xman

Start xman in three-button window

$ xman

$ xman -helpfile [filename]

$ xman -bothshown

xman [options] [section] [page]

-geometry <geometry>
    Specifies the initial size and position of the xman window.

-display <display>
    Specifies the X server display to connect to.

-bw <width> or -borderwidth <width>
    Sets the width in pixels of the border around the main window.

-bd <color> or -bordercolor <color>
    Sets the color of the border around the main window.

-fg <color> or -foreground <color>
    Specifies the foreground color for the application.

-bg <color> or -background <color>
    Specifies the background color for the application.

-fn <font> or -font <font>
    Specifies the font to be used in the window.

-name <name>
    Sets the application name used for resource lookups.

-class <class>
    Sets the application class name used for resource lookups.

-rc <file> or -xrm <resource_string>
    Specifies an X resource file or a resource string to override defaults.

-help
    Displays a brief summary of command-line options.

[section]
    An optional manual section number (e.g., 1, 3). If specified with page, xman attempts to display that specific page.

[page]
    An optional manual page name (e.g., ls, printf). If specified, xman attempts to display this page.

The xman command is an X Window System client designed to provide a graphical interface for browsing and displaying UNIX manual pages. It offers a more interactive and visually intuitive way to access documentation compared to the traditional command-line man utility. Users can navigate through different manual sections, perform keyword searches similar to apropos, and view specific man pages within a dedicated window.

Key features include a directory browser that lists available man pages by section, a search function for finding pages based on keywords in their names or descriptions, and the ability to directly open a specified page. While functional and still part of the X.Org distribution, xman's usage has diminished over time due to the rise of modern desktop environments with integrated help systems and the prevalence of web-based documentation.

xman is built on older X toolkits (Athena, Motif) and may not integrate seamlessly or look consistent with modern desktop environments like GNOME or KDE. It relies on the underlying man system for its content, meaning any misconfiguration of your MANPATH or issues with man itself will affect xman. Its functionality has largely been superseded by more modern documentation viewing methods, including integrated help systems, web browsers, and terminal emulators with better scrollback and search capabilities. It is often not included in default installations of contemporary Linux distributions.

xman is highly configurable through X resources. These resources, which control appearance and behavior, can be set in files like .Xdefaults or .Xresources, or via the xrdb utility. Examples of important resources include:
xman*commandLine: Specifies a manual page to display on startup.
xman*directoryMask: Filters which directories are scanned for man pages.
xman*manpath: Defines an alternative search path for manual pages, overriding the MANPATH environment variable. Understanding these resources is crucial for advanced customization of xman.

xman was developed as a core component of the X Window System, making its debut with the X11R1 release in 1987. Its purpose was to provide a native graphical interface for accessing UNIX manual pages within the then-new X graphical environment. It aimed to make documentation more accessible and interactive than the command-line man utility. Over the years, xman evolved with various X toolkit versions (Athena, Motif). However, its usage gradually declined starting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as modern desktop environments introduced their own help browsers and the internet became the primary source for documentation, leading to its current status as a legacy application, though still maintained as part of the X.Org project.

man(1), apropos(1), whatis(1)