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+ This is a jumping-off reference point for new users who may be
+ completely unfamiliar with Linux commands. It does not contain all
+ the information you need about using the Linux console, but instead
+ just gives you enough information to get started finding the
+ information you need.
+
+Linux Commands
+
+ To run a command, type the command at the prompt, followed by any
+ necessary options, and then press the Enter or Return key.
+
+ Most commands operate silently unless they are specifically asked to
+ say what they are doing. If there is no error message, the command
+ should have worked.
+
+ The operation of most commands can be changed by putting command
+ options immediately after the command name. There are several styles
+ of options used, and you have to check the documentation for each
+ command to know what options it can take, and what they do.
+
+ Linux commands are case-sensitive, and almost always are all
+ lower-case. ls is a valid command; LS is not.
+
+ In most cases you can use the tab key to ask the command shell to
+ auto-complete the command, directory or filename you have started
+ to type. If a unique completion exists, the shell will type it. If
+ not, you can press tab a second time to obtain a list of the
+ possible auto-completions.
+
+Commands for Reading Documentation
+
+ In the following command examples, the [ ] characters are not
+ typed, they mean that whatever is enclosed is optional. For
+ example, you can also start `info' without any subject at all.
+
+ When a given keyboard shortcut is preceded by ctrl- or alt- , that
+ means hold the control or alt key down, and type the given key
+ while holding it down (the same way you use the shift key). A
+ shorthand notation for ctrl- is ^ (^C means ctrl-C).
+
+ man subject
+ man shows the manual page on the command (use q or ctrl-C to
+ get out of it if it doesn't terminate at the end of the
+ text).
+
+ info [subject]
+ A lot of Debian Linux documentation is provided in info
+ format. This is similar to a hypertext format, in that you
+ can jump to other sections of the documentation by following
+ links embedded in the text. An info tutorial is available
+ within info, using ctrl-h followed by h.
+
+ help [subject]
+ Use help for on-line help about the shell's built-in commands.
+ help by itself prints a list of subjects for which you can
+ ask for help.
+
+ pager filename
+ pager displays a plain text file one screen at a time.
+ Additional screens can be displayed by pressing the space
+ bar, and previous screens can be displayed by pressing the b
+ key. When finished viewing the help, press q to return to
+ the prompt.
+
+ Using -h --help with | pager
+ Most commands offer very brief built-in help by typing the
+ command followed by
+
+ -h or --help
+
+ If the help scrolls up beyond the top of the screen before
+ you can read it, add
+
+ | pager
+
+ to the end of the command.
+
+ zmore document.gz
+ zmore is a document pager -- it displays the contents of
+ compressed documentation on your disk, one screenful at a
+ time. Compression is signified by filenames ending in .gz .
+
+ lynx [document] or lynx [directory] or lynx [url]
+ lynx is a text-based web browser. It can display documents
+ (plain-text, compressed, or html), directory listings, and
+ urls such as www.google.com. It does not display images.
+
+Commands for Navigating Directories
+
+ pwd
+ Displays your current working directory. The p stands for
+ print, which is a carryover from when unix was designed,
+ before the advent of computer screens. Interactive computer
+ responses were printed on paper by a connected electric
+ typewriter instead of being displayed electronically.
+
+ cd [directory]
+ Change your current directory to the named directory. If you
+ don't specify directory, you will be returned to your home
+ directory. The `root' directory is signified by / at the
+ beginning of the directory path ( / also separates directory
+ and file names within the path). Thus paths beginning with /
+ are `absolute' paths; cd will take you to an absolute path
+ no matter what your current directory is. Paths not
+ beginning with / specify paths relative to your
+ current directory. cd .. means change to the parent
+ directory of your current working directory.
+
+ ls [directory]
+ ls lists the contents of directory. If you don't specify a
+ directory name, the current working directory's list is
+ displayed.
+
+ find directory -name filename
+ find tells you where filename is in the tree starting at
+ directory. This command has many other useful options.
+
+Documentation Indices
+
+ The standard doc-linux-text package installs compressed text linux
+ HOWTOs in
+
+ /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/
+
+ Particularly helpful HOWTOs for new users are
+
+ /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/Unix-and-Internet-Fundamentals-HOWTO.gz
+ /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/mini/INDEX.gz
+ /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/Reading-List-HOWTO.gz
+ /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/META-FAQ.gz
+
+ Individual package documentation is installed in
+
+ /usr/share/doc/<package-name>
+
+ New user website references include
+
+ http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ
+ http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/gs/gs.html
+
+Recording User Sessions
+
+ script filename
+ Use script to record everything that appears on the screen
+ (until the next exit) in filename. This is useful if you
+ need to record what's going on in order to include it in
+ your message when you ask for help. Use exit, logout or
+ ctrl-D to stop the recording session.
+
+Turning Echo On/Off
+
+ To turn off echoing of characters to the screen, you can use
+ ctrl-S. ctrl-Q starts the echo again. If your terminal suddenly
+ seems to become unresponsive, try ctrl-Q; you may have accidentally
+ typed ctrl-S which activated echo-off.
+
+Virtual Consoles
+
+ By default, six virtual consoles are provided. If you want to
+ execute another command without interrupting the operation of a
+ command you previously started, you can switch to another virtual
+ console (similar to a separate window). This is very handy for
+ displaying the documentation for a command in one console while
+ actually trying the command in another. Switch consoles 1 through 6
+ by using alt-F1 through alt-F6.
+
+Logging Out
+
+ exit or logout
+
+ Use exit or logout to terminate your session and log
+ out. You should be returned to the log-in prompt.
+
+Turning Off the Computer
+
+ Turning the computer on and off is really a system administration
+ subject, but I include it here because it is something that every
+ user who is his own administrator needs to know.
+
+ halt or shutdown -t 0 -h now
+ This command shuts the computer down safely. You can also
+ use ctrl-alt-del if your system is set up for that. (If you
+ are in X, ctrl-alt-del will be intercepted by X. Get out of
+ X first by using ctrl-alt-backspace.)
+
+
+To display this file one screen at a time, type
+
+pager /usr/share/doc/doc-linux-text/README.commands