Re: Discussion on the structure and purpose of /info/dir

[Eli Zaretskii]

On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Peter J. Farley III wrote:

> But, as I just confirmed by trying it, index search does not work from 
> the "/info/dir" screen, only when you are already inside one of the 
> package info files.

Yes.  For index searches in many manuals, use "info --apropos".

>  >The way to search the index is to find a name for the issue you are
>  >looking for, then look up that issue in the index.
>  >
>  >The indexing in GNU manuals is designed for such searches.
> 
> I understand your technique, but some of us just aren't wired to work 
> that way.  Yes we can learn it, but it's not our natural method.

I cannot force anyone to learn it.  All I can say is that it gets me to 
what I want to find in a matter of seconds.  I need this technique a lot, 
since I have a nasty habit of forgetting fine details, so I'm cursed to 
have to look up those details time and again, without remembering where 
exactly.

> Neither solution is ideal, but isn't it all about approaching the ideal 
> in increments?

I don't mind trying this, if you or someone else does the work, I just 
think it's almost hopeless to make menus a good means for searching the 
docs.