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-rw-r--r--contrib/less/less.man620
1 files changed, 319 insertions, 301 deletions
diff --git a/contrib/less/less.man b/contrib/less/less.man
index 00b9684..86e329c 100644
--- a/contrib/less/less.man
+++ b/contrib/less/less.man
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
less --help
less -V
less --version
- less [-[+]aBcCdeEfFgGiIJKLmMnNqQrRsSuUVwWX~]
+ less [-[+]aABcCdeEfFgGiIJKLmMnNqQrRsSuUVwWX~]
[-b space] [-h lines] [-j line] [-k keyfile]
[-{oO} logfile] [-p pattern] [-P prompt] [-t tag]
[-T tagsfile] [-x tab,...] [-y lines] [-[z] lines]
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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
+ ENTER or RETURN or ^N or e or ^E or j or ^J
Scroll forward N lines, default 1. The entire N lines are dis-
played, even if N is more than the screen size.
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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
+ system. The search starts at the first line displayed (but see
the -a and -j options, which change this).
Certain characters are special if entered at the beginning of
@@ -270,98 +270,98 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
^N or !
Display only lines which do NOT match the pattern.
- ^R Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that
+ ^R Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that
is, do a simple textual comparison.
: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 previously examined
- file. However, two consecutive percent signs are simply
+ 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.
+ 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
+ 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 special literal-
- ization character. On such systems, you may not be able to use
+ 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 com-
- mand line). If a number N is specified, the N-th next file is
+ :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.
- :x Examine the first file in the command line list. If a number N
+ :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
+ 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.
- T Go to the previous tag, if there were more than one matches for
+ 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
+ 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
+ - 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-
+ 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.
+ -- Like the - command, but takes a long option name (see OPTIONS
+ below) rather than a single option letter. You must press ENTER
+ or 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
+ -+ 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
+ --+ 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
+ -! 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
+ --! Like the -! command, but takes a long option name rather than a
single option letter.
- _ (Underscore.) Followed by one of the command line option let-
- ters, this will print a message describing the current setting
+ _ (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.
+ press ENTER or RETURN after typing the option name.
- +cmd Causes the specified cmd to be executed each time a new file is
+ +cmd Causes the specified cmd to be executed each time a new file is
examined. For example, +G causes less to initially display each
file starting at the end rather than the beginning.
@@ -370,51 +370,49 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
q or Q or :q or :Q or ZZ
Exits less.
- The following four commands may or may not be valid, depending on your
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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.
+ 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
+ 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 indi-
+ <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
+ Save the input to a file. This only works if the input is a
pipe, not an ordinary file.
-
OPTIONS
- Command line options are described below. Most options may be changed
+ Command line options are described below. Most options may be changed
while less 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
+ 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 let-
- ter capitalized; the remainder of the name may be in either case. For
+ 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 let-
+ ter 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 exam-
@@ -427,33 +425,47 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
LESS="-options"; export LESS
- On MS-DOS, you don't need the quotes, but you should replace any per-
+ 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 environment variable. If an option
- appears in the LESS variable, it can be reset to its default value on
+ 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
- ($) must be used to signal the end of the string. For example, to set
- two -D options on MS-DOS, you must have a dollar sign between them,
+ For options like -P or -D which take a following string, a dollar sign
+ ($) 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 less
- (the same as the h command). (Depending on how your shell
- interprets the question mark, it may be necessary to quote the
+ This option displays a summary of the commands accepted by less
+ (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 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).
+ By default, forward searches start at the top of the displayed
+ screen and backwards searches start at the bottom of the dis-
+ played screen (except for repeated searches invoked by the n or
+ N commands, which start after or before the "target" line
+ respectively; see the -j option for more about the target line).
+ The -a option causes forward searches to instead start at the
+ bottom of the screen and backward searches to start at the top
+ of the screen, thus skipping all lines displayed on the screen.
+
+ -A or --SEARCH-SKIP-SCREEN
+ Causes all forward searches (not just non-repeated searches) to
+ start just after the target line, and all backward searches to
+ start just before the target line. Thus, forward searches will
+ skip part of the displayed screen (from the first line up to and
+ including the target line). Similarly backwards searches will
+ skip the displayed screen from the last line up to and including
+ the target line. This was the default behavior in less versions
+ prior to 441.
-bn or --buffers=n
Specifies the amount of buffer space less will use for each
@@ -468,12 +480,12 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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 piped data is kept in memory; any
- earlier data is lost.
+ cated. The -B option disables this automatic allocation of buf-
+ fers for pipes, so that only 64K (or the amount of space speci-
+ fied 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 piped data is kept in memory; any earlier
+ data is lost.
-c or --clear-screen
Causes full screen repaints to be painted from the top line
@@ -565,90 +577,91 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
that the target line remains at the specified fraction of the
screen height. If any form of the -j option is used, forward
searches begin at the line immediately after the target line,
- and backward searches begin at the target line. For example, if
- "-j4" is used, the target line is the fourth line on the screen,
- so forward searches begin at the fifth line on the screen.
+ and backward searches begin at the target line, unless changed
+ by -a or -A. For example, if "-j4" is used, the target line is
+ the fourth line on the screen, so forward 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
+ 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.
-kfilename or --lesskey-file=filename
- Causes less to open and interpret the named file as a lesskey
+ Causes less to open and interpret the named file as a lesskey
(1) file. Multiple -k options may be specified. If the LESSKEY
- or LESSKEY_SYSTEM environment variable is set, or if a 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 lesskey file.
-K or --quit-on-intr
- Causes less to exit immediately when an interrupt character
- (usually ^C) is typed. Normally, an interrupt character causes
- less to stop whatever it is doing and return to its command
- prompt. Note that use of this option makes it impossible to
- return to the command prompt from the "F" command.
+ Causes less to exit immediately (with status 2) when an inter-
+ rupt character (usually ^C) is typed. Normally, an interrupt
+ character causes less to stop whatever it is doing and return to
+ its command prompt. Note that use of this option makes it
+ impossible to return to the command prompt from the "F" command.
-L or --no-lessopen
- Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable (see the INPUT PRE-
- PROCESSOR section below). This option can be set from within
- less, but it will apply only to files opened subsequently, not
+ Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable (see the INPUT PRE-
+ PROCESSOR section below). This option can be set from within
+ less, but it will apply only to files opened subsequently, not
to the file which is currently open.
-m or --long-prompt
- Causes less to prompt verbosely (like more), with the percent
+ Causes less to prompt verbosely (like more), with the percent
into the file. By default, less prompts with a colon.
-M or --LONG-PROMPT
Causes less to prompt even more verbosely than more.
-n or --line-numbers
- Suppresses line numbers. The default (to use line numbers) may
- cause less 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
+ Suppresses line numbers. The default (to use line numbers) may
+ cause less 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
+ 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 beginning of each
+ Causes a line number to be displayed at the beginning of each
line in the display.
-ofilename or --log-file=filename
- Causes less to copy its input to the named file as it is being
+ Causes less 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, less will ask for
+ ordinary file. If the file already exists, less will ask for
confirmation before overwriting it.
-Ofilename or --LOG-FILE=filename
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 less to specify a log file. Without a file
+ If no log file has been specified, the -o and -O options can be
+ used from within less 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 less.
-ppattern or --pattern=pattern
- The -p option on the command line is equivalent to specifying
- +/pattern; that is, it tells less to start at the first occur-
+ The -p option on the command line is equivalent to specifying
+ +/pattern; that is, it tells less to start at the first occur-
rence of pattern in the file.
-Pprompt or --prompt=prompt
- Provides a way to tailor the three prompt styles to your own
+ 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 less 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.
+ 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
@@ -749,55 +762,55 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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.
+ in effect, in which case only the status column is highlighted.
-W or --HILITE-UNREAD
Like -w, but temporarily highlights the first new line after any
forward movement command larger than one line.
-xn,... or --tabs=n,...
- 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,
- -x9,17 will set tabs at positions 9, 17, 25, 33, etc. The
+ 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,
+ -x9,17 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 clear-
+ strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the
+ deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clear-
ing the screen.
-yn or --max-forw-scroll=n
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
+ 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
+ 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-
+ to change the window size. The "z" may be omitted for compati-
bility with some versions of more. If the number n is negative,
- it indicates n lines less than the current screen size. For
+ it indicates n lines less than the current screen size. For
example, if the screen is 24 lines, -z-4 sets the scrolling win-
- dow to 20 lines. If the screen is resized to 40 lines, the
+ dow to 20 lines. If the screen is resized to 40 lines, the
scrolling window automatically changes to 36 lines.
-"cc or --quotes=cc
- 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
@@ -807,19 +820,19 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
-# or --shift
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
+ 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. Alternately, the number may be speci-
- fied as a fraction of the width of the screen, starting with a
- decimal point: .5 is half of the screen width, .3 is three
- tenths of the screen width, and so on. If the number is speci-
- fied as a fraction, the actual number of scroll positions is
- recalculated if the terminal window is resized, so that the
- actual scroll remains at the specified fraction of the screen
+ fied as a fraction of the width of the screen, starting with a
+ decimal point: .5 is half of the screen width, .3 is three
+ tenths of the screen width, and so on. If the number is speci-
+ fied as a fraction, the actual number of scroll positions is
+ recalculated if the terminal window is resized, so that the
+ actual scroll remains at the specified fraction of the screen
width.
--no-keypad
- Disables sending the keypad initialization and deinitialization
+ 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.
@@ -833,34 +846,34 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
has been created with the same name as the original (now
renamed) file), less will display the contents of that new file.
- -- A command line argument of "--" marks the end of option argu-
- ments. Any arguments following this are interpreted as file-
+ -- 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 less. For example,
- +G tells less 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
+ + If a command line option begins with +, the remainder of that
+ option is taken to be an initial command to less. For example,
+ +G tells less 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
+ 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.
LINE EDITING
- When entering command line at the bottom of the screen (for example, a
+ 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), cer-
- tain 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. (Note that the forms beginning
- with ESC do not work in some MS-DOS and Windows systems because ESC is
- the line erase character.) 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
+ tain 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. (Note that the forms beginning
+ with ESC do not work in some MS-DOS and Windows systems because ESC is
+ the line erase character.) 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.
LEFTARROW [ ESC-h ]
@@ -870,7 +883,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
Move the cursor one space to the right.
^LEFTARROW [ ESC-b or ESC-LEFTARROW ]
- (That is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.) Move the cur-
+ (That is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.) Move the cur-
sor one word to the left.
^RIGHTARROW [ ESC-w or ESC-RIGHTARROW ]
@@ -884,18 +897,18 @@ 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
+ 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
+ (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
+ (That is, CONTROL and DELETE simultaneously.) Delete the word
under the cursor.
UPARROW [ ESC-k ]
@@ -904,13 +917,13 @@ 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
+ 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.
+ "/" 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
@@ -926,6 +939,8 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
acter in Unix to something other than ^U, that character is used
instead of ^U.
+ ^G Delete the entire command line and return to the main prompt.
+
KEY BINDINGS
You may define your own less commands by using the program lesskey (1)
@@ -960,40 +975,40 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
INPUT PREPROCESSOR
- You may define an "input preprocessor" for less. Before less opens a
+ You may define an "input preprocessor" for less. Before less 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
+ 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, less will display the original
+ 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, less 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, less 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
+ 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, less 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 less 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ For example, on many Unix systems, these two scripts will allow you to
keep files in compressed format, but still let less view them directly:
lessopen.sh:
@@ -1165,9 +1180,9 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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.
+ default if no LESSBINFMT is specified is "*s<%02X>". Warning: the
+ result of expanding 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
@@ -1219,13 +1234,16 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
%f Replaced by the name of the current input file.
- %i Replaced by the index of the current file in the list of input
+ %F Replaced by the last component of the name of the current input
+ file.
+
+ %i Replaced by the index of the current file in the list of input
files.
- %lX Replaced by the line number of a line in the input file. The
+ %lX 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.
@@ -1258,7 +1276,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
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.
+ ?a True if any characters have been included in the prompt so far.
?bX True if the byte offset of the specified line is known.
@@ -1270,7 +1288,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
?e True if at end-of-file.
- ?f True if there is an input filename (that is, if input is not a
+ ?f True if there is an input filename (that is, if input is not a
pipe).
?lX True if the line number of the specified line is known.
@@ -1281,46 +1299,46 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
?n True if this is the first prompt in a new input file.
- ?pX True if the percent into the current input file, based on byte
+ ?pX True if the percent into the current input file, based on byte
offsets, of the specified line is known.
- ?PX True if the percent into the current input file, based on line
+ ?PX 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
+ ?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
+ 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 "Stan-
+ 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 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 %
+ 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, 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
+ 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
+ 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.:
@@ -1334,22 +1352,22 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) .?ltlines %lt-%lb?L/%L. .
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 command 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,
+ 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.
SECURITY
- When the environment variable LESSSECURE is set to 1, less runs in a
+ When the environment variable LESSSECURE is set to 1, less runs in a
"secure" mode. This means these features are disabled:
! the shell command
@@ -1375,54 +1393,54 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
COMPATIBILITY WITH MORE
If the environment variable LESS_IS_MORE is set to 1, or if the program
- is invoked via a file link named "more", less behaves (mostly) in con-
- formance with the POSIX "more" command specification. In this mode,
+ is invoked via a file link named "more", less behaves (mostly) in con-
+ formance with the POSIX "more" command specification. In this mode,
less behaves differently in these ways:
- The -e option works differently. If the -e option is not set, less
- behaves as if the -E option were set. If the -e option is set, less
+ The -e option works differently. If the -e option is not set, less
+ behaves as if the -E option were set. If the -e option is set, less
behaves as if the -e and -F options were set.
- The -m option works differently. If the -m option is not set, the
- medium prompt is used, and it is prefixed with the string "--More--".
+ The -m option works differently. If the -m option is not set, the
+ medium prompt is used, and it is prefixed with the string "--More--".
If the -m option is set, the short prompt is used.
- The -n option acts like the -z option. The normal behavior of the -n
+ The -n option acts like the -z option. The normal behavior of the -n
option is unavailable in this mode.
- The parameter to the -p option is taken to be a less command rather
+ The parameter to the -p option is taken to be a less command rather
than a search pattern.
- The LESS environment variable is ignored, and the MORE environment
+ The LESS environment variable is ignored, and the MORE environment
variable is used in its place.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Environment variables may be specified either in the system environment
- as usual, or in a lesskey (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,
+ as usual, or in a lesskey (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
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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 environment vari-
+ 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
+ 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.
@@ -1433,12 +1451,12 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
LESS Options which are passed to less automatically.
LESSANSIENDCHARS
- Characters which may end an ANSI color escape sequence (default
+ 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
+ Characters which may appear between the ESC character and the
+ end character in an ANSI color escape sequence (default
"0123456789;[?!"'#%()*+ ".
LESSBINFMT
@@ -1455,24 +1473,24 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
LESSECHO
Name of the lessecho program (default "lessecho"). The lessecho
- program is needed to expand metacharacters, such as * and ?, in
+ program is needed to expand metacharacters, such as * and ?, in
filenames on Unix systems.
LESSEDIT
- Editor prototype string (used for the v command). See discus-
+ 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.
+ Name of the command used by the -t option to find global tags.
Normally should be set to "global" if your system has the global
(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 less. If set to "-" or
- "/dev/null", 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 "$INIT/lesshst.ini"
+ Name of the history file used to remember search commands and
+ shell commands between invocations of less. If set to "-" or
+ "/dev/null", a history file is not used. The default is
+ "$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
@@ -1486,13 +1504,13 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
Name of the default system-wide lesskey(1) file.
LESSMETACHARS
- List of characters which are considered "metacharacters" by the
+ List of characters which are considered "metacharacters" by the
shell.
LESSMETAESCAPE
- 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
+ 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
@@ -1502,7 +1520,7 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
Runs less in "secure" mode. See discussion under SECURITY.
LESSSEPARATOR
- String to be appended to a directory name in filename comple-
+ String to be appended to a directory name in filename comple-
tion.
LESSUTFBINFMT
@@ -1511,16 +1529,16 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
LESS_IS_MORE
Emulate the more (1) command.
- LINES Sets the number of lines on the screen. Takes precedence over
+ 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
+ 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
+ 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
+ SHELL The shell used to execute the ! command, as well as to expand
filenames.
TERM The type of terminal on which less is being run.
@@ -1533,33 +1551,33 @@ LESS(1) LESS(1)
COPYRIGHT
- Copyright (C) 1984-2009 Mark Nudelman
+ Copyright (C) 1984-2011 Mark Nudelman
- 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
+ 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
+ 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 warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FIT-
- NESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
+ WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FIT-
+ NESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
more details.
AUTHOR
Mark Nudelman <markn@greenwoodsoftware.com>
+ Send bug reports or comments to the above address or to bug-
+ less@gnu.org.
See http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/bugs.html for the latest list
of known bugs in 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.greenwoodsoftware.com/less.
- Version 436: 07 Jul 2009 LESS(1)
+ Version 443: 09 Apr 2011 LESS(1)
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