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    HOWTO find Kubuntu's documentation - REGENERATED

    ATTENTION! READ ME FIRST!
    _________________________________________________
    The original thread HOWTO find Kubuntu's manual / reference / guide / documentation / help is now back! This copy was regenerated by me, Telengard, in response to the forum database corruption which caused many useful threads at KFN to become inaccessible. Now that the original thread is back I see no need to maintain this copy. I'll be locking this thread now. If you wish to discuss the article, please go to the original thread.

    HOWTO find Kubuntu's manual / reference / guide / documentation / help

    ^ Go there now! You know you want to


    REGENERATED
    _________________________________________________
    Since the forum database corruption many threads were destroyed, including the original HOWTO find Kubuntu's documentation/help/guide etc.. As it was by far my most popular article at KFN, and there is no reason to believe the data will be restored, I thought I'd best join the crowd and repost it here from my local copy. All this information should still be up to date and valid for current versions of Kubuntu, but if not then please let me know in a reply.

    I'll be fixing links to other KFN threads as I go along. It would be great if Rog131 and askreiger could recreate the information they had contributed to the original thread. If the old data is ever restored ... we'll do it all again.

    Introduction
    _________________________________________________
    This list intends to answer the question most often asked by new users of Kubuntu and Linux: Where is all the documentation?

    In short, a large amount of documentation is bundled with Kubuntu. More is easily installable through the package manager. Even more official documentation is available on the Web. If that's not enough, many generous souls have volunteered their time to contribute free information on the Internet.



    The Official Ubuntu Book
    _________________________________________________
    If you want a paper manual it is here, and it covers Kubuntu as well. Just make sure you get the edition appropriate for your version of Kubuntu.

    The Official Ubuntu Book 5th Edition (for Kubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx)



    The Help menu
    _________________________________________________
    All KDE programs have a Help menu at the right side of the top menu bar. Pull it down to read the program's handbook, get tips, report bugs, and check version information. You can also access any KDE program's handbook by simply pressing the F1 key on your keyboard.

    Most non-KDE programs also have help menus or buttons, but sometimes they may be empty. Some non-KDE programs include the manual in PDF, HTML, or plain text form. For those which do not you should visit the official website of the program, which is sometimes linked from within the program itself.



    Context Sensitive Help
    _________________________________________________
    Most KDE programs include context sensitive help which is diplayed in a tooltip. To view the tooltip you must first click the ? (question mark) in the program's title bar. If you don't see a ? in the title bar then press and release the F1 key on your computer's keyboard while holding down the Shift key. The tooltip will appear when you click on the object you want help with.

    Non-KDE programs may also include context sensitive help which may be invoked in a variety of different ways, many times using a menu item, help button, or keyboard shortcut. The context help may be displayed in a tooltip, in the program's status bar, or in an entirely seperate window. Consult the program's manual to learn how to invoke context help.



    The KDE Help Center
    _________________________________________________
    The KDE Help Center is often overlooked by even experienced users. It is the primary index for all kinds of documentation on your Kubuntu system. This should always be the first place you look for official documentation.

    K Menu -> Help
    Opens KDE Help Center. Click the Contents tab on the left to show the document tree. Once inside KDE Help Center, familiarize yourself with the major branches of the document tree as described below.

    Kubuntu Documents -> Kubuntu System Documentation Index
    Contains documentation, tutorials, and FAQs for major programs and system facilities in Kubuntu.

    Welcome to KDE
    A newbie-friendly introduction to the K Desktop Environment.

    KDE Users' Manual
    Explains how to get things done in KDE using major programs and system facilities. The manual is in seven parts, going from simple tasks to advanced system administration.

    Application Manuals
    Full manuals for all your KDE applications, and a wealth of system information pages.

    Tutorials -> Quickstart Guide
    KDE quickstart guide

    Tutorials -> A Visual Guide to KDE
    Guide to KDE widgets

    UNIX manual pages
    Every installed program's man page is indexed here.

    Browse Info Pages
    GNU info documentation is listed here. The info documents serve as users' guides, references, and examples for GNU programs. It is advisable to install and read them whenever they exist. For some programs info documentation is installable from a seperate package. Look up the program by name in the package manager and install the package containing the info documents to read them here.

    The KDE FAQ
    Just what it sounds like, KDE Frequently Asked Questions list



    Documentation folders
    _________________________________________________
    Check the following folders on your system for documentation which doesn't show up in KDE Help Center. It is convenient to browse these locations with Konqueror.
    • /usr/share/doc/programname/
    • /usr/share/programname/doc/
    • /usr/local/share/doc/programname/


    You may have to check the program's man page or description in the package manager to discover where its documents are installed.

    Rog131 has kindly contributed guidance for adding such documents to KDE Help Center.

    The following packages install documents from The Linux Documentation Project into the folder /usr/share/doc/HOWTO:




    Command line documentation
    _________________________________________________
    The Linux command line, sometimes called terminal or console, is the most powerful and flexible way to work with your Kubuntu system. With it you can become as intimate as you wish with the inner workings of the computer, but this article only adresses how to find documentation on the command line. Look to the end of this section for links to command line tutorials.

    Kubuntu's terminal application is Konsole. Commands entered inside Konsole are interpreted by BASH. In Unix parlance, such an interpreter is commonly called a command shell.

    For BASH internal functions (commonly called called builtin commands) you can simply enter help on the command line. Bash will respond with the paragraph below, followed by the list of Bash internals.

    Originally posted by help
    These shell commands are defined internally. Type `help' to see this list.
    Type `help name' to find out more about the function `name'.
    Use `info bash' to find out more about the shell in general.
    Use `man -k' or `info' to find out more about commands not in this list.
    Code:
    $ help help
    help: help [-s] [pattern ...]
      Display helpful information about builtin commands. If PATTERN is
      specified, gives detailed help on all commands matching PATTERN,
      otherwise a list of the builtins is printed. The -s option
      restricts the output for each builtin command matching PATTERN to
      a short usage synopsis.
    Code:
    $ help cd
    cd: cd [-L|-P] [dir]
      Change the current directory to DIR. The variable $HOME is the
      default DIR. The variable CDPATH defines the search path for
      the directory containing DIR. Alternative directory names in CDPATH
      are separated by a colon (:). A null directory name is the same as
      the current directory, i.e. `.'. If DIR begins with a slash (/),
      then CDPATH is not used. If the directory is not found, and the
      shell option `cdable_vars' is set, then try the word as a variable
      name. If that variable has a value, then cd to the value of that
      variable. The -P option says to use the physical directory structure
      instead of following symbolic links; the -L option forces symbolic links
      to be followed.
    Code:
    $ help exit
    exit: exit [n]
      Exit the shell with a status of N. If N is omitted, the exit status
      is that of the last command executed.
    For a short overview of command options, just enter programname --help. If the help text scrolls off the screen, you can use the Shift key combined with PageUp or PageDown to scroll the Konsole buffer up and down.

    Code:
    $ apropos --help
    Usage: apropos [OPTION...] KEYWORD...
    
     -d, --debug        emit debugging messages
     -v, --verbose       print verbose warning messages
     -e, --exact        search each keyword for exact match
     -r, --regex        interpret each keyword as a regex
     -w, --wildcard       the keyword(s) contain wildcards
     -a, --and         require all keywords to match
     -l, --long         do not trim output to terminal width
     -C, --config-file=FILE   use this user configuration file
     -L, --locale=LOCALE    define the locale for this search
     -m, --systems=SYSTEM    include alternate systems' man pages
     -M, --manpath=PATH     set search path for manual pages to PATH
     -s, --section=SECTION   search only this section
     -?, --help         give this help list
       --usage        give a short usage message
     -V, --version       print program version
    
    Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional
    for any corresponding short options.
    
    The --regex option is enabled by default.
    
    Report bugs to [email]cjwatson@debian.org[/email].
    Code:
    $ file --help
    Usage: file [OPTION]... [FILE]...
    Determine file type of FILEs.
    
     -m, --magic-file LIST   use LIST as a colon-separated list of magic
                    number files
     -z, --uncompress      try to look inside compressed files
     -b, --brief        do not prepend filenames to output lines
     -c, --checking-printout  print the parsed form of the magic file, use in
                    conjunction with -m to debug a new magic file
                    before installing it
     -e, --exclude       exclude test from the list of test to be
                    performed for file. Valid tests are:
                    ascii, apptype, elf, compress, soft, tar
     -f, --files-from FILE   read the filenames to be examined from FILE
     -F, --separator string   use string as separator instead of `:'
     -i, --mime         output mime type strings
     -k, --keep-going      don't stop at the first match
     -L, --dereference     causes symlinks to be followed
     -n, --no-buffer      do not buffer output
     -N, --no-pad        do not pad output
     -p, --preserve-date    preserve access times on files
     -r, --raw         don't translate unprintable chars to \ooo
     -s, --special-files    treat special (block/char devices) files as
                   ordinary ones
    or
       --help         display this help and exit
    or
       --version       output version information and exit
    or
     -C, --compile       compile file specified by -m
    Code:
    $ konqueror --help
    Usage: konqueror [Qt-options] [KDE-options] [KDE-tempfile-options] [options]
        		 [URL]
    
    Web browser, file manager, ...
    
    Generic options:
     --help          Show help about options
     --help-qt         Show Qt specific options
     --help-kde        Show KDE specific options
     --help-kde-tempfile    Show KDE-tempfile specific options
     --help-all        Show all options
     --author         Show author information
     -v, --version       Show version information
     --license         Show license information
     --            End of options
    
    Options:
     --silent         Start without a default window
     --preload         Preload for later use
     --profile <profile>    Profile to open
     --profiles        List available profiles
     --mimetype <mimetype>   Mimetype to use for this URL (e.g. text/html or
     	   		  inode/directory)
     --select         For URLs that point to files, opens the directory
     			  and selects the file, instead of opening the actual
    			  file
    
    Arguments:
     URL            Location to open
    You may like to pipe the help text through the less program for easier viewing. When you finish reading the help text, press the Q key to exit to the command prompt.

    Code:
    less --help
    man --help | less
    info --help | less
    Every program on your system should include at least a minimal man page. You can read these man pages from within the KDE Help Center, or from the command line. To read the man page of your program enter a command like man programname. When you finish reading the man page, press the Q key to exit to the command line.

    Code:
    man man
    man info
    man less
    man konqueror
    There are also man pages to teach you how to do things or how various parts of the system work.

    Code:
    man intro
    If you don't know the exact name of the program then you can use the apropos command to list all man pages that mention your topic. On Kubuntu systems apropos is symlinked to whatis, so you may treat the two commands as synonyms.

    Code:
    $ apropos ntfs
    mount.ntfs (8)    - Third Generation Read/Write NTFS Driver
    mount.ntfs-3g (8)  - Third Generation Read/Write NTFS Driver
    ntfs-3g (8)     - Third Generation Read/Write NTFS Driver
    ntfs-3g.probe (8)  - Probe an NTFS volume mountability
    smbcquotas (1)    - Set or get QUOTAs of NTFS 5 shares
    Code:
    $ apropos samba
    cupsaddsmb (8)    - export printers to samba for windows clients
    eventlogadm (8)   - push records into the Samba event log store
    filesharelist (1)  - add/remove/list NFS and Samba file shares
    fileshareset (1)   - add/remove/list NFS and Samba file shares
    idmap_ad (8)     - Samba's idmap_ad Backend for Winbind
    idmap_rid (8)    - Samba's idmap_rid Backend for Winbind
    lmhosts (5)     - The Samba NetBIOS hosts file
    net (8)       - Tool for administration of Samba and remote CIFS servers.
    pdbedit (8)     - manage the SAM database (Database of Samba Users)
    samba (7)      - A Windows SMB/CIFS fileserver for UNIX
    smb.conf (5)     - The configuration file for the Samba suite
    smbpasswd (5)    - The Samba encrypted password file
    smbstatus (1)    - report on current Samba connections
    tdbbackup (8)    - tool for backing up and for validating the integrity of
    	 	    samba .tdb files
    A great deal can be learned by reading man pages. They explain what programs do and a little about how to invoke them. Unfortunately man pages tend to be terse and use technical language, and they usually don't tell you how to put the program to good use.

    That's where GNU Info documentation comes in. Info documentation is very much intended to teach you how to use a program productively. Info documents contain many examples which show exactly how to invoke the program for a specific task. They explain the program and its options in much greater depth than the man page, and explain why the program works the way it does.

    Code:
    info
    Info organizes documents into a hierarchical list of linked nodes. The document nodes are navigated by choosing textual links which are preceded by * (asterisk). Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the text cursor to a link and press the Enter key to follow it. Press the Q key when you want to exit back to the command prompt. Info documentation does not not exist for every program, but at least it is there for the core GNU utilities.

    Code:
    info coreutils
    For some programs the info documentation is not installed in Kubuntu by default, so you will have to find the package conatining the info documents and install it. Typically such packages are named like programname-doc. Strangely enough, the info documents for the info program itself are not included in the default Kubuntu install.

    Originally posted by /usr/share/doc/info/README.Debian
    This package does not contain the info documentation of info and texinfo, as they are licensed under the GNU Free Document License with Cover Texts, which is considered as non-free in Debian.

    The documentation can be found in the package texinfo-doc-nonfree in the non-free section.
    Code:
    sudo apt-get install texinfo-doc-nonfree
    Now the info documentation is listed in the top level directory of the info program under the heading Texinfo documentation system. To read the info documentation for the info program try the commands shown below. Press the Q key to exit back to the command prompt when you are done reading.

    Code:
    info info
    info info-stnd
    info texinfo
    Another curious case of documentation omitted from Kubuntu's default install is The GNU Bash Reference Manual. It is contained in the package bash-doc. If you intend to write shell scripts or do any other serious work at the command line, then keeping this document close at hand is an absolute must.

    Code:
    sudo apt-get install bash-doc
    info bashref
    In general, you can find installable documentation for many programs and system facilities by entering the command below.

    Code:
    apt-cache search --names-only 'doc$' | sort | less
    Further examples:

    Code:
    sudo apt-get install newbiedoc
    konqueror /usr/share/doc/newbiedoc
    That should be all the command line documentation you need to get started. To learn more please read:




    Official Kubuntu documentation online
    _________________________________________________
    If you need to seek help online, go to the official documentation sites first. Most official Ubuntu documentation applies to Kubuntu as well.




    Ubuntu Documentation Search
    _________________________________________________
    http://people.ubuntu.com/~kirkland/search.html

    A custom Google search limited to Ubuntu documentation resources. Results are focused on official documentation first, but includes bug reports and forum posts too.



    Kubuntu related official documentation online
    _________________________________________________
    Official documentation to almost every Kubuntu application, function, and command is maintained online. Point your web browser to one of these sites and start reading.




    Semi-official Kubuntu help channels online
    _________________________________________________
    These online resources are staffed by Kubuntu and Ubuntu community volunteers. Any help you get here may not be officially sanctioned by the Kubuntu team, but it's usually the best help you can get. Read the official documentation above first to get the best help possible.




    Unoffical Kubuntu information online
    _________________________________________________
    Some experienced Kubuntu and Ubuntu users have given freely of their own time and energy to create web based resources to help fellow users. These are trusted resources for Kubuntu related tutorials and help. Read the official documentation above first to make the best use of these resources.




    Unofficial Linux help online
    _________________________________________________



    Getting Started With Ubuntu
    _________________________________________________
    The Ubuntu Manual Team have published Getting Started With Ubuntu, a guide which aims to help new users become acquainted with Ubuntu quickly and easily. This unofficial work is a community based project, and everyone is welcome to contribute. Paper copies of Getting Started With Ubuntu are available for purchase, or PDF copy of the book may be downloaded for free.



    Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition
    _________________________________________________
    Paul Sheer's Rute has long been a trusted source of information and guidance for Linux administrators. Although not official Kubuntu documentation, it provides deep insight into how GNU/Linux systems work and how to do fundamental administrative tasks. The material is fairly technical, and assumes readers have prior knowledge of computer hardware and other operating systems.




    Conclusion
    _________________________________________________
    Help make this article more useful by posting your suggestions in this thread. Is a major documentation or help resource missing? Can the wording or formatting of the list be improved? Please remember that this list is intended to guide new users to official documentation first. Sources of official documentation for this document are listed below in order of preference, with the most desireable options first.
    • anything and everything included in the default Kubuntu installation
    • documentation published by Canonical or with their consent, regardless of medium, which they have designated as official
    • packages installable from the Canonical repositories
    • documents available within the Kubuntu.org domain
    • documents available within the Ubuntu.com domain
    • documentation and resources which are linked directly from the Kubuntu.org or Ubuntu.com domains
    • documentation and resources available directly from developers, packagers, and maintainers of software in the Canonical repositories, regardless of medium


    Please leave some feedback, and thanks for reading.



    History
    _________________________________________________
    • Reword parts of "Command line documentation" and add a few more links to explain terms
    • Add Ubuntu Documentation Search
    • Add /usr/local/share/doc/ to Documentation folders list
    • Add Qqmike's tutorial Commands at Konsole: Beginners
    • Add Rute, and link to askrieger's post on installing locally.
    • Link to Rog131's post on adding documentation to KDE Help Center
    • Add flossmanuals.net thanks to Rog131
    • Add Using The Terminal - Community Ubuntu Documentation and CommandlineHowto - Community Ubuntu Documentation
    • Mention whatis
    • Add Ubuntu Manpages Repository
    • Mention man intro
    • Add /usr/share/doc/bash/README.commands.gz
    • Add doc-linux- packages
    • Formatting cleanup, remove some redundant words
    • Choose some better command line examples
    • Define official documentation
    • Explain context help
    • Rewrite and expand the treatment of GNU info documentation
    • The Official Ubuntu Book has been updated to 5th edition and covers Kubuntu 10.04
    • Add Getting Stared With Ubuntu 10.04
    • Add Using the Command Line
    • Add links to doc-linux- packages
    • Change link from dead HowToGetHelp article to GettingAnswers, add Destinations
    • Remove dead link to KubuntuWay Forums
    • Replace link to apparently dead linux.org with WP article
    • Replace the word newbies with the phrase new users because some may not understand that newbie is not derogatory
    • Fix link to command line options in WP article
    • Move Kubuntu FAQ link to Help and Support

    Welcome newbies!
    Verify the ISO
    Kubuntu's documentation
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