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 4mLESS24m(1)                          General       Commands       Manual
 4mLESS24m(1)

 1mNAME0m
        less - display the contents of a file in a terminal

 1mSYNOPSIS0m
        1mless -?0m
        1mless --help0m
        1mless -V0m
        1mless --version0m
        1mless [-[+]aABcCdeEfFgGiIJKLmMnNqQrRsSuUVwWX~]0m
             1m[-b  4m22mspace24m1m]   [-h   4m22mlines24m1m]   [-j
 4m22mline24m1m] [-k 4m22mkeyfile24m1m]0m
             1m[-{oO} 4m22mlogfile24m1m] [-p 4m22mpattern24m1m] [-P
 4m22mprompt24m1m] [-t 4m22mtag24m1m]0m
             1m[-T 4m22mtagsfile24m1m] [-x  4m22mtab24m1m,...]  [-y
 4m22mlines24m1m] [-[z] 4m22mlines24m1m]0m
             1m[-#   4m22mshift24m1m]   [+[+]4m22mcmd24m1m]    [--]
 [4m22mfilename24m1m]...0m
        (See  the  OPTIONS section for alternate  option  syntax  with  long
 option
        names.)

 1mDESCRIPTION0m
        1mLess 22mis a program similar to 1mmore22m(1), but it has  many
 more  features.
        1mLess  22mdoes  not  have to read the entire  input  file  before
 starting, so
        with large input files it starts  up  faster   than   text   editors
 like
        1mvi22m(1).    1mLess  22muses  termcap  (or  terminfo  on  some
 systems), so it can run
        on a variety of  terminals.   There  is  even  limited  support  for
 hardcopy
        terminals.   (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 1mmore 22mand 1mvi22m.  Commands  may
 be preceded by  a
        decimal number, called N in the descriptions below.  The  number  is
 used
        by some commands, as indicated.

 1mCOMMANDS0m
        In  the following descriptions, ^X means  controlX.   ESC  stands
 for the
        ESCAPE key; for example ESCv means the  two  character   sequence
 "ES
        CAPE", 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
 be
               low).  If N is more than the  screen  size,  only  the  final
 screen
               ful  is  displayed.   Warning:  some  systems  use  ^V  as  a
 special
               literalization character.

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

        ESCSPACE
               Like  SPACE,  but  scrolls  a  full  screenful,  even  if  it
 reaches
               endoffile in the process.

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

        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 ESCv
               Scroll backward N lines, default one window (see  option   -z
 be
               low).  If N is more than the  screen  size,  only  the  final
 screen
               ful is displayed.

        w      Like  ESCv,  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.

        J      Like j, but continues to scroll beyond the end of the file.

        K or Y Like  k,  but  continues  to  scroll beyond the beginning  of
 the
               file.

        ESC) or RIGHTARROW
               Scroll horizontally right  N  characters,  default  half  the
 screen
               width  (see  the -# option).  If a number N is specified,  it
 be
               comes  the  default  for  future  RIGHTARROW  and   LEFTARROW
 commands.
               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
 be
               comes  the  default  for  future  RIGHTARROW  and   LEFTARROW
 commands.

        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.  That  is,
 re
               load  the current file.  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.)  To   stop   waiting   for
 more
               data,  enter  the   interrupt  character  (usually  ^C).   On
 systems
               which support 1mpoll22m(2) you  can  also  use  ^X  or  the
 character spec
               ified by the --intr option.  If the input  is  a   pipe   and
 the
               --exitfollowonclose  option is  in  effect,  1mless
 22mwill automati
               cally stop waiting for data when the input side of the   pipe
 is
               closed.

        ESCF  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<
               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.)

        ESCG  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
               and 100, and may contain a decimal point.

        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
               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
               Nth 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  bottom line, a number  N  may  be  used  to
 specify
               the Nth 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 or uppercase  letter,  marks  the
 first
               displayed line with that letter.  If the status   column   is
 en
               abled  via  the  -J  option,  the  status  column  shows  the
 marked
               line.

        M      Acts like m, except the  last  displayed   line   is   marked
 rather
               than the first displayed line.

        '      (Single  quote.)  Followed  by  any  lowercase  or  uppercase
 letter,
               returns to the position which was  previously   marked   with
 that
               letter.   Followed by another single quote,  returns  to  the
 posi
               tion  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 ' command can be used to switch between input files.

        ^X^X   Same as single quote.

        ESCm  Followed  by  any lowercase or uppercase letter, clears the
 mark
               identified by that letter.

        /pattern
               Search forward in the file for the Nth 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.     By   default,   searching   is   casesensitive
 (uppercase and
               lowercase are considered different); the -i  option  can   be
 used
               to  change  this.   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
               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.

               ^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.

               ^K     Highlight any text which matches the  pattern  on  the
 cur
                      rent screen, but dont move to the first match (KEEP
 cur
                      rent position).

               ^R     Dont  interpret  regular expression metacharacters;
 that
                      is, do a simple textual comparison.

               ^S     Followed by a digit N between 1  and  5.   Only   text
 which
                      has a nonempty match for the  Nth  parenthesized
 SUBPAT
                      TERN  will  be  considered  to  match   the   pattern.
 (Supported
                      only  if 1mless 22mis built with one of the  regular
 expression
                      libraries 1mposix22m, 1mpcre22m, or 1mpcre222m.)
 Multiple ^S  modifiers
                      can   be   specified,   to   match   more   than   one
 subpattern.

               ^W     WRAP  around  the  current  file.   That  is,  if  the
 search
                      reaches the end of the current  file  without  finding
 a
                      match,  the  search  continues from the first line  of
 the
                      current file up to the line where it started.  If  the
 ^W
                      modifier is set, the ^E modifier is ignored.

               ^L     The  next  character  is taken literally; that is,  it
 be
                      comes part of the pattern even if it  is  one  of  the
 above
                      search modifier characters.

        ?pattern
               Search   backward   in   the   file  for  the   Nth   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:

               ^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
 op
                      tions.

               ^K     As in forward searches.

               ^R     As in forward searches.

               ^S     As in forward searches.

               ^W     WRAP around the current  file.   That   is,   if   the
 search
                      reaches the beginning  of  the  current  file  without
 finding
                      a  match,  the search continues from the last line  of
 the
                      current file up to the line where it started.

        ESC/pattern
               Same as "/*".

        ESC?pattern
               Same as "?*".

        n      Repeat previous search, for Nth line containing the   last
 pat
               tern.   If the previous search was modified by ^N, the search
 is
               made for the Nth 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.

        ESCn  Repeat  previous  search,  but  crossing  file  boundaries.
 The ef
               fect is as if the previous search were modified by *.

        ESCN  Repeat previous search, but in the  reverse  direction  and
 cross
               ing file boundaries.

        ESCu  Undo  search  highlighting.   Turn   off   highlighting  of
 strings
               matching the current  search  pattern.   If  highlighting  is
 already
               off because of a previous ESCu 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.)

        ESCU  Like ESCu but also clears the  saved   search   pattern.
 If  the
               status  column  is  enabled  via  the -J option, this  clears
 all
               search matches marked in the status column.

        &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
               prompt, as a reminder that some lines  in  the  file  may  be
 hidden.
               Multiple  &  commands  may  be entered, in  which  case  only
 lines
               which match all of the patterns will be displayed.

               Certain characters are special as in the / command:

               ^N or !
                      Display only lines which do NOT match the pattern.

               ^R     Dont 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 reexamined.  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
 re
               placed  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  Nth  next
 file  is
               examined.

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

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

        ^O^N or ^On
               Search forward  in  the  file  for  the  Nth  next  OSC  8
 hyperlink.

        ^O^P or ^Op
               Search backward in the file for the Nth  previous  OSC   8
 hyper
               link.

        ^O^L or ^Ol
               Jump to the currently selected OSC 8 hyperlink.

        = 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  (CONTROLP)
 is en
               tered 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
 ENTER
               or RETURN after typing the option  name.   A  ^P  immediately
 after
               the  second dash suppresses printing of a message  describing
 the
               new setting, as in the - command.

        -+     Followed by one of the command line option letters this  will
 re
               set the option to its default setting and print   a   message
 de
               scribing  the  new   setting.    (The   "-+4mX24m"  command
 does the same
               thing as "-+4mX24m" on the command line.)  This  does   not
 work  for
               stringvalued 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 stringvalued 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 ENTER or 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  1mless  22mto  initially
 display each
               file starting at the end rather than the beginning.

        V      Prints the version number of 1mless 22mbeing run.

        q or Q or :q or :Q or ZZ
               Exits 1mless22m.

        The following seven 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.

        ! shellcommand
               Invokes a shell to run the shellcommand 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.    If   a   ^P
 (CONTROLP) is
               entered immediately after  the  !,  no  "done"   message   is
 printed
               after the shell command is executed.  On  Unix  systems,  the
 shell
               is  taken  from  the  environment variable SHELL, or defaults
 to
               "sh".  On MSDOS, Windows, and OS/2 systems, the  shell  is
 the
               normal command processor.

        # shellcommand
               Similar  to the "!"  command,  except  that  the  command  is
 expanded
               in the same way as prompt strings.  For example, the name  of
 the
               current file would be given as "%f".

        | <m> shellcommand
               <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 position marked by the  letter  and  the
 cur
               rent   screen.   The  entire  current  screen  is   included,
 regardless
               of whether the marked  position  is  before  or   after   the
 current
               screen.   <m> may also be ^ or $ to indicate beginning or end
 of
               file respectively.  If <m> is  .  or  newline,  the   current
 screen
               is  piped.  If a  ^P  (CONTROLP)  is  entered  immediately
 after the
               mark letter, no "done" message is printed  after  the   shell
 com
               mand is executed.

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

        ^O^O
               Run a shell command to open the URI  in  the  current  OSC  8
 hyper
               link,  selected by a previous ^O^N or ^O^P command.  To  find
 the
               shell command, the environment variable named "LESS_OSC8_xxx"
 is
               read, where "xxx" is the scheme  from  the  URI   (the   part
 before
               the  first  colon), or is empty if there is no colon  in  the
 URI.
               The value of the environment variable is then   expanded   in
 the
               same  way as prompt strings (in particular, any  instance  of
 "%o"
               is replaced with the URI) to produce  an  OSC   8   "handler"
 shell
               command.   The  standard   output  from  the  handler  is  an
 "opener"
               shell command which is then executed to open the URI.

               There are two special cases:

                      1.     If the URI begins with "#", the  remainder   of
 the
                             URI  is  taken  to  be  the  value  of  the  id
 parameter
                             in another OSC 8 link in the  same  file,   and
 ^O^O
                             will simply jump to that link.

                      2.     If the opener begins with the  characters  ":e"
 fol
                             lowed  by   whitespace  and  a  filename,  then
 instead
                             of running the opener  as  a   shell   command,
 the
                             specified  filename  is  opened in the  current
 in
                             stance of 1mless22m.

               In a simple case where the opener accepts the complete URI as
 a
               command line parameter, the handler may be as simple as

               echo mybrowser %o

               In  other cases, the URI may need  to  be  modified,  so  the
 handler
               may have to do some manipulation of the %o value.

               If   the   LESS_OSC8_xxx   variable   is   not   set,     the
 variable
               LESS_OSC8_ANY   is   tried.    If    neither    LESS_OSC8_xxx
 nor
               LESS_OSC8_ANY is set, links using the  "xxx"  scheme   cannot
 be
               opened.   However,  there   are   default  handlers  for  the
 schemes
               "man" (used when LESS_OSC8_man is not set) and  "file"  (used
 when
               LESS_OSC8_file is not set), which  should  work  on   systems
 which
               provide  the  1msed22m(1)  command and a shell with  syntax
 compatible
               with the Bourne shell 1msh22m(1).  If you use LESS_OSC8_ANY
 to  over
               ride LESS_OSC8_file, you must set LESS_OSC8_file to ""  to
 indi
               cate that the default value should not be used, and  likewise
 for
               LESS_OSC8_man.

               The  URI  passed  to an OSC8 handler via %o is guaranteed not
 to
               contain any single quote or double quote characters,  but  it
 may
               contain  any other shell metacharacters such  as  semicolons,
 dol
               lar signs, ampersands, etc.  The handler should take care  to
 ap
               propriately quote  parameters  in  the  opener  command,   to
 prevent
               execution  of  unintended  shell  commands  in  the  case  of
 opening a
               URI which contains shell metacharacters.   Also,  since   the
 han
               dler   command  is  expanded  like  a  command  prompt,   any
 metacharac
               ters interpreted by prompt  expansion   (such   as   percent,
 dot,
               colon,  backslash,  etc.)  must be escaped with  a  backslash
 (see
               the PROMPTS section for details).

        ^X     When the "Waiting for data" message  is  displayed,  such  as
 while
               in  the  F  command, pressing ^X will stop  1mless  22mfrom
 waiting and
               return to a prompt.  This may cause 1mless 22mto think that
 the  file
               ends  at the current position, so it may be necessary to  use
 the
               R or F command to see more data.  The --intr  option  can  be
 used
               to  specify  a  different  character to use  instead  of  ^X.
 This
               command works only on systems that support the 1mpoll22m(2)
 function.
               On systems without 1mpoll22m(2),  the  interrupt  character
 (usually ^C)
               can be used instead.

 1mOPTIONS0m
        Command line options are  described  below.   Most  options  may  be
 changed
        while 1mless 22mis running, via the "-" command.

        Some  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
 un
        ambiguous.  For example, --quitateof may  be  abbreviated   --
 quit,  but
        not --qui, since both --quitateof and --quiet  begin  with  --
 qui.  Some
        long  option names are in uppercase, such as  --QUITATEOF,  as
 distinct
        from --quitateof.  Such option  names  need  only  have  their
 first  let
        ter  capitalized; the remainder of the name may be in  either  case.
 For
        example, --Quitateof is equivalent to --QUITATEOF.

        Options are also taken from the environment  variable  "LESS".   For
 exam
        ple, to avoid typing "less -options ..." each  time  1mless  22mis
 invoked, you
        might tell 1mcsh22m:

        setenv LESS "-options"

        or if you use 1msh22m:

        LESS="-options"; export LESS

        On MSDOS and Windows, you dont  need  the  quotes,   but   you
 should  be
        careful  that  any  percent  signs in the  options  string  are  not
 inter
        preted as an environment variable expansion.

        The environment variable is  parsed  before  the  command  line,  so
 command
        line  options override the LESS environment variable.  If an  option
 ap
        pears 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  like
 this:

        LESS="Dnwb$Dsbw"

        If the --usebackslash 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  --usebackslash  option
 is not
        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
 1mless0m
               (the same as the h command).  (Depending on how  your   shell
 in
               terprets  the  question  mark,  it may be necessary to  quote
 the
               question mark, thus: "-?".)

        -a or --searchskipscreen
               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
 re
               spectively; see the -j option  for  more  about  the   target
 line).
               The  -a  option  causes forward searches to instead start  at
 the
               bottom of the screen and backward searches to start  at   the
 top
               of the screen, thus  skipping  all  lines  displayed  on  the
 screen.

        -A or --SEARCHSKIPSCREEN
               Causes   all  forward  searches  (not   just   nonrepeated
 searches) to
               start just after the target line, and all backward   searches
 to
               start  just before the target line.  Thus,  forward  searches
 will
               skip part of the displayed screen (from the first line up  to
 and
               including the target line).   Similarly  backwards   searches
 will
               skip the displayed screen  from  the  last  line  up  to  and
 including
               the target line.  This  was  the  default  behavior  in  less
 versions
               prior to 441.

        -b4mn24m or --buffers=4mn0m
               Specifies  the  amount  of  buffer   space  1mless  22mwill
 use for each
               file, in units of kilobytes (1024 bytes).  By default  64  KB
 of
               buffer  space  is used for each file (unless the  file  is  a
 pipe;
               see the -B option).  The -b  option  specifies  instead  that
 4mn0m
               kilobytes of buffer space should be used for each  file.   If
 4mn24m is
               -1,  buffer  space is unlimited; that is, the entire file can
 be
               read into memory.

        -B or --autobuffers
               By default, when data  is  read  from  a  pipe,  buffers  are
 allocated
               automatically as needed.  If a large amount of data  is  read
 from
               the pipe, this can cause a large amount  of  memory   to   be
 allo
               cated.   The  -B  option  disables  this automatic allocation
 of
               buffers for pipes, so that only 64 KB  (or  the   amount   of
 space
               specified  by the -b option) is used for the pipe.   Warning:
 use
               of -B can result in erroneous display, since only  the   most
 re
               cently viewed part of the piped data is kept in  memory;  any
 ear
               lier  data  is   lost.   Lost  characters  are  displayed  as
 question
               marks.

        -c or --clearscreen
               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 --CLEARSCREEN
               Same  as  -c,  for  compatibility  with  older  versions   of
 1mless22m.

        -d or --dumb
               The -d option suppresses the error message normally displayed
 if
               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
 1mless 22mon a
               dumb terminal.

        -D1mx4m22mcolor24m or --color=1mx4m22mcolor0m
               Changes the color of different parts of the displayed   text.
 1mx0m
               is a single character which selects the type  of  text  whose
 color
               is being set:

               B      Binary characters.

               C      Control characters.

               E      Errors and informational messages.

               H      Header lines and columns, set via the --header option.

               M      Mark letters in the status column.

               N      Line numbers enabled via the -N option.

               P      Prompts.

               R      The rscroll character.

               S      Search results.

               W      The highlight enabled via the -w option.

               15    The  text  in  a  search  result  which matches  the
 first
                      through     fifth     parenthesized     subpattern.
 Subpattern
                      coloring works only if 1mless 22mis built  with  one
 of the reg
                      ular expression libraries  1mposix22m,  1mpcre22m,
 or 1mpcre222m.

               d      Bold text.

               k      Blinking text.

               s      Standout text.

               u      Underlined text.

               The  uppercase  letters  and  digits  can  be used only  when
 the
               --usecolor  option  is  enabled.   When  text   color   is
 specified  by
               both  an   uppercase  letter  and  a  lowercase  letter,  the
 uppercase
               letter takes precedence.  For example,  error  messages   are
 nor
               mally  displayed  as  standout text.  So if both "s" and  "E"
 are
               given a color, the "E" color applies to error  messages,  and
 the
               "s" color applies to  other  standout  text.   The  lowercase
 letters
               refer  to  bold  and  underline text formed  by  overstriking
 with
               backspaces (see the -U  option)  and  to  noncontent  text
 (such  as
               line  numbers and prompts), but not to text  formatted  using
 ANSI
               escape sequences with the -R option (but see the  note  below
 for
               different behavior on Windows and MSDOS).

               A  lowercase  letter may be followed by a + to indicate  that
 the
               normal format change and the  specified  color  should   both
 be
               used.  For example, -Dug displays underlined  text  as  green
 with
               out  underlining;  the green color  has  replaced  the  usual
 under
               line formatting.  But -Du+g displays   underlined   text   as
 both
               green and in underlined format.

               4mcolor24m is either a 4bit color string or  an  8bit
 color string:

               A  4bit  color string is one or two characters, where  the
 first
               character specifies the  foreground  color  and  the   second
 speci
               fies the background color as follows:

               b      Blue

               c      Cyan

               g      Green

               k      Black

               m      Magenta

               r      Red

               w      White

               y      Yellow

               The  corresponding  uppercase letter denotes a brighter shade
 of
               the color.  For example,  -DNGk  displays  line  numbers   as
 bright
               green  text on a black background, and -DEbR  displays  error
 mes
               sages as blue text on a bright  red  background.   If  either
 char
               acter  is a "" or is omitted, the corresponding  color  is
 set to
               that of normal text.

               An 8bit color string  is  one  or  two  decimal   integers
 separated
               by a dot, where the first integer  specifies  the  foreground
 color
               and  the second specifies the background color.  Each integer
 is
               a value between 0 and 255 inclusive  which  selects  a   "CSI
 38;5"
               color                                                   value
 (see
               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code#SGR).       If
 either
               integer  is  a "" or is omitted, the  corresponding  color
 is set
               to that of normal text.

               A 4bit or 8bit color string may be followed by  one  or
 more  of
               the  following  characters to set text attributes in addition
 to
               the color.

               s or  Standout (reverse video)

               u or _ Underline

               d or * Bold

               l or & Blinking

               On  MSDOS  and  Windows,  the  --color   option    behaves
 differently
               from what is described above in these ways:

                     The bold (d and *)  and  blinking  (l  and  &)  text
 attributes
                      at the end of a color string are not supported.

                     Lowercase  color  selector  letters  refer  to  text
 formatted
                      by ANSI escape sequences with  -R,  in   addition   to
 over
                      struck and noncontent text (but see -Da).

                     For  historical  reasons,  when  a  lowercase  color
 selector
                      letter is followed by  a  numeric  color  value,   the
 number
                      is  not  interpreted  as an "CSI 38;5" color value  as
 de
                      scribed     above,     but     instead      as       a
 4bit
                      CHAR_INFO.Attributes   value,   between   0   and   15
 inclusive
                      (see
 https://learn.microsoft.com/en
                      us/windows/console/charinfostr).

                      To  avoid  confusion,  it  is  recommended  that   the
 equivalent
                      letters   rather   than   numbers   be  used  after  a
 lowercase
                      color selector on MSDOS/Windows.

                     Numeric color values ("CSI 38;5" color) following an
 up
                      percase  color  selector letter are not  supported  on
 sys
                      tems earlier than Windows 10.

                     Only a limited set of ANSI escape sequences  to  set
 color
                      in  the   content   work   correctly.   4bit  color
 sequences
                      work, but "CSI 38;5" color sequences do not.

                     The -Da option makes the behavior  of  --color  more
 similar
                      to its behavior on nonMSDOS/Windows  systems  by
 (1) mak
                      ing lowercase color selector letters not  affect  text
 for
                      matted with ANSI escape sequences,  and  (2)  allowing
 "CSI
                      38;5" color sequences in the content work  by  passing
 them
                      to the terminal (only on  Windows  10  and  later;  on
 earlier
                      Windows systems, such sequences do not work regardless
 of
                      the setting of -Da).

        -e or --quitateof
               Causes  1mless  22mto  automatically  exit the second  time
 it reaches
               endoffile.  By default, the only way  to  exit  1mless
 22mis  via  the
               "q" command.

        -E or --QUITATEOF
               Causes 1mless 22mto automatically exit the  first  time  it
 reaches end
               offile.

        -f or --force
               Forces nonregular files to be  opened.   (A  nonregular
 file is a
               directory  or a device special file.)   Also  suppresses  the
 warn
               ing message when  a  binary  file  is  opened.   By  default,
 1mless 22mwill
               refuse to open nonregular files.  Note that some operating
 sys
               tems will not allow directories to be read,  even  if  -f  is
 set.

        -F or --quitifonescreen
               Causes 1mless 22mto automatically exit if the  entire  file
 can be dis
               played on the first screen.

        -g or --hilitesearch
               Normally, 1mless 22mwill 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 1mless 22mto  run  somewhat
 faster than
               the default.

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

        -h4mn24m or --maxbackscroll=4mn0m
               Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll backward.    If
 it
               is necessary to scroll backward more than 4mn24m 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 --ignorecase
               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 --IGNORECASE
               Like -i, but  searches  ignore  case  even  if  the   pattern
 contains
               uppercase letters.

        -j4mn24m or --jumptarget=4mn0m
               Specifies  a line on the screen where the "target" line is to
 be
               positioned.  The target line is the line  specified  by   any
 com
               mand  to  search for a pattern, jump to a line  number,  jump
 to a
               file percentage or jump to a tag.  The  screen  line  may  be
 speci
               fied 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
 rel
               ative to the bottom of the screen: the  bottom  line  on  the
 screen
               is   -1,  the  second  to  the  bottom  is  -2,  and  so  on.
 Alternately,
               the screen line may be specified as a fraction of the  height
 of
               the  screen,  starting with a decimal point:  .5  is  in  the
 middle
               of the screen, .3 is three tenths down from the  first  line,
 and
               so  on.  If the line is specified as a fraction,  the  actual
 line
               number is recalculated if the terminal window   is   resized.
 If
               the  --header option is used and the target line specified by
 -j
               would be obscured by the header, the target line is moved  to
 the
               first line after the header.  While the --header  option   is
 ac
               tive, the -S option is ignored, and  lines  longer  than  the
 screen
               width are truncated.

               If  any form of the  -j  option  is  used,  repeated  forward
 searches
               (invoked with "n" or "N") begin  at  the   line   immediately
 after
               the  target  line,  and  repeated backward searches begin  at
 the
               target line, unless changed by -a or  -A.   For  example,  if
 "-j4"
               is  used,  the  target line is the fourth line on the screen,
 so
               forward searches begin at  the  fifth  line  on  the  screen.
 However
               nonrepeated searches (invoked with "/" or "?")  always  begin
 at
               the start or end of the current screen respectively.

        -J or --statuscolumn
               Displays  a  status  column at the left edge of  the  screen.
 The
               character displayed in the status column may be one of:

               >      The line is chopped with the -S option, and  the  text
 that
                      is chopped off beyond the right edge  of  the   screen
 con
                      tains a match for the current search.

               <      The  line  is  horizontally shifted, and the text that
 is
                      shifted beyond the left side of  the  screen  contains
 a
                      match for the current search.

               =      The  line  is  both  chopped  and  shifted, and  there
 are
                      matches beyond both sides of the screen.

               *      There are matches in the visible part  of   the   line
 but
                      none to the right or left of it.

               az, AZ
                      The  line  has  been  marked  with  the  corresponding
 letter
                      via the m command.

        -k4mfilename24m or --lesskeyfile=4mfilename0m
               Causes 1mless 22mto open and interpret the named file as  a
 1mlesskey22m(1)
               binary 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   1mlesskey   22mfile.    Note   the
 warning  under
               "--lesskeycontent" below.

        --lesskeysrc=4mfilename0m
               Causes 1mless 22mto open and interpret the named file as  a
 1mlesskey22m(1)
               source   file.    If  the   LESSKEYIN   or   LESSKEYIN_SYSTEM
 environment
               variable is set, or if a lesskey source file is  found  in  a
 stan
               dard place (see KEY BINDINGS),  it  is   also   used   as   a
 4mlesskey0m
               4msource24m  file.   Prior to version 582,  the  1mlesskey
 22mprogram needed
               to be run to convert a 4mlesskey24m 4msource24m file to a
 4mlesskey24m  4mbinary0m
               file  for  1mless 22mto use.   Newer  versions  of  1mless
 22mread the 4mlesskey0m
               4msource24m file directly and ignore the  binary  file   if
 the  source
               file exists.  Note the  warning  under  "--lesskeycontent"
 below.

        --lesskeycontent=4mtext0m
               Causes less to interpret the specified text as  the  contents
 of a
               1mlesskey22m(1)  source  file.   In  the  text,  1mlesskey
 22mlines may be sepa
               rated  by either newlines as  usual,  or  by  semicolons.   A
 literal
               semicolon may be represented by a  backslash  followed  by  a
 semi
               colon.

               Warning:  certain  environment  variables   such   as   LESS,
 LESSSECURE,
               LESSCHARSET  and others, which are  used  early  in  startup,
 cannot
               be set in a file specified by  a  command  line  option   (--
 lesskey,
               --lesskeysrc   or  --lesskeycontent).   When  using   a
 1mlesskey 22mfile
               to set environment variables,  it  is  safer   to   use   the
 default
               lesskey  file,  or  to  specify  the file using the LESSKEYIN
 or
               LESSKEY_CONTENT environment variables rather  than  using   a
 com
               mand line option.

        -K or --quitonintr
               Causes  1mless  22mto exit immediately (with status 2) when
 an inter
               rupt  character  (usually  ^C)  is  typed.    Normally,    an
 interrupt
               character causes 1mless 22mto stop whatever it is doing and
 return to
               its  command  prompt.  Note that use of this option makes  it
 im
               possible to  return  to  the  command  prompt  from  the  "F"
 command.

        -L or --nolessopen
               Ignore the LESSOPEN environment variable   (see   the   INPUT
 PRE
               PROCESSOR  section  below).   This option  can  be  set  from
 within
               1mless22m,  but  it  will  apply  only  to   files   opened
 subsequently,  not
               to the file which is currently open.

        -m or --longprompt
               Causes 1mless 22mto prompt verbosely (like 1mmore22m(1)),
 with the percent
               into the file.  By default, 1mless 22mprompts with a colon.

        -M or --LONGPROMPT
               Causes  1mless  22mto  prompt  even  more  verbosely   than
 1mmore22m(1).

        -n or --linenumbers
               Suppresses  line numbers.  The default (to use line  numbers)
 may
               cause  1mless  22mto  run  more  slowly  in   some   cases,
 especially  with  a
               very large input file.  Suppressing line numbers with the  -n
 op
               tion  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
 be
               low).

        -N or --LINENUMBERS
               Causes a line number to be displayed at  the   beginning   of
 each
               line in the display.

        -o4mfilename24m or --logfile=4mfilename0m
               Causes  1mless  22mto 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, 1mless  22mwill
 ask  for
               confirmation before overwriting it.

        -O4mfilename24m or --LOGFILE=4mfilename0m
               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  1mless  22mto  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
 1mless22m.

        -p4mpattern24m or --pattern=4mpattern0m
               The  -p   option   on  the  command  line  is  equivalent  to
 specifying
               +/4mpattern24m; that is, it tells 1mless 22mto  start  at
 the  first  occur
               rence of 4mpattern24m in the file.

        -P4mprompt24m or --prompt=4mprompt0m
               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
 1mless 22mcom
               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.   If  the  terminal has a "visual bell", it is used  in
 all
               cases where the terminal bell would have been rung.

        -r or --rawcontrolchars
               Causes "raw" control characters to be displayed.  The default
 is
               to display control characters using the caret  notation;  for
 ex
               ample,  a  controlA (octal 001) is displayed as "^A" (with
 some
               exceptions as described under the -U option).  Warning:  when
 the
               -r option is used,  1mless  22mcannot  keep  track  of  the
 actual  appear
               ance  of  the  screen  (since this depends on how the  screen
 re
               sponds to each type of control  character).   Thus,   various
 dis
               play  problems may result, such as long lines being split  in
 the
               wrong place.

               USE OF THE -r OPTION IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

        -R or --RAWCONTROLCHARS
               Like -r, but only ANSI "color" escape  sequences  and  OSC  8
 hyper
               link sequences are output in  "raw"  form.   Unlike  -r,  the
 screen
               appearance  is  maintained correctly, provided that there are
 no
               escape sequences in the file  other  than  these   types   of
 escape
               sequences.   Color  escape sequences are only supported  when
 the
               color is changed within one line,  not  across   lines.    In
 other
               words,  the beginning of each line is assumed  to  be  normal
 (non
               colored), regardless of  any  escape  sequences  in  previous
 lines.
               For the purpose of keeping track of screen appearance,  these
 es
               cape sequences are assumed to not move the cursor.

               OSC 8 hyperlinks are sequences of the form:

                    ESC ] 8 ; ... 7

               The  terminating  sequence may be either a BEL character  (7)
 or
               the twocharacter sequence "ESC

               ANSI color escape sequences are sequences of the form:

                    ESC [ ... m

               where  the  "..."  is  zero  or  more   color   specification
 characters.
               You  can  make 1mless 22mthink 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 1mless 22mthink  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 --squeezeblanklines
               Causes consecutive blank lines  to   be   squeezed   into   a
 single
               blank line.  This is useful when viewing 1mnroff 22moutput.

        -S or --choplonglines
               Causes  lines  longer than the screen  width  to  be  chopped
 (trun
               cated) rather than wrapped.  That is, the portion of  a  long
 line
               that does not fit in the screen width is not displayed  until
 you
               press RIGHTARROW.  The default is to wrap long lines; that
 is,
               display the remainder on the next  line.   See  also  the  --
 wordwrap
               option.

        -t4mtag24m or --tag=4mtag0m
               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
 di
               rectory  called  "tags",  which  was  previously   built   by
 1mctags22m(1) or
               an  equivalent  command.    If   the   environment   variable
 LESSGLOBALT
               AGS  is  set, it is  taken  to  be  the  name  of  a  command
 compatible
               with 1mglobal22m(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  1mless  22m(using
 the -  com
               mand)  as  a  way  of examining a new file.  The command ":t"
 is
               equivalent to specifying -t from within 1mless22m.

        -T4mtagsfile24m or --tagfile=4mtagsfile0m
               Specifies a tags file to be used instead of "tags".

        -u or --underlinespecial
               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 --UNDERLINESPECIAL
               Causes backspaces, tabs,  carriage  returns  and  "formatting
 char
               acters" (as defined by Unicode)  to  be  treated  as  control
 charac
               ters; that is, they  are  handled  as  specified  by  the  -r
 option.

               By  default, if neither -u nor -U is given, backspaces  which
 ap
               pear  adjacent  to  an  underscore  character   are   treated
 specially:
               the  underlined  text is  displayed  using  the  terminals
 hardware
               underlining  capability.   Also,  backspaces  which    appear
 between
               two   identical   characters  are  treated   specially:   the
 overstruck
               text is printed  using  the  terminals  hardware  boldface
 capabili
               ty.   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.  Unicode formatting characters,  such  as  the
 Byte
               Order  Mark,  are  sent  to  the  terminal.   Text  which  is
 overstruck
               or underlined can be searched for if neither -u nor -U is  in
 ef
               fect.

               See  also  the  --procbackspace,  --proctab,   and   --
 procreturn op
               tions.

        -V or --version
               Displays the version number of 1mless22m.

        -w or --hiliteunread
               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.  If the --statusline option is in effect, the entire
 line
               (the  width  of the screen) is highlighted.  Otherwise,  only
 the
               text in the line is highlighted, unless the -J option  is  in
 ef
               fect, in which case only the status column is highlighted.

        -W or --HILITEUNREAD
               Like -w, but temporarily highlights the first new line  after
 any
               forward movement command larger than one line.

        -x4mn24m,... or --tabs=4mn24m,...
               Sets  tab  stops.  If only one  4mn24m  is  specified,  tab
 stops are set
               at multiples of 4mn24m.  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 de
               fault for 4mn24m is 8.

        -X or --noinit
               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.

        -y4mn24m or --maxforwscroll=4mn0m
               Specifies a maximum number of lines to scroll forward.  If it
 is
               necessary to scroll forward more  than  4mn24m  lines,  the
 screen is re
               painted  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.

        -z4mn24m or --window=4mn24m or -4mn0m
               Changes  the   default  scrolling  window  size  to  4mn24m
 lines.  The de
               fault 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 some versions of 1mmore22m(1).  If  the  number
 4mn24m is  nega
               tive,  it  indicates  4mn24m lines less  than  the  current
 screen size.
               For example, if the screen is 24 lines, 4m-z-424m sets  the
 scrolling
               window  to  20 lines.  If the screen is resized to 40  lines,
 the
               scrolling window automatically changes to 36 lines.

        -"4mcc24m or --quotes=4mcc0m
               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.  Alternately,  the  number  may  be
 speci
               fied  as  a fraction of the width  of  the  screen,  starting
 with a
               decimal point: .5 is half of  the   screen   width,   .3   is
 three
               tenths  of the screen width, and so on.   If  the  number  is
 speci
               fied as a fraction, the actual number of scroll positions  is
 re
               calculated if the terminal window is resized.

        --exitfollowonclose
               When using the "F" command  on  a  pipe,   1mless   22mwill
 automatically
               stop  waiting  for  more data when the input side of the pipe
 is
               closed.

        --filesize
               If --filesize is specified, 1mless 22mwill determine the
 size of the
               file immediately after  opening  the  file.   Then  the   "="
 command
               will  display the number of lines in the file.  Normally this
 is
               not done, because it  can  be  slow  if  the  input  file  is
 nonseek
               able (such as a pipe) and is large.

        --followname
               Normally, if the input file is renamed while an F command  is
 ex
               ecuting, 1mless 22mwill continue to display the contents of
 the orig
               inal  file  despite its name change.  If  --followname  is
 speci
               fied, during  an  F  command  1mless  22mwill  periodically
 attempt to  re
               open the file by name.  If the reopen succeeds and  the  file
 is a
               different  file  from  the original (which means that  a  new
 file
               has been created with the same name as  the   original   (now
 re
               named) file), 1mless 22mwill display the contents  of  that
 new file.

        --header=4mL24m,4mC24m,4mN0m
               Sets  the  number  of  header lines and columns displayed  on
 the
               screen.  The number of header lines is set to 4mL24m.    If
 4mL24m  is  0,
               header lines are disabled.  If 4mL24m is empty or  missing,
 the number
               of  header  lines is unchanged.  The number of header columns
 is
               set to 4mC24m.   If  4mC24m  is  0,  header  columns  are
 disabled.  If 4mC24m is emp
               ty or missing, the number of header  columns  is   unchanged.
 The
               first  header line is set to  line  number  4mN24m  in  the
 file.  If 4mN24m is
               empty or missing, it is taken to be the number  of  the  line
 cur
               rently displayed in the first line of the screen (if  the  --
 head
               er  command  has  been  issued  from  within 1mless22m), or
 1 (if the
               --header option has been given on the  command  line).    The
 spe
               cial form  "--header=-"  disables  header  lines  and  header
 columns,
               and is equivalent to "--header=0,0".

               When  4mL24m  is  nonzero, the first 4mL24m lines at  the
 top of the screen
               are replaced with the 4mL24m lines of the file beginning at
 line  4mN24m,
               regardless of what part of the file is  being  viewed.   When
 head
               er lines are displayed, any file contents before  the  header
 line
               cannot  be  viewed.   When  4mC24m is  nonzero,  the  first
 4mC24m characters
               displayed at the beginning of each line are   replaced   with
 the
               first  4mC24m characters of the line, even if the  rest  of
 the line is
               scrolled horizontally.

        --incsearch
               Subsequent search commands will be  "incremental";  that  is,
 1mless0m
               will  advance  to the next line containing the search pattern
 as
               each character of the pattern is typed in.

        --intr=4mc0m
               Use the character 4mc24m instead of ^X to interrupt a  read
 when  the
               "Waiting  for  data"  message  is displayed.   4mc24m  must
 be an ASCII
               character; that is, one with a  value  between  1   and   127
 inclu
               sive.   A  caret  followed  by a single character can be used
 to
               specify a control character.

        --linenumwidth=4mn0m
               Sets the minimum width of the line number field when  the  -N
 op
               tion is in effect to 4mn24m characters.  The default is 7.

        --matchshift=4mn0m
               When  -S  is in effect, if a  search  match  is  not  visible
 because
               it is shifted to the  left  or   right   of   the   currently
 visible
               screen,  the  text  will  horizontally  shift to ensure  that
 the
               search match is visible.  This  option  selects  the   column
 in
               which the first character of the search match will be  placed
 af
               ter the shift.   In  other  words,  there  will  be  4mn24m
 characters visi
               ble to the left of the search match.

               Alternately,  the  number  may be specified as a fraction  of
 the
               width of the screen, starting with a decimal  point:  .5   is
 half
               of the screen width, .3 is three tenths of the screen  width,
 and
               so  on.   If  the  number is specified  as  a  fraction,  the
 actual
               number of scroll positions is recalculated  if  the  terminal
 win
               dow is resized.

        --modelines=4mn0m
               Before  displaying  a  file, 1mless 22mwill read the  first
 4mn24m lines to
               try to find a vimcompatible 4mmodeline24m.  If  4mn24m
 is zero, 1mless  22mdoes
               not try to find modelines.  By using  a  modeline,  the  file
 itself
               can specify the tab stops that should be  used  when  viewing
 it.

               A modeline contains, anywhere in the  line,  a  program  name
 ("vi",
               "vim",  "ex", or  "less"),  followed  by  a  colon,  possibly
 followed
               by the word "set", and finally  followed  by  zero  or   more
 option
               settings.   If the word "set" is used,  option  settings  are
 sepa
               rated by spaces, and end at the first  colon.   If  the  word
 "set"
               is  not  used, option settings may  be  separated  by  either
 spaces
               or colons.  The word "set" is required if the  program   name
 is
               "less"  but  optional  if any of the other  three  names  are
 used.
               If any option setting is of the  form  "tabstop=4mn24m"  or
 "ts=4mn24m", then
               tab stops are automatically set  as  if  --tabs=4mn24m  had
 been  given.
               See the --tabs description for acceptable values of 4mn24m.

        --mouse
               Enables  mouse  input: scrolling the mouse wheel  down  moves
 for
               ward in  the  file,  scrolling  the  mouse  wheel  up   moves
 backwards
               in  the file, leftclick sets the  "#"  mark  to  the  line
 where the
               mouse is clicked, and rightclick (or any other) returns to
 the
               "#"  mark position.  If a leftclick is performed with  the
 mouse
               cursor on an OSC 8 hyperlink, the hyperlink is selected as if
 by
               the ^O^N command.  If a leftclick is performed  with   the
 mouse
               cursor  on an OSC 8 hyperlink which is already selected,  the
 hy
               perlink is opened as if by the  ^O^O  command.   The   number
 of
               lines  to  scroll  when  the  wheel  is  moved can be set  by
 the
               --wheellines option.  Mouse input works only on  terminals
 which
               support X11 mouse reporting, and on the  Windows  version  of
 1mless22m.

        --MOUSE
               Like --mouse, except the direction scrolled  on  mouse  wheel
 move
               ment is reversed.

        --nokeypad
               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.

        --nohistdups
               This  option  changes the behavior so that if a search string
 or
               file name is typed in, and the same string  is   already   in
 the
               history list, the existing copy is removed from  the  history
 list
               before  the  new one is added.  Thus,  a  given  string  will
 appear
               only once in the history  list.   Normally,  a   string   may
 appear
               multiple times.

        --nonumberheaders
               Header  lines (defined  via  the  --header  option)  are  not
 assigned
               line numbers.  Line number 1 is assigned to  the  first  line
 after
               any header lines.

        --nosearchheaderlines
               Searches do not include  header  lines,  but  still   include
 header
               columns.

        --nosearchheadercolumns
               Searches do not include header  columns,  but  still  include
 header
               lines.

        --nosearchheaders
               Searches do not include header lines or header columns.

        --novbell
               Disables the terminals visual bell.

        --procbackspace
               If  set,  backspaces are handled as if neither the -u  option
 nor
               the -U option were set.  That is, a backspace adjacent to  an
 un
               derscore causes text to be displayed in underline  mode,  and
 a
               backspace  between  identical  characters  cause text  to  be
 dis
               played in boldface mode.  This option overrides the  -u   and
 -U
               options,  so  that display of backspaces  can  be  controlled
 sepa
               rate from tabs and carriage returns.  If not  set,  backspace
 dis
               play is controlled by the -u and -U options.

        --PROCBACKSPACE
               If set, backspaces are handled as if the   -U   option   were
 set;
               that is backspaces are treated as control characters.

        --procreturn
               If set, carriage returns are handled as  if  neither  the  -u
 option
               nor  the -U option were set.   That  is,  a  carriage  return
 immedi
               ately before a newline is deleted.  This option overrides the
 -u
               and -U options, so that display of carriage  returns  can  be
 con
               trolled  separate from that of backspaces and tabs.   If  not
 set,
               carriage return display  is  controlled  by  the  -u  and  -U
 options.

        --PROCRETURN
               If set, carriage returns are handled as if  the   -U   option
 were
               set;  that  is  carriage  returns  are  treated  as   control
 characters.

        --proctab
               If set, tabs are handled as if the -U option  were  not  set.
 That
               is,  tabs  are expanded to spaces.  This option overrides the
 -U
               option, so that display of tabs can  be  controlled  separate
 from
               that  of  backspaces and carriage returns.  If not  set,  tab
 dis
               play is controlled by the -U options.

        --PROCTAB
               If set, tabs are handled as if the -U option were set;   that
 is
               tabs are treated as control characters.

        --redrawonquit
               When     quitting,     after     sending     the     terminal
 deinitialization
               string, redraws the entire last screen.  On  terminals  whose
 ter
               minal deinitialization string causes the terminal  to  switch
 from
               an alternate screen, this makes the last  screenful  of   the
 cur
               rent file remain visible after 1mless 22mhas quit.

        --rscroll=4mc0m
               This  option changes the character  used  to  mark  truncated
 lines.
               It may begin with a twocharacter attribute indicator  like
 LESS
               BINFMT does.  If there is no attribute  indicator,   standout
 is
               used.  If set to "-", truncated lines are not marked.

        --savemarks
               Save  marks  in  the  history file,  so  marks  are  retained
 across
               different invocations of 1mless22m.

        --searchoptions=4m...0m
               Sets default search modifiers.  The value is a string of  one
 or
               more of the characters E, F, K, N, R or W.   Setting  any  of
 these
               has  the same effect as typing that control character at  the
 be
               ginning of every search pattern.   For  example,  setting  --
 search
               options=W is the same as typing ^W  at   the   beginning   of
 every
               pattern.   The  value  may also contain a digit between 1 and
 5,
               which has the same effect as typing ^S followed by that digit
 at
               the beginning of every  search  pattern.   The  value   ""
 disables
               all default search modifiers.

        --showpreprocerrors
               If a preprocessor produces data, then exits with a nonzero
 exit
               code, 1mless 22mwill display a warning.

        --statuscolwidth=4mn0m
               Sets the width of the status column when the -J option is  in
 ef
               fect.  The default is 2 characters.

        --statusline
               If  a line is marked, the entire line (rather than  just  the
 sta
               tus column) is highlighted.  Also lines highlighted  due   to
 the
               -w option will have  the  entire  line  highlighted.   If  --
 usecolor
               is set, the line is colored rather than highlighted.

        --usebackslash
               This  option changes the  interpretations  of  options  which
 follow
               this one.  After the --usebackslash option, any  backslash
 in an
               option string is removed and  the  following   character   is
 taken
               literally.   This  allows a dollar sign  to  be  included  in
 option
               strings.

        --usecolor
               Enables colored text in various places.  The -D  option   can
 be
               used  to change the colors.  Colored text works only  if  the
 ter
               minal supports  ANSI  color  escape  sequences  (as   defined
 in
               https://www.ecmainternational.org/publicationsand
               standards/standards/ecma48).

        --wheellines=4mn0m
               Set  the  number  of  lines  to  scroll  when the mouse wheel
 is
               scrolled and the --mouse or --MOUSE option  is   in   effect.
 The
               default is 1 line.

        --wordwrap
               When  the  -S option is not in use, wrap each line at a space
 or
               tab if possible, so that a word  is  not  split  between  two
 lines.
               The default is to wrap at any character.

        --     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  1m+22m,  the
 remainder of that
               option is taken to be an initial command to 1mless22m.  For
 example,
               +G  tells  1mless  22mto start  at  the  end  of  the  file
 rather than the
               beginning,  and  +/xyz  tells  it  to  start  at  the   first
 occurrence
               of  "xyz"  in  the file.  As a special case,  +<number>  acts
 like
               +<number>g; that is, it starts the display at  the  specified
 line
               number (however, see  the  caveat  under  the   "g"   command
 above).
               If  the  option  starts  with ++, the initial command applies
 to
               every file being viewed, not  just  the  first  one.   The  +
 command
               described previously may also be used to set (or  change)  an
 ini
               tial command for every file.

 1mLINE EDITING0m
        When  entering a command line at  the  bottom  of  the  screen  (for
 example,
        a filename for the  :e  command,  or  the  pattern  for   a   search
 command),
        certain keys can be used  to  manipulate  the  command  line.   Most
 commands
        have  an alternate form in [ brackets ] which can be used if  a  key
 does
        not exist  on  a  particular  keyboard.   (Note   that   the   forms
 beginning
        with  ESC do not work in some MSDOS and Windows  systems  because
 ESC is
        the line erase character.)  Any  of  these  special  keys   may   be
 entered
        literally  by  preceding  it with the "literal" character, either ^V
 or
        ^A.  A backslash itself may also be entered literally  by   entering
 two
        backslashes.

        LEFTARROW [ ESCh ]
               Move the cursor one space to the left.

        RIGHTARROW [ ESCl ]
               Move the cursor one space to the right.

        ^LEFTARROW [ ESCb or ESCLEFTARROW ]
               (That  is, CONTROL and LEFTARROW simultaneously.)   Move  the
 cur
               sor one word to the left.

        ^RIGHTARROW [ ESCw or ESCRIGHTARROW ]
               (That is, CONTROL and RIGHTARROW simultaneously.)   Move  the
 cur
               sor one word to the right.

        HOME [ ESC0 ]
               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 [ ESCx ]
               Delete the character under the cursor.

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

        ^DELETE [ ESCX or ESCDELETE ]
               (That is, CONTROL and DELETE  simultaneously.)   Delete   the
 word
               under the cursor.

        UPARROW [ ESCk ]
               Retrieve  the  previous  command  line.  If you  first  enter
 some
               text and then press UPARROW, it will  retrieve  the  previous
 com
               mand which begins with that text.

        DOWNARROW [ ESCj ]
               Retrieve  the  next  command line.  If you first  enter  some
 text
               and then press  DOWNARROW,  it   will   retrieve   the   next
 command
               which begins with that text.

        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 MSDOS  and   Windows
 sys
               tems,  a "
               TOR can be used to specify a different character to append to
 a
               directory name.

        BACKTAB [ ESCTAB ]
               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 (MSDOS and Windows)
               Delete the entire command line, or cancel  the   command   if
 the
               command line is empty.  If you have changed your  linekill
 char
               acter in Unix to something other than ^U, that  character  is
 used
               instead of ^U.

        ^G     Delete the entire command line and return to the main prompt.

 1mKEY BINDINGS0m
        You  may  define  your  own   1mless  22mcommands  by  creating  a
 lesskey source
        file.  This file specifies a set  of  command  keys  and  an  action
 associ
        ated  with  each  key.   You may also change the lineediting keys
 (see
        LINE EDITING), and set environment variables used  by   1mless22m.
 See  the
        1mlesskey22m(1) manual page for details about the file format.

        If  the  environment  variable  LESSKEYIN is set,  1mless  22muses
 that as the
        name of the lesskey source file.  Otherwise, 1mless 22mlooks in  a
 standard
        place  for  the  lesskey  source  file:  On  Unix  systems,  1mless
 22mlooks for a
        lesskey     file      called      "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/lesskey"      or
 "$HOME/.con
        fig/lesskey"  or "$HOME/.lesskey".  On MSDOS and Windows systems,
 1mless0m
        looks for a lesskey file called "$HOME/_lesskey",  and  if   it   is
 not
        found there, then looks for a lesskey file called "_lesskey" in  any
 di
        rectory  specified  in  the  PATH  environment  variable.   On  OS/2
 systems,
        1mless 22mlooks for a lesskey file called "$HOME/lesskey.ini", and
 if it  is
        not  found,  then  looks for a lesskey file called "lesskey.ini"  in
 any
        directory specified in the INIT environment variable,  and   if   it
 not
        found  there, then looks for a lesskey file called "lesskey.ini"  in
 any
        directory specified in the PATH environment variable.

        A systemwide lesskey source file may also be set  up  to  provide
 key
        bindings.   If a key is defined in both a local lesskey file and  in
 the
        systemwide file, key bindings in the local file take   precedence
 over
        those   in   the    systemwide    file.    If   the   environment
 variable
        LESSKEYIN_SYSTEM is set, 1mless 22muses that as the  name  of  the
 systemwide
        lesskey  file.   Otherwise, 1mless 22mlooks in  a  standard  place
 for the sys
        temwide lesskey file: On Unix systems, the systemwide  lesskey
 file is
        /usr/local/etc/syslesskey.  (However, if 1mless 22mwas built  with
 a  differ
        ent  sysconf directory than /usr/local/etc, that directory is  where
 the
        sysless file is  found.)   On  MSDOS  and  Windows  systems,  the
 systemwide
        lesskey  file  is   c:_syslesskey.     On    OS/2    systems,    the
 systemwide
        lesskey file is c:slesskey.ini.

        Previous versions of 1mless 22m(before v582)  used  lesskey  files
 with a bina
        ry  format,  produced by the 1mlesskey 22mprogram. It is no longer
 necessary
        to use the 1mlesskey 22mprogram.

 1mINPUT PREPROCESSOR0m
        You may define an  "input  preprocessor"  for  1mless22m.   Before
 1mless  22mopens  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,  1mless  22mwill  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, 1mless 22muses the original file, as  normal.   The
 input  pre
        processor  is not called when viewing standard input.  To set up  an
 in
        put 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
 re
        placed by the  filename  when  the  input  preprocessor  command  is
 invoked.

        When 1mless 22mcloses a file opened in such a way,  it  will  call
 another pro
        gram,  called  the  input   postprocessor,  which  may  perform  any
 desired
        cleanup  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
 re
        placed  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 1mless 22mview them
 directly:

        lessopen.sh:
             #! /bin/sh
             case "$1" in
             *.Z) TEMPFILE=$(mktemp)
                  uncompress -c $1  >$TEMPFILE  2>/dev/null
                  if [ -s $TEMPFILE ]; then
                       echo $TEMPFILE
                  else
                       rm -f $TEMPFILE
                  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 1mless22m, 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
 re
        placement  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 1mless 22muses 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.  As with nonpipe input preprocessors, the  command   string
 must
        contain  one  occurrence  of %s, which is replaced with the filename
 of
        the input file.

        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
                  ;;
             *)   exit 1
                  ;;
             esac
             exit $?

        To  use  this  script,  put  it  where  it  can  be   executed   and
 set
        LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s".

        Note that a preprocessor cannot output an empty file, since that  is
 in
        terpreted as meaning there is no replacement, and the original  file
 is
        used.   To  avoid  this, if LESSOPEN starts with two vertical  bars,
 the
        exit status of the script determines the behavior when  the   output
 is
        empty.   If  the output is empty and the exit status  is  zero,  the
 empty
        output is considered to be replacement text.   If  the   output   is
 empty
        and the exit status is nonzero, the  original  file  is  used.   For
 compat
        ibility  with  previous  versions of 1mless22m, if LESSOPEN starts
 with only
        one vertical bar, the exit status of the preprocessor is ignored.

        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 "-".

        For compatibility with previous versions of 1mless22m,  the  input
 preproces
        sor or pipe is not used if 1mless 22mis  viewing  standard  input.
 However, if
        the   first   character  of  LESSOPEN  is  a  dash  (-),  the  input
 preprocessor
        is used on standard input as well as other files.  In   this   case,
 the
        dash  is  not  considered  to  be part of the preprocessor  command.
 If
        standard input is being viewed, the input preprocessor is  passed  a
 file
        name consisting of a single  dash.   Similarly,  if  the  first  two
 charac
        ters  of  LESSOPEN  are vertical bar and dash (|-) or  two  vertical
 bars
        and a dash (||-), the input pipe is used on standard input as   well
 as
        other files.  Again, in this case the dash is not considered  to  be
 part
        of the input pipe command.

 1mNATIONAL CHARACTER SETS0m
        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 MSDOS.

        ebcdic Selects an EBCDIC character set.

        IBM1047
               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=IBM1047 or LC_CTYPE=en_US in
 your
               environment.

        koi8r Selects a Russian character set.

        next   Selects a character set appropriate for NeXT computers.

        utf8   Selects   the   UTF8   encoding   of   the   ISO  10646
 character set.
               UTF8  is  special  in  that  it   supports    multibyte
 characters  in
               the input file.  It is the only character set  that  supports
 mul
               tibyte characters.

        windows
               Selects  a  character  set appropriate for Microsoft  Windows
 (cp
               1252).

        In rare cases, it may be desired to  tailor  1mless  22mto  use  a
 character  set
        other  than the ones definable by LESSCHARSET.  In  this  case,  the
 envi
        ronment variable LESSCHARDEF can be used to define a character  set.
 It
        should be set to  a  string  where  each  character  in  the  string
 represents
        one character in the character set.  The character "." is  used  for
 a
        normal  character, "c" for control, and "b" for binary.   A  decimal
 num
        ber 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
 bina
        ry, 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
 character
        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.
             IBM1047   4cbcbc3b9cbccbccbb4c6bcc5b3cbbc4bc4bccbc
                        191.b
             iso8859    8bcccbcc18b95.33b.
             koi8r     8bcccbcc18b95.b128.
             latin1     8bcccbcc18b95.33b.
             next       8bcccbcc18b95.bb125.bb

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

        If  that  string  is  not  found,  but  your  system  supports   the
 1msetlocale 22min
        terface,  1mless 22mwill use setlocale to determine the  character
 set.  set
        locale is controlled by setting the  LANG  or  LC_CTYPE  environment
 vari
        ables.

        Finally,  if the 4msetlocale24m interface is also  not  available,
 the default
        character set is utf8.

        Control  and   binary   characters   are   displayed   in   standout
 (reverse
        video).  Each such character  is  displayed  in  caret  notation  if
 possible
        (e.g.   ^A  for  controlA).   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 printfstyle 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<%02X>".   Warning:  the
 re
        sult  of  expanding  the  character via LESSBINFMT must be less than
 31
        characters.

        When the character set is  utf8,  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  UTF8  file (octets of a truncated sequence, octets
 of a
        complete but nonshortest form  sequence,  invalid   octets,   and
 stray
        trailing  octets)  are displayed individually using LESSBINFMT so as
 to
        facilitate diagnostic of how the UTF8 file is illformed.

        When the  character  set  is  utf8,  in  rare  cases  it  may  be
 desirable  to
        override the Unicode definition of the type of  certain  characters.
 For
        example,  characters in a Private Use Area are normally  treated  as
 con
        trol characters, but  if  you  are  using   a   custom   font   with
 printable
        characters  in  that  range,  it may be desirable  to  tell  1mless
 22mto treat
        such characters as printable.  This  can  be  done  by  setting  the
 LESSUT
        FCHARDEF  environment  variable   to  a  commaseparated  list  of
 4mcharacter0m
        4mtype24m definitions.  Each character type  definition   consists
 of  either
        one  hexadecimal codepoint or a pair of codepoints  separated  by  a
 dash,
        followed by  a  colon  and  a  type  character.   Each   hexadecimal
 codepoint
        may  optionally  be preceded by  a  "U"  or  "U+".   If  a  pair  of
 codepoints
        is given, the type is set for all characters   inclusively   between
 the
        two  values.   If  there are  multiple  commaseparated  codepoint
 values,
        they must be in ascending numerical order.  The type character   may
 be
        one of:

               p      A normal printable character.

               w      A wide (2space) printable character.

               b      A binary (nonprintable) character.

               c      A composing (zero width) character.

        For example, setting LESSUTFCHARDEF to

             E000F8FF:p,F0000FFFFD:p,10000010FFFD:p

        would make all Private Use Area characters be treated as printable.

 1mPROMPTS0m
        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.  (References to  the   input   file
 size
        below refer to the preprocessed size, if an  input  preprocessor  is
 being
        used.)

        %b4mX24m    Replaced  by the byte offset into  the  current  input
 file.  The b
               is followed by a single character (shown as  4mX24m  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.

        %d4mX24m    Replaced by the page number of a line  in  the   input
 file.   The
               line to be used is determined by the 4mX24m, 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.

        %F     Replaced by the last component of the  name  of  the  current
 input
               file.

        %g     Replaced  by  the  shellescaped name of the current  input
 file.
               This is useful when the expanded string will  be  used  in  a
 shell
               command, such as in LESSEDIT.

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

        %l4mX24m    Replaced by the line number of a line  in  the   input
 file.   The
               line to be used is determined by the 4mX24m, 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.

        %o     Replaced  by   the  URI  of  the  currently  selected  OSC  8
 hyperlink,
               or a question mark if no hyperlink is selected.  This is used
 by
               OSC 8 handlers as explained in the ^O^O command description.

        %p4mX24m    Replaced by the percent into the current input   file,
 based  on
               byte  offsets.  The line used is determined by  the  4mX24m
 as with the
               %b option.

        %P4mX24m    Replaced by the percent into the current input   file,
 based  on
               line  numbers.  The line used is determined by  the  4mX24m
 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.

        %T     Normally  expands  to the word "file".   However  if  viewing
 files
               via a tags list using the -t option,  it   expands   to   the
 word
               "tag".

        %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
 evaluat
        ed.  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.

        ?b4mX24m    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).

        ?d4mX24m    True if the page  number  of  the  specified  line  is
 known.

        ?e     True if at endoffile.

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

        ?l4mX24m    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.

        ?p4mX24m    True if the percent into the current input file, based
 on  byte
               offsets, of the specified line is known.

        ?P4mX24m    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
 in
               put file is not the last one).

        Any characters other than the special ones  (question  mark,  colon,
 peri
        od,  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.
 No
        tice how each question mark has a matching period,  and  how  the  %
 after
        the %pt is included literally by escaping it with a backslash.
                                                  %x..%t
        ?n?f%f .?m(%T %i of %m) ..?e(END) ?x Next
        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 endoffile, 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
 re
        spectively).  Each is broken into two  lines  here  for  readability
 only.
                                                  %x.:
        ?n?f%?pB%pB:byte %bB?s/%s...%tND) ?x Next

        ?f%f .?n?m(%T %i of %m) ..?ltlines %l%x.:?pB%pB..%t
             byte %bB?s/%s. .?e(END) ?x Next
        And here is the default message produced by the = command:

        ?f%f .?m(%T %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
 ex
        panded  in  the  same way as the prompt strings.  The default  value
 for
        LESSEDIT is:

             %E ?lm+%lm. %g

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

 1mSECURITY0m
        When  the  environment  variable LESSSECURE is  set  to  1,  1mless
 22mruns in a
        "secure" mode.  In this mode, these features are disabled:

        edit      the edit command (v)

        examine   the examine command (:e)

        glob      metacharacters such as * in filenames,
                  and filename completion (TAB, ^L)

        history   history file

        lesskey   use of lesskey files (k and --lesskeysrc)

        lessopen  input preprocessor (LESSOPEN environment variable)

        logfile   log files (s and -o)

        osc8      opening OSC 8 links (^O^O)

        pipe      the pipe command (|)

        shell     the shell and pshell commands (! and #)

        stop      stopping 1mless 22mvia a SIGSTOP signal

        tags      use of tags files (t)

        The  LESSSECURE_ALLOW  environment  variable  can  be  set   to    a
 commasepa
        rated  list  of  names  of  features which are  selectively  enabled
 when
        LESSSECURE is set.  Each feature name is the first word in each line
 in
        the above list.  A feature name may be abbreviated as long  as   the
 ab
        breviation   is   unambiguous.    For   example,   if   LESSSECURE=1
 and
        LESSSECURE_ALLOW=hist,edit were set, all of the above features would
 be
        disabled except for history files and the edit command.

        Less can also be compiled to be permanently in  "secure"  mode.   In
 that
        case, the LESSSECURE and LESSSECURE_ALLOW variables are ignored.

 1mCOMPATIBILITY WITH MORE0m
        If the environment variable LESS_IS_MORE is set  to  1,  or  if  the
 program
        is  invoked via  a  file  link  named  "more",  1mless  22mbehaves
 (mostly) in con
        formance with the POSIX 1mmore22m(1)  command  specification.   In
 this  mode,
        less behaves differently in these ways:

        The -e option works differently.  If  the  -e  option  is  not  set,
 1mless 22mbe
        haves  as if the -e option were set.   If  the  -e  option  is  set,
 1mless 22mbe
        haves as if the -E option were set.

        The -m option works differently.  If the -m  option  is   not   set,
 the
        medium  prompt  is used, and it is  prefixed  with  the  string  "--
 More--".
        If the -m option is set, the short prompt is used.

        The -n option acts like the -z option.  The normal behavior of   the
 -n
        option is unavailable in this mode.

        The  parameter  to   the   -p  option  is  taken  to  be  a  1mless
 22mcommand rather
        than a search pattern.

        The  LESS  environment  variable  is   ignored,   and    the    MORE
 environment
        variable is used in its place.

 1mENVIRONMENT VARIABLES0m
        Environment  variables  may  be  specified  either  in  the   system
 environment
        as   usual,   or   in  a  1mlesskey22m(1)  file.   If  environment
 variables are de
        fined 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 systemwide  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 systems 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 users 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 users home directory if the  HOME
 vari
               able is not set (only in the Windows version).

        INIT   Name  of  the users 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 1mless 22mautomatically.

        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   nonprintable,    noncontrol
 characters.

        LESSCHARDEF
               Defines a character set.

        LESSCHARSET
               Selects a predefined character set.

        LESSCLOSE
               Command line to invoke the (optional) inputpostprocessor.

        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
 1mglob0m
               1mal22m(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  1mless22m.   If  set
 to  "-"  or
               "/dev/null", a history file is not used.  The default depends
 on
               the operating system, but is usually:

               Linux and Unix
                      "$XDG_STATE_HOME/lesshst"                           or
 "$HOME/.local/state/lesshst"
                      or "$XDG_DATA_HOME/lesshst" or "$HOME/.lesshst".

               Windows and MSDOS
                      "$HOME/_lesshst".

               OS/2   "$HOME/lesshst.ini" or "$INIT/lesshst.ini".

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

        LESSKEYIN
               Name of the default 4mlesskey24m 4msource24m file.

        LESSKEY
               Name    of    the   default   4mlesskey24m    4mbinary24m
 file.  (Not  used  if
               "$LESSKEYIN" exists.)

        LESSKEY_CONTENT
               The value is parsed as if it were  the  parameter  of  a   --
 lesskey
               content option.

        LESSKEYIN_SYSTEM
               Name   of   the    default    systemwide    4mlesskey24m
 4msource24m file.

        LESSKEY_SYSTEM
               Name    of    the   default   systemwide    4mlesskey24m
 4mbinary24m file. (Not used
               if "$LESSKEYIN_SYSTEM" exists.)

        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) inputpreprocessor.

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

        LESSSECURE_ALLOW
               Enables individual  features  which  are  normally   disabled
 by
               LESSSECURE.  See discussion under SECURITY.

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

        LESSUTFBINFMT
               Format for displaying nonprintable Unicode code points.

        LESSUTFCHARDEF
               Overrides the type of specified Unicode characters.

        LESS_COLUMNS
               Sets the number of columns on the  screen.   Unlike  COLUMNS,
 takes
               precedence over the systems idea of the screen size, so it
 can
               be  used  to  make 1mless 22muse less than the full  screen
 width.  If
               set to a negative number, sets the number  of  columns   used
 to
               this much less than the actual screen width.

        LESS_LINES
               Sets  the  number  of  lines on the  screen.   Unlike  LINES,
 takes
               precedence over the systems idea of the screen size, so it
 can
               be  used  to make 1mless 22muse less than the  full  screen
 height.  If
               set to a negative number, sets the number of  lines  used  to
 this
               much  less  than   the   actual  screen  height.   When  set,
 1mless 22mre
               paints the  entire  screen  on  every  movement  command,  so
 scrolling
               may be slower.

        LESS_DATA_DELAY
               Duration (in milliseconds) after starting to read  data  from
 the
               input,  after  which the "Waiting for data" message  will  be
 dis
               played.  The default is 4000 (4 seconds).

        LESS_IS_MORE
               Emulate the 1mmore22m(1) command.

        LESS_OSC8_xxx
               Where "xxx" is a URI scheme such as "http" or  "file",   sets
 an
               OSC 8 handler for opening OSC 8 links containing a  URI  with
 that
               scheme.

        LESS_OSC8_ANY
               Sets an OSC 8 handler for opening OSC 8 links for which there
 is
               no specific LESS_OSC8_xxx handler set for the "xxx" scheme.

        LESS_TERMCAP_xx
               Where  "xx"  is  any two characters, overrides the definition
 of
               the termcap "xx" capability for the terminal.

        LESS_UNSUPPORT
               A spaceseparated list of  command  line  options.    These
 options
               will  be  ignored  (with no error message) if they appear  on
 the
               command line or in the LESS  environment  variable.   Options
 list
               ed in LESS_UNSUPPORT can still be changed by the  -  and   --
 com
               mands.   Each  option  in LESS_UNSUPPORT is a  dash  followed
 by a
               single character option letter, or two dashes followed  by  a
 long
               option name.

        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  systems  idea  of  the   screen   size   takes
 precedence
               over the LINES and COLUMNS environment variables.)

        MORE   Options  which  are passed to 1mless 22mautomatically  when
 running in
               1mmore22mcompatible mode.

        PATH   Users  search  path  (used  to  find  a  lesskey  file  on
 MSDOS,  Win
               dows, 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 1mless 22mis being run.

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

        XDG_CONFIG_HOME
               Possible location of the 1mlesskey  22mfile;  see  the  KEY
 BINDINGS sec
               tion.

        XDG_DATA_HOME
               Possible location of the history file; see  the   description
 of
               the LESSHISTFILE environment variable.

        XDG_STATE_HOME
               Possible  location  of  the history file; see the description
 of
               the LESSHISTFILE environment variable.

 1mSEE ALSO0m
        1mlesskey22m(1), 1mlessecho22m(1)

 1mCOPYRIGHT0m
        Copyright (C) 19842024  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  021111307, 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.

 1mAUTHOR0m
        Mark Nudelman
        Report bugs at https://github.com/gwsw/less/issues.
        For more information, see the less homepage at
        https://greenwoodsoftware.com/less.

                            Version       668:       06       Oct       2024
 4mLESS24m(1)