[seul-edu] Re: HOWTO-howto

[Dave Prentice <dprentice@uno.edu>]

To all:
    Well, since nobody responded to my request for help on the format of
HOWTO documents, I will answer my own question. Perhaps some other newbie
will be spared the hours of frustration I went through finding and then
figuring out how to read HOWTOs. To all of you, this stuff is obvious;
however, to those like me it is not. Perhaps this could be added to FAQs.
(EXPERIENCED USERS: don't bother to read this message. It's for newbies.)
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HOW DO I FIND AND READ HOWTO FILES?
    To any newbie: many of your questions about performing specific Linux
tasks will be answered in a HOWTO file. However, you may not find a HOWTO
for your particular topic on the Web. Don't despair; there are more HOWTOs
available on CD if you bought a specific distro such as RedHat, Debian, etc.
    If they are not available on your main distribution CD, look through
everything in the box for another CD dedicated to documentation, possibly in
a paper cover. It should list HOWTOs among its contents. Browse through the
CD until you get to the HOWTO directory.
    Many of the files in this directory are in a special format called sgml.
Unless you are an experienced user, you will probably have trouble
deciphering them. Don't worry, though; there are probably other formats
available on the CD. For instance, RedHat has a subdirectory within howto,
called other-formats. Click on it to find both html and pdf formatted
howtos.
    Html is easy; just double-click on the appropriate directory, then look
for a file with the lowest number (or no number) at the end of the name.
That is your startup file. Double-click on it and your default Web browser
will open it for you.
    The pdf format (Adobe's Portable Document Format) may be a little more
complicated the first time you use it, but after that it's just as easy. To
view and print pdf files you need the free Adobe Acrobat reader. Try
double-clicking on any of the pdf formatted howto files. Since many
computers come preloaded with Acrobat Reader, the file may just open right
up and you will be good to go. If instead you get a dialog box asking what
program to use to open the file, cancel it and go to Adobe's web site at
www.adobe.com. Look in the free download section for the version of Acrobat
Reader designed for your operating system (Linux, Windows, etc.). Follow the
download and install instructions. When done, go back to the CD and
double-click the pdf file again. It should now open up just fine.
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    Hope this might help some other newbies in the future.
Dave Prentice
prentice@instruction.com