The RedHat Linux distribution CDs contain lots of documentation. Part of it is in html format and part in plain text format. You can read it all from under DOS or MS Windows before you install Linux.

For example, a soft-copy of the RedHat manual can be viewed with any MS Windows-based html browser, e.g. Netscape for Windows or MS Internet Explorer. Just access the file D:dochmanualmanualindex.htm. (assuming your CDROM is drive D under MS Windows).

Also, check the directory docLDP for the excellent Linux Documentation Project manuals. For example, you can browse the Linux System Administrators' Guide by accessing the file docLDPsagsag.html with your favorite html browser.

Also, check the directory docHOWTO for the HOWTO documents, the directory docHOWTOmini for the MINIHOWTOs and the directory docFAQ for a set of FAQs on different topics (FAQ="frequently asked questions"). For example, these commands will let you read the Linux-FAQ document (plain-text format) from under DOS:

D:
cd docFAQ xt
edit Linux-FAQ

Under Linux, you can read the same documentation from the CD using, for example, this command:

lynx /mnt/cdrom/doc/rhmanual/manual/index.htm

This will start lynx, a simple text-mode html browser, to view the RedHat manual. Please note that under Linux, the CD must be mounted first, and the example above assumes that the mountpoint is the directory /mnt/cdrom/. You can also use Netscape for Linux, StarOffice or any other html browser to view the RedHat manual and other documentation in the html format. You can read plain-text documents from the CD under Linux using, for example, these commands:

cd /mnt/cdrom/doc/FAQ/txt/
less Linux-FAQ

(The less command lets you scroll through the contents of a text file.)

After installing linux, the documentation, whatever part of it you installed, is in the directory /usr/doc/ or /usr/share/doc. If you didn't install the documentation, consider installing everything now, it may be worth it. For example, the directory /usr/doc/LDP contains the Linux Documentation Project manuals. These commands will let you browse the Linux System Administrators' Guide:

cd /usr/doc/LDP/sag
lynx sag.html

Also, check /usr/doc/HOWTO for the HOWTO documents, and /usr/doc/HOWTO/mini for the MINIHOWTOs.

The location of the documentation is sometimes /usr/share/doc.

For more or updated documentation, see http://www.ibiblio.org/mdw/index.html

Is there a help command?

Most Linux commands can be run with the "--help" option. For example, this command will give you concise help on the Linux cp (copy) command:

cp --help | less

More extensive info is accessed from the command line using the so-called manual pages man topic. For example:

man cp

will display the manual page for the "cp" (copy) command. The manual pages are the standard "help" system under Linux, and contain a wealth of detailed, very technical information, but typically require some effort to be understood by a newbie.

The man command uses a simple utility called less that lets you scroll through a text. Use arrow keys to scroll, press "q" to quit. Actually, less can do more than this. Press "h" for help when running less, or learn more about less using the command

man less

There is also the info command info topic. For example:

info cp

will give you the help for the "cp" (copy) command. Often info contains information similar to man, but more up-to-date. Unfortunately, the info navigating utility is not very intuitive, so I use man pages more often. There is also pinfo (a substitute for the info command, perhaps easier to use than info).

If you don't remember exactly the name of the command that you need to use, try apropos. For example, to obtain a list of commands which have something to do with "copy", I execute this from the command line:

apropos copy

In some menu driven programs, for example when configuring your system services using ntsysv (or setup, or linuxconf), you may press F1 for info about what the particular service does.

The list of bash built-in commands can be obtained by typing help on the command line. Then help on any specific bash built-in command can be obtained by issuing, for example:

help cd

Bash is the standard command line "shell", i.e., the Linux equivalent of the DOS command-line processor "COMMAND.COM".

The kde windows manager includes a GUI-based "help browser", which can be started by clicking the appropriate icon on the Kpanel. This browser can be used to access the kde-specific help as well as the system manual pages. The Gnome desktop contains a similar help system.

If you want to learn about the many packages that come on your CDs in rpm format, you may want to use the GUI-based kpackage (type kpackage in an X-terminal) to browse through the packages, display the info that they contain, and install them if you wish (the installation has to be done as root). In place of kpackage, older distributions use glint (RH5.2) or gnorpm (RH6.0), which are slower and less convenient.