All ASCII printing characters except `@', `{' and `}' can appear in a Texinfo file and stand for themselves. `@' is the escape character which introduces commands. `{' and `}' should be used only to surround arguments to certain commands. To put one of these special characters into the document, put an `@' character in front of it, like this: `@@', `@{', and `@}'.
It is customary in TeX to use doubled single-quote characters to begin and end quotations: @tt{ " } and @w{@tt{ " }}. This convention should be followed in Texinfo files. TeX converts doubled single-quote characters to left- and right-hand doubled quotation marks, "like this", and Info converts doubled single-quote characters to ASCII double-quotes: @tt{ " } and @tt{ " } to @w{@tt{ " }}.
Use three hyphens in a row, `---', for a dash--like this. In TeX, a single or even a double hyphen produces a printed dash that is shorter than the usual typeset dash. Info reduces three hyphens to two for display on the screen.
To prevent a paragraph from being indented in the printed manual, put
the command @noindent on a line by itself before the
paragraph.
If you mark off a region of the Texinfo file with the @iftex
and @end iftex commands, that region will appear only in
the printed copy; in that region, you can use certain commands
borrowed from PlainTeX that you cannot use in Info. Likewise, if
you mark off a region with the @ifinfo and @end ifinfo
commands, that region will appear only in the Info file; in that
region, you can use Info commands that you cannot use in TeX.
(See section Conditionally Visible Text.)
Caution: Do not use tabs in a Texinfo file! TeX uses variable-width fonts, which means that it cannot predefine a tab to work in all circumstances. Consequently, TeX treats tabs like single spaces, and that is not what they look like.
To avoid this problem, Texinfo mode causes GNU Emacs to insert multiple spaces when you press the TAB key.
Also, you can run
untabifyin Emacs to convert tabs in a region to multiple spaces.