RE: search in Info should not find "File", "Node" etc. in header

[Drew Adams]

Yes, "File" is a very general term. It is also a useful term to search for,
like "buffer" and "window" -- especially within a given context (see below).
Consider how many times you might have done `C-h a file' or `C-h a buffer',
especially as a newbie.

"Things that are not indexed" (for which Info-search is especially useful,
according to you) are often "very general terms".  Sigh, this is in the
nature of things, Grasshopper...

In any case, `Info-index' works fine on "file": "file" is in fact indexed.

How a user might run into this problem/annoyance/bug: As I mentioned in
another thread, I could not find `custom-file' in the Emacs manual. I had
forgotten the name, so I couldn't search for it by name. I first tried a
couple variations of customiz* (I didn't think to try "custom.*file" or some
such - mea culpa). I then went to node Easy Customization and searched for
"file". Even with the annoying false hits of "File" in node headers, I soon
found what I was looking for.

Of course, as you say, searching for a common term will give you lots of
hits. However, users can often search within a context that reduces the
number of hits to a reasonable number. Not being able to search normally for
an editor-oriented term such as "file" is an unnecessary, unnatural
limitation.

Imagine making your argument for `apropos' or `command-apropos':

  "You cannot use `apropos' or `command-apropos' on terms like
   'file' or 'buffer' or 'mouse' or 'backward' or 'delete' or 'window'
   because those terms are too common."

-----Original Message-----From: Miles Bader
  >   You should use the much more powerful and useful Index-search (bound
  >   to `i'), not text search.
  >
  > If that's the answer, then we should remove `Info-search' (bound to `s')
  > altogether. If there is a raison d'etre for `Info-search', then it
should
  > work on terms like "file" too.

  Search is a lower-level command than index, and is useful for finding
things
  that aren't indexed.  However like all searching commands, if you use very
  general search strings, you're going to get a lot of false hits.  "File"
is a
  very general term...