The info browser

The key sequence C-h i invokes the documentation browsing system, info. Actually, this is little more than a buffer with some special bindings to the keys. Aside from the special bindings, the ordinary Emacs commands will work while inside the info buffer. At any time, the info buffer, whose name is *info*, contains a node, a section of text documenting something. These nodes are connected to each other in such a way that one can move quickly from one node to another that covers a related topic. Some nodes contain menus, indicated by lines that begin

  * Menu:

The lines after this give the names of other nodes, and descriptions of their contents. One such entry reads as follows.

  * Commands::      Named functions run by key sequences to do editing.

The word(s) between the asterisk and the double-colon name another node. The following key commands, defined only when in the buffer *info*, allow one to move through the documentation. They are only a few of the ones provided.

m

prompts for the name of a node from the menu in the current buffer and displays that node. You need only enter enough to identify the desired entry unambiguously; case is ignored.

f

follows a cross-reference. Cross references are indicated in the text of a node by a phrase of the form ``* Note foo::''. One follows them by typing `f' followed by the name (foo) of the referenced node, as for the `m' command.

l

goes back to the last-visited node.

u

goes up to the parent of this node. The definition of parent is actually arbitrary, but is usually a node that contains the current one in its menu.

d

returns to the top (initial) node of the Info system.

q

suspends the browser and goes back to where you were when you issued C-h i.

.

returns to the beginning of the text of the current node.

?

furnishes help about the browser commands.