NAME
debmany - select manpages or documentation files from installed
packages, packages from the repository or .deb-files for viewing using
"man" resp. "less" or an alternative viewer.
SYNOPSIS
debmany --help
debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-g|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L
limit] [-l lang1[,...]] package|package.deb
debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-g|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L
limit] [-l lang1[,...]] -z [package|package.deb]
DESCRIPTION
Select a manpage or files at /usr/share/doc from a debian package for
viewing with "man", "less" or an alternative viewer. The list of files
is displayed in a dialog. Supported locations for debian packages are:
Local .deb-file, a package in the repository or a installed package.
--help display a small help and exit
-k Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support
.gz files) if you use KDE - this is the short form of -m
’kfmclient exec man:%s’. "kfmclient" is a part of the package
"konqueror" (at least in Debian Etch).
-g Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support
.gz files) if you use GNOME - this is the short form of -m
’gnome-open man:%s’. "gnome-open" is a part of the package
"libgnome2-0" (at least in Debian Etch).
-x Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support
.gz files) if you use KDE/GNOME/Xfce - this is the short form of
-m ’xdg-open man:%s’. "xdg-open" is a part of the package
"xdg-utils" (at least in Debian Etch).
-m manpageviewer
Optionally set a manpage viewer. The viewer must support .gz
files. You must define the complete request. "%s" gets replaced
with the path to the manpage. If "%s" is missing " %s" is
appended to the manpageviewer. The manpageviewer must be
enclosed with "" or ’’ - see examples. If you use a graphical
viewer you must ensure that you have access to your desktop (if
necessary: sux or ssh with x-forwarding)
-o otherviewer
Optionally set a viewer for other files (/use/share/doc).
-L limit
If a file which must be downloaded exceeds the limit, you are
asked if the download should start. Without unit the value is in
bytes. You can append K, M, G or T to the value to change the
unit.
-l lang1[,...]
English manpages are displayed always. If you want more
languages you can specify them here. Provide a comma separated
list of the folder names in the manpgage folders
(/usr/share/man) - e.g. de,fr or "zh*" if you want to see all
Chinese manpages (Simplified and Traditional Chinese as well).
It is safe always to use "*" at the end of your language.
During installation automatic generated character set based
versions are not available for selection.
-z Zenity (a graphical dialog) is used to select the files and if
necessary to enter the package name. You must have the rights to
start X-programs. This option combined with the parameters -k,
-g, -x respectively -m and -o make it possible to use debmany
without console.
The manpages are temporarily extracted to /dev/shm (if the directory
exists) or /tmp . You can override the path if you set and export the
environment variable TMPDIR or set it as a temporary variable.
You need to have the debian package "whiptail" (preferred) or "dialog"
as well as "curl" installed.
EXAMPLES
debmany coreutils
Show all manpages from the installed debian package "coreutils"
using man.
debmany 3dchess
Show all manpages from the package "3dchess" using man. Since it
is not already installed the package is accessed from the
repository - even downloading is done if needed.
debmany test.deb
Show all manpages from the local debian package "./test.deb"
using man.
debmany -k sc
Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE user).
debmany -g sc
Use your preferred man-viewer (for GNOME user).
debmany -x sc
Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE/GNOME/Xfce user).
debmany -z -k
Uses "zenity" to select files and to enter the package name.
TMPDIR=~/tmp debmany -m ’konqueror man:%s’ sc
Use ~/tmp as temporary folder and Konqueror as viewer.
alias debmany=’debmany -l de -L 5M -k’; debmany -m man -l "zh*" foo
Set an alias with your preferred options and overwrite them if
needed.
vi /usr/local/bin/ask # after saving: chmod 755 ask
#!/bin/dash
read -p "program to use: " pgm
eval $pgm "$1"
debmany -o ask
Every time you select other files from a package you will be
asked which program to use.
AUTHOR
Written by Michael Arlt.
LICENSE
This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the
terms of the GNU General Public License
<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. There is NO WARRANTY, to the
extent permitted by law.