Commands Reference, Volume 3

info Command

Syntax

info [ -a | -g -display Name:Number | -display Name:Number ] [ -f isofonts ] [ -h Label ] [ -help ] [ -hlc Color ] [ -iconic ] [ -l LibraryName ] [ -msh Number ] [ -n { bl | cl | pr | ti | Number } ] [ -q ] [ -s String ] [ -shc Color ] [ -t Title ] [ -tags] [ -txc Color ]

The info command starts the InfoExplorer program. The InfoExplorer program provides documentation for the operating system and associated programs. For details about using the InfoExplorer program, select the Help option from the menu bar at the top of a navigation or reading window or a navigation or reading screen.

Note: For information on selecting Help, see "Accessing Information with InfoExplorer (AIX 5L Version 5.1 System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices)"

Flags

-a	Forces the ASCII version of the InfoExplorer program to run on the default display. Use this flag to start the ASCII program from any shell, LFT, or aixterm terminal.
-display Name:Number	Identifies the host name and Xserver display number where the InfoExplorer program is displayed. By default, the info command gets the host name and display number from the DISPLAY environment variable. Use this flag to set the display if you are using the InfoExplorer program in an AIXwindows session running on a foreign host.
-f isofonts	Displays text using ISO9241-compliant fonts instead of X11 fonts. ISOfonts must be installed on your system for this option to succeed. This flag can only be used for the window version of InfoExplorer.
-g	Forces the window version of the InfoExplorer program to run on the default display or the display specified by the -display flag. This flag is not valid for character (ASCII) displays. Note: To use the -g flag, either the DISPLAY environment variable must be set to a host name, or you must also specify the -display flag.
-h Label	Specifies a help string, or label, to search on. InfoExplorer performs a search for the hlpLabel string. The following lists give examples of some of the labels available in the library: Operating system topics and tasks, such as: file directory print smit start stop security shell Communications topics, such as: ate bnu hcon mail Programming topics and tasks, such as: streams xdr sockets lvm iohan
-help	Displays the syntax for the info command.
-hlc Color	Specifies the color to be used for the text in the hypertext link box. This flag can only be used for the window version of InfoExplorer.
-iconic	Forces the windows to come up iconified.
-l LibraryName	Specifies the library for InfoExplorer to load.
-msh Number	Specifies the maximum number of search hits. The default is 5000. This flag can only be used for the window version of InfoExplorer.
-n	Specifies the navigation article to select. The following navigation articles are available for the default InfoExplorer library: bl Books contains a list of the books you can read in a sequence similar to the one you could follow in reading a book in hardcopy. cl Commands contains an alphabetical and a functional list of the commands in the system. *Number* Specifies which primary navigation article to display. Valid values are 1-8 and are defined in the isprime file. pr Programming Reference contains an alphabetical and a functional list of the commands in the system. ti Topic & Task Index contains a list of the types of topics you might want to read about or tasks you might want to perform with the system.
-q	Specifies that the window displaying the `info initializing` message is not displayed. This flag also suppresses the automatic retrieval of the "Welcome to InfoExplorer" article.
-s String	Specifies the search string for which you want to search. The String variable contains one or more words of text for which you want to search. If more than one word is entered, the String variable must be surrounded by " " (double quotes). When the InfoExplorer program starts, a search is performed on this string. Capitalization of the string is ignored. For example, `text` matches both `Text` and `teXt`. A list of locations in the documentation where the string was located is displayed in the navigation window or screen. You can select from this list to open the article you need. If a word entered in the String parameter ends with an * (asterisk), the search looks for the prefix entered, followed by one or more additional letters. Search strings can end with these pattern-matching characters but cannot begin with them.
-shc Color	Specifies the color to be used for the search hits displayed in reading windows. This flag can only be used for the window version of InfoExplorer.
-t Title	Specifies a title to search on. The Title variable contains one or more words of text for which you want to search. If more than one word is entered, the Title variable must be enclosed by " " (double quotes). When the InfoExplorer program starts, a search is performed on this string. Capitalization of the string is ignored. For example, `text` matches both `Text` and `teXt`. A list of locations in the documentation where the string was located is displayed in the navigation window or screen. You can select from this list to open the article you need. If a word entered in the Title parameter ends with an * (asterisk), the search looks for the prefix entered, followed by one or more additional letters. Search strings can end with these pattern-matching characters but cannot begin with them.
-tags	Enables the inclusion of the Tags menu option on the Preferences window menu bar. This flag is used for debugging information bases created with the hypertext creation tool.
-txc Color	Specifies the color to be used for article text. This flag can only be used for the window version of InfoExplorer.

Examples

To start the InfoExplorer program with a navigation window or screen and a "Welcome to InfoExplorer" article, enter:
```
info
```
To start the InfoExplorer program and get a list of articles that discuss the grep command, enter:
info -s grep
In this case, the string is not unique so the list of locations appears in the navigation window or screen.
To start the InfoExplorer program with the "List of Commands" navigation article displayed, enter:

info -n cl
The following example uses the name rosebud for your local system, and the name kane for the host where you can access InfoExplorer. To start the InfoExplorer program from within an X-Windows session on the foreign host named rosebud, follow these steps:
1. Enter the following command on rosebud to allow kane to display processes in your local AIXwindows session:
```
xhost    +    kane
```
2. Begin a remote login session on system kane.
3. On kane, issue the command:
  info -g -display rosebud:0
  After this command is issued, the InfoExplorerinitializing window appears in your AIXwindows session, and rosebud now has access to the information installed on kane.
To start the InfoExplorer program and designate a specific database library, enter:
info -l LibraryName
To start the InfoExplorer program and specify a help string to search on, such as print, enter:
info -h print
To start the InfoExplorer program and specify a title to search on, such as "InfoExplorer Window Interface Overview", enter:
info -t "InfoExplorer Window Interface Overview"
To start the InfoExplorer program and disable the displaying of the info initializing message and the welcome article, enter:
info -q
To start the InfoExplorer program and have the windows iconified, enter:
info -iconic

Files

$HOME/info	Contains the user preferences file and saved private notes, bookmarks, and history files.
$HOME/info/.isdefs	Contains InfoExplorer defaults established in the Defaults Editor.
$HOME/info/.isprefs	Contains InfoExplorer preferences established in the Preferences Editor.
$HOME/info/notes	Contains InfoExplorer notes files.
$HOME/info/.dowinsiz	Contains the default size for reading windows in the InfoExplorer program. This file name is supplied by the user.
$HOME/info/.nawinsiz	Contains the default size for navigation windows in the InfoExplorer program.