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LESS(1)								       LESS(1)

NAME
       less - opposite of more (a filter for browsing text files)

SYNOPSIS
       less -?
       less --help
       less -V
       less --version
       less [-[+]aBcCdeEfFgGiIJKLmMnNqQrRsSuUVwWX~]
	    [-b space] [-h lines] [-j line] [-k keyfile]
	    [-{oO} logfile] [-p pattern] [-P prompt] [-t tag]
	    [-T tagsfile] [-x tab,...] [-y lines] [-[z] lines]
	    [-# shift] [+[+]cmd] [--] [filename]...
       more [options]
       page [options]
       (See  the  OPTIONS section for alternate option syntax with long option
       names.)

DESCRIPTION
       Less is a program similar to more (1), a filter	that  shows  text  one
       page  at	 a  time.   In NetBSD the two utilities are implemented by the
       same binary but they expose slightly different behavior.	 Their differ‐
       ences are detailed below:

       ·   less	 allows backward movement in the file as well as forward move‐
	   ment.

       ·   less does not have to read the entire input file  before  starting,
	   so  with  large  input  files it starts up faster than text editors
	   like vi (1).

       ·   more ignores * and @ in search commands.

       ·   less does not clear the screen or squish it to the bottom, for  the
	   first page, or when exiting.

       ·   more sets the -E -m -G -f flags automatically.

       ·   more uses $MORE instead of $LESS for extra options.

       Less  uses  termcap  (or	 terminfo on some systems), so it can run on a
       variety of terminals.  There is even limited support for hardcopy  ter‐
       minals.	 (On a hardcopy terminal, lines which should be printed at the
       top of the screen are prefixed with a caret.)

       Commands are based on both more and vi.	Commands may be preceded by  a
       decimal number, called N in the descriptions below.  The number is used
       by some commands, as indicated.

COMMANDS
       In the following descriptions, ^X means control-X.  ESC stands for  the
       ESCAPE  key;  for  example  ESC-v  means	 the  two  character  sequence
       "ESCAPE", then "v".

       h or H Help: display a summary of these commands.  If  you  forget  all
	      the other commands, remember this one.

       SPACE or ^V or f or ^F
	      Scroll  forward  N  lines,  default  one	window	(see option -z
	      below).  If N is more than  the  screen  size,  only  the	 final
	      screenful	 is displayed.	Warning: some systems use ^V as a spe‐
	      cial literalization character.

       z      Like SPACE, but if N is specified, it  becomes  the  new	window
	      size.

       ESC-SPACE
	      Like  SPACE,  but	 scrolls  a full screenful, even if it reaches
	      end-of-file in the process.

       RETURN or ^N or e or ^E or j or ^J
	      Scroll forward N lines, default 1.  The entire N lines are  dis‐
	      played, even if N is more than the screen size.

       d or ^D
	      Scroll forward N lines, default one half of the screen size.  If
	      N is specified, it becomes the new default for subsequent d  and
	      u commands.

       b or ^B or ESC-v
	      Scroll  backward	N  lines,  default  one	 window (see option -z
	      below).  If N is more than  the  screen  size,  only  the	 final
	      screenful is displayed.

       w      Like  ESC-v,  but	 if  N is specified, it becomes the new window
	      size.

       y or ^Y or ^P or k or ^K
	      Scroll backward N lines, default 1.  The entire N lines are dis‐
	      played,  even  if N is more than the screen size.	 Warning: some
	      systems use ^Y as a special job control character.

       u or ^U
	      Scroll backward N lines, default one half of  the	 screen	 size.
	      If  N  is specified, it becomes the new default for subsequent d
	      and u commands.

       ESC-) or RIGHTARROW
	      Scroll horizontally right N characters, default half the	screen
	      width  (see  the	-#  option).   If  a number N is specified, it
	      becomes the default for future  RIGHTARROW  and  LEFTARROW  com‐
	      mands.   While  the  text	 is scrolled, it acts as though the -S
	      option (chop lines) were in effect.

       ESC-( or LEFTARROW
	      Scroll horizontally left N characters, default half  the	screen
	      width  (see  the	-#  option).   If  a number N is specified, it
	      becomes the default for future  RIGHTARROW  and  LEFTARROW  com‐
	      mands.

       r or ^R or ^L
	      Repaint the screen.

       R      Repaint  the  screen,  discarding any buffered input.  Useful if
	      the file is changing while it is being viewed.

       F      Scroll forward, and keep trying to read when the end of file  is
	      reached.	 Normally  this	 command would be used when already at
	      the end of the file.  It is a way to monitor the tail of a  file
	      which  is	 growing  while	 it is being viewed.  (The behavior is
	      similar to the "tail -f" command.)

       g or  or ESC-
	      Go to line N in the file, default 1 (beginning of file).	(Warn‐
	      ing: this may be slow if N is large.)

       G or  or ESC-
	      Go  to  line N in the file, default the end of the file.	(Warn‐
	      ing: this may be slow if N is large, or if N  is	not  specified
	      and standard input, rather than a file, is being read.)

       p or % Go to a position N percent into the file.	 N should be between 0
	      and 100.

       {      If a left curly bracket appears in the top line displayed on the
	      screen,  the  {  command	will  go  to  the matching right curly
	      bracket.	The matching right curly bracket is positioned on  the
	      bottom line of the screen.  If there is more than one left curly
	      bracket on the top line, a number N may be used to  specify  the
	      N-th bracket on the line.

       }      If a right curly bracket appears in the bottom line displayed on
	      the screen, the } command will go to  the	 matching  left	 curly
	      bracket.	 The  matching left curly bracket is positioned on the
	      top line of the screen.  If there is more than one  right	 curly
	      bracket  on  the top line, a number N may be used to specify the
	      N-th bracket on the line.

       (      Like {, but applies to parentheses rather than curly brackets.

       )      Like }, but applies to parentheses rather than curly brackets.

       [      Like {, but applies to square brackets rather than curly	brack‐
	      ets.

       ]      Like  }, but applies to square brackets rather than curly brack‐
	      ets.

       ESC-^F Followed by two characters, acts like {, but uses the two	 char‐
	      acters  as  open and close brackets, respectively.  For example,
	      "ESC ^F  " could be used to go forward to the  which matches the
	      in the top displayed line.

       ESC-^B Followed	by two characters, acts like }, but uses the two char‐
	      acters as open and close brackets, respectively.	 For  example,
	      "ESC  ^B	 "  could be used to go backward to the	 which matches
	      the  in the bottom displayed line.

       m      Followed by any lowercase letter,	 marks	the  current  position
	      with that letter.

       '      (Single  quote.)	 Followed  by any lowercase letter, returns to
	      the position which was previously marked with that letter.  Fol‐
	      lowed  by another single quote, returns to the position at which
	      the last "large" movement command was executed.  Followed by a ^
	      or  $,  jumps  to the beginning or end of the file respectively.
	      Marks are preserved when a new file is examined, so the  '  com‐
	      mand can be used to switch between input files.

       ^X^X   Same as single quote.

       /pattern
	      Search forward in the file for the N-th line containing the pat‐
	      tern.  N defaults to 1.  When invoked as less, the pattern is an
	      extended	regular expression.  Otherwise, the pattern is a basic
	      regular expression, as recognized by ed.	The search  starts  at
	      the  second line displayed (but see the -a and -j options, which
	      change this).

	      Certain characters are special if entered at  the	 beginning  of
	      the  pattern;  they modify the type of search rather than become
	      part of the pattern:

	      ^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
		     list.   The  * modifier is available when invoked as less
		     only.

	      ^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
		     options.	The  @	modifier  is available when invoked as
		     less only.

	      ^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
		     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 line immediately  before  the
	      top line displayed.

	      Certain characters are special as in the / command:

	      ^N or !
		     Search for lines which do NOT match the 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
		     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
		     options.

	      ^K     As in forward searches.

	      ^R     As in forward searches.

       ESC-/pattern
	      Same as "/*".

       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
	      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
	      effect is as if the previous search were modified by *.

       ESC-N  Repeat  previous search, but in the reverse direction and cross‐
	      ing file boundaries.

       ESC-u  Undo search highlighting.	  Turn	off  highlighting  of  strings
	      matching the current search pattern.  If highlighting is already
	      off because of a previous ESC-u command, turn highlighting  back
	      on.   Any	 search	 command  will also turn highlighting back on.
	      (Highlighting can also be disabled by toggling the -G option; in
	      that case search commands do not turn highlighting back on.)

       :e [filename]
	      Examine  a  new file.  If the filename is missing, the "current"
	      file (see the :n and :p commands below) from the list  of	 files
	      in  the  command line is re-examined.  A percent sign (%) in the
	      filename is replaced by the name of the current file.   A	 pound
	      sign  (#)	 is  replaced  by  the name of the previously examined
	      file.   However,	two  consecutive  percent  signs  are	simply
	      replaced with a single percent sign.  This allows you to enter a
	      filename that contains a percent sign in the  name.   Similarly,
	      two  consecutive	pound  signs  are replaced with a single pound
	      sign.  The filename is inserted into the command	line  list  of
	      files  so	 that it can be seen by subsequent :n and :p commands.
	      If the filename consists of several files, they are all inserted
	      into  the	 list  of files and the first one is examined.	If the
	      filename contains one or more spaces, the entire filename should
	      be enclosed in double quotes (also see the -" option).

       ^X^V or E
	      Same  as :e.  Warning: some systems use ^V as a 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
	      examined.

       :p     Examine the previous file in the command line list.  If a number
	      N is specified, the N-th previous file is examined.

       :x     Examine the first file in the command line list.	If a number  N
	      is specified, the N-th file in the list is examined.

       :d     Remove the current file from the list of files.

       t      Go  to the next tag, if there were more than one matches for the
	      current tag.  See the -t option for more details about tags.

       T      Go to the previous tag, if there were more than one matches  for
	      the current tag.

       = or ^G or :f
	      Prints  some  information about the file being viewed, including
	      its name and the line number and byte offset of the bottom  line
	      being  displayed.	 If possible, it also prints the length of the
	      file, the number of lines in the file and	 the  percent  of  the
	      file above the last displayed line.

       -      Followed	by one of the command line option letters (see OPTIONS
	      below), this will change the setting of that option and print  a
	      message  describing  the	new  setting.	If a ^P (CONTROL-P) is
	      entered immediately after the dash, the setting of the option is
	      changed  but  no message is printed.  If the option letter has a
	      numeric value (such as -b or -h), or a string value (such as  -P
	      or  -t), a new value may be entered after the option letter.  If
	      no new value is entered, a message describing the	 current  set‐
	      ting is printed and nothing is changed.

       --     Like  the	 -  command, but takes a long option name (see OPTIONS
	      below) rather than a  single  option  letter.   You  must	 press
	      RETURN after typing the option name.  A ^P immediately after the
	      second dash suppresses printing of a message describing the  new
	      setting, as in the - command.

       -+     Followed	by  one	 of  the command line option letters this will
	      reset the option to its default  setting	and  print  a  message
	      describing  the  new  setting.  (The "-+X" command does the same
	      thing as "-+X" on the command line.)  This  does	not  work  for
	      string-valued options.

       --+    Like  the -+ command, but takes a long option name rather than a
	      single option letter.

       -!     Followed by one of the command line option  letters,  this  will
	      reset  the  option  to the "opposite" of its default setting and
	      print a message describing the new setting.  This does not  work
	      for numeric or string-valued options.

       --!    Like  the -! command, but takes a long option name rather than a
	      single option letter.

       _      (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.

       +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.

       V      Prints the version number of less being run.

       q or Q or :q or :Q or ZZ
	      Exits less.

       The following four commands may or may not be valid, depending on  your
       particular installation.

       v      Invokes  an  editor  to edit the current file being viewed.  The
	      editor is taken from the environment variable VISUAL if defined,
	      or  EDITOR if VISUAL is not defined, or defaults to "vi" if nei‐
	      ther VISUAL nor EDITOR is defined.  See also the	discussion  of
	      LESSEDIT under the section on PROMPTS below.

       ! shell-command
	      Invokes  a shell to run the shell-command given.	A percent sign
	      (%) in the command is replaced by the name of the current	 file.
	      A pound sign (#) is replaced by the name of the previously exam‐
	      ined file.  "!!" repeats the last shell command.	 "!"  with  no
	      shell  command  simply  invokes  a  shell.  On Unix systems, the
	      shell is taken from the environment variable SHELL, or  defaults
	      to  "sh".	  On  MS-DOS and OS/2 systems, the shell is the normal
	      command processor.

       | m shell-command
	      m represents any mark letter.  Pipes a section of the input file
	      to the given shell command.  The section of the file to be piped
	      is between the first line on the current screen and the position
	      marked  by  the letter.  m may also be ^ or $ to indicate begin‐
	      ning or end of file respectively.	 If m is  .  or	 newline,  the
	      current screen is piped.

       s filename
	      Save  the	 input	to  a file.  This only works if the input is a
	      pipe, not an ordinary file.

OPTIONS
       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
       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
       example, --Quit-at-eof is equivalent to --QUIT-AT-EOF.

       Options are also taken from the environment variable "LESS".  For exam‐
       ple, to avoid typing "less -options ..." each time less is invoked, you
       might tell csh:

       setenv LESS "-options"

       or if you use sh:

       LESS="-options"; export LESS

       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 command line by beginning the command line option with "-+".

       For  options like -P or -D which take a following string, a dollar sign
       ($) must be used to signal the end of the string.  For example, to  set
       two  -D	options	 on  MS-DOS, you must have a dollar sign between them,
       like this:

       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
	      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).

       -bn or --buffers=n
	      Specifies the amount of buffer space  less  will	use  for  each
	      file,  in	 units	of  kilobytes (1024 bytes).  By default 64K of
	      buffer space is used for each file (unless the file is  a	 pipe;
	      see  the	-B  option).   The  -b option specifies instead that n
	      kilobytes of buffer space should be used for each file.  If n is
	      -1,  buffer space is unlimited; that is, the entire file is read
	      into memory.

       -B or --auto-buffers
	      By default, when data is read from a pipe, buffers are allocated
	      automatically as needed.	If a large amount of data is read from
	      the pipe, this can cause a large amount of memory	 to  be	 allo‐
	      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 file is kept in memory; any earlier data is
	      lost.

       -c or --clear-screen
	      Causes full screen repaints to be	 painted  from	the  top  line
	      down.   By  default,  full screen repaints are done by scrolling
	      from the bottom of the screen.

       -C or --CLEAR-SCREEN
	      The -C option is like -c, but the screen is cleared before it is
	      repainted.

       -d     The  -d  option  causes  the default prompt to include the basic
	      directions ``[Press space to continue, 'q' to quit.]''.  The  -d
	      option also causes the message ``[Press 'h' for instructions.]''
	      to be displayed when an invalid command  is  entered  (normally,
	      the  bell is rung).  This option is useful in environments where
	      users may not be experienced with pagers.

       --dumb"
	      The --dumb option suppresses the	error  message	normally  dis‐
	      played  if  the  terminal is dumb; that is, lacks some important
	      capability, such as the ability to clear the  screen  or	scroll
	      backward.	  The  --dumb  option  does  not  otherwise change the
	      behavior of less on a dumb terminal.

       -Dxcolor or --color=xcolor
	      [MS-DOS only] Sets the color of the text displayed.  x is a sin‐
	      gle  character  which  selects  the  type of text whose color is
	      being set: n=normal, s=standout, d=bold, u=underlined,  k=blink.
	      color  is	 a  pair  of numbers separated by a period.  The first
	      number selects the foreground color and the second  selects  the
	      background  color of the text.  A single number N is the same as
	      N.0.

       -e or --quit-at-eof
	      Causes less to automatically exit the  second  time  it  reaches
	      end-of-file.   By	 default, the only way to exit less is via the
	      "q" command.

       -E or --QUIT-AT-EOF
	      Causes less to automatically exit the first time it reaches end-
	      of-file.

       -f or --force
	      Forces non-regular files to be opened.  (A non-regular file is a
	      directory or a device special file.)  Also suppresses the	 warn‐
	      ing message when a binary file is opened.	 By default, less will
	      refuse to open non-regular files.

       -F or --quit-if-one-screen
	      Causes less to automatically exit if the entire file can be dis‐
	      played on the first screen.

       -g or --hilite-search
	      Normally,	 less  will highlight ALL strings which match the last
	      search command.  The -g option changes this  behavior  to	 high‐
	      light  only  the	particular  string which was found by the last
	      search command.  This can cause less to run somewhat faster than
	      the default.

       -G or --HILITE-SEARCH
	      The  -G  option  suppresses all highlighting of strings found by
	      search commands.

       -hn or --max-back-scroll=n
	      Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll backward.	If  it
	      is necessary to scroll backward more than n lines, the screen is
	      repainted in a forward direction instead.	 (If the terminal does
	      not have the ability to scroll backward, -h0 is implied.)

       -i or --ignore-case
	      Causes searches to ignore case; that is, uppercase and lowercase
	      are considered identical.	 This option is ignored if any	upper‐
	      case  letters appear in the search pattern; in other words, if a
	      pattern contains uppercase letters, then that  search  does  not
	      ignore case.

       -I or --IGNORE-CASE
	      Like  -i,	 but searches ignore case even if the pattern contains
	      uppercase letters.

       -jn or --jump-target=n
	      Specifies a line on the screen where the "target" line is to  be
	      positioned.   A  target line is the object of a text search, tag
	      search, jump to a line number, jump to  a	 file  percentage,  or
	      jump  to	a  marked position.  The screen line is specified by a
	      number: the top line on the screen is 1, the next is 2,  and  so
	      on.   The	 number	 may be negative to specify a line relative to
	      the bottom of the screen: the bottom line on the screen  is  -1,
	      the  second to the bottom is -2, and so on.  If the -j option is
	      used, searches begin at the line immediately  after  the	target
	      line.   For  example,  if	 "-j4" is used, the target line is the
	      fourth line on the screen, so searches begin at the  fifth  line
	      on the screen.

       -J or --status-column
	      Displays	a  status  column at the left edge of the screen.  The
	      status column shows the lines that matched the  current  search.
	      The  status  column  is  also  used if the -w or -W option is in
	      effect.

       -kfilename or --lesskey-file=filename
	      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
	      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.

       -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
	      to the file which is currently open.

       -m or --long-prompt
	      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
	      line number will be displayed in the verbose prompt and in the =
	      command, and the v command will pass the current line number  to
	      the  editor  (see	 also  the  discussion	of LESSEDIT in PROMPTS
	      below).

       -N or --LINE-NUMBERS
	      Causes a line number to be displayed at the  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
	      viewed.  This applies only when the input file is a pipe, not an
	      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
	      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‐
	      rence of pattern in the file.

       -Pprompt or --prompt=prompt
	      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.

       -q or --quiet or --silent
	      Causes  moderately  "quiet"  operation: the terminal bell is not
	      rung if an attempt is made to scroll past the end of the file or
	      before the beginning of the file.	 If the terminal has a "visual
	      bell", it is used instead.  The bell will	 be  rung  on  certain
	      other  errors, such as typing an invalid character.  The default
	      is to ring the terminal bell in all such cases.

       -Q or --QUIET or --SILENT
	      Causes totally "quiet" operation: the  terminal  bell  is	 never
	      rung.

       -r or --raw-control-chars
	      Causes "raw" control characters to be displayed.	The default is
	      to display control characters  using  the	 caret	notation;  for
	      example, a control-A (octal 001) is displayed as "^A".  Warning:
	      when the -r option is used, less cannot keep track of the actual
	      appearance  of  the screen (since this depends on how the screen
	      responds to each type of control character).  Thus, various dis‐
	      play  problems may result, such as long lines being split in the
	      wrong place.

       -R or --RAW-CONTROL-CHARS
	      Like -r, but only ANSI "color" escape sequences  are  output  in
	      "raw" form.  Unlike -r, the screen appearance is maintained cor‐
	      rectly  in  most	cases.	 ANSI  "color"	escape	sequences  are
	      sequences of the form:

		   ESC [ ... m

	      where  the  "..." is zero or more color specification characters
	      For the purpose of keeping  track	 of  screen  appearance,  ANSI
	      color  escape sequences are assumed to not move the cursor.  You
	      can make less think that characters other than "m" can end  ANSI
	      color  escape  sequences	by  setting  the  environment variable
	      LESSANSIENDCHARS to the list of characters which can end a color
	      escape  sequence.	  And  you can make less think that characters
	      other than the standard ones may appear between the ESC and  the
	      m	 by  setting  the environment variable LESSANSIMIDCHARS to the
	      list of characters which can appear.

       -s or --squeeze-blank-lines
	      Causes consecutive blank lines to	 be  squeezed  into  a	single
	      blank line.  This is useful when viewing nroff output.

       -S or --chop-long-lines
	      Causes  lines  longer than the screen width to be chopped rather
	      than folded.  That is, the portion of a long line that does  not
	      fit  in  the  screen width is not shown.	The default is to fold
	      long lines; that is, display the remainder on the next line.

       -ttag or --tag=tag
	      The -t option, followed immediately by a TAG, will edit the file
	      containing  that tag.  For this to work, tag information must be
	      available; for example, there may	 be  a	file  in  the  current
	      directory called "tags", which was previously built by ctags (1)
	      or an equivalent command.	 If the environment variable LESSGLOB‐
	      ALTAGS  is set, it is taken to be the name of a command compati‐
	      ble with global (1), and that command is executed	 to  find  the
	      tag.  (See http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html).  The
	      -t option may also be specified from within less	(using	the  -
	      command)	as a way of examining a new file.  The command ":t" is
	      equivalent to specifying -t from within less.

       -Ttagsfile or --tag-file=tagsfile
	      Specifies a tags file to be used instead of "tags".

       -u or --underline-special
	      Causes backspaces and carriage returns to be treated  as	print‐
	      able  characters;	 that  is,  they are sent to the terminal when
	      they appear in the input.

       -U or --UNDERLINE-SPECIAL
	      Causes backspaces, tabs and carriage returns to  be  treated  as
	      control  characters;  that  is, they are handled as specified by
	      the -r option.

	      By default, if neither -u nor  -U	 is  given,  backspaces	 which
	      appear  adjacent	to  an	underscore  character are treated spe‐
	      cially: the underlined text is displayed	using  the  terminal's
	      hardware	underlining capability.	 Also, backspaces which appear
	      between two identical  characters	 are  treated  specially:  the
	      overstruck  text	is printed using the terminal's hardware bold‐
	      face capability.	Other backspaces are deleted, along  with  the
	      preceding character.  Carriage returns immediately followed by a
	      newline are deleted.  other  carriage  returns  are  handled  as
	      specified	 by the -r option.  Text which is overstruck or under‐
	      lined can be searched for if neither -u nor -U is in effect.

       -V or --version
	      Displays the version number of less.

       -w or --hilite-unread
	      Temporarily highlights the first	"new"  line  after  a  forward
	      movement of a full page.	The first "new" line is the line imme‐
	      diately following the line  previously  at  the  bottom  of  the
	      screen.  Also highlights the target line after a g or p command.
	      The highlight is removed at the next command which causes	 move‐
	      ment.   The  entire line is highlighted, unless the -J option is
	      in effect, in which case only the status column is highlighted.

       -W or --HILITE-UNREAD
	      Like -w, but temporarily highlights the first new 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
	      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‐
	      ing the screen.

       --no-keypad
	      Disables	sending the keypad initialization and deinitialization
	      strings to the terminal.	This is sometimes useful if the keypad
	      strings make the numeric keypad behave in an undesirable manner.

       -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
	      movement causes scrolling.

       -[z]n or --window=n
	      Changes  the  default  scrolling	window	size  to n lines.  The
	      default is one screenful.	 The z and w commands can also be used
	      to  change the window size.  The "z" may be omitted for compati‐
	      bility with more.	 If the number n is negative, it  indicates  n
	      lines  less  than	 the current screen size.  For example, if the
	      screen is 24 lines, -z-4 sets the scrolling window to 20	lines.
	      If the screen is resized to 40 lines, the scrolling window auto‐
	      matically changes to 36 lines.

       -"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
	      space should then be surrounded by that character rather than by
	      double  quotes.	Followed  by  two characters, changes the open
	      quote to the first character, and the close quote to the	second
	      character.  Filenames containing a space should then be preceded
	      by the open quote character and  followed	 by  the  close	 quote
	      character.   Note	 that  even  after  the	 quote	characters are
	      changed, this option remains -" (a dash  followed	 by  a	double
	      quote).

       -~ or --tilde
	      Normally lines after end of file are displayed as a single tilde
	      (~).  This option causes lines after end of file to be displayed
	      as blank lines.

       -# 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
	      half of the screen width.

       --     A command line argument of "--" marks the end  of	 option	 argu‐
	      ments.   Any  arguments  following this are interpreted as file‐
	      names.  This can be useful when viewing a file whose name begins
	      with a "-" or "+".

       +      If  a  command  line option begins with +, the remainder of that
	      option is taken to be an initial command to 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
	      +numberg; that is, it starts the display at the  specified  line
	      number  (however,	 see  the caveat under the "g" command above).
	      If the option starts with ++, the	 initial  command  applies  to
	      every  file being viewed, not just the first one.	 The + command
	      described previously may also be used to set (or change) an ini‐
	      tial command for every file.

LINE EDITING
       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.  (The bracketed forms do not work
       in the MS-DOS version.)	Any of these special keys may be entered  lit‐
       erally  by  preceding it with the "literal" character, either ^V or ^A.
       A backslash itself may also be entered literally by entering two	 back‐
       slashes.

       LEFTARROW [ ESC-h ]
	      Move the cursor one space to the left.

       RIGHTARROW [ ESC-l ]
	      Move the cursor one space to the right.

       ^LEFTARROW [ ESC-b or ESC-LEFTARROW ]
	      (That  is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.)	 Move the cur‐
	      sor one word to the left.

       ^RIGHTARROW [ ESC-w or ESC-RIGHTARROW ]
	      (That is, CONTROL and RIGHTARROW simultaneously.)	 Move the cur‐
	      sor one word to the right.

       HOME [ ESC-0 ]
	      Move the cursor to the beginning of the line.

       END [ ESC-$ ]
	      Move the cursor to the end of the line.

       BACKSPACE
	      Delete  the  character  to the left of the cursor, or cancel the
	      command if the command line is empty.

       DELETE or [ ESC-x ]
	      Delete the character under the cursor.

       ^BACKSPACE [ ESC-BACKSPACE ]
	      (That is, CONTROL and  BACKSPACE	simultaneously.)   Delete  the
	      word to the left of the cursor.

       ^DELETE [ ESC-X or ESC-DELETE ]
	      (That  is,  CONTROL and DELETE simultaneously.)  Delete the word
	      under the cursor.

       UPARROW [ ESC-k ]
	      Retrieve the previous command line.

       DOWNARROW [ ESC-j ]
	      Retrieve the next command line.

       TAB    Complete the partial filename to the left of the cursor.	If  it
	      matches  more than one filename, the first match is entered into
	      the command line.	 Repeated  TABs	 will  cycle  thru  the	 other
	      matching filenames.  If the completed filename is a directory, a
	      "/" is appended to the filename.	(On MS-DOS systems, a  "\"  is
	      appended.)   The	environment variable LESSSEPARATOR can be used
	      to specify a different character to append to a directory name.

       BACKTAB [ ESC-TAB ]
	      Like, TAB, but cycles in the reverse direction thru the matching
	      filenames.

       ^L     Complete	the partial filename to the left of the cursor.	 If it
	      matches more than one filename, all matches are entered into the
	      command line (if they fit).

       ^U (Unix and OS/2) or ESC (MS-DOS)
	      Delete  the  entire  command  line, or cancel the command if the
	      command line is empty.  If you have changed your line-kill char‐
	      acter in Unix to something other than ^U, that character is used
	      instead of ^U.

KEY BINDINGS
       You may define your own less commands by using the program lesskey  (1)
       to  create  a  lesskey file.  This file specifies a set of command keys
       and an action associated with each key.	You may also  use  lesskey  to
       change the line-editing keys (see LINE EDITING), and to set environment
       variables.  If the environment variable LESSKEY is set, less uses  that
       as  the	name of the lesskey file.  Otherwise, less looks in a standard
       place for the lesskey file: On Unix systems, less looks for  a  lesskey
       file  called  "$HOME/.less".  On MS-DOS and Windows systems, less looks
       for a lesskey file called "$HOME/_less", and if it is not found	there,
       then looks for a lesskey file called "_less" in any directory specified
       in the PATH environment variable.  On OS/2 systems, less	 looks	for  a
       lesskey	file  called  "$HOME/less.ini",	 and  if it is not found, then
       looks for a lesskey file called "less.ini" in any  directory  specified
       in the INIT environment variable, and if it not found there, then looks
       for a lesskey file called "less.ini" in any directory specified in  the
       PATH  environment  variable.   See  the	lesskey	 manual	 page for more
       details.

       A system-wide lesskey file may also be set up to provide key  bindings.
       If a key is defined in both a local lesskey file and in the system-wide
       file, key bindings in the local file take precedence over those in  the
       system-wide  file.   If the environment variable LESSKEY_SYSTEM is set,
       less uses that as the name of the system-wide lesskey file.  Otherwise,
       less  looks  in	a  standard place for the system-wide lesskey file: On
       NetBSD, the system-wide lesskey file is in /etc/sysless.	 On other Unix
       systems, the system-wide lesskey file is /usr/local/etc/sysless.	 (How‐
       ever, if less  was  built  with	a  different  sysconf  directory  than
       /usr/local/etc, that directory is where the sysless file is found.)  On
       MS-DOS and Windows systems, the system-wide lesskey  file  is  c:\_sys‐
       less.  On OS/2 systems, the system-wide lesskey file is c:\sysless.ini.

INPUT PREPROCESSOR
       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
       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
       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
       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
       LESSOPEN).  This program receives two command line arguments, the orig‐
       inal  filename  as entered by the user, and the name of the replacement
       file.  To set up an input postprocessor, set the LESSCLOSE  environment
       variable	 to a command line which will invoke your input postprocessor.
       It may include two  occurrences	of  the	 string	 "%s";	the  first  is
       replaced	 with  the  original  name of the file and the second with the
       name of the replacement file, which was output by LESSOPEN.

       For example, on many Unix systems, these two scripts will allow you  to
       keep files in compressed format, but still let less view them directly:

       lessopen.sh:
	    #! /bin/sh
	    case "$1" in
	    *.Z) uncompress -c $1  /tmp/less.$$	 2/dev/null
		 if [ -s /tmp/less.$$ ]; then
		      echo /tmp/less.$$
		 else
		      rm -f /tmp/less.$$
		 fi
		 ;;
	    esac

       lessclose.sh:
	    #! /bin/sh
	    rm $2

       To  use these scripts, put them both where they can be executed and set
       LESSOPEN="lessopen.sh %s",  and	LESSCLOSE="lessclose.sh %s %s".	  More
       complex	LESSOPEN  and LESSCLOSE scripts may be written to accept other
       types of compressed files, and so on.

       It is also possible to set up an input preprocessor to  pipe  the  file
       data  directly to less, rather than putting the data into a replacement
       file.  This avoids the need to decompress the entire file before start‐
       ing to view it.	An input preprocessor that works this way is called an
       input pipe.  An input pipe, instead of writing the name of  a  replace‐
       ment  file  on  its  standard output, writes the entire contents of the
       replacement file on its standard output.	 If the input  pipe  does  not
       write  any characters on its standard output, then there is no replace‐
       ment file and less uses the original file, as normal.  To use an	 input
       pipe,  make  the first character in the LESSOPEN environment variable a
       vertical bar (|) to signify that the input  preprocessor	 is  an	 input
       pipe.

       For  example, on many Unix systems, this script will work like the pre‐
       vious example scripts:

       lesspipe.sh:
	    #! /bin/sh
	    case "$1" in
	    *.Z) uncompress -c $1  2>/dev/null
		 ;;
	    esac

       To  use	this  script,  put  it	where  it  can	be  executed  and  set
       LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh  %s".   When  an input pipe is used, a LESSCLOSE
       postprocessor can be used, but it is usually not necessary since	 there
       is no replacement file to clean up.  In this case, the replacement file
       name passed to the LESSCLOSE postprocessor is "-".

NATIONAL CHARACTER SETS
       There are three types of characters in the input file:

       normal characters
	      can be displayed directly to the screen.

       control characters
	      should not be displayed directly, but are expected to  be	 found
	      in ordinary text files (such as backspace and tab).

       binary characters
	      should  not  be  displayed  directly  and are not expected to be
	      found in text files.

       A "character set" is simply a description of which characters are to be
       considered  normal,  control,  and binary.  The LESSCHARSET environment
       variable may be used to select a character set.	 Possible  values  for
       LESSCHARSET are:

       ascii  BS,  TAB, NL, CR, and formfeed are control characters, all chars
	      with values between 32 and 126 are normal, and  all  others  are
	      binary.

       iso8859
	      Selects  an  ISO 8859 character set.  This is the same as ASCII,
	      except characters between 160 and	 255  are  treated  as	normal
	      characters.

       latin1 Same as iso8859.

       latin9 Same as iso8859.

       dos    Selects a character set appropriate for MS-DOS.

       ebcdic Selects an EBCDIC character set.

       IBM-1047
	      Selects  an  EBCDIC  character set used by OS/390 Unix Services.
	      This is the EBCDIC analogue of latin1.  You get similar  results
	      by setting either LESSCHARSET=IBM-1047 or LC_CTYPE=en_US in your
	      environment.

       koi8-r Selects a Russian character set.

       next   Selects a character set appropriate for NeXT computers.

       utf-8  Selects the UTF-8 encoding of the ISO 10646 character set.

       windows
	      Selects a character set appropriate for  Microsoft  Windows  (cp
	      1251).

       In  special  cases, it may be desired to tailor less to use a character
       set other than the ones definable by LESSCHARSET.  In  this  case,  the
       environment variable LESSCHARDEF can be used to define a character set.
       It should be set to a string where each character in the string	repre‐
       sents  one  character  in the character set.  The character "." is used
       for a normal character, "c" for control, and "b" for binary.  A decimal
       number  may  be used for repetition.  For example, "bccc4b." would mean
       character 0 is binary, 1, 2 and 3 are  control,	4,  5,	6  and	7  are
       binary, and 8 is normal.	 All characters after the last are taken to be
       the same as the last, so characters 9  through  255  would  be  normal.
       (This  is an example, and does not necessarily represent any real char‐
       acter set.)

       This table shows the value of LESSCHARDEF which is equivalent  to  each
       of the possible values for LESSCHARSET:

	    ascii     8bcccbcc18b95.b
	    dos	      8bcccbcc12bc5b95.b.
	    ebcdic    5bc6bcc7bcc41b.9b7.9b5.b..8b6.10b6.b9.7b
		      9.8b8.17b3.3b9.7b9.8b8.6b10.b.b.b.
	    IBM-1047  4cbcbc3b9cbccbccbb4c6bcc5b3cbbc4bc4bccbc
		      191.b
	    iso8859   8bcccbcc18b95.33b.
	    koi8-r    8bcccbcc18b95.b128.
	    latin1    8bcccbcc18b95.33b.
	    next      8bcccbcc18b95.bb125.bb

       If  neither  LESSCHARSET nor LESSCHARDEF is set, but any of the strings
       "UTF-8", "UTF8", "utf-8" or "utf8" is found in the LC_ALL,  LC_TYPE  or
       LANG environment variables, then the default character set is utf-8.

       If  that	 string	 is  not found, but your system supports the setlocale
       interface, less will use setlocale  to  determine  the  character  set.
       setlocale  is  controlled  by  setting the LANG or LC_CTYPE environment
       variables.

       Finally, if the setlocale interface is also not available, the  default
       character set is latin1.

       Control	and  binary  characters	 are  displayed	 in  standout (reverse
       video).	Each such character is displayed in caret notation if possible
       (e.g.  ^A for control-A).  Caret notation is used only if inverting the
       0100 bit results in a normal printable character.  Otherwise, the char‐
       acter  is displayed as a hex number in angle brackets.  This format can
       be changed by setting the LESSBINFMT environment variable.   LESSBINFMT
       may begin with a "*" and one character to select the display attribute:
       "*k" is blinking, "*d" is bold, "*u" is underlined, "*s"	 is  standout,
       and  "*n"  is  normal.  If LESSBINFMT does not begin with a "*", normal
       attribute is assumed.  The remainder of LESSBINFMT is  a	 string	 which
       may  include one printf-style escape sequence (a % followed by x, X, o,
       d, etc.).  For example, if LESSBINFMT is	 "*u[%x]",  binary  characters
       are  displayed  in  underlined hexadecimal surrounded by brackets.  The
       default if no LESSBINFMT is specified is "*s%X".	  The  default	if  no
       LESSBINFMT  is specified is "*s%02X".  Warning: the result of 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
       were successfully decoded but are unsuitable for display	 (e.g.,	 unas‐
       signed  code  points).	Its  default  value  is	 "U+%04lX".  Note that
       LESSUTFBINFMT and LESSBINFMT  share  their  display  attribute  setting
       ("*x")  so specifying one will affect both; LESSUTFBINFMT is read after
       LESSBINFMT so its setting, if any,  will	 have  priority.   Problematic
       octets  in  a  UTF-8  file (octets of a truncated sequence, octets of a
       complete but non-shortest form  sequence,  illegal  octets,  and	 stray
       trailing	 octets)  are displayed individually using LESSBINFMT so as to
       facilitate diagnostic of how the UTF-8 file is ill-formed.

PROMPTS
       The -P option allows you to tailor the prompt to your preference.   The
       string  given  to  the  -P option replaces the specified prompt string.
       Certain characters in the string are interpreted specially.  The prompt
       mechanism  is  rather complicated to provide flexibility, but the ordi‐
       nary user need not understand the details of constructing  personalized
       prompt strings.

       A  percent sign followed by a single character is expanded according to
       what the following character is:

       %bX    Replaced by the byte offset into the current input file.	The  b
	      is followed by a single character (shown as X above) which spec‐
	      ifies the line whose byte offset is to be used.  If the  charac‐
	      ter  is a "t", the byte offset of the top line in the display is
	      used, an "m" means use the middle line, a "b" means use the bot‐
	      tom  line,  a "B" means use the line just after the bottom line,
	      and a "j" means use the "target" line, as specified  by  the  -j
	      option.

       %B     Replaced by the size of the current input file.

       %c     Replaced by the column number of the text appearing in the first
	      column of the screen.

       %dX    Replaced by the page number of a line in the  input  file.   The
	      line to be used is determined by the X, as with the %b option.

       %D     Replaced	by  the	 number of pages in the input file, or equiva‐
	      lently, the page number of the last line in the input file.

       %E     Replaced by the name of the editor (from the VISUAL  environment
	      variable,	 or  the  EDITOR environment variable if VISUAL is not
	      defined).	 See the discussion of the LESSEDIT feature below.

       %f     Replaced by the name of the current input file.

       %i     Replaced by the index of the current file in the list  of	 input
	      files.

       %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.

       %m     Replaced by the total number of input files.

       %pX    Replaced by the percent into the current input  file,  based  on
	      byte  offsets.  The line used is determined by the X as with the
	      %b option.

       %PX    Replaced by the percent into the current input  file,  based  on
	      line  numbers.  The line used is determined by the X as with the
	      %b option.

       %s     Same as %B.

       %t     Causes any trailing spaces to be removed.	 Usually used  at  the
	      end of the string, but may appear anywhere.

       %x     Replaced by the name of the next input file in the list.

       If any item is unknown (for example, the file size if input is a pipe),
       a question mark is printed instead.

       The format of the prompt string can be  changed	depending  on  certain
       conditions.   A	question mark followed by a single character acts like
       an "IF": depending on the following character, a	 condition  is	evalu‐
       ated.   If the condition is true, any characters following the question
       mark and condition character, up to  a  period,	are  included  in  the
       prompt.	 If  the condition is false, such characters are not included.
       A colon appearing between the question mark and the period can be  used
       to establish an "ELSE": any characters between the colon and the period
       are included in the string if and only if the IF	 condition  is	false.
       Condition characters (which follow a question mark) may be:

       ?a     True if any characters have been included in the prompt so far.

       ?bX    True if the byte offset of the specified line is known.

       ?B     True if the size of current input file is known.

       ?c     True if the text is horizontally shifted (%c is not zero).

       ?dX    True if the page number of the specified line is known.

       ?e     True if at end-of-file.

       ?f     True  if	there is an input filename (that is, if input is not a
	      pipe).

       ?lX    True if the line number of the specified line is known.

       ?L     True if the line number of the last line in the file is known.

       ?m     True if there is more than one input file.

       ?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
	      offsets, of the specified line is known.

       ?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
	      input file is not the last one).

       Any  characters	other  than  the  special  ones (question mark, colon,
       period, percent, and backslash) become literally part  of  the  prompt.
       Any  of	the special characters may be included in the prompt literally
       by preceding it with a backslash.

       Some examples:

       ?f%f:Standard input.

       This prompt prints the filename, if known; otherwise the string	"Stan‐
       dard input".

       ?f%f .?ltLine %lt:?pt%pt\%:?btByte %bt:-...

       This  prompt  would print the filename, if known.  The 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
       trailing spaces are truncated.  This is the default prompt.  For refer‐
       ence, here are the defaults for	the  other  two	 prompts  (-m  and  -M
       respectively).	Each  is  broken  into	two lines here for readability
       only.

       ?n?f%f .?m(file %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x.:
	    ?pB%pB\%:byte %bB?s/%s...%t

       ?f%f .?n?m(file %i of %m) ..?ltlines %lt-%lb?L/%L. :
	    byte %bB?s/%s. .?e(END) ?x- Next\: %x.:?pB%pB\%..%t

       And here is the default message produced by the = command:

       ?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
       LESSEDIT is:

	    %E ?lm+%lm. %f

       Note that this expands to the editor name, followed by a + and the line
       number,	followed by the file name.  If your editor does not accept the
       "+linenumber" syntax, or has other differences  in  invocation  syntax,
       the LESSEDIT variable can be changed to modify this default.

SECURITY
       When  the  environment  variable LESSSECURE is set to 1, less runs in a
       "secure" mode.  This means these features are disabled:

	      !	     the shell command

	      |	     the pipe command

	      :e     the examine command.

	      v	     the editing command

	      s	 -o  log files

	      -k     use of lesskey files

	      -t     use of tags files

		     metacharacters in filenames, such as *

		     filename completion (TAB, ^L)

       Less can also be compiled to be permanently in "secure" mode.

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,
       which take precedence over variables defined in the system-wide lesskey
       file.

       COLUMNS
	      Sets the number of columns on the screen.	 Takes precedence over
	      the number of columns specified by the TERM variable.   (But  if
	      you  have	 a  windowing  system  which  supports	TIOCGWINSZ  or
	      WIOCGETD, the window system's idea  of  the  screen  size	 takes
	      precedence over the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables.)

       EDITOR The name of the editor (used for the v command).

       HOME   Name  of	the user's home directory (used to find a lesskey file
	      on Unix and OS/2 systems).

       HOMEDRIVE, HOMEPATH
	      Concatenation of the HOMEDRIVE and  HOMEPATH  environment	 vari‐
	      ables is the name of the user's home directory if the HOME vari‐
	      able is not set (only in the Windows version).

       INIT   Name of the user's init directory (used to find a	 lesskey  file
	      on OS/2 systems).

       LANG   Language for determining the character set.

       LC_CTYPE
	      Language for determining the character set.

       LESS   Options which are passed to less automatically.

       LESSANSIENDCHARS
	      Characters  which may end an ANSI color escape sequence (default
	      "m").

       LESSANSIMIDCHARS
	      Characters which may appear between the ESC  character  and  the
	      end   character  in  an  ANSI  color  escape  sequence  (default
	      "0123456789;[?!"'#%()*+ ".

       LESSBINFMT
	      Format for displaying non-printable, non-control characters.

       LESSCHARDEF
	      Defines a character set.

       LESSCHARSET
	      Selects a predefined character set.

       LESSCLOSE
	      Command line to invoke the (optional) input-postprocessor.

       LESSECHO
	      Name of the lessecho program (default "lessecho").  The lessecho
	      program  is needed to expand metacharacters, such as * and ?, in
	      filenames on Unix systems.

       LESSEDIT
	      Editor prototype string (used for the v command).	  See  discus‐
	      sion under PROMPTS.

       LESSGLOBALTAGS
	      Name  of	the command used by the -t option to find global tags.
	      Normally should be set to "global" if your system has the 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  "-",  a
	      history  file  is	 not used.  The default is "$HOME/.lesshst" on
	      Unix systems, "$HOME/_lesshst" on DOS and	 Windows  systems,  or
	      "$HOME/lesshst.ini" or "$INIT/lesshst.ini" on OS/2 systems.

       LESSHISTSIZE
	      The maximum number of commands to save in the history file.  The
	      default is 100.

       LESSKEY
	      Name of the default lesskey(1) file.

       LESSKEY_SYSTEM
	      Name of the default system-wide lesskey(1) file.

       LESSMETACHARS
	      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
	      shell.

       LESSOPEN
	      Command line to invoke the (optional) input-preprocessor.

       LESSSECURE
	      Runs less in "secure" mode.  See discussion under SECURITY.

       LESSSEPARATOR
	      String to be appended to a directory name	 in  filename  comple‐
	      tion.

       LESSUTFBINFMT
	      Format for displaying non-printable Unicode code points.

       LINES  Sets  the	 number of lines on the screen.	 Takes precedence over
	      the number of lines specified by the TERM variable.  (But if you
	      have  a  windowing system which supports TIOCGWINSZ or WIOCGETD,
	      the window system's idea of the  screen  size  takes  precedence
	      over the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables.)

       PATH   User's  search  path  (used to find a lesskey file on MS-DOS and
	      OS/2 systems).

       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.

       VISUAL The name of the editor (used for the v command).

SEE ALSO
       lesskey(1)

WARNINGS
       The  =  command and prompts (unless changed by -P) report the line num‐
       bers of the lines at the top and bottom of the screen, but the byte and
       percent of the line after the one at the bottom of the screen.

       If  the	:e  command is used to name more than one file, and one of the
       named files has been viewed previously, the new files  may  be  entered
       into the list in an unexpected order.

       On  certain  older  terminals (the so-called "magic cookie" terminals),
       search highlighting will cause an erroneous display.   On  such	termi‐
       nals,  search  highlighting  is	disabled  by default to avoid possible
       problems.

       In certain cases, when search highlighting is enabled and a search pat‐
       tern  begins  with a ^, more text than the matching string may be high‐
       lighted.	 (This problem does not occur when less is compiled to use the
       POSIX regular expression package.)

       When  viewing  text containing ANSI color escape sequences using the -R
       option, searching will not find	text  containing  an  embedded	escape
       sequence.   Also,  search  highlighting may change the color of some of
       the text which follows the highlighted text.

       On some systems, setlocale claims that ASCII characters 0 thru  31  are
       control	characters rather than binary characters.  This causes less to
       treat some binary files as ordinary, non-binary files.	To  workaround
       this  problem,  set the environment variable LESSCHARSET to "ascii" (or
       whatever character set is appropriate).

       This manual is too long.

       See http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less for the list of known bugs in
       all versions of less.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 1984-2005	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
       (2) the Less License.  See the file README in the less distribution for
       more details regarding redistribution.  You should have received a copy
       of the GNU General Public License along with the source for  less;  see
       the  file  COPYING.   If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, 59
       Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.  You should  also
       have received a copy of the Less License; see the file LICENSE.

       less is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
       WARRANTY; without even the implied 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.
       For  more  information,	see the less homepage at http://www.greenwood‐
       software.com/less.

			   Version 394: 03 Dec 2005		       LESS(1)
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