Mail Archives: djgpp/2000/03/13/06:41:27
On Sun, 12 Mar 2000, Damian Yerrick wrote:
> >On Sat, 11 Mar 2000, Krogg wrote:
> >
> >> Well,It is alot easier for me to navigate html files
> >
> >Why is it easier? Info readers have the same commands for navigation
> >as HTML browsers do.
>
> My browser (IE) uses backspace instead of l for "go to last document."
Why is the different key important?
> And where's the "back" button?
That's the `l' command in Info.
> Not the back key, the on-screen back button?
I fail to see how a minor difference in user interface, such as
different key bindings, make it harder to navigate.
> I'd like to see a GTK+ Info reader that looks like Netscape
> (now that the GIMP is ported, it could use WinGTK+).
There are several GUI Info readers mentioned in the FAQ. There's
InfView by SET, there's Emacs, there's XEmacs (which does have
buttons; Emacs 21 will also have them when released), and there's
TkInfo. I'm sure one of them is good enough for people who must have
a GUI.
> >Info readers have much better facilities for quickliy finding the
> >required information. For example, the index-search command and the
> >automatic completion of index items and section names. You lose all
> >this if you use the HTML version of the docs.
>
> But you gain the mouse and multiple windows.
Even the stand-alone info.exe supports multiple windows (did you read
the manual?). As for the mouse, all readers except info.exe support
it.
Anyway, the mouse and an extra window do not help when you need to
find a crucial piece of information quickly. Using the index search,
I usually can find it in a few seconds. This is simply not possible
with a simple search provided by the Web brwosers.
> And you gain support for copying to the Windows clipboard. (No
> wait, those are in InfView and tkInfo.
No, *all* info readers support the clipboard; Emacs puts each
killed/copied region into the clipboard automatically. Even info.exe
can do that, if you use the cut/paste buttons of the DOS box.
> What I'd like to see is Info support rolled into the next Mozilla.
I don't think this is gonna happen. Info and HTML are two different
languages, and it makes no sense to support them both in the same
browser.
But you can use Emacs to read both HTML and Info ;-).
However, the problem with HTML is that it has no notion of an index
(it's just a huge menu as far as the browser is concerned). It's IMHO
impossible to use a manual as a reference without good index-searching
facilities.
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