This is Info file texi.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.55 from the input file texi.texi. This file documents Texinfo, a documentation system that uses a single source file to produce both on-line information and a printed manual. Copyright (C) 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc. This is the second edition of the Texinfo documentation, and is consistent with version 2 of `texinfo.tex'. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.  File: texi.info, Node: var, Next: file, Prev: samp, Up: Indicating `@var'{METASYNTACTIC-VARIABLE} ------------------------------ Use the `@var' command to indicate metasyntactic variables. A "metasyntactic variable" is something that stands for another piece of text. For example, you should use a metasyntactic variable in the documentation of a function to describe the arguments that are passed to that function. Do not use `@var' for the names of particular variables in programming languages. These are specific names from a program, so `@code' is correct for them. For example, the Lisp variable `texinfo-tex-command' is not a metasyntactic variable; it is properly formatted using `@code'. The effect of `@var' in the Info file is to change the case of the argument to all upper case; in the printed manual, to italicize it. For example, To delete file @var{filename}, type @code{rm @var{filename}}. produces To delete file FILENAME, type `rm FILENAME'. (Note that `@var' may appear inside `@code', `@samp', `@file', etc.) Write a metasyntactic variable all in lower case without spaces, and use hyphens to make it more readable. Thus, the Texinfo source for the illustration of how to begin a Texinfo manual looks like this: \input texinfo @@setfilename @var{info-file-name} @@settitle @var{name-of-manual} This produces: \input texinfo @setfilename INFO-FILE-NAME @settitle NAME-OF-MANUAL In some documentation styles, metasyntactic variables are shown with angle brackets, for example: ..., type rm However, that is not the style that Texinfo uses. (You can, of course, modify the sources to TeX and the Info formatting commands to output the `<...>' format if you wish.)  File: texi.info, Node: file, Next: dfn, Prev: var, Up: Indicating `@file'{FILE-NAME} ------------------ Use the `@file' command to indicate text that is the name of a file, buffer, or directory, or is the name of a node in Info. You can also use the command for file name suffixes. Do not use `@file' for symbols in a programming language; use `@code'. Currently, `@file' is equivalent to `@samp' in its effects. For example, The @file{.el} files are in the @file{/usr/local/emacs/lisp} directory. produces The `.el' files are in the `/usr/local/emacs/lisp' directory.  File: texi.info, Node: dfn, Next: cite, Prev: file, Up: Indicating `@dfn'{TERM} ------------ Use the `@dfn' command to identify the introductory or defining use of a technical term. Use the command only in passages whose purpose is to introduce a term which will be used again or which the reader ought to know. Mere passing mention of a term for the first time does not deserve `@dfn'. The command generates italics in the printed manual, and double quotation marks in the Info file. For example: Getting rid of a file is called @dfn{deleting} it. produces Getting rid of a file is called "deleting" it. As a general rule, a sentence containing the defining occurrence of a term should be a definition of the term. The sentence does not need to say explicitly that it is a definition, but it should contain the information of a definition--it should make the meaning clear.  File: texi.info, Node: cite, Prev: dfn, Up: Indicating `@cite'{REFERENCE} ------------------ Use the `@cite' command for the name of a book that lacks a companion Info file. The command produces italics in the printed manual, and quotation marks in the Info file. (If a book is written in Texinfo, it is better to use a cross reference command since a reader can easily follow such a reference in Info. *Note `@xref': xref.)  File: texi.info, Node: Emphasis, Prev: Indicating, Up: Marking Text Emphasizing Text ================ Usually, Texinfo changes the font to mark words in the text according to what category the words belong to; an example is the `@code' command. Most often, this is the best way to mark words. However, sometimes you will want to emphasize text without indicating a category. Texinfo has two commands to do this. Also, Texinfo has several commands that specify the font in which TeX will typeset text. These commands have no affect on Info and only one of them, the `@r' command, has any regular use. * Menu: * emph & strong:: How to emphasize text in Texinfo. * Smallcaps:: How to use the small caps font. * Fonts:: Various font commands for printed output.  File: texi.info, Node: emph & strong, Next: Smallcaps, Up: Emphasis `@emph'{TEXT} and `@strong'{TEXT} --------------------------------- The `@emph' and `@strong' commands are for emphasis; `@strong' is stronger. In printed output, `@emph' produces *italics* and `@strong' produces *bold*. For example, @quotation @strong{Caution:} @code{rm * .[^.]*} removes @emph{all} files in the directory. @end quotation produces: *Caution*: `rm * .[^.]*' removes *all* files in the directory. The `@strong' command is seldom used except to mark what is, in effect, a typographical element, such as the word `Caution' in the preceding example. In the Info file, both `@emph' and `@strong' put asterisks around the text. *Caution:* Do not use `@emph' or `@strong' with the word `Note'; Info will mistake the combination for a cross reference. Use a phrase such as *Please note* or *Caution* instead.  File: texi.info, Node: Smallcaps, Next: Fonts, Prev: emph & strong, Up: Emphasis `@sc'{TEXT}: The Small Caps Font -------------------------------- Use the `@sc' command to set text in the printed output in a small caps font and set text in the Info file in upper case letters. Write the text between braces in lower case, like this: The @sc{acm} and @sc{ieee} are technical societies. This produces: The ACM and IEEE are technical societies. TeX typesets the small caps font in a manner that prevents the letters from `jumping out at you on the page'. This makes small caps text easier to read than text in all upper case. The Info formatting commands set all small caps text in upper case. If the text between the braces of an `@sc' command is upper case, TeX typesets in full-size capitals. Use full-size capitals sparingly. You may also use the small caps font for a jargon word such as ATO (a NASA word meaning `abort to orbit'). There are subtleties to using the small caps font with a jargon word such as CDR, a word used in Lisp programming. In this case, you should use the small caps font when the word refers to the second and subsequent elements of a list (the CDR of the list), but you should use `@code' when the word refers to the Lisp function of the same spelling.  File: texi.info, Node: Fonts, Prev: Smallcaps, Up: Emphasis Fonts for Printing, Not Info ---------------------------- Texinfo provides four font commands that specify font changes in the printed manual but have no effect in the Info file. `@i' requests italic font (in some versions of TeX, a slanted font is used), `@b' requests bold face, `@t' requests the fixed-width, typewriter-style font used by `@code', and `@r' requests a roman font, which is the usual font in which text is printed. All four commands apply to an argument that follows, surrounded by braces. Only the `@r' command has much use: in example programs, you can use the `@r' command to convert code comments from the fixed-width font to a roman font. This looks better in printed output. For example, @lisp (+ 2 2) ; @r{Add two plus two.} @end lisp produces (+ 2 2) ; Add two plus two. If possible, you should avoid using the other three font commands. If you need to use one, it probably indicates a gap in the Texinfo language.  File: texi.info, Node: Quotations and Examples, Next: Lists and Tables, Prev: Marking Text, Up: Top Quotations and Examples *********************** Quotations and examples are blocks of text consisting of one or more whole paragraphs that are set off from the bulk of the text and treated differently. They are usually indented. In Texinfo, you always begin a quotation or example by writing an @-command at the beginning of a line by itself, and end it by writing an `@end' command that is also at the beginning of a line by itself. For instance, you begin an example by writing `@example' by itself at the beginning of a line and end the example by writing `@end example' on a line by itself, at the beginning of that line. * Menu: * Block Enclosing Commands:: Use different constructs for different purposes. * quotation:: How to write a quotation. * example:: How to write an example in a fixed-width font. * noindent:: How to prevent paragraph indentation. * Lisp Example:: How to illustrate Lisp code. * smallexample & smalllisp:: Forms for the `@smallbook' option. * display:: How to write an example in the current font. * format:: How to write an example that does not narrow the margins. * exdent:: How to undo the indentation of a line. * flushleft & flushright:: How to push text flushleft or flushright. * cartouche:: How to draw cartouches around examples.  File: texi.info, Node: Block Enclosing Commands, Next: quotation, Up: Quotations and Examples The Block Enclosing Commands ============================ Here are commands for quotations and examples: `@quotation' Indicate text that is quoted. The text is filled, indented, and printed in a roman font by default. `@example' Illustrate code, commands, and the like. The text is printed in a fixed-width font, and indented but not filled. `@lisp' Illustrate Lisp code. The text is printed in a fixed-width font, and indented but not filled. `@smallexample' Illustrate code, commands, and the like. Similar to `@example', except that in TeX this command typesets text in a smaller font for the smaller `@smallbook' format than for the 8.5 by 11 inch format. `@smalllisp' Illustrate Lisp code. Similar to `@lisp', except that in TeX this command typesets text in a smaller font for the smaller `@smallbook' format than for the 8.5 by 11 inch format. `@display' Display illustrative text. The text is indented but not filled, and no font is specified (so, by default, the font is roman). `@format' Print illustrative text. The text is not indented and not filled and no font is specified (so, by default, the font is roman). The `@exdent' command is used within the above constructs to undo the indentation of a line. The `@flushleft' and `@flushright' commands are used to line up the left or right margins of unfilled text. The `@noindent' command may be used after one of the above constructs to prevent the following text from being indented as a new paragraph. You can use the `@cartouche' command within one of the above constructs to highlight the example or quotation by drawing a box with rounded corners around it. (The `@cartouche' command affects only the printed manual; it has no effect in the Info file; see *Note Drawing Cartouches Around Examples: cartouche.)  File: texi.info, Node: quotation, Next: example, Prev: Block Enclosing Commands, Up: Quotations and Examples `@quotation' ============ The text of a quotation is processed normally except that: * the margins are closer to the center of the page, so the whole of the quotation is indented; * the first lines of paragraphs are indented no more than other lines; * in the printed output, interparagraph spacing is reduced. This is an example of text written between an `@quotation' command and an `@end quotation' command. An `@quotation' command is most often used to indicate text that is excerpted from another (real or hypothetical) printed work. Write an `@quotation' command as text on a line by itself. This line will disappear from the output. Mark the end of the quotation with a line beginning with and containing only `@end quotation'. The `@end quotation' line will likewise disappear from the output. Thus, the following, @quotation This is a foo. @end quotation produces This is a foo.  File: texi.info, Node: example, Next: noindent, Prev: quotation, Up: Quotations and Examples `@example' ========== The `@example' command is used to indicate an example that is not part of the running text, such as computer input or output. This is an example of text written between an `@example' command and an `@end example' command. The text is indented but not filled. In the printed manual, the text is typeset in a fixed-width font, and extra spaces and blank lines are significant. In the Info file, an analogous result is obtained by indenting each line with five spaces. Write an `@example' command at the beginning of a line by itself. This line will disappear from the output. Mark the end of the example with an `@end example' command, also written at the beginning of a line by itself. The `@end example' will disappear from the output. For example, @example mv foo bar @end example produces mv foo bar Since the lines containing `@example' and `@end example' will disappear, you should put a blank line before the `@example' and another blank line after the `@end example'. (Remember that blank lines between the beginning `@example' and the ending `@end example' will appear in the output.) *Caution:* Do not use tabs in the lines of an example (or anywhere else in Texinfo, for that matter)! TeX treats tabs as single spaces, and that is not what they look like. This is a problem with TeX. (If necessary, in Emacs, you can use `M-x untabify' to convert tabs in a region to multiple spaces.) Examples are often, logically speaking, "in the middle" of a paragraph, and the text continues after an example should not be indented. The `@noindent' command prevents a piece of text from being indented as if it were a new paragraph. (*Note noindent::.) (The `@code' command is used for examples of code that are embedded within sentences, not set off from preceding and following text. *Note `@code': code.)  File: texi.info, Node: noindent, Next: Lisp Example, Prev: example, Up: Quotations and Examples `@noindent' =========== An example or other inclusion can break a paragraph into segments. Ordinarily, the formatters indent text that follows an example as a new paragraph. However, you can prevent this by writing `@noindent' at the beginning of a line by itself preceding the continuation text. For example: @example This is an example @end example @noindent This line is not indented. As you can see, the beginning of the line is fully flush left with the line that follows after it. (This whole example is between @code{@@display} and @code{@@end display}.) produces This is an example This line is not indented. As you can see, the beginning of the line is fully flush left with the line that follows after it. (This whole example is between `@display' and `@end display'.) To adjust the number of blank lines properly in the Info file output, remember that the line containing `@noindent' does not generate a blank line, and neither does the `@end example' line. In the Texinfo source file for this manual, each line that says `produces' is preceded by a line containing `@noindent'. Do not put braces after an `@noindent' command; they are not necessary, since `@noindent' is a command used outside of paragraphs (*note Command Syntax::.).  File: texi.info, Node: Lisp Example, Next: smallexample & smalllisp, Prev: noindent, Up: Quotations and Examples `@lisp' ======= The `@lisp' command is used for Lisp code. It is synonymous with the `@example' command. This is an example of text written between an `@lisp' command and an `@end lisp' command. Use `@lisp' instead of `@example' so as to preserve information regarding the nature of the example. This is useful, for example, if you write a function that evaluates only and all the Lisp code in a Texinfo file. Then you can use the Texinfo file as a Lisp library.(1) Mark the end of `@lisp' with `@end lisp' on a line by itself. ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) It would be straightforward to extend Texinfo to work in a similar fashion for C, FORTRAN, or other languages.  File: texi.info, Node: smallexample & smalllisp, Next: display, Prev: Lisp Example, Up: Quotations and Examples `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' ================================ In addition to the regular `@example' and `@lisp' commands, Texinfo has two other "example-style" commands. These are the `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' commands. Both these commands are designed for use with the `@smallbook' command that causes TeX to produce a printed manual in a 7 by 9.25 inch format rather than the regular 8.5 by 11 inch format. In TeX, the `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' commands typeset text in a smaller font for the smaller `@smallbook' format than for the 8.5 by 11 inch format. Consequently, many examples containing long lines fit in a narrower, `@smallbook' page without needing to be shortened. Both commands typeset in the normal font size when you format for the 8.5 by 11 inch size; indeed, in this situation, the `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' commands are defined to be the `@example' and `@lisp' commands. In Info, the `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' commands are equivalent to the `@example' and `@lisp' commands, and work exactly the same. Mark the end of `@smallexample' or `@smalllisp' with `@end smallexample' or `@end smalllisp', respectively. This is an example of text written between `@smallexample' and `@end smallexample'. In Info and in an 8.5 by 11 inch manual, this text appears in its normal size; but in a 7 by 9.25 inch manual, this text appears in a smaller font. The `@smallexample' and `@smalllisp' commands make it easier to prepare smaller format manuals without forcing you to edit examples by hand to fit them onto narrower pages. As a general rule, a printed document looks better if you write all the examples in a chapter consistently in `@example' or in `@smallexample'. Only occasionally should you mix the two formats. *Note Printing "Small" Books: smallbook, for more information about the `@smallbook' command.  File: texi.info, Node: display, Next: format, Prev: smallexample & smalllisp, Up: Quotations and Examples `@display' ========== The `@display' command begins a kind of example. It is like the `@example' command except that, in a printed manual, `@display' does not select the fixed-width font. In fact, it does not specify the font at all, so that the text appears in the same font it would have appeared in without the `@display' command. This is an example of text written between an `@display' command and an `@end display' command. The `@display' command indents the text, but does not fill it.  File: texi.info, Node: format, Next: exdent, Prev: display, Up: Quotations and Examples `@format' ========= The `@format' command is similar to `@example' except that, in the printed manual, `@format' does not select the fixed-width font and does not narrow the margins. This is an example of text written between an `@format' command and an `@end format' command. As you can see from this example, the `@format' command does not fill the text.  File: texi.info, Node: exdent, Next: flushleft & flushright, Prev: format, Up: Quotations and Examples `@exdent': Undoing a Line's Indentation ======================================= The `@exdent' command removes any indentation a line might have. The command is written at the beginning of a line and applies only to the text that follows the command that is on the same line. Do not use braces around the text. In a printed manual, the text on an `@exdent' line is printed in the roman font. `@exdent' is usually used within examples. Thus, @example This line follows an @@example command. @exdent This line is exdented. This line follows the exdented line. The @@end example comes on the next line. @end group produces This line follows an @example command. This line is exdented. This line follows the exdented line. The @end example comes on the next line. In practice, the `@exdent' command is rarely used. Usually, you un-indent text by ending the example and returning the page to its normal width.  File: texi.info, Node: flushleft & flushright, Next: cartouche, Prev: exdent, Up: Quotations and Examples `@flushleft' and `@flushright' ============================== The `@flushleft' and `@flushright' commands line up the ends of lines on the left and right margins of a page, but do not fill the text. The commands are written on lines of their own, without braces. The `@flushleft' and `@flushright' commands are ended by `@end flushleft' and `@end flushright' commands on lines of their own. For example, @flushleft This text is written flushleft. @end flushleft produces This text is written flushleft. Flushright produces the type of indentation often used in the return address of letters. For example, @flushright Here is an example of text written flushright. The @code{@flushright} command right justifies every line but leaves the left end ragged. @end flushright produces Here is an example of text written flushright. The `@flushright' command right justifies every line but leaves the left end ragged.  File: texi.info, Node: cartouche, Prev: flushleft & flushright, Up: Quotations and Examples Drawing Cartouches Around Examples ================================== In a printed manual, the `@cartouche' command draws a box with rounded corners around its contents. You can use this command to further highlight an example or quotation. For instance, you could write a manual in which one type of example is surrounded by a cartouche for emphasis. The `@cartouche' command affects only the printed manual; it has no effect in the Info file. For example, @example @cartouche % pwd /usr/local/lib/emacs/info @end cartouche @end example surrounds the two-line example with a box with rounded corners, in the printed manual.  File: texi.info, Node: Lists and Tables, Next: Indices, Prev: Quotations and Examples, Up: Top Making Lists and Tables *********************** Texinfo has several ways of making lists and two-column tables. Lists can be bulleted or numbered, while two-column tables can highlight the items in the first column. * Menu: * Introducing Lists:: Texinfo formats lists for you. * itemize:: How to construct a simple list. * enumerate:: How to construct a numbered list. * Two-column Tables:: How to construct a two-column table.  File: texi.info, Node: Introducing Lists, Next: itemize, Up: Lists and Tables Introducing Lists ================= Texinfo automatically indents the text in lists or tables, and numbers an enumerated list. This last feature is useful if you modify the list, since you do not need to renumber it yourself. Numbered lists and tables begin with the appropriate @-command at the beginning of a line, and end with the corresponding `@end' command on a line by itself. The table and itemized-list commands also require that you write formatting information on the same line as the beginning @-command. Begin an enumerated list, for example, with an `@enumerate' command and end the list with an `@end enumerate' command. Begin an itemized list with an `@itemize' command, followed on the same line by a formatting command such as `@bullet', and end the list with an `@end itemize' command. Precede each element of a list with an `@item' or `@itemx' command. Here is an itemized list of the different kinds of table and lists: * Itemized lists with and without bullets. * Enumerated lists, using numbers or letters. * Two-column tables with highlighting. Here is an enumerated list with the same items: 1. Itemized lists with and without bullets. 2. Enumerated lists, using numbers or letters. 3. Two-column tables with highlighting. And here is a two-column table with the same items and their @-commands: `@itemize' Itemized lists with and without bullets. `@enumerate' Enumerated lists, using numbers or letters. `@table' `@ftable' `@vtable' Two-column tables with highlighting.  File: texi.info, Node: itemize, Next: enumerate, Prev: Introducing Lists, Up: Lists and Tables Making an Itemized List ======================= The `@itemize' command produces sequences of indented paragraphs, with a bullet or other mark inside the left margin at the beginning of each paragraph for which such a mark is desired. Begin an itemized list by writing `@itemize' at the beginning of a line. Follow the command, on the same line, with a character or a Texinfo command that generates a mark. Usually, you will write `@bullet' after `@itemize', but you can use `@minus', or any character or any special symbol that results in a single character in the Info file. (When you write `@bullet' or `@minus' after an `@itemize' command, you may omit the `{}'.) Write the text of the indented paragraphs themselves after the `@itemize', up to another line that says `@end itemize'. Before each paragraph for which a mark in the margin is desired, write a line that says just `@item'. Do not write any other text on this line. Usually, you should put a blank line before an `@item'. This puts a blank line in the Info file. (TeX inserts the proper interline whitespace in either case.) Except when the entries are very brief, these blank lines make the list look better. Here is an example of the use of `@itemize', followed by the output it produces. Note that `@bullet' produces an `*' in Info and a round dot in TeX. @itemize @bullet @item Some text for foo. @item Some text for bar. @end itemize This produces: * Some text for foo. * Some text for bar. Itemized lists may be embedded within other itemized lists. Here is a list marked with dashes embedded in a list marked with bullets: @itemize @bullet @item First item. @itemize @minus @item Inner item. @item Second inner item. @end itemize @item Second outer item. @end itemize This produces: * First item. - Inner item. - Second inner item. * Second outer item.  File: texi.info, Node: enumerate, Next: Two-column Tables, Prev: itemize, Up: Lists and Tables Making a Numbered or Lettered List ================================== `@enumerate' is like `@itemize' except that the marks in the left margin contain successive integers or letters. (*Note `@itemize': itemize.) Write the `@enumerate' command at the beginning of a line. The command does not require an argument, but accepts either a number or a letter as an option. Without an argument, `@enumerate' starts the list with the number 1. With a numeric argument, such as 3, the command starts the list with that number. With an upper or lower case letter, such as `a' or `A', the command starts the list with that letter. Write the text of the enumerated list in the same way you write an itemized list: put `@item' on a line of its own before the start of each paragraph that you want enumerated. Do not write any other text on the line beginning with `@item'. You should put a blank line between entries in the list. This generally makes it easier to read the Info file. Here is an example of `@enumerate' without an argument: @enumerate @item Underlying causes. @item Proximate causes. @end enumerate This produces: 1. Underlying causes. 2. Proximate causes. Here is an example with an argument of `3': @enumerate 3 @item Predisposing causes. @item Precipitating causes. @item Perpetuating causes. @end enumerate This produces: 3. Predisposing causes. 4. Precipitating causes. 5. Perpetuating causes. Here is a brief summary of the alternatives. The summary is constructed using `@enumerate' with an argument of `a'. a. `@enumerate' Without an argument, produce a numbered list, starting with the number 1. b. `@enumerate POSITIVE-INTEGER' With a (positive) numeric argument, start a numbered list with that number. You can use this to continue a list that you interrupted with other text. c. `@enumerate UPPER-CASE-LETTER' With an upper case letter as argument, start a list in which each item is marked by a letter, beginning with that upper case letter. d. `@enumerate LOWER-CASE-LETTER' With a lower case letter as argument, start a list in which each item is marked by a letter, beginning with that lower case letter. You can also nest enumerated lists, as in an outline.  File: texi.info, Node: Two-column Tables, Prev: enumerate, Up: Lists and Tables Making a Two-column Table ========================= `@table' is similar to `@itemize', but the command allows you to specify a name or heading line for each item. (*Note `@itemize': itemize.) The `@table' command is used to produce two-column tables, and is especially useful for glossaries and explanatory exhibits. * Menu: * table:: How to construct a two-column table. * ftable vtable:: How to construct a two-column table with automatic indexing. * itemx:: How to put more entries in the first column.  File: texi.info, Node: table, Next: ftable vtable, Up: Two-column Tables Using the `@table' Command -------------------------- Use the `@table' command to produce two-column tables. Write the `@table' command at the beginning of a line and follow it on the same line with an argument that is a Texinfo command such as `@code', `@samp', `@var', or `@kbd'. Although these commands are usually followed by arguments in braces, in this case you use the command name without an argument because `@item' will supply the argument. This command will be applied to the text that goes into the first column of each item and determines how it will be highlighted. For example, `@samp' will cause the text in the first column to be highlighted with an `@samp' command. You may also choose to use the `@asis' command as an argument to `@table'. `@asis' is a command that does nothing; if you use this command after `@table', TeX and the Info formatting commands output the first column entries without added highlighting (`as is'). (The `@table' command may work with other commands besides those listed here. However, you can only use commands that normally take arguments in braces.) Begin each table entry with an `@item' command at the beginning of a line. Write the first column text on the same line as the `@item' command. Write the second column text on the line following the `@item' line and on subsequent lines. (You do not need to type anything for an empty second column entry.) You may write as many lines of supporting text as you wish, even several paragraphs. But only text on the same line as the `@item' will be placed in the first column. Normally, you should put a blank line before an `@item' line. This puts a blank like in the Info file. Except when the entries are very brief, a blank line looks better. The following table, for example, highlights the text in the first column with an `@samp' command: @table @samp @item foo This is the text for @samp{foo}. @item bar Text for @samp{bar}. @end table This produces: `foo' This is the text for `foo'. `bar' Text for `bar'. If you want to list two or more named items with a single block of text, use the `@itemx' command. (*Note `@itemx': itemx.)  File: texi.info, Node: ftable vtable, Next: itemx, Prev: table, Up: Two-column Tables `@ftable' and `@vtable' ----------------------- The `@ftable' and `@vtable' commands are the same as the `@table' command except that `@ftable' automatically enters each of the items in the first column of the table into the index of functions and `@vtable' automatically enters each of the items in the first column of the table into the index of variables. This simplifies the task of creating indices. Only the items on the same line as the `@item' commands are indexed, and they are indexed in exactly the form that they appear on that line. *Note Creating Indices: Indices, for more information about indices. Begin a two-column table using `@ftable' or `@vtable' by writing the @-command at the beginning of a line, followed on the same line by an argument that is a Texinfo command such as `@code', exactly as you would for an `@table' command; and end the table with an `@end ftable' or `@end vtable' command on a line by itself.  File: texi.info, Node: itemx, Prev: ftable vtable, Up: Two-column Tables `@itemx' -------- Use the `@itemx' command inside a table when you have two or more first column entries for the same item, each of which should appear on a line of its own. Use `@itemx' for all but the first entry. The `@itemx' command works exactly like `@item' except that it does not generate extra vertical space above the first column text. For example, @table @code @item upcase @itemx downcase These two functions accept a character or a string as argument, and return the corresponding upper case (lower case) character or string. @end table This produces: `upcase' `downcase' These two functions accept a character or a string as argument, and return the corresponding upper case (lower case) character or string. (Note also that this example illustrates multi-line supporting text in a two-column table.)  File: texi.info, Node: Indices, Next: Insertions, Prev: Lists and Tables, Up: Top Creating Indices **************** Using Texinfo, you can generate indices without having to sort and collate entries manually. In an index, the entries are listed in alphabetical order, together with information on how to find the discussion of each entry. In a printed manual, this information consists of page numbers. In an Info file, this information is a menu entry leading to the first node referenced. Texinfo provides several predefined kinds of index: an index for functions, an index for variables, an index for concepts, and so on. You can combine indices or use them for other than their canonical purpose. If you wish, you can define your own indices. * Menu: * Index Entries:: Choose different words for index entries. * Predefined Indices:: Use different indices for different kinds of entry. * Indexing Commands:: How to make an index entry. * Combining Indices:: How to combine indices. * New Indices:: How to define your own indices.  File: texi.info, Node: Index Entries, Next: Predefined Indices, Up: Indices Making Index Entries ==================== When you are making index entries, it is good practice to think of the different ways people may look for something. Different people *do not* think of the same words when they look something up. A helpful index will have items indexed under all the different words that people may use. For example, one reader may think it obvious that the two-letter names for indices should be listed under "Indices, two-letter names", since the word "Index" is the general concept. But another reader may remember the specific concept of two-letter names and search for the entry listed as "Two letter names for indices". A good index will have both entries and will help both readers. Like typesetting, the construction of an index is a highly skilled, professional art, the subtleties of which are not appreciated until you need to do it yourself. *Note Printing Indices & Menus::, for information about printing an index at the end of a book or creating an index menu in an Info file.  File: texi.info, Node: Predefined Indices, Next: Indexing Commands, Prev: Index Entries, Up: Indices Predefined Indices ================== Texinfo provides six predefined indices: * A "concept index" listing concepts that are discussed. * A "function index" listing functions (such as entry points of libraries). * A "variables index" listing variables (such as global variables of libraries). * A "keystroke index" listing keyboard commands. * A "program index" listing names of programs. * A "data type index" listing data types (such as structures defined in header files). Not every manual needs all of these, and most manuals use two or three of them. This manual has two indices: a concept index and an @-command index (that is actually the function index but is called a command index in the chapter heading). Two or more indices can be combined into one using the `@synindex' or `@syncodeindex' commands. *Note Combining Indices::.  File: texi.info, Node: Indexing Commands, Next: Combining Indices, Prev: Predefined Indices, Up: Indices Defining the Entries of an Index ================================ The data to make an index come from many individual indexing commands scattered throughout the Texinfo source file. Each command says to add one entry to a particular index; after formatting, the index will give the current page number or node name as the reference. An index entry consists of an indexing command at the beginning of a line followed, on the rest of the line, by the entry. For example, this section begins with the following five entries for the concept index: @cindex Defining indexing entries @cindex Index entries @cindex Entries for an index @cindex Specifying index entries @cindex Creating index entries Each predefined index has its own indexing command--`@cindex' for the concept index, `@findex' for the function index, and so on. The usual convention is to capitalize the first word of each index entry, unless that word is the name of a function, variable, or other such entity that should not be capitalized. Thus, if you are documenting Emacs Lisp, you should usually capitalize entries in the concept index, but not those in the function index. However, if your concept index entries are consistently short (one or two words each) it may look better for each regular entry to start with a lower case letter. Whichever convention you adapt, please be consistent! By default, entries for a concept index are printed in a small roman font and entries for the other indices are printed in a small `@code' font. You may change the way part of an entry is printed with the usual Texinfo commands, such as `@file' for file names and `@emph' for emphasis (*note Marking Text::.). The six indexing commands for predefined indices are: `@cindex CONCEPT' Make an entry in the concept index for CONCEPT. `@findex FUNCTION' Make an entry in the function index for FUNCTION. `@vindex VARIABLE' Make an entry in the variable index for VARIABLE. `@kindex KEYSTROKE' Make an entry in the key index for KEYSTROKE. `@pindex PROGRAM' Make an entry in the program index for PROGRAM. `@tindex DATA TYPE' Make an entry in the data type index for DATA TYPE. *Caution:* Do not use a colon in an index entry. In Info, a colon separates the menu entry name from the node name. An extra colon confuses Info. *Note The Parts of a Menu: Menu Parts, for more information about the structure of a menu entry. If you write several identical index entries in different places in a Texinfo file, the index in the printed manual will list all the pages to which those entries refer. However, the index in the Info file will list *only* the node that references the *first* of those index entries. Therefore, it is best to write indices in which each entry refers to only one place in the Texinfo file. Fortunately, this constraint is a feature rather than a loss since it means that the index will be easy to use. Otherwise, you could create an index that lists several pages for one entry and your reader would not know to which page to turn. If you have two identical entries for one topic, change the topics slightly, or qualify them to indicate the difference. You are not actually required to use the predefined indices for their canonical purposes. For example, suppose you wish to index some C preprocessor macros. You could put them in the function index along with actual functions, just by writing `@findex' commands for them; then, when you print the "Function Index" as an unnumbered chapter, you could give it the title `Function and Macro Index' and all will be consistent for the reader. Or you could put the macros in with the data types by writing `@tindex' commands for them, and give that index a suitable title so the reader will understand. (*Note Printing Indices & Menus::.)  File: texi.info, Node: Combining Indices, Next: New Indices, Prev: Indexing Commands, Up: Indices Combining Indices ================= Sometimes you will want to combine two disparate indices such as functions and concepts, perhaps because you have few enough of one of them that a separate index for them would look silly. You could put functions into the concept index by writing `@cindex' commands for them instead of `@findex' commands, and produce a consistent manual by printing the concept index with the title `Function and Concept Index' and not printing the `Function Index' at all; but this is not a robust procedure. It works only if your document is never included as part of another document that is designed to have a separate function index; if your document were to be included with such a document, the functions from your document and those from the other would not end up together. Also, to make your function names appear in the right font in the concept index, you would need to enclose every one of them between the braces of `@code'. * Menu: * syncodeindex:: How to merge two indices, using `@code' font for the merged-from index. * synindex:: How to merge two indices, using the default font of the merged-to index.  File: texi.info, Node: syncodeindex, Next: synindex, Up: Combining Indices `@syncodeindex' ............... When you want to combine functions and concepts into one index, you should index the functions with `@findex' and index the concepts with `@cindex', and use the `@syncodeindex' command to redirect the function index entries into the concept index. The `@syncodeindex' command takes two arguments; they are the name of the index to redirect, and the name of the index to redirect it to. The template looks like this: @syncodeindex FROM TO For this purpose, the indices are given two-letter names: `cp' concept index `fn' function index `vr' variable index `ky' key index `pg' program index `tp' data type index Write an `@syncodeindex' command before or shortly after the end-of-header line at the beginning of a Texinfo file. For example, to merge a function index with a concept index, write the following: @syncodeindex fn cp This will cause all entries designated for the function index to merge in with the concept index instead. To merge both a variables index and a function index into a concept index, write the following: @syncodeindex vr cp @syncodeindex fn cp The `@syncodeindex' command puts all the entries from the `from' index (the redirected index) into the `@code' font, overriding whatever default font is used by the index to which the entries are now directed. This way, if you direct function names from a function index into a concept index, all the function names are printed in the `@code' font as you would expect.  File: texi.info, Node: synindex, Prev: syncodeindex, Up: Combining Indices `@synindex' ........... The `@synindex' command is nearly the same as the `@syncodeindex' command, except that it does not put the `from' index entries into the `@code' font; rather it puts them in the roman font. Thus, you use `@synindex' when you merge a concept index into a function index. *Note Printing Indices & Menus::, for information about printing an index at the end of a book or creating an index menu in an Info file.  File: texi.info, Node: New Indices, Prev: Combining Indices, Up: Indices Defining New Indices ==================== In addition to the predefined indices, you may use the `@defindex' and `@defcodeindex' commands to define new indices. These commands create new indexing @-commands with which you mark index entries. The `@defindex 'command is used like this: @defindex NAME The name of an index should be a two letter word, such as `au'. For example: @defindex au This defines a new index, called the `au' index. At the same time, it creates a new indexing command, `@auindex', that you can use to make index entries. Use the new indexing command just as you would use a predefined indexing command. For example, here is a section heading followed by a concept index entry and two `au' index entries. @section Cognitive Semantics @cindex kinesthetic image schemas @auindex Johnson, Mark @auindex Lakoff, George (Evidently, `au' serves here as an abbreviation for "author".) Texinfo constructs the new indexing command by concatenating the name of the index with `index'; thus, defining an `au' index leads to the automatic creation of an `@auindex' command. Use the `@printindex' command to print the index, as you do with the predefined indices. For example: @node Author Index, Subject Index, , Top @unnumbered Author Index @printindex au The `@defcodeindex' is like the `@defindex' command, except that, in the printed output, it prints entries in an `@code' font instead of a roman font. Thus, it parallels the `@findex' command rather than the `@cindex' command. You should define new indices within or right after the end-of-header line of a Texinfo file, before any `@synindex' or `@syncodeindex' commands (*note Header::.).  File: texi.info, Node: Insertions, Next: Glyphs, Prev: Indices, Up: Top Special Insertions ****************** Texinfo provides several commands for formatting dimensions, for inserting single characters that have special meaning in Texinfo, such as braces, and for inserting special graphic symbols that do not correspond to characters, such as dots and bullets. * Menu: * Braces Atsigns Periods:: How to insert braces, `@' and periods. * dmn:: How to format a dimension. * Dots Bullets:: How to insert dots and bullets. * TeX and copyright:: How to insert the TeX logo and the copyright symbol. * minus:: How to insert a minus sign.  File: texi.info, Node: Braces Atsigns Periods, Next: dmn, Up: Insertions Inserting `@', Braces, and Periods ================================== `@' and curly braces are special characters in Texinfo. To insert these characters so they appear in text, you must put an `@' in front of these characters to prevent Texinfo from misinterpreting them. Periods are also special. Depending on whether the period is inside or at the end of a sentence, less or more space is inserted after a period in a typeset manual. Since it is not always possible for Texinfo to determine when a period ends a sentence and when it is used in an abbreviation, special commands are needed in some circumstances. (Usually, Texinfo can guess how to handle periods, so you do not need to use the special commands; you just enter a period as you would if you were using a typewriter, which means you put two spaces after the period, question mark, or exclamation mark that ends a sentence.) Do not put braces after any of these commands; they are not necessary. * Menu: * Inserting An Atsign:: * Inserting Braces:: How to insert `{' and `}' * Controlling Spacing:: How to insert the right amount of space after punctuation within a sentence. .