@menu
* Introduction:: Elpher Overview: what's this all about?
+* Installation:: Installing Elpher
+* Quick Start:: Get up and running quickly
* Navigation:: Fundamentals of Elpher navigation
* Bookmarks:: How to record and visit bookmarks
* Character encodings:: How Elpher handles different character encodings
+* Encrypted connections::
* Customization:: How to customize various aspects of Elpher
-* Hacking:: Contributing changes to Elpher
* Index::
@end menu
-@node Introduction, Navigation, Top, Top
+@node Introduction, Installation, Top, Top
@chapter Introduction
Elpher aims to be a capable and practical gopher client for Emacs. Its
can likely by incoroporated quickly, so please get in touch if you
have some ideas.
-@node Navigation, Bookmarks, Introduction, Top
-@chapter Navigation
+@node Installation, Quick Start, Introduction, Top
+@chapter Installation
+
+Elpher is available from the MELPA package repository. If you have
+never installed packages from this repository before, you'll need
+to follow the instructions at @url{https://melpa.org/#/getting-started}.
+
+@noindent To install Elpher, enter the following:
+
+@example
+@kbd{M-x package-install @key{RET} elpher @key{RET}}
+@end example
+
+@noindent To uninstall, use
+
+@example
+@kbd{M-x package-delete @key{RET} elpher @key{RET}}.
+@end example
+
+While not recommended, it is also possible to install Elpher directly by
+downloading the file @file{elpher.el} from
+@url{https://github.com/tgvaughan/elpher}, adding it to a directory in
+your @code{load-path}, and then adding
+
+@example
+(require 'elpher)
+@end example
+
+@noindent to your Emacs initialization file.
+
+@node Quick Start, Navigation, Installation, Top
+@chapter Quick Start
+
+Before diving into the minutiae of the different commands available,
+we will quickly describe how to get up and running with Elpher.
+Once installed, you can launch Elpher using
+
+@example
+@kbd{M-x elpher @key{RET}}
+@end example
+
+@noindent This will switch to the *Elpher* buffer and display a start
+page, with information on each of the default keyboard bindings.
+
+From here you can move point between links (which may be menu items or
+inline URLs in text files) by using @key{TAB} and @kbd{S-@key{TAB}},
+as in Info. You can also jump directly to a menu item using @key{m}, or
+use the standard Emacs or Evil motion and search commands to find your
+way around. To open a link, press @key{RET}. (Where a mouse is
+available, Clicking on a link with the mouse cursor has the same
+effect.)
+
+To return to the page you just followed the link from, press @key{u}.
+
+Elpher caches (for the duration of an Emacs session) both page contents
+and the position of point on each of the pages (gopher menus, query
+results, or text pages) you visit, restoring these when you next visit
+the same page. Thus, pressing @key{u} displays the previous page in
+exactly the same state as when you left, meaning that you can quickly
+and visually explore the different documents in a menu without having to
+wait for anything to reload.
+
+Of course, sometimes you'll @emph{want} to reload the current page
+rather than stick with the cached version. To do this use @key{R}.
+(This is particularly useful for search query results, where this
+allows you to perform a different search.)
+
+That's more-or-less it. Elpher supports a number of other features, such
+as bookmarking, support for different coding schemes and TLS encryption,
+and a variety of customization options, all of which are explained in
+the rest of this document. However the emphasis is on keeping the basic
+navigation experience as intuitive and responsive as possible.
+
+@node Navigation, Bookmarks, Quick Start, Top
+@chapter Navigation
+by
Throughout this manual, we use the word ``page'' to refer to any
visualization of a response from a gopher server, be it a
menu/directory, query result, text file or image. We use
@menu
* Within-page navigation:: Moving about within a page
-* Between-page navigation:: Concepts and commands for moving between pages
+* Between-page navigation:: Commands for moving between pages
+* History and Caching:: Explanation of how Elpher represents history
@end menu
+
@node Within-page navigation, Between-page navigation, Navigation, Navigation
@section Within-page navigation
links and menu items.
@table @asis
-@item @kbd{tab} (@code{elpher-next-link})
+@item @key{TAB} (@code{elpher-next-link})
Move to the next link or menu item in the file.
-@item @kbd{<S-tab>}/@kbd{<backtab} (@code{elpher-prev-link})
+@item @kbd{Shift-@key{TAB}}/@key{backtab} (@code{elpher-prev-link})
Move to the previous link or menu item in the file.
@item @kbd{m} (@code{elpher-jump})
@item @kbd{C} (@code{elpher-copy-current-url})
Add URL representing address of the current page to the kill-ring and
the system clipboard (if available).
+
+@item @kbd{d} (@code{elpher-download})
+Download link at point and save the result as a file. The minibuffer
+will prompt for the name of the file to write, with the default name being
+the display string (if available) associated with the link.
+
+@item @kbd{D} (@code{elpher-download-current})
+This is similar to @code{elpher-downlowd}, but instead applies to the
+current page rather than a link.
+
+@item @kbd{w} (@code{elpher-view-raw})
+This displays the raw server response for the current page. While not
+useful for general browsing, it is useful for debugging incorrect rendering
+or out-of-spec server responses.
@end table
-@node Between-page navigation, , Within-page navigation, Navigation
+@node Between-page navigation, History and Caching, Within-page navigation, Navigation
@section Between-page navigation
Moving to a different page can be accomplished in several ways,
-described by the following commands:
+described by the following command:
@table @asis
@item @kbd{RET}, @kbd{mouse-1} (@code{elpher-follow-link})
Follow the menu item or link at point (or selected with the mouse).
-@end table
-Exactly what is meant by ``follow'' depends on the kind of item selected.
+Exactly what is meant by ``follow'' depends on the kind of item selected:
+
+@itemize
+@item
For text or menu type items or links, the curent page text is replaced
-by the text of this item.
+by the text of this item. Unless the customization variable
+@code{elpher-use-header} (@pxref{Customization}) is
+@code{nil}, the display string of the link is displayed in the buffer header.
+Links to images behave similarly on Emacs systems supporting the display of
+bitmap graphics, however their content is not cached in memory by default.
+
+@item
+When followed, links to search/query items (type 7) prompt for input in
+the minibuffer then display the results in the same way as for text and menu
+items.
+
+@item
+Following links to binary files (and image files on unsupported systems)
+causes Elpher to prompt for a filename in which to save the content.
+
+@item
+Following links of type `h' with a selector having the `URL:' prefix, or
+non-gopher URLs in text files, will result in Elpher using an external
+programme to open the URL. This will be either the default system browser
+or, if the @code{elpher-open-urls-with-eww} customization variable is non-nil,
+Emacs' own EWW browser. (See @pxref{Customization}.)
+
+@end itemize
+
+Once a text, menu or query response page has been displayed, its contents are
+cached for the duration of the Emacs session.
+
+@item @kbd{g} (@code{elpher-go})
+Open a particular page by specifying either its URL or directly entering
+a host, port and selector.
+
+Note that if a non-gopher protocol is used in the URL the result will be
+the same as following a URL link of the same type from a gopher menu.
-Once a text, menu or query response page is retrieved, its contents are
-cached for the duration of the Emacs session.
+@item @kbd{O} (@code{elpher-root-dir})
+Open the root page (empty selector) on the current host.
+
+@item @kbd{u} (@code{elpher-back})
+Return to the previous page, where ``previous'' means the page where the
+page which was displayed immediately before the current page.
+@end table
+
+@node History and Caching, , Between-page navigation, Navigation
+@section History and Caching
@node Bookmarks, Character encodings, Navigation, Top
@chapter Bookmarks
-@node Character encodings, Customization, Bookmarks, Top
+@node Character encodings, Encrypted connections, Bookmarks, Top
@chapter Character encodings
-@node Customization, Hacking, Character encodings, Top
-@chapter Customization
+@node Encrypted connections, Customization, Character encodings, Top
+@chapter Encrypted connections
-@node Hacking, Index, Customization, Top
-@chapter Hacking
+@node Customization, Index, Encrypted connections, Top
+@chapter Customization
-@node Index, , Hacking, Top
+@node Index, , Customization, Top
@unnumbered Index
@printindex cp
The Lambda Lab / projects / elpher.git / blobdiff