4.3BSD-UWisc/man/cat1/more.1
MORE(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual MORE(1)
NAME
more, page - file perusal filter for crt viewing
SYNOPSIS
more [ -cdflsu ] [ -_n ] [ +_l_i_n_e_n_u_m_b_e_r ] [ +/_p_a_t_t_e_r_n ] [ name
... ]
page _m_o_r_e _o_p_t_i_o_n_s
DESCRIPTION
_M_o_r_e is a filter which allows examination of a continuous
text one screenful at a time on a soft-copy terminal. It
normally pauses after each screenful, printing --More-- at
the bottom of the screen. If the user then types a carriage
return, one more line is displayed. If the user hits a
space, another screenful is displayed. Other possibilities
are enumerated later.
The command line options are:
-_n An integer which is the size (in lines) of the window
which _m_o_r_e will use instead of the default.
-c _M_o_r_e will draw each page by beginning at the top of the
screen and erasing each line just before it draws on
it. This avoids scrolling the screen, making it easier
to read while _m_o_r_e is writing. This option will be
ignored if the terminal does not have the ability to
clear to the end of a line.
-d _M_o_r_e will prompt the user with the message "Press space
to continue, 'q' to quit." at the end of each screen-
ful, and will respond to subsequent illegal user input
by printing "Press 'h' for instructions." instead of
ringing the bell. This is useful if _m_o_r_e is being used
as a filter in some setting, such as a class, where
many users may be unsophisticated.
-f This causes _m_o_r_e to count logical, rather than screen
lines. That is, long lines are not folded. This
option is recommended if _n_r_o_f_f output is being piped
through _u_l, since the latter may generate escape
sequences. These escape sequences contain characters
which would ordinarily occupy screen positions, but
which do not print when they are sent to the terminal
as part of an escape sequence. Thus _m_o_r_e may think
that lines are longer than they actually are, and fold
lines erroneously.
-l Do not treat ^L (form feed) specially. If this option
is not given, _m_o_r_e will pause after any line that con-
tains a ^L, as if the end of a screenful had been
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reached. Also, if a file begins with a form feed, the
screen will be cleared before the file is printed.
-s Squeeze multiple blank lines from the output, producing
only one blank line. Especially helpful when viewing
_n_r_o_f_f output, this option maximizes the useful informa-
tion present on the screen.
-u Normally, _m_o_r_e will handle underlining such as produced
by _n_r_o_f_f in a manner appropriate to the particular ter-
minal: if the terminal can perform underlining or has
a stand-out mode, _m_o_r_e will output appropriate escape
sequences to enable underlining or stand-out mode for
underlined information in the source file. The -_u
option suppresses this processing.
+_l_i_n_e_n_u_m_b_e_r
Start up at _l_i_n_e_n_u_m_b_e_r.
+/_p_a_t_t_e_r_n
Start up two lines before the line containing the regu-
lar expression _p_a_t_t_e_r_n.
If the program is invoked as _p_a_g_e, then the screen is
cleared before each screenful is printed (but only if a full
screenful is being printed), and _k - 1 rather than _k - 2
lines are printed in each screenful, where _k is the number
of lines the terminal can display.
_M_o_r_e looks in the file /_e_t_c/_t_e_r_m_c_a_p to determine terminal
characteristics, and to determine the default window size.
On a terminal capable of displaying 24 lines, the default
window size is 22 lines.
_M_o_r_e looks in the environment variable _M_O_R_E to pre-set any
flags desired. For example, if you prefer to view files
using the -_c mode of operation, the _c_s_h command _s_e_t_e_n_v _M_O_R_E
-_c or the _s_h command sequence _M_O_R_E='-_c' ; _e_x_p_o_r_t _M_O_R_E would
cause all invocations of _m_o_r_e , including invocations by
programs such as _m_a_n and _m_s_g_s , to use this mode. Normally,
the user will place the command sequence which sets up the
_M_O_R_E environment variable in the ._c_s_h_r_c or ._p_r_o_f_i_l_e file.
If _m_o_r_e is reading from a file, rather than a pipe, then a
percentage is displayed along with the --More-- prompt.
This gives the fraction of the file (in characters, not
lines) that has been read so far.
Other sequences which may be typed when _m_o_r_e pauses, and
their effects, are as follows (_i is an optional integer
argument, defaulting to 1) :
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_i<space>
display _i more lines, (or another screenful if no argu-
ment is given)
^D display 11 more lines (a ``scroll''). If _i is given,
then the scroll size is set to _i.
d same as ^D (control-D)
_iz same as typing a space except that _i, if present,
becomes the new window size.
_is skip _i lines and print a screenful of lines
_if skip _i screenfuls and print a screenful of lines
_ib skip back _i screenfuls and print a screenful of lines
_i^B same as b
q or Q
Exit from _m_o_r_e.
= Display the current line number.
v Start up the editor _v_i at the current line.
h Help command; give a description of all the _m_o_r_e com-
mands.
_i/expr
search for the _i-th occurrence of the regular expres-
sion _e_x_p_r. If there are less than _i occurrences of
_e_x_p_r, and the input is a file (rather than a pipe),
then the position in the file remains unchanged. Oth-
erwise, a screenful is displayed, starting two lines
before the place where the expression was found. The
user's erase and kill characters may be used to edit
the regular expression. Erasing back past the first
column cancels the search command.
_in search for the _i-th occurrence of the last regular
expression entered.
' (single quote) Go to the point from which the last
search started. If no search has been performed in the
current file, this command goes back to the beginning
of the file.
!command
invoke a shell with _c_o_m_m_a_n_d. The characters `%' and `!'
in "command" are replaced with the current file name
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and the previous shell command respectively. If there
is no current file name, `%' is not expanded. The
sequences "\%" and "\!" are replaced by "%" and "!"
respectively.
_i:n skip to the _i-th next file given in the command line
(skips to last file if n doesn't make sense)
_i:p skip to the _i-th previous file given in the command
line. If this command is given in the middle of print-
ing out a file, then _m_o_r_e goes back to the beginning of
the file. If _i doesn't make sense, _m_o_r_e skips back to
the first file. If _m_o_r_e is not reading from a file,
the bell is rung and nothing else happens.
:f display the current file name and line number.
:q or :Q
exit from _m_o_r_e (same as q or Q).
. (dot) repeat the previous command.
The commands take effect immediately, i.e., it is not neces-
sary to type a carriage return. Up to the time when the
command character itself is given, the user may hit the line
kill character to cancel the numerical argument being
formed. In addition, the user may hit the erase character
to redisplay the --More--(xx%) message.
At any time when output is being sent to the terminal, the
user can hit the quit key (normally control-\). _M_o_r_e will
stop sending output, and will display the usual --More--
prompt. The user may then enter one of the above commands
in the normal manner. Unfortunately, some output is lost
when this is done, due to the fact that any characters wait-
ing in the terminal's output queue are flushed when the quit
signal occurs.
The terminal is set to _n_o_e_c_h_o mode by this program so that
the output can be continuous. What you type will thus not
show on your terminal, except for the / and ! commands.
If the standard output is not a teletype, then _m_o_r_e acts
just like _c_a_t, except that a header is printed before each
file (if there is more than one).
A sample usage of _m_o_r_e in previewing _n_r_o_f_f output would be
nroff -ms +2 doc.n | more -s
FILES
/etc/termcap Terminal data base
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/usr/lib/more.help Help file
SEE ALSO
csh(1), man(1), msgs(1), script(1), sh(1), environ(7)
BUGS
Skipping backwards is too slow on large files.
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