mirror of
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/emacs.git
synced 2024-11-23 07:19:15 +00:00
1432 lines
56 KiB
Plaintext
1432 lines
56 KiB
Plaintext
\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
|
|
@c %**start of header
|
|
@setfilename ../../info/woman
|
|
@settitle WoMan: Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man''
|
|
@c FIXME
|
|
@c Manual last updated:
|
|
@set UPDATED Time-stamp: <Thu 24-Jun-2010 00:06:54 gm on grasmoor>
|
|
@c Software version:
|
|
@set VERSION 0.54 (beta)
|
|
@afourpaper
|
|
@c With different size paper the printed page breaks will need attention!
|
|
@c Look for @page and @need commands.
|
|
@setchapternewpage off
|
|
@paragraphindent 0
|
|
@c %**end of header
|
|
|
|
@copying
|
|
This file documents WoMan: A program to browse Unix manual pages `W.O.
|
|
(without) man'.
|
|
|
|
Copyright @copyright{} 2001-2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
|
|
|
|
@quotation
|
|
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
|
|
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
|
|
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
|
|
Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
|
|
and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
|
|
is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License.''
|
|
|
|
(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
|
|
modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
|
|
developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
|
|
@end quotation
|
|
@end copying
|
|
|
|
@dircategory Emacs misc features
|
|
@direntry
|
|
* WoMan: (woman). Browse UN*X Manual Pages "W.O. (without) Man".
|
|
@end direntry
|
|
|
|
@finalout
|
|
|
|
@titlepage
|
|
@title WoMan
|
|
@subtitle Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man''
|
|
@subtitle Software Version @value{VERSION}
|
|
@author Francis J. Wright
|
|
@sp 2
|
|
@author School of Mathematical Sciences
|
|
@author Queen Mary and Westfield College
|
|
@author (University of London)
|
|
@author Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
|
|
@author @email{F.J.Wright@@qmul.ac.uk}
|
|
@author @uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/}
|
|
@c He no longer maintains this manual.
|
|
@sp 2
|
|
@author Manual Last Updated @value{UPDATED}
|
|
|
|
@comment The following two commands start the copyright page.
|
|
@page
|
|
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
|
|
@insertcopying
|
|
@end titlepage
|
|
|
|
@contents
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@ifnottex
|
|
@node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@top WoMan: Browse Unix Manual Pages ``W.O. (without) Man''
|
|
|
|
@display
|
|
Software Version @value{VERSION}
|
|
Manual Last Updated @value{UPDATED}
|
|
|
|
@email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk, Francis J. Wright}
|
|
@uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/, School of Mathematical Sciences}
|
|
Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London)
|
|
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
|
|
@end display
|
|
|
|
@insertcopying
|
|
@end ifnottex
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Introduction:: Introduction
|
|
* Background:: Background
|
|
* Finding:: Finding and Formatting Man Pages
|
|
* Browsing:: Browsing Man Pages
|
|
* Customization:: Customization
|
|
* Log:: The *WoMan-Log* Buffer
|
|
* Technical:: Technical Details
|
|
* Bugs:: Reporting Bugs
|
|
* Acknowledgements:: Acknowledgements
|
|
* GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
|
|
* Command Index:: Command Index
|
|
* Variable Index:: Variable Index
|
|
* Keystroke Index:: Keystroke Index
|
|
* Concept Index:: Concept Index
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Introduction, Background, Top, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Introduction
|
|
@cindex introduction
|
|
|
|
This version of WoMan should run with GNU Emacs 20.3 or later on any
|
|
platform. It has not been tested, and may not run, with any other
|
|
version of Emacs. It was developed primarily on various versions of
|
|
Microsoft Windows, but has also been tested on MS-DOS, and various
|
|
versions of UNIX and GNU/Linux.
|
|
|
|
WoMan is distributed with GNU Emacs. In addition, the current source
|
|
code and documentation files are available from
|
|
@uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/Emacs/WoMan/, the WoMan web
|
|
server}.
|
|
|
|
WoMan implements a subset of the formatting performed by the Emacs
|
|
@code{man} (or @code{manual-entry}) command to format a Unix-style
|
|
@dfn{manual page} (usually abbreviated to @dfn{man page}) for display,
|
|
but without calling any external programs. It is intended to emulate
|
|
the whole of the @code{roff -man} macro package, plus those @code{roff}
|
|
requests (@pxref{Background, , Background}) that are most commonly used
|
|
in man pages. However, the emulation is modified to include the
|
|
reformatting done by the Emacs @code{man} command. No hyphenation is
|
|
performed.
|
|
|
|
@table @b
|
|
@item Advantages
|
|
Much more direct, does not require any external programs. Supports
|
|
completion on man page names.
|
|
@item Disadvantages
|
|
Not a complete emulation. Currently no support for @code{eqn} or
|
|
@code{tbl}. Slightly slower for large man pages (but usually faster for
|
|
small- and medium-size pages).
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
This browser works quite well on simple well-written man files. It
|
|
works less well on idiosyncratic files that ``break the rules'' or use
|
|
the more obscure @code{roff} requests directly. Current test results
|
|
are available in the file
|
|
@uref{http://centaur.maths.qmw.ac.uk/Emacs/WoMan/files/woman.status,
|
|
@file{woman.status}}.
|
|
|
|
WoMan supports the use of compressed man files via
|
|
@code{auto-compression-mode} by turning it on if necessary. But you may
|
|
need to adjust the user option @code{woman-file-compression-regexp}.
|
|
@xref{Interface Options, , Interface Options}.
|
|
|
|
Brief help on the WoMan interactive commands and user options, all of
|
|
which begin with the prefix @code{woman-} (or occasionally
|
|
@code{WoMan-}), is available most easily by loading WoMan and then
|
|
either running the command @code{woman-mini-help} or selecting the WoMan
|
|
menu option @samp{Mini Help}.
|
|
|
|
WoMan is (of course) still under development! Please
|
|
@email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk, let me know} what doesn't work---I am
|
|
adding and improving functionality as testing shows that it is
|
|
necessary. Guidance on reporting bugs is given below. @xref{Bugs, ,
|
|
Reporting Bugs}.
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Background, Finding, Introduction, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Background
|
|
@cindex background
|
|
|
|
WoMan is a browser for traditional Unix-style manual page documentation.
|
|
Each such document is conventionally referred to as a @dfn{manual page},
|
|
or @dfn{man page} for short, even though some are very much longer than
|
|
one page. A man page is a document written using the Unix ``man''
|
|
macros, which are themselves written in the nroff/troff text processing
|
|
markup language. @code{nroff} and @code{troff} are text processors
|
|
originally written for the UNIX operating system by Joseph F. Ossanna at
|
|
Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA@. They are closely
|
|
related, and except in the few cases where the distinction between them
|
|
is important I will refer to them both ambiguously as @code{roff}.
|
|
|
|
@code{roff} markup consists of @dfn{requests} and @dfn{escape
|
|
sequences}. A request occupies a complete line and begins with either a
|
|
period or a single forward quote. An escape sequences is embedded
|
|
within the input text and begins (by default) with a backslash. The
|
|
original man macro package defines 20 new @code{roff} requests
|
|
implemented as macros, which were considered to be sufficient for
|
|
writing man pages. But whilst in principle man pages use only the man
|
|
macros, in practice a significant number use many other @code{roff}
|
|
requests.
|
|
|
|
The distinction between @code{troff} and @code{nroff} is that
|
|
@code{troff} was designed to drive a phototypesetter whereas
|
|
@code{nroff} was designed to produce essentially @acronym{ASCII} output for a
|
|
character-based device similar to a teletypewriter (usually abbreviated
|
|
to ``teletype'' or ``tty''). Hence, @code{troff} supports much finer
|
|
control over output positioning than does @code{nroff} and can be seen
|
|
as a forerunner of @TeX{}. Traditionally, man pages are either
|
|
formatted by @code{troff} for typesetting or by @code{nroff} for
|
|
printing on a character printer or displaying on a screen. Of course,
|
|
over the last 25 years or so, the distinction between typeset output on
|
|
paper and characters on a screen has become blurred by the fact that
|
|
most screens now support bit-mapped displays, so that any information
|
|
that can be printed can also be rendered on screen, the only difference
|
|
being the resolution.
|
|
|
|
Nevertheless, Unix-style manual page documentation is still normally
|
|
browsed on screen by running a program called @code{man}. This program
|
|
looks in a predefined set of directories for the man page matching a
|
|
specified topic, then either formats the source file by running
|
|
@code{nroff} or recovers a pre-formatted file, and displays it via a
|
|
pager such as @code{more}. @code{nroff} normally formats for a printer,
|
|
so it paginates the output, numbers the pages, etc., most of which is
|
|
irrelevant when the document is browsed as a continuous scrollable
|
|
document on screen. The only concession to on-screen browsing normally
|
|
implemented by the @code{man} program is to squeeze consecutive blank
|
|
lines into a single blank line.
|
|
|
|
For some time, Emacs has offered an improved interface for browsing man
|
|
pages in the form of the Emacs @code{man} (or @code{manual-entry})
|
|
command, see @ref{Documentation, man, Documentation Commands, emacs, GNU
|
|
Emacs Manual}.
|
|
This command runs @code{man} as described above, perhaps in
|
|
the background, and then post-processes the output to remove much of the
|
|
@code{nroff} pagination such as page headers and footers, and places the
|
|
result into an Emacs buffer. It puts this buffer into a special major
|
|
mode, which is tailored for man page browsing, and provides a number of
|
|
useful navigation commands, support for following references, etc. It
|
|
provides some support for special display faces (fonts), but no special
|
|
menu or mouse support. The Emacs man package appears to have been
|
|
developed over about 10 years, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.
|
|
|
|
There is considerable inefficiency in having @code{nroff} paginate a
|
|
document and then removing most of the pagination!
|
|
|
|
WoMan is an Emacs Lisp library that provides an emulation of the
|
|
functionality of the Emacs @code{man} command, the main difference being
|
|
that WoMan does not use any external programs. The only situation in
|
|
which WoMan might use an external program is when the source file is
|
|
compressed, when WoMan will use the standard Emacs automatic
|
|
decompression facility, which does call an external program.
|
|
|
|
I began developing WoMan in the Spring of 1997 and the first version was
|
|
released in May 1997. The original motivation for WoMan was the fact
|
|
that many GNU and Unix programs are ported to other platforms and come
|
|
with Unix-style manual page documentation. This may be difficult to
|
|
read because ports of the Unix-style @code{man} program can be a little
|
|
awkward to set up. I decided that it should not be too hard to emulate
|
|
the 20 @code{man} macros directly, without treating them as macros and
|
|
largely ignoring the underlying @code{roff} requests, given the text
|
|
processing capabilities of Emacs. This proved to be essentially true,
|
|
and it did not take a great deal of work to be able to format simple man
|
|
pages acceptably.
|
|
|
|
One problem arose with the significant number of man pages that use
|
|
@code{roff} requests in addition to the @code{man} macros, and since
|
|
releasing the first version of WoMan I have been continually extending
|
|
it to support more @code{roff} requests. WoMan can now format a
|
|
significant proportion of the man pages that I have tested, either well
|
|
or at least readably. However, I have added capabilities partly by
|
|
making additional passes through the document, a design that is
|
|
fundamentally flawed. This can only be solved by a major re-design of
|
|
WoMan to handle the major formatting within a single recursive pass,
|
|
rather than the present multiple passes without any significant
|
|
recursion. There are some @code{roff} requests that cannot be handled
|
|
satisfactorily within the present design. Some of these are currently
|
|
handled by kludges that ``usually more or less work.''
|
|
|
|
The principle advantage of WoMan is that it does not require @code{man},
|
|
and indeed the name WoMan is a contraction of ``without man.'' But it
|
|
has other advantages. It does not paginate the document, so it does not
|
|
need to un-paginate it again, thereby saving time. It could take full
|
|
advantage of the display capabilities available to it, and I hope to
|
|
develop WoMan to take advantage of developments in Emacs itself. At
|
|
present, WoMan uses several display faces to support bold and italic
|
|
text, to indicate other fonts, etc. The default faces are also
|
|
colored, but the choice of faces is customizable. WoMan provides menu
|
|
support for navigation and mouse support for following references, in
|
|
addition to the navigation facilities provided by @code{man} mode.
|
|
WoMan has (this) texinfo documentation!
|
|
|
|
WoMan @emph{does not} replace @code{man}, although it does use a number
|
|
of the facilities implemented in the Emacs @code{man} library. WoMan
|
|
and man can happily co-exist, which is very useful for comparison and
|
|
debugging purposes.
|
|
|
|
@code{nroff} simulates non-@acronym{ASCII} characters by using one or more
|
|
@acronym{ASCII} characters. WoMan should be able to do much better than
|
|
this. I have recently begun to add support for WoMan to use more of the
|
|
characters in its default font and to use a symbol font, and it is an
|
|
aspect that I intend to develop further in the near future. It should
|
|
be possible to move WoMan from an emulation of @code{nroff} to an
|
|
emulation of @code{troff} as GNU Emacs moves to providing bit-mapped
|
|
display facilities.
|
|
|
|
@node Finding, Browsing, Background, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Finding and Formatting Man Pages
|
|
@cindex using, finding man pages
|
|
@cindex using, formatting man pages
|
|
@cindex finding man pages
|
|
@cindex formatting man pages
|
|
@cindex man pages, finding
|
|
@cindex man pages, formatting
|
|
|
|
WoMan provides three user interfaces for finding and formatting man pages:
|
|
|
|
@itemize @bullet
|
|
@item
|
|
a topic interface similar to that provided by the standard Emacs
|
|
@code{man} command;
|
|
|
|
@item
|
|
a family of filename interfaces analogous to the standard Emacs
|
|
@code{view-file} command;
|
|
|
|
@item
|
|
an automatic interface that detects the file type from its contents.
|
|
(This is currently neither well tested, well supported nor recommended!)
|
|
@end itemize
|
|
|
|
The topic and filename interfaces support completion in the usual way.
|
|
|
|
The topic interface is generally the most convenient for regular use,
|
|
although it may require some special setup, especially if your machine
|
|
does not already have a conventional @code{man} installation (which
|
|
WoMan tries to detect).
|
|
|
|
The simplest filename interface command @code{woman-find-file} can
|
|
always be used with no setup at all (provided WoMan is installed and
|
|
loaded or set up to autoload).
|
|
|
|
The automatic interface always requires special setup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@heading Case-Dependence of Filenames
|
|
|
|
@cindex case-sensitivity
|
|
@vindex w32-downcase-file-names
|
|
By default, WoMan ignores case in file pathnames only when it seems
|
|
appropriate. Microsoft Windows users who want complete case
|
|
independence should set the special NTEmacs variable
|
|
@code{w32-downcase-file-names} to @code{t} and use all lower case when
|
|
setting WoMan file paths.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Topic:: Topic Interface
|
|
* Filename:: Filename Interface
|
|
* Automatic:: Automatic Interface
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@node Topic, Filename, Finding, Finding
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Topic Interface
|
|
@cindex topic interface
|
|
|
|
The topic interface is accessed principally via the command
|
|
@code{woman}. The same command can be accessed via the menu item
|
|
@samp{Help->Manuals->Read Man Page (WoMan)...} once WoMan has been
|
|
loaded. The command reads a manual topic in the minibuffer, which can
|
|
be the @dfn{basename} of a man file anywhere in the man file
|
|
structure. The ``basename'' in this context means the filename
|
|
without any directory component and without any extension or suffix
|
|
components that relate to the file type. So, for example, if there is
|
|
a compressed source file in Chapter 5 of the UNIX Programmer's Manual
|
|
with the full pathname @file{/usr/local/man/man5/man.conf.5.gz} then
|
|
the topic is @code{man.conf}. Provided WoMan is configured correctly,
|
|
this topic will appear among the completions offered by @code{woman}.
|
|
If more than one file has the same topic name then WoMan will prompt
|
|
for which file to format. Completion of topics is case insensitive.
|
|
|
|
Clearly, @code{woman} has to know where to look for man files and there
|
|
are two customizable user options that store this information:
|
|
@code{woman-manpath} and @code{woman-path}. @xref{Interface Options, ,
|
|
Interface Options}. If @code{woman-manpath} is not set explicitly then
|
|
WoMan tries to pick up the information that would be used by the
|
|
@code{man} command, as follows. If the environment variable
|
|
@code{MANPATH} is set, which seems to be the standard mechanism under
|
|
UNIX, then WoMan parses that. Otherwise, if WoMan can find a
|
|
configuration file named (by default) @file{man.conf} (or something very
|
|
similar), which seems to be the standard mechanism under GNU/Linux, then
|
|
it parses that. To be precise, ``something very similar'' means
|
|
starting with @samp{man} and ending with @samp{.conf} and possibly more
|
|
lowercase letters, e.g.@: @file{manual.configuration}.
|
|
The search path and/or precise full path name for this file are set by
|
|
the value of the customizable user option @code{woman-man.conf-path}.
|
|
If all else fails, WoMan uses a plausible default man search path.
|
|
|
|
If the above default configuration does not work correctly for any
|
|
reason then simply customize the value of @code{woman-manpath}. To
|
|
access man files that are not in a conventional man file hierarchy,
|
|
customize the value of @code{woman-path} to include the directories
|
|
containing the files. In this way, @code{woman} can access manual files
|
|
@emph{anywhere} in the entire file system.
|
|
|
|
There are two differences between @code{woman-manpath} and
|
|
@code{woman-path}. Firstly, the elements of @code{woman-manpath} must
|
|
be directories that contain @emph{directories of} man files, whereas the
|
|
elements of @code{woman-path} must be directories that contain man files
|
|
@emph{directly}. Secondly, the last directory component of each element
|
|
of @code{woman-path} is treated as a regular (Emacs) match expression
|
|
rather than a fixed name, which allows collections of related
|
|
directories to be specified succinctly. Also, elements of
|
|
@code{woman-manpath} can be conses, indicating a mapping from
|
|
@samp{PATH} environment variable components to man directory
|
|
hierarchies.
|
|
|
|
For topic completion to work, WoMan must build a list of all the manual
|
|
files that it can access, which can be very slow, especially if a
|
|
network is involved. For this reason, it caches various amounts of
|
|
information, after which retrieving it from the cache is very fast. If
|
|
the cache ever gets out of synchronism with reality, running the
|
|
@code{woman} command with a prefix argument (e.g.@: @kbd{C-u M-x woman})
|
|
will force it to rebuild its cache. This is necessary only if the names
|
|
or locations of any man files change; it is not necessary if only their
|
|
contents change. It would always be necessary if such a change occurred
|
|
whilst Emacs were running and after WoMan has been loaded. It may be
|
|
necessary if such a change occurs between Emacs sessions and persistent
|
|
caching is used, although WoMan can detect some changes that invalidate
|
|
its cache and rebuild it automatically.
|
|
|
|
Customize the variable @code{woman-cache-filename} to save the cache
|
|
between Emacs sessions. This is recommended only if the @code{woman}
|
|
command is too slow the first time it is run in an Emacs session, while
|
|
it builds its cache in main memory, which @emph{may} be @emph{very}
|
|
slow. @xref{Cache, , The WoMan Topic Cache}, for further details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Cache:: The WoMan Topic Cache
|
|
* Word at point:: Using the ``Word at Point'' as a Topic Suggestion
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@node Cache, Word at point, Topic, Topic
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@subsection The WoMan Topic Cache
|
|
@cindex topic cache
|
|
@cindex cache, topic
|
|
|
|
The amount of information that WoMan caches (in main memory and,
|
|
optionally, saved to disc) is controlled by the user option
|
|
@code{woman-cache-level}. There is a trade-off between the speed with
|
|
which WoMan can find a file and the size of the cache, and the default
|
|
setting gives a reasonable compromise.
|
|
|
|
The @code{woman} command always performs a certain amount of caching in
|
|
main memory, but it can also write its cache to the filestore as a
|
|
persistent cache under control of the user option
|
|
@code{woman-cache-filename}. If persistent caching is turned on then
|
|
WoMan re-loads its internal cache from the cache file almost
|
|
instantaneously, so that there is never any perceptible start-up delay
|
|
@emph{except} when WoMan rebuilds its cache. Persistent caching is
|
|
currently turned off by default. This is because users with persistent
|
|
caching turned on may overlook the need to force WoMan to rebuild its
|
|
cache the first time they run it after they have installed new man
|
|
files; with persistent caching turned off, WoMan automatically rebuilds
|
|
its cache every time it is run in a new Emacs session.
|
|
|
|
A prefix argument always causes the @code{woman} command (only) to
|
|
rebuild its topic cache, and to re-save it to
|
|
@code{woman-cache-filename} if this variable has a non-@code{nil} value. This
|
|
is necessary if the @emph{names} of any of the directories or files in
|
|
the paths specified by @code{woman-manpath} or @code{woman-path} change.
|
|
If WoMan user options that affect the cache are changed then WoMan will
|
|
automatically update its cache file on disc (if one is in use) the next
|
|
time it is run in a new Emacs session.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Word at point, , Cache, Topic
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@subsection Using the ``Word at Point'' as a Topic Suggestion
|
|
@cindex word at point
|
|
@cindex point, word at
|
|
|
|
By default, the @code{woman} command uses the word nearest to point in
|
|
the current buffer as a suggestion for the topic to look up, if it
|
|
exists as a valid topic. The topic can be confirmed or edited in the
|
|
minibuffer.
|
|
|
|
You can also bind the variable @code{woman-use-topic-at-point} locally
|
|
to a non-@code{nil} value (using @code{let}), in which case
|
|
@code{woman} will can use the suggested topic without confirmation if
|
|
possible. This may be useful to provide special private key bindings,
|
|
e.g.@: this key binding for @kbd{C-c w} runs WoMan on the topic at
|
|
point without seeking confirmation:
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
(global-set-key "\C-cw"
|
|
(lambda ()
|
|
(interactive)
|
|
(let ((woman-use-topic-at-point t))
|
|
(woman))))
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Filename, Automatic, Topic, Finding
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Filename Interface
|
|
@cindex filename interface
|
|
|
|
The commands in this family are completely independent of the topic
|
|
interface, caching mechanism, etc.
|
|
|
|
@findex woman-find-file
|
|
The filename interface is accessed principally via the extended command
|
|
@code{woman-find-file}, which is available without any configuration at
|
|
all (provided WoMan is installed and loaded or set up to autoload).
|
|
This command can be used to browse any accessible man file, regardless
|
|
of its filename or location. If the file is compressed then automatic
|
|
file decompression must already be turned on (e.g.@: see the
|
|
@samp{Help->Options} submenu)---it is turned on automatically only by
|
|
the @code{woman} topic interface.
|
|
|
|
@findex woman-dired-find-file
|
|
Once WoMan is loaded (or if specially set up), various additional
|
|
commands in this family are available. In a dired buffer, the command
|
|
@code{woman-dired-find-file} allows the file on the same line as point
|
|
to be formatted and browsed by WoMan. It is bound to the key @kbd{W} in
|
|
the dired mode map and added to the dired major mode menu. It may also
|
|
be bound to @kbd{w}, unless this key is bound by another library, which
|
|
it is by @code{dired-x}, for example. Because it is quite likely that
|
|
other libraries will extend the capabilities of such a commonly used
|
|
mode as dired, the precise key bindings added by WoMan to the dired mode
|
|
map are controlled by the user option @code{woman-dired-keys}.
|
|
|
|
@findex woman-tar-extract-file
|
|
When a tar (Tape ARchive) file is visited in Emacs, it is opened in tar
|
|
mode, which parses the tar file and shows a dired-like view of its
|
|
contents. The WoMan command @code{woman-tar-extract-file} allows the
|
|
file on the same line as point to be formatted and browsed by WoMan. It
|
|
is bound to the key @kbd{w} in the tar mode map and added to the tar
|
|
major mode menu.
|
|
|
|
The command @code{woman-reformat-last-file}, which is bound to the key
|
|
@kbd{R} in WoMan mode and available on the major mode menu, reformats
|
|
the last file formatted by WoMan. This may occasionally be useful if
|
|
formatting parameters, such as the fill column, are changed, or perhaps
|
|
if the buffer is somehow corrupted.
|
|
|
|
@findex woman-decode-buffer
|
|
The command @code{woman-decode-buffer} can be used to decode and browse
|
|
the current buffer if it is visiting a man file, although it is
|
|
primarily used internally by WoMan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Automatic, , Filename, Finding
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Automatic Interface
|
|
@cindex automatic interface
|
|
|
|
Emacs provides an interface to detect automatically the format of a file
|
|
and decode it when it is visited. It is used primarily by the
|
|
facilities for editing rich (i.e.@: formatted) text, as a way to store
|
|
formatting information transparently as @acronym{ASCII} markup. WoMan can in
|
|
principle use this interface, but it must be configured explicitly.
|
|
|
|
This use of WoMan does not seem to be particularly advantageous, so it
|
|
is not really supported. It originated during early experiments on how
|
|
best to implement WoMan, before I implemented the current topic
|
|
interface, and I subsequently stopped using it. I might revive it as a
|
|
mechanism for storing pre-formatted WoMan files, somewhat analogous to
|
|
the standard Unix @code{catman} facility. In the meantime, it exists
|
|
for anyone who wants to experiment with it. Once it is set up it is
|
|
simply a question of visiting the file and there is no WoMan-specific
|
|
user interface!
|
|
|
|
To use it, put something like this in your @file{.emacs} file. [The
|
|
call to @code{set-visited-file-name} is to avoid font-locking triggered
|
|
by automatic major mode selection.]
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
(autoload 'woman-decode-region "woman")
|
|
|
|
(add-to-list 'format-alist
|
|
'(man "Unix man-page source format" "\\.\\(TH\\|ig\\) "
|
|
woman-decode-region nil nil
|
|
(lambda (arg)
|
|
set-visited-file-name
|
|
(file-name-sans-extension buffer-file-name))))
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Browsing, Customization, Finding, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Browsing Man Pages
|
|
@cindex using, browsing man pages
|
|
@cindex browsing man pages
|
|
@cindex man pages, browsing
|
|
|
|
Once a man page has been found and formatted, WoMan provides a browsing
|
|
interface that is essentially the same as that provided by the standard
|
|
Emacs @code{man} command (and much of the code is inherited from the
|
|
@code{man} library, which WoMan currently requires). Many WoMan
|
|
facilities can be accessed from the WoMan major mode menu as well as via
|
|
key bindings, etc.
|
|
|
|
WoMan does not produce any page breaks or page numbers, and in fact does
|
|
not paginate the man page at all, since this is not appropriate for
|
|
continuous online browsing. It produces a document header line that is
|
|
constructed from the standard man page header and footer. Apart from
|
|
that, the appearance of the formatted man page should be almost
|
|
identical to what would be produced by @code{man}, with consecutive
|
|
blank lines squeezed to a single blank line.
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Fonts:: Fonts and Faces
|
|
* Navigation:: Navigation
|
|
* References:: Following References
|
|
* Changing:: Changing the Current Man Page
|
|
* Convenience:: Convenience Key Bindings
|
|
* Imenu:: Imenu Support; Contents Menu
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@node Fonts, Navigation, Browsing, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Fonts and Faces
|
|
@cindex fonts
|
|
@cindex faces
|
|
|
|
Fonts used by @code{roff} are handled by WoMan as faces, the details of
|
|
which are customizable. @xref{Faces, , Faces}. WoMan supports both the
|
|
italic and bold fonts normally used in man pages, together with a single
|
|
face to represent all unknown fonts (which are occasionally used in
|
|
``non-standard'' man pages, usually to represent a ``typewriter'' font)
|
|
and a face to indicate additional symbols introduced by WoMan. This
|
|
currently means the characters ^ and _ used to indicate super- and
|
|
sub-scripts, which are not displayed well by WoMan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Navigation, References, Fonts, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Navigation
|
|
@cindex navigation
|
|
|
|
Man (and hence WoMan) mode can be thought of as a superset of view mode.
|
|
The buffer cannot be edited, so keys that would normally self-insert are
|
|
used for navigation. The WoMan key bindings are a minor modification of
|
|
the @code{man} key bindings.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item @key{SPC}
|
|
@kindex SPC
|
|
@findex scroll-up
|
|
Scroll the man page up the window (@code{scroll-up}).
|
|
|
|
@item @key{DEL}
|
|
@kindex DEL
|
|
@findex scroll-down
|
|
Scroll the man page down the window (@code{scroll-down}).
|
|
|
|
@item n
|
|
@kindex n
|
|
@findex Man-next-section
|
|
Move point to the Nth next section---default 1 (@code{Man-next-section}).
|
|
|
|
@item p
|
|
@kindex p
|
|
@findex Man-previous-section
|
|
Move point to Nth previous section---default 1
|
|
(@code{Man-previous-section}).
|
|
|
|
@item g
|
|
@kindex g
|
|
@findex Man-goto-section
|
|
Move point to the specified section (@code{Man-goto-section}).
|
|
|
|
@item s
|
|
@kindex s
|
|
@findex Man-goto-see-also-section
|
|
Move point to the ``SEE ALSO'' section
|
|
(@code{Man-goto-see-also-section}). Actually the section moved to is
|
|
described by @code{Man-see-also-regexp}.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node References, Changing, Navigation, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Following References
|
|
@cindex following references
|
|
@cindex references
|
|
|
|
Man pages usually contain a ``SEE ALSO'' section containing references
|
|
to other man pages. If these man pages are installed then WoMan can
|
|
easily be directed to follow the reference, i.e.@: to find and format the
|
|
man page. When the mouse is passed over a correctly formatted reference
|
|
it is highlighted, in which case clicking the middle button
|
|
@kbd{Mouse-2} will cause WoMan to follow the reference. Alternatively,
|
|
when point is over such a reference the key @key{RET} will follow the
|
|
reference.
|
|
|
|
Any word in the buffer can be used as a reference by clicking
|
|
@kbd{Mouse-2} over it provided the Meta key is also used (although in
|
|
general such a ``reference'' will not lead to a man page).
|
|
Alternatively, the key @kbd{r} allows completion to be used to select a
|
|
reference to follow, based on the word at point as default.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item @kbd{Mouse-2}
|
|
@kindex Mouse-2
|
|
@findex woman-mouse-2
|
|
Run WoMan with word under mouse as topic (@code{woman-mouse-2}). The
|
|
word must be mouse-highlighted unless @code{woman-mouse-2} is used with
|
|
the Meta key.
|
|
|
|
@item @key{RET}
|
|
@kindex RET
|
|
@findex man-follow
|
|
Get the man page for the topic under (or nearest to) point
|
|
(@code{man-follow}).
|
|
|
|
@item r
|
|
@kindex r
|
|
@findex Man-follow-manual-reference
|
|
Get one of the man pages referred to in the ``SEE ALSO'' section
|
|
(@code{Man-follow-manual-reference}). Specify which reference to use;
|
|
default is based on word at point.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Changing, Convenience, References, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Changing the Current Man Page
|
|
@cindex changing current man page
|
|
@cindex current man page, changing
|
|
|
|
The man page currently being browsed by WoMan can be changed in several
|
|
ways. The command @code{woman} can be invoked to format another man
|
|
page, or the current WoMan buffer can be buried or killed. WoMan
|
|
maintains a ring of formatted man pages, and it is possible to move
|
|
forwards and backwards in this ring by moving to the next or previous
|
|
man page. It is sometimes useful to reformat the current page, for
|
|
example after the right margin (the wrap column) or some other
|
|
formatting parameter has been changed.
|
|
|
|
Buffers formatted by Man and WoMan are completely unrelated, even though
|
|
some of the commands to manipulate them are superficially the same (and
|
|
share code).
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item m
|
|
@kindex m
|
|
@findex man
|
|
Run the command @code{man} to get a Un*x manual page and put it in a
|
|
buffer. This command is the top-level command in the man package. It
|
|
runs a Un*x command to retrieve and clean a man page in the background
|
|
and places the results in a Man mode (man page browsing) buffer. If a
|
|
man buffer already exists for this man page, it will display
|
|
immediately. This works exactly the same if WoMan is loaded, except
|
|
that the formatting time is displayed in the mini-buffer.
|
|
|
|
@item w
|
|
@kindex w
|
|
@findex woman
|
|
Run the command @code{woman} exactly as if the extended command or menu
|
|
item had been used.
|
|
|
|
@item q
|
|
@kindex q
|
|
@findex Man-quit
|
|
Bury the buffer containing the current man page (@code{Man-quit}),
|
|
i.e.@: move it to the bottom of the buffer stack.
|
|
|
|
@item k
|
|
@kindex k
|
|
@findex Man-kill
|
|
Kill the buffer containing the current man page (@code{Man-kill}),
|
|
i.e.@: delete it completely so that it can be retrieved only by formatting
|
|
the page again.
|
|
|
|
@item M-p
|
|
@kindex M-p
|
|
@findex WoMan-previous-manpage
|
|
Find the previous WoMan buffer (@code{WoMan-previous-manpage}).
|
|
|
|
@item M-n
|
|
@kindex M-n
|
|
@findex WoMan-next-manpage
|
|
Find the next WoMan buffer (@code{WoMan-next-manpage}).
|
|
|
|
@item R
|
|
@kindex R
|
|
@findex woman-reformat-last-file
|
|
Call WoMan to reformat the last man page formatted by WoMan
|
|
(@code{woman-reformat-last-file}), e.g.@: after changing the fill column.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Convenience, Imenu, Changing, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Convenience Key Bindings
|
|
@cindex convenience key bindings
|
|
@cindex key bindings, convenience
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item -
|
|
@kindex -
|
|
@findex negative-argument
|
|
Begin a negative numeric argument for the next command
|
|
(@code{negative-argument}).
|
|
|
|
@item 0 .. 9
|
|
@kindex 0 .. 9
|
|
@findex digit-argument
|
|
Part of the numeric argument for the next command
|
|
(@code{digit-argument}).
|
|
|
|
@item <
|
|
@kindex <
|
|
@itemx .
|
|
@kindex .
|
|
@findex beginning-of-buffer
|
|
Move point to the beginning of the buffer; leave mark at previous
|
|
position (@code{beginning-of-buffer}).
|
|
|
|
@item >
|
|
@kindex >
|
|
@findex end-of-buffer
|
|
Move point to the end of the buffer; leave mark at previous position
|
|
(@code{end-of-buffer}).
|
|
|
|
@item ?
|
|
@kindex ?
|
|
@findex describe-mode
|
|
Display documentation of current major mode and minor modes
|
|
(@code{describe-mode}). The major mode description comes first,
|
|
followed by the minor modes, each on a separate page.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Imenu, , Convenience, Browsing
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Imenu Support; Contents Menu
|
|
@cindex imenu support
|
|
@cindex contents menu
|
|
|
|
The WoMan menu provides an option to make a contents menu for the
|
|
current man page (using @code{imenu}). Alternatively, if you customize
|
|
the option @code{woman-imenu} to @code{t} then WoMan will do it
|
|
automatically for every man page. The menu title is set by the option
|
|
@code{woman-imenu-title}, which is ``CONTENTS'' by default. The menu
|
|
shows manual sections and subsections by default, but you can change
|
|
this by customizing @code{woman-imenu-generic-expression}.
|
|
|
|
WoMan is configured not to replace spaces in an imenu
|
|
@code{*Completion*} buffer. For further documentation on the use of
|
|
imenu, such as menu sorting, see the source file @file{imenu.el}, which
|
|
is distributed with GNU Emacs.
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Customization, Log, Browsing, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Customization
|
|
@cindex customization
|
|
|
|
All WoMan user options are customizable, and it is recommended to
|
|
change them only via the standard Emacs customization facilities.
|
|
WoMan defines a top-level customization group called @code{WoMan}
|
|
under the parent group @code{Help}. It can be accessed either via the
|
|
standard Emacs facilities, e.g.@: via the @samp{Help->Customize}
|
|
submenu, or via the WoMan major mode menu.
|
|
|
|
The top-level WoMan group contains only a few general options and three
|
|
subgroups. The hooks are provided only for special purposes that, for
|
|
example, require code to be executed, and should be changed only via
|
|
@code{Customization} or the function @code{add-hook}. Most
|
|
customization should be possible via existing user options.
|
|
|
|
@vtable @code
|
|
@item woman-show-log
|
|
A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then show the
|
|
@code{*WoMan-Log*} buffer if appropriate, i.e.@: if any warning messages
|
|
are written to it. @xref{Log, , The *WoMan-Log* Buffer}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-pre-format-hook
|
|
A hook run immediately before formatting a buffer. It might, for
|
|
example, be used for face customization. @xref{Faces, , Faces},
|
|
however.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-post-format-hook
|
|
A hook run immediately after formatting a buffer. It might, for
|
|
example, be used for installing a dynamic menu using @code{imenu}.
|
|
(However. in this case it is better to use the built-in WoMan
|
|
@code{imenu} support. @xref{Imenu, , Imenu Support; Contents Menu}.)
|
|
@end vtable
|
|
|
|
@heading Customization Subgroups
|
|
|
|
@table @code
|
|
@item WoMan Interface
|
|
These options control the process of locating the appropriate file to
|
|
browse, and the appearance of the browsing interface.
|
|
|
|
@item WoMan Formatting
|
|
These options control the layout that WoMan uses to format the man page.
|
|
|
|
@item WoMan Faces
|
|
These options control the display faces that WoMan uses to format the
|
|
man page.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Interface Options::
|
|
* Formatting Options::
|
|
* Faces::
|
|
* Special symbols::
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@node Interface Options, Formatting Options, Customization, Customization
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Interface Options
|
|
@cindex interface options
|
|
|
|
These options control the process of locating the appropriate file to
|
|
browse, and the appearance of the browsing interface.
|
|
|
|
@vtable @code
|
|
@item woman-man.conf-path
|
|
A list of strings representing directories to search and/or files to try
|
|
for a man configuration file. The default is
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("/etc" "/usr/local/lib")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
[for GNU/Linux and Cygwin respectively.] A trailing separator (@file{/}
|
|
for UNIX etc.) on directories is optional and the filename matched if a
|
|
directory is specified is the first to match the regexp
|
|
@code{man.*\.conf}. If the environment variable @code{MANPATH} is not
|
|
set but a configuration file is found then it is parsed instead (or as
|
|
well) to provide a default value for @code{woman-manpath}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-manpath
|
|
A list of strings representing @emph{directory trees} to search for Unix
|
|
manual files. Each element should be the name of a directory that
|
|
contains subdirectories of the form @file{man?}, or more precisely
|
|
subdirectories selected by the value of @code{woman-manpath-man-regexp}.
|
|
Non-directory and unreadable files are ignored. This can also contain
|
|
conses, with the car indicating a @code{PATH} variable component mapped
|
|
to the directory tree given in the cdr.
|
|
|
|
@cindex @code{MANPATH}, environment variable
|
|
If not set then the environment variable @code{MANPATH} is used. If no
|
|
such environment variable is found, the default list is determined by
|
|
consulting the man configuration file if found. By default this is
|
|
expected to be either @file{/etc/man.config} or
|
|
@file{/usr/local/lib/man.conf}, which is controlled by the user option
|
|
@code{woman-man.conf-path}. An empty substring of @code{MANPATH}
|
|
denotes the default list. Otherwise, the default value of this variable
|
|
is
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("/usr/man" "/usr/local/man")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
Any environment variables (names of which must have the Unix-style form
|
|
@code{$NAME}, e.g.@: @code{$HOME}, @code{$EMACSDATA}, @code{$EMACS_DIR},
|
|
regardless of platform) are evaluated first but each element must
|
|
evaluate to a @emph{single} directory name. Trailing @file{/}s are
|
|
ignored. (Specific directories in @code{woman-path} are also searched.)
|
|
|
|
On Microsoft platforms I recommend including drive letters explicitly,
|
|
e.g.
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("C:/Cygwin/usr/man" "C:/usr/man" "C:/usr/local/man")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@cindex directory separator character
|
|
@cindex @code{MANPATH}, directory separator
|
|
The @code{MANPATH} environment variable may be set using DOS
|
|
semi-colon-separated or Unix-style colon-separated syntax (but not
|
|
mixed).
|
|
|
|
@item woman-manpath-man-regexp
|
|
A regular expression to match man directories @emph{under} the
|
|
@code{woman-manpath} directories. These normally have names of the form
|
|
@file{man?}. Its default value is @code{"[Mm][Aa][Nn]"}, which is
|
|
case-insensitive mainly for the benefit of Microsoft platforms. Its
|
|
purpose is to avoid directories such as @file{cat?}, @file{.},
|
|
@file{..}, etc.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-path
|
|
A list of strings representing @emph{specific directories} to search for
|
|
Unix manual files. For example
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("/emacs/etc")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
These directories are searched in addition to the directory trees
|
|
specified in @code{woman-manpath}. Each element should be a directory
|
|
string or @code{nil}, which represents the current directory when the
|
|
path is expanded and cached. However, the last component (only) of each
|
|
directory string is treated as a regexp (Emacs, not shell) and the
|
|
string is expanded into a list of matching directories. Non-directory
|
|
and unreadable files are ignored. The default value on MS-DOS is
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("$DJDIR/info" "$DJDIR/man/cat[1-9onlp]")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
and on other platforms is @code{nil}.
|
|
|
|
Any environment variables (names of which must have the Unix-style form
|
|
@code{$NAME}, e.g.@: @code{$HOME}, @code{$EMACSDATA}, @code{$EMACS_DIR},
|
|
regardless of platform) are evaluated first but each element must
|
|
evaluate to a @emph{single} directory name (regexp, see above). For
|
|
example
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("$EMACSDATA")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
or equivalently
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
("$EMACS_DIR/etc")
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
Trailing @file{/}s are discarded. (The directory trees in
|
|
@code{woman-manpath} are also searched.) On Microsoft platforms I
|
|
recommend including drive letters explicitly.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-cache-level
|
|
A positive integer representing the level of topic caching:
|
|
|
|
@enumerate
|
|
@item
|
|
cache only the topic and directory lists (uses minimal memory, but not
|
|
recommended);
|
|
@item
|
|
cache also the directories for each topic (faster, without using much
|
|
more memory);
|
|
@item
|
|
cache also the actual filenames for each topic (fastest, but uses twice
|
|
as much memory).
|
|
@end enumerate
|
|
|
|
The default value is currently 2, a good general compromise. If the
|
|
@code{woman} command is slow to find files then try 3, which may be
|
|
particularly beneficial with large remote-mounted man directories. Run
|
|
the @code{woman} command with a prefix argument or delete the cache file
|
|
@code{woman-cache-filename} for a change to take effect. (Values < 1
|
|
behave like 1; values > 3 behave like 3.)
|
|
|
|
@item woman-cache-filename
|
|
Either a string representing the full pathname of the WoMan directory
|
|
and topic cache file, or @code{nil}. It is used to save and restore the
|
|
cache between Emacs sessions. This is especially useful with
|
|
remote-mounted man page files! The default value of @code{nil}
|
|
suppresses this action. The ``standard'' non-@code{nil} filename is
|
|
@file{~/.wmncach.el}. Remember that a prefix argument forces the
|
|
@code{woman} command to update and re-write the cache.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-dired-keys
|
|
A list of @code{dired} mode keys to be defined to run WoMan on the
|
|
current file, e.g.@: @code{("w" "W")} or any non-@code{nil} atom to
|
|
automatically define @kbd{w} and @kbd{W} if they are unbound, or
|
|
@code{nil} to do nothing. Default is @code{t}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-imenu-generic-expression
|
|
Imenu support for Sections and Subsections: an alist with elements of
|
|
the form @code{(MENU-TITLE REGEXP INDEX)}---see the documentation for
|
|
@code{imenu-generic-expression}. Default value is
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
((nil "\n\\([A-Z].*\\)" 1) ; SECTION, but not TITLE
|
|
("*Subsections*" "^ \\([A-Z].*\\)" 1))
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
|
|
@item woman-imenu
|
|
A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan adds
|
|
a Contents menu to the menubar by calling @code{imenu-add-to-menubar}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-imenu-title
|
|
A string representing the title to use if WoMan adds a Contents menu to
|
|
the menubar. Default is @code{"CONTENTS"}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-use-topic-at-point
|
|
A boolean value that defaults to @code{nil}. If non-@code{nil} then
|
|
the @code{woman} command uses the word at point as the topic,
|
|
@emph{without interactive confirmation}, if it exists as a topic.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-use-topic-at-point-default
|
|
A boolean value representing the default value for
|
|
@code{woman-use-topic-at-point}. The default value is @code{nil}.
|
|
[The variable @code{woman-use-topic-at-point} may be @code{let}-bound
|
|
when @code{woman} is loaded, in which case its global value does not
|
|
get defined. The function @code{woman-file-name} sets it to this
|
|
value if it is unbound.]
|
|
|
|
@item woman-uncompressed-file-regexp
|
|
A regular match expression used to select man source files (ignoring any
|
|
compression extension). The default value is
|
|
@code{"\\.\\([0-9lmnt]\\w*\\)"} [which means a filename extension is
|
|
required].
|
|
|
|
@emph{Do not change this unless you are sure you know what you are doing!}
|
|
|
|
The SysV standard man pages use two character suffixes, and this is
|
|
becoming more common in the GNU world. For example, the man pages in
|
|
the @code{ncurses} package include @file{toe.1m}, @file{form.3x}, etc.
|
|
|
|
@strong{Please note:} an optional compression regexp will be appended,
|
|
so this regexp @emph{must not} end with any kind of string terminator
|
|
such as @code{$} or @code{\\'}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-file-compression-regexp
|
|
A regular match expression used to match compressed man file extensions
|
|
for which decompressors are available and handled by auto-compression
|
|
mode. It should begin with @code{\\.} and end with @code{\\'} and
|
|
@emph{must not} be optional. The default value is
|
|
@code{"\\.\\(g?z\\|bz2\\|xz\\)\\'"}, which matches the @code{gzip},
|
|
@code{bzip2}, and @code{xz} compression extensions.
|
|
|
|
@emph{Do not change this unless you are sure you know what you are doing!}
|
|
|
|
[It should be compatible with the @code{car} of
|
|
@code{jka-compr-file-name-handler-entry}, but that is unduly
|
|
complicated, includes an inappropriate extension (@file{.tgz}) and is
|
|
not loaded by default!]
|
|
|
|
@item woman-use-own-frame
|
|
If non-@code{nil} then use a dedicated frame for displaying WoMan windows.
|
|
This is useful only when WoMan is run under a window system such as X or
|
|
Microsoft Windows that supports real multiple frames, in which case the
|
|
default value is non-@code{nil}.
|
|
@end vtable
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Formatting Options, Faces, Interface Options, Customization
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Formatting Options
|
|
@cindex formatting options
|
|
|
|
These options control the layout that WoMan uses to format the man page.
|
|
|
|
@vtable @code
|
|
@item woman-fill-column
|
|
An integer specifying the right margin for formatted text. Default is
|
|
65.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-fill-frame
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then most of the frame width is used,
|
|
overriding the value of @code{woman-fill-column}. Default is @code{nil}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-default-indent
|
|
An integer specifying the default prevailing indent for the @code{-man}
|
|
macros. Default is 5. Set this variable to 7 to emulate GNU/Linux man
|
|
formatting.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-bold-headings
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then embolden section and subsection
|
|
headings. Default is @code{t}. [Heading emboldening is @emph{not} standard
|
|
@code{man} behavior.]
|
|
|
|
@item woman-ignore
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then unrecognized requests etc. are
|
|
ignored. Default is @code{t}. This gives the standard @code{roff} behavior.
|
|
If @code{nil} then they are left in the buffer, which may aid debugging.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-preserve-ascii
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then preserve @acronym{ASCII} characters in the
|
|
WoMan buffer. Otherwise, non-@acronym{ASCII} characters (that display as
|
|
@acronym{ASCII}) may remain, which is irrelevant unless the buffer is to be
|
|
saved to a file. Default is @code{nil}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-emulation
|
|
WoMan emulation, currently either @code{nroff} or @code{troff}. Default
|
|
is @code{nroff}. @code{troff} emulation is experimental and largely
|
|
untested.
|
|
@end vtable
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Faces, Special symbols, Formatting Options, Customization
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Faces
|
|
@cindex faces
|
|
|
|
These options control the display faces that WoMan uses to format the
|
|
man page.
|
|
|
|
@vtable @code
|
|
@item woman-fontify
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan assumes that face support is
|
|
available. It defaults to a non-@code{nil} value if the display supports
|
|
either colors or different fonts.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-italic-face
|
|
Face for italic font in man pages. Default: italic, underlined,
|
|
foreground red. This is overkill! @code{troff} uses just italic;
|
|
@code{nroff} uses just underline. You should probably select either
|
|
italic or underline as you prefer, but not both, although italic and
|
|
underline work together perfectly well!
|
|
|
|
@item woman-bold-face
|
|
Face for bold font in man pages. Default: bold, foreground blue.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-unknown-face
|
|
Face for all unknown fonts in man pages. Default: foreground brown.
|
|
Brown is a good compromise: it is distinguishable from the default but
|
|
not enough so as to make font errors look terrible. (Files that use
|
|
non-standard fonts seem to do so badly or in idiosyncratic ways!)
|
|
|
|
@item woman-addition-face
|
|
Face for all additions made by WoMan to man pages.
|
|
Default: foreground orange.
|
|
@end vtable
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node Special symbols, , Faces, Customization
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@section Special symbols
|
|
@cindex special symbols
|
|
|
|
This section currently applies @emph{only} to Microsoft Windows.
|
|
|
|
WoMan provides partial experimental support for special symbols,
|
|
initially only for MS-Windows and only for MS-Windows fonts. This
|
|
includes both non-@acronym{ASCII} characters from the main text font and use
|
|
of a separate symbol font. Later, support will be added for other font
|
|
types (e.g.@: @code{bdf} fonts) and for the X Window System. In Emacs
|
|
20.7, the current support works partially under Windows 9x but may not
|
|
work on any other platform.
|
|
|
|
@vtable @code
|
|
@item woman-use-extended-font
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan may use non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
|
|
from the default font. Default is @code{t}.
|
|
|
|
@item woman-use-symbol-font
|
|
A boolean value. If non-@code{nil} then WoMan may use the symbol font.
|
|
Default is @code{nil}, mainly because it may change the line spacing (at
|
|
least in NTEmacs 20).
|
|
|
|
@item woman-symbol-font
|
|
A string describing the symbol font to use for special characters.
|
|
It should be compatible with, and the same size as, the default text font.
|
|
Under MS-Windows, the default is
|
|
|
|
@lisp
|
|
"-*-Symbol-normal-r-*-*-*-*-96-96-p-*-ms-symbol"
|
|
@end lisp
|
|
@end vtable
|
|
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Log, Technical, Customization, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter The *WoMan-Log* Buffer
|
|
@cindex log buffer
|
|
@cindex buffer, log
|
|
|
|
This is modeled on the Emacs byte-compiler. It logs all files
|
|
formatted by WoMan and the time taken. If WoMan finds anything that it
|
|
cannot handle then it writes a warning to this buffer. If the variable
|
|
@code{woman-show-log} is non-@code{nil} (by default it is @code{nil}) then
|
|
WoMan automatically displays this buffer. @xref{Interface Options, ,
|
|
Interface Options}. Many WoMan warnings can be completely ignored,
|
|
because they are reporting the fact that WoMan has ignored requests that
|
|
it is correct for WoMan to ignore. In some future version this level of
|
|
paranoia may be reduced, but not until WoMan is deemed more reliable.
|
|
At present, all warnings should be treated with some suspicion.
|
|
Uninterpreted escape sequences are also logged (in some cases).
|
|
|
|
By resetting the variable @code{woman-ignore} to @code{nil} (by default
|
|
it is @code{t}), uninterpreted @code{roff} requests can optionally be
|
|
left in the formatted buffer to indicate precisely where they occurred.
|
|
@xref{Interface Options, , Interface Options}.
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Technical, Bugs, Log, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Technical Details
|
|
@cindex technical details
|
|
@cindex horizontal spacing
|
|
@cindex spacing, horizontal and vertical
|
|
@cindex vertical spacing
|
|
@cindex resolution
|
|
|
|
@heading Horizontal and vertical spacing and resolution
|
|
|
|
WoMan currently assumes 10 characters per inch horizontally, hence a
|
|
horizontal resolution of 24 basic units, and 5 lines per inch
|
|
vertically, hence a vertical resolution of 48 basic units.
|
|
(@code{nroff} uses 240 per inch.)
|
|
|
|
@heading Vertical spacing and blank lines
|
|
|
|
The number of consecutive blank lines in the formatted buffer should be
|
|
either 0 or 1. A blank line should leave a space like .sp 1.
|
|
Current policy is to output vertical space only immediately before text
|
|
is output.
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Bugs, Acknowledgements, Technical, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Reporting Bugs
|
|
@cindex reporting bugs
|
|
@cindex bugs, reporting
|
|
|
|
If WoMan fails completely, or formats a file incorrectly (i.e.@:
|
|
obviously wrongly or significantly differently from @code{man}) or
|
|
inelegantly, then please
|
|
|
|
@enumerate
|
|
@item
|
|
try the latest version of @file{woman.el} from the Emacs repository
|
|
on @uref{http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/emacs/}. If it still fails, please
|
|
|
|
@item
|
|
send a bug report to @email{bug-gnu-emacs@@gnu.org} and to
|
|
@email{F.J.Wright@@qmw.ac.uk}. Please include the entry from the
|
|
@code{*WoMan-Log*} buffer relating to the problem file, together with
|
|
a brief description of the problem. Please indicate where you got the
|
|
man source file from, but do not send it unless asked to send it.
|
|
@end enumerate
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@node Acknowledgements, GNU Free Documentation License, Bugs, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@chapter Acknowledgements
|
|
@cindex acknowledgements
|
|
|
|
For Heather, Kathryn and Madelyn, the women in my life (although they
|
|
will probably never use it)!
|
|
|
|
I also thank the following for helpful suggestions, bug reports, code
|
|
fragments, general interest, etc.:
|
|
|
|
@quotation
|
|
Jari Aalto, @email{jari.aalto@@cs.tpu.fi}@*
|
|
Dean Andrews, @email{dean@@dra.com}@*
|
|
Juanma Barranquero, @email{barranquero@@laley-actualidad.es}@*
|
|
Karl Berry, @email{kb@@cs.umb.edu}@*
|
|
Jim Chapman, @email{jchapman@@netcomuk.co.uk}@*
|
|
Frederic Corne, @email{frederic.corne@@erli.fr}@*
|
|
Peter Craft, @email{craft@@alacritech.com}@*
|
|
Charles Curley, @email{ccurley@@trib.com}@*
|
|
Jim Davidson, @email{jdavidso@@teknowledge.com}@*
|
|
Kevin D'Elia, @email{Kevin.DElia@@mci.com}@*
|
|
John Fitch, @email{jpff@@maths.bath.ac.uk}@*
|
|
Hans Frosch, @email{jwfrosch@@rish.b17c.ingr.com}@*
|
|
Guy Gascoigne-Piggford, @email{ggp@@informix.com}@*
|
|
Brian Gorka, @email{gorkab@@sanchez.com}@*
|
|
Nicolai Henriksen, @email{nhe@@lyngso-industri.dk}@*
|
|
Thomas Herchenroeder, @email{the@@software-ag.de}@*
|
|
Alexander Hinds, @email{ahinds@@thegrid.net}@*
|
|
Stefan Hornburg, @email{sth@@hacon.de}@*
|
|
Theodore Jump, @email{tjump@@cais.com}@*
|
|
Paul Kinnucan, @email{paulk@@mathworks.com}@*
|
|
Jonas Linde, @email{jonas@@init.se}@*
|
|
Andrew McRae, @email{andrewm@@optimation.co.nz}@*
|
|
Howard Melman, @email{howard@@silverstream.com}@*
|
|
Dennis Pixton, @email{dennis@@math.binghamton.edu}@*
|
|
T. V. Raman, @email{raman@@Adobe.com}@*
|
|
Bruce Ravel, @email{bruce.ravel@@nist.gov}@*
|
|
Benjamin Riefenstahl, @email{benny@@crocodial.de}@*
|
|
Kevin Ruland, @email{kruland@@seistl.com}@*
|
|
Tom Schutter, @email{tom@@platte.com}@*
|
|
Wei-Xue Shi, @email{wxshi@@ma.neweb.ne.jp}@*
|
|
Fabio Somenzi, @email{fabio@@joplin.colorado.edu}@*
|
|
Karel Sprenger, @email{ks@@ic.uva.nl}@*
|
|
Chris Szurgot, @email{szurgot@@itribe.net}@*
|
|
Paul A. Thompson, @email{pat@@po.cwru.edu}@*
|
|
Arrigo Triulzi, @email{arrigo@@maths.qmw.ac.uk}@*
|
|
Geoff Voelker, @email{voelker@@cs.washington.edu}@*
|
|
Eli Zaretskii, @email{eliz@@is.elta.co.il}
|
|
@end quotation
|
|
|
|
@c ===================================================================
|
|
|
|
@comment END OF MANUAL TEXT
|
|
@page
|
|
|
|
|
|
@node GNU Free Documentation License, Command Index, Acknowledgements, Top
|
|
@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
|
|
@include doclicense.texi
|
|
|
|
@node Command Index, Variable Index, GNU Free Documentation License, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@unnumbered Command Index
|
|
|
|
@printindex fn
|
|
|
|
@node Variable Index, Keystroke Index, Command Index, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@unnumbered Variable Index
|
|
|
|
@printindex vr
|
|
|
|
@c Without a page throw here, the page length seems to get reset to the
|
|
@c depth of the index that fits on the page after the previous index.
|
|
@c This must be a bug!
|
|
|
|
@page
|
|
|
|
@node Keystroke Index, Concept Index, Variable Index, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@unnumbered Keystroke Index
|
|
|
|
@printindex ky
|
|
|
|
@c Without a page throw here, the page length seems to get reset to the
|
|
@c depth of the index that fits on the page after the previous index.
|
|
@c This must be a bug!
|
|
|
|
@page
|
|
|
|
@node Concept Index, , Keystroke Index, Top
|
|
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
|
|
@unnumbered Concept Index
|
|
|
|
@printindex cp
|
|
|
|
@bye
|