Introduction

# 1 Introduction

Contents of this section

This file is meant to help you setting up your XFree86 system. It is, however, far from complete. You have to look to several other files or manpages to get complete information. It is noted at the appropriate places, which files have to be read. For a complete description on features and the installation please look at the documentation files and manuals that come with XFree86 (residing in `/usr/X386/lib/X11/etc` and its subdirectories as well as in `/usr/X386/man/man?`) To read a manpage just run `man` program_name, the other documentation files are plain ascii and can be read with the editor of your choice or using `more` or `less`. . The most important files will be pointed out to you in this HOWTO. The documentation files are packages separately in a file called `*-doc*` [cf. Where do I get XFree86 ] from the XFree86 binary distribution.

Any bundeled distribution of XFree86 should include the documentation files. If it doesn't, please contact the distributor on how to obtain these.

Other manual pages from the stock X11R5 distribution can be found in the `*-man*` file of the XFree86 distribution. These manpages come as sources for the nroff program.

To read them you will need a working man program as well as the groff package for formatting them. Note that it is often required to read manpages, so you should install the groff package anyway. (I think it is no good idea that in many distributions this package is considered optional).

This file comes WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF FITNESS. If you damage anything following these informations, you are on your own.

## 1.1 Copyright notice

The XFree86 HOWTO is copyrighted (c) Helmut Geyer 1994

A verbatim copy of the XFree86 HOWTO may be reproduced and distributed in any medium physical or electronic without permission of the author. Translations works are similarly permitted without express permission if it includes a notice on who translated it. Commercial redistribution is allowed and encouraged; however, the author would like to be notified of any such distributions.

Short quotes may be used without prior consent by the author. Derivative work and partial distributions of this HOWTO have to either include a verbatim copy of this file or make a verbatim copy of this file available. If the latter is the case, a pointer to the verbatim copy must be stated at a clearly visible place. If you want to do either of the last possibilities, you should contact the author.

## 1.2 Requirements on reading this HOWTO

You should be aquainted to some very basic facts of a Unix, e.g. you should be able to read a text file or read a manpage. A simple introduction into Unix can be found in the Installation Guide & Getting Started document by Matt Welsh. Everyone who installes and runs Linux for the first time, should read this document. This document is written in LaTeX and can be obtained in several forms (PostScript, DVI, TeX or ASCII format) from `sunsite.unc.edu` in the directory `/pub/Linux/docs/LDP` or from `tsx-11.mit.edu` in the directory `/pub/linux/docs/LDP` by anonymous ftp.

Many Linux distributions provide this document in at least one form. You should find it in the `/usr/doc` directory. In this directory you can find a lot of interesting documentation files, so you should check this directory and read the appropriate files.

## 1.3 Feedback

Comments, criticism or suggestions on this document are very welcome. If you think that something is missing, something is obsolete or wrong, or something could be done better, feel free to contact Helmut Geyer via email, `Helmut.Geyer@IWR.uni-heidelberg.de`.

## 1.4 New versions

The ASCII version of this document will be posted regularly to `comp.os.linux.announce`, `comp.windows.x.i386unix`, `news.answers`, and `comp.answers`. In addition to those sites that archive the answers newsgroups, the latest version can be found on `sunsite.unc.edu` in the directory `/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO`. This site carries not only the ASCII version but also other formats (DVI, PostScript[TM] and HTML), too. These other versions are easier to read than the ASCII version, so if you have the resources to read or print these other versions, do it.

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