Searching CFEngine documentation
Feb 2, 2012 · 2 minute read · Commentscfenginedocumentationsearchtools
The CFEngine Reference Manual is extremely useful, and is the ultimate guide to everything about CFEngine. However, it is not always the easiest to find what you are looking for.
To help in this respect, I have created a cross-referenced index of all the section headings in the manual. You can search it using the second search box on the right of any page of this site. For example, try searching for "ifvarclass", and you will be redirected to the section of the manual that described that attribute. If your search term matches more than one section (for example, try searching for "root"), you will be shown a disambiguation page where you can select which one you want.
You can also search the index directly by going to http://cf-learn.info/ref/keyword, replacing "keyword" with your search term. Without a search term (http://cf-learn.info/ref/), it will redirect you to the top of the manual. Here are a few examples to get you started:
In the electronic versions of the book, all CFEngine keywords in the text will be linked to this index, to provide you easy access to the reference documentation about that concept.
But the real power, in my opinion, comes from using these links as browser "search keywords". Most modern browsers allow you to define search keywords or search engines. If you define a keyword whose search URL is as shown above (using whatever mechanism necessary to put the search term in the place of "keyword", then you will be able to easily search the CFEngine docs. For example, using Safari Omnibar, I have defined a new "search provider" as follows:
So now I can simply type "cf keyword" in my Safari URL bar and it will do a search for that keyword.
Enjoy!