Manual Pages

Most commands and functions are documented on reference pages called "Manual pages", commonly known as "man" pages. Man pages provide quick access to detailed information about one command or function.

The SCO OpenServer man pages are grouped into sections that use mnemonic character names -- for example, ADM for administrative commands, C for commands, and so forth. You may also find man pages on the system that are contained in sections that are numbered 1 to 8.

To search for a man page, enter the name of the command or function and click Search. If the command exists in more than one section, you are presented with a list to choose from. If you specify a Section name or number, then only that section is searched.

If you don't know the exact name of a command or function, you can check the Search descriptions also box. This scans the list of commands and descriptions for your search string and displays a list from which you can choose the desired man page. If you want to search through the full text of man pages, use the DocView Search function.

If you select Display List of Manpages, you see a list of all of the man pages installed on the system, sorted alphabetically by section. You can scroll through the list, or use the browser Find option to locate a specific man page in the list. To ensure that all manual pages installed on the system appear in the list, periodically run the following command, as root:

   /usr/man/bin/makewhatis