We have already discussed the `Next', `Prev', and `Up' pointers which appear at the top of a node. In addition to these pointers, a node may contain other pointers which refer you to a different node, perhaps in another info file. Such pointers are called cross references, or xrefs for short.
Cross references have two major parts: the first part is called the label; it is the name that you can use to refer to the cross reference, and the second is the target; it is the full name of the node that the cross reference points to.
The target is separated from the label by a colon `:'; first the label appears, and then the target. For example, in the sample menu cross reference below, the single colon separates the label from the target.
* Foo Label: Foo Target. More information about Foo.
Note the `.' which ends the name of the target. The `.' is not part of the target; it serves only to let Info know where the target name ends.
A shorthand way of specifying references allows two adjacent colons to stand for a target name which is the same as the label name:
* Foo Commands:: Commands pertaining to Foo.
In the above example, the name of the target is the same as the name of
the label, in this case Foo Commands
.
You will normally see two types of cross references while viewing nodes: menu references, and note references. Menu references appear within a node's menu; they begin with a `*' at the beginning of a line, and continue with a label, a target, and a comment which describes what the contents of the node pointed to contains.
Note references appear within the body of the node text; they begin with
*Note
, and continue with a label and a target.
Like `Next', `Prev' and `Up' pointers, cross references can point to any valid node. They are used to refer you to a place where more detailed information can be found on a particular subject. Here is a cross reference which points to a node within the Texinfo documentation: See section `Writing an Xref' in the Texinfo Manual, for more information on creating your own texinfo cross references.
The following table lists the Info commands which operate on menu items.
1
(menu-digit
)
2
... 9
0
(last-menu-item
)
m
(menu-item
)
M-x find-menu
This table lists the Info commands which operate on note cross references.
f
(xref-item
)
r
Finally, the next few commands operate on menu or note references alike:
TAB
(move-to-next-xref
)
select-reference-this-line
to select the menu or note reference.
M-TAB
(move-to-prev-xref
)
RET
(select-reference-this-line
)