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1.11 What a Texinfo File Must Have
==================================

By convention, the name of a Texinfo file ends with (in order of
preference) one of the extensions '.texinfo', '.texi', '.txi', or
'.tex'.  The longer extensions are preferred since they describe more
clearly to a human reader the nature of the file.  The shorter
extensions are for operating systems that cannot handle long file names.

  In order to be made into a good printed manual and other output
formats, a Texinfo file _must_ begin with lines like this:

     \input texinfo
     @setfilename INFO-FILE-NAME
     @settitle NAME-OF-MANUAL

The contents of the file follow this beginning, and then you _must_ end
the Texinfo source with a line like this:

     @bye

Here's an explanation:

   * The '\input texinfo' line tells TeX to use the 'texinfo.tex' file,
     which tells TeX how to translate the Texinfo @-commands into TeX
     typesetting commands.  (Note the use of the backslash, '\'; this is
     correct for TeX.)

   * The '@setfilename' line provides a name for the Info file and tells
     TeX to open auxiliary files.  *All text before '@setfilename' is
     ignored!*

   * The '@settitle' line specifies a title for the page headers (or
     footers) of the printed manual, and the default title and document
     description for the '<head>' in HTML.  Strictly speaking,
     '@settitle' is optional--if you don't mind your document being
     titled 'Untitled'.

   * The '@bye' line at the end of the file on a line of its own tells
     the formatters that the file is ended and to stop formatting.

  If you use Emacs, it is also useful to include mode setting and
start-of-header and end-of-header lines at the beginning of a Texinfo
file, like this:

     \input texinfo   @c -*-texinfo-*-
     @c %**start of header
     @setfilename INFO-FILE-NAME
     @settitle NAME-OF-MANUAL
     @c %**end of header

In the first line, '-*-texinfo-*-' causes Emacs to switch into Texinfo
mode when you edit the file.

  The '@c ...header' lines above which surround the '@setfilename' and
'@settitle' lines allow you to process, within Emacs, just part of the
Texinfo source.  (Note: Start of Header.)

  Furthermore, you will usually provide a Texinfo file with a title
page, indices, and the like, all of which are explained in this manual.
But the minimum, which can be useful for short documents, is just the
three lines at the beginning and the one line at the end.
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