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Diffstat (limited to 'less.man')
| -rw-r--r-- | less.man | 360 |
1 files changed, 184 insertions, 176 deletions
@@ -100,20 +100,27 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) becomes the default for future RIGHTARROW and LEFTARROW com- mands. + ESC-} or ^RIGHTARROW + Scroll horizontally right to show the end of the longest dis- + played line. + + ESC-{ or ^LEFTARROW + Scroll horizontally left back to the first column. + r or ^R or ^L Repaint the screen. - R Repaint the screen, discarding any buffered input. Useful if + 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 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.) - ESC-F Like F, but as soon as a line is found which matches the last - search pattern, the terminal bell is rung and forward scrolling + ESC-F Like F, but as soon as a line is found which matches the last + search pattern, the terminal bell is rung and forward scrolling stops. g or < or ESC-< @@ -121,12 +128,12 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) 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. (Warn- - ing: this may be slow if N is large, or if N is not specified + 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.) - ESC-G Same as G, except if no number N is specified and the input is - standard input, goes to the last line which is currently + ESC-G Same as G, except if no number N is specified and the input is + standard input, goes to the last line which is currently buffered. p or % Go to a position N percent into the file. N should be between 0 @@ -135,48 +142,48 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) P Go to the line containing byte offset N in the file. { 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 + 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 + 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 + 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- + [ Like {, but applies to square brackets rather than curly brack- ets. - ] Like }, but applies to square brackets rather than curly brack- + ] 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 + 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 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 + m Followed by any lowercase letter, marks the current position with that letter. - ' (Single quote.) Followed by any lowercase letter, returns to + ' (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 + 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- + 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. @@ -184,39 +191,39 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) /pattern 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 first line displayed (but see + recognized by the regular expression library supplied by your + 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 - the pattern; they modify the type of search rather than become + 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 pattern. ^E or * - 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 + 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, regardless 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 cur- + ^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). - ^R Don't interpret regular expression metacharacters; that + ^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 containing the - pattern. The search starts at the last line displayed (but see + Search backward in the file for the N-th line containing the + pattern. The search starts at the last line displayed (but see the -a and -j options, which change this). Certain characters are special as in the / command: @@ -225,15 +232,15 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) 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 + 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, regardless of what is currently dis- - played on the screen or the settings of the -a or -j + 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. @@ -246,36 +253,36 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) ESC-?pattern Same as "?*". - 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 + 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. - ESC-n Repeat previous search, but crossing file boundaries. The + 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- + ESC-N Repeat previous search, but in the reverse direction and cross- ing file boundaries. - ESC-u Undo search highlighting. Turn off highlighting of strings + 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. + 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.) &pattern - Display only lines which match the pattern; lines which do not - match the pattern are not displayed. If pattern is empty (if - you type & immediately followed by ENTER), any filtering is - turned off, and all lines are displayed. While filtering is in - effect, an ampersand is displayed at the beginning of the + Display only lines which match the pattern; lines which do not + match the pattern are not displayed. If pattern is empty (if + you type & immediately followed by ENTER), any filtering is + turned off, and all lines are displayed. While filtering is in + effect, an ampersand is displayed at the beginning of the prompt, as a reminder that some lines in the file may be hidden. Certain characters are special as in the / command: @@ -283,98 +290,98 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual 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 + -- 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 + 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 "-+[4mX[24m" command does the same - thing as "-+[4mX[24m" 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 "-+[4mX[24m" command does the same + thing as "-+[4mX[24m" 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 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 [4mless[24m to initially display each file starting at the end rather than the beginning. @@ -383,49 +390,49 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) q or Q or :q or :Q or ZZ Exits [4mless.[0m - 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. [1mOPTIONS[0m - Command line options are described below. Most options may be changed + Command line options are described below. Most options may be changed while [4mless[24m 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- @@ -438,76 +445,76 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual 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 "-+". - Some options like -k or -D require a string to follow the option let- - ter. The string for that option is considered to end when a dollar - sign ($) is found. For example, you can set two -D options on MS-DOS + Some options like -k or -D require a string to follow the option let- + ter. The string for that option is considered to end when a dollar + sign ($) is found. For example, you can set two -D options on MS-DOS like this: LESS="Dn9.1$Ds4.1" - If the --use-backslash option appears earlier in the options, then a - dollar sign or backslash may be included literally in an option string + If the --use-backslash option appears earlier in the options, then a + dollar sign or backslash may be included literally in an option string by preceding it with a backslash. If the --use-backslash option is not - in effect, then backslashes are not treated specially, and there is no + in effect, then backslashes are not treated specially, and there is no way to include a dollar sign in the option string. -? or --help - This option displays a summary of the commands accepted by [4mless[0m - (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 [4mless[0m + (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 - 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 + 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 + 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 + 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 + 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. -b[4mn[24m or --buffers=[4mn[0m - Specifies the amount of buffer space [4mless[24m will use for each - file, in units of kilobytes (1024 bytes). By default 64 K of - buffer space is used for each file (unless the file is a pipe; - see the -B option). The -b option specifies instead that [4mn[0m + Specifies the amount of buffer space [4mless[24m will use for each + file, in units of kilobytes (1024 bytes). By default 64 K of + buffer space is used for each file (unless the file is a pipe; + see the -B option). The -b option specifies instead that [4mn[0m kilobytes of buffer space should be used for each file. If [4mn[24m is - -1, buffer space is unlimited; that is, the entire file can be + -1, buffer space is unlimited; that is, the entire file can be 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 allo- + the pipe, this can cause a large amount of memory to be allo- cated. The -B option disables this automatic allocation of buf- fers for pipes, so that only 64 K (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 + 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 - down. By default, full screen repaints are done by scrolling + 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 @@ -515,19 +522,20 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) -d or --dumb The -d option suppresses the error message normally displayed if - the terminal is dumb; that is, lacks some important capability, + 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 [4mless[24m on a + -d option does not otherwise change the behavior of [4mless[24m on a dumb terminal. -D[1mx[4m[22mcolor[24m or --color=[1mx[4m[22mcolor[0m [MS-DOS only] Sets the color of the text displayed. [1mx [22mis 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. - [4mcolor[24m 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 [4mN[24m is the same as - [4mN.M[24m, where [4mM[24m is the normal background color. + gle character which selects the type of text whose color is + being set: n=normal, s=standout, d=bold, u=underlined, k=blink. + [4mcolor[24m 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 [4mN[24m is the same as + [4mN.M[24m, where [4mM[24m is the normal background color. [1mx [22mmay also be [1ma [22mto + toggle strict ANSI sequence rendering (SGR mode). -e or --quit-at-eof @@ -1609,7 +1617,7 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) [1mCOPYRIGHT[0m - Copyright (C) 1984-2015 Mark Nudelman + Copyright (C) 1984-2016 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- @@ -1637,4 +1645,4 @@ LESS(1) General Commands Manual LESS(1) - Version 481: 31 Aug 2015 LESS(1) + Version 487: 25 Oct 2016 LESS(1) |