Software Installation Administrator's Guide

Chapter 6
Inst for Experts

This chapter provides instructions to users who are already familiar with the basic operation of Inst. It contains cursory installation instructions as an alternative to the detailed instructions in Chapter 5 , and elaborates options for using Main menu commands. Finally, this chapter explains how to use features on the other Inst menus.

This chapter contains these sections:

"Quick Start Installation Instructions"
"Alternative Ways to Specify a Distribution"
"Installing Software Noninteractively"
"Using Command Shortcuts"
"Using step to Make Selections"
"Using the View Commands Menu"
"Using the Administrative Commands Menu"
"Using the Interrupt Menu"
"Giving Commands on Other Menus"

Quick Start Installation Instructions

Use this procedure if you are already familiar with using Inst and need only cursory instructions to complete the installation process. The procedure contains references to information in Chapter 5 , in case you need more detail.

Note: Inst has an extensive online help feature. To see the list of topics on which help is available, give the command help help.

Become the superuser.
```
% su 
Password: 
```
Invoke Inst:
```
# inst 
```
After your entry, initial messages appear, including the default location of the software distribution that will be used for the installation. If you plan to use this distribution, omit step 3 and go directly to step 4.
Specify the software distribution source, if you need to:
```
Inst> from server:pathname 
```
Use the from command to specify the location of the distribution that you wish to use if the default is not acceptable. Substitute a local specification, such as /CDROM/dist, if necessary. (See "Step 2: Specifying the Source" for more details.)

The initialization is performed after your entry. Inst posts messages about reading the installation history and product descriptions; then it performs space calculations.
Display the distribution inventory (optional):
```
Inst> list 
```
Use the list command to browse the software on the distribution. After your entry, you see a display of subsystems, their selection status, installation status, and disk space requirements. (See "Using the list Command" for details.) If you omitted step 3, you see the initialization messages before the software inventory is posted.
Switch to the target view and look at the installed products (optional):
```
Inst> view targ 
Inst> list 
```
To browse the software on the target, use view to change the view to the target and list to display target software. After your entry, you see a display of subsystems that are installed on the target and their removal status. (See "Using the View Commands Menu" for details.)
Step through the distribution inventory to change selections, as needed:
```
Inst> view dist 
Inst> step 
```
After your entries, the first subsystem in the distribution is displayed. Type <Enter> to display succeeding subsystem, checking the selection status in the first column of each subsystem as it is displayed (these selections were made by Inst during initialization). Use the selection commands to change any selections, as needed: Type i to install the subsystem, r to remove it, and k to keep the subsystem in its present condition on the target. (See "Step 4: Making Software Selections" and "Using step to Make Selections" for more information.)
Launch the installation:
```
Inst> go 
```
If there are no conflicts or errors in your selections, see messages about images being removed and installed, followed by a completion message, after you enter go. (See "Step 5: Launching the Installation" for details.) If you see conflict messages, go on to step 8 of this procedure. If no conflict messages are posted, omit steps 8 and 9 and go directly to step 10.
Resolve conflicts, if needed:
```
Inst> conflicts num num num
```
If you were notified of conflicts, specify the conflict resolution that you prefer from the list of recommendations. (See "Step 6: Resolving Conflicts and Other Errors" for details.)

If you prefer not to accept the resolutions that are offered in the conflict notice, you can return to step 6 to change your selections. Then, repeat the go command to install or remove the software that is affected by the conflict resolutions.
Remove some selections if there is insufficient disk space.

If you were notified that your selections required more disk space than Inst can safely use, you must remove some of your selections. Repeat the go command to process your changes.
Quit Inst.

If there is no more software to install, quit Inst at the quit prompt (see "Step 7: Quitting the Installation Session" for details). Otherwise, return to step 3 to change the distribution source or to step 4 to display the distribution inventory.

Alternative Ways to Specify a Distribution

The from command specifies the distribution source for an installation session or portion of the session (see "Step 2: Specifying the Source" in Chapter 5 for basic information). This section suggests several alternatives to the specification methods described in Chapter 5 .

Using the $dist Variable

The $dist variable is a shorthand notation to specify the location of a distribution. The value of $dist is the current value of the dist preference (see "A Closer Look at Preferences" ). The dist preference is automatically set each time Inst reads product descriptions from a distribution source. When Inst is invoked, the value of dist is set to the last software distribution source that was specified in an Inst session.

Use $dist as an argument to from to specify the location of the distribution:

Inst> from $dist

You can check the value of dist at any time by issuing this command:

Inst> view set dist

Specifying One Product as the Source

A distribution specification can contain the name of a specific product to be installed. These sample entries illustrate how to specify a single product as a distribution source:

Inst> from server:/CDROM/dist/product_name 
Inst> from $dist/product_name

When you specify a product name, only the specified product can be installed. However, this method reduces the time required for disk space checking and verification of the installation history.

Specifying an Alternate User Account

As a default, Inst uses the guest account to connect to an installation server (see "Configuring an Installation Account" ). To use an alternate account on the server, specify the user account name in your distribution specification:

Inst> from user@server:pathname

Specifying the Source on the Command Line

For a live installation, you can use the Inst command line argument f to specify the distribution source. This is equivalent to giving the from command on the Inst Main menu. These examples illustrate inst -f command entries:

# inst -f /CDROM/dist 
# inst -f server:pathname  
# inst -f server:pathname/product

In your entry, specify the pathname of the software distribution for source (/CDROM/dist, for example); if the distribution is on a remote server, include the server name in your specification ( easyboy:/CDROM/dist, for example). If you wish to install an individual product, substitute the shortname of the product for product in your entry (easyboy:/CDROM/dist/InPerson, for example). See "Step 2: Specifying the Source" for additional information on specifying a distribution source.

Installing Software Noninteractively

It is possible to install software without using Inst menus; however, only live installations can be performed noninteractively. Noninteractive installations install the subsystems that are pre-selected by Inst (see "Required and Default Subsystems" for information on these selections). In cases where the distribution contains an update to installed software, the older version on the target is replaced by the update. In cases where the distribution contains software that is not installed on the target, the default subsystems are installed (these are marked with d in list displays).

To install software noninteractively, use the a argument (automatic) on the inst command line. To specify the location of the software distribution in the automatic installation, use the a argument with the -f argument in your command. If you do not use the f argument, the default is the software distribution source that you specified when you last used Inst.

In Example 6-1 , the ftn_dev product is installed noninteractively from a software distribution directory on a remote workstation.

% /bin/su -
Password:
# inst -a -f easyboy:/d/IRIX_5.3/ftn_dev
#

Example 6-1 : Sample of a Non-interactive Installation

Using Command Shortcuts

The discussions that follow explain how to save keystrokes when using Inst commands. These shortcuts apply to all Inst menus.

Giving Commands by Number

Instead of command names, you can give command numbers at the prompt. For example, this command is the same as entering the remove command:

Inst> 5

Abbreviating Command Names

Inst recognizes the shortest unique abbreviation of any command, so your command entry can be very brief. You can also use command abbreviations in combination with keywords (see "Using Keywords as Arguments" ). The sample entry below, which is an abbreviation for the list command used with the keyword downgraded, is the same as entering list downgraded:

Inst>l D

Using Wildcards in Subsystem Names

When you enter subsystem names as arguments to Inst commands, you can use wildcards to shorten your entries. Inst accepts these shell-style wildcards in subsystem names:

?: Matches one character.
*: Matches any combination of characters but applies only to the product, image, or subsystem portion of the name in which it is used. In other words, the asterisk (*) does not match characters in the entire subsystem name; it matches only the characters that appear in one segment of a subsystem name (see "Using Product and Image Names" for an explanation of name segments).
[ ]: Matches any enclosed characters or a range of characters separated by a dash.

Table 6-1 illustrates the use of wildcards in product names.

Table 6-1 : Subsystem Names Specified With WildcardEntryMeaning

eoe1.sw.*

All sw subsystems in the eoe1 product

*.man.*

All man subsystems in the distribution

*.man

All man images in the distribution

eoe*

All products whose names begin with eoe (eoe1 and eoe2, for example)

[a-c]*.sw.*

All sw subsystems in products whose names begin with a, b, or c

Using Product and Image Names

Any command that accepts subsystems names as arguments also accepts product and image names as arguments. This means that the trailing asterisk wildcards (.* and .*.*) are not necessary to specify all subsystems in an image or product.

Example 6-2 illustrates commands that use product and image names as arguments.

Inst> list eoe2 
Inst> install *.man
Inst> keep *

Example 6-2 : Commands With Product and Image Arguments

You can always tell whether you are specifying a subsystem, image, or product name by the number of segments in the name. Product names contain one segment and no dots, image names contain two segments separated by one dot, and subsystem names contain three segments separated by two dots. These rules are true even when you use wildcards. Example 6-3 illustrates the structure of names in the product hierarchy.

dmedia_dev
dmedia_dev.sw
dmedia_dev.sw.audio

Example 6-3 : Sample Product, Image, and Subsystem Names

Using Keywords as Arguments

The list, install, remove, keep, and step commands take arguments called keywords. Keywords are shorthand designations for groups of subsystems, images, or products. Many keywords have a long form and a single letter abbreviation.

Table 6-2 lists each keyword, its abbreviation (if it has one), and a description of the subsystems, images, or products that the keyword designates.

Table 6-2 : KeywordsKeywordAbbrev.Meaning

all

a

All subsystems in showprods -a output plus all subsystems in the software distribution.

default

d

All subsystems that are recommended for installation by the manufacturer. A d appears after the subsystem name in list output.

distribution

dist

All subsystems in the distribution.

downgrade

D

All subsystems for which the version in the distribution is a downgrade of (older than) the installed version on the target. A D appears in the second column of list output

install

i

All subsystems that are selected for installation. An i appears in the first column of list output

installable

A

All subsystems in the software distribution. When no keyword argument is given to the list and step, the installable keyword is used by default.

installed

I

All subsystems that have the same version installed and available for installation. An I appears in the second column of list output.

keep

k

All installed subsystems that are in the software distribution and are not selected for installation or removal.

miniroot

b

All subsystems that must be installed with a miniroot installation or that require a reboot to complete installation. A b appears after the subsystem name in list output.

newer

N or n

All subsystems in the distribution that are not and never were installed on the target. An N appears in the second column of list output.

notinstalled

(none)

All subsystems that were never installed on the target or were installed and later removed.

patches

(none)

All patches in the distribution.

patchupgrade

P

All patches on the distribution that are upgrades to installed patches. A P appears in the first column of list output.

removable

L

All installed subsystems that can be selected for removal.

remove

r

All subsystems that are selected for removal. An r appears in the first column of list output.

removed

R

All subsystems that were once installed on the target and later removed. An R appears in the first column of list output.

required

q

All subsystems that are required for proper operation of the target. An r appears after the subsystem name in list output.

same

S or s

All subsystems for which the version on the distribution and the version in the target are the same. An S appears in the second column of list output.

target

targ

All subsystems on the target.

uninstalled

U

Subsystems that meet all of these conditions: they were available for installation in the past, they are not currently installed, they don't have a version in the distribution, and they are not maint subsystems.

upgrade

u

All subsystems for which the distribution contains a version that is an upgrade to the installed version on the target. A U appears in the second column of list output.

upgraded

u

All subsystems on the target that are being replaced by a distribution version (usually newer) as part of the installation of a related product.

Using step to Make Selections

The step command allows you to display the distribution or target inventory, one item at a time, as you make selections. By default, step displays subsystems in the distribution inventory, but like list, the output of step is determined by your current view settings. The step command also takes the same keyword arguments and wildcards as list.

The items that are displayed by step are determined by the arguments in your entry. For example, this step command causes only upgrade products to be displayed:

Inst> step U

After the entry, Inst posts selection information, followed by the first upgrade product in the distribution, as shown in Example 6-4 .

Current View:
  Location:  distribution
  Status:    N=New,U=Upgrade,P=Patch upgrd,S=Same,D=downgrade,,' '=Not Installed
  Selection: i=install, r=remove, k=keep
  Level:     subsystem
  Name:      short
  Subsystem Type(s) [bdrp]: b=reBoot needed, d=Default, r=Required, p=Patch]
Step commands: i,r,k,n,p,...  Use ? for more step help.
i S refind.man.rfind [d]             0 Rfind Man Pages

Example 6-4 : A step Command Display

As each software item is displayed, use the i (install), r (remove), or k (keep) to make selections. If you use a capital I , R, or K, your action applies to all subsystems in the product. To leave an item unchanged, press <Enter>. After your selection, the next subsystem is displayed for selection:

i D U 4dwm d             800+ Desktop Window Manager
  D U cadmin            1831+ Desktop Administration, 5.2

Continue until you finish making selections. Type ? at any time for help. You can quit the step process at any time by typing q.

Using Advanced step Features

The step command allows an interactive operating mode that enables you to make subsystem selections with a special key or key combinations. In some cases, you can request a particular action using several different keys. Some special keys provide searching and listing capabilities.

Table 6-3 lists the special keys that you can using during step operations.

Table 6-3 : Requests in step OperationsLevel AffectedRequested ActionKeys

Subsystem

Select this subsystem for installation.

i or u or <right-arrow>

Select this subsystem for removal.

r

Keep the current subsystem version; cancel the current request.

k or <left-arrow>

Select this subsystem for installation if it is marked with a d.

d

No change to the current request for this subsystem.

<Enter> or n or j or <down-arrow>

No change to the current request for this subsystem; display the previous subsystem.

p or <up-arrow> or -

List all previous subsystems.

l

List the files in this subsystem

f

Products

Select the remaining subsystems in this product for installation

I or U

Select the remaining subsystems in this product for installation if they are marked with a d.

<Shift><right-arrow>

Select the remaining subsystems in this product for removal.

R

Keep the current version of this product; cancel the current request for remaining subsystems in the product.

K or <Shift><left-arrow>

Select subsystems in this product for installation if marked with a d.

D

Retain the current request for all subsystems in this product and display the first subsystem in the next product.

N or J or <Shift><down_arrow>

Retain the current request for this product and display the first subsystem of the previous product.

P or <Shift><up-arrow>

All levels

Search for pattern and display the product that contains it.

/pattern<Enter>

Display help for step operation.

h

Quit step operation.

q

Using the View Commands Menu

By default, the list and step commands display all software in the distribution at the subsystem level; subsystems are sorted alphabetically by shortname. Using the View Commands menu, you can change the default behavior of list and step to adjust their output. You can also use the set command from the View Commands menu to display and change Inst preferences.

To display the View Commands menu, enter the view command from the Main menu, as shown in Figure 6-1 .

Inst> view

Figure 6-1 : The View Menu

To return to the Main menu from the View Command menu, issue the return command:

View> return

Viewing the Target and Distribution

The dist and targ item on the View Commands menu change the view between the distribution inventory and the target. When you change views, a message is displayed to notify you of the new location:

View> targ 
Current Location : target
View> dist 
Current Location : distribution

Any list or step command that you enter after changing the view contains software items from the specified location. Example 6-5 illustrates the effects on list output when the view is set to the target. Notice that the legend that appears above list output identifies the view location.

View> targ 
View> return 
Inst> list 
Current View:
 Location: target
 Status: I=installed
 Selection: i=install, r=remove, k=keep
 Level: subsystem
 Name: short
Subsystem Type(s) [bdrp]: b=reBoot needed, d=Default, r=Required, p=Patch
u I 4DDN.sw.4DDN [bd]              0 4DDN Software
u I 4Dwm.sw.4Dwm [d]               0 Desktop Window Manager
u I ViewKit_eoe.sw.base [d]        0 ViewKit Execution Environment, 1.1

Example 6-5 : A list Display From the Target View

Example 6-6 illustrates effects on step output when you reset the view to the distribution.

View> dist 
View> return 
Inst> step 
Current View:
 Location: distribution
 Status: N=new,U=upgrade,P=patch upgrd,S=same,D=downgrade,' '=not installed
 Selection: i=install, r=remove, k=keep
 Level: subsystem
 Name: short
Subsystem Type(s) [bdrp]: b=reBoot needed, d=Default, r=Required, p=Patch
Step commands: i,r,k,n,p,... Use ? for more step help.
4DDN.man.4DDN [d] 0 4DDN Manual Pages

Example 6-6 : A step Display From the Distribution View

Using View Filters

By default, the output of list and step contains all subsystems that are available in the distribution inventory; when the view is set to the target, list and step output contains all software that is either installed or recorded in the installation history. The filter command on the View Commands menu alters the output of list and step by toggling off and on a specified subset of the display.

You can use any status designation, such as new (on distribution listings) or installed (on target listings), as the filter. You can also use the keywords all, notinstalled, and rejected as filters (see Inst online help for a complete description of filters).

For example, this filter command causes removed subsystems to be omitted from list and step displays of target software:

View> filter removed off

The command sequence in Example 6-7 illustrates a target listing before and after the previous filter command is issued (the list legend is omitted from this example):

Inst> list 
   4DLT                      0 4DLT software 3.1
 R ClearCase                 0 CASEVision/ClearCase 2.0.1 BL1 (IRIX 5.3)
 R FDDIXPress                0 FDDIXPress, 3.6
   InPerson                  0 InPerson Desktop Conferencing, 1.1
 R ViewKit_dev               0 ViewKit Development Environment, Version 1.1
 N cosmo                     0 Cosmo Compress Execution Environment 1.1
 N dba                       0 Database Accelerator, 5.3
   media_dev                 0 IRIS Digital Media Development Environment
Inst> view filter removed off 
Inst> list 
   4DLT                      0 4DLT software 3.1
   InPerson                  0 InPerson Desktop Conferencing, 1.1
 N cosmo                     0 Cosmo Compress Execution Environment 1.1
 N dba                       0 Database Accelerator, 5.3
   dmedia_dev                0 IRIS Digital Media Development Environment

Example 6-7 : Effects of Using View Filters

Setting Viewing Levels

By default, the list and step commands display the subsystem components of software on the distribution or target. Using the level command from the View Commands menu, you can change the output to a different component in the product hierarchy. The level command takes product (or 1), image (or 2), and subsystem (or 3 ) as arguments.

Example 6-8 illustrates the effects of a level command on the first two products shown in Example 6-7 .

View> level image 
View> return 
Inst> list 
4DDN.man                0 4DDN Documentation
4DLT.sw                 0 4DLTsoftware3.1
InPerson.books          0 InPersonBooks
InPerson.man            0 InPersonDocumentation
InPerson.sw             0 InPersonSoftware

Example 6-8 : Effects of level on a list Display

Using the Administrative Commands Menu

This section describes some commands from the Administrative Commands menu that may be required during a routine installation. For information on administrative commands that are not covered in this discussion, please refer to Chapter 9, "Inst Command Reference."

Use this command from the Main menu to display the Administrative Commands menu:

Inst> Admin

Figure 6-2 : The Administrative Commands Menu

The most commonly used commands on the Administrative Commands menu are described in the subsections that follow (an exception is the set command, which is the subject of Chapter 8 ). For information on the remaining commands on this menu, please refer to Chapter 9, "Inst Command Reference," or the online help that is available in Inst.

Displaying the Files in a Subsystem

When you are undecided about installing a subsystem, looking at its contents can help. The files command on the Administrative Commands menu displays the names of the files and directories that a subsystem contains. The arguments to the files command are one or more subsystem, image, or product names.

Example 6-9 shows the format and output of the files command.

Admin> files eoe1.sw.quotas 
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas           1  f etc/config/quotacheck
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas           1  f etc/config/quotas
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas              f etc/init.d/quotas
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas           1  l etc/rc2.d/S10quotas
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas         193  f usr/bsd/quota
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas         145  f usr/etc/edquota
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas         137  f usr/etc/quot
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas         145  f usr/etc/quotacheck
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas           1  l usr/etc/quotaoff
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas          25  f usr/etc/quotaon
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas         129  f usr/etc/repquota
i U  eoe1.sw.quotas          28  f usr/sysgen/boot/quotas.o

Example 6-9 : Sample files Display

The first, second, and third columns are identical to the first three columns of list output. The installation status in the second column applies to the entire subsystem; it does not indicate whether an individual file is currently installed.

The fourth column shows the net change in disk space that the file will require if it is installed (the first column contains an i or is blank) or removed (the first column contains an r). The files list does not include the components of a currently installed subsystem that are not included in the new software, since these files are obsolete. For this reason, numbers in this column are not necessarily equivalent to the net disk space change shown by the list command.

The fifth column is a single character that tells the type of file:

f

Plain file

d

Directory

b

Block special file

c

Character special file

l

Symbolic link

p

Fifo (named pipe)

The sixth column displays the name of every file in every subsystem that matches the arguments specified in the files command.

To get a list of the files in an installed subsystem, use the view command on the Main menu to set the view to the target system. Then return to the Administrative Commands menu and issue this command:

Amin> files names

Escaping to the Shell

While you are using Inst, it is possible to invoke a shell, enter shell commands, and return to Inst. This procedure is useful for removing user files to free disk space. Use either of these commands to invoke a shell from the Administrative Commands menu:

Admin> sh
Admin> shroot

The sh command invokes a regular shell and the shroot command invokes a chroot(1M) shell. By default, the shell is the value of the SHELL environment variable, which is usually /bin/sh or /bin/csh . To invoke a different shell, use the set command to specify it:

Admin> set shell shell_path

Note: When you use the sh command during a miniroot installation, remember that the root and user filesystems are mounted as /root and /root/user. So if you use shroot, the root is changed to /root and pathnames are unnecessary for most commands. For this reason, using shroot is usually preferable to using sh.

Miniroot installations impose some limits on what can be done with sh and shroot. Since the miniroot supports only a small number of IRIX commands, commands in /root and /root/usr might be unavailable or incompatible with the miniroot kernel. If you are installing from a local distribution source, you cannot use sh or shroot to access remote systems. If you are using a remote distribution source, you can access the distribution server.

Making New Filesystems

During a miniroot installation, you can use the mkfs(1M) command to create filesystems. This command erases the entire contents of filesystems, so it should be used with caution. You are prompted through the mkfs command execution and required to confirm your command before mkfs is completed.

If the mkfs command is entered with no arguments, the root and user filesystems (/ and /usr) are erased and recreated. In addition to erasing the contents of / and /usr, recreating the root and user filesystems has these effects on an installation:

All local information in configuration files is lost.
All information in the installation history database is lost.
If you are using a remote installation server, you are required to enter the server's IP address.

To make other filesystems, give device name arguments to mkfs:

Admin> mkfs device

See the mkfs(1M) manual page for more information about the device argument. To access the newly created filesystem, device, you must create a directory mount point and mount the filesystem:

Admin> shroot 
# mkdir mount_directory 
# exit 
Admin> mount device mount_directory

Mounting and Unmounting Filesystems

You can identify mounted filesystems by entering the mount(1M) command with no arguments:

Admin> mount

If you are performing a miniroot installation, you can mount additional filesystems with this command:

Admin> mount filesystem mount_directory

Remember that during a miniroot installation, filesystems are mounted at /root rather than /.

To unmount filesystems, you must be performing a miniroot installation. The umount(1M) command has this syntax:

Admin> umount filesystem

Using the Interrupt Menu

It might sometimes be necessary to interrupt Inst during a processing operation, such as reading the distribution or installing software selections. When an interruption is necessary, press <Ctrl+C> to suspend processing and display the Interrupt menu. Also, under certain error conditions, the Interrupt Menu is automatically invoked by Inst. The Interrupt menu contains selections to cancel the command in progress, change preferences, open an IRIX shell, and get help.

Figure 6-3 illustrates the Interrupt menu.

Figure 6-3 : The Interrupt Menu

Stopping an Installation

The stop command cancels the command in progress and suspends the installation. If you use stop while Inst is reading the installation history or distribution inventory, or while it is calculating dependencies, Inst discards the processing results. For this reason, Inst must repeat the readings or calculations before executing subsequent list commands, selection requests, or the go command.

If you use stop while Inst is installing and removing software, it makes a record of pending selections. At the next go command, Inst restarts the installation process on any uncompleted product installations; then it continues processing the remaining selections that were pending.

Caution: Using stop during installation can leave software in an inconsistent state that requires a removal and reinstallation of the affected product.

To resume the installation after issuing a stop command, use the continue command. The continue command resumes processing from the point at which it was interrupted.

Using Other Interrupt Menu Commands

The set, help, sh, and shroot commands on the Interrupt menu are identical to those on the Administrative Commands menu. See "A Closer Look at Preferences" for information on using the set command; see Table 9-1 for a list of topics covered by the help command; and see "Escaping to the Shell" and "Interrupt Menu Commands" in Chapter 9 for details on using the sh and shroot commands.

Giving Commands on Other Menus

From the Inst Main menu, you can give commands on the Administrative Commands menu without switching menus. To do this, enter admin and the command that you want at the Inst> prompt. For example:

Inst> admin date 
Wed Feb 24 22:58:53 PDT 1993
Inst>

You can also give Inst Main menu commands from the Administrative Commands menu without switching menus. To do this, enter return and the command that you want at the Admin> prompt. For example:

Admin> return remove ftn.man.relnotes 
Admin>