Emacs Info-mode Variables

The following variables may modify the behavior of Info-mode in Emacs; you may wish to set one or several of these variables interactively, or in your ~/.emacs init file. See Examining and Setting Variables. The stand-alone Info reader program has its own set of variables, described in Manipulating Variables.

Info-directory-list

The list of directories to search for Info files. Each element is a string (directory name) or nil (try default directory). If not initialized Info uses the environment variable INFOPATH to initialize it, or Info-default-directory-list if there is no INFOPATH variable in the environment.

If you wish to customize the Info directory search list for both Emacs info and stand-alone Info, it is best to set the INFOPATH environment variable, since that applies to both programs.

Info-additional-directory-list

A list of additional directories to search for Info documentation files. These directories are not searched for merging the dir file.

Info-fontify

When set to a non-nil value, enables highlighting of Info files. The default is t. You can change how the highlighting looks by customizing the faces info-node, info-xref, info-header-xref, info-header-node, info-menu-5, info-menu-header, and info-title-n-face (where n is the level of the section, a number between 1 and 4). To customize a face, type M-x customize-face <RET> face <RET>, where face is one of the face names listed here.

Info-use-header-line

If non-nil, Emacs puts in the Info buffer a header line showing the Next, Prev, and Up links. A header line does not scroll with the rest of the buffer, making these links always visible.

Info-scroll-prefer-subnodes

If set to a non-nil value, <SPC> and <BACKSPACE> (or <DEL>) keys in a menu visit subnodes of the current node before scrolling to its end or beginning, respectively. For example, if the node's menu appears on the screen, the next <SPC> moves to a subnode indicated by the following menu item. Setting this option to nil results in behavior similar to the stand-alone Info reader program, which visits the first subnode from the menu only when you hit the end of the current node. The default is t.

Info-enable-active-nodes

When set to a non-nil value, allows Info to execute Lisp code associated with nodes. The Lisp code is executed when the node is selected. The Lisp code to be executed should follow the node delimiter (the DEL character) and an execute: tag, like this:

          ^_execute: (message "This is an active node!")
          

Info-enable-edit

Set to nil, disables the e (Info-edit) command. A non-nil value enables it. See Edit.