If `vcs_info' is included in your zsh version, this should get you to
its documentation:
     % MANPAGER='less -M -p GATHER' man zshcontrib
Regards, Frank
   
Thanks, Frank , for the hint. In fact, I tried to use vcs_info when I 
started to configure my zsh but I just couldn't make it behave exactly 
as I wanted and finally I found it easier to write a small simple thing 
myself. Sometimes zsh configuration is just too much for a humble 
programmer (:-
Peter