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Re: [h-e-w] Info-index command


From: Eli Zaretskii
Subject: Re: [h-e-w] Info-index command
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 23:08:28 +0300

> From: David Vanderschel <address@hidden>
> Date: 11 Jul 2006 02:14:51 -0500
> 
> I have been using emacs since 1985 and I was unaware
> of the 'i' command in Info; so Eli's 'announcement'
> came as big and pleasant surprise for me.

Like I said: it's under-advertised and under-used.

> I tried to find out out how I could have learned about
> the 'i' command.  The problems I encountered may be
> due to the fact that I am still running v20.7, but I
> doubt that all of them are.  The command is not
> mentioned in the Emacs manual at all.

Yep, known.  It was fixed since then, see below.  And the command
itself got revamped: it now supports completion.

> I was very frustrated to discover that this valuable documentation
> had been hidden from me for all these years.  I hope this
> documentation bug has been fixed in more recent updates.
> 
> I agree that the 'i' command in Info is important for
> beginners and that more emphasis should be placed on
> introducing it.

Here's what the user sees in the latest sources when she gets to the
Help chapter (if you think something important was omitted, please
tell):

    11 Help
    *******

    Emacs provides extensive help features, all accessible through the
    "help character", `C-h'.  This is a prefix key that is used for
    commands that display documentation; the next character you type should
    be a "help options", to ask for a particular kind of help.  You can
    cancel the `C-h' command with `C-g'.  The function key <F1> is
    equivalent to `C-h'.

       `C-h' itself is one of the help options; `C-h C-h' displays a list
    of help options, with a brief description of each one
    (`help-for-help').  You can scroll the list with <SPC> and <DEL>, then
    type the help option you want.  To cancel, type `C-g'.

       `C-h' or <F1> means "help" in various other contexts as well.  For
    instance, you can type them after a prefix key to display list of the
    keys that can follow the prefix key.  (A few prefix keys don't support
    `C-h' in this way, because they define other meanings for it, but they
    all support <F1> for help.)

       Most help buffers use a special major mode, Help mode, which lets
    you scroll conveniently with <SPC> and <DEL>.  You can also follow
    hyperlinks to URLs, and to other facilities including Info nodes and
    customization buffers.  *Note Help Mode::.

       If you are looking for a certain feature, but don't know what it is
    called or where to look, we recommend three methods.  First, try an
    apropos command, then try searching the manual index, then look in the
    FAQ and the package keywords.

    `C-h a TOPICS <RET>'
         This searches for commands whose names match the argument TOPICS.
         The argument can be a keyword, a list of keywords, or a regular
         expression (*note Regexps::).  This command displays all the
         matches in a new buffer.  *Note Apropos::.

    `C-h i d m emacs <RET> i TOPIC <RET>'
         This searches for TOPIC in the indices of the on-line Emacs
         manual, and displays the first match found.  Press `,' to see
         subsequent matches.  You can use a regular expression as TOPIC.

    `C-h i d m emacs <RET> s TOPIC <RET>'
         Similar, but searches the _text_ of the manual rather than the
         indices.

    `C-h C-f'
         This displays the Emacs FAQ.  You can use the Info commands to
         browse it.

    `C-h p'
         This displays the available Emacs packages based on keywords.
         *Note Library Keywords::.





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