diff options
| author | delphij <delphij@FreeBSD.org> | 2006-08-20 15:49:51 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | delphij <delphij@FreeBSD.org> | 2006-08-20 15:49:51 +0000 |
| commit | 5297f4bc59da861bbe3beb5ee12839fa05e79882 (patch) | |
| tree | 66e8cb2705abe3d167ba3a94a60d37c894690ff2 /contrib/less/less.man | |
| parent | 71cad8a96df623ac7d9129aa5e8c983df1030b0c (diff) | |
| download | FreeBSD-src-5297f4bc59da861bbe3beb5ee12839fa05e79882.zip FreeBSD-src-5297f4bc59da861bbe3beb5ee12839fa05e79882.tar.gz | |
Import less v394
Diffstat (limited to 'contrib/less/less.man')
| -rw-r--r-- | contrib/less/less.man | 2470 |
1 files changed, 968 insertions, 1502 deletions
diff --git a/contrib/less/less.man b/contrib/less/less.man index 5455849..8548f55 100644 --- a/contrib/less/less.man +++ b/contrib/less/less.man @@ -1,9 +1,7 @@ +LESS(1) LESS(1) -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - NNAAMMEE less - opposite of more @@ -12,287 +10,215 @@ SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS lleessss ----hheellpp lleessss --VV lleessss ----vveerrssiioonn - lleessss [[--[[++]]aaBBccCCddeeEEffFFggGGiiIIJJLLmmMMnnNNqqQQrrRRssSSuuUUVVwwWWXX~~]] + lleessss [[--[[++]]aaBBccCCddeeEEffFFggGGiiIIJJKKLLmmMMnnNNqqQQrrRRssSSuuUUVVwwWWXX~~]] [[--bb _s_p_a_c_e]] [[--hh _l_i_n_e_s]] [[--jj _l_i_n_e]] [[--kk _k_e_y_f_i_l_e]] [[--{{ooOO}} _l_o_g_f_i_l_e]] [[--pp _p_a_t_t_e_r_n]] [[--PP _p_r_o_m_p_t]] [[--tt _t_a_g]] [[--TT _t_a_g_s_f_i_l_e]] [[--xx _t_a_b,,......]] [[--yy _l_i_n_e_s]] [[--[[zz]] _l_i_n_e_s]] [[--## _s_h_i_f_t]] [[++[[++]]_c_m_d]] [[----]] [[_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e]]...... - (See the OPTIONS section for alternate option syntax with - long option names.) + (See the OPTIONS section for alternate option syntax with long option + names.) DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN - _L_e_s_s is a program similar to _m_o_r_e (1), but which allows - backward movement in the file as well as forward movement. - Also, _l_e_s_s does not have to read the entire input file - before starting, so with large input files it starts up - faster than text editors like _v_i (1). _L_e_s_s uses termcap - (or terminfo on some systems), so it can run on a variety - of terminals. There is even limited support for hardcopy - terminals. (On a hardcopy terminal, lines which should be - printed at the top of the screen are prefixed with a - caret.) - - Commands are based on both _m_o_r_e and _v_i_. Commands may be - preceded by a decimal number, called N in the descriptions - below. The number is used by some commands, as indicated. + _L_e_s_s is a program similar to _m_o_r_e (1), but which allows backward move- + ment in the file as well as forward movement. Also, _l_e_s_s does not have + to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input + files it starts up faster than text editors like _v_i (1). _L_e_s_s uses + termcap (or terminfo on some systems), so it can run on a variety of + terminals. There is even limited support for hardcopy terminals. (On + a hardcopy terminal, lines which should be printed at the top of the + screen are prefixed with a caret.) + + Commands are based on both _m_o_r_e and _v_i_. Commands may be preceded by a + decimal number, called N in the descriptions below. The number is used + by some commands, as indicated. CCOOMMMMAANNDDSS - In the following descriptions, ^X means control-X. ESC - stands for the ESCAPE key; for example ESC-v means the two - character sequence "ESCAPE", then "v". + In the following descriptions, ^X means control-X. ESC stands for the + ESCAPE key; for example ESC-v means the two character sequence + "ESCAPE", then "v". - h or H Help: display a summary of these commands. If you - forget all the other commands, remember this one. + h or H Help: display a summary of these commands. If you forget all + the other commands, remember this one. SPACE or ^V or f or ^F - Scroll forward N lines, default one window (see - option -z below). If N is more than the screen - size, only the final screenful is displayed. Warn - ing: some systems use ^V as a special literaliza - tion character. + Scroll forward N lines, default one window (see option -z + below). If N is more than the screen size, only the final + screenful is displayed. Warning: some systems use ^V as a spe- + cial literalization character. - z Like SPACE, but if N is specified, it becomes the - new window size. + z Like SPACE, but if N is specified, it becomes the new window + size. ESC-SPACE - Like SPACE, but scrolls a full screenful, even if - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 1 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - it reaches end-of-file in the process. + Like SPACE, but scrolls a full screenful, even if it reaches + end-of-file in the process. RETURN or ^N or e or ^E or j or ^J - Scroll forward N lines, default 1. The entire N - lines are displayed, even if N is more than the - screen size. + Scroll forward N lines, default 1. The entire N lines are dis- + played, even if N is more than the screen size. d or ^D - Scroll forward N lines, default one half of the - screen size. If N is specified, it becomes the new - default for subsequent d and u commands. + Scroll forward N lines, default one half of the screen size. If + N is specified, it becomes the new default for subsequent d and + u commands. b or ^B or ESC-v - Scroll backward N lines, default one window (see - option -z below). If N is more than the screen - size, only the final screenful is displayed. + Scroll backward N lines, default one window (see option -z + below). If N is more than the screen size, only the final + screenful is displayed. - w Like ESC-v, but if N is specified, it becomes the - new window size. + w Like ESC-v, but if N is specified, it becomes the new window + size. y or ^Y or ^P or k or ^K - Scroll backward N lines, default 1. The entire N - lines are displayed, even if N is more than the - screen size. Warning: some systems use ^Y as a - special job control character. + Scroll backward N lines, default 1. The entire N lines are dis- + played, even if N is more than the screen size. Warning: some + systems use ^Y as a special job control character. u or ^U - Scroll backward N lines, default one half of the - screen size. If N is specified, it becomes the new - default for subsequent d and u commands. + Scroll backward N lines, default one half of the screen size. + If N is specified, it becomes the new default for subsequent d + and u commands. ESC-) or RIGHTARROW - Scroll horizontally right N characters, default - half the screen width (see the -# option). If a - number N is specified, it becomes the default for - future RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW commands. While - the text is scrolled, it acts as though the -S + Scroll horizontally right N characters, default half the screen + width (see the -# option). If a number N is specified, it + becomes the default for future RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW com- + mands. While the text is scrolled, it acts as though the -S option (chop lines) were in effect. ESC-( or LEFTARROW - Scroll horizontally left N characters, default half - the screen width (see the -# option). If a number - N is specified, it becomes the default for future - RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW commands. + Scroll horizontally left N characters, default half the screen + width (see the -# option). If a number N is specified, it + becomes the default for future RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW com- + mands. r or ^R or ^L Repaint the screen. - R Repaint the screen, discarding any buffered input. - Useful if the file is changing while it is being - viewed. - - F Scroll forward, and keep trying to read when the - end of file is reached. Normally this command - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 2 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + R Repaint the screen, discarding any buffered input. Useful if + the file is changing while it is being viewed. - would be used when already at the end of the file. - It is a way to monitor the tail of a file which is - growing while it is being viewed. (The behavior is + F Scroll forward, and keep trying to read when the end of file is + reached. Normally this command would be used when already at + the end of the file. It is a way to monitor the tail of a file + which is growing while it is being viewed. (The behavior is similar to the "tail -f" command.) g or < or ESC-< - Go to line N in the file, default 1 (beginning of - file). (Warning: this may be slow if N is large.) + Go to line N in the file, default 1 (beginning of file). (Warn- + ing: this may be slow if N is large.) G or > or ESC-> - Go to line N in the file, default the end of the - file. (Warning: this may be slow if N is large, or - if N is not specified and standard input, rather - than a file, is being read.) - - p or % Go to a position N percent into the file. N should - be between 0 and 100. - - { If a left curly bracket appears in the top line - displayed on the screen, the { command will go to - the matching right curly bracket. The matching - right curly bracket is positioned on the bottom - line of the screen. If there is more than one left - curly bracket on the top line, a number N may be - used to specify the N-th bracket on the line. - - } If a right curly bracket appears in the bottom line - displayed on the screen, the } command will go to - the matching left curly bracket. The matching left - curly bracket is positioned on the top line of the - screen. If there is more than one right curly - bracket on the top line, a number N may be used to - specify the N-th bracket on the line. - - ( Like {, but applies to parentheses rather than - curly brackets. - - ) Like }, but applies to parentheses rather than - curly brackets. - - [ Like {, but applies to square brackets rather than - curly brackets. - - ] Like }, but applies to square brackets rather than - curly brackets. - - ESC-^F Followed by two characters, acts like {, but uses - the two characters as open and close brackets, - respectively. For example, "ESC ^F < >" could be - used to go forward to the > which matches the < in - the top displayed line. - - ESC-^B Followed by two characters, acts like }, but uses - the two characters as open and close brackets, - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 3 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - respectively. For example, "ESC ^B < >" could be - used to go backward to the < which matches the > in - the bottom displayed line. - - m Followed by any lowercase letter, marks the current - position with that letter. - - ' (Single quote.) Followed by any lowercase letter, - returns to the position which was previously marked - with that letter. Followed by another single - quote, returns to the position at which the last - "large" movement command was executed. Followed by - a ^ or $, jumps to the beginning or end of the file - respectively. Marks are preserved when a new file - is examined, so the ' command can be used to switch - between input files. + Go to line N in the file, default the end of the file. (Warn- + ing: this may be slow if N is large, or if N is not specified + and standard input, rather than a file, is being read.) + + p or % Go to a position N percent into the file. N should be between 0 + and 100. + + { If a left curly bracket appears in the top line displayed on the + screen, the { command will go to the matching right curly + bracket. The matching right curly bracket is positioned on the + bottom line of the screen. If there is more than one left curly + bracket on the top line, a number N may be used to specify the + N-th bracket on the line. + + } If a right curly bracket appears in the bottom line displayed on + the screen, the } command will go to the matching left curly + bracket. The matching left curly bracket is positioned on the + top line of the screen. If there is more than one right curly + bracket on the top line, a number N may be used to specify the + N-th bracket on the line. + + ( Like {, but applies to parentheses rather than curly brackets. + + ) Like }, but applies to parentheses rather than curly brackets. + + [ Like {, but applies to square brackets rather than curly brack- + ets. + + ] Like }, but applies to square brackets rather than curly brack- + ets. + + ESC-^F Followed by two characters, acts like {, but uses the two char- + acters as open and close brackets, respectively. For example, + "ESC ^F < >" could be used to go forward to the > which matches + the < in the top displayed line. + + ESC-^B Followed by two characters, acts like }, but uses the two char- + acters as open and close brackets, respectively. For example, + "ESC ^B < >" could be used to go backward to the < which matches + the > in the bottom displayed line. + + m Followed by any lowercase letter, marks the current position + with that letter. + + ' (Single quote.) Followed by any lowercase letter, returns to + the position which was previously marked with that letter. Fol- + lowed by another single quote, returns to the position at which + the last "large" movement command was executed. Followed by a ^ + or $, jumps to the beginning or end of the file respectively. + Marks are preserved when a new file is examined, so the ' com- + mand can be used to switch between input files. ^X^X Same as single quote. /pattern - Search forward in the file for the N-th line con - taining the pattern. N defaults to 1. The pattern - is a regular expression, as recognized by _e_d_. The - search starts at the second line displayed (but see + Search forward in the file for the N-th line containing the pat- + tern. N defaults to 1. The pattern is a regular expression, as + recognized by the regular expression library supplied by your + system. The search starts at the second line displayed (but see the -a and -j options, which change this). - Certain characters are special if entered at the - beginning of the pattern; they modify the type of - search rather than become part of the pattern: + Certain characters are special if entered at the beginning of + the pattern; they modify the type of search rather than become + part of the pattern: ^N or ! - Search for lines which do NOT match the pat - tern. + Search for lines which do NOT match the pattern. ^E or * - Search multiple files. That is, if the - search reaches the END of the current file - without finding a match, the search contin - ues in the next file in the command line + Search multiple files. That is, if the search reaches + the END of the current file without finding a match, the + search continues in the next file in the command line list. ^F or @ - Begin the search at the first line of the - FIRST file in the command line list, regard - less of what is currently displayed on the - screen or the settings of the -a or -j + Begin the search at the first line of the FIRST file in + the command line list, regardless of what is currently + displayed on the screen or the settings of the -a or -j options. - ^K Highlight any text which matches the pattern - on the current screen, but don't move to the - first match (KEEP current position). - - ^R Don't interpret regular expression metachar - acters; that is, do a simple textual + ^K Highlight any text which matches the pattern on the cur- + rent screen, but don't move to the first match (KEEP cur- + rent position). - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 4 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - comparison. + ^R Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that + is, do a simple textual comparison. ?pattern - Search backward in the file for the N-th line con - taining the pattern. The search starts at the line - immediately before the top line displayed. + Search backward in the file for the N-th line containing the + pattern. The search starts at the line immediately before the + top line displayed. Certain characters are special as in the / command: ^N or ! - Search for lines which do NOT match the pat - tern. + Search for lines which do NOT match the pattern. ^E or * - Search multiple files. That is, if the - search reaches the beginning of the current - file without finding a match, the search - continues in the previous file in the com - mand line list. + Search multiple files. That is, if the search reaches + the beginning of the current file without finding a + match, the search continues in the previous file in the + command line list. ^F or @ - Begin the search at the last line of the - last file in the command line list, regard - less of what is currently displayed on the - screen or the settings of the -a or -j + Begin the search at the last line of the last file in the + command line list, regardless of what is currently dis- + played on the screen or the settings of the -a or -j options. ^K As in forward searches. @@ -305,252 +231,177 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) ESC-?pattern Same as "?*". - n Repeat previous search, for N-th line containing - the last pattern. If the previous search was modi - fied by ^N, the search is made for the N-th line - NOT containing the pattern. If the previous search - was modified by ^E, the search continues in the - next (or previous) file if not satisfied in the - current file. If the previous search was modified - by ^R, the search is done without using regular - expressions. There is no effect if the previous - search was modified by ^F or ^K. - - N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direc - tion. - - ESC-n Repeat previous search, but crossing file bound - aries. The effect is as if the previous search - were modified by *. - + n Repeat previous search, for N-th line containing the last pat- + tern. If the previous search was modified by ^N, the search is + made for the N-th line NOT containing the pattern. If the pre- + vious search was modified by ^E, the search continues in the + next (or previous) file if not satisfied in the current file. + If the previous search was modified by ^R, the search is done + without using regular expressions. There is no effect if the + previous search was modified by ^F or ^K. + N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direction. - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 5 + ESC-n Repeat previous search, but crossing file boundaries. The + effect is as if the previous search were modified by *. + ESC-N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direction and cross- + ing file boundaries. - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - ESC-N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direc - tion and crossing file boundaries. - - ESC-u Undo search highlighting. Turn off highlighting of - strings matching the current search pattern. If - highlighting is already off because of a previous - ESC-u command, turn highlighting back on. Any - search command will also turn highlighting back on. - (Highlighting can also be disabled by toggling the - -G option; in that case search commands do not turn - highlighting back on.) + ESC-u Undo search highlighting. Turn off highlighting of strings + matching the current search pattern. If highlighting is already + off because of a previous ESC-u command, turn highlighting back + on. Any search command will also turn highlighting back on. + (Highlighting can also be disabled by toggling the -G option; in + that case search commands do not turn highlighting back on.) :e [filename] - Examine a new file. If the filename is missing, - the "current" file (see the :n and :p commands - below) from the list of files in the command line - is re-examined. A percent sign (%) in the filename - is replaced by the name of the current file. A - pound sign (#) is replaced by the name of the pre - viously examined file. However, two consecutive - percent signs are simply replaced with a single - percent sign. This allows you to enter a filename - that contains a percent sign in the name. Simi - larly, two consecutive pound signs are replaced - with a single pound sign. The filename is inserted - into the command line list of files so that it can - be seen by subsequent :n and :p commands. If the - filename consists of several files, they are all - inserted into the list of files and the first one - is examined. If the filename contains one or more - spaces, the entire filename should be enclosed in - double quotes (also see the -" option). + Examine a new file. If the filename is missing, the "current" + file (see the :n and :p commands below) from the list of files + in the command line is re-examined. A percent sign (%) in the + filename is replaced by the name of the current file. A pound + sign (#) is replaced by the name of the previously examined + file. However, two consecutive percent signs are simply + replaced with a single percent sign. This allows you to enter a + filename that contains a percent sign in the name. Similarly, + two consecutive pound signs are replaced with a single pound + sign. The filename is inserted into the command line list of + files so that it can be seen by subsequent :n and :p commands. + If the filename consists of several files, they are all inserted + into the list of files and the first one is examined. If the + filename contains one or more spaces, the entire filename should + be enclosed in double quotes (also see the -" option). ^X^V or E - Same as :e. Warning: some systems use ^V as a spe - cial literalization character. On such systems, - you may not be able to use ^V. + Same as :e. Warning: some systems use ^V as a special literal- + ization character. On such systems, you may not be able to use + ^V. - :n Examine the next file (from the list of files given - in the command line). If a number N is specified, - the N-th next file is examined. + :n Examine the next file (from the list of files given in the com- + mand line). If a number N is specified, the N-th next file is + examined. - :p Examine the previous file in the command line list. - If a number N is specified, the N-th previous file - is examined. + :p Examine the previous file in the command line list. If a number + N is specified, the N-th previous file is examined. - :x Examine the first file in the command line list. - If a number N is specified, the N-th file in the - list is examined. + :x Examine the first file in the command line list. If a number N + is specified, the N-th file in the list is examined. :d Remove the current file from the list of files. - t Go to the next tag, if there were more than one - matches for the current tag. See the -t option for - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 6 - - + t Go to the next tag, if there were more than one matches for the + current tag. See the -t option for more details about tags. - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - more details about tags. - - T Go to the previous tag, if there were more than one - matches for the current tag. + T Go to the previous tag, if there were more than one matches for + the current tag. = or ^G or :f - Prints some information about the file being - viewed, including its name and the line number and - byte offset of the bottom line being displayed. If - possible, it also prints the length of the file, - the number of lines in the file and the percent of - the file above the last displayed line. - - - Followed by one of the command line option letters - (see OPTIONS below), this will change the setting - of that option and print a message describing the - new setting. If a ^P (CONTROL-P) is entered imme - diately after the dash, the setting of the option - is changed but no message is printed. If the - option letter has a numeric value (such as -b or - -h), or a string value (such as -P or -t), a new - value may be entered after the option letter. If - no new value is entered, a message describing the - current setting is printed and nothing is changed. - - -- Like the - command, but takes a long option name - (see OPTIONS below) rather than a single option - letter. You must press RETURN after typing the - option name. A ^P immediately after the second - dash suppresses printing of a message describing - the new setting, as in the - command. - - -+ Followed by one of the command line option letters - this will reset the option to its default setting - and print a message describing the new setting. - (The "-+_X" command does the same thing as "-+_X" on - the command line.) This does not work for string- - valued options. - - --+ Like the -+ command, but takes a long option name - rather than a single option letter. - - -! Followed by one of the command line option letters, - this will reset the option to the "opposite" of its - default setting and print a message describing the - new setting. This does not work for numeric or + Prints some information about the file being viewed, including + its name and the line number and byte offset of the bottom line + being displayed. If possible, it also prints the length of the + file, the number of lines in the file and the percent of the + file above the last displayed line. + + - Followed by one of the command line option letters (see OPTIONS + below), this will change the setting of that option and print a + message describing the new setting. If a ^P (CONTROL-P) is + entered immediately after the dash, the setting of the option is + changed but no message is printed. If the option letter has a + numeric value (such as -b or -h), or a string value (such as -P + or -t), a new value may be entered after the option letter. If + no new value is entered, a message describing the current set- + ting is printed and nothing is changed. + + -- Like the - command, but takes a long option name (see OPTIONS + below) rather than a single option letter. You must press + RETURN after typing the option name. A ^P immediately after the + second dash suppresses printing of a message describing the new + setting, as in the - command. + + -+ Followed by one of the command line option letters this will + reset the option to its default setting and print a message + describing the new setting. (The "-+_X" command does the same + thing as "-+_X" on the command line.) This does not work for string-valued options. - --! Like the -! command, but takes a long option name - rather than a single option letter. - - _ (Underscore.) Followed by one of the command line - option letters, this will print a message describ - ing the current setting of that option. The - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 7 - - + --+ Like the -+ command, but takes a long option name rather than a + single option letter. + -! Followed by one of the command line option letters, this will + reset the option to the "opposite" of its default setting and + print a message describing the new setting. This does not work + for numeric or string-valued options. + --! Like the -! command, but takes a long option name rather than a + single option letter. -LESS(1) LESS(1) + _ (Underscore.) Followed by one of the command line option let- + ters, this will print a message describing the current setting + of that option. The setting of the option is not changed. + __ (Double underscore.) Like the _ (underscore) command, but takes + a long option name rather than a single option letter. You must + press RETURN after typing the option name. - setting of the option is not changed. - - __ (Double underscore.) Like the _ (underscore) com - mand, but takes a long option name rather than a - single option letter. You must press RETURN after - typing the option name. - - +cmd Causes the specified cmd to be executed each time a - new file is examined. For example, +G causes _l_e_s_s - to initially display each file starting at the end - rather than the beginning. + +cmd Causes the specified cmd to be executed each time a new file is + examined. For example, +G causes _l_e_s_s to initially display each + file starting at the end rather than the beginning. V Prints the version number of _l_e_s_s being run. q or Q or :q or :Q or ZZ Exits _l_e_s_s_. - The following four commands may or may not be valid, - depending on your particular installation. + The following four commands may or may not be valid, depending on your + particular installation. - v Invokes an editor to edit the current file being - viewed. The editor is taken from the environment - variable VISUAL if defined, or EDITOR if VISUAL is - not defined, or defaults to "vi" if neither VISUAL - nor EDITOR is defined. See also the discussion of + v Invokes an editor to edit the current file being viewed. The + editor is taken from the environment variable VISUAL if defined, + or EDITOR if VISUAL is not defined, or defaults to "vi" if nei- + ther VISUAL nor EDITOR is defined. See also the discussion of LESSEDIT under the section on PROMPTS below. ! shell-command - Invokes a shell to run the shell-command given. A - percent sign (%) in the command is replaced by the - name of the current file. A pound sign (#) is - replaced by the name of the previously examined - file. "!!" repeats the last shell command. "!" - with no shell command simply invokes a shell. On - Unix systems, the shell is taken from the environ - ment variable SHELL, or defaults to "sh". On MS- - DOS and OS/2 systems, the shell is the normal com - mand processor. + Invokes a shell to run the shell-command given. A percent sign + (%) in the command is replaced by the name of the current file. + A pound sign (#) is replaced by the name of the previously exam- + ined file. "!!" repeats the last shell command. "!" with no + shell command simply invokes a shell. On Unix systems, the + shell is taken from the environment variable SHELL, or defaults + to "sh". On MS-DOS and OS/2 systems, the shell is the normal + command processor. | <m> shell-command - <m> represents any mark letter. Pipes a section of - the input file to the given shell command. The - section of the file to be piped is between the - first line on the current screen and the position - marked by the letter. <m> may also be ^ or $ to - indicate beginning or end of file respectively. If - <m> is . or newline, the current screen is piped. + <m> represents any mark letter. Pipes a section of the input + file to the given shell command. The section of the file to be + piped is between the first line on the current screen and the + position marked by the letter. <m> may also be ^ or $ to indi- + cate beginning or end of file respectively. If <m> is . or new- + line, the current screen is piped. s filename - Save the input to a file. This only works if the - input is a pipe, not an ordinary file. - - - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 8 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) + Save the input to a file. This only works if the input is a + pipe, not an ordinary file. OOPPTTIIOONNSS - Command line options are described below. Most options - may be changed while _l_e_s_s is running, via the "-" command. - - Most options may be given in one of two forms: either a - dash followed by a single letter, or two dashes followed - by a long option name. A long option name may be abbrevi - ated as long as the abbreviation is unambiguous. For - example, --quit-at-eof may be abbreviated --quit, but not - --qui, since both --quit-at-eof and --quiet begin with - --qui. Some long option names are in uppercase, such as - --QUIT-AT-EOF, as distinct from --quit-at-eof. Such - option names need only have their first letter capital - ized; the remainder of the name may be in either case. + Command line options are described below. Most options may be changed + while _l_e_s_s is running, via the "-" command. + + Most options may be given in one of two forms: either a dash followed + by a single letter, or two dashes followed by a long option name. A + long option name may be abbreviated as long as the abbreviation is + unambiguous. For example, --quit-at-eof may be abbreviated --quit, but + not --qui, since both --quit-at-eof and --quiet begin with --qui. Some + long option names are in uppercase, such as --QUIT-AT-EOF, as distinct + from --quit-at-eof. Such option names need only have their first + letter capitalized; the remainder of the name may be in either case. For example, --Quit-at-eof is equivalent to --QUIT-AT-EOF. - Options are also taken from the environment variable - "LESS". For example, to avoid typing "less -options ..." - each time _l_e_s_s is invoked, you might tell _c_s_h_: + Options are also taken from the environment variable "LESS". For exam- + ple, to avoid typing "less -options ..." each time _l_e_s_s is invoked, you + might tell _c_s_h_: setenv LESS "-options" @@ -558,584 +409,428 @@ OOPPTTIIOONNSS LESS="-options"; export LESS - On MS-DOS, you don't need the quotes, but you should - replace any percent signs in the options string by double - percent signs. + On MS-DOS, you don't need the quotes, but you should replace any per- + cent signs in the options string by double percent signs. - The environment variable is parsed before the command - line, so command line options override the LESS environ - ment variable. If an option appears in the LESS variable, - it can be reset to its default value on the command line - by beginning the command line option with "-+". + The environment variable is parsed before the command line, so command + line options override the LESS environment variable. If an option + appears in the LESS variable, it can be reset to its default value on + the command line by beginning the command line option with "-+". - For options like -P or -D which take a following string, a - dollar sign ($) must be used to signal the end of the - string. For example, to set two -D options on MS-DOS, you - must have a dollar sign between them, like this: + For options like -P or -D which take a following string, a dollar sign + ($) must be used to signal the end of the string. For example, to set + two -D options on MS-DOS, you must have a dollar sign between them, + like this: LESS="-Dn9.1$-Ds4.1" -? or --help - This option displays a summary of the commands - accepted by _l_e_s_s (the same as the h command). - (Depending on how your shell interprets the ques - tion mark, it may be necessary to quote the ques - tion mark, thus: "-\?".) + This option displays a summary of the commands accepted by _l_e_s_s + (the same as the h command). (Depending on how your shell + interprets the question mark, it may be necessary to quote the + question mark, thus: "-\?".) -a or --search-skip-screen - Causes searches to start after the last line dis - played on the screen, thus skipping all lines - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 9 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - displayed on the screen. By default, searches - start at the second line on the screen (or after - the last found line; see the -j option). + Causes searches to start after the last line displayed on the + screen, thus skipping all lines displayed on the screen. By + default, searches start at the second line on the screen (or + after the last found line; see the -j option). -b_n or --buffers=_n - Specifies the amount of buffer space _l_e_s_s will use - for each file, in units of kilobytes (1024 bytes). - By default 64K of buffer space is used for each - file (unless the file is a pipe; see the -B - option). The -b option specifies instead that _n - kilobytes of buffer space should be used for each - file. If _n is -1, buffer space is unlimited; that - is, the entire file is read into memory. + Specifies the amount of buffer space _l_e_s_s will use for each + file, in units of kilobytes (1024 bytes). By default 64K of + buffer space is used for each file (unless the file is a pipe; + see the -B option). The -b option specifies instead that _n + kilobytes of buffer space should be used for each file. If _n is + -1, buffer space is unlimited; that is, the entire file is read + into memory. -B or --auto-buffers - By default, when data is read from a pipe, buffers - are allocated automatically as needed. If a large - amount of data is read from the pipe, this can - cause a large amount of memory to be allocated. - The -B option disables this automatic allocation of - buffers for pipes, so that only 64K (or the amount - of space specified by the -b option) is used for - the pipe. Warning: use of -B can result in erro - neous display, since only the most recently viewed - part of the file is kept in memory; any earlier + By default, when data is read from a pipe, buffers are allocated + automatically as needed. If a large amount of data is read from + the pipe, this can cause a large amount of memory to be allo- + cated. The -B option disables this automatic allocation of + buffers for pipes, so that only 64K (or the amount of space + specified by the -b option) is used for the pipe. Warning: use + of -B can result in erroneous display, since only the most + recently viewed part of the file is kept in memory; any earlier data is lost. -c or --clear-screen - Causes full screen repaints to be painted from the - top line down. By default, full screen repaints - are done by scrolling from the bottom of the - screen. + Causes full screen repaints to be painted from the top line + down. By default, full screen repaints are done by scrolling + from the bottom of the screen. -C or --CLEAR-SCREEN - The -C option is like -c, but the screen is cleared - before it is repainted. + The -C option is like -c, but the screen is cleared before it is + repainted. -d or --dumb - The -d option suppresses the error message normally - displayed if the terminal is dumb; that is, lacks - some important capability, such as the ability to - clear the screen or scroll backward. The -d option - does not otherwise change the behavior of _l_e_s_s on a + The -d option suppresses the error message normally displayed if + the terminal is dumb; that is, lacks some important capability, + such as the ability to clear the screen or scroll backward. The + -d option does not otherwise change the behavior of _l_e_s_s on a dumb terminal. -Dxx_c_o_l_o_r or --color=xx_c_o_l_o_r - [MS-DOS only] Sets the color of the text displayed. - xx is a single character which selects the type of - text whose color is being set: n=normal, s=stand - out, d=bold, u=underlined, k=blink. _c_o_l_o_r is a - pair of numbers separated by a period. The first - number selects the foreground color and the second - selects the background color of the text. A single - number _N is the same as _N_._0. - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 10 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + [MS-DOS only] Sets the color of the text displayed. xx is a sin- + gle character which selects the type of text whose color is + being set: n=normal, s=standout, d=bold, u=underlined, k=blink. + _c_o_l_o_r is a pair of numbers separated by a period. The first + number selects the foreground color and the second selects the + background color of the text. A single number _N is the same as + _N_._0. -e or --quit-at-eof - Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit the second time - it reaches end-of-file. By default, the only way - to exit _l_e_s_s is via the "q" command. + Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit the second time it reaches + end-of-file. By default, the only way to exit _l_e_s_s is via the + "q" command. -E or --QUIT-AT-EOF - Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit the first time it - reaches end-of-file. + Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit the first time it reaches end- + of-file. -f or --force - Forces non-regular files to be opened. (A non-reg - ular file is a directory or a device special file.) - Also suppresses the warning message when a binary - file is opened. By default, _l_e_s_s will refuse to - open non-regular files. + Forces non-regular files to be opened. (A non-regular file is a + directory or a device special file.) Also suppresses the warn- + ing message when a binary file is opened. By default, _l_e_s_s will + refuse to open non-regular files. -F or --quit-if-one-screen - Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit if the entire - file can be displayed on the first screen. + Causes _l_e_s_s to automatically exit if the entire file can be dis- + played on the first screen. -g or --hilite-search - Normally, _l_e_s_s will highlight ALL strings which - match the last search command. The -g option - changes this behavior to highlight only the partic - ular string which was found by the last search com - mand. This can cause _l_e_s_s to run somewhat faster - than the default. + Normally, _l_e_s_s will highlight ALL strings which match the last + search command. The -g option changes this behavior to high- + light only the particular string which was found by the last + search command. This can cause _l_e_s_s to run somewhat faster than + the default. -G or --HILITE-SEARCH - The -G option suppresses all highlighting of - strings found by search commands. + The -G option suppresses all highlighting of strings found by + search commands. - -h_n or ---max-back-scroll=_n - Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll back - ward. If it is necessary to scroll backward more - than _n lines, the screen is repainted in a forward - direction instead. (If the terminal does not have - the ability to scroll backward, -h0 is implied.) + -h_n or --max-back-scroll=_n + Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll backward. If it + is necessary to scroll backward more than _n lines, the screen is + repainted in a forward direction instead. (If the terminal does + not have the ability to scroll backward, -h0 is implied.) -i or --ignore-case - Causes searches to ignore case; that is, uppercase - and lowercase are considered identical. This - option is ignored if any uppercase letters appear - in the search pattern; in other words, if a pattern - contains uppercase letters, then that search does - not ignore case. + Causes searches to ignore case; that is, uppercase and lowercase + are considered identical. This option is ignored if any upper- + case letters appear in the search pattern; in other words, if a + pattern contains uppercase letters, then that search does not + ignore case. -I or --IGNORE-CASE - Like -i, but searches ignore case even if the pat - tern contains uppercase letters. + Like -i, but searches ignore case even if the pattern contains + uppercase letters. -j_n or --jump-target=_n - Specifies a line on the screen where the "target" - line is to be positioned. A target line is the - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 11 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - object of a text search, tag search, jump to a line - number, jump to a file percentage, or jump to a - marked position. The screen line is specified by a - number: the top line on the screen is 1, the next - is 2, and so on. The number may be negative to - specify a line relative to the bottom of the - screen: the bottom line on the screen is -1, the - second to the bottom is -2, and so on. If the -j - option is used, searches begin at the line immedi - ately after the target line. For example, if "-j4" - is used, the target line is the fourth line on the - screen, so searches begin at the fifth line on the - screen. + Specifies a line on the screen where the "target" line is to be + positioned. A target line is the object of a text search, tag + search, jump to a line number, jump to a file percentage, or + jump to a marked position. The screen line is specified by a + number: the top line on the screen is 1, the next is 2, and so + on. The number may be negative to specify a line relative to + the bottom of the screen: the bottom line on the screen is -1, + the second to the bottom is -2, and so on. If the -j option is + used, searches begin at the line immediately after the target + line. For example, if "-j4" is used, the target line is the + fourth line on the screen, so searches begin at the fifth line + on the screen. -J or --status-column - Displays a status column at the left edge of the - screen. The status column shows the lines that - matched the current search. The status column is - also used if the -w or -W option is in effect. + Displays a status column at the left edge of the screen. The + status column shows the lines that matched the current search. + The status column is also used if the -w or -W option is in + effect. -k_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e or --lesskey-file=_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e - Causes _l_e_s_s to open and interpret the named file as - a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y (1) file. Multiple -k options may be - specified. If the LESSKEY or LESSKEY_SYSTEM envi - ronment variable is set, or if a lesskey file is - found in a standard place (see KEY BINDINGS), it is - also used as a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y file. + Causes _l_e_s_s to open and interpret the named file as a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y + (1) file. Multiple -k options may be specified. If the LESSKEY + or LESSKEY_SYSTEM environment variable is set, or if a lesskey + file is found in a standard place (see KEY BINDINGS), it is also + used as a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y file. + + -K or --quit-on-intr + Causes _l_e_s_s to exit immediately when an interrupt character + (usually ^C) is typed. Normally, an interrupt character causes + _l_e_s_s to stop whatever it is doing and return to its command + prompt. -L or --no-lessopen - Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable (see the - INPUT PREPROCESSOR section below). This option can - be set from within _l_e_s_s, but it will apply only to - files opened subsequently, not to the file which is - currently open. + Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable (see the INPUT PREPRO- + CESSOR section below). This option can be set from within _l_e_s_s, + but it will apply only to files opened subsequently, not to the + file which is currently open. -m or --long-prompt - Causes _l_e_s_s to prompt verbosely (like _m_o_r_e), with - the percent into the file. By default, _l_e_s_s - prompts with a colon. + Causes _l_e_s_s to prompt verbosely (like _m_o_r_e), with the percent + into the file. By default, _l_e_s_s prompts with a colon. -M or --LONG-PROMPT - Causes _l_e_s_s to prompt even more verbosely than - _m_o_r_e_. + Causes _l_e_s_s to prompt even more verbosely than _m_o_r_e_. -n or --line-numbers - Suppresses line numbers. The default (to use line - numbers) may cause _l_e_s_s to run more slowly in some - cases, especially with a very large input file. - Suppressing line numbers with the -n option will - avoid this problem. Using line numbers means: the - line number will be displayed in the verbose prompt - and in the = command, and the v command will pass - the current line number to the editor (see also the - discussion of LESSEDIT in PROMPTS below). - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 12 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + Suppresses line numbers. The default (to use line numbers) may + cause _l_e_s_s to run more slowly in some cases, especially with a + very large input file. Suppressing line numbers with the -n + option will avoid this problem. Using line numbers means: the + line number will be displayed in the verbose prompt and in the = + command, and the v command will pass the current line number to + the editor (see also the discussion of LESSEDIT in PROMPTS + below). -N or --LINE-NUMBERS - Causes a line number to be displayed at the begin - ning of each line in the display. + Causes a line number to be displayed at the beginning of each + line in the display. -o_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e or --log-file=_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e - Causes _l_e_s_s to copy its input to the named file as - it is being viewed. This applies only when the - input file is a pipe, not an ordinary file. If the - file already exists, _l_e_s_s will ask for confirmation - before overwriting it. + Causes _l_e_s_s to copy its input to the named file as it is being + viewed. This applies only when the input file is a pipe, not an + ordinary file. If the file already exists, _l_e_s_s will ask for + confirmation before overwriting it. -O_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e or --LOG-FILE=_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e - The -O option is like -o, but it will overwrite an - existing file without asking for confirmation. + The -O option is like -o, but it will overwrite an existing file + without asking for confirmation. - If no log file has been specified, the -o and -O - options can be used from within _l_e_s_s to specify a - log file. Without a file name, they will simply - report the name of the log file. The "s" command - is equivalent to specifying -o from within _l_e_s_s_. + If no log file has been specified, the -o and -O options can be + used from within _l_e_s_s to specify a log file. Without a file + name, they will simply report the name of the log file. The "s" + command is equivalent to specifying -o from within _l_e_s_s_. -p_p_a_t_t_e_r_n or --pattern=_p_a_t_t_e_r_n - The -p option on the command line is equivalent to - specifying +/_p_a_t_t_e_r_n; that is, it tells _l_e_s_s to - start at the first occurrence of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n in the - file. + The -p option on the command line is equivalent to specifying + +/_p_a_t_t_e_r_n; that is, it tells _l_e_s_s to start at the first occur- + rence of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n in the file. -P_p_r_o_m_p_t or --prompt=_p_r_o_m_p_t - Provides a way to tailor the three prompt styles to - your own preference. This option would normally be - put in the LESS environment variable, rather than - being typed in with each _l_e_s_s command. Such an - option must either be the last option in the LESS - variable, or be terminated by a dollar sign. -Ps - followed by a string changes the default (short) - prompt to that string. -Pm changes the medium (-m) - prompt. -PM changes the long (-M) prompt. -Ph - changes the prompt for the help screen. -P= - changes the message printed by the = command. -Pw - changes the message printed while waiting for data - (in the F command). All prompt strings consist of - a sequence of letters and special escape sequences. - See the section on PROMPTS for more details. + Provides a way to tailor the three prompt styles to your own + preference. This option would normally be put in the LESS envi- + ronment variable, rather than being typed in with each _l_e_s_s com- + mand. Such an option must either be the last option in the LESS + variable, or be terminated by a dollar sign. -Ps followed by a + string changes the default (short) prompt to that string. -Pm + changes the medium (-m) prompt. -PM changes the long (-M) + prompt. -Ph changes the prompt for the help screen. -P= + changes the message printed by the = command. -Pw changes the + message printed while waiting for data (in the F command). All + prompt strings consist of a sequence of letters and special + escape sequences. See the section on PROMPTS for more details. -q or --quiet or --silent - Causes moderately "quiet" operation: the terminal - bell is not rung if an attempt is made to scroll - past the end of the file or before the beginning of - the file. If the terminal has a "visual bell", it - is used instead. The bell will be rung on certain - other errors, such as typing an invalid character. - The default is to ring the terminal bell in all - such cases. - - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 13 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + Causes moderately "quiet" operation: the terminal bell is not + rung if an attempt is made to scroll past the end of the file or + before the beginning of the file. If the terminal has a "visual + bell", it is used instead. The bell will be rung on certain + other errors, such as typing an invalid character. The default + is to ring the terminal bell in all such cases. -Q or --QUIET or --SILENT - Causes totally "quiet" operation: the terminal bell - is never rung. + Causes totally "quiet" operation: the terminal bell is never + rung. -r or --raw-control-chars - Causes "raw" control characters to be displayed. - The default is to display control characters using - the caret notation; for example, a control-A (octal - 001) is displayed as "^A". Warning: when the -r - option is used, _l_e_s_s cannot keep track of the - actual appearance of the screen (since this depends - on how the screen responds to each type of control - character). Thus, various display problems may - result, such as long lines being split in the wrong - place. + Causes "raw" control characters to be displayed. The default is + to display control characters using the caret notation; for + example, a control-A (octal 001) is displayed as "^A". Warning: + when the -r option is used, _l_e_s_s cannot keep track of the actual + appearance of the screen (since this depends on how the screen + responds to each type of control character). Thus, various dis- + play problems may result, such as long lines being split in the + wrong place. -R or --RAW-CONTROL-CHARS - Like -r, but tries to keep track of the screen - appearance where possible. This works only if the - input consists of normal text and possibly some - ANSI "color" escape sequences, which are sequences - of the form: + Like -r, but only ANSI "color" escape sequences are output in + "raw" form. Unlike -r, the screen appearance is maintained cor- + rectly in most cases. ANSI "color" escape sequences are + sequences of the form: ESC [ ... m - where the "..." is zero or more characters other - than "m". For the purpose of keeping track of - screen appearance, all control characters and all - ANSI color escape sequences are assumed to not move - the cursor. You can make _l_e_s_s think that charac - ters other than "m" can end ANSI color escape - sequences by setting the environment variable - LESSANSIENDCHARS to the list of characters which - can end a color escape sequence. + where the "..." is zero or more color specification characters + For the purpose of keeping track of screen appearance, ANSI + color escape sequences are assumed to not move the cursor. You + can make _l_e_s_s think that characters other than "m" can end ANSI + color escape sequences by setting the environment variable + LESSANSIENDCHARS to the list of characters which can end a color + escape sequence. And you can make _l_e_s_s think that characters + other than the standard ones may appear between the ESC and the + m by setting the environment variable LESSANSIMIDCHARS to the + list of characters which can appear. -s or --squeeze-blank-lines - Causes consecutive blank lines to be squeezed into - a single blank line. This is useful when viewing - _n_r_o_f_f output. + Causes consecutive blank lines to be squeezed into a single + blank line. This is useful when viewing _n_r_o_f_f output. -S or --chop-long-lines - Causes lines longer than the screen width to be - chopped rather than folded. That is, the portion - of a long line that does not fit in the screen - width is not shown. The default is to fold long - lines; that is, display the remainder on the next - line. + Causes lines longer than the screen width to be chopped rather + than folded. That is, the portion of a long line that does not + fit in the screen width is not shown. The default is to fold + long lines; that is, display the remainder on the next line. -t_t_a_g or --tag=_t_a_g - The -t option, followed immediately by a TAG, will - edit the file containing that tag. For this to - work, tag information must be available; for exam - ple, there may be a file in the current directory - called "tags", which was previously built by _c_t_a_g_s - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 14 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - (1) or an equivalent command. If the environment - variable LESSGLOBALTAGS is set, it is taken to be - the name of a command compatible with _g_l_o_b_a_l (1), - and that command is executed to find the tag. (See - http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html). - The -t option may also be specified from within - _l_e_s_s (using the - command) as a way of examining a - new file. The command ":t" is equivalent to speci - fying -t from within _l_e_s_s_. + The -t option, followed immediately by a TAG, will edit the file + containing that tag. For this to work, tag information must be + available; for example, there may be a file in the current + directory called "tags", which was previously built by _c_t_a_g_s (1) + or an equivalent command. If the environment variable LESSGLOB- + ALTAGS is set, it is taken to be the name of a command compati- + ble with _g_l_o_b_a_l (1), and that command is executed to find the + tag. (See http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html). The + -t option may also be specified from within _l_e_s_s (using the - + command) as a way of examining a new file. The command ":t" is + equivalent to specifying -t from within _l_e_s_s_. -T_t_a_g_s_f_i_l_e or --tag-file=_t_a_g_s_f_i_l_e Specifies a tags file to be used instead of "tags". -u or --underline-special - Causes backspaces and carriage returns to be - treated as printable characters; that is, they are - sent to the terminal when they appear in the input. + Causes backspaces and carriage returns to be treated as print- + able characters; that is, they are sent to the terminal when + they appear in the input. -U or --UNDERLINE-SPECIAL - Causes backspaces, tabs and carriage returns to be - treated as control characters; that is, they are - handled as specified by the -r option. - - By default, if neither -u nor -U is given, - backspaces which appear adjacent to an underscore - character are treated specially: the underlined - text is displayed using the terminal's hardware - underlining capability. Also, backspaces which - appear between two identical characters are treated - specially: the overstruck text is printed using the - terminal's hardware boldface capability. Other - backspaces are deleted, along with the preceding - character. Carriage returns immediately followed - by a newline are deleted. other carriage returns - are handled as specified by the -r option. Text - which is overstruck or underlined can be searched - for if neither -u nor -U is in effect. + Causes backspaces, tabs and carriage returns to be treated as + control characters; that is, they are handled as specified by + the -r option. + + By default, if neither -u nor -U is given, backspaces which + appear adjacent to an underscore character are treated spe- + cially: the underlined text is displayed using the terminal's + hardware underlining capability. Also, backspaces which appear + between two identical characters are treated specially: the + overstruck text is printed using the terminal's hardware bold- + face capability. Other backspaces are deleted, along with the + preceding character. Carriage returns immediately followed by a + newline are deleted. other carriage returns are handled as + specified by the -r option. Text which is overstruck or under- + lined can be searched for if neither -u nor -U is in effect. -V or --version Displays the version number of _l_e_s_s_. -w or --hilite-unread - Temporarily highlights the first "new" line after a - forward movement of a full page. The first "new" - line is the line immediately following the line - previously at the bottom of the screen. Also high - lights the target line after a g or p command. The - highlight is removed at the next command which - causes movement. The entire line is highlighted, - unless the -J option is in effect, in which case - only the status column is highlighted. + Temporarily highlights the first "new" line after a forward + movement of a full page. The first "new" line is the line imme- + diately following the line previously at the bottom of the + screen. Also highlights the target line after a g or p command. + The highlight is removed at the next command which causes move- + ment. The entire line is highlighted, unless the -J option is + in effect, in which case only the status column is highlighted. -W or --HILITE-UNREAD - Like -w, but temporarily highlights the first new - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 15 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - line after any forward movement command larger than - one line. + Like -w, but temporarily highlights the first new line after any + forward movement command larger than one line. -x_n,... or --tabs=_n,... - Sets tab stops. If only one _n is specified, tab - stops are set at multiples of _n. If multiple val - ues separated by commas are specified, tab stops - are set at those positions, and then continue with - the same spacing as the last two. For example, - _-_x_9_,_1_7 will set tabs at positions 9, 17, 25, 33, - etc. The default for _n is 8. + Sets tab stops. If only one _n is specified, tab stops are set + at multiples of _n. If multiple values separated by commas are + specified, tab stops are set at those positions, and then con- + tinue with the same spacing as the last two. For example, + _-_x_9_,_1_7 will set tabs at positions 9, 17, 25, 33, etc. The + default for _n is 8. -X or --no-init - Disables sending the termcap initialization and - deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is - sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string - does something unnecessary, like clearing the - screen. + Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization + strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the + deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clear- + ing the screen. --no-keypad - Disables sending the keypad initialization and - deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is - sometimes useful if the keypad strings make the - numeric keypad behave in an undesirable manner. + Disables sending the keypad initialization and deinitialization + strings to the terminal. This is sometimes useful if the keypad + strings make the numeric keypad behave in an undesirable manner. -y_n or --max-forw-scroll=_n - Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll for - ward. If it is necessary to scroll forward more - than _n lines, the screen is repainted instead. The - -c or -C option may be used to repaint from the top - of the screen if desired. By default, any forward + Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll forward. If it is + necessary to scroll forward more than _n lines, the screen is + repainted instead. The -c or -C option may be used to repaint + from the top of the screen if desired. By default, any forward movement causes scrolling. -[z]_n or --window=_n - Changes the default scrolling window size to _n - lines. The default is one screenful. The z and w - commands can also be used to change the window - size. The "z" may be omitted for compatibility - with _m_o_r_e_. If the number _n is negative, it indi - cates _n lines less than the current screen size. - For example, if the screen is 24 lines, _-_z_-_4 sets - the scrolling window to 20 lines. If the screen is - resized to 40 lines, the scrolling window automati - cally changes to 36 lines. + Changes the default scrolling window size to _n lines. The + default is one screenful. The z and w commands can also be used + to change the window size. The "z" may be omitted for compati- + bility with _m_o_r_e_. If the number _n is negative, it indicates _n + lines less than the current screen size. For example, if the + screen is 24 lines, _-_z_-_4 sets the scrolling window to 20 lines. + If the screen is resized to 40 lines, the scrolling window auto- + matically changes to 36 lines. -_"_c_c or --quotes=_c_c - Changes the filename quoting character. This may - be necessary if you are trying to name a file which - contains both spaces and quote characters. Fol - lowed by a single character, this changes the quote - character to that character. Filenames containing - a space should then be surrounded by that character - rather than by double quotes. Followed by two - characters, changes the open quote to the first - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 16 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - character, and the close quote to the second char - acter. Filenames containing a space should then be - preceded by the open quote character and followed - by the close quote character. Note that even after - the quote characters are changed, this option - remains -" (a dash followed by a double quote). + Changes the filename quoting character. This may be necessary + if you are trying to name a file which contains both spaces and + quote characters. Followed by a single character, this changes + the quote character to that character. Filenames containing a + space should then be surrounded by that character rather than by + double quotes. Followed by two characters, changes the open + quote to the first character, and the close quote to the second + character. Filenames containing a space should then be preceded + by the open quote character and followed by the close quote + character. Note that even after the quote characters are + changed, this option remains -" (a dash followed by a double + quote). -~ or --tilde - Normally lines after end of file are displayed as a - single tilde (~). This option causes lines after - end of file to be displayed as blank lines. + Normally lines after end of file are displayed as a single tilde + (~). This option causes lines after end of file to be displayed + as blank lines. -# or --shift - Specifies the default number of positions to scroll - horizontally in the RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW com - mands. If the number specified is zero, it sets - the default number of positions to one half of the - screen width. - - -- A command line argument of "--" marks the end of - option arguments. Any arguments following this are - interpreted as filenames. This can be useful when - viewing a file whose name begins with a "-" or "+". - - + If a command line option begins with ++, the remain - der of that option is taken to be an initial com - mand to _l_e_s_s_. For example, +G tells _l_e_s_s to start - at the end of the file rather than the beginning, - and +/xyz tells it to start at the first occurrence - of "xyz" in the file. As a special case, +<number> - acts like +<number>g; that is, it starts the dis - play at the specified line number (however, see the - caveat under the "g" command above). If the option - starts with ++, the initial command applies to - every file being viewed, not just the first one. - The + command described previously may also be used - to set (or change) an initial command for every - file. + Specifies the default number of positions to scroll horizontally + in the RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW commands. If the number speci- + fied is zero, it sets the default number of positions to one + half of the screen width. + + -- A command line argument of "--" marks the end of option argu- + ments. Any arguments following this are interpreted as file- + names. This can be useful when viewing a file whose name begins + with a "-" or "+". + + + If a command line option begins with ++, the remainder of that + option is taken to be an initial command to _l_e_s_s_. For example, + +G tells _l_e_s_s to start at the end of the file rather than the + beginning, and +/xyz tells it to start at the first occurrence + of "xyz" in the file. As a special case, +<number> acts like + +<number>g; that is, it starts the display at the specified line + number (however, see the caveat under the "g" command above). + If the option starts with ++, the initial command applies to + every file being viewed, not just the first one. The + command + described previously may also be used to set (or change) an ini- + tial command for every file. LLIINNEE EEDDIITTIINNGG - When entering command line at the bottom of the screen - (for example, a filename for the :e command, or the pat - tern for a search command), certain keys can be used to - manipulate the command line. Most commands have an alter - nate form in [ brackets ] which can be used if a key does - not exist on a particular keyboard. (The bracketed forms - do not work in the MS-DOS version.) Any of these special - keys may be entered literally by preceding it with the - "literal" character, either ^V or ^A. A backslash itself - may also be entered literally by entering two backslashes. + When entering command line at the bottom of the screen (for example, a + filename for the :e command, or the pattern for a search command), + certain keys can be used to manipulate the command line. Most commands + have an alternate form in [ brackets ] which can be used if a key does + not exist on a particular keyboard. (The bracketed forms do not work + in the MS-DOS version.) Any of these special keys may be entered lit- + erally by preceding it with the "literal" character, either ^V or ^A. + A backslash itself may also be entered literally by entering two back- + slashes. LEFTARROW [ ESC-h ] Move the cursor one space to the left. - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 17 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - RIGHTARROW [ ESC-l ] Move the cursor one space to the right. ^LEFTARROW [ ESC-b or ESC-LEFTARROW ] - (That is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.) - Move the cursor one word to the left. + (That is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.) Move the cur- + sor one word to the left. ^RIGHTARROW [ ESC-w or ESC-RIGHTARROW ] - (That is, CONTROL and RIGHTARROW simultaneously.) - Move the cursor one word to the right. + (That is, CONTROL and RIGHTARROW simultaneously.) Move the cur- + sor one word to the right. HOME [ ESC-0 ] Move the cursor to the beginning of the line. @@ -1144,19 +839,19 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) Move the cursor to the end of the line. BACKSPACE - Delete the character to the left of the cursor, or - cancel the command if the command line is empty. + Delete the character to the left of the cursor, or cancel the + command if the command line is empty. DELETE or [ ESC-x ] Delete the character under the cursor. ^BACKSPACE [ ESC-BACKSPACE ] - (That is, CONTROL and BACKSPACE simultaneously.) - Delete the word to the left of the cursor. + (That is, CONTROL and BACKSPACE simultaneously.) Delete the + word to the left of the cursor. ^DELETE [ ESC-X or ESC-DELETE ] - (That is, CONTROL and DELETE simultaneously.) - Delete the word under the cursor. + (That is, CONTROL and DELETE simultaneously.) Delete the word + under the cursor. UPARROW [ ESC-k ] Retrieve the previous command line. @@ -1164,143 +859,102 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) DOWNARROW [ ESC-j ] Retrieve the next command line. - TAB Complete the partial filename to the left of the - cursor. If it matches more than one filename, the - first match is entered into the command line. - Repeated TABs will cycle thru the other matching - filenames. If the completed filename is a direc - tory, a "/" is appended to the filename. (On MS- - DOS systems, a "\" is appended.) The environment - variable LESSSEPARATOR can be used to specify a - different character to append to a directory name. + TAB Complete the partial filename to the left of the cursor. If it + matches more than one filename, the first match is entered into + the command line. Repeated TABs will cycle thru the other + matching filenames. If the completed filename is a directory, a + "/" is appended to the filename. (On MS-DOS systems, a "\" is + appended.) The environment variable LESSSEPARATOR can be used + to specify a different character to append to a directory name. BACKTAB [ ESC-TAB ] - Like, TAB, but cycles in the reverse direction thru - the matching filenames. - - ^L Complete the partial filename to the left of the - cursor. If it matches more than one filename, all + Like, TAB, but cycles in the reverse direction thru the matching + filenames. - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 18 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - matches are entered into the command line (if they - fit). + ^L Complete the partial filename to the left of the cursor. If it + matches more than one filename, all matches are entered into the + command line (if they fit). ^U (Unix and OS/2) or ESC (MS-DOS) - Delete the entire command line, or cancel the com - mand if the command line is empty. If you have - changed your line-kill character in Unix to some - thing other than ^U, that character is used instead - of ^U. + Delete the entire command line, or cancel the command if the + command line is empty. If you have changed your line-kill char- + acter in Unix to something other than ^U, that character is used + instead of ^U. KKEEYY BBIINNDDIINNGGSS - You may define your own _l_e_s_s commands by using the program - _l_e_s_s_k_e_y (1) to create a lesskey file. This file specifies - a set of command keys and an action associated with each - key. You may also use _l_e_s_s_k_e_y to change the line-editing - keys (see LINE EDITING), and to set environment variables. - If the environment variable LESSKEY is set, _l_e_s_s uses that - as the name of the lesskey file. Otherwise, _l_e_s_s looks in - a standard place for the lesskey file: On Unix systems, - _l_e_s_s looks for a lesskey file called "$HOME/.less". On - MS-DOS and Windows systems, _l_e_s_s looks for a lesskey file - called "$HOME/_less", and if it is not found there, then - looks for a lesskey file called "_less" in any directory - specified in the PATH environment variable. On OS/2 sys - tems, _l_e_s_s looks for a lesskey file called - "$HOME/less.ini", and if it is not found, then looks for a - lesskey file called "less.ini" in any directory specified - in the INIT environment variable, and if it not found - there, then looks for a lesskey file called "less.ini" in - any directory specified in the PATH environment variable. - See the _l_e_s_s_k_e_y manual page for more details. - - A system-wide lesskey file may also be set up to provide - key bindings. If a key is defined in both a local lesskey - file and in the system-wide file, key bindings in the - local file take precedence over those in the system-wide - file. If the environment variable LESSKEY_SYSTEM is set, - _l_e_s_s uses that as the name of the system-wide lesskey - file. Otherwise, _l_e_s_s looks in a standard place for the - system-wide lesskey file: On Unix systems, the system-wide - lesskey file is /usr/local/etc/sysless. (However, if _l_e_s_s - was built with a different sysconf directory than - /usr/local/etc, that directory is where the sysless file - is found.) On MS-DOS and Windows systems, the system-wide - lesskey file is c:\_sysless. On OS/2 systems, the system- - wide lesskey file is c:\sysless.ini. - - -IINNPPUUTT PPRREEPPRROOCCEESSSSOORR - You may define an "input preprocessor" for _l_e_s_s_. Before - _l_e_s_s opens a file, it first gives your input preprocessor - a chance to modify the way the contents of the file are - displayed. An input preprocessor is simply an executable - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 19 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) + You may define your own _l_e_s_s commands by using the program _l_e_s_s_k_e_y (1) + to create a lesskey file. This file specifies a set of command keys + and an action associated with each key. You may also use _l_e_s_s_k_e_y to + change the line-editing keys (see LINE EDITING), and to set environment + variables. If the environment variable LESSKEY is set, _l_e_s_s uses that + as the name of the lesskey file. Otherwise, _l_e_s_s looks in a standard + place for the lesskey file: On Unix systems, _l_e_s_s looks for a lesskey + file called "$HOME/.less". On MS-DOS and Windows systems, _l_e_s_s looks + for a lesskey file called "$HOME/_less", and if it is not found there, + then looks for a lesskey file called "_less" in any directory specified + in the PATH environment variable. On OS/2 systems, _l_e_s_s looks for a + lesskey file called "$HOME/less.ini", and if it is not found, then + looks for a lesskey file called "less.ini" in any directory specified + in the INIT environment variable, and if it not found there, then looks + for a lesskey file called "less.ini" in any directory specified in the + PATH environment variable. See the _l_e_s_s_k_e_y manual page for more + details. + A system-wide lesskey file may also be set up to provide key bindings. + If a key is defined in both a local lesskey file and in the system-wide + file, key bindings in the local file take precedence over those in the + system-wide file. If the environment variable LESSKEY_SYSTEM is set, + _l_e_s_s uses that as the name of the system-wide lesskey file. Otherwise, + _l_e_s_s looks in a standard place for the system-wide lesskey file: On + Unix systems, the system-wide lesskey file is /usr/local/etc/sysless. + (However, if _l_e_s_s was built with a different sysconf directory than + /usr/local/etc, that directory is where the sysless file is found.) On + MS-DOS and Windows systems, the system-wide lesskey file is c:\_sys- + less. On OS/2 systems, the system-wide lesskey file is c:\sysless.ini. - program (or shell script), which writes the contents of - the file to a different file, called the replacement file. - The contents of the replacement file are then displayed in - place of the contents of the original file. However, it - will appear to the user as if the original file is opened; - that is, _l_e_s_s will display the original filename as the - name of the current file. - An input preprocessor receives one command line argument, - the original filename, as entered by the user. It should - create the replacement file, and when finished, print the - name of the replacement file to its standard output. If - the input preprocessor does not output a replacement file - name, _l_e_s_s uses the original file, as normal. The input - preprocessor is not called when viewing standard input. - To set up an input preprocessor, set the LESSOPEN environ - ment variable to a command line which will invoke your - input preprocessor. This command line should include one - occurrence of the string "%s", which will be replaced by - the filename when the input preprocessor command is +IINNPPUUTT PPRREEPPRROOCCEESSSSOORR + You may define an "input preprocessor" for _l_e_s_s_. Before _l_e_s_s opens a + file, it first gives your input preprocessor a chance to modify the way + the contents of the file are displayed. An input preprocessor is sim- + ply an executable program (or shell script), which writes the contents + of the file to a different file, called the replacement file. The con- + tents of the replacement file are then displayed in place of the con- + tents of the original file. However, it will appear to the user as if + the original file is opened; that is, _l_e_s_s will display the original + filename as the name of the current file. + + An input preprocessor receives one command line argument, the original + filename, as entered by the user. It should create the replacement + file, and when finished, print the name of the replacement file to its + standard output. If the input preprocessor does not output a replace- + ment filename, _l_e_s_s uses the original file, as normal. The input pre- + processor is not called when viewing standard input. To set up an + input preprocessor, set the LESSOPEN environment variable to a command + line which will invoke your input preprocessor. This command line + should include one occurrence of the string "%s", which will be + replaced by the filename when the input preprocessor command is invoked. - When _l_e_s_s closes a file opened in such a way, it will call - another program, called the input postprocessor, which may - perform any desired clean-up action (such as deleting the - replacement file created by LESSOPEN). This program - receives two command line arguments, the original filename - as entered by the user, and the name of the replacement - file. To set up an input postprocessor, set the LESSCLOSE - environment variable to a command line which will invoke - your input postprocessor. It may include two occurrences - of the string "%s"; the first is replaced with the origi - nal name of the file and the second with the name of the - replacement file, which was output by LESSOPEN. - - For example, on many Unix systems, these two scripts will - allow you to keep files in compressed format, but still - let _l_e_s_s view them directly: + When _l_e_s_s closes a file opened in such a way, it will call another pro- + gram, called the input postprocessor, which may perform any desired + clean-up action (such as deleting the replacement file created by + LESSOPEN). This program receives two command line arguments, the orig- + inal filename as entered by the user, and the name of the replacement + file. To set up an input postprocessor, set the LESSCLOSE environment + variable to a command line which will invoke your input postprocessor. + It may include two occurrences of the string "%s"; the first is + replaced with the original name of the file and the second with the + name of the replacement file, which was output by LESSOPEN. + + For example, on many Unix systems, these two scripts will allow you to + keep files in compressed format, but still let _l_e_s_s view them directly: lessopen.sh: #! /bin/sh case "$1" in - *.Z) uncompress -c $1 >/tmp/less.$$ 2>/dev/null + *.Z) uncompress - if [ -s /tmp/less.$$ ]; then echo /tmp/less.$$ else @@ -1313,40 +967,26 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) #! /bin/sh rm $2 - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 20 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - To use these scripts, put them both where they can be exe - cuted and set LESSOPEN="lessopen.sh %s", and - LESSCLOSE="lessclose.sh %s %s". More complex LESSOPEN and - LESSCLOSE scripts may be written to accept other types of - compressed files, and so on. - - It is also possible to set up an input preprocessor to - pipe the file data directly to _l_e_s_s_, rather than putting - the data into a replacement file. This avoids the need to - decompress the entire file before starting to view it. An - input preprocessor that works this way is called an input - pipe. An input pipe, instead of writing the name of a - replacement file on its standard output, writes the entire - contents of the replacement file on its standard output. - If the input pipe does not write any characters on its - standard output, then there is no replacement file and - _l_e_s_s uses the original file, as normal. To use an input - pipe, make the first character in the LESSOPEN environment - variable a vertical bar (|) to signify that the input pre - processor is an input pipe. - - For example, on many Unix systems, this script will work - like the previous example scripts: + To use these scripts, put them both where they can be executed and set + LESSOPEN="lessopen.sh %s", and LESSCLOSE="lessclose.sh %s %s". More + complex LESSOPEN and LESSCLOSE scripts may be written to accept other + types of compressed files, and so on. + + It is also possible to set up an input preprocessor to pipe the file + data directly to _l_e_s_s_, rather than putting the data into a replacement + file. This avoids the need to decompress the entire file before start- + ing to view it. An input preprocessor that works this way is called an + input pipe. An input pipe, instead of writing the name of a replace- + ment file on its standard output, writes the entire contents of the + replacement file on its standard output. If the input pipe does not + write any characters on its standard output, then there is no replace- + ment file and _l_e_s_s uses the original file, as normal. To use an input + pipe, make the first character in the LESSOPEN environment variable a + vertical bar (|) to signify that the input preprocessor is an input + pipe. + + For example, on many Unix systems, this script will work like the pre- + vious example scripts: lesspipe.sh: #! /bin/sh @@ -1355,12 +995,11 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) ;; esac - To use this script, put it where it can be executed and - set LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s". When an input pipe is - used, a LESSCLOSE postprocessor can be used, but it is - usually not necessary since there is no replacement file - to clean up. In this case, the replacement file name - passed to the LESSCLOSE postprocessor is "-". + To use this script, put it where it can be executed and set + LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s". When an input pipe is used, a LESSCLOSE + postprocessor can be used, but it is usually not necessary since there + is no replacement file to clean up. In this case, the replacement file + name passed to the LESSCLOSE postprocessor is "-". NNAATTIIOONNAALL CCHHAARRAACCTTEERR SSEETTSS @@ -1370,39 +1009,26 @@ NNAATTIIOONNAALL CCHHAARRAACCTTEERR SSEETTSS can be displayed directly to the screen. control characters - should not be displayed directly, but are expected - to be found in ordinary text files (such as - backspace and tab). + should not be displayed directly, but are expected to be found + in ordinary text files (such as backspace and tab). binary characters - should not be displayed directly and are not - expected to be found in text files. + should not be displayed directly and are not expected to be + found in text files. + A "character set" is simply a description of which characters are to be + considered normal, control, and binary. The LESSCHARSET environment + variable may be used to select a character set. Possible values for + LESSCHARSET are: - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 21 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - A "character set" is simply a description of which charac - ters are to be considered normal, control, and binary. - The LESSCHARSET environment variable may be used to select - a character set. Possible values for LESSCHARSET are: - - ascii BS, TAB, NL, CR, and formfeed are control charac - ters, all chars with values between 32 and 126 are - normal, and all others are binary. + ascii BS, TAB, NL, CR, and formfeed are control characters, all chars + with values between 32 and 126 are normal, and all others are + binary. iso8859 - Selects an ISO 8859 character set. This is the - same as ASCII, except characters between 160 and - 255 are treated as normal characters. + Selects an ISO 8859 character set. This is the same as ASCII, + except characters between 160 and 255 are treated as normal + characters. latin1 Same as iso8859. @@ -1413,48 +1039,36 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) ebcdic Selects an EBCDIC character set. IBM-1047 - Selects an EBCDIC character set used by OS/390 Unix - Services. This is the EBCDIC analogue of latin1. - You get similar results by setting either LESS - CHARSET=IBM-1047 or LC_CTYPE=en_US in your environ - ment. + Selects an EBCDIC character set used by OS/390 Unix Services. + This is the EBCDIC analogue of latin1. You get similar results + by setting either LESSCHARSET=IBM-1047 or LC_CTYPE=en_US in your + environment. koi8-r Selects a Russian character set. - next Selects a character set appropriate for NeXT com - puters. + next Selects a character set appropriate for NeXT computers. - utf-8 Selects the UTF-8 encoding of the ISO 10646 charac - ter set. + utf-8 Selects the UTF-8 encoding of the ISO 10646 character set. - In special cases, it may be desired to tailor _l_e_s_s to use - a character set other than the ones definable by LESS - CHARSET. In this case, the environment variable LESS - CHARDEF can be used to define a character set. It should - be set to a string where each character in the string rep - resents one character in the character set. The character - "." is used for a normal character, "c" for control, and - "b" for binary. A decimal number may be used for repeti - tion. For example, "bccc4b." would mean character 0 is - binary, 1, 2 and 3 are control, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are binary, - and 8 is normal. All characters after the last are taken - to be the same as the last, so characters 9 through 255 - would be normal. (This is an example, and does not neces - sarily represent any real character set.) + windows + Selects a character set appropriate for Microsoft Windows (cp + 1251). - This table shows the value of LESSCHARDEF which is equiva - lent to each of the possible values for LESSCHARSET: - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 22 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) + In special cases, it may be desired to tailor _l_e_s_s to use a character + set other than the ones definable by LESSCHARSET. In this case, the + environment variable LESSCHARDEF can be used to define a character set. + It should be set to a string where each character in the string repre- + sents one character in the character set. The character "." is used + for a normal character, "c" for control, and "b" for binary. A decimal + number may be used for repetition. For example, "bccc4b." would mean + character 0 is binary, 1, 2 and 3 are control, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are + binary, and 8 is normal. All characters after the last are taken to be + the same as the last, so characters 9 through 255 would be normal. + (This is an example, and does not necessarily represent any real char- + acter set.) + This table shows the value of LESSCHARDEF which is equivalent to each + of the possible values for LESSCHARSET: ascii 8bcccbcc18b95.b dos 8bcccbcc12bc5b95.b. @@ -1467,237 +1081,188 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) latin1 8bcccbcc18b95.33b. next 8bcccbcc18b95.bb125.bb - If neither LESSCHARSET nor LESSCHARDEF is set, but the - string "UTF-8" is found in the LC_ALL, LC_TYPE or LANG - environment variables, then the default character set is - utf-8. - - If that string is not found, but your system supports the - _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e interface, _l_e_s_s will use setlocale to determine - the character set. setlocale is controlled by setting the - LANG or LC_CTYPE environment variables. - - Finally, if the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e interface is also not available, - the default character set is latin1. - - Control and binary characters are displayed in standout - (reverse video). Each such character is displayed in - caret notation if possible (e.g. ^A for control-A). Caret - notation is used only if inverting the 0100 bit results in - a normal printable character. Otherwise, the character is - displayed as a hex number in angle brackets. This format - can be changed by setting the LESSBINFMT environment vari - able. LESSBINFMT may begin with a "*" and one character - to select the display attribute: "*k" is blinking, "*d" is - bold, "*u" is underlined, "*s" is standout, and "*n" is - normal. If LESSBINFMT does not begin with a "*", normal - attribute is assumed. The remainder of LESSBINFMT is a - string which may include one printf-style escape sequence - (a % followed by x, X, o, d, etc.). For example, if LESS - BINFMT is "*u[%x]", binary characters are displayed in - underlined hexadecimal surrounded by brackets. The - default if no LESSBINFMT is specified is "*s<%X>". + If neither LESSCHARSET nor LESSCHARDEF is set, but any of the strings + "UTF-8", "UTF8", "utf-8" or "utf8" is found in the LC_ALL, LC_TYPE or + LANG environment variables, then the default character set is utf-8. + + If that string is not found, but your system supports the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e + interface, _l_e_s_s will use setlocale to determine the character set. + setlocale is controlled by setting the LANG or LC_CTYPE environment + variables. + + Finally, if the _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e interface is also not available, the default + character set is latin1. + + Control and binary characters are displayed in standout (reverse + video). Each such character is displayed in caret notation if possible + (e.g. ^A for control-A). Caret notation is used only if inverting the + 0100 bit results in a normal printable character. Otherwise, the char- + acter is displayed as a hex number in angle brackets. This format can + be changed by setting the LESSBINFMT environment variable. LESSBINFMT + may begin with a "*" and one character to select the display attribute: + "*k" is blinking, "*d" is bold, "*u" is underlined, "*s" is standout, + and "*n" is normal. If LESSBINFMT does not begin with a "*", normal + attribute is assumed. The remainder of LESSBINFMT is a string which + may include one printf-style escape sequence (a % followed by x, X, o, + d, etc.). For example, if LESSBINFMT is "*u[%x]", binary characters + are displayed in underlined hexadecimal surrounded by brackets. The + default if no LESSBINFMT is specified is "*s<%X>". The default if no + LESSBINFMT is specified is "*s<%02X>". Warning: the result of expand- + ing the character via LESSBINFMT must be less than 31 characters. + + When the character set is utf-8, the LESSUTFBINFMT environment variable + acts similarly to LESSBINFMT but it applies to Unicode code points that + were successfully decoded but are unsuitable for display (e.g., unas- + signed code points). Its default value is "<U+%04lX>". Note that + LESSUTFBINFMT and LESSBINFMT share their display attribute setting + ("*x") so specifying one will affect both; LESSUTFBINFMT is read after + LESSBINFMT so its setting, if any, will have priority. Problematic + octets in a UTF-8 file (octets of a truncated sequence, octets of a + complete but non-shortest form sequence, illegal octets, and stray + trailing octets) are displayed individually using LESSBINFMT so as to + facilitate diagnostic of how the UTF-8 file is ill-formed. PPRROOMMPPTTSS - The -P option allows you to tailor the prompt to your - preference. The string given to the -P option replaces - the specified prompt string. Certain characters in the - string are interpreted specially. The prompt mechanism is - rather complicated to provide flexibility, but the ordi - nary user need not understand the details of constructing - personalized prompt strings. - - A percent sign followed by a single character is expanded - according to what the following character is: - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 23 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - %b_X Replaced by the byte offset into the current input - file. The b is followed by a single character - (shown as _X above) which specifies the line whose - byte offset is to be used. If the character is a - "t", the byte offset of the top line in the display - is used, an "m" means use the middle line, a "b" - means use the bottom line, a "B" means use the line - just after the bottom line, and a "j" means use the - "target" line, as specified by the -j option. + The -P option allows you to tailor the prompt to your preference. The + string given to the -P option replaces the specified prompt string. + Certain characters in the string are interpreted specially. The prompt + mechanism is rather complicated to provide flexibility, but the ordi- + nary user need not understand the details of constructing personalized + prompt strings. + + A percent sign followed by a single character is expanded according to + what the following character is: + + %b_X Replaced by the byte offset into the current input file. The b + is followed by a single character (shown as _X above) which spec- + ifies the line whose byte offset is to be used. If the charac- + ter is a "t", the byte offset of the top line in the display is + used, an "m" means use the middle line, a "b" means use the bot- + tom line, a "B" means use the line just after the bottom line, + and a "j" means use the "target" line, as specified by the -j + option. %B Replaced by the size of the current input file. - %c Replaced by the column number of the text appearing - in the first column of the screen. + %c Replaced by the column number of the text appearing in the first + column of the screen. - %d_X Replaced by the page number of a line in the input - file. The line to be used is determined by the _X, - as with the %b option. + %d_X Replaced by the page number of a line in the input file. The + line to be used is determined by the _X, as with the %b option. - %D Replaced by the number of pages in the input file, - or equivalently, the page number of the last line - in the input file. + %D Replaced by the number of pages in the input file, or equiva- + lently, the page number of the last line in the input file. - %E Replaced by the name of the editor (from the VISUAL - environment variable, or the EDITOR environment - variable if VISUAL is not defined). See the dis - cussion of the LESSEDIT feature below. + %E Replaced by the name of the editor (from the VISUAL environment + variable, or the EDITOR environment variable if VISUAL is not + defined). See the discussion of the LESSEDIT feature below. %f Replaced by the name of the current input file. - %i Replaced by the index of the current file in the - list of input files. + %i Replaced by the index of the current file in the list of input + files. - %l_X Replaced by the line number of a line in the input - file. The line to be used is determined by the _X, - as with the %b option. + %l_X Replaced by the line number of a line in the input file. The + line to be used is determined by the _X, as with the %b option. - %L Replaced by the line number of the last line in the - input file. + %L Replaced by the line number of the last line in the input file. %m Replaced by the total number of input files. - %p_X Replaced by the percent into the current input - file, based on byte offsets. The line used is - determined by the _X as with the %b option. + %p_X Replaced by the percent into the current input file, based on + byte offsets. The line used is determined by the _X as with the + %b option. - %P_X Replaced by the percent into the current input - file, based on line numbers. The line used is - determined by the _X as with the %b option. + %P_X Replaced by the percent into the current input file, based on + line numbers. The line used is determined by the _X as with the + %b option. %s Same as %B. - %t Causes any trailing spaces to be removed. Usually - used at the end of the string, but may appear - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 24 + %t Causes any trailing spaces to be removed. Usually used at the + end of the string, but may appear anywhere. + %x Replaced by the name of the next input file in the list. + If any item is unknown (for example, the file size if input is a pipe), + a question mark is printed instead. + The format of the prompt string can be changed depending on certain + conditions. A question mark followed by a single character acts like + an "IF": depending on the following character, a condition is evalu- + ated. If the condition is true, any characters following the question + mark and condition character, up to a period, are included in the + prompt. If the condition is false, such characters are not included. + A colon appearing between the question mark and the period can be used + to establish an "ELSE": any characters between the colon and the period + are included in the string if and only if the IF condition is false. + Condition characters (which follow a question mark) may be: + ?a True if any characters have been included in the prompt so far. -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - anywhere. - - %x Replaced by the name of the next input file in the - list. - - If any item is unknown (for example, the file size if - input is a pipe), a question mark is printed instead. - - The format of the prompt string can be changed depending - on certain conditions. A question mark followed by a sin - gle character acts like an "IF": depending on the follow - ing character, a condition is evaluated. If the condition - is true, any characters following the question mark and - condition character, up to a period, are included in the - prompt. If the condition is false, such characters are - not included. A colon appearing between the question mark - and the period can be used to establish an "ELSE": any - characters between the colon and the period are included - in the string if and only if the IF condition is false. - Condition characters (which follow a question mark) may - be: - - ?a True if any characters have been included in the - prompt so far. - - ?b_X True if the byte offset of the specified line is - known. + ?b_X True if the byte offset of the specified line is known. ?B True if the size of current input file is known. - ?c True if the text is horizontally shifted (%c is not - zero). + ?c True if the text is horizontally shifted (%c is not zero). - ?d_X True if the page number of the specified line is - known. + ?d_X True if the page number of the specified line is known. ?e True if at end-of-file. - ?f True if there is an input filename (that is, if - input is not a pipe). + ?f True if there is an input filename (that is, if input is not a + pipe). - ?l_X True if the line number of the specified line is - known. + ?l_X True if the line number of the specified line is known. - ?L True if the line number of the last line in the - file is known. + ?L True if the line number of the last line in the file is known. ?m True if there is more than one input file. - ?n True if this is the first prompt in a new input - file. - - ?p_X True if the percent into the current input file, - based on byte offsets, of the specified line is - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 25 + ?n True if this is the first prompt in a new input file. + ?p_X True if the percent into the current input file, based on byte + offsets, of the specified line is known. - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - - known. - - ?P_X True if the percent into the current input file, - based on line numbers, of the specified line is - known. + ?P_X True if the percent into the current input file, based on line + numbers, of the specified line is known. ?s Same as "?B". - ?x True if there is a next input file (that is, if the - current input file is not the last one). + ?x True if there is a next input file (that is, if the current + input file is not the last one). - Any characters other than the special ones (question mark, - colon, period, percent, and backslash) become literally - part of the prompt. Any of the special characters may be - included in the prompt literally by preceding it with a - backslash. + Any characters other than the special ones (question mark, colon, + period, percent, and backslash) become literally part of the prompt. + Any of the special characters may be included in the prompt literally + by preceding it with a backslash. Some examples: ?f%f:Standard input. - This prompt prints the filename, if known; otherwise the - string "Standard input". + This prompt prints the filename, if known; otherwise the string "Stan- + dard input". ?f%f .?ltLine %lt:?pt%pt\%:?btByte %bt:-... - This prompt would print the filename, if known. The file - name is followed by the line number, if known, otherwise - the percent if known, otherwise the byte offset if known. - Otherwise, a dash is printed. Notice how each question - mark has a matching period, and how the % after the %pt is - included literally by escaping it with a backslash. + This prompt would print the filename, if known. The filename is fol- + lowed by the line number, if known, otherwise the percent if known, + otherwise the byte offset if known. Otherwise, a dash is printed. + Notice how each question mark has a matching period, and how the % + after the %pt is included literally by escaping it with a backslash. ?n?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x..%t - This prints the filename if this is the first prompt in a - file, followed by the "file N of N" message if there is - more than one input file. Then, if we are at end-of-file, - the string "(END)" is printed followed by the name of the - next file, if there is one. Finally, any trailing spaces - are truncated. This is the default prompt. For refer - ence, here are the defaults for the other two prompts (-m - and -M respectively). Each is broken into two lines here - for readability only. + This prints the filename if this is the first prompt in a file, fol- + lowed by the "file N of N" message if there is more than one input + file. Then, if we are at end-of-file, the string "(END)" is printed + followed by the name of the next file, if there is one. Finally, any + trailing spaces are truncated. This is the default prompt. For refer- + ence, here are the defaults for the other two prompts (-m and -M + respectively). Each is broken into two lines here for readability + only. ?n?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x.: ?pB%pB\%:byte %bB?s/%s...%t @@ -1708,40 +1273,25 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) And here is the default message produced by the = command: ?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) .?ltlines %lt-%lb?L/%L. . - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 26 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - - byte %bB?s/%s. ?e(END) :?pB%pB\%..%t - The prompt expansion features are also used for another - purpose: if an environment variable LESSEDIT is defined, - it is used as the command to be executed when the v com - mand is invoked. The LESSEDIT string is expanded in the - same way as the prompt strings. The default value for + The prompt expansion features are also used for another purpose: if an + environment variable LESSEDIT is defined, it is used as the command to + be executed when the v command is invoked. The LESSEDIT string is + expanded in the same way as the prompt strings. The default value for LESSEDIT is: %E ?lm+%lm. %f - Note that this expands to the editor name, followed by a + - and the line number, followed by the file name. If your - editor does not accept the "+linenumber" syntax, or has - other differences in invocation syntax, the LESSEDIT vari - able can be changed to modify this default. + Note that this expands to the editor name, followed by a + and the line + number, followed by the file name. If your editor does not accept the + "+linenumber" syntax, or has other differences in invocation syntax, + the LESSEDIT variable can be changed to modify this default. SSEECCUURRIITTYY - When the environment variable LESSSECURE is set to 1, _l_e_s_s - runs in a "secure" mode. This means these features are - disabled: + When the environment variable LESSSECURE is set to 1, _l_e_s_s runs in a + "secure" mode. This means these features are disabled: ! the shell command @@ -1761,53 +1311,36 @@ SSEECCUURRIITTYY filename completion (TAB, ^L) - Less can also be compiled to be permanently in "secure" - mode. + Less can also be compiled to be permanently in "secure" mode. EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT VVAARRIIAABBLLEESS - Environment variables may be specified either in the sys - tem environment as usual, or in a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y (1) file. If - environment variables are defined in more than one place, - variables defined in a local lesskey file take precedence - over variables defined in the system environment, which - take precedence over variables defined in the system-wide - lesskey file. - - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 27 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + Environment variables may be specified either in the system environment + as usual, or in a _l_e_s_s_k_e_y (1) file. If environment variables are + defined in more than one place, variables defined in a local lesskey + file take precedence over variables defined in the system environment, + which take precedence over variables defined in the system-wide lesskey + file. COLUMNS - Sets the number of columns on the screen. Takes - precedence over the number of columns specified by - the TERM variable. (But if you have a windowing - system which supports TIOCGWINSZ or WIOCGETD, the - window system's idea of the screen size takes - precedence over the LINES and COLUMNS environment - variables.) + Sets the number of columns on the screen. Takes precedence over + the number of columns specified by the TERM variable. (But if + you have a windowing system which supports TIOCGWINSZ or + WIOCGETD, the window system's idea of the screen size takes + precedence over the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables.) EDITOR The name of the editor (used for the v command). - HOME Name of the user's home directory (used to find a - lesskey file on Unix and OS/2 systems). + HOME Name of the user's home directory (used to find a lesskey file + on Unix and OS/2 systems). HOMEDRIVE, HOMEPATH - Concatenation of the HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH envi - ronment variables is the name of the user's home - directory if the HOME variable is not set (only in - the Windows version). + Concatenation of the HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH environment vari- + ables is the name of the user's home directory if the HOME vari- + able is not set (only in the Windows version). - INIT Name of the user's init directory (used to find a - lesskey file on OS/2 systems). + INIT Name of the user's init directory (used to find a lesskey file + on OS/2 systems). LANG Language for determining the character set. @@ -1817,12 +1350,16 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) LESS Options which are passed to _l_e_s_s automatically. LESSANSIENDCHARS - Characters which are assumed to end an ANSI color - escape sequence (default "m"). + Characters which may end an ANSI color escape sequence (default + "m"). + + LESSANSIMIDCHARS + Characters which may appear between the ESC character and the + end character in an ANSI color escape sequence (default + "0123456789;[?!"'#%()*+ ". LESSBINFMT - Format for displaying non-printable, non-control - characters. + Format for displaying non-printable, non-control characters. LESSCHARDEF Defines a character set. @@ -1831,36 +1368,32 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) Selects a predefined character set. LESSCLOSE - Command line to invoke the (optional) input-post - processor. + Command line to invoke the (optional) input-postprocessor. LESSECHO - Name of the lessecho program (default "lessecho"). - The lessecho program is needed to expand metachar - acters, such as * and ?, in filenames on Unix sys - tems. - - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 28 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - + Name of the lessecho program (default "lessecho"). The lessecho + program is needed to expand metacharacters, such as * and ?, in + filenames on Unix systems. LESSEDIT - Editor prototype string (used for the v command). - See discussion under PROMPTS. + Editor prototype string (used for the v command). See discus- + sion under PROMPTS. LESSGLOBALTAGS - Name of the command used by the -t option to find - global tags. Normally should be set to "global" if - your system has the _g_l_o_b_a_l (1) command. If not - set, global tags are not used. + Name of the command used by the -t option to find global tags. + Normally should be set to "global" if your system has the _g_l_o_b_a_l + (1) command. If not set, global tags are not used. + + LESSHISTFILE + Name of the history file used to remember search commands and + shell commands between invocations of _l_e_s_s_. If set to "-", a + history file is not used. The default is "$HOME/.lesshst" on + Unix systems, "$HOME/_lesshst" on DOS and Windows systems, or + "$HOME/lesshst.ini" or "$INIT/lesshst.ini" on OS/2 systems. + + LESSHISTSIZE + The maximum number of commands to save in the history file. The + default is 100. LESSKEY Name of the default lesskey(1) file. @@ -1869,54 +1402,41 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1) Name of the default system-wide lesskey(1) file. LESSMETACHARS - List of characters which are considered "metachar - acters" by the shell. + List of characters which are considered "metacharacters" by the + shell. LESSMETAESCAPE - Prefix which less will add before each metacharac - ter in a command sent to the shell. If LESS - METAESCAPE is an empty string, commands containing - metacharacters will not be passed to the shell. + Prefix which less will add before each metacharacter in a com- + mand sent to the shell. If LESSMETAESCAPE is an empty string, + commands containing metacharacters will not be passed to the + shell. LESSOPEN - Command line to invoke the (optional) input-prepro - cessor. + Command line to invoke the (optional) input-preprocessor. LESSSECURE - Runs less in "secure" mode. See discussion under - SECURITY. + Runs less in "secure" mode. See discussion under SECURITY. LESSSEPARATOR - String to be appended to a directory name in file - name completion. - - LINES Sets the number of lines on the screen. Takes - precedence over the number of lines specified by - the TERM variable. (But if you have a windowing - system which supports TIOCGWINSZ or WIOCGETD, the - window system's idea of the screen size takes - precedence over the LINES and COLUMNS environment - variables.) - - PATH User's search path (used to find a lesskey file on - MS-DOS and OS/2 systems). - - SHELL The shell used to execute the ! command, as well as - to expand filenames. - - TERM The type of terminal on which _l_e_s_s is being run. - - - - - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 29 - + String to be appended to a directory name in filename comple- + tion. + LESSUTFBINFMT + Format for displaying non-printable Unicode code points. + LINES Sets the number of lines on the screen. Takes precedence over + the number of lines specified by the TERM variable. (But if you + have a windowing system which supports TIOCGWINSZ or WIOCGETD, + the window system's idea of the screen size takes precedence + over the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables.) + PATH User's search path (used to find a lesskey file on MS-DOS and + OS/2 systems). -LESS(1) LESS(1) + SHELL The shell used to execute the ! command, as well as to expand + filenames. + TERM The type of terminal on which _l_e_s_s is being run. VISUAL The name of the editor (used for the v command). @@ -1926,121 +1446,67 @@ SSEEEE AALLSSOO WWAARRNNIINNGGSS - The = command and prompts (unless changed by -P) report - the line numbers of the lines at the top and bottom of the - screen, but the byte and percent of the line after the one - at the bottom of the screen. - - If the :e command is used to name more than one file, and - one of the named files has been viewed previously, the new - files may be entered into the list in an unexpected order. - - On certain older terminals (the so-called "magic cookie" - terminals), search highlighting will cause an erroneous - display. On such terminals, search highlighting is dis - abled by default to avoid possible problems. - - In certain cases, when search highlighting is enabled and - a search pattern begins with a ^, more text than the - matching string may be highlighted. (This problem does - not occur when less is compiled to use the POSIX regular - expression package.) - - When viewing text containing ANSI color escape sequences - using the -R option, searching will not find text contain - ing an embedded escape sequence. Also, search highlight - ing may change the color of some of the text which follows - the highlighted text. - - On some systems, _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e claims that ASCII characters 0 - thru 31 are control characters rather than binary charac - ters. This causes _l_e_s_s to treat some binary files as - ordinary, non-binary files. To workaround this problem, - set the environment variable LESSCHARSET to "ascii" (or + The = command and prompts (unless changed by -P) report the line num- + bers of the lines at the top and bottom of the screen, but the byte and + percent of the line after the one at the bottom of the screen. + + If the :e command is used to name more than one file, and one of the + named files has been viewed previously, the new files may be entered + into the list in an unexpected order. + + On certain older terminals (the so-called "magic cookie" terminals), + search highlighting will cause an erroneous display. On such termi- + nals, search highlighting is disabled by default to avoid possible + problems. + + In certain cases, when search highlighting is enabled and a search pat- + tern begins with a ^, more text than the matching string may be high- + lighted. (This problem does not occur when less is compiled to use the + POSIX regular expression package.) + + When viewing text containing ANSI color escape sequences using the -R + option, searching will not find text containing an embedded escape + sequence. Also, search highlighting may change the color of some of + the text which follows the highlighted text. + + On some systems, _s_e_t_l_o_c_a_l_e claims that ASCII characters 0 thru 31 are + control characters rather than binary characters. This causes _l_e_s_s to + treat some binary files as ordinary, non-binary files. To workaround + this problem, set the environment variable LESSCHARSET to "ascii" (or whatever character set is appropriate). - See http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less for the latest - list of known bugs in this version of less. - - -CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT - Copyright (C) 2002 Mark Nudelman - - less is part of the GNU project and is free software. You - can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of - either (1) the GNU General Public License as published by - the Free Software Foundation; or (2) the Less License. - See the file README in the less distribution for more - details regarding redistribution. You should have + This manual is too long. + See http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less for the list of known bugs in + all versions of less. - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 30 - - - - - -LESS(1) LESS(1) - +CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT + Copyright (C) 1984-2005 Mark Nudelman - received a copy of the GNU General Public License along - with the source for less; see the file COPYING. If not, - write to the Free Software Foundation, 59 Temple Place, - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. You should also - have received a copy of the Less License; see the file - LICENSE. + less is part of the GNU project and is free software. You can redis- + tribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either (1) the GNU Gen- + eral Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or + (2) the Less License. See the file README in the less distribution for + more details regarding redistribution. You should have received a copy + of the GNU General Public License along with the source for less; see + the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, 59 + Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. You should also + have received a copy of the Less License; see the file LICENSE. - less is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, - but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied war - ranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PUR - POSE. See the GNU General Public License for more - details. + less is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY + WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FIT- + NESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for + more details. AAUUTTHHOORR Mark Nudelman <markn@greenwoodsoftware.com> - Send bug reports or comments to the above address or to - bug-less@gnu.org. - For more information, see the less homepage at - http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + Send bug reports or comments to the above address or to bug- + less@gnu.org. + For more information, see the less homepage at http://www.greenwood- + software.com/less. - Version 381: 17 Jan 2003 31 + Version 394: 03 Dec 2005 LESS(1) |
