Install the textproc/docproj package or port. This meta-port installs all of the software needed to edit and build FreeBSD documentation.

Install a local working copy of the documentation from a mirror of the FreeBSD repository in ~/doc (see Chapter 3, The Working Copy).

% svn checkout https://svn0.us-west.FreeBSD.org/doc/head ~/doc

Configure the text editor:

Specific editor configurations are listed in Chapter 13, Editor Configuration.

Update the local working copy:

% svn up ~/doc

Edit the documentation files that require changes. If a file needs major changes, consult the mailing list for input.

References to tag and entity usage can be found in Chapter 8, XHTML Markup and Chapter 9, DocBook Markup.

After editing, check for problems by running:

% igor -R filename.xml | less -RS

Review the output and edit the file to fix any problems shown, then rerun the command to find any remaining problems. Repeat until all of the errors are resolved.

Always build-test changes before submitting them. Running make in the top-level directory of the documentation being edited will generate that documentation in split HTML format. For example, to build the English version of the Handbook in HTML, run make in the en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ directory.

When changes are complete and tested, generate a “diff file”:

% cd ~/doc
% svn diff > bsdinstall.diff.txt

Give the diff file a descriptive name. In the example above, changes have been made to the bsdinstall portion of the Handbook.

Submit the diff file using the web-based Problem Report system. If using the web form, enter a synopsis of [patch] short description of problem. Select the category docs and the class doc-bug. In the body of the message, enter a short description of the changes and any important details about them. Use the [ Browse... ] button to attach the diff file.