NAME

       debmany  -  select  manpages or documentation files from installed packages, packages from
       the repository or .deb-files for viewing using "man", "sensible-pager" or  an  alternative
       viewer.

SYNOPSIS

       debmany --help
       debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-g|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L limit] [-l lang1[,...]]
       package|package.deb
       debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-g|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L limit] [-l lang1[,...]]
       -z [package|package.deb]

DESCRIPTION

       Select  a manpage or files in /usr/share/doc from a Debian package for viewing with "man",
       "sensible-pager" or an alternative viewer. The list of files is  displayed  in  a  dialog.
       Supported  locations for Debian packages are: local .deb-file, a package in the repository
       or an installed package.

       --help display a short usage guide and exit

       -k     Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support .gz files) if you use
              KDE  -  this is the short form of -m 'kfmclient exec man:%s'. "kfmclient" is a part
              of the package "konqueror" (at least in Debian Etch).

       -g     Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support .gz files) if you use
              GNOME - this is the short form of -m 'gnome-open man:%s'. "gnome-open" is a part of
              the package "libgnome2-0" (at least in Debian Etch).

       -x     Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support .gz files) if you use
              KDE/GNOME/Xfce  -  this  is the short form of -m 'xdg-open man:%s'. "xdg-open" is a
              part of the package "xdg-utils" (at least in Debian Etch).

       -m manpageviewer
              Optionally set a manpage viewer. The viewer must support .gz files. You must define
              the  complete  request. "%s" gets replaced with the path to the manpage. If "%s" is
              missing " %s" is appended to the manpageviewer. The manpageviewer must be  enclosed
              with  ""  or '' - see examples.  If you use a graphical viewer you must ensure that
              you have access to your desktop (if necessary: sux or ssh with X-forwarding)

       -o otherviewer
              Optionally set a viewer for other files (/usr/share/doc).

       -L limit
              If a file which must be downloaded  exceeds  this  limit,  you  are  asked  if  the
              download  should  start. Without unit the value is in bytes. You can append K, M, G
              or T to the value to change the unit.

       -l lang1[,...]
              English manpages are displayed always. If you want more languages you  can  specify
              them  here.  Provide  a  comma  separated  list  of the folder names in the manpage
              folders (/usr/share/man) - e.g. de,fr or "zh*" if  you  want  to  see  all  Chinese
              manpages (Simplified and Traditional Chinese as well). It is safe always to use "*"
              at the end of your language.  Character set versions automatically generated during
              installation are not available for selection.

       -z     Zenity  (a  graphical dialog) is used to select the files and if necessary to enter
              the package name. You must have  the  rights  to  start  X  programs.  This  option
              combined  with  the  parameters  -k,  -g,  -x  or -m and -o make it possible to use
              debmany without console.

       The manpages are temporarily extracted to a temporary directory under /tmp  (or  /var/tmp,
       if  /tmp  is  not  a  directory).  You  can  override  the  path if you set and export the
       environment variable TMPDIR or set it as a temporary variable.

       You need to have the Debian package "whiptail" (preferred) or "dialog" as well  as  "curl"
       installed.

EXAMPLES

       debmany coreutils
              Show all manpages from the installed Debian package "coreutils" using man.

       debmany 3dchess
              Show  all  manpages  from  the package "3dchess" using man. Since it is not already
              installed the package is accessed from the repository - even downloading is done if
              needed.

       debmany test.deb
              Show all manpages from the local Debian package "./test.deb" using man.

       debmany -k sc
              Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE users).

       debmany -g sc
              Use your preferred man-viewer (for GNOME users).

       debmany -x sc
              Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE/GNOME/XFCE users).

       debmany -z -k
              Uses "zenity" to select files and to enter the package name.

       TMPDIR=~/tmp debmany -m 'konqueror man:%s' sc
              Use ~/tmp as temporary folder and Konqueror as viewer.

       alias debmany='debmany -l de -L 5M -k'; debmany -m man -l "zh*" foo
              Set an alias with your preferred options and override them if needed.

       vi /usr/local/bin/ask # after saving: chmod 755 ask
              #!/bin/dash
              read -p "program to use: " pgm
              eval $pgm "$1"

              debmany -o ask
              Every time you select other files from a package you will be asked which program to
              use.

AUTHOR

       Written by Michael Arlt.

LICENSE

       This is free software.  You may redistribute copies of it  under  the  terms  of  the  GNU
       General  Public  License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.  There is NO WARRANTY, to
       the extent permitted by law.