F.1 Info Format: A Whole Manual

To begin, an Info manual is either nonsplit (contained wholly within a single file) or split (across several files).

The syntax for a nonsplit manual is:

    <nonsplit info file> =
<preamble>
<node>*
<tag table>?
<local variables>?

When split, there is a main file, which contains only pointers to the nodes given in other subfiles. The main file looks like this:

    <split info main file> =
<preamble>
<indirect table>
<tag table>
<local variables>?

The subfiles in a split manual have the following syntax:

    <split info subfile> =
<preamble>
<node>*

Note that the tag table is not optional for split files, as it is used with the indirect table to deduce which subfile a particular node is in.

Several of the sections in an Info file (such as nodes or tag tables) begin with a sequence:

    <separator> = (^L)?^_(^L)?^J

That is, a ‘CTRL-_’ character followed by a newline, with optional formfeed characters.