3.6.2 Parts of a Master Menu

A master menu is the main menu. It is customary to include a detailed menu listing all the nodes in the document in this menu.

Like any other menu, a master menu is enclosed in @menu and @end menu and does not appear in the printed output.

Generally, a master menu is divided into parts.

• The first part contains the major nodes in the Texinfo file: the nodes for the chapters, chapter-like sections, and the appendices.
• The second part contains nodes for the indices.
• The third and subsequent parts contain a listing of the other, lower-level nodes, often ordered by chapter. This way, rather than go through an intermediary menu, an inquirer can go directly to a particular node when searching for specific information. These menu items are not required; add them if you think they are a convenience. If you do use them, put @detailmenu before the first one, and @end detailmenu after the last; otherwise, makeinfo will get confused.

Each section in the menu can be introduced by a descriptive line. So long as the line does not begin with an asterisk, it will not be treated as a menu entry. (See Writing a Menu, for more information.)

For example, the master menu for this manual looks like the following (but has many more entries):

@menu
* Copying Conditions::  Your rights.
* Overview::            Texinfo in brief.
…

* Command and Variable Index::
* General Index::

@detailmenu
--- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Overview of Texinfo

* Reporting Bugs:: …
…

Beginning a Texinfo File

* Sample Beginning:: …
…
@end detailmenu
@end menu