Menu commands

The Actions menu
The Undo menu
The Package menu
The Resolver menu
The Search menu
The Options menu
The Views menu
The Help menu

The Actions menu

Figure 2.1. Commands available in the Actions menu

CommandDescription
ActionsInstall/remove packages (g) If an installation preview is not visible, display one; otherwise, perform an install run as described in the section called “Downloading, installing, and removing packages”.
ActionsUpdate package list (u) Bring the package list up-to-date.
ActionsMark Upgradable (U) Flag all upgradable packages, except those which are held or forbidden from upgrading, for upgrade.
ActionsForget new packages (f) Discard all information about what packages are new (empty the New Packages tree).
ActionsCancel pending actions Cancel all pending installations, removals, upgrades, and holds. This is equivalent to executing the Keep command on every package in the package database.
ActionsClean package cache Delete all the compressed packages that were downloaded by aptitude [a].
ActionsClean obsolete files Delete any compressed packages that were downloaded by aptitude [a] and are no longer available. These are presumed to be packages which are obsolete, and can be deleted to save disk space without requiring an otherwise unnecessary download.
ActionsPlay Minesweeper Play a game of Minesweeper, as described in the section called “Playing Minesweeper”.
ActionsBecome root Continue working as the root user; see the section called “Becoming root.
ActionsQuit (Q) Quit aptitude, saving any changes to package states.

[a] Or any other apt utility.


The Undo menu

Figure 2.2. Commands available in the Undo menu

CommandDescription
UndoUndo (Control+u) Cancel the effect of the last change to a package's state, up to the last time aptitude was started, the package list was updated, or an install run was performed.

The Package menu

Figure 2.3. Commands available in the Package menu

CommandDescription
PackageInstall (+) Flag the currently selected package for installation.
PackageReinstall (L) Flag the currently selected package for reinstallation.
PackageRemove (-) Flag the currently selected package for removal.
PackagePurge (_) Flag the currently selected package to be purged.
PackageKeep (:) Cancel any pending installation, upgrade, or removal of the currently selected package, and remove any hold that was set on the package.
PackageHold (=) Hold the currently selected package back.
PackageMark Auto (M) Mark the currently selected package as an automatically installed package. For more information on manually and automatically installed packages, see the section called “Managing automatically installed packages”.
PackageMark Manual (m) Mark the currently selected package as a manually installed package. For more information on manually and automatically installed packages, see the section called “Managing automatically installed packages”.
PackageForbid Version (F) If a package that can be upgraded is selected, forbid it from being upgraded to the currently available version. If a version of a package is selected, forbid the package from being upgraded to that version.
PackageInformation (enter) Display a screen containing information about the currently selected package, such as the packages it depends upon, the packages which depend upon it, and its available versions.
PackageCycle Information (i) When browsing the package list, cycles through the information that can be displayed in the information area (the lower half of the display). The information area can display the long description of the selected package (its default behavior), a summary of the dependencies related to the package, or an analysis of which other packages require or suggest the selected package.
packageChangelog (C) Display the currently selected package's Debian changelog. To see the changelog of a particular version, select that version and execute this command.

The Resolver menu

Figure 2.4. Commands available in the Resolver menu

CommandDescription
ResolverExamine Solution (e) Display a detailed description of the problem resolver's current suggestion (see the section called “Resolving Dependencies Interactively”).
ResolverApply Solution (!) Carry out the actions that the problem resolver is currently suggesting.
ResolverNext Solution (.) Select the problem resolver's next suggestion.
ResolverPrevious Solution (,) Select the problem resolver's previous suggestion.
ResolverFirst Solution (<) Select the problem resolver's first suggestion.
ResolverLast Solution (>) Select the problem resolver's most recently generated solution (see the section called “Resolving Dependencies Interactively”).
ResolverToggle Rejected (r) When examining a solution, toggle whether the currently selected action is rejected and move to the next action (see the section called “Resolving Dependencies Interactively”). If the action is currently approved, its approval will be cancelled.
ResolverToggle Approved (a) When examining a solution, toggle whether the currently selected action is approved and move to the next action (see the section called “Resolving Dependencies Interactively”). If the action is currently rejected, its rejection will be cancelled.
ResolverView Target (Enter) When examining a solution, view detailed information about the package which is affected by the currently selected action (see the section called “Resolving Dependencies Interactively”).
ResolverReject Breaking Holds Reject (as if with ResolverToggle Rejected (r)) all actions that would break a hold on a package or install a forbidden version. These actions are rejected by default unless Aptitude::ProblemResolver::Allow-Break-Holds is set to true, but this menu item allows you to reject them manually at any time.

The Search menu

Figure 2.5. Commands available in the Search menu

CommandDescription
SearchFind (/) Find the next package in the package list that matches a search pattern (see the section called “Search patterns”).
SearchFind Backwards (\) Find the previous package in the package list that matches a search pattern (see the section called “Search patterns”).
SearchFind Again (n) Repeat the last Find command.
SearchFind Again Backwards (N) Repeat the last Find command, but in the opposite direction. If the last Find command was Find Backwards, this will perform a forwards search, and vice versa.
SearchLimit Display (l) Filter the current package list by removing any packages which do not match a search pattern (see the section called “Search patterns”).
SearchUn-Limit Display Un-filter the current package list (all packages will be shown).
SearchFind Broken (b) Find the next broken package. This is equivalent to searching for ?broken.

The Options menu

Figure 2.6. Commands available in the Options menu

CommandDescription
OptionsPreferences Open a new top-level view in which you can modify aptitude's settings. Configuration options are displayed in a tree similar to the tree of packages; to enable or disable an option, select it and press Space or Enter. Configuration options are saved to ~/.aptitude/config immediately upon being selected.
OptionsRevert options Reset all options to their default values.

The Views menu

[Note]Note

For an overview of how views work, see the section called “Working with multiple views”.

Figure 2.7. Commands available in the Views menu

CommandDescription
ViewsNext (F6) Change to the next active view.
ViewsPrev (F7) Change to the previous active view.
ViewsClose (q) Close the current view.
ViewsNew Package View Create a new view of the package list.
ViewsAudit Recommendations Create a view that displays packages which are not installed, and which a package installed on your system Recommends.
ViewsNew Flat Package List Create a new view of the package list in which packages are not categorized.
ViewsNew Debtags Browser Create a new view of the package list in which packages are categorized according to their debtags entries.
ViewsNew Categorical Browser View the package list, arranged by category.
Additional items A number of additional menu items appear; these correspond to the currently active views. To switch directly to a view, select it from the menu.

The Help menu

Figure 2.8. Commands available in the Help menu

CommandDescription
HelpAbout Display some copyright information.
HelpHelp (?) Display the on-line help page.
HelpUser's Manual Display the User's Manual (this document).
HelpFAQ Display the aptitude FAQ.
HelpChangeLog Display a history of the major changes made to aptitude.
HelpLicense Display the terms under which you may copy, modify, and distribute aptitude.