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AIX Version 4.3 System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices

Getting Started (InfoExplorer ASCII)

The InfoExplorer program is a powerful text retrieval tool with several information navigation aids to help you find and manage information. Learning just a few of these aids, however, is all you need to begin using it. Use the basic procedures that you learn in this section to explore in the InfoExplorer information base where you will find useful information.

Follow the tutorial step-by-step using the Page Up and Page Down keys on the keyboard, or link to individual procedures.

In this article you learn about:

Starting the InfoExplorer ASCII Program

To start the InfoExplorer program, type info at an operating system command prompt and press the Enter key.

Note: If you want to start InfoExplorer ASCII within an AIXwindow, type info -a at an operating system prompt, and press the Enter key.

Either the "Welcome to the InfoExplorer ASCII Interface" article or the default navigation article displays in the reading screen. The welcome screen explains how to do basic screen operations and how to access InfoExplorer Help, copyrights, and trademarks.

Recognizing Screen Types (InfoExplorer ASCII)

Two primary screen types exist in the InfoExplorer program: the navigation screen, and the reading screen.

Navigation Screen

The navigation screen is the starting point for finding documentation about the operating system and other programs available on your workstation and contains information designed to assist you in finding the desired documentation. Information is organized by topic and task, by book, or alphabetically by commands or programming reference item. The primary navigation routes display in the navigation screen:

Topic & Task Index Displays information by task. It is the default navigation article.
Commands Displays an alphabetical list of available commands.
Books Displays articles in book order.
Programming Reference Displays lists of programming functions in alphabetical order by functional categories.
Note: The navigation information in this section applies to the InfoExplorer program. The navigation information may or may not apply to other libraries.

The first line of the screen contains the menu bar, and the second line displays a reverse-video title bar. The title of the screen displays at the right end of the title bar. This title bar also separates the menu options from the article text.

While you are viewing the InfoExplorer program through the ASCII interface, only one navigation screen is available at a time. Each time you select a link to another navigation article, the contents of the article you select replace the contents of the original article. For example, if you are viewing the Topic &Task Index and decide to view Commands, a list of commands replaces the Topic & Task index in the navigation screen.

Reading Screen

The reading screen contains procedural, conceptual, and reference information. Procedural information explains how to accomplish a task, conceptual information discusses various topics, and reference information provides you with information about commands, subroutines, and so on.

As in the navigation screen, the first line of the screen displays the menu options, and the second line displays a reverse-video title bar. "Info Document" displays at the right end of the title bar. This title bar also separates the menu options from the article text.

While you are viewing the InfoExplorer program through the ASCII interface, only one reading screen is available at a time. Each time you select a link to another article, the contents of the article you select replace the contents of the original article. For example, if you are viewing the "Starting the InfoExplorer Program (ASCII Interface)" article and decide to view the info command article, the info command article replaces the "Starting the InfoExplorer Program (ASCII Interface)" article in the reading screen.

To Move between the Screens

To display the navigation screen from the reading screen (or to go back to a current reading screen from the navigation screen), press and hold the Control key (Ctrl) and press the w key (Ctrl-w). The Ctrl-w key sequence toggles between the navigation screen and the reading screen. You can also move between the screens using menu options available on the menu bar.

Before you continue, toggle back and forth a few times between the navigation and reading screens. Note the differences between them.

Some additional screen types are search, glossary, file, and utility. To find out more about the various screen types, see the online InfoExplorer article "Accessing Help on a Specific Screen."

Selecting a Hypertext Link (InfoExplorer ASCII)

Suppose you need information about how to print a file on a line printer. You could start the search with a primary navigation route such as the List of Tasks. From the List of Tasks, you can follow hypertext links until you reach the screen containing the information you want.

A hypertext link is a connection between one piece of information and another. These links display as underlined text. When you move to a link, the link changes to reverse video. To display the target or connected piece of information, press the Enter key.

The Welcome screen displays five links. They appear as a list of five underlined items.

To move to the next hypertext link, press either the Tab key or the Ctrl-f key sequence. If the next link is not currently visible on the screen, the screen is updated to show the link. To move back to the previous link, press the Ctrl-b key sequence.

To select a hypertext link, follow these steps:

  1. If the text cursor is not in the text area of the screen, press the Ctrl-o key sequence.
  2. >Move to the next hypertext link by pressing the Tab key or the Ctrl-f key sequence.
  3. Move to the previous link by pressing the Ctrl-b key sequence.
  4. To select the link, press the Enter key. The target text appears on the screen.

Practice moving the cursor from one link to another with the Ctrl-f and Ctrl-b key sequences. Before you continue with the next section, try selecting one of the links in the Welcome screen. Remember that you can return to the primary navigation screen by pressing the Ctrl-w key sequence.

Note: To avoid losing this screen, do not select any links in this article.

You cannot display artwork on an ASCII terminal. When a link to a piece of artwork is selected, a pop-up panel displays with a message that the artwork cannot be displayed. The message prompts you to press a key to continue. For example, command articles contain syntax diagrams that can only be viewed on a graphics display. However, you can view the brackets-and-braces version of the syntax on an ASCII terminal.

Scrolling Information (InfoExplorer ASCII)

You can move forward and backward through text displayed in either the navigation screen or in the reading screen by using keys and key sequences that have been defined for this purpose.

Before you continue, try moving up and down through the text on the terminal screen.

Selecting a Menu Option (InfoExplorer ASCII)

Each InfoExplorer screen contains a menu bar that is located across the top of the screen. The menu bars contain many of the menus that you need to use InfoExplorer features. For example, the Display menu allows you to choose the navigation document you want to display in the navigation screen and the Help menu provides you with help on using the InfoExplorer program.

To select a menu option, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar by pressing the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Use the Left and Right Arrow keys to highlight the title of the menu you want to display and press Enter, or type the underlined character in the menu title. The menu is displayed as a pull-down panel with several options.
  3. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to highlight a menu option and press Enter, or type the underlined character in the menu option. The option you select is invoked or another menu is displayed in a pop-up panel. The menu options are displayed in the menu bar of this menu.

After you display a menu, you may want to remove it without selecting an option. To do this, press the Ctrl-O key sequence. The cursor returns to the screen.

To select an option in a pop-up panel, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar as you normally would, using the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Highlight an option by either typing the underlined character in the option that you want, or by using the Left and Right Arrow keys.
  3. Select the option by pressing the Enter key. The pop-up panel closes and the appropriate action is taken.

After you display a pop-up panel, you may want to remove it without selecting an option. To do this, press the Ctrl-O key sequence and select Quit in the menu bar.

Before you continue with the next section, practice using menus. Try displaying the Path menu and selecting the Show List option. A pop-up panel displays the Path list. To close the pop-up panel, select Quit in the menu bar.

Note: To avoid losing this article, do not select a location from the Path list.

Returning to a Previous Location (InfoExplorer ASCII)

During the InfoExplorer session, the InfoExplorer program keeps two different records of where you have previously been: the History List and the Path List. These lists enable you to return to previous locations in the information base.

The History List records every location that you have been in the information base. To view the History List, display the .History menu and select the List All option. To learn how to use the History List, go to the Help menu and select the List of Helps from the pull-down menu. Finding Information in InfoExplorer in the List of Helps provides information about the History function.

The Path List keeps track of your navigation route starting with a primary navigation article (Topic & Task Index, Books, Commands, or Programming Reference). Every time you return to a primary navigation screen, your previous path list is overwritten.

The Path menu contains three options: Show List, Previous, and Next. Use the Show List option to display the Path List. Use the Previous and Next options to jump to the previous or next location without displaying the Path List.

To return to a previous location in the InfoExplorer program, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar by pressing the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Type P to display the Path menu.
  3. Type S to display the Path List. A pop-up box displays a list of locations in the path. If you are in a primary navigation screen, you receive a message stating that the Path List is empty.
  4. Highlight the location that you want to return by using the Up and Down Arrow keys.
  5. Select the Go to option in the menu bar. The text displays in the reading screen.

Before you continue, try following the path up and down using the Next and Previous options. Remember, if you follow the path back to a primary navigation article (such as the Task Index), your path list is wiped out and you are unable to follow a path down until you start a new path. If you want to return to a location that is not in the current path, use the History function.

Note: To avoid losing this screen, do not use the Path function from this screen.

Searching for Information (InfoExplorer ASCII)

The early part of this chapter described how to find information using primary navigation routes. But what if you do not know what the task or command is or in which book the information might be? You can search on virtually every word in the InfoExplorer information base. Using the InfoExplorer search facility, you can look for information by word or phrase.

Two types of searches are available in the InfoExplorer program: the simple search and the compound search. The simple search allows you to search on a word or string of words (in exact order) in text, article titles, or both. (In the ASCII version of InfoExplorer, the Article Title selection on the Search menu gives you a simple search of article titles.) The compound search allows you to search on a word, set of words, or several sets of words. You can further specify the search with the following options:

You can specify the information bases to be searched for both simple and compound searches. There are two ways to specify an information base selection:

As an example, the following steps take you through a simple search for the qprt command, and then further specify the search with a database selection from the Compound Search menu.

Note: To avoid losing this article, do not attempt to perform a search from this screen. If your system is set up to print, you can print a copy of this article using the info menu by selecting the Print Article option. Use the printed copy to follow the procedure.

To perform a simple search for the qprt command, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Search menu in the menu bar.
  2. Select the Simple option in the Search menu. The Simple Search pop-up panel displays.
  3. In the Find field, type qprt command and press the Enter key. The Search Match List pop-up panel displays the following information:
  4. Using the Up and Down Arrow keys, highlight AIX User Guides, System Management Guides, and Commands Reference from the list of information bases and press the Enter key. The Search: List of Titles pop-up panel displays with the list of article titles that contain the search string (qprt).
    Note: If only one article contains the search string, that article displays in a reading screen (no pop-up panels are displayed).
  5. Select the second title on the list qprt Command, and press the Enter key. The article displays in the reading screen. Notice that the phrase "qprt Command" is highlighted to show where the word is discussed in the article.
  6. To display the next match, go to the menu bar and select the Search menu.
  7. Select the Next Match menu option and press the Enter key. The next match for "qprt command" displays. This function lets you move up and down through the information base to other places in the article or to other articles where the phrase "qprt command" is discussed.
  8. To display the previous match, select the Previous Match option in the Search menu, and press the Enter key. The previous match for "qprt Command" displays.
  9. To display the list of titles again, select the Show Hit List option from the Search menu, and press the Enter key. The list of titles displays again.

    If there are many matches, it can be difficult to find the right information. You may have to read through several articles to find the information you want. Or, you can use a compound search to narrow down the search. To learn about a compound search, use the InfoExplorer List of Helps, which allows you to view step-by-step instructions to commonly used InfoExplorer procedures. From the List of Helps, select Performing a Compound Search.

Another way to narrow the scope of the search even further is to go to the compound search menu and select the database that is most likely to contain the information that you want. There are several databases to choose from depending on your system. For example, if you want to limit your search to information about using and managing, choose the Using, Managing, and Commands database.

To specify a database from the compound search pop-up panel, follow these steps:

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to go to the menu bar.
  2. Select the DBselect option. The Databases List displays.
  3. A >(greater than) sign displayed to the left of an information base in this list indicates that the information base is included in the current compound search.
  4. Mark the databases that you want to exclude from the search by doing the following:
    1. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to select a database currently included in the search that you do not want to search. The database is highlighted.
    2. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to go to the menu bar in the Databases List pop-up panel.
    3. Select the Bypass option. The > is removed from the margin.
    Repeat this procedure for each database that you do not want to search.
  5. Mark the databases that you want to include from the search by doing the following:
    1. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to select a database currently not included in the search. The database is highlighted.
    2. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to go to the menu bar in the Databases List pop-up panel.
    3. Select the Select option. The > is displayed to the left of the selected database.
    Repeat this procedure for each database that you want to search.
  6. >When you have finished selecting databases, press the Ctrl-O key sequence to go to the menu bar and select the Quit option. The Compound Search pop-up panel is displayed again (with all information bases displayed in the Search Field) and you can continue with your search.

When you specify a database selection from the Compound Search menu, the selection is retained until you change it again, or until you quit the InfoExplorer session. This database selection will apply to both simple and compound searches. You can save a database selection for future sessions of InfoExplorer from the Defaults window under the info menu.

Printing Information (InfoExplorer ASCII)

You can print the following information from the InfoExplorer ASCII interface:

To Print an Article from a Reading Screen

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar. The info menu option is the default and is highlighted.
  2. Press the Enter key to display the info menu options.
  3. Press the P key to select the Print Article option. The article currently displayed in the reading screen is printed.

To Print an Article from a Navigation Screen

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar. The info menu option is the default and is highlighted.
  2. Press the Enter key to display the info menu options. The Print Article option is the default and is highlighted.
  3. Press the Enter key. The current navigation article is printed.

To Print References from a Navigation Screen

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar. The info menu option is the default and is highlighted.
  2. Press the Enter key to display the info menu options.
  3. Press the Down Arrow key until the Print References option is highlighted.
  4. Press the Enter key to print all referenced articles in the navigation screen.

To Print Articles from a Search Match List

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar. The info option is the default and is highlighted.
  2. Press the S key to select the Search menu option.
  3. Press the Down Arrow key until the Show Hit List option is highlighted, then press the Enter key. The Search: List of Titles pop-up panel is displayed.
  4. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar in the Search: List of Titles pop-up panel.
  5. Press the P key to select the Print option. All articles referred to in the Search: List of Titles pop-up panel are printed.

To Print Public and Private Notes

  1. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar. The info option is the default and is highlighted.
  2. Press the N key to select the Notes option. The List All option is the default and is highlighted.
  3. Press the Enter key to display the Notes List pop-up panel.
  4. Press the Ctrl-O key sequence to activate the menu bar in the Notes List pop-up panel.
  5. Press the P key to select the Print option. All notes in the Notes List pop-up panel are printed.

Accessing Help (InfoExplorer ASCII)

From an InfoExplorer screen, you can view help information about the functions and options available on the InfoExplorer screen you are viewing or you can search through a list of topics for which help information is provided.

To Access Help on a Specific Screen

The InfoExplorer program uses many different kinds of screens in addition to the basic navigation and reading screens, such as:

Each screen type serves a different purpose and provides a different function. The Help menu in each screen contains an On Screen option, which displays an article describing the function that is available in the current screen.

To display Help on a specific screen, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar by pressing the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Use the arrow keys to highlight Help and press the Enter key to display the Help menu.
  3. Use the arrow keys to select the On Screen option and press the Enter key. A Help article replaces the current reading article.

Before you continue with the next section, try looking at the Help articles available for the screens currently open. Use the Path function to return to this screen.

To Access the List of Helps

The Help menu provides two help options, the List of Helps and On Screen. On Screen allows you to find out about the current screen. For more information about this option, see "Accessing Help on a Specific Screen." The List of Helps option in the Help menu displays a list of InfoExplorer help topics. To use the list of helps, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar by pressing the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Help menu and press the Enter key. The Help menu displays.
  3. Select the List of Helps option to display the list of helps.
  4. Select a help topic and press the Enter key.

The list of helps contains step-by-step procedures for a wide range of tasks. Before you go on to the next section, select an option or two in the list of helps. See what is available, and then try using the helps to learn and practice some new skills.

Using Special Keys and Key Sequences (InfoExplorer ASCII)

In the InfoExplorer ASCII Interface, you use special keys and key sequences to move within a screen, select items from a menu, access additional screens, and start processes. Different keys and key sequences are active depending on whether you are working from a text area, or a menu bar.,

Keys and Key Sequences Used in Text Areas

You can use the following keys and key sequences in text areas:

Keys Action
Ctrl-W Moves between the navigation screen and the reading screen. If the navigation screen is displayed, you can press the Ctrl-W key sequence to display the reading screen. If the reading screen is displayed, you can press the Ctrl-W key sequence to display the navigation screen.
Ctrl-F or Tab Moves to the next hypertext link.
Ctrl-B Moves to the previous hypertext link.
Enter or Return Activates the operation. For example, if you have moved to a hypertext link and press the Enter key, the system follows the link and displays the target information.
Ctrl-L Refreshes the screen.
Ctrl-N or Page Down Scrolls vertically to the next screen.
Ctrl-P or Page Up Scrolls vertically to the previous screen.
Left Arrow Moves the text cursor one character to the left. If the text can be scrolled horizontally and the text cursor is at the left edge of the screen, the text scrolls one character.
Right Arrow Moves the text cursor one character to the right. If the text can be scrolled horizontally and the text cursor is at the right edge of the screen, the text scrolls one character.
Note: The Left and Right Arrow keys do not function for the InfoExplorer program on WYSE terminals.
Up Arrow Moves the text cursor up one line. If the text cursor is on the top line of the screen, the text scrolls vertically, one line at a time.
Down Arrow Moves the text cursor down one line. If the text cursor is on the last line of the screen, the text scrolls vertically, one line at a time.
< Moves the text cursor 20 characters to the left. If the text can be scrolled horizontally, the text scrolls 20 characters to the left.
> Moves the text cursor 20 characters to the right. If the text can be scrolled horizontally, the text scrolls 20 characters to the right.

Keys and Key Sequences Used in Menu Bars

The following keys and key sequences help you work with items in the menu bar:

Keys Action
Ctrl-O Makes the menu bar active or inactive. If your text cursor is located in the text area of the screen, you can press the Ctrl-O key sequence to make the menu bar active. If the menu bar is already active, you can press the Ctrl-O key sequence to make it inactive, which moves the text cursor to the text area.
Esc-Esc or Ctrl-O Closes a menu bar pull-down menu and places the cursor in the text area.
Tab Moves to the next menu bar option in the menu bar. If a pull-down menu is not displayed and you press the Right Arrow key, the next menu bar option is displayed in reverse video.

In pop-up screen menu bars, moves the cursor from the menu bar into the text area if no menu bar pull-down menus are currently selected.

Left Arrow Moves to the previous menu bar option. If a pull-down menu is not displayed and you press the Left Arrow key, the previous menu bar option is displayed in reverse video.

If a pull-down menu is displayed and you press the Left Arrow key, the previous menu bar option is selected and its pull-down menu is displayed.

Right Arrow Moves to the next menu bar option. If a pull-down menu is not displayed and you press the Right Arrow key, the next menu bar option is displayed in reverse video.

If a pull-down menu is displayed and you press the Right Arrow key, the next menu bar option is selected and its pull-down menu is displayed.

Up Arrow Displays the pull-down menu for the selected menu bar option or moves the selection to the previous option in a pull-down menu.
Down Arrow Displays the pull-down menu for the selected menu bar option or moves the selection to the next option in a pull-down menu.
Enter or Return Activates the selected operation. For example, if a menu bar option is displayed in reverse video and you press the Enter key, the pull-down menu is displayed. If a pull-down menu is already displayed and you press the Enter key, the appropriate action is taken on the item shown in reverse video.

In some cases, the menu bar within a pop-up screen contains options that start or stop a process. The following keys can also be used to move within a pop-up screen or to cycle through options in the screen:

Keys Action
Tab Moves to the next field.
Left Arrow Moves to the previous option in an option ring.
Right Arrow Moves to the next option in an option ring.
Spacebar Cycles through the options in an option ring.
Up Arrow Selects the previous item in a list.
Down Arrow Selects the next item in a list.
Enter or Return Activates the selected operation or ends text entry and advances to the next field.

Starting an Alternate InfoExplorer Library (InfoExplorer ASCII)

You can request the InfoExplorer program to load an alternate database library by using the -l flag with the info command. For example, if you wish to start the InfoExplorer Library containing C++, FORTRAN and Ada documentation, start that library with the following command:

info -l compiler

Stopping the InfoExplorer ASCII Program

To leave the InfoExplorer program from either the navigation screen or the reading screen, do the following:

  1. Activate the menu bar by pressing the Ctrl-O key sequence.
  2. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Exit menu and press the Enter key. The Exit menu displays.
  3. Select the Confirm option by pressing Enter. The operating system command prompt displays and the InfoExplorer program stops.

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