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<span id="Beginning-and-Ending-a-File"></span><div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Nodes.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Nodes</a>, Previous: <a href="Writing-a-Texinfo-File.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Writing a Texinfo File</a>, Up: <a href="index.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Top</a> [<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="Beginning-a-File"></span><span id="Beginning-and-Ending-a-Texinfo-File"></span><h2 class="chapter">3 Beginning and Ending a Texinfo File</h2>
<span id="index-Beginning-a-Texinfo-file"></span>
<span id="index-Texinfo-file-beginning"></span>
<span id="index-File-beginning"></span>
<p>This chapter expands on the minimal complete Texinfo source file
previously given (see <a href="Short-Sample.html">Short Sample</a>).
</p>
<p>Certain pieces of information must be provided at the beginning of a
Texinfo file, such as the title of the document and the Top node. A table
of contents is also generally produced here.
</p>
<span id="index-Frontmatter_002c-text-in"></span>
<p>Straight text outside of any command before the Top node should be
avoided. Such text is treated differently in the different output
formats: at the time of writing, it is visible in TeX and HTML, by
default not shown in Info readers, and so on.
</p>
<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Sample-Beginning.html" accesskey="1">Sample Beginning</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">A sample beginning for a Texinfo file.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Texinfo-File-Header.html" accesskey="2">Texinfo File Header</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">The first lines.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Document-Permissions.html" accesskey="3">Document Permissions</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">Ensuring your manual is free.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Titlepage-_0026-Copyright-Page.html" accesskey="4">Titlepage & Copyright Page</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">Creating the title and copyright pages.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Contents.html" accesskey="5">Contents</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">How to create a table of contents.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="The-Top-Node.html" accesskey="6">The Top Node</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">Creating the ‘Top’ node and master menu.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Global-Document-Commands.html" accesskey="7">Global Document Commands</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">Affecting formatting throughout.
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="Ending-a-File.html" accesskey="8">Ending a File</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">What is at the end of a Texinfo file?
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