Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/08/18/12:24:46
On Mon, 18 Aug 1997, Christopher Croughton wrote:
> Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>
> > I don't get this one. Doesn't the `s' (for `search') command do this for
> > you in Info?
>
> Does it? How about backwards? How about 'n' and 'N' to repeat the
> search ('N' reverses the search order)?
Sorry, you didn't read the docs. Every command in Info can get an
argument, which can be negative (for doing it backwards). An argument of
N means do it N times, then stop. It works for every command.
> How about maintaining a list
> of what has been searched for (in less I can do '/' then scroll through
> the list of things I've searched for and re-search or change them)?
Info remembers all the nodes you visit (no matter how did you get there)
on a stack-like list. The `l' (for `last') command will pop the stack
and land you in the last-visited place.
> How about highlighting the string I've found?
It doesn't. But it puts the cursor at the word, so you can still locate
it easily. I do agree that it would be nice to use colors, though. Maybe
the latest version 3.11 does that already, I didn't have time to look at
it yet.
> Info feels to me as though it was intended to use with a mouse and the
> keyboard interface was an after thought.
No, Info doesn't support mouse at all. It would make more sense to you
if you were using Emacs. The first Info reader was written for Emacs.
The stand-alone version was written after that, and is a faithful
look-alike, including the way you type commands and give them arguments
etc.
> -f some_file - info finds the term with plain "info xxx" if and only if
> the info files are linked into its database. Otherwise you have to specify
> the file.
Well, doesn't your `dir' file include all the Info files? If it does,
you don't need -f. If it doesn't, just add them with an editor (even if
it is vim ;-).
> Note I said "hyperlink
> databases in general", not just info - the majority have no global search,
> they only search within one 'page'.
We should know better. The majority of compilers don't warn you about
incorrect format strings in a call to `printf', but GCC does. I use
Microsoft-style hypertext ``help'' too much to know how poorly it does
even compared to non-GUI program like Info.
> > ``Having to follow links''? If you just press Space
> > time and again (which should be familiar, since you use `less'),
>
> How about page down and page up, and the cursor arrows? I don't just want
> to go down.
PageUp, PageDown and cursor keys work also, and `l', as mentioned above,
returns you back in exactly the same way you went forward.
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