Man Pages InfoExplorer Tips After 3.2 Install or Update

This document provides common questions and answers regarding man pages and InfoExplorer after an AIX Version 3.2.x install or upgrade. This document applies to the InfoExplorer hypertext CD-ROM only.

Question

Answer

During the update, it is possible that InfoExplorer was upgraded. Check to see if the copy of ispaths is the same size as ispaths.full in directory /usr/share/info/data. If ispaths is smaller, copy ispaths.full to ispaths.

Also, during some system updates the LANG variable may be reset to C. Use the command smit chlang to change the LANG variable to the correct value (for example, En_US for English [United States] IBM-850).

Question

Answer

Selecting "all" does not include the InfoExplorer databases; it only includes the LPPs (executables). Use the following checklist to isolate the problem.

• Check the LANG variable to make sure it is set to the correct language (for example, En_US). To display the variable, enter

     echo $LANG 
  

  Use the command smit chlang to change the LANG variable to the correct value (for example, En_US for English [United States] IBM-850).

• To use the InfoExplorer package, you must first install the Info LPP. The following command will check to see if it is installed:

     lslpp -l bos.data 
  

  If it is installed, it will show up as either COMMITTED or APPLIED. If not, you will have to install it.

• If you are using the InfoExplorer CD-ROM, check that all the steps in the "Mounting InfoExplorer" chapter of the install guide have been completed.

• If you are using the TechLib CD-ROM, check that all the steps in the TechLib Installation Instructions have been completed.

  NOTE: The mount point for the TechLib CD-ROM is not the same as the mount point for the InfoExplorer CD-ROM. Also, the ispaths file is different.

• If InfoExplorer is to be on the hard drive instead of the CD-ROM, turn to the product information chapter under InfoExplorer in the install guide, and select from the following:

  For AIX 3.2.0 to 3.2.3, select:

  bssiEn_US.info (base system standard information)
  bspiEn_US.info (base system programming information)
  bseiEn_US.info (base system delivered education option)

  For AIX 3.2.4 and later, select:

  Base system standard information (bssiEn_US.info)
  Base system programming information, xlc, and tools (bspiEn_US.info)

To verify that any of the above LPPs are installed on your system, enter the following command, replacing xx with the appropriate letters to match the LPPs listed above.

   lslpp -l bsxxEn_US.info 

If the output from this command says APPLIED or COMMITTED, then that particular LPP is installed on your system. If it says AVAILABLE, this means it is not installed, but the system knows that you have it on tape or CD. You will need to install it from your AIX media.

Remember that man pages share the same database as InfoExplorer. If you are not using a CD-ROM, then you must have at least bssiEn_US.info installed on you system in order for man pages to obtain and display command descriptions.

The man command will search the following directories in this order to find data files:

   /usr/share/man/man   (NROFF format files) 
   /usr/share/man/cat   (ASCII format files) 
   /usr/lpp/info        (InfoExplorer database from either hard drive or CD-ROM) 

ASCII text files can be loaded into the cat directory to supplement or act as a backup for the InfoExplorer database files.

If InfoExplorer is on a CD-ROM or remotely mounted from another machine, man pages will work more quickly if the man files are loaded into the directories mentioned in preceding discussion.

Refer to the description of the man command in InfoExplorer for more information.