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
Actions->Install/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”.
Actions->Update package list (u) Bring the package list up-to-date.
Actions->Mark Upgradable (U) Flag all upgradable packages, except those which are held or forbidden from upgrading, for upgrade.
Actions->Forget new packages (f) Discard all information about what packages are “new” (empty the “New Packages” tree).
Actions->Cancel 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.
Actions->Clean package cache Delete all the compressed packages that were downloaded by aptitude[a].
Actions->Clean 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.
Actions->Play Minesweeper Play a game of Minesweeper, as described in the section called “Playing Minesweeper”.
Actions->Become root Continue working as the root user; see the section called “Becoming root”.
Actions->Quit (Q) Quit the program, 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
Undo->Undo (Control+u) Cancel the effect of the last change to a package's state, up to the last time the program 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
Package->Install (+) Flag the currently selected package for installation.
Package->Remove (-) Flag the currently selected package for removal.
Package->Purge (_) Flag the currently selected package to be purged.
Package->Keep (:)Cancel any pending installation, upgrade, or removal of the currently selected package, and remove any hold that was set on the package.
Package->Hold (=)Hold the currently selected package back.
Package->Mark 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”.
Package->Mark 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”.
Package->Forbid 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.
Package->Information (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.
package->Changelog (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
Resolver->Examine Solution (e) Display a detailed description of the problem resolver's current suggestion (see the section called “Solving Dependency Problems”).
Resolver->Apply Solution (!) Carry out the actions that the problem resolver is currently suggesting.
Resolver->Next Solution (.) Select the problem resolver's next suggestion.
Resolver->Previous Solution (,) Select the problem resolver's previous suggestion.
Resolver->First Solution (<) Select the problem resolver's first suggestion.
Resolver->Last Solution (>) Select the problem resolver's most recently generated solution (see the section called “Solving Dependency Problems”).
Resolver->Toggle Rejected (r) When examining a solution, toggle whether the currently selected action is rejected and move to the next action (see the section called “Solving Dependency Problems”). If the action is currently approved, its approval will be cancelled.
Resolver->Toggle Approved (a) When examining a solution, toggle whether the currently selected action is approved and move to the next action (see the section called “Solving Dependency Problems”). If the action is currently rejected, its rejection will be cancelled.
Resolver->View Target (Enter) When examining a solution, view detailed information about the package which is affected by the currently selected action (see the section called “Solving Dependency Problems”).

The Search Menu

Figure 2.5. Commands available in the Search menu

CommandDescription
Search->Find (/) Find the next package in the package list that matches a search pattern (see the section called “Search Patterns”).
Search->Find Backwards (\) Find the previous package in the package list that matches a search pattern (see the section called “Search Patterns”).
Search->Find Again (n) Repeat the last Find command.
Search->Limit Display (l) Filter the current package list by removing any packages which do not match a search pattern (see the section called “Search Patterns”).
Search->Un-Limit Display Un-filter the current package list (all packages will be shown).
Search->Find Broken (b) Find the next broken package. This is equivalent to searching for ~b.

The Options Menu

Figure 2.6. Commands available in the Options menu

CommandDescription
Options->UI options Display a dialog box in which you can set options pertaining to the interface (how messages are displayed, how packages are organized, etc).
Options->Dependency handling Display a dialog box in which you can set options pertaining to how dependencies are treated: for instance, whether to automatically install packages which are recommended by other packages.
Options->Miscellaneous Display a dialog box in which you can set options that don't fit into the previous two categories: for instance, whether packages should be automatically flagged for upgrade when aptitude starts.
Options->Revert 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
Views->Next (F6) Change to the next active view.
Views->Prev (F7) Change to the previous active view.
Views->Close (q) Close the current view.
Views->New Package View Create a new view of the package list.
Views->Audit Recommendations Create a view that displays packages which are not installed, and which a package installed on your system Recommends.
Views->New Flat Package List Create a new view of the package list in which packages are not categorized.
Views->New Debtags Browser Create a new view of the package list in which packages are categorized according to their debtags entries.
Views->New 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
Help->About Display some copyright information.
Help->Help (?) Display the on-line help page.
Help->User's Manual Display the User's Manual (this document).
Help->FAQ Display the aptitude FAQ.
Help->ChangeLog Display a history of the major changes made to aptitude.
Help->License Display the terms under which you may copy, modify, and distribute aptitude.