texinfo: Cross Reference Parts

Cross References

@xref

Cross Reference Commands

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8.3 Parts of a Cross Reference
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A cross reference command to a node requires only one argument, which is
the name of the node to which it refers.  But a cross reference command
may contain up to four additional arguments.  By using these arguments,
you can provide a cross reference name, a topic description or section
title for the printed output, the name of a different manual file, and
the name of a different printed manual.  To refer to another manual as a
whole, the manual file and/or the name of the printed manual are the
only required arguments (Note: Top Node Naming).

  Here is a simple cross reference example:

     @xref{Node name}.

which produces

     Note: Node name.

in Info and

     See Section NNN [Node name], page PPP.

in a printed manual.

  Here is an example of a full five-part cross reference:

     @xref{Node name, Cross Reference Name, Particular Topic,
     info-file-name, A Printed Manual}, for details.

which produces

     Note: Cross Reference Name,
     for details.

in Info and

     See section "Particular Topic" in A Printed Manual, for details.

in a printed book.

  The five possible arguments for a cross reference are:

  1. The node or anchor name (required, except for reference to whole
     manuals).  This is the location to which the cross reference takes
     you.  In a printed document, the location of the node provides the
     page reference only for references within the same document.

  2. The cross reference name.  If you include this argument, it becomes
     the first part of the cross reference.  It is usually omitted; then
     the topic description (third argument) is used if it was specified;
     if that was omitted as well, the node name is used.

  3. A topic description or section name.  Often, this is the title of
     the section.  This is used as the name of the reference in the
     printed manual.  If omitted, the node name is used.

  4. The name of the manual file in which the reference is located, if
     it is different from the current file.  This name is used both for
     Info and HTML.

  5. The name of a printed manual from a different Texinfo file.

  The template for a full five argument cross reference looks like this:

     @xref{NODE-NAME, CROSS-REFERENCE-NAME, TITLE-OR-TOPIC,
     INFO-FILE-NAME, PRINTED-MANUAL-TITLE}.

  Cross references with one, two, three, four, and five arguments are
described separately following the description of '@xref'.

  Write a node name in a cross reference in exactly the same way as in
the '@node' line, including the same capitalization; otherwise, the
formatters may not find the reference.