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<span id="Invoking-install_002dinfo"></span><div class="header">
<p>
Previous: <a href="Installing-Dir-Entries.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Installing Dir Entries</a>, Up: <a href="Installing-an-Info-File.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Installing an Info File</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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<hr>
<span id="Invoking-install_002dinfo-1"></span><h4 class="subsection">21.2.5 Invoking <code>install-info</code></h4>
<span id="index-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p><code>install-info</code> inserts menu entries from an Info file into the
top-level <samp>dir</samp> file in the Info system (see the previous sections
for an explanation of how the <samp>dir</samp> file works). <code>install-info</code>
also removes menu entries from the <samp>dir</samp> file. It’s most often
run as part of software installation, or when constructing a <samp>dir</samp> file
for all manuals on a system. Synopsis:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">install-info [<var>option</var>…] [<var>info-file</var> [<var>dir-file</var>]]
</pre></div>
<p>If <var>info-file</var> or <var>dir-file</var> are not specified, the options
(described below) that define them must be. There are no compile-time
defaults, and standard input is never used. <code>install-info</code> can
read only one Info file and write only one <samp>dir</samp> file per invocation.
</p>
<span id="index-dir_002c-created-by-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>If <var>dir-file</var> (however specified) does not exist,
<code>install-info</code> creates it if possible (with no entries).
</p>
<span id="index-Compressed-dir-files_002c-reading"></span>
<span id="index-XZ_002dcompressed-dir-files_002c-reading"></span>
<span id="index-Bzipped-dir-files_002c-reading"></span>
<span id="index-Lzip_002dcompressed-dir-files_002c-reading"></span>
<span id="index-LZMA_002dcompressed-dir-files_002c-reading"></span>
<span id="index-Dir-files_002c-compressed"></span>
<p>If any input file is compressed with <code>gzip</code> (see <cite><a href="../gzip/index.html#Top">Gzip</a></cite>), <code>install-info</code> automatically uncompresses it for reading.
And if <var>dir-file</var> is compressed, <code>install-info</code> also
automatically leaves it compressed after writing any changes. If
<var>dir-file</var> itself does not exist, <code>install-info</code> tries to
open <samp><var>dir-file</var>.gz</samp>, <samp><var>dir-file</var>.xz</samp>,
<samp><var>dir-file</var>.bz2</samp>, <samp><var>dir-file</var>.lz</samp>, and
<samp><var>dir-file</var>.lzma</samp>, in that order.
</p>
<p>Options:
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt><code>--add-once</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dadd_002donce_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specifies that the entry or entries will only be put into a single section.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--align=<var>column</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dalign_003dcolumn_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specifies the column that the second and subsequent lines of menu entry’s
description will be formatted to begin at. The default for this option is
‘<samp>35</samp>’. It is used in conjunction with the ‘<samp>--max-width</samp>’ option.
<var>column</var> starts counting at 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--append-new-sections</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dappend_002dnew_002dsections_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Instead of alphabetizing new sections, place them at the end of the DIR file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--calign=<var>column</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dcalign_003dcolumn_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specifies the column that the first line of menu entry’s description will
be formatted to begin at. The default for this option is ‘<samp>33</samp>’. It is
used in conjunction with the ‘<samp>--max-width</samp>’ option.
When the name of the menu entry exceeds this column, entry’s description
will start on the following line.
<var>column</var> starts counting at 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--debug</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ddebug_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Report what is being done.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--delete</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ddelete_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Delete the entries in <var>info-file</var> from <var>dir-file</var>. The file
name in the entry in <var>dir-file</var> must be <var>info-file</var> (except for
an optional ‘<samp>.info</samp>’ in either one). Don’t insert any new entries.
Any empty sections that result from the removal are also removed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--description=<var>text</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ddescription_003dtext_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specify the explanatory portion of the menu entry. If you don’t specify
a description (either via ‘<samp>--entry</samp>’, ‘<samp>--item</samp>’ or this option),
the description is taken from the Info file itself.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--dir-file=<var>name</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ddir_002dfile_003dname_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specify file name of the Info directory file. This is equivalent to
using the <var>dir-file</var> argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--dry-run</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ddry_002drun_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--test</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--entry=<var>text</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dentry_003dtext_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Insert <var>text</var> as an Info directory entry; <var>text</var> should have the
form of an Info menu item line plus zero or more extra lines starting
with whitespace. If you specify more than one entry, they are all
added. If you don’t specify any entries, they are determined from
information in the Info file itself.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--help</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dhelp_002c-for-texindex"></span>
<p>Display a usage message with basic usage and all available options,
then exit successfully.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--info-file=<var>file</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dinfo_002dfile_003dfile_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specify Info file to install in the directory. This is
equivalent to using the <var>info-file</var> argument.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--info-dir=<var>dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dinfo_002ddir_003ddir_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specify the directory where the directory file <samp>dir</samp> resides.
Equivalent to ‘<samp>--dir-file=<var>dir</var>/dir</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--infodir=<var>dir</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dinfodir_003ddir_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--info-dir</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--item=<var>text</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002ditem_003dtext_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--entry=<var>text</var></samp>’. An Info directory entry is actually
a menu item.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--keep-old</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dkeep_002dold_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Do not replace pre-existing menu entries. When ‘<samp>--remove</samp>’ is specified,
this option means that empty sections are not removed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--max-width=<var>column</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dmax_002dwidth_003dcolumn_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specifies the column that the menu entry’s description will be word-wrapped
at. <var>column</var> starts counting at 1.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--maxwidth=<var>column</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dmaxwidth_003dcolumn_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--max-width</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--menuentry=<var>text</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dmenuentry_003dtext_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--name</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--name=<var>text</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dname_003dtext_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Specify the name portion of the menu entry. If the <var>text</var> does
not start with an asterisk ‘<samp>*</samp>’, it is presumed to be the text
after the ‘<samp>*</samp>’ and before the parentheses that specify the Info
file. Otherwise <var>text</var> is taken verbatim, and is taken as
defining the text up to and including the first period (a space is
appended if necessary). If you don’t specify the name (either via
‘<samp>--entry</samp>’, ‘<samp>--item</samp>’ or this option), it is taken from the
Info file itself. If the Info does not contain the name, the basename
of the Info file is used.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-indent</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dno_002dindent_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Suppress formatting of new entries into the <samp>dir</samp> file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--quiet</code></dt>
<dt><code>--silent</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dquiet_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<span id="index-_002d_002dsilent_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Suppress warnings, etc., for silent operation.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--remove</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dremove_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--delete</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--remove-exactly</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dremove_002dexactly_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Also like ‘<samp>--delete</samp>’, but only entries if the Info file name
matches exactly; <code>.info</code> and/or <code>.gz</code> suffixes are
<em>not</em> ignored.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--section=<var>sec</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dsection_003dsec_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Put this file’s entries in section <var>sec</var> of the directory. If you
specify more than one section, all the entries are added in each of the
sections. If you don’t specify any sections, they are determined from
information in the Info file itself. If the Info file doesn’t specify
a section, the menu entries are put into the Miscellaneous section.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--section <var>regex</var> <var>sec</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dsection-regex-sec_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Same as ‘<samp>--regex=<var>regex</var> --section=<var>sec</var> --add-once</samp>’.
</p>
<p><code>install-info</code> tries to detect when this alternate syntax is used,
but does not always guess correctly. Here is the heuristic that
<code>install-info</code> uses:
</p><ol>
<li> If the second argument to <code>--section</code> starts with a hyphen, the
original syntax is presumed.
</li><li> If the second argument to <code>--section</code> is a file that can be
opened, the original syntax is presumed.
</li><li> Otherwise the alternate syntax is used.
</li></ol>
<p>When the heuristic fails because your section title starts with a
hyphen, or it happens to be a filename that can be opened, the syntax
should be changed to ‘<samp>--regex=<var>regex</var> --section=<var>sec</var>
--add-once</samp>’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--regex=<var>regex</var></code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dregex_003dregex_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Put this file’s entries into any section that matches <var>regex</var>. If
more than one section matches, all of the entries are added in each of the
sections. Specify <var>regex</var> using basic regular expression syntax, more
or less as used with <code>grep</code>, for example.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--test</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dtest_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Suppress updating of the directory file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--version</code></dt>
<dd><span id="index-_002d_002dversion_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<span id="index-Version-number_002c-for-install_002dinfo"></span>
<p>Display version information and exit successfully.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
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