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annotate doc/misc/woman.texi @ 98383:fb8c41cd17c4
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author | Martin Rudalics <rudalics@gmx.at> |
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date | Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:43:50 +0000 |
parents | a9190e1a1d37 |
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84325 | 1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- |
2 @c %**start of header | |
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3 @setfilename ../../info/woman |
84325 | 4 @settitle WoMan: Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man'' |
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5 @c FIXME |
84325 | 6 @c Manual last updated: |
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7 @set UPDATED Time-stamp: <Mon 30-Jun-2008 19:59:42 gm on grasmoor> |
84325 | 8 @c Software version: |
9 @set VERSION 0.54 (beta) | |
10 @afourpaper | |
11 @c With different size paper the printed page breaks will need attention! | |
12 @c Look for @page and @need commands. | |
13 @setchapternewpage off | |
14 @paragraphindent 0 | |
15 @c %**end of header | |
16 | |
17 @copying | |
18 This file documents WoMan: A program to browse Unix manual pages `W.O. | |
19 (without) man'. | |
20 | |
21 Copyright @copyright{} 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, | |
87903 | 22 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
84325 | 23 |
24 @quotation | |
25 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document | |
26 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or | |
27 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no | |
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28 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual,'' |
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29 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license |
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30 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License.'' |
84325 | 31 |
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32 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and |
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33 modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in |
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34 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.'' |
84325 | 35 @end quotation |
36 @end copying | |
37 | |
38 @dircategory Emacs | |
39 @direntry | |
40 * WoMan: (woman). Browse UN*X Manual Pages "W.O. (without) Man". | |
41 @end direntry | |
42 | |
43 @finalout | |
44 | |
45 @titlepage | |
46 @title WoMan | |
47 @subtitle Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man'' | |
48 @subtitle Software Version @value{VERSION} | |
49 @author Francis J. Wright | |
50 @sp 2 | |
51 @author School of Mathematical Sciences | |
52 @author Queen Mary and Westfield College | |
53 @author (University of London) | |
54 @author Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK | |
55 @author @email{F.J.Wright@@qmul.ac.uk} | |
56 @author @uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/} | |
57 @c He no longer maintains this manual. | |
58 @sp 2 | |
59 @author Manual Last Updated @value{UPDATED} | |
60 | |
61 @comment The following two commands start the copyright page. | |
62 @page | |
63 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll | |
64 @insertcopying | |
65 @end titlepage | |
66 | |
67 @contents | |
68 | |
69 @c =================================================================== | |
70 | |
71 @ifnottex | |
72 @node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir) | |
73 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
74 @top WoMan: Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man'' | |
75 | |
76 @display | |
77 Software Version @value{VERSION} | |
78 Manual Last Updated @value{UPDATED} | |
79 | |
80 @email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk, Francis J. Wright} | |
81 @uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/, School of Mathematical Sciences} | |
82 Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London) | |
83 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK | |
84 @end display | |
85 @end ifnottex | |
86 | |
87 @menu | |
88 * Introduction:: Introduction | |
89 * Background:: Background | |
90 * Finding:: Finding and Formatting Man Pages | |
91 * Browsing:: Browsing Man Pages | |
92 * Customization:: Customization | |
93 * Log:: The *WoMan-Log* Buffer | |
94 * Technical:: Technical Details | |
95 * Bugs:: Reporting Bugs | |
96 * Acknowledgements:: Acknowledgements | |
97 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation. | |
98 * Command Index:: Command Index | |
99 * Variable Index:: Variable Index | |
100 * Keystroke Index:: Keystroke Index | |
101 * Concept Index:: Concept Index | |
102 @end menu | |
103 | |
104 @c =================================================================== | |
105 | |
106 @node Introduction, Background, Top, Top | |
107 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
108 @chapter Introduction | |
109 @cindex introduction | |
110 | |
111 This version of WoMan should run with GNU Emacs 20.3 or later on any | |
112 platform. It has not been tested, and may not run, with any other | |
113 version of Emacs. It was developed primarily on various versions of | |
114 Microsoft Windows, but has also been tested on MS-DOS, and various | |
115 versions of UNIX and GNU/Linux. | |
116 | |
117 WoMan is distributed with GNU Emacs. In addition, the current source | |
118 code and documentation files are available from | |
119 @uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/Emacs/WoMan/, the WoMan web | |
120 server}. | |
121 | |
122 WoMan implements a subset of the formatting performed by the Emacs | |
123 @code{man} (or @code{manual-entry}) command to format a Unix-style | |
124 @dfn{manual page} (usually abbreviated to @dfn{man page}) for display, | |
125 but without calling any external programs. It is intended to emulate | |
126 the whole of the @code{roff -man} macro package, plus those @code{roff} | |
127 requests (@pxref{Background, , Background}) that are most commonly used | |
128 in man pages. However, the emulation is modified to include the | |
129 reformatting done by the Emacs @code{man} command. No hyphenation is | |
130 performed. | |
131 | |
132 @table @b | |
133 @item Advantages | |
134 Much more direct, does not require any external programs. Supports | |
135 completion on man page names. | |
136 @item Disadvantages | |
137 Not a complete emulation. Currently no support for @code{eqn} or | |
138 @code{tbl}. Slightly slower for large man pages (but usually faster for | |
139 small- and medium-size pages). | |
140 @end table | |
141 | |
142 This browser works quite well on simple well-written man files. It | |
143 works less well on idiosyncratic files that ``break the rules'' or use | |
144 the more obscure @code{roff} requests directly. Current test results | |
145 are available in the file | |
146 @uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/Emacs/WoMan/files/woman.status, | |
147 @file{woman.status}}. | |
148 | |
149 WoMan supports the use of compressed man files via | |
150 @code{auto-compression-mode} by turning it on if necessary. But you may | |
151 need to adjust the user option @code{woman-file-compression-regexp}. | |
152 @xref{Interface Options, , Interface Options}. | |
153 | |
154 Brief help on the WoMan interactive commands and user options, all of | |
155 which begin with the prefix @code{woman-} (or occasionally | |
156 @code{WoMan-}), is available most easily by loading WoMan and then | |
157 either running the command @code{woman-mini-help} or selecting the WoMan | |
158 menu option @samp{Mini Help}. | |
159 | |
160 WoMan is (of course) still under development! Please | |
161 @email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk, let me know} what doesn't work---I am | |
162 adding and improving functionality as testing shows that it is | |
163 necessary. Guidance on reporting bugs is given below. @xref{Bugs, , | |
164 Reporting Bugs}. | |
165 | |
166 @c =================================================================== | |
167 | |
168 @node Background, Finding, Introduction, Top | |
169 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
170 @chapter Background | |
171 @cindex background | |
172 | |
173 WoMan is a browser for traditional Unix-style manual page documentation. | |
174 Each such document is conventionally referred to as a @dfn{manual page}, | |
175 or @dfn{man page} for short, even though some are very much longer than | |
176 one page. A man page is a document written using the Unix ``man'' | |
177 macros, which are themselves written in the nroff/troff text processing | |
178 markup language. @code{nroff} and @code{troff} are text processors | |
179 originally written for the UNIX operating system by Joseph F. Ossanna at | |
180 Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA@. They are closely | |
181 related, and except in the few cases where the distinction between them | |
182 is important I will refer to them both ambiguously as @code{roff}. | |
183 | |
184 @code{roff} markup consists of @dfn{requests} and @dfn{escape | |
185 sequences}. A request occupies a complete line and begins with either a | |
186 period or a single forward quote. An escape sequences is embedded | |
187 within the input text and begins (by default) with a backslash. The | |
188 original man macro package defines 20 new @code{roff} requests | |
189 implemented as macros, which were considered to be sufficient for | |
190 writing man pages. But whilst in principle man pages use only the man | |
191 macros, in practice a significant number use many other @code{roff} | |
192 requests. | |
193 | |
194 The distinction between @code{troff} and @code{nroff} is that | |
195 @code{troff} was designed to drive a phototypesetter whereas | |
196 @code{nroff} was designed to produce essentially @acronym{ASCII} output for a | |
197 character-based device similar to a teletypewriter (usually abbreviated | |
198 to ``teletype'' or ``tty''). Hence, @code{troff} supports much finer | |
199 control over output positioning than does @code{nroff} and can be seen | |
200 as a forerunner of @TeX{}. Traditionally, man pages are either | |
201 formatted by @code{troff} for typesetting or by @code{nroff} for | |
202 printing on a character printer or displaying on a screen. Of course, | |
203 over the last 25 years or so, the distinction between typeset output on | |
204 paper and characters on a screen has become blurred by the fact that | |
205 most screens now support bit-mapped displays, so that any information | |
206 that can be printed can also be rendered on screen, the only difference | |
207 being the resolution. | |
208 | |
209 Nevertheless, Unix-style manual page documentation is still normally | |
210 browsed on screen by running a program called @code{man}. This program | |
211 looks in a predefined set of directories for the man page matching a | |
212 specified topic, then either formats the source file by running | |
213 @code{nroff} or recovers a pre-formatted file, and displays it via a | |
214 pager such as @code{more}. @code{nroff} normally formats for a printer, | |
215 so it paginates the output, numbers the pages, etc., most of which is | |
216 irrelevant when the document is browsed as a continuous scrollable | |
217 document on screen. The only concession to on-screen browsing normally | |
218 implemented by the @code{man} program is to squeeze consecutive blank | |
219 lines into a single blank line. | |
220 | |
221 For some time, Emacs has offered an improved interface for browsing man | |
222 pages in the form of the Emacs @code{man} (or @code{manual-entry}) | |
223 command, see @ref{Documentation, man, Documentation Commands, emacs, GNU | |
224 Emacs Manual}. | |
225 This command runs @code{man} as described above, perhaps in | |
226 the background, and then post-processes the output to remove much of the | |
227 @code{nroff} pagination such as page headers and footers, and places the | |
228 result into an Emacs buffer. It puts this buffer into a special major | |
229 mode, which is tailored for man page browsing, and provides a number of | |
230 useful navigation commands, support for following references, etc. It | |
231 provides some support for special display faces (fonts), but no special | |
232 menu or mouse support. The Emacs man package appears to have been | |
233 developed over about 10 years, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. | |
234 | |
235 There is considerable inefficiency in having @code{nroff} paginate a | |
236 document and then removing most of the pagination! | |
237 | |
238 WoMan is an Emacs Lisp library that provides an emulation of the | |
239 functionality of the Emacs @code{man} command, the main difference being | |
240 that WoMan does not use any external programs. The only situation in | |
241 which WoMan might use an external program is when the source file is | |
242 compressed, when WoMan will use the standard Emacs automatic | |
243 decompression facility, which does call an external program. | |
244 | |
245 I began developing WoMan in the Spring of 1997 and the first version was | |
246 released in May 1997. The original motivation for WoMan was the fact | |
247 that many GNU and Unix programs are ported to other platforms and come | |
248 with Unix-style manual page documentation. This may be difficult to | |
249 read because ports of the Unix-style @code{man} program can be a little | |
250 awkward to set up. I decided that it should not be too hard to emulate | |
251 the 20 @code{man} macros directly, without treating them as macros and | |
252 largely ignoring the underlying @code{roff} requests, given the text | |
253 processing capabilities of Emacs. This proved to be essentially true, | |
254 and it did not take a great deal of work to be able to format simple man | |
255 pages acceptably. | |
256 | |
257 One problem arose with the significant number of man pages that use | |
258 @code{roff} requests in addition to the @code{man} macros, and since | |
259 releasing the first version of WoMan I have been continually extending | |
260 it to support more @code{roff} requests. WoMan can now format a | |
261 significant proportion of the man pages that I have tested, either well | |
262 or at least readably. However, I have added capabilities partly by | |
263 making additional passes through the document, a design that is | |
264 fundamentally flawed. This can only be solved by a major re-design of | |
265 WoMan to handle the major formatting within a single recursive pass, | |
266 rather than the present multiple passes without any significant | |
267 recursion. There are some @code{roff} requests that cannot be handled | |
268 satisfactorily within the present design. Some of these are currently | |
269 handled by kludges that ``usually more or less work.'' | |
270 | |
271 The principle advantage of WoMan is that it does not require @code{man}, | |
272 and indeed the name WoMan is a contraction of ``without man.'' But it | |
273 has other advantages. It does not paginate the document, so it does not | |
274 need to un-paginate it again, thereby saving time. It could take full | |
275 advantage of the display capabilities available to it, and I hope to | |
276 develop WoMan to take advantage of developments in Emacs itself. At | |
277 present, WoMan uses several display faces to support bold and italic | |
278 text, to indicate other fonts, etc. The default faces are also | |
279 colored, but the choice of faces is customizable. WoMan provides menu | |
280 support for navigation and mouse support for following references, in | |
281 addition to the navigation facilities provided by @code{man} mode. | |
282 WoMan has (this) texinfo documentation! | |
283 | |
284 WoMan @emph{does not} replace @code{man}, although it does use a number | |
285 of the facilities implemented in the Emacs @code{man} library. WoMan | |
286 and man can happily co-exist, which is very useful for comparison and | |
287 debugging purposes. | |
288 | |
289 @code{nroff} simulates non-@acronym{ASCII} characters by using one or more | |
290 @acronym{ASCII} characters. WoMan should be able to do much better than | |
291 this. I have recently begun to add support for WoMan to use more of the | |
292 characters in its default font and to use a symbol font, and it is an | |
293 aspect that I intend to develop further in the near future. It should | |
294 be possible to move WoMan from an emulation of @code{nroff} to an | |
295 emulation of @code{troff} as GNU Emacs moves to providing bit-mapped | |
296 display facilities. | |
297 | |
298 @node Finding, Browsing, Background, Top | |
299 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
300 @chapter Finding and Formatting Man Pages | |
301 @cindex using, finding man pages | |
302 @cindex using, formatting man pages | |
303 @cindex finding man pages | |
304 @cindex formatting man pages | |
305 @cindex man pages, finding | |
306 @cindex man pages, formatting | |
307 | |
308 WoMan provides three user interfaces for finding and formatting man pages: | |
309 | |
310 @itemize @bullet | |
311 @item | |
312 a topic interface similar to that provided by the standard Emacs | |
313 @code{man} command; | |
314 | |
315 @item | |
316 a family of filename interfaces analogous to the standard Emacs | |
317 @code{view-file} command; | |
318 | |
319 @item | |
320 an automatic interface that detects the file type from its contents. | |
321 (This is currently neither well tested, well supported nor recommended!) | |
322 @end itemize | |
323 | |
324 The topic and filename interfaces support completion in the usual way. | |
325 | |
326 The topic interface is generally the most convenient for regular use, | |
327 although it may require some special setup, especially if your machine | |
328 does not already have a conventional @code{man} installation (which | |
329 WoMan tries to detect). | |
330 | |
331 The simplest filename interface command @code{woman-find-file} can | |
332 always be used with no setup at all (provided WoMan is installed and | |
333 loaded or set up to autoload). | |
334 | |
335 The automatic interface always requires special setup. | |
336 | |
337 | |
338 @heading Case-Dependence of Filenames | |
339 | |
340 @cindex case-sensitivity | |
341 @vindex w32-downcase-file-names | |
342 By default, WoMan ignores case in file pathnames only when it seems | |
343 appropriate. Microsoft Windows users who want complete case | |
344 independence should set the special NTEmacs variable | |
345 @code{w32-downcase-file-names} to @code{t} and use all lower case when | |
346 setting WoMan file paths. | |
347 | |
348 | |
349 @menu | |
350 * Topic:: Topic Interface | |
351 * Filename:: Filename Interface | |
352 * Automatic:: Automatic Interface | |
353 @end menu | |
354 | |
355 @node Topic, Filename, Finding, Finding | |
356 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
357 @section Topic Interface | |
358 @cindex topic interface | |
359 | |
360 The topic interface is accessed principally via the command | |
361 @code{woman}. The same command can be accessed via the menu item | |
362 @samp{Help->Manuals->Read Man Page (WoMan)...} once WoMan has been | |
363 loaded. The command reads a manual topic in the minibuffer, which can | |
364 be the @dfn{basename} of a man file anywhere in the man file | |
365 structure. The ``basename'' in this context means the filename | |
366 without any directory component and without any extension or suffix | |
367 components that relate to the file type. So, for example, if there is | |
368 a compressed source file in Chapter 5 of the UNIX Programmer's Manual | |
369 with the full pathname @file{/usr/local/man/man5/man.conf.5.gz} then | |
370 the topic is @code{man.conf}. Provided WoMan is configured correctly, | |
371 this topic will appear among the completions offered by @code{woman}. | |
372 If more than one file has the same topic name then WoMan will prompt | |
373 for which file to format. Completion of topics is case insensitive. | |
374 | |
375 Clearly, @code{woman} has to know where to look for man files and there | |
376 are two customizable user options that store this information: | |
377 @code{woman-manpath} and @code{woman-path}. @xref{Interface Options, , | |
378 Interface Options}. If @code{woman-manpath} is not set explicitly then | |
379 WoMan tries to pick up the information that would be used by the | |
380 @code{man} command, as follows. If the environment variable | |
381 @code{MANPATH} is set, which seems to be the standard mechanism under | |
382 UNIX, then WoMan parses that. Otherwise, if WoMan can find a | |
383 configuration file named (by default) @file{man.conf} (or something very | |
384 similar), which seems to be the standard mechanism under GNU/Linux, then | |
385 it parses that. To be precise, ``something very similar'' means | |
386 starting with @samp{man} and ending with @samp{.conf} and possibly more | |
387 lowercase letters, e.g.@: @file{manual.configuration}. | |
388 The search path and/or precise full path name for this file are set by | |
389 the value of the customizable user option @code{woman-man.conf-path}. | |
390 If all else fails, WoMan uses a plausible default man search path. | |
391 | |
392 If the above default configuration does not work correctly for any | |
393 reason then simply customize the value of @code{woman-manpath}. To | |
394 access man files that are not in a conventional man file hierarchy, | |
395 customize the value of @code{woman-path} to include the directories | |
396 containing the files. In this way, @code{woman} can access manual files | |
397 @emph{anywhere} in the entire file system. | |
398 | |
399 There are two differences between @code{woman-manpath} and | |
400 @code{woman-path}. Firstly, the elements of @code{woman-manpath} must | |
401 be directories that contain @emph{directories of} man files, whereas the | |
402 elements of @code{woman-path} must be directories that contain man files | |
403 @emph{directly}. Secondly, the last directory component of each element | |
404 of @code{woman-path} is treated as a regular (Emacs) match expression | |
405 rather than a fixed name, which allows collections of related | |
406 directories to be specified succinctly. Also, elements of | |
407 @code{woman-manpath} can be conses, indicating a mapping from | |
408 @samp{PATH} environment variable components to man directory | |
409 hierarchies. | |
410 | |
411 For topic completion to work, WoMan must build a list of all the manual | |
412 files that it can access, which can be very slow, especially if a | |
413 network is involved. For this reason, it caches various amounts of | |
414 information, after which retrieving it from the cache is very fast. If | |
415 the cache ever gets out of synchronism with reality, running the | |
416 @code{woman} command with a prefix argument (e.g.@: @kbd{C-u M-x woman}) | |
417 will force it to rebuild its cache. This is necessary only if the names | |
418 or locations of any man files change; it is not necessary if only their | |
419 contents change. It would always be necessary if such a change occurred | |
420 whilst Emacs were running and after WoMan has been loaded. It may be | |
421 necessary if such a change occurs between Emacs sessions and persistent | |
422 caching is used, although WoMan can detect some changes that invalidate | |
423 its cache and rebuild it automatically. | |
424 | |
425 Customize the variable @code{woman-cache-filename} to save the cache | |
426 between Emacs sessions. This is recommended only if the @code{woman} | |
427 command is too slow the first time it is run in an Emacs session, while | |
428 it builds its cache in main memory, which @emph{may} be @emph{very} | |
429 slow. @xref{Cache, , The WoMan Topic Cache}, for further details. | |
430 | |
431 | |
432 @menu | |
433 * Cache:: The WoMan Topic Cache | |
434 * Word at point:: Using the ``Word at Point'' as a Topic Suggestion | |
435 @end menu | |
436 | |
437 @node Cache, Word at point, Topic, Topic | |
438 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
439 @subsection The WoMan Topic Cache | |
440 @cindex topic cache | |
441 @cindex cache, topic | |
442 | |
443 The amount of information that WoMan caches (in main memory and, | |
444 optionally, saved to disc) is controlled by the user option | |
445 @code{woman-cache-level}. There is a trade-off between the speed with | |
446 which WoMan can find a file and the size of the cache, and the default | |
447 setting gives a reasonable compromise. | |
448 | |
449 The @code{woman} command always performs a certain amount of caching in | |
450 main memory, but it can also write its cache to the filestore as a | |
451 persistent cache under control of the user option | |
452 @code{woman-cache-filename}. If persistent caching is turned on then | |
453 WoMan re-loads its internal cache from the cache file almost | |
454 instantaneously, so that there is never any perceptible start-up delay | |
455 @emph{except} when WoMan rebuilds its cache. Persistent caching is | |
456 currently turned off by default. This is because users with persistent | |
457 caching turned on may overlook the need to force WoMan to rebuild its | |
458 cache the first time they run it after they have installed new man | |
459 files; with persistent caching turned off, WoMan automatically rebuilds | |
460 its cache every time it is run in a new Emacs session. | |
461 | |
462 A prefix argument always causes the @code{woman} command (only) to | |
463 rebuild its topic cache, and to re-save it to | |
464 @code{woman-cache-filename} if this variable has a non-@code{nil} value. This | |
465 is necessary if the @emph{names} of any of the directories or files in | |
466 the paths specified by @code{woman-manpath} or @code{woman-path} change. | |
467 If WoMan user options that affect the cache are changed then WoMan will | |
468 automatically update its cache file on disc (if one is in use) the next | |
469 time it is run in a new Emacs session. | |
470 | |
471 | |
472 @node Word at point, , Cache, Topic | |
473 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
474 @subsection Using the ``Word at Point'' as a Topic Suggestion | |
475 @cindex word at point | |
476 @cindex point, word at | |
477 | |
478 By default, the @code{woman} command uses the word nearest to point in | |
479 the current buffer as a suggestion for the topic to look up, if it | |
480 exists as a valid topic. The topic can be confirmed or edited in the | |
481 minibuffer. | |
482 | |
483 You can also bind the variable @code{woman-use-topic-at-point} locally | |
484 to a non-@code{nil} value (using @code{let}), in which case | |
485 @code{woman} will can use the suggested topic without confirmation if | |
486 possible. This may be useful to provide special private key bindings, | |
487 e.g.@: this key binding for @kbd{C-c w} runs WoMan on the topic at | |
488 point without seeking confirmation: | |
489 | |
490 @lisp | |
491 (global-set-key "\C-cw" | |
492 (lambda () | |
493 (interactive) | |
494 (let ((woman-use-topic-at-point t)) | |
495 (woman)))) | |
496 @end lisp | |
497 | |
498 | |
499 @node Filename, Automatic, Topic, Finding | |
500 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
501 @section Filename Interface | |
502 @cindex filename interface | |
503 | |
504 The commands in this family are completely independent of the topic | |
505 interface, caching mechanism, etc. | |
506 | |
507 @findex woman-find-file | |
508 The filename interface is accessed principally via the extended command | |
509 @code{woman-find-file}, which is available without any configuration at | |
510 all (provided WoMan is installed and loaded or set up to autoload). | |
511 This command can be used to browse any accessible man file, regardless | |
512 of its filename or location. If the file is compressed then automatic | |
513 file decompression must already be turned on (e.g.@: see the | |
514 @samp{Help->Options} submenu)---it is turned on automatically only by | |
515 the @code{woman} topic interface. | |
516 | |
517 @findex woman-dired-find-file | |
518 Once WoMan is loaded (or if specially set up), various additional | |
519 commands in this family are available. In a dired buffer, the command | |
520 @code{woman-dired-find-file} allows the file on the same line as point | |
521 to be formatted and browsed by WoMan. It is bound to the key @kbd{W} in | |
522 the dired mode map and added to the dired major mode menu. It may also | |
523 be bound to @kbd{w}, unless this key is bound by another library, which | |
524 it is by @code{dired-x}, for example. Because it is quite likely that | |
525 other libraries will extend the capabilities of such a commonly used | |
526 mode as dired, the precise key bindings added by WoMan to the dired mode | |
527 map are controlled by the user option @code{woman-dired-keys}. | |
528 | |
529 @findex woman-tar-extract-file | |
530 When a tar (Tape ARchive) file is visited in Emacs, it is opened in tar | |
531 mode, which parses the tar file and shows a dired-like view of its | |
532 contents. The WoMan command @code{woman-tar-extract-file} allows the | |
533 file on the same line as point to be formatted and browsed by WoMan. It | |
534 is bound to the key @kbd{w} in the tar mode map and added to the tar | |
535 major mode menu. | |
536 | |
537 The command @code{woman-reformat-last-file}, which is bound to the key | |
538 @kbd{R} in WoMan mode and available on the major mode menu, reformats | |
539 the last file formatted by WoMan. This may occasionally be useful if | |
540 formatting parameters, such as the fill column, are changed, or perhaps | |
541 if the buffer is somehow corrupted. | |
542 | |
543 @findex woman-decode-buffer | |
544 The command @code{woman-decode-buffer} can be used to decode and browse | |
545 the current buffer if it is visiting a man file, although it is | |
546 primarily used internally by WoMan. | |
547 | |
548 | |
549 @node Automatic, , Filename, Finding | |
550 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
551 @section Automatic Interface | |
552 @cindex automatic interface | |
553 | |
554 Emacs provides an interface to detect automatically the format of a file | |
555 and decode it when it is visited. It is used primarily by the | |
556 facilities for editing rich (i.e.@: formatted) text, as a way to store | |
557 formatting information transparently as @acronym{ASCII} markup. WoMan can in | |
558 principle use this interface, but it must be configured explicitly. | |
559 | |
560 This use of WoMan does not seem to be particularly advantageous, so it | |
561 is not really supported. It originated during early experiments on how | |
562 best to implement WoMan, before I implemented the current topic | |
563 interface, and I subsequently stopped using it. I might revive it as a | |
564 mechanism for storing pre-formatted WoMan files, somewhat analogous to | |
565 the standard Unix @code{catman} facility. In the meantime, it exists | |
566 for anyone who wants to experiment with it. Once it is set up it is | |
567 simply a question of visiting the file and there is no WoMan-specific | |
568 user interface! | |
569 | |
570 To use it, put something like this in your @file{.emacs} file. [The | |
571 call to @code{set-visited-file-name} is to avoid font-locking triggered | |
572 by automatic major mode selection.] | |
573 | |
574 @lisp | |
575 (autoload 'woman-decode-region "woman") | |
576 | |
577 (add-to-list 'format-alist | |
578 '(man "Unix man-page source format" "\\.\\(TH\\|ig\\) " | |
579 woman-decode-region nil nil | |
580 (lambda (arg) | |
581 set-visited-file-name | |
582 (file-name-sans-extension buffer-file-name)))) | |
583 @end lisp | |
584 | |
585 @c =================================================================== | |
586 | |
587 @node Browsing, Customization, Finding, Top | |
588 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
589 @chapter Browsing Man Pages | |
590 @cindex using, browsing man pages | |
591 @cindex browsing man pages | |
592 @cindex man pages, browsing | |
593 | |
594 Once a man page has been found and formatted, WoMan provides a browsing | |
595 interface that is essentially the same as that provided by the standard | |
596 Emacs @code{man} command (and much of the code is inherited from the | |
597 @code{man} library, which WoMan currently requires). Many WoMan | |
598 facilities can be accessed from the WoMan major mode menu as well as via | |
599 key bindings, etc. | |
600 | |
601 WoMan does not produce any page breaks or page numbers, and in fact does | |
602 not paginate the man page at all, since this is not appropriate for | |
603 continuous online browsing. It produces a document header line that is | |
604 constructed from the standard man page header and footer. Apart from | |
605 that, the appearance of the formatted man page should be almost | |
606 identical to what would be produced by @code{man}, with consecutive | |
607 blank lines squeezed to a single blank line. | |
608 | |
609 @menu | |
610 * Fonts:: Fonts and Faces | |
611 * Navigation:: Navigation | |
612 * References:: Following References | |
613 * Changing:: Changing the Current Man Page | |
614 * Convenience:: Convenience Key Bindings | |
615 * Imenu:: Imenu Support; Contents Menu | |
616 @end menu | |
617 | |
618 @node Fonts, Navigation, Browsing, Browsing | |
619 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
620 @section Fonts and Faces | |
621 @cindex fonts | |
622 @cindex faces | |
623 | |
624 Fonts used by @code{roff} are handled by WoMan as faces, the details of | |
625 which are customizable. @xref{Faces, , Faces}. WoMan supports both the | |
626 italic and bold fonts normally used in man pages, together with a single | |
627 face to represent all unknown fonts (which are occasionally used in | |
628 ``non-standard'' man pages, usually to represent a ``typewriter'' font) | |
629 and a face to indicate additional symbols introduced by WoMan. This | |
630 currently means the characters ^ and _ used to indicate super- and | |
631 sub-scripts, which are not displayed well by WoMan. | |
632 | |
633 | |
634 @node Navigation, References, Fonts, Browsing | |
635 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
636 @section Navigation | |
637 @cindex navigation | |
638 | |
639 Man (and hence WoMan) mode can be thought of as a superset of view mode. | |
640 The buffer cannot be edited, so keys that would normally self-insert are | |
641 used for navigation. The WoMan key bindings are a minor modification of | |
642 the @code{man} key bindings. | |
643 | |
644 @table @kbd | |
645 @item @key{SPC} | |
646 @kindex SPC | |
647 @findex scroll-up | |
648 Scroll the man page up the window (@code{scroll-up}). | |
649 | |
650 @item @key{DEL} | |
651 @kindex DEL | |
652 @findex scroll-down | |
653 Scroll the man page down the window (@code{scroll-down}). | |
654 | |
655 @item n | |
656 @kindex n | |
657 @findex Man-next-section | |
658 Move point to the Nth next section---default 1 (@code{Man-next-section}). | |
659 | |
660 @item p | |
661 @kindex p | |
662 @findex Man-previous-section | |
663 Move point to Nth previous section---default 1 | |
664 (@code{Man-previous-section}). | |
665 | |
666 @item g | |
667 @kindex g | |
668 @findex Man-goto-section | |
669 Move point to the specified section (@code{Man-goto-section}). | |
670 | |
671 @item s | |
672 @kindex s | |
673 @findex Man-goto-see-also-section | |
674 Move point to the ``SEE ALSO'' section | |
675 (@code{Man-goto-see-also-section}). Actually the section moved to is | |
676 described by @code{Man-see-also-regexp}. | |
677 @end table | |
678 | |
679 | |
680 @node References, Changing, Navigation, Browsing | |
681 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
682 @section Following References | |
683 @cindex following references | |
684 @cindex references | |
685 | |
686 Man pages usually contain a ``SEE ALSO'' section containing references | |
687 to other man pages. If these man pages are installed then WoMan can | |
688 easily be directed to follow the reference, i.e.@: to find and format the | |
689 man page. When the mouse is passed over a correctly formatted reference | |
690 it is highlighted, in which case clicking the middle button | |
691 @kbd{Mouse-2} will cause WoMan to follow the reference. Alternatively, | |
692 when point is over such a reference the key @key{RET} will follow the | |
693 reference. | |
694 | |
695 Any word in the buffer can be used as a reference by clicking | |
696 @kbd{Mouse-2} over it provided the Meta key is also used (although in | |
697 general such a ``reference'' will not lead to a man page). | |
698 Alternatively, the key @kbd{r} allows completion to be used to select a | |
699 reference to follow, based on the word at point as default. | |
700 | |
701 @table @kbd | |
702 @item @kbd{Mouse-2} | |
703 @kindex Mouse-2 | |
704 @findex woman-mouse-2 | |
705 Run WoMan with word under mouse as topic (@code{woman-mouse-2}). The | |
706 word must be mouse-highlighted unless @code{woman-mouse-2} is used with | |
707 the Meta key. | |
708 | |
709 @item @key{RET} | |
710 @kindex RET | |
711 @findex man-follow | |
712 Get the man page for the topic under (or nearest to) point | |
713 (@code{man-follow}). | |
714 | |
715 @item r | |
716 @kindex r | |
717 @findex Man-follow-manual-reference | |
718 Get one of the man pages referred to in the ``SEE ALSO'' section | |
719 (@code{Man-follow-manual-reference}). Specify which reference to use; | |
720 default is based on word at point. | |
721 @end table | |
722 | |
723 | |
724 @node Changing, Convenience, References, Browsing | |
725 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
726 @section Changing the Current Man Page | |
727 @cindex changing current man page | |
728 @cindex current man page, changing | |
729 | |
730 The man page currently being browsed by WoMan can be changed in several | |
731 ways. The command @code{woman} can be invoked to format another man | |
732 page, or the current WoMan buffer can be buried or killed. WoMan | |
733 maintains a ring of formatted man pages, and it is possible to move | |
734 forwards and backwards in this ring by moving to the next or previous | |
735 man page. It is sometimes useful to reformat the current page, for | |
736 example after the right margin (the wrap column) or some other | |
737 formatting parameter has been changed. | |
738 | |
739 Buffers formatted by Man and WoMan are completely unrelated, even though | |
740 some of the commands to manipulate them are superficially the same (and | |
741 share code). | |
742 | |
743 @table @kbd | |
744 @item m | |
745 @kindex m | |
746 @findex man | |
747 Run the command @code{man} to get a Un*x manual page and put it in a | |
748 buffer. This command is the top-level command in the man package. It | |
749 runs a Un*x command to retrieve and clean a man page in the background | |
750 and places the results in a Man mode (man page browsing) buffer. If a | |
751 man buffer already exists for this man page, it will display | |
752 immediately. This works exactly the same if WoMan is loaded, except | |
753 that the formatting time is displayed in the mini-buffer. | |
754 | |
755 @item w | |
756 @kindex w | |
757 @findex woman | |
758 Run the command @code{woman} exactly as if the extended command or menu | |
759 item had been used. | |
760 | |
761 @item q | |
762 @kindex q | |
763 @findex Man-quit | |
764 Bury the buffer containing the current man page (@code{Man-quit}), | |
765 i.e.@: move it to the bottom of the buffer stack. | |
766 | |
767 @item k | |
768 @kindex k | |
769 @findex Man-kill | |
770 Kill the buffer containing the current man page (@code{Man-kill}), | |
771 i.e.@: delete it completely so that it can be retrieved only by formatting | |
772 the page again. | |
773 | |
774 @item M-p | |
775 @kindex M-p | |
776 @findex WoMan-previous-manpage | |
777 Find the previous WoMan buffer (@code{WoMan-previous-manpage}). | |
778 | |
779 @item M-n | |
780 @kindex M-n | |
781 @findex WoMan-next-manpage | |
782 Find the next WoMan buffer (@code{WoMan-next-manpage}). | |
783 | |
784 @item R | |
785 @kindex R | |
786 @findex woman-reformat-last-file | |
787 Call WoMan to reformat the last man page formatted by WoMan | |
788 (@code{woman-reformat-last-file}), e.g.@: after changing the fill column. | |
789 @end table | |
790 | |
791 | |
792 @node Convenience, Imenu, Changing, Browsing | |
793 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
794 @section Convenience Key Bindings | |
795 @cindex convenience key bindings | |
796 @cindex key bindings, convenience | |
797 | |
798 @table @kbd | |
799 @item - | |
800 @kindex - | |
801 @findex negative-argument | |
802 Begin a negative numeric argument for the next command | |
803 (@code{negative-argument}). | |
804 | |
805 @item 0 .. 9 | |
806 @kindex 0 .. 9 | |
807 @findex digit-argument | |
808 Part of the numeric argument for the next command | |
809 (@code{digit-argument}). | |
810 | |
811 @item < | |
812 @kindex < | |
813 @itemx . | |
814 @kindex . | |
815 @findex beginning-of-buffer | |
816 Move point to the beginning of the buffer; leave mark at previous | |
817 position (@code{beginning-of-buffer}). | |
818 | |
819 @item > | |
820 @kindex > | |
821 @findex end-of-buffer | |
822 Move point to the end of the buffer; leave mark at previous position | |
823 (@code{end-of-buffer}). | |
824 | |
825 @item ? | |
826 @kindex ? | |
827 @findex describe-mode | |
828 Display documentation of current major mode and minor modes | |
829 (@code{describe-mode}). The major mode description comes first, | |
830 followed by the minor modes, each on a separate page. | |
831 @end table | |
832 | |
833 | |
834 @node Imenu, , Convenience, Browsing | |
835 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
836 @section Imenu Support; Contents Menu | |
837 @cindex imenu support | |
838 @cindex contents menu | |
839 | |
840 The WoMan menu provides an option to make a contents menu for the | |
841 current man page (using @code{imenu}). Alternatively, if you customize | |
842 the option @code{woman-imenu} to @code{t} then WoMan will do it | |
843 automatically for every man page. The menu title is set by the option | |
844 @code{woman-imenu-title}, which is ``CONTENTS'' by default. The menu | |
845 shows manual sections and subsections by default, but you can change | |
846 this by customizing @code{woman-imenu-generic-expression}. | |
847 | |
848 WoMan is configured not to replace spaces in an imenu | |
849 @code{*Completion*} buffer. For further documentation on the use of | |
850 imenu, such as menu sorting, see the source file @file{imenu.el}, which | |
851 is distributed with GNU Emacs. | |
852 | |
853 @c =================================================================== | |
854 | |
855 @node Customization, Log, Browsing, Top | |
856 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
857 @chapter Customization | |
858 @cindex customization | |
859 | |
860 All WoMan user options are customizable, and it is recommended to | |
861 change them only via the standard Emacs customization facilities. | |
862 WoMan defines a top-level customization group called @code{WoMan} | |
863 under the parent group @code{Help}. It can be accessed either via the | |
864 standard Emacs facilities, e.g.@: via the @samp{Help->Customize} | |
865 submenu, or via the WoMan major mode menu. | |
866 | |
867 The top-level WoMan group contains only a few general options and three | |
868 subgroups. The hooks are provided only for special purposes that, for | |
869 example, require code to be executed, and should be changed only via | |
870 @code{Customization} or the function @code{add-hook}. Most | |
871 customization should be possible via existing user options. | |
872 | |
873 @vtable @code | |
874 @item woman-show-log | |
875 A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then show the | |
876 @code{*WoMan-Log*} buffer if appropriate, i.e.@: if any warning messages | |
877 are written to it. @xref{Log, , The *WoMan-Log* Buffer}. | |
878 | |
879 @item woman-pre-format-hook | |
880 A hook run immediately before formatting a buffer. It might, for | |
881 example, be used for face customization. @xref{Faces, , Faces}, | |
882 however. | |
883 | |
884 @item woman-post-format-hook | |
885 A hook run immediately after formatting a buffer. It might, for | |
886 example, be used for installing a dynamic menu using @code{imenu}. | |
887 (However. in this case it is better to use the built-in WoMan | |
888 @code{imenu} support. @xref{Imenu, , Imenu Support; Contents Menu}.) | |
889 @end vtable | |
890 | |
891 @heading Customization Subgroups | |
892 | |
893 @table @code | |
894 @item WoMan Interface | |
895 These options control the process of locating the appropriate file to | |
896 browse, and the appearance of the browsing interface. | |
897 | |
898 @item WoMan Formatting | |
899 These options control the layout that WoMan uses to format the man page. | |
900 | |
901 @item WoMan Faces | |
902 These options control the display faces that WoMan uses to format the | |
903 man page. | |
904 @end table | |
905 | |
906 @menu | |
907 * Interface Options:: | |
908 * Formatting Options:: | |
909 * Faces:: | |
910 * Special symbols:: | |
911 @end menu | |
912 | |
913 @node Interface Options, Formatting Options, Customization, Customization | |
914 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
915 @section Interface Options | |
916 @cindex interface options | |
917 | |
918 These options control the process of locating the appropriate file to | |
919 browse, and the appearance of the browsing interface. | |
920 | |
921 @vtable @code | |
922 @item woman-man.conf-path | |
923 A list of strings representing directories to search and/or files to try | |
924 for a man configuration file. The default is | |
925 | |
926 @lisp | |
927 ("/etc" "/usr/local/lib") | |
928 @end lisp | |
929 | |
930 @noindent | |
931 [for GNU/Linux and Cygwin respectively.] A trailing separator (@file{/} | |
932 for UNIX etc.) on directories is optional and the filename matched if a | |
933 directory is specified is the first to match the regexp | |
934 @code{man.*\.conf}. If the environment variable @code{MANPATH} is not | |
935 set but a configuration file is found then it is parsed instead (or as | |
936 well) to provide a default value for @code{woman-manpath}. | |
937 | |
938 @item woman-manpath | |
939 A list of strings representing @emph{directory trees} to search for Unix | |
940 manual files. Each element should be the name of a directory that | |
941 contains subdirectories of the form @file{man?}, or more precisely | |
942 subdirectories selected by the value of @code{woman-manpath-man-regexp}. | |
943 Non-directory and unreadable files are ignored. This can also contain | |
944 conses, with the car indicating a @code{PATH} variable component mapped | |
945 to the directory tree given in the cdr. | |
946 | |
947 @cindex @code{MANPATH}, environment variable | |
948 If not set then the environment variable @code{MANPATH} is used. If no | |
949 such environment variable is found, the default list is determined by | |
950 consulting the man configuration file if found. By default this is | |
951 expected to be either @file{/etc/man.config} or | |
952 @file{/usr/local/lib/man.conf}, which is controlled by the user option | |
953 @code{woman-man.conf-path}. An empty substring of @code{MANPATH} | |
954 denotes the default list. Otherwise, the default value of this variable | |
955 is | |
956 | |
957 @lisp | |
958 ("/usr/man" "/usr/local/man") | |
959 @end lisp | |
960 | |
961 Any environment variables (names of which must have the Unix-style form | |
962 @code{$NAME}, e.g.@: @code{$HOME}, @code{$EMACSDATA}, @code{$EMACS_DIR}, | |
963 regardless of platform) are evaluated first but each element must | |
964 evaluate to a @emph{single} directory name. Trailing @file{/}s are | |
965 ignored. (Specific directories in @code{woman-path} are also searched.) | |
966 | |
967 On Microsoft platforms I recommend including drive letters explicitly, | |
968 e.g. | |
969 | |
970 @lisp | |
971 ("C:/Cygwin/usr/man" "C:/usr/man" "C:/usr/local/man") | |
972 @end lisp | |
973 | |
974 @cindex directory separator character | |
975 @cindex @code{MANPATH}, directory separator | |
976 The @code{MANPATH} environment variable may be set using DOS | |
977 semi-colon-separated or Unix-style colon-separated syntax (but not | |
978 mixed). | |
979 | |
980 @item woman-manpath-man-regexp | |
981 A regular expression to match man directories @emph{under} the | |
982 @code{woman-manpath} directories. These normally have names of the form | |
983 @file{man?}. Its default value is @code{"[Mm][Aa][Nn]"}, which is | |
984 case-insensitive mainly for the benefit of Microsoft platforms. Its | |
985 purpose is to avoid directories such as @file{cat?}, @file{.}, | |
986 @file{..}, etc. | |
987 | |
988 @item woman-path | |
989 A list of strings representing @emph{specific directories} to search for | |
990 Unix manual files. For example | |
991 | |
992 @lisp | |
993 ("/emacs/etc") | |
994 @end lisp | |
995 | |
996 These directories are searched in addition to the directory trees | |
997 specified in @code{woman-manpath}. Each element should be a directory | |
998 string or @code{nil}, which represents the current directory when the | |
999 path is expanded and cached. However, the last component (only) of each | |
1000 directory string is treated as a regexp (Emacs, not shell) and the | |
1001 string is expanded into a list of matching directories. Non-directory | |
1002 and unreadable files are ignored. The default value on MS-DOS is | |
1003 | |
1004 @lisp | |
1005 ("$DJDIR/info" "$DJDIR/man/cat[1-9onlp]") | |
1006 @end lisp | |
1007 | |
1008 @noindent | |
1009 and on other platforms is @code{nil}. | |
1010 | |
1011 Any environment variables (names of which must have the Unix-style form | |
1012 @code{$NAME}, e.g.@: @code{$HOME}, @code{$EMACSDATA}, @code{$EMACS_DIR}, | |
1013 regardless of platform) are evaluated first but each element must | |
1014 evaluate to a @emph{single} directory name (regexp, see above). For | |
1015 example | |
1016 | |
1017 @lisp | |
1018 ("$EMACSDATA") | |
1019 @end lisp | |
1020 | |
1021 @noindent | |
1022 or equivalently | |
1023 | |
1024 @lisp | |
1025 ("$EMACS_DIR/etc") | |
1026 @end lisp | |
1027 | |
1028 @noindent | |
1029 Trailing @file{/}s are discarded. (The directory trees in | |
1030 @code{woman-manpath} are also searched.) On Microsoft platforms I | |
1031 recommend including drive letters explicitly. | |
1032 | |
1033 @item woman-cache-level | |
1034 A positive integer representing the level of topic caching: | |
1035 | |
1036 @enumerate | |
1037 @item | |
1038 cache only the topic and directory lists (uses minimal memory, but not | |
1039 recommended); | |
1040 @item | |
1041 cache also the directories for each topic (faster, without using much | |
1042 more memory); | |
1043 @item | |
1044 cache also the actual filenames for each topic (fastest, but uses twice | |
1045 as much memory). | |
1046 @end enumerate | |
1047 | |
1048 The default value is currently 2, a good general compromise. If the | |
1049 @code{woman} command is slow to find files then try 3, which may be | |
1050 particularly beneficial with large remote-mounted man directories. Run | |
1051 the @code{woman} command with a prefix argument or delete the cache file | |
1052 @code{woman-cache-filename} for a change to take effect. (Values < 1 | |
1053 behave like 1; values > 3 behave like 3.) | |
1054 | |
1055 @item woman-cache-filename | |
1056 Either a string representing the full pathname of the WoMan directory | |
1057 and topic cache file, or @code{nil}. It is used to save and restore the | |
1058 cache between Emacs sessions. This is especially useful with | |
1059 remote-mounted man page files! The default value of @code{nil} | |
1060 suppresses this action. The ``standard'' non-@code{nil} filename is | |
1061 @file{~/.wmncach.el}. Remember that a prefix argument forces the | |
1062 @code{woman} command to update and re-write the cache. | |
1063 | |
1064 @item woman-dired-keys | |
1065 A list of @code{dired} mode keys to be defined to run WoMan on the | |
1066 current file, e.g.@: @code{("w" "W")} or any non-@code{nil} atom to | |
1067 automatically define @kbd{w} and @kbd{W} if they are unbound, or | |
1068 @code{nil} to do nothing. Default is @code{t}. | |
1069 | |
1070 @item woman-imenu-generic-expression | |
1071 Imenu support for Sections and Subsections: an alist with elements of | |
1072 the form @code{(MENU-TITLE REGEXP INDEX)}---see the documentation for | |
1073 @code{imenu-generic-expression}. Default value is | |
1074 | |
1075 @lisp | |
1076 ((nil "\n\\([A-Z].*\\)" 1) ; SECTION, but not TITLE | |
1077 ("*Subsections*" "^ \\([A-Z].*\\)" 1)) | |
1078 @end lisp | |
1079 | |
1080 @item woman-imenu | |
1081 A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan adds | |
1082 a Contents menu to the menubar by calling @code{imenu-add-to-menubar}. | |
1083 | |
1084 @item woman-imenu-title | |
1085 A string representing the title to use if WoMan adds a Contents menu to | |
1086 the menubar. Default is @code{"CONTENTS"}. | |
1087 | |
1088 @item woman-use-topic-at-point | |
1089 A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then | |
1090 the @code{woman} command uses the word at point as the topic, | |
1091 @emph{without interactive confirmation}, if it exists as a topic. | |
1092 | |
1093 @item woman-use-topic-at-point-default | |
1094 A boolean value representing the default value for | |
1095 @code{woman-use-topic-at-point}. The default value is @code{nil}. | |
1096 [The variable @code{woman-use-topic-at-point} may be @code{let}-bound | |
1097 when @code{woman} is loaded, in which case its global value does not | |
1098 get defined. The function @code{woman-file-name} sets it to this | |
1099 value if it is unbound.] | |
1100 | |
1101 @item woman-uncompressed-file-regexp | |
1102 A regular match expression used to select man source files (ignoring any | |
1103 compression extension). The default value is | |
1104 @code{"\\.\\([0-9lmnt]\\w*\\)"} [which means a filename extension is | |
1105 required]. | |
1106 | |
1107 @emph{Do not change this unless you are sure you know what you are doing!} | |
1108 | |
1109 The SysV standard man pages use two character suffixes, and this is | |
1110 becoming more common in the GNU world. For example, the man pages in | |
1111 the @code{ncurses} package include @file{toe.1m}, @file{form.3x}, etc. | |
1112 | |
1113 @strong{Please note:} an optional compression regexp will be appended, | |
1114 so this regexp @emph{must not} end with any kind of string terminator | |
1115 such as @code{$} or @code{\\'}. | |
1116 | |
1117 @item woman-file-compression-regexp | |
1118 A regular match expression used to match compressed man file extensions | |
1119 for which decompressors are available and handled by auto-compression | |
1120 mode. It should begin with @code{\\.} and end with @code{\\'} and | |
1121 @emph{must not} be optional. The default value is | |
1122 @code{"\\.\\(g?z\\|bz2\\)\\'"}, which matches the @code{gzip} and | |
1123 @code{bzip2} compression extensions. | |
1124 | |
1125 @emph{Do not change this unless you are sure you know what you are doing!} | |
1126 | |
1127 [It should be compatible with the @code{car} of | |
1128 @code{jka-compr-file-name-handler-entry}, but that is unduly | |
1129 complicated, includes an inappropriate extension (@file{.tgz}) and is | |
1130 not loaded by default!] | |
1131 | |
1132 @item woman-use-own-frame | |
1133 If non-@code{nil} then use a dedicated frame for displaying WoMan windows. | |
1134 This is useful only when WoMan is run under a window system such as X or | |
1135 Microsoft Windows that supports real multiple frames, in which case the | |
1136 default value is non-@code{nil}. | |
1137 @end vtable | |
1138 | |
1139 | |
1140 @node Formatting Options, Faces, Interface Options, Customization | |
1141 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1142 @section Formatting Options | |
1143 @cindex formatting options | |
1144 | |
1145 These options control the layout that WoMan uses to format the man page. | |
1146 | |
1147 @vtable @code | |
1148 @item woman-fill-column | |
1149 An integer specifying the right margin for formatted text. Default is | |
1150 65. | |
1151 | |
1152 @item woman-fill-frame | |
1153 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then most of the frame width is used, | |
1154 overriding the value of @code{woman-fill-column}. Default is @code{nil}. | |
1155 | |
1156 @item woman-default-indent | |
1157 An integer specifying the default prevailing indent for the @code{-man} | |
1158 macros. Default is 5. Set this variable to 7 to emulate GNU/Linux man | |
1159 formatting. | |
1160 | |
1161 @item woman-bold-headings | |
1162 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then embolden section and subsection | |
1163 headings. Default is @code{t}. [Heading emboldening is @emph{not} standard | |
1164 @code{man} behavior.] | |
1165 | |
1166 @item woman-ignore | |
96452
a9190e1a1d37
American English spelling fix.
Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org>
parents:
95937
diff
changeset
|
1167 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then unrecognized requests etc. are |
84325 | 1168 ignored. Default is @code{t}. This gives the standard @code{roff} behavior. |
1169 If @code{nil} then they are left in the buffer, which may aid debugging. | |
1170 | |
1171 @item woman-preserve-ascii | |
1172 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then preserve @acronym{ASCII} characters in the | |
1173 WoMan buffer. Otherwise, non-@acronym{ASCII} characters (that display as | |
1174 @acronym{ASCII}) may remain, which is irrelevant unless the buffer is to be | |
1175 saved to a file. Default is @code{nil}. | |
1176 | |
1177 @item woman-emulation | |
1178 WoMan emulation, currently either @code{nroff} or @code{troff}. Default | |
1179 is @code{nroff}. @code{troff} emulation is experimental and largely | |
1180 untested. | |
1181 @end vtable | |
1182 | |
1183 | |
1184 @node Faces, Special symbols, Formatting Options, Customization | |
1185 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1186 @section Faces | |
1187 @cindex faces | |
1188 | |
1189 These options control the display faces that WoMan uses to format the | |
1190 man page. | |
1191 | |
1192 @vtable @code | |
1193 @item woman-fontify | |
1194 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan assumes that face support is | |
1195 available. It defaults to a non-@code{nil} value if the display supports | |
1196 either colors or different fonts. | |
1197 | |
1198 @item woman-italic-face | |
1199 Face for italic font in man pages. Default: italic, underlined, | |
1200 foreground red. This is overkill! @code{troff} uses just italic; | |
1201 @code{nroff} uses just underline. You should probably select either | |
1202 italic or underline as you prefer, but not both, although italic and | |
1203 underline work together perfectly well! | |
1204 | |
1205 @item woman-bold-face | |
1206 Face for bold font in man pages. Default: bold, foreground blue. | |
1207 | |
1208 @item woman-unknown-face | |
1209 Face for all unknown fonts in man pages. Default: foreground brown. | |
1210 Brown is a good compromise: it is distinguishable from the default but | |
1211 not enough so as to make font errors look terrible. (Files that use | |
1212 non-standard fonts seem to do so badly or in idiosyncratic ways!) | |
1213 | |
1214 @item woman-addition-face | |
1215 Face for all additions made by WoMan to man pages. | |
1216 Default: foreground orange. | |
1217 @end vtable | |
1218 | |
1219 | |
1220 @node Special symbols, , Faces, Customization | |
1221 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1222 @section Special symbols | |
1223 @cindex special symbols | |
1224 | |
1225 This section currently applies @emph{only} to Microsoft Windows. | |
1226 | |
1227 WoMan provides partial experimental support for special symbols, | |
1228 initially only for MS-Windows and only for MS-Windows fonts. This | |
1229 includes both non-@acronym{ASCII} characters from the main text font and use | |
1230 of a separate symbol font. Later, support will be added for other font | |
1231 types (e.g.@: @code{bdf} fonts) and for the X Window System. In Emacs | |
1232 20.7, the current support works partially under Windows 9x but may not | |
1233 work on any other platform. | |
1234 | |
1235 @vtable @code | |
1236 @item woman-use-extended-font | |
1237 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan may use non-@acronym{ASCII} characters | |
1238 from the default font. Default is @code{t}. | |
1239 | |
1240 @item woman-use-symbol-font | |
1241 A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan may use the symbol font. | |
1242 Default is @code{nil}, mainly because it may change the line spacing (at | |
1243 least in NTEmacs 20). | |
1244 | |
1245 @item woman-symbol-font | |
1246 A string describing the symbol font to use for special characters. | |
1247 It should be compatible with, and the same size as, the default text font. | |
1248 Under MS-Windows, the default is | |
1249 | |
1250 @lisp | |
1251 "-*-Symbol-normal-r-*-*-*-*-96-96-p-*-ms-symbol" | |
1252 @end lisp | |
1253 @end vtable | |
1254 | |
1255 | |
1256 @c =================================================================== | |
1257 | |
1258 @node Log, Technical, Customization, Top | |
1259 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1260 @chapter The *WoMan-Log* Buffer | |
1261 @cindex log buffer | |
1262 @cindex buffer, log | |
1263 | |
1264 This is modeled on the Emacs byte-compiler. It logs all files | |
1265 formatted by WoMan and the time taken. If WoMan finds anything that it | |
1266 cannot handle then it writes a warning to this buffer. If the variable | |
1267 @code{woman-show-log} is non-@code{nil} (by default it is @code{nil}) then | |
1268 WoMan automatically displays this buffer. @xref{Interface Options, , | |
1269 Interface Options}. Many WoMan warnings can be completely ignored, | |
1270 because they are reporting the fact that WoMan has ignored requests that | |
1271 it is correct for WoMan to ignore. In some future version this level of | |
1272 paranoia may be reduced, but not until WoMan is deemed more reliable. | |
1273 At present, all warnings should be treated with some suspicion. | |
1274 Uninterpreted escape sequences are also logged (in some cases). | |
1275 | |
1276 By resetting the variable @code{woman-ignore} to @code{nil} (by default | |
1277 it is @code{t}), uninterpreted @code{roff} requests can optionally be | |
1278 left in the formatted buffer to indicate precisely where they occurred. | |
1279 @xref{Interface Options, , Interface Options}. | |
1280 | |
1281 @c =================================================================== | |
1282 | |
1283 @node Technical, Bugs, Log, Top | |
1284 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1285 @chapter Technical Details | |
1286 @cindex technical details | |
1287 @cindex horizontal spacing | |
1288 @cindex spacing, horizontal and vertical | |
1289 @cindex vertical spacing | |
1290 @cindex resolution | |
1291 | |
1292 @heading Horizontal and vertical spacing and resolution | |
1293 | |
1294 WoMan currently assumes 10 characters per inch horizontally, hence a | |
1295 horizontal resolution of 24 basic units, and 5 lines per inch | |
1296 vertically, hence a vertical resolution of 48 basic units. | |
1297 (@code{nroff} uses 240 per inch.) | |
1298 | |
1299 @heading Vertical spacing and blank lines | |
1300 | |
1301 The number of consecutive blank lines in the formatted buffer should be | |
1302 either 0 or 1. A blank line should leave a space like .sp 1. | |
1303 Current policy is to output vertical space only immediately before text | |
1304 is output. | |
1305 | |
1306 @c =================================================================== | |
1307 | |
1308 @node Bugs, Acknowledgements, Technical, Top | |
1309 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1310 @chapter Reporting Bugs | |
1311 @cindex reporting bugs | |
1312 @cindex bugs, reporting | |
1313 | |
1314 If WoMan fails completely, or formats a file incorrectly (i.e.@: | |
1315 obviously wrongly or significantly differently from @code{man}) or | |
1316 inelegantly, then please | |
1317 | |
1318 @enumerate | |
1319 @item | |
1320 try the latest version of @file{woman.el} from the Emacs CVS repository | |
1321 on @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/}. If it still fails, please | |
1322 | |
1323 @item | |
1324 send a bug report to @email{bug-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org} and to | |
1325 @email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk}. Please include the entry from the | |
1326 @code{*WoMan-Log*} buffer relating to the problem file, together with | |
1327 a brief description of the problem. Please indicate where you got the | |
1328 man source file from, but do not send it unless asked to send it. | |
1329 @end enumerate | |
1330 | |
1331 @c =================================================================== | |
1332 | |
1333 @node Acknowledgements, GNU Free Documentation License, Bugs, Top | |
1334 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1335 @chapter Acknowledgements | |
1336 @cindex acknowledgements | |
1337 | |
1338 For Heather, Kathryn and Madelyn, the women in my life (although they | |
1339 will probably never use it)! | |
1340 | |
1341 I also thank the following for helpful suggestions, bug reports, code | |
1342 fragments, general interest, etc.: | |
1343 | |
1344 @quotation | |
1345 Jari Aalto, @email{jari.aalto@@cs.tpu.fi}@* | |
1346 Dean Andrews, @email{dean@@dra.com}@* | |
1347 Juanma Barranquero, @email{barranquero@@laley-actualidad.es}@* | |
1348 Karl Berry, @email{kb@@cs.umb.edu}@* | |
1349 Jim Chapman, @email{jchapman@@netcomuk.co.uk}@* | |
1350 Frederic Corne, @email{frederic.corne@@erli.fr}@* | |
1351 Peter Craft, @email{craft@@alacritech.com}@* | |
1352 Charles Curley, @email{ccurley@@trib.com}@* | |
1353 Jim Davidson, @email{jdavidso@@teknowledge.com}@* | |
1354 Kevin D'Elia, @email{Kevin.DElia@@mci.com}@* | |
1355 John Fitch, @email{jpff@@maths.bath.ac.uk}@* | |
1356 Hans Frosch, @email{jwfrosch@@rish.b17c.ingr.com}@* | |
1357 Guy Gascoigne-Piggford, @email{ggp@@informix.com}@* | |
1358 Brian Gorka, @email{gorkab@@sanchez.com}@* | |
1359 Nicolai Henriksen, @email{nhe@@lyngso-industri.dk}@* | |
1360 Thomas Herchenroeder, @email{the@@software-ag.de}@* | |
1361 Alexander Hinds, @email{ahinds@@thegrid.net}@* | |
1362 Stefan Hornburg, @email{sth@@hacon.de}@* | |
1363 Theodore Jump, @email{tjump@@cais.com}@* | |
1364 Paul Kinnucan, @email{paulk@@mathworks.com}@* | |
1365 Jonas Linde, @email{jonas@@init.se}@* | |
1366 Andrew McRae, @email{andrewm@@optimation.co.nz}@* | |
1367 Howard Melman, @email{howard@@silverstream.com}@* | |
1368 Dennis Pixton, @email{dennis@@math.binghamton.edu}@* | |
1369 T. V. Raman, @email{raman@@Adobe.com}@* | |
1370 Bruce Ravel, @email{bruce.ravel@@nist.gov}@* | |
1371 Benjamin Riefenstahl, @email{benny@@crocodial.de}@* | |
1372 Kevin Ruland, @email{kruland@@seistl.com}@* | |
1373 Tom Schutter, @email{tom@@platte.com}@* | |
1374 Wei-Xue Shi, @email{wxshi@@ma.neweb.ne.jp}@* | |
1375 Fabio Somenzi, @email{fabio@@joplin.colorado.edu}@* | |
1376 Karel Sprenger, @email{ks@@ic.uva.nl}@* | |
1377 Chris Szurgot, @email{szurgot@@itribe.net}@* | |
1378 Paul A. Thompson, @email{pat@@po.cwru.edu}@* | |
1379 Arrigo Triulzi, @email{arrigo@@maths.qmw.ac.uk}@* | |
1380 Geoff Voelker, @email{voelker@@cs.washington.edu}@* | |
1381 Eli Zaretskii, @email{eliz@@is.elta.co.il} | |
1382 @end quotation | |
1383 | |
1384 @c =================================================================== | |
1385 | |
1386 @comment END OF MANUAL TEXT | |
1387 @page | |
1388 | |
1389 | |
1390 @node GNU Free Documentation License, Command Index, Acknowledgements, Top | |
1391 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License | |
1392 @include doclicense.texi | |
1393 | |
1394 @node Command Index, Variable Index, GNU Free Documentation License, Top | |
1395 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1396 @unnumbered Command Index | |
1397 | |
1398 @printindex fn | |
1399 | |
1400 @node Variable Index, Keystroke Index, Command Index, Top | |
1401 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1402 @unnumbered Variable Index | |
1403 | |
1404 @printindex vr | |
1405 | |
1406 @c Without a page throw here, the page length seems to get reset to the | |
1407 @c depth of the index that fits on the page after the previous index. | |
1408 @c This must be a bug! | |
1409 | |
1410 @page | |
1411 | |
1412 @node Keystroke Index, Concept Index, Variable Index, Top | |
1413 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1414 @unnumbered Keystroke Index | |
1415 | |
1416 @printindex ky | |
1417 | |
1418 @c Without a page throw here, the page length seems to get reset to the | |
1419 @c depth of the index that fits on the page after the previous index. | |
1420 @c This must be a bug! | |
1421 | |
1422 @page | |
1423 | |
1424 @node Concept Index, , Keystroke Index, Top | |
1425 @comment node-name, next, previous, up | |
1426 @unnumbered Concept Index | |
1427 | |
1428 @printindex cp | |
1429 | |
1430 @bye | |
1431 | |
1432 @ignore | |
1433 arch-tag: a1a6b715-396f-4378-9b94-0b2ca0aa5028 | |
1434 @end ignore |