info-stnd: Parts of an Xref
8.1 Parts of an Xref
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Cross-references have two major parts: the first part is called the
"label"; it is the name that you can use to refer to the cross
reference, and the second is the "target"; it is the full name of the
node that the cross-reference points to.
The target is separated from the label by a colon ':'; first the
label appears, and then the target. For example, in the sample menu
cross-reference below, the single colon separates the label from the
target.
* Foo Label: Foo Target. More information about Foo.
Note the '.' which ends the name of the target. The '.' is not part
of the target; it serves only to let Info know where the target name
ends.
A shorthand way of specifying references allows two adjacent colons
to stand for a target name which is the same as the label name:
* Foo Commands:: Commands pertaining to Foo.
In the above example, the name of the target is the same as the name
of the label, in this case 'Foo Commands'.
You will normally see two types of cross-reference while viewing
nodes: "menu" references, and "note" references. Menu references appear
within a node's menu; they begin with a '*' at the beginning of a line,
and continue with a label, a target, and a comment which describes what
the contents of the node pointed to contains.
Note references appear within the body of the node text; they begin
with '*Note', and continue with a label and a target.
Like 'Next', 'Prev', and 'Up' pointers, cross-references can point to
any valid node. They are used to refer you to a place where more
detailed information can be found on a particular subject. Here is a
cross-reference which points to a node within the Texinfo documentation:
Writing an Xref (texinfo)xref, for more information on creating
your own texinfo cross references.
Info Catalog
info-stnd: Xref Commands
info-stnd: Selecting Xrefs