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<title>Node Names (GNU Texinfo 6.7)</title>

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<span id="Node-Names"></span><div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Writing-a-Node.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Writing a Node</a>, Previous: <a href="Texinfo-Document-Structure.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Texinfo Document Structure</a>, Up: <a href="Nodes.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Nodes</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<span id="Choosing-Node-Names"></span><h3 class="section">4.2 Choosing Node Names</h3>

<span id="index-Node-names_002c-choosing"></span>
<p>The name of a node identifies the node.  For all the details of node
names, see <a href="Node-Line-Requirements.html">Node Line Requirements</a>).
</p>
<span id="Node-Line-Tips"></span><p>Here are some suggestions for node names:
</p>
<ul>
<li> Try to pick node names that are informative but short.

<p>In the Info file, the file name, node name, and pointer names are all
inserted on one line, which may run into the right edge of the window.
(This does not cause a problem with Info, but is ugly.)
</p>
</li><li> Try to pick node names that differ from each other near the beginnings
of their names.  This way, it is easy to use automatic name completion in
Info.

</li><li> Conventionally, node names are capitalized in the same way as section
and chapter titles.  In this manual, initial and significant words are
capitalized; others are not.  In other manuals, just initial words and
proper nouns are capitalized.  Either way is fine; we recommend just
being consistent.

</li><li> In HTML output, any characters in the node name other than plain ASCII 
letters, numbers or spaces will be changed in the file name.  
(See <a href="HTML-Xref-Node-Name-Expansion.html">HTML Xref Node Name Expansion</a>.)
This can make the URL&rsquo;s for the pages in your manual less user-friendly;
for example in this manual the &lsquo;<samp>@dots</samp>&rsquo; node is output as
<samp>__0040dots.html</samp>.
</li></ul>

<p>Because node names are used in cross-references, it is not desirable
to casually change them once published.  Such name changes invalidate
references from other manuals, from mail archives, and so on.
</p>
<p>The pointers from a given node enable you to reach other nodes and
consist simply of the names of those nodes.  The pointers are usually
not specified explicitly, as <code>makeinfo</code> can determine them
(see <a href="makeinfo-Pointer-Creation.html"><code>makeinfo</code> Pointer Creation</a>).
</p>
<p>Normally, a node&rsquo;s &lsquo;Up&rsquo; pointer contains the name of the node whose
menu mentions that node.  The node&rsquo;s &lsquo;Next&rsquo; pointer contains the name
of the node that follows the present node in that menu and its
&lsquo;Previous&rsquo; pointer contains the name of the node that precedes it in
that menu.  When a node&rsquo;s &lsquo;Previous&rsquo; node is the same as its &lsquo;Up&rsquo;
node, both pointers name the same node.
</p>
<p>Usually, the first node of a Texinfo file is the &lsquo;Top&rsquo; node, and its
&lsquo;Up&rsquo; pointer points to the <samp>dir</samp> file, which contains the main menu
for all of Info.
</p>

<hr>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Writing-a-Node.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Writing a Node</a>, Previous: <a href="Texinfo-Document-Structure.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Texinfo Document Structure</a>, Up: <a href="Nodes.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Nodes</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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