1bd4fcc09Stron 2bd4fcc09Stron SSUUMMMMAARRYY OOFF LLEESSSS CCOOMMMMAANNDDSS 3bd4fcc09Stron 4bd4fcc09Stron Commands marked with * may be preceded by a number, _N. 5bd4fcc09Stron Notes in parentheses indicate the behavior if _N is given. 6*0a7fbd90Stron A key preceded by a caret indicates the Ctrl key; thus ^K is ctrl-K. 7bd4fcc09Stron 8bd4fcc09Stron h H Display this help. 9bd4fcc09Stron q :q Q :Q ZZ Exit. 10bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11bd4fcc09Stron 12bd4fcc09Stron MMOOVVIINNGG 13bd4fcc09Stron 14bd4fcc09Stron e ^E j ^N CR * Forward one line (or _N lines). 15bd4fcc09Stron y ^Y k ^K ^P * Backward one line (or _N lines). 16bd4fcc09Stron f ^F ^V SPACE * Forward one window (or _N lines). 17bd4fcc09Stron b ^B ESC-v * Backward one window (or _N lines). 18bd4fcc09Stron z * Forward one window (and set window to _N). 19bd4fcc09Stron w * Backward one window (and set window to _N). 20bd4fcc09Stron ESC-SPACE * Forward one window, but don't stop at end-of-file. 21bd4fcc09Stron d ^D * Forward one half-window (and set half-window to _N). 22bd4fcc09Stron u ^U * Backward one half-window (and set half-window to _N). 23bd4fcc09Stron ESC-) RightArrow * Left one half screen width (or _N positions). 24bd4fcc09Stron ESC-( LeftArrow * Right one half screen width (or _N positions). 25bd4fcc09Stron F Forward forever; like "tail -f". 26bd4fcc09Stron r ^R ^L Repaint screen. 27bd4fcc09Stron R Repaint screen, discarding buffered input. 28bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------- 29bd4fcc09Stron Default "window" is the screen height. 30bd4fcc09Stron Default "half-window" is half of the screen height. 31bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32bd4fcc09Stron 33bd4fcc09Stron SSEEAARRCCHHIINNGG 34bd4fcc09Stron 35bd4fcc09Stron /_p_a_t_t_e_r_n * Search forward for (_N-th) matching line. 36bd4fcc09Stron ?_p_a_t_t_e_r_n * Search backward for (_N-th) matching line. 37bd4fcc09Stron n * Repeat previous search (for _N-th occurrence). 38bd4fcc09Stron N * Repeat previous search in reverse direction. 39bd4fcc09Stron ESC-n * Repeat previous search, spanning files. 40bd4fcc09Stron ESC-N * Repeat previous search, reverse dir. & spanning files. 41bd4fcc09Stron ESC-u Undo (toggle) search highlighting. 42bd4fcc09Stron &_p_a_t_t_e_r_n * Display only matching lines 43bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------- 44*0a7fbd90Stron A search pattern may be preceded by one or more of: 45bd4fcc09Stron ^N or ! Search for NON-matching lines. 46bd4fcc09Stron ^E or * Search multiple files (pass thru END OF FILE). 47bd4fcc09Stron ^F or @ Start search at FIRST file (for /) or last file (for ?). 48bd4fcc09Stron ^K Highlight matches, but don't move (KEEP position). 49bd4fcc09Stron ^R Don't use REGULAR EXPRESSIONS. 50bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51bd4fcc09Stron 52bd4fcc09Stron JJUUMMPPIINNGG 53bd4fcc09Stron 54bd4fcc09Stron g < ESC-< * Go to first line in file (or line _N). 55bd4fcc09Stron G > ESC-> * Go to last line in file (or line _N). 56bd4fcc09Stron p % * Go to beginning of file (or _N percent into file). 57bd4fcc09Stron t * Go to the (_N-th) next tag. 58bd4fcc09Stron T * Go to the (_N-th) previous tag. 59bd4fcc09Stron { ( [ * Find close bracket } ) ]. 60bd4fcc09Stron } ) ] * Find open bracket { ( [. 61bd4fcc09Stron ESC-^F _<_c_1_> _<_c_2_> * Find close bracket _<_c_2_>. 62bd4fcc09Stron ESC-^B _<_c_1_> _<_c_2_> * Find open bracket _<_c_1_> 63bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------- 64bd4fcc09Stron Each "find close bracket" command goes forward to the close bracket 65bd4fcc09Stron matching the (_N-th) open bracket in the top line. 66bd4fcc09Stron Each "find open bracket" command goes backward to the open bracket 67bd4fcc09Stron matching the (_N-th) close bracket in the bottom line. 68bd4fcc09Stron 69bd4fcc09Stron m_<_l_e_t_t_e_r_> Mark the current position with <letter>. 70bd4fcc09Stron '_<_l_e_t_t_e_r_> Go to a previously marked position. 71bd4fcc09Stron '' Go to the previous position. 72bd4fcc09Stron ^X^X Same as '. 73bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------- 74bd4fcc09Stron A mark is any upper-case or lower-case letter. 75bd4fcc09Stron Certain marks are predefined: 76bd4fcc09Stron ^ means beginning of the file 77bd4fcc09Stron $ means end of the file 78bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79bd4fcc09Stron 80bd4fcc09Stron CCHHAANNGGIINNGG FFIILLEESS 81bd4fcc09Stron 82bd4fcc09Stron :e [_f_i_l_e] Examine a new file. 83bd4fcc09Stron ^X^V Same as :e. 84bd4fcc09Stron :n * Examine the (_N-th) next file from the command line. 85bd4fcc09Stron :p * Examine the (_N-th) previous file from the command line. 86bd4fcc09Stron :x * Examine the first (or _N-th) file from the command line. 87bd4fcc09Stron :d Delete the current file from the command line list. 88bd4fcc09Stron = ^G :f Print current file name. 89bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90bd4fcc09Stron 91bd4fcc09Stron MMIISSCCEELLLLAANNEEOOUUSS CCOOMMMMAANNDDSS 92bd4fcc09Stron 93bd4fcc09Stron -_<_f_l_a_g_> Toggle a command line option [see OPTIONS below]. 94bd4fcc09Stron --_<_n_a_m_e_> Toggle a command line option, by name. 95bd4fcc09Stron __<_f_l_a_g_> Display the setting of a command line option. 96bd4fcc09Stron ___<_n_a_m_e_> Display the setting of an option, by name. 97bd4fcc09Stron +_c_m_d Execute the less cmd each time a new file is examined. 98bd4fcc09Stron 99bd4fcc09Stron !_c_o_m_m_a_n_d Execute the shell command with $SHELL. 100bd4fcc09Stron |XX_c_o_m_m_a_n_d Pipe file between current pos & mark XX to shell command. 101bd4fcc09Stron v Edit the current file with $VISUAL or $EDITOR. 102bd4fcc09Stron V Print version number of "less". 103bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 104bd4fcc09Stron 105bd4fcc09Stron OOPPTTIIOONNSS 106bd4fcc09Stron 107bd4fcc09Stron Most options may be changed either on the command line, 108bd4fcc09Stron or from within less by using the - or -- command. 109bd4fcc09Stron Options may be given in one of two forms: either a single 110*0a7fbd90Stron character preceded by a -, or a name preceded by --. 111bd4fcc09Stron 112bd4fcc09Stron -? ........ --help 113bd4fcc09Stron Display help (from command line). 114bd4fcc09Stron -a ........ --search-skip-screen 115*0a7fbd90Stron Search skips current screen. 116bd4fcc09Stron -A ........ --SEARCH-SKIP-SCREEN 117*0a7fbd90Stron Search starts just after target line. 118bd4fcc09Stron -b [_N] .... --buffers=[_N] 119bd4fcc09Stron Number of buffers. 120bd4fcc09Stron -B ........ --auto-buffers 121bd4fcc09Stron Don't automatically allocate buffers for pipes. 122bd4fcc09Stron -c ........ --clear-screen 123bd4fcc09Stron Repaint by clearing rather than scrolling. 124bd4fcc09Stron -d ........ --dumb 125bd4fcc09Stron Dumb terminal. 126bd4fcc09Stron -D [_x_n_._n] . --color=_x_n_._n 127bd4fcc09Stron Set screen colors. (MS-DOS only) 128bd4fcc09Stron -e -E .... --quit-at-eof --QUIT-AT-EOF 129bd4fcc09Stron Quit at end of file. 130bd4fcc09Stron -f ........ --force 131bd4fcc09Stron Force open non-regular files. 132bd4fcc09Stron -F ........ --quit-if-one-screen 133bd4fcc09Stron Quit if entire file fits on first screen. 134bd4fcc09Stron -g ........ --hilite-search 135bd4fcc09Stron Highlight only last match for searches. 136bd4fcc09Stron -G ........ --HILITE-SEARCH 137bd4fcc09Stron Don't highlight any matches for searches. 138bd4fcc09Stron -h [_N] .... --max-back-scroll=[_N] 139bd4fcc09Stron Backward scroll limit. 140bd4fcc09Stron -i ........ --ignore-case 141bd4fcc09Stron Ignore case in searches that do not contain uppercase. 142bd4fcc09Stron -I ........ --IGNORE-CASE 143bd4fcc09Stron Ignore case in all searches. 144bd4fcc09Stron -j [_N] .... --jump-target=[_N] 145bd4fcc09Stron Screen position of target lines. 146bd4fcc09Stron -J ........ --status-column 147bd4fcc09Stron Display a status column at left edge of screen. 148bd4fcc09Stron -k [_f_i_l_e] . --lesskey-file=[_f_i_l_e] 149bd4fcc09Stron Use a lesskey file. 150bd4fcc09Stron -K --quit-on-intr 151bd4fcc09Stron Exit less in response to ctrl-C. 152bd4fcc09Stron -L ........ --no-lessopen 153bd4fcc09Stron Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable. 154bd4fcc09Stron -m -M .... --long-prompt --LONG-PROMPT 155bd4fcc09Stron Set prompt style. 156bd4fcc09Stron -n -N .... --line-numbers --LINE-NUMBERS 157bd4fcc09Stron Don't use line numbers. 158bd4fcc09Stron -o [_f_i_l_e] . --log-file=[_f_i_l_e] 159bd4fcc09Stron Copy to log file (standard input only). 160bd4fcc09Stron -O [_f_i_l_e] . --LOG-FILE=[_f_i_l_e] 161bd4fcc09Stron Copy to log file (unconditionally overwrite). 162bd4fcc09Stron -p [_p_a_t_t_e_r_n] --pattern=[_p_a_t_t_e_r_n] 163bd4fcc09Stron Start at pattern (from command line). 164bd4fcc09Stron -P [_p_r_o_m_p_t] --prompt=[_p_r_o_m_p_t] 165bd4fcc09Stron Define new prompt. 166bd4fcc09Stron -q -Q .... --quiet --QUIET --silent --SILENT 167bd4fcc09Stron Quiet the terminal bell. 168bd4fcc09Stron -r -R .... --raw-control-chars --RAW-CONTROL-CHARS 169bd4fcc09Stron Output "raw" control characters. 170bd4fcc09Stron -s ........ --squeeze-blank-lines 171bd4fcc09Stron Squeeze multiple blank lines. 172bd4fcc09Stron -S ........ --chop-long-lines 173*0a7fbd90Stron Chop (truncate) long lines rather than wrapping. 174bd4fcc09Stron -t [_t_a_g] .. --tag=[_t_a_g] 175bd4fcc09Stron Find a tag. 176bd4fcc09Stron -T [_t_a_g_s_f_i_l_e] --tag-file=[_t_a_g_s_f_i_l_e] 177bd4fcc09Stron Use an alternate tags file. 178bd4fcc09Stron -u -U .... --underline-special --UNDERLINE-SPECIAL 179bd4fcc09Stron Change handling of backspaces. 180bd4fcc09Stron -V ........ --version 181bd4fcc09Stron Display the version number of "less". 182bd4fcc09Stron -w ........ --hilite-unread 183bd4fcc09Stron Highlight first new line after forward-screen. 184bd4fcc09Stron -W ........ --HILITE-UNREAD 185bd4fcc09Stron Highlight first new line after any forward movement. 186bd4fcc09Stron -x [_N[,...]] --tabs=[_N[,...]] 187bd4fcc09Stron Set tab stops. 188bd4fcc09Stron -X ........ --no-init 189bd4fcc09Stron Don't use termcap init/deinit strings. 190bd4fcc09Stron -y [_N] .... --max-forw-scroll=[_N] 191bd4fcc09Stron Forward scroll limit. 192bd4fcc09Stron -z [_N] .... --window=[_N] 193bd4fcc09Stron Set size of window. 194bd4fcc09Stron -" [_c[_c]] . --quotes=[_c[_c]] 195bd4fcc09Stron Set shell quote characters. 196bd4fcc09Stron -~ ........ --tilde 197bd4fcc09Stron Don't display tildes after end of file. 198bd4fcc09Stron -# [_N] .... --shift=[_N] 199bd4fcc09Stron Horizontal scroll amount (0 = one half screen width) 200bd4fcc09Stron ........ --no-keypad 201*0a7fbd90Stron Don't send termcap keypad init/deinit strings. 202bd4fcc09Stron ........ --follow-name 203bd4fcc09Stron The F command changes files if the input file is renamed. 204bd4fcc09Stron 205bd4fcc09Stron 206bd4fcc09Stron --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 207bd4fcc09Stron 208bd4fcc09Stron LLIINNEE EEDDIITTIINNGG 209bd4fcc09Stron 210bd4fcc09Stron These keys can be used to edit text being entered 211bd4fcc09Stron on the "command line" at the bottom of the screen. 212bd4fcc09Stron 213bd4fcc09Stron RightArrow ESC-l Move cursor right one character. 214bd4fcc09Stron LeftArrow ESC-h Move cursor left one character. 215*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-RightArrow ESC-RightArrow ESC-w Move cursor right one word. 216*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-LeftArrow ESC-LeftArrow ESC-b Move cursor left one word. 217bd4fcc09Stron HOME ESC-0 Move cursor to start of line. 218bd4fcc09Stron END ESC-$ Move cursor to end of line. 219bd4fcc09Stron BACKSPACE Delete char to left of cursor. 220bd4fcc09Stron DELETE ESC-x Delete char under cursor. 221*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-BACKSPACE ESC-BACKSPACE Delete word to left of cursor. 222*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-DELETE ESC-DELETE ESC-X Delete word under cursor. 223*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-U ESC (MS-DOS only) Delete entire line. 224bd4fcc09Stron UpArrow ESC-k Retrieve previous command line. 225bd4fcc09Stron DownArrow ESC-j Retrieve next command line. 226bd4fcc09Stron TAB Complete filename & cycle. 227bd4fcc09Stron SHIFT-TAB ESC-TAB Complete filename & reverse cycle. 228*0a7fbd90Stron ctrl-L Complete filename, list all. 229bd4fcc09Stron 230bd4fcc09Stron 231