most commonly
1 selected nodes; they are 't' and 'd'.
1
1 't' ('top-node')
1 Select the node 'Top' in the current Info file.
1
1 'd' ('dir-node')
1 Select the directory node (i.e., the node '(dir)').
1
1 Here are some other commands which immediately result in the
1 selection of a different node in the current window:
1
1 '<' ('first-node')
1 Selects the first node which appears in this file. This node is
1 most often 'Top', but it does not have to be. With a numeric
1 argument N, select the Nth node (the first node is node 1). An
1 argument of zero is the same as the argument of 1.
1
1 '>' ('last-node')
1 Select the last node which appears in this file. With a numeric
1 argument N, select the Nth node (the first node is node 1). An
1 argument of zero is the same as no argument, i.e., it selects the
1 last node.
1
1 ']' ('global-next-node')
1 Move forward through the node structure. If the node that you are
1 currently viewing has a menu, select the first menu item.
1 Otherwise, if this node has a 'Next' pointer, follow it. If there
1 is no menu and no 'Next' pointer, then follow 'Up' pointers until
1 there is a 'Next' pointer, and then follow it.
1
1 '[' ('global-prev-node')
1 Move backward through the node structure. If the node that you are
1 currently viewing has a 'Prev' pointer, that node is selected.
1 Otherwise, if the node has an 'Up' pointer, that node is selected,
1 and if it has a menu, the last item in the menu is selected.
1
1 You can get the same behavior as 'global-next-node' and
1 'global-prev-node' while simply scrolling through the file with <SPC>
1 and <DEL> (⇒scroll-behavior).
1
1 'g' ('goto-node')
1 Read the name of a node and select it. If the desired node resides
1 in some other file, you must type the node as it appears in that
1 Info file, and include the name of the other file. For example,
1
1 g(emacs)Buffers
1
1 finds the node 'Buffers' in the Info file 'emacs'.
1
11 While reading the node name, completion (⇒completion The Echo
Area.) is only done for the nodes which reside in one of the Info
1 files that were loaded in the current Info session.
1
1 'O' ('goto-invocation')
1 Read the name of a program and look for a node in the current Info
1 file which describes the invocation and the command-line options
1 for that program. The default program name is derived from the
1 name of the current Info file. This command does the same as the
1 '--show-options' command-line option (⇒--show-options), but
1 it also allows to specify the program name; this is important for
1 those manuals which describe several programs.
1
1 If you need to find the Invocation node of a program that is
1 documented in another Info file, you need to visit that file before
1 invoking 'I'. For example, if you are reading the Emacs manual and
1 want to see the command-line options of the 'makeinfo' program,
1 type 'g (texinfo) <RET>' and then 'I makeinfo <RET>'. If you don't
1 know what Info file documents the command, or if invoking 'I'
1 doesn't display the right node, go to the '(dir)' node (using the
1 'd' command) and invoke 'I' from there.
1
1 'G' ('menu-sequence')
1 Read a sequence of menu entries and follow it. Info prompts for a
1 sequence of menu items separated by commas. (Since commas are not
1 allowed in a node name, they are a natural choice for a delimiter
1 in a list of menu items.) Info then looks up the first item in the
1 menu of the node '(dir)' (if the '(dir)' node cannot be found, Info
1 uses 'Top'). If such an entry is found, Info goes to the node it
1 points to and looks up the second item in the menu of that node,
1 etc. In other words, you can specify a complete path which
1 descends through the menu hierarchy of a particular Info file
1 starting at the '(dir)' node. This has the same effect as if you
11 typed the menu item sequence on Info's command line, see ⇒Info
command-line arguments processing command-line menu items. For
1 example,
1
1 G Texinfo,Overview,Reporting Bugs <RET>
1
1 displays the node 'Reporting Bugs' in the Texinfo manual. (You
1 don't actually need to type the menu items in their full length, or
1 in their exact letter-case. However, if you do type the menu items
1 exactly, Info will find it faster.)
1
1 If any of the menu items you type are not found, Info stops at the
1 last entry it did find and reports an error.
1
1 'C-x C-f' ('view-file')
1 Read the name of a file and selects the entire file. The command
1 C-x C-f FILENAME
1 is equivalent to typing
1 g(FILENAME)*
1
1 'C-x C-b' ('list-visited-nodes')
1 Make a window containing a menu of all of the currently visited
1 nodes. This window becomes the selected window, and you may use
1 the standard Info commands within it.
1
1 'C-x b' ('select-visited-node')
1 Select a node which has been previously visited in a visible
1 window. This is similar to 'C-x C-b' followed by 'm', but no
1 window is created.
1
1 'M-x man'
1 Read the name of a man page to load and display. This uses the
1 'man' command on your system to retrieve the contents of the
1 requested man page. See also ⇒--raw-escapes.
1