.TH INFO 1 "26 June 1988"
.SH NAME
info \- Hierarchal information tree peruser
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B info
[ -d info-directory-path ] 
[ -f info-file ]
[ -o dump-file ]
[ -n node-name ]
[ menu-name ...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Info
is an interactive tool for reading the on-line documentation made from
texinfo files.  There are almost no differences between
.I Info
and the `M-x info' command from within
.I Emacs.
.I Info
is a standalone program, and can be invoked from the command line.  The
.I menu-name
(s) are the series of menu options that you wish to follow from the main menu.
For example, to get info about using buffers in Emacs, you might type `info
emacs buffers'.  Try it, you'll like it.
.PP
.SH OPTIONS

.IP -o
dumps the contents of the node that you have specified, so that
you can do with it what you please.  Note that you can print the node that you
are currently looking at with `C-p' from within
.I Info
, so it isn't clear what you want to do with the output from -o.
.PP
.IP -d
is a quick way for you to temporarily change the path searched by
.I Info
when it starts up.  You can also set the environment variable
"INFO_DIRECTORY_PATHS" to a list of colon-separated directory names.
.PP
.IP -f
is for specifying which Info file to load.  Normally,
.I Info
looks for the file `dir' in the info search path, and goes to node `Top' in
that file.  The `dir' file contains a menu whose items all point to info
files.  If the info file you wish to view is not in that menu, you can say
`info -f info-filename', and that file specifically will be used.
.PP
.IP -n
sets the initial node to look for.  This allows you to read an info file that
doesn't have a `Top' node.
.PP
In order to find out more about
.I Info
, type `info', and press "h".  (You will be reminded of your options when you
first start using the
.I Info
program anyway.)
.PP
You are welcome to submit documentation for use in
.I Info
, and in fact, whole-heartedly encouraged.  Remember to read the node on
.I texinfo
before submitting the text though, since it will likely only be accepted in that format.
.PP


.SH BUGS
.PP
The display on slow terminals is pretty gosh darn slow.  This is due to the
crufty implementation, and will be fixed as soon as someone complains
about it, or maybe before.
.PP
There is no specific X windows support.  X windows should be supported, and
we should allow `hot spots' in the text of nodes, which could point to
other nodes.
.PP
An info file without a `Top' node can only be viewed if you know the name of a
node inside of it.  Maybe the 
.I Makeinfo
program should automatically make a menu of top-level nodes and place it in a
node called `Top' if there is no such node in the info file.
.SH FILES
.br
The default search path for a bare bones Info is
.br
".:/usr/gnu/info:/usr/local/emacs/info:/usr/local/lib/emacs/info"
.PP
You can change this with the INFOPATH environment variable.
.SH SEE ALSO
makeinfo (1)
.SH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Richard Stallman invented the Info concept many moons ago, even before
the advent of hypertext.  He also suggested that I write this program.
.SH AUTHOR
Brian J. Fox (bfox@ai.mit.edu)
.br
Free Software Foundation
.br
Cambridge, MA
.br
September, 1987