Re: How to view a troff formatted file?
On 2/22/21 05:04, Richard Owlett wrote:
> I have downloaded a program with a man-page in troff format.
> How do I view it?> I installed troffcvt but its man-page is non-informative.
> TIA
Manpages typically are gzipped troff files, and the man program is used
to handling them, either gzipped or not, if they are found by the man
search mechanism.
Presumably the program you downloaded does not come in a standard Debian
package, since that would have installed the manpage as well as the
program, and in a location that would allow the man command to find it.
Accordingly, the man page(s) that came with it probably should be
installed consistent with the way the executable and other associated
files are installed, maybe under /usr/local/ or /opt/, for example, or
in a subdirectory - e. g., bin - of your login directory.
In the simplest case, where you are running the program in your login
environment, create in your login directory the subdirectories man and
man/man1; put the manpage file under ~/man/man1 and give it the suffix
.1. Run gzip on it if you want to save around 2/3 of the space.
If you installed the program for general system use, for example in
/usr/local/bin or /usr/local/sbin, or under /opt or some other
installation directory, read the man pages for man and manpath carefully
while studying the file /etc/manpath.config. In them you will find the
information you need to put the manpage wherever you like.
Regards,
Tom Dial
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