Re: local info files and top info directory

[Eric Abrahamsen]

On Tue, Jan 03 2012, Eli Zaretskii wrote:

>> From: Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net>
>> Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:58:08 +0800
>> 
>> I use a lot of development versions of emacs packages (gnus, org, magit,
>> auctex, emms, etc), and keep them all under ~/.emacs.d. I've also got
>> ~/.emacs.d/info, where I symlink those packages' info files, then I add
>> it to the info directories like so:
>> 
>> (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "~/.emacs.d/info")
>> 
>> This works, except that when I run `info' and it composes the main Info
>> directory, the info files of some of the packages (gnus, org) show up in
>> the directory listing, while others (magit, auctex, emms) don't.
>> 
>> I'm able to reach all of the symlinked info files via
>> `info-display-manual', so I know it's not a problem with the files
>> themselves, or the info reader. I've looked at the info files and, with
>> my limited understanding of info, can't see why one would make a
>> directory entry and another wouldn't.
>
> In your ~/.emacs.d/info directory, there should be a file named `dir'
> or `DIR'.  Its contents, and only its contents, are added to the main
> Info directory when Emacs composes it.  Emacs does not look at the
> info files themselves, just in the DIR files it finds in every
> directory that is in Info-default-directory-list.

Nope, there's nothing in there but the symlinked info files. Info is
definitely able to find them, though, so it doesn't seem like this is
the main problem.

>> I'm suspecting the `make' process: for all these packages I generally do
>> configure/make, but no "make install", and then add the lisp dirs, if
>> any, to my load path. My best guess is that something in the make
>> process adds a listing to the directory, and for some of the packages
>> that happens on "make", and for others on "make install". Should the
>> `install-info' command line command come into play at all?
>
> Yes, you should run install-info on every info file you add to your
> ~/.emacs.d/info directory (only the main info files count; e.g., if
> you have foo.info, foo.info-1, and foo.info-2, then only run
> install-info on foo.info).

Huh, that worked! I made my own DIR file and pointed install-info at it,
and everything worked okay except for bbdb.info, which apparently
contains "no info dir entry". I still wonder how the other packages were
able to list their info files, but no matter, this will do!

Thanks,
Eric

-- 
GNU Emacs 24.0.92.1 (i686-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.24.8)
 of 2011-12-29 on pellet