Getting around in Linux manpages

A great thing about Linux is that lots of info can be found in the manpages. These are the manual pages that come with every Linux system. They can be accessed with the Linux terminal. The basic format used is man [page], where [page] is the argument representing a program, utility, or function.

For example, to get command-line info on the audio application called Amarok, you'd type man amarok at the command prompt:

$ man amarok

To get info about manpages:

$ man man

Here's the top of the manpage after you type man man in a terminal and press Enter:





To move around within a manpage:

- use the Page Up key to scroll up one page at a time
- use the Page Down key to scroll down one page at a time
- use the Up Arrow key to scroll up one line at a time
- use the Down Arrow key to scroll down one line at a time
- use the Home key to go to the beginning of the document
- use the End key to go to the end of the document
- use the Q key to quit and get back to a command prompt

Konqueror users can view manpages in an html format by typing man:[page] in the search bar. This way you can simply scroll to get around the manpage. The manpage for the ls command shows up in Konqueror as shown below:




Occasionally, you might need info from a manpage that's not included in your Linux system, for whatever reason. Try Googling man [page]. You can find just about any manpage that way. The info there might not all be applicable to the system you're using, but it's a good way to pick up lots of general info about the program, utility, or function that you want to know about.