Commit | Line | Data |
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43bbb641 WJ |
1 | |
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE | |
8 | less - opposite of more | |
9 | ||
10 | S\bSY\bYN\bNO\bOP\bPS\bSI\bIS\bS | |
11 | l\ble\bes\bss\bs -\b-?\b? | |
12 | l\ble\bes\bss\bs [\b[-\b-[\b[+\b+]\b]a\baB\bBc\bcC\bCd\bde\beE\bEf\bfH\bHi\bim\bmM\bMn\bnN\bNq\bqQ\bQr\brs\bsS\bSu\buU\bUw\bw]\b] | |
13 | [\b[-\b-b\bb _\bb_\bu_\bf_\bs]\b] [\b[-\b-h\bh _\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\bs]\b] [\b[-\b-j\bj _\bl_\bi_\bn_\be]\b] [\b[-\b-k\bk _\bk_\be_\by_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be]\b] | |
14 | [\b[-\b-{\b{o\boO\bO}\b} _\bl_\bo_\bg_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be]\b] [\b[-\b-p\bp _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn]\b] [\b[-\b-P\bP _\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt]\b] [\b[-\b-t\bt _\bt_\ba_\bg]\b] | |
15 | [\b[-\b-T\bT _\bt_\ba_\bg_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be]\b] [\b[-\b-x\bx _\bt_\ba_\bb]\b] [\b[-\b-y\by _\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\bs]\b] [\b[-\b-[\b[z\bz]\b] _\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\bs]\b] | |
16 | [\b[+\b+[\b[+\b+]\b]_\bc_\bm_\bd]\b] [\b[_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be]\b].\b..\b..\b. | |
17 | ||
18 | ||
19 | D\bDE\bES\bSC\bCR\bRI\bIP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN | |
20 | _\bL_\be_\bs_\bs is a program similar to _\bm_\bo_\br_\be (1), but which allows | |
21 | backward movement in the file as well as forward movement. | |
22 | Also, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs does not have to read the entire input file | |
23 | before starting, so with large input files it starts up | |
24 | faster than text editors like _\bv_\bi (1). _\bL_\be_\bs_\bs uses termcap | |
25 | (or terminfo on some systems), so it can run on a variety | |
26 | of terminals. There is even limited support for hardcopy | |
27 | terminals. (On a hardcopy terminal, lines which should be | |
28 | printed at the top of the screen are prefixed with an up- | |
29 | arrow.) | |
30 | ||
31 | Commands are based on both _\bm_\bo_\br_\be and _\bv_\bi_\b. Commands may be | |
32 | preceded by a decimal number, called N in the descriptions | |
33 | below. The number is used by some commands, as indicated. | |
34 | ||
35 | ||
36 | C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS | |
37 | In the following descriptions, ^X means control-X. ESC | |
38 | stands for the ESCAPE key; for example ESC-v means the two | |
39 | character sequence "ESCAPE", then "v". | |
40 | ||
41 | h or H Help: display a summary of these commands. If you | |
42 | forget all the other commands, remember this one. | |
43 | ||
44 | ||
45 | SPACE or ^V or f or ^F | |
46 | Scroll forward N lines, default one window (see | |
47 | option -z below). If N is more than the screen | |
48 | size, only the final screenful is displayed. Warn- | |
49 | ing: some systems use ^V as a special literaliza- | |
50 | tion character. | |
51 | ||
52 | ||
53 | z Like SPACE, but if N is specified, it becomes the | |
54 | new window size. | |
55 | ||
56 | ||
57 | RETURN or ^N or e or ^E or j or ^J | |
58 | Scroll forward N lines, default 1. The entire N | |
59 | lines are displayed, even if N is more than the | |
60 | screen size. | |
61 | ||
62 | ||
63 | ||
64 | 1 | |
65 | ||
66 | ||
67 | ||
68 | ||
69 | ||
70 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
71 | ||
72 | ||
73 | d or ^D | |
74 | Scroll forward N lines, default one half of the | |
75 | screen size. If N is specified, it becomes the new | |
76 | default for subsequent d and u commands. | |
77 | ||
78 | ||
79 | b or ^B or ESC-v | |
80 | Scroll backward N lines, default one window (see | |
81 | option -z below). If N is more than the screen | |
82 | size, only the final screenful is displayed. | |
83 | ||
84 | ||
85 | w Like ESC-v, but if N is specified, it becomes the | |
86 | new window size. | |
87 | ||
88 | ||
89 | y or ^Y or ^P or k or ^K | |
90 | Scroll backward N lines, default 1. The entire N | |
91 | lines are displayed, even if N is more than the | |
92 | screen size. Warning: some systems use ^Y as a | |
93 | special job control character. | |
94 | ||
95 | ||
96 | u or ^U | |
97 | Scroll backward N lines, default one half of the | |
98 | screen size. If N is specified, it becomes the new | |
99 | default for subsequent d and u commands. | |
100 | ||
101 | ||
102 | r or ^R or ^L | |
103 | Repaint the screen. | |
104 | ||
105 | ||
106 | R Repaint the screen, discarding any buffered input. | |
107 | Useful if the file is changing while it is being | |
108 | viewed. | |
109 | ||
110 | ||
111 | F Scroll forward, and keep trying to read when the | |
112 | end of file is reached. Normally this command | |
113 | would be used when already at the end of the file. | |
114 | It is a way to monitor the tail of a file which is | |
115 | growing while it is being viewed. (The behavior is | |
116 | similar to the "tail -f" command.) | |
117 | ||
118 | ||
119 | g or < or ESC-< | |
120 | Go to line N in the file, default 1 (beginning of | |
121 | file). (Warning: this may be slow if N is large.) | |
122 | ||
123 | ||
124 | G or > or ESC-> | |
125 | Go to line N in the file, default the end of the | |
126 | file. (Warning: this may be slow if N is large, or | |
127 | ||
128 | ||
129 | ||
130 | 2 | |
131 | ||
132 | ||
133 | ||
134 | ||
135 | ||
136 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
137 | ||
138 | ||
139 | if N is not specified and standard input, rather | |
140 | than a file, is being read.) | |
141 | ||
142 | ||
143 | p or % Go to a position N percent into the file. N should | |
144 | be between 0 and 100. (This works if standard | |
145 | input is being read, but only if _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs has already | |
146 | read to the end of the file. It is always fast, | |
147 | but not always useful.) | |
148 | ||
149 | ||
150 | { If a left curly bracket appears in the top line | |
151 | displayed on the screen, the { command will go to | |
152 | the matching right curly bracket. The matching | |
153 | right curly bracket is positioned on the bottom | |
154 | line of the screen. If there is more than one left | |
155 | curly bracket on the top line, a number N may be | |
156 | used to specify the N-th bracket on the line. | |
157 | ||
158 | ||
159 | } If a right curly bracket appears in the bottom line | |
160 | displayed on the screen, the } command will go to | |
161 | the matching left curly bracket. The matching left | |
162 | curly bracket is positioned on the top line of the | |
163 | screen. If there is more than one right curly | |
164 | bracket on the top line, a number N may be used to | |
165 | specify the N-th bracket on the line. | |
166 | ||
167 | ||
168 | ( Like {, but applies to parentheses rather than | |
169 | curly brackets. | |
170 | ||
171 | ||
172 | ) Like }, but applies to parentheses rather than | |
173 | curly brackets. | |
174 | ||
175 | ||
176 | [ Like {, but applies to square brackets rather than | |
177 | curly brackets. | |
178 | ||
179 | ||
180 | ] Like }, but applies to square brackets rather than | |
181 | curly brackets. | |
182 | ||
183 | ||
184 | ESC-^F Followed by two characters, acts like {, but uses | |
185 | the two characters as open and close brackets, | |
186 | respectively. For example, "ESC ^F < >" could be | |
187 | used to go forward to the > which matches the < in | |
188 | the top displayed line. | |
189 | ||
190 | ESC-^B Followed by two characters, acts like }, but uses | |
191 | the two characters as open and close brackets, | |
192 | respectively. For example, "ESC ^B < >" could be | |
193 | ||
194 | ||
195 | ||
196 | 3 | |
197 | ||
198 | ||
199 | ||
200 | ||
201 | ||
202 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
203 | ||
204 | ||
205 | used to go backward to the < which matches the > in | |
206 | the bottom displayed line. | |
207 | ||
208 | m Followed by any lowercase letter, marks the current | |
209 | position with that letter. | |
210 | ||
211 | ||
212 | ' (Single quote.) Followed by any lowercase letter, | |
213 | returns to the position which was previously marked | |
214 | with that letter. Followed by another single | |
215 | quote, returns to the position at which the last | |
216 | "large" movement command was executed. Followed by | |
217 | a ^ or $, jumps to the beginning or end of the file | |
218 | respectively. Marks are preserved when a new file | |
219 | is examined, so the ' command can be used to switch | |
220 | between input files. | |
221 | ||
222 | ||
223 | ^X^X Same as single quote. | |
224 | ||
225 | ||
226 | /pattern | |
227 | Search forward in the file for the N-th line con- | |
228 | taining the pattern. N defaults to 1. The pattern | |
229 | is a regular expression, as recognized by _\be_\bd_\b. The | |
230 | search starts at the second line displayed (but see | |
231 | the -a and -j options, which change this). | |
232 | ||
233 | Certain characters are special if entered at the | |
234 | beginning of the pattern; they modify the type of | |
235 | search rather than become part of the pattern: | |
236 | ||
237 | ! Search for lines which do NOT match the pat- | |
238 | tern. | |
239 | ||
240 | * Search multiple files. That is, if the | |
241 | search reaches the end of the current file | |
242 | without finding a match, the search contin- | |
243 | ues in the next file in the command line | |
244 | list. | |
245 | ||
246 | @ Begin the search at the first line of the | |
247 | first file in the command line list, regard- | |
248 | less of what is currently displayed on the | |
249 | screen or the settings of the -a or -j | |
250 | options. | |
251 | ||
252 | ||
253 | ?pattern | |
254 | Search backward in the file for the N-th line con- | |
255 | taining the pattern. The search starts at the line | |
256 | immediately before the top line displayed. | |
257 | ||
258 | Certain characters are special as in the / command: | |
259 | ||
260 | ||
261 | ||
262 | 4 | |
263 | ||
264 | ||
265 | ||
266 | ||
267 | ||
268 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
269 | ||
270 | ||
271 | ! Search for lines which do NOT match the pat- | |
272 | tern. | |
273 | ||
274 | * Search multiple files. That is, if the | |
275 | search reaches the beginning of the current | |
276 | file without finding a match, the search | |
277 | continues in the previous file in the com- | |
278 | mand line list. | |
279 | ||
280 | @ Begin the search at the last line of the | |
281 | last file in the command line list, regard- | |
282 | less of what is currently displayed on the | |
283 | screen or the settings of the -a or -j | |
284 | options. | |
285 | ||
286 | ||
287 | ESC-/pattern | |
288 | Same as "/*". | |
289 | ||
290 | ||
291 | ESC-?pattern | |
292 | Same as "?*". | |
293 | ||
294 | ||
295 | n Repeat previous search, for N-th line containing | |
296 | the last pattern. If the previous search was modi- | |
297 | fied by !, the search is made for the N-th line NOT | |
298 | containing the pattern. If the previous search was | |
299 | modified by *, the search continues in the next (or | |
300 | previous) file if not satisfied in the current | |
301 | file. There is no effect if the previous search | |
302 | was modified by @. | |
303 | ||
304 | ||
305 | N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direc- | |
306 | tion. | |
307 | ||
308 | ||
309 | ESC-n Repeat previous search, but crossing file bound- | |
310 | aries. The effect is as if the previous search | |
311 | were modified by *. | |
312 | ||
313 | ||
314 | ESC-N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direc- | |
315 | tion and crossing file boundaries. | |
316 | ||
317 | ||
318 | :e [filename] | |
319 | Examine a new file. If the filename is missing, | |
320 | the "current" file (see the :n and :p commands | |
321 | below) from the list of files in the command line | |
322 | is re-examined. A percent sign (%) in the filename | |
323 | is replaced by the name of the current file. A | |
324 | pound sign (#) is replaced by the name of the | |
325 | ||
326 | ||
327 | ||
328 | 5 | |
329 | ||
330 | ||
331 | ||
332 | ||
333 | ||
334 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
335 | ||
336 | ||
337 | previously examined file. The filename is inserted | |
338 | into the command line list of files so that it can | |
339 | be seen by subsequent :n and :p commands. If the | |
340 | filename consists of several files, they are all | |
341 | inserted into the list of files and the first one | |
342 | is examined. | |
343 | ||
344 | ||
345 | ^X^V or E | |
346 | Same as :e. Warning: some systems use ^V as a spe- | |
347 | cial literalization character. | |
348 | ||
349 | ||
350 | :n Examine the next file (from the list of files given | |
351 | in the command line). If a number N is specified, | |
352 | the N-th next file is examined. | |
353 | ||
354 | ||
355 | :p Examine the previous file in the command line list. | |
356 | If a number N is specified, the N-th previous file | |
357 | is examined. | |
358 | ||
359 | ||
360 | :x Examine the first file in the command line list. | |
361 | If a number N is specified, the N-th file in the | |
362 | list is examined. | |
363 | ||
364 | ||
365 | = or ^G or :f | |
366 | Prints some information about the file being | |
367 | viewed, including its name and the line number and | |
368 | byte offset of the bottom line being displayed. If | |
369 | possible, it also prints the length of the file, | |
370 | the number of lines in the file and the percent of | |
371 | the file above the last displayed line. | |
372 | ||
373 | ||
374 | - Followed by one of the command line option letters | |
375 | (see below), this will change the setting of that | |
376 | option and print a message describing the new set- | |
377 | ting. If the option letter has a numeric value | |
378 | (such as -b or -h), or a string value (such as -P | |
379 | or -t), a new value may be entered after the option | |
380 | letter. If no new value is entered, a message | |
381 | describing the current setting is printed and noth- | |
382 | ing is changed. | |
383 | ||
384 | ||
385 | -+ Followed by one of the command line option letters | |
386 | (see below), this will reset the option to its | |
387 | default setting and print a message describing the | |
388 | new setting. (The "-+_\bX" command does the same | |
389 | thing as "-+_\bX" on the command line.) This does not | |
390 | work for string-valued options. | |
391 | ||
392 | ||
393 | ||
394 | 6 | |
395 | ||
396 | ||
397 | ||
398 | ||
399 | ||
400 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
401 | ||
402 | ||
403 | -- Followed by one of the command line option letters | |
404 | (see below), this will reset the option to the | |
405 | "opposite" of its default setting and print a mes- | |
406 | sage describing the new setting. (The "--_\bX" com- | |
407 | mand does the same thing as "-_\bX" on the command | |
408 | line.) This does not work for numeric or string- | |
409 | valued options. | |
410 | ||
411 | ||
412 | _ (Underscore.) Followed by one of the command line | |
413 | option letters (see below), this will print a mes- | |
414 | sage describing the current setting of that option. | |
415 | The setting of the option is not changed. | |
416 | ||
417 | ||
418 | +cmd Causes the specified cmd to be executed each time a | |
419 | new file is examined. For example, +G causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs | |
420 | to initially display each file starting at the end | |
421 | rather than the beginning. | |
422 | ||
423 | ||
424 | V Prints the version number of _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs being run. | |
425 | ||
426 | ||
427 | q or :q or :Q or ZZ or ESC ESC | |
428 | Exits _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\b. | |
429 | ||
430 | The following three commands may or may not be valid, | |
431 | depending on your particular installation. | |
432 | ||
433 | ||
434 | v Invokes an editor to edit the current file being | |
435 | viewed. The editor is taken from the environment | |
436 | variable EDITOR, or defaults to "vi". See also the | |
437 | discussion of LESSEDIT under the section on PROMPTS | |
438 | below. | |
439 | ||
440 | ||
441 | ! shell-command | |
442 | Invokes a shell to run the shell-command given. A | |
443 | percent sign (%) in the command is replaced by the | |
444 | name of the current file. A pound sign (#) is | |
445 | replaced by the name of the previously examined | |
446 | file. "!!" repeats the last shell command. "!" | |
447 | with no shell command simply invokes a shell. In | |
448 | all cases, the shell is taken from the environment | |
449 | variable SHELL, or defaults to "sh". | |
450 | ||
451 | ||
452 | | <m> shell-command | |
453 | <m> represents any mark letter. Pipes a section of | |
454 | the input file to the given shell command. The | |
455 | section of the file to be piped is between the | |
456 | first line on the current screen and the position | |
457 | ||
458 | ||
459 | ||
460 | 7 | |
461 | ||
462 | ||
463 | ||
464 | ||
465 | ||
466 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
467 | ||
468 | ||
469 | marked by the letter. <m> may also be ^ or $ to | |
470 | indicate beginning or end of file respectively. If | |
471 | <m> is . or newline, the current screen is piped. | |
472 | ||
473 | ||
474 | O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS | |
475 | Command line options are described below. Most options | |
476 | may be changed while _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs is running, via the "-" command. | |
477 | ||
478 | Options are also taken from the environment variable | |
479 | "LESS". For example, to avoid typing "less -options ..." | |
480 | each time _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs is invoked, you might tell _\bc_\bs_\bh_\b: | |
481 | ||
482 | setenv LESS "-options" | |
483 | ||
484 | or if you use _\bs_\bh_\b: | |
485 | ||
486 | LESS="-options"; export LESS | |
487 | ||
488 | The environment variable is parsed before the command | |
489 | line, so command line options override the LESS environ- | |
490 | ment variable. If an option appears in the LESS variable, | |
491 | it can be reset to its default on the command line by | |
492 | beginning the command line option with "-+". | |
493 | ||
494 | A dollar sign ($) may be used to signal the end of an | |
495 | option string. This is important only for options like -P | |
496 | which take a following string. | |
497 | ||
498 | -? This option displays a summary of the commands | |
499 | accepted by _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs (the same as the h command). If | |
500 | this option is given, all other options are | |
501 | ignored, and _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs exits after the help screen is | |
502 | viewed. (Depending on how your shell interprets | |
503 | the question mark, it may be necessary to quote the | |
504 | question mark, thus: "-\?".) | |
505 | ||
506 | -a Causes searches to start after the last line dis- | |
507 | played on the screen, thus skipping all lines dis- | |
508 | played on the screen. By default, searches start | |
509 | at the second line on the screen (or after the last | |
510 | found line; see the -j option). | |
511 | ||
512 | -b_\bn Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to use a non-standard number of | |
513 | buffers. Buffers are 1K, and by default 10 buffers | |
514 | are used (except if data in coming from standard | |
515 | input; see the -B option). The number _\bn specifies | |
516 | a different number of buffers to use. | |
517 | ||
518 | -B Disables automatic allocation of buffers, so that | |
519 | only the default number of buffers are used. If | |
520 | more data is read than will fit in the buffers, the | |
521 | oldest data is discarded. By default, when data is | |
522 | coming from standard input, buffers are allocated | |
523 | ||
524 | ||
525 | ||
526 | 8 | |
527 | ||
528 | ||
529 | ||
530 | ||
531 | ||
532 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
533 | ||
534 | ||
535 | automatically as needed to avoid loss of data. | |
536 | ||
537 | -c Causes full screen repaints to be painted from the | |
538 | top line down. By default, full screen repaints | |
539 | are done by scrolling from the bottom of the | |
540 | screen. | |
541 | ||
542 | -C The -C option is like -c, but the screen is cleared | |
543 | before it is repainted. | |
544 | ||
545 | -d The -d option suppresses the error message normally | |
546 | displayed if the terminal is dumb; that is, lacks | |
547 | some important capability, such as the ability to | |
548 | clear the screen or scroll backward. The -d option | |
549 | does not otherwise change the behavior of _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs on a | |
550 | dumb terminal). | |
551 | ||
552 | -e Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to automatically exit the second time | |
553 | it reaches end-of-file. By default, the only way | |
554 | to exit _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs is via the "q" command. | |
555 | ||
556 | -E Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to automatically exit the first time it | |
557 | reaches end-of-file. | |
558 | ||
559 | -f Forces non-regular files to be opened. (A non- | |
560 | regular file is a directory or a device special | |
561 | file.) Also suppresses the warning message when a | |
562 | binary file is opened. By default, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs will | |
563 | refuse to open non-regular files. | |
564 | ||
565 | -h_\bn Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll back- | |
566 | ward. If it is necessary to scroll backward more | |
567 | than _\bn lines, the screen is repainted in a forward | |
568 | direction instead. (If the terminal does not have | |
569 | the ability to scroll backward, -h0 is implied.) | |
570 | ||
571 | -i Causes searches to ignore case; that is, uppercase | |
572 | and lowercase are considered identical. Also, text | |
573 | which is overstruck or underlined can be searched | |
574 | for. This option is ignored if any uppercase let- | |
575 | ters appear in the search pattern. | |
576 | ||
577 | -j_\bn Specifies a line on the screen where "target" lines | |
578 | are to be positioned. Target lines are the object | |
579 | of text searches, tag searches, jumps to a line | |
580 | number, jumps to a file percentage, and jumps to a | |
581 | marked position. The screen line is specified by a | |
582 | number: the top line on the screen is 1, the next | |
583 | is 2, and so on. The number may be negative to | |
584 | specify a line relative to the bottom of the | |
585 | screen: the bottom line on the screen is -1, the | |
586 | second to the bottom is -2, and so on. If the -j | |
587 | option is used, searches begin at the line immedi- | |
588 | ately after the target line. For example, if "-j4" | |
589 | ||
590 | ||
591 | ||
592 | 9 | |
593 | ||
594 | ||
595 | ||
596 | ||
597 | ||
598 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
599 | ||
600 | ||
601 | is used, the target line is the fourth line on the | |
602 | screen, so searches begin at the fifth line on the | |
603 | screen. | |
604 | ||
605 | -k_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be | |
606 | Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to open and interpret the named file as | |
607 | a _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\bk_\be_\by (1) file. Multiple -k options may be | |
608 | specified. If a file called .less exists in the | |
609 | user's home directory, this file is also used as a | |
610 | _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\bk_\be_\by file. | |
611 | ||
612 | -m Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to prompt verbosely (like _\bm_\bo_\br_\be), with | |
613 | the percent into the file. By default, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs | |
614 | prompts with a colon. | |
615 | ||
616 | -M Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to prompt even more verbosely than | |
617 | _\bm_\bo_\br_\be_\b. | |
618 | ||
619 | -n Suppresses line numbers. The default (to use line | |
620 | numbers) may cause _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to run more slowly in some | |
621 | cases, especially with a very large input file. | |
622 | Suppressing line numbers with the -n flag will | |
623 | avoid this problem. Using line numbers means: the | |
624 | line number will be displayed in the verbose prompt | |
625 | and in the = command, and the v command will pass | |
626 | the current line number to the editor (see also the | |
627 | discussion of LESSEDIT in PROMPTS below). | |
628 | ||
629 | -N Causes a line number to be displayed at the begin- | |
630 | ning of each line in the display. | |
631 | ||
632 | -o_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be | |
633 | Causes _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to copy its input to the named file as | |
634 | it is being viewed. This applies only when the | |
635 | input file is a pipe, not an ordinary file. If the | |
636 | file already exists, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs will ask for confirmation | |
637 | before overwriting it. | |
638 | ||
639 | -O_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be | |
640 | The -O option is like -o, but it will overwrite an | |
641 | existing file without asking for confirmation. | |
642 | ||
643 | If no log file has been specified, the -o and -O | |
644 | options can be used from within _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to specify a | |
645 | log file. Without a file name, they will simply | |
646 | report the name of the log file. The "s" command | |
647 | is equivalent to specifying -o from within _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\b. | |
648 | ||
649 | -p_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn | |
650 | The -p option on the command line is equivalent to | |
651 | specifying +/_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn; that is, it tells _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to | |
652 | start at the first occurence of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn in the | |
653 | file. | |
654 | ||
655 | ||
656 | ||
657 | ||
658 | 10 | |
659 | ||
660 | ||
661 | ||
662 | ||
663 | ||
664 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
665 | ||
666 | ||
667 | -P_\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt | |
668 | Provides a way to tailor the three prompt styles to | |
669 | your own preference. This option would normally be | |
670 | put in the LESS environment variable, rather than | |
671 | being typed in with each _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs command. Such an | |
672 | option must either be the last option in the LESS | |
673 | variable, or be terminated by a dollar sign. -P | |
674 | followed by a string changes the default (short) | |
675 | prompt to that string. -Pm changes the medium (-m) | |
676 | prompt to the string, and -PM changes the long (-M) | |
677 | prompt. Also, -P= changes the message printed by | |
678 | the = command to the given string. All prompt | |
679 | strings consist of a sequence of letters and spe- | |
680 | cial escape sequences. See the section on PROMPTS | |
681 | for more details. | |
682 | ||
683 | -q Causes moderately "quiet" operation: the terminal | |
684 | bell is not rung if an attempt is made to scroll | |
685 | past the end of the file or before the beginning of | |
686 | the file. If the terminal has a "visual bell", it | |
687 | is used instead. The bell will be rung on certain | |
688 | other errors, such as typing an invalid character. | |
689 | The default is to ring the terminal bell in all | |
690 | such cases. | |
691 | ||
692 | -Q Causes totally "quiet" operation: the terminal bell | |
693 | is never rung. | |
694 | ||
695 | -r Causes "raw" control characters to be displayed. | |
696 | The default is to display control characters using | |
697 | the caret notation; for example, a control-A (octal | |
698 | 001) is displayed as "^A". Warning: when the -r | |
699 | flag is used, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs cannot keep track of the actual | |
700 | appearance of the screen (since this depends on how | |
701 | the screen responds to each type of control charac- | |
702 | ter). Thus, various display problems may result, | |
703 | such as long lines being split in the wrong place. | |
704 | ||
705 | -s Causes consecutive blank lines to be squeezed into | |
706 | a single blank line. This is useful when viewing | |
707 | _\bn_\br_\bo_\bf_\bf output. | |
708 | ||
709 | -S Causes lines longer than the screen width to be | |
710 | chopped rather than folded. That is, the remainder | |
711 | of a long line is simply discarded. The default is | |
712 | to fold long lines; that is, display the remainder | |
713 | on the next line. | |
714 | ||
715 | -t_\bt_\ba_\bg The -t option, followed immediately by a TAG, will | |
716 | edit the file containing that tag. For this to | |
717 | work, there must be a file called "tags" in the | |
718 | current directory, which was previously built by | |
719 | the _\bc_\bt_\ba_\bg_\bs (1) command. This option may also be | |
720 | specified from within _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs (using the - command) as | |
721 | ||
722 | ||
723 | ||
724 | 11 | |
725 | ||
726 | ||
727 | ||
728 | ||
729 | ||
730 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
731 | ||
732 | ||
733 | a way of examining a new file. The command ":t" is | |
734 | equivalent to specifying -t from within _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\b. | |
735 | ||
736 | -T_\bt_\ba_\bg_\bs_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be | |
737 | Specifies a tags file to be used instead of "tags". | |
738 | ||
739 | -u Causes backspaces and carriage returns to be | |
740 | treated as printable characters; that is, they are | |
741 | sent to the terminal when they appear in the input. | |
742 | ||
743 | -U Causes backspaces and carriage returns to be | |
744 | treated as control characters; that is, they are | |
745 | handled as specified by the -r option. | |
746 | ||
747 | By default, if neither -u nor -U is given, | |
748 | backspaces which appear adjacent to an underscore | |
749 | character are treated specially: the underlined | |
750 | text is displayed using the terminal's hardware | |
751 | underlining capability. Also, backspaces which | |
752 | appear between two identical characters are treated | |
753 | specially: the overstruck text is printed using the | |
754 | terminal's hardware boldface capability. Other | |
755 | backspaces are deleted, along with the preceding | |
756 | character. Carriage returns immediately followed | |
757 | by a newline are deleted. Other carriage returns | |
758 | are handled as specified by the -r option. | |
759 | ||
760 | -w Causes blank lines to be used to represent lines | |
761 | past the end of the file. By default, a tilde | |
762 | character is used. | |
763 | ||
764 | -x_\bn Sets tab stops every _\bn positions. The default for | |
765 | _\bn is 8. | |
766 | ||
767 | -y_\bn Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll for- | |
768 | ward. If it is necessary to scroll forward more | |
769 | than _\bn lines, the screen is repainted instead. The | |
770 | -c or -C option may be used to repaint from the top | |
771 | of the screen if desired. By default, any forward | |
772 | movement causes scrolling. | |
773 | ||
774 | -[z]_\bn Changes the default scrolling window size to _\bn | |
775 | lines. The default is one screenful. The z and w | |
776 | commands can also be used to change the window | |
777 | size. The "z" may be omitted, as in "-_\bn" for com- | |
778 | patibility with _\bm_\bo_\br_\be_\b. | |
779 | ||
780 | + If a command line option begins with +\b+, the remain- | |
781 | der of that option is taken to be an initial com- | |
782 | mand to _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\b. For example, +G tells _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to start | |
783 | at the end of the file rather than the beginning, | |
784 | and +/xyz tells it to start at the first occurrence | |
785 | of "xyz" in the file. As a special case, +<number> | |
786 | acts like +<number>g; that is, it starts the | |
787 | ||
788 | ||
789 | ||
790 | 12 | |
791 | ||
792 | ||
793 | ||
794 | ||
795 | ||
796 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
797 | ||
798 | ||
799 | display at the specified line number (however, see | |
800 | the caveat under the "g" command above). If the | |
801 | option starts with ++, the initial command applies | |
802 | to every file being viewed, not just the first one. | |
803 | The + command described previously may also be used | |
804 | to set (or change) an initial command for every | |
805 | file. | |
806 | ||
807 | ||
808 | K\bKE\bEY\bY B\bBI\bIN\bND\bDI\bIN\bNG\bGS\bS | |
809 | You may define your own _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs commands by using the program | |
810 | _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\bk_\be_\by (1) to create a file called ".less" in your home | |
811 | directory. This file specifies a set of command keys and | |
812 | an action associated with each key. See the _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs_\bk_\be_\by man- | |
813 | ual page for more details. | |
814 | ||
815 | ||
816 | N\bNA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL C\bCH\bHA\bAR\bRA\bAC\bCT\bTE\bER\bR S\bSE\bET\bTS\bS | |
817 | There are three types of characters in the input file: | |
818 | ||
819 | normal characters | |
820 | can be displayed directly to the screen. | |
821 | ||
822 | control characters | |
823 | should not be displayed directly, but are expected | |
824 | to be found in ordinary text files (such as | |
825 | backspace and tab). | |
826 | ||
827 | binary characters | |
828 | cannot be displayed directly and are not expected | |
829 | to be found in text files. | |
830 | ||
831 | By default, _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs uses the ASCII character set. In the | |
832 | ASCII character set, characters with values between 128 | |
833 | and 255 are treated as binary. The LESSCHARSET environ- | |
834 | ment variable may be used to select another character set. | |
835 | If it is set to the value "latin1", the ISO 8859/1 charac- | |
836 | ter set is assumed. Latin-1 is the same as ASCII, except | |
837 | characters between 128 and 255 are treated as normal char- | |
838 | acters. The only valid values for LESSCHARSET currently | |
839 | are "ascii" and "latin1". | |
840 | ||
841 | In special cases, it may be desired to tailor _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs to use | |
842 | a character set other than the ones definable by LESS- | |
843 | CHARSET. In this case, the environment variable LESS- | |
844 | CHARDEF can be used to define a character set. It should | |
845 | be set to a string where each character in the string rep- | |
846 | resents one character in the character set. The character | |
847 | "." is used for a normal character, "c" for control, and | |
848 | "b" for binary. A decimal number may be used for repeti- | |
849 | tion. For example, "bccc4b." would mean character 0 is | |
850 | binary, 1, 2 and 3 are control, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are binary, | |
851 | and 8 is normal. All characters after the last are taken | |
852 | to be the same as the last, so characters 9 through 255 | |
853 | ||
854 | ||
855 | ||
856 | 13 | |
857 | ||
858 | ||
859 | ||
860 | ||
861 | ||
862 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
863 | ||
864 | ||
865 | would be normal. (This is an example, and does not neces- | |
866 | sarily represent any real character set.) | |
867 | ||
868 | Setting LESSCHARDEF to "8bcccbcc18b95.b" is the same as | |
869 | setting LESSCHARSET to "ascii". Setting LESSCHARDEF to | |
870 | "8bcccbcc18b95.33b." is the same as setting LESSCHARSET to | |
871 | "latin1". | |
872 | ||
873 | Control and binary characters are displayed in blinking | |
874 | mode. Each such character is displayed in caret notation | |
875 | if possible (e.g. ^A for control-A). Caret notation is | |
876 | used only if inverting the 0100 bit results in a normal | |
877 | printable character. Otherwise, the character is dis- | |
878 | played as an octal number preceded by a backslash. This | |
879 | octal format can be changed by setting the LESSBINFMT | |
880 | environment variable to a printf-style format string; the | |
881 | default is '\%o'. The blinking mode display of control | |
882 | and binary characters can be changed or disabled by pre- | |
883 | ceding the LESSBINFMT format string with a "*" and one | |
884 | character to select the mode: "*k" is blinking, "*d" is | |
885 | bold, "*u" is underlined, and "*n" is normal (no special | |
886 | display attribute). For example, if LESSBINFMT is | |
887 | "*u[%x]", binary characters are displayed in underlined | |
888 | hexadecimal surrounded by brackets. | |
889 | ||
890 | ||
891 | P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTS\bS | |
892 | The -P option allows you to tailor the prompt to your | |
893 | preference. The string given to the -P option replaces | |
894 | the specified prompt string. Certain characters in the | |
895 | string are interpreted specially. The prompt mechanism is | |
896 | rather complicated to provide flexibility, but the ordi- | |
897 | nary user need not understand the details of constructing | |
898 | personalized prompt strings. | |
899 | ||
900 | A percent sign followed by a single character is expanded | |
901 | according to what the following character is: | |
902 | ||
903 | %b_\bX Replaced by the byte offset into the current input | |
904 | file. The b is followed by a single character | |
905 | (shown as _\bX above) which specifies the line whose | |
906 | byte offset is to be used. If the character is a | |
907 | "t", the byte offset of the top line in the display | |
908 | is used, an "m" means use the middle line, a "b" | |
909 | means use the bottom line, a "B" means use the line | |
910 | just after the bottom line, and a "j" means use the | |
911 | "target" line, as specified by the -j option. | |
912 | ||
913 | %B Replaced by the size of the current input file. | |
914 | ||
915 | %E Replaced by the name of the editor (from the EDITOR | |
916 | environment variable). See the discussion of the | |
917 | LESSEDIT feature below. | |
918 | ||
919 | ||
920 | ||
921 | ||
922 | 14 | |
923 | ||
924 | ||
925 | ||
926 | ||
927 | ||
928 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
929 | ||
930 | ||
931 | %f Replaced by the name of the current input file. | |
932 | ||
933 | %i Replaced by the index of the current file in the | |
934 | list of input files. | |
935 | ||
936 | %l_\bX Replaced by the line number of a line in the input | |
937 | file. The line to be used is determined by the _\bX, | |
938 | as with the %b option. | |
939 | ||
940 | %L Replaced by the line number of the last line in the | |
941 | input file. | |
942 | ||
943 | %m Replaced by the total number of input files. | |
944 | ||
945 | %p_\bX Replaced by the percent into the current input | |
946 | file. The line used is determined by the _\bX as with | |
947 | the %b option. | |
948 | ||
949 | %s Same as %B. | |
950 | ||
951 | %t Causes any trailing spaces to be removed. Usually | |
952 | used at the end of the string, but may appear any- | |
953 | where. | |
954 | ||
955 | %x Replaced by the name of the next input file in the | |
956 | list. | |
957 | ||
958 | If any item is unknown (for example, the file size if | |
959 | input is a pipe), a question mark is printed instead. | |
960 | ||
961 | The format of the prompt string can be changed depending | |
962 | on certain conditions. A question mark followed by a sin- | |
963 | gle character acts like an "IF": depending on the follow- | |
964 | ing character, a condition is evaluated. If the condition | |
965 | is true, any characters following the question mark and | |
966 | condition character, up to a period, are included in the | |
967 | prompt. If the condition is false, such characters are | |
968 | not included. A colon appearing between the question mark | |
969 | and the period can be used to establish an "ELSE": any | |
970 | characters between the colon and the period are included | |
971 | in the string if and only if the IF condition is false. | |
972 | Condition characters (which follow a question mark) may | |
973 | be: | |
974 | ||
975 | ?a True if any characters have been included in the | |
976 | prompt so far. | |
977 | ||
978 | ?b_\bX True if the byte offset of the specified line is | |
979 | known. | |
980 | ||
981 | ?B True if the size of current input file is known. | |
982 | ||
983 | ?e True if at end-of-file. | |
984 | ||
985 | ||
986 | ||
987 | ||
988 | 15 | |
989 | ||
990 | ||
991 | ||
992 | ||
993 | ||
994 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
995 | ||
996 | ||
997 | ?f True if there is an input filename (that is, if | |
998 | input is not a pipe). | |
999 | ||
1000 | ?l_\bX True if the line number of the specified line is | |
1001 | known. | |
1002 | ||
1003 | ?L True if the line number of the last line in the | |
1004 | file is known. | |
1005 | ||
1006 | ?m True if there is more than one input file. | |
1007 | ||
1008 | ?n True if this is the first prompt in a new input | |
1009 | file. | |
1010 | ||
1011 | ?p_\bX True if the percent into the current input file of | |
1012 | the specified line is known. | |
1013 | ||
1014 | ?s Same as "?B". | |
1015 | ||
1016 | ?x True if there is a next input file (that is, if the | |
1017 | current input file is not the last one). | |
1018 | ||
1019 | Any characters other than the special ones (question mark, | |
1020 | colon, period, percent, and backslash) become literally | |
1021 | part of the prompt. Any of the special characters may be | |
1022 | included in the prompt literally by preceding it with a | |
1023 | backslash. | |
1024 | ||
1025 | Some examples: | |
1026 | ||
1027 | ?f%f:Standard input. | |
1028 | ||
1029 | This prompt prints the filename, if known; otherwise the | |
1030 | string "Standard input". | |
1031 | ||
1032 | ?f%f .?ltLine %lt:?pt%pt\%:?btByte %bt:-... | |
1033 | ||
1034 | This prompt would print the filename, if known. The file- | |
1035 | name is followed by the line number, if known, otherwise | |
1036 | the percent if known, otherwise the byte offset if known. | |
1037 | Otherwise, a dash is printed. Notice how each question | |
1038 | mark has a matching period, and how the % after the %pt is | |
1039 | included literally by escaping it with a backslash. | |
1040 | ||
1041 | ?n?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x..%t | |
1042 | ||
1043 | This prints the filename if this is the first prompt in a | |
1044 | file, followed by the "file N of N" message if there is | |
1045 | more than one input file. Then, if we are at end-of-file, | |
1046 | the string "(END)" is printed followed by the name of the | |
1047 | next file, if there is one. Finally, any trailing spaces | |
1048 | are truncated. This is the default prompt. For refer- | |
1049 | ence, here are the defaults for the other two prompts (-m | |
1050 | and -M respectively). Each is broken into two lines here | |
1051 | ||
1052 | ||
1053 | ||
1054 | 16 | |
1055 | ||
1056 | ||
1057 | ||
1058 | ||
1059 | ||
1060 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
1061 | ||
1062 | ||
1063 | for readability only. | |
1064 | ||
1065 | ?n?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x.: | |
1066 | ?pB%pB\%:byte %bB?s/%s...%t | |
1067 | ||
1068 | ?f%f .?n?m(file %i of %m) ..?ltline %lt?L/%L. :byte %bB?s/%s. . | |
1069 | ?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x.:?pB%pB\%..%t | |
1070 | ||
1071 | And here is the default message produced by the = command: | |
1072 | ||
1073 | ?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) .?ltline %lt?L/%L. . | |
1074 | byte %bB?s/%s. ?e(END) :?pB%pB\%..%t | |
1075 | ||
1076 | The prompt expansion features are also used for another | |
1077 | purpose: if an environment variable LESSEDIT is defined, | |
1078 | it is used as the command to be executed when the v com- | |
1079 | mand is invoked. The LESSEDIT string is expanded in the | |
1080 | same way as the prompt strings. The default value for | |
1081 | LESSEDIT is: | |
1082 | ||
1083 | %E ?lm+%lm. %f | |
1084 | ||
1085 | Note that this expands to the editor name, followed by a + | |
1086 | and the line number, followed by the file name. If your | |
1087 | editor does not accept the "+linenumber" syntax, or has | |
1088 | other differences in invocation syntax, the LESSEDIT vari- | |
1089 | able can be changed to modify this default. | |
1090 | ||
1091 | ||
1092 | E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bNM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT V\bVA\bAR\bRI\bIA\bAB\bBL\bLE\bES\bS | |
1093 | COLUMNS | |
1094 | Sets the number of columns on the screen. Takes | |
1095 | precedence over the number of columns specified by | |
1096 | the TERM variable. | |
1097 | ||
1098 | EDITOR The name of the editor (used for the v command). | |
1099 | ||
1100 | HOME Name of the user's home directory (used to find a | |
1101 | .less file). | |
1102 | ||
1103 | LESS Flags which are passed to _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs automatically. | |
1104 | ||
1105 | LESSBINFMT | |
1106 | Format for displaying non-printable, non-control | |
1107 | characters. | |
1108 | ||
1109 | LESSCHARDEF | |
1110 | Defines a character set. | |
1111 | ||
1112 | LESSCHARSET | |
1113 | Selects a predefined character set. | |
1114 | ||
1115 | LESSEDIT | |
1116 | Editor prototype string (used for the v command). | |
1117 | ||
1118 | ||
1119 | ||
1120 | 17 | |
1121 | ||
1122 | ||
1123 | ||
1124 | ||
1125 | ||
1126 | LESS(1) LESS(1) | |
1127 | ||
1128 | ||
1129 | See discussion under PROMPTS. | |
1130 | ||
1131 | LESSHELP | |
1132 | Name of the help file. | |
1133 | ||
1134 | LINES Sets the number of lines on the screen. Takes | |
1135 | precedence over the number of lines specified by | |
1136 | the TERM variable. | |
1137 | ||
1138 | SHELL The shell used to execute the ! command, as well as | |
1139 | to expand filenames. | |
1140 | ||
1141 | TERM The type of terminal on which _\bl_\be_\bs_\bs is being run. | |
1142 | ||
1143 | ||
1144 | S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO | |
1145 | lesskey(1) | |
1146 | ||
1147 | ||
1148 | W\bWA\bAR\bRN\bNI\bIN\bNG\bGS\bS | |
1149 | The = command and prompts (unless changed by -P) report | |
1150 | the line number of the line at the top of the screen, but | |
1151 | the byte and percent of the line at the bottom of the | |
1152 | screen. | |
1153 | ||
1154 | If the :e command is used to name more than one file, and | |
1155 | one of the named files has been viewed previously, the new | |
1156 | files may be entered into the list in an unexpected order. | |
1157 | ||
1158 | The handling of national character sets is nonstandard as | |
1159 | well as insufficient for multibyte characters. It will | |
1160 | probably change in a later release. | |
1161 | ||
1162 | ||
1163 | ||
1164 | ||
1165 | ||
1166 | ||
1167 | ||
1168 | ||
1169 | ||
1170 | ||
1171 | ||
1172 | ||
1173 | ||
1174 | ||
1175 | ||
1176 | ||
1177 | ||
1178 | ||
1179 | ||
1180 | ||
1181 | ||
1182 | ||
1183 | ||
1184 | ||
1185 | ||
1186 | 18 | |
1187 | ||
1188 |