Re: pdf-tools documentation

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Joost Kremers <joostkremers@fastmail.fm>
> Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2021 22:50:32 +0200
> Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> 
> There's a few things you can try, though. `C-h P` (`describe-package`) asks 
> for
> a package name and shows you the description that is provided in the package's
> source code. Some packages have a lot of info there, some very little.
> 
> Other packages provide an info manual: `C-h i` takes you to the main info 
> node,
> there you can check if your package has an info manual.
> 
> In the case of pdf-tools, `C-h P` gives you the same info that is present in
> Github, and there is no info manual, so neither method will help you...
> 
> The next thing to do is then to see what key bindings are present. If you do
> `C-h m` (`describe-mode`) you'll get a description of the minor modes and the
> major mode in the current buffer. There is usually a lot of irrelevant
> information there, so you'll need to search a bit for what you are looking 
> for.
> The major mode is discussed first, though, and there is a list of keybindings.
> 
> The overview of keybindings only shows the commands that the keys execute, but
> often the names are fairly self-explanatory, and clicking on a command usually
> shows you a description.
> 
> If you have a completion package that shows you a list of candidates (I use
> selectrum myself, but there are several other options), typing `M-x pdf-tools`
> will give you a list of commands that have `pdf-tools` in their name, which 
> can
> also be a good way to look for something specific.
> 
> Sometimes, the menu-bar menu can be helpful as well. If you've disabled the 
> menu
> bar, you can still access the menu with F10.
> 
> Other useful things to know: `C-h c` lets you type a key and tells you which
> command is bound to it. More useful perhaps is `C-h k`, which lets you type a
> key and displays the documentation of the command that's bound to it.
> 
> In the end, the quality of the documentation really depends on the package
> author, however...

Excellent and comprehensive advice, but please don't forget that
reading the package source, at least some of it, is also a powerful
means for learning about a package.  That's why Free Software is a win
for users: you have all the information before you, whether the author
wants that or not.