A master menu is the main menu. It is customary to include a
detailed menu listing all the nodes in the document in this menu.
Like any other menu, a master menu is enclosed in @menu and
@end menu and does not appear in the printed output.
The master menu contains entries for the major nodes in the Texinfo file: the nodes for the chapters, chapter-like sections, and the appendices, followed by nodes for the indices.
You may choose to follow these entries with a defailed menu.
This lists other, lower-level nodes, often ordered by chapter.
These items may be a convenience for an inquirer who can go directly
to a particular node when searching for specific information, rather
than going through an intermediate menu. If you use a detailed menu
in your master menu, mark it with the @detailmenu …
@end detailmenu environment, or makeinfo will get confused.
Each section in the menu can be introduced by a descriptive line. So long as the line does not begin with an asterisk, it will not be treated as a menu entry. (See Writing a Menu, for more information.)
For example, the master menu for this manual looks like the following (but has many more entries):
@menu * Copying Conditions:: Your rights. * Overview:: Texinfo in brief. …
* Command and Variable Index:: * General Index::
@detailmenu --- The Detailed Node Listing --- Overview of Texinfo * Reporting Bugs:: … …
Beginning a Texinfo File * Sample Beginning:: … … @end detailmenu @end menu