What are the differences between most, more and less?
I'm now using Arch Linux, and find a command most works like more and less. To understand the differences between them is a confusing problem. The question Isn't less just more? mentions the differences between less and more. Do you know the differences on color performance, shortcuts and ability moving forward and backward?
command-line less more most
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
|
show 2 more comments
I'm now using Arch Linux, and find a command most works like more and less. To understand the differences between them is a confusing problem. The question Isn't less just more? mentions the differences between less and more. Do you know the differences on color performance, shortcuts and ability moving forward and backward?
command-line less more most
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
1
according to the man page it's pretty much likelessbut can do multiple windows
– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
1
it seemslesscan't perform color. Runls | lessand I get something unreadable.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
6
@MaxfanZone: Tryls --color=yes | less -R.lsusually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something.lessneeds-Rto pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or-rto pass escape all characters to the screen.
– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
1
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
1
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59
|
show 2 more comments
I'm now using Arch Linux, and find a command most works like more and less. To understand the differences between them is a confusing problem. The question Isn't less just more? mentions the differences between less and more. Do you know the differences on color performance, shortcuts and ability moving forward and backward?
command-line less more most
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
I'm now using Arch Linux, and find a command most works like more and less. To understand the differences between them is a confusing problem. The question Isn't less just more? mentions the differences between less and more. Do you know the differences on color performance, shortcuts and ability moving forward and backward?
command-line less more most
command-line less more most
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36
Community♦
1
1
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
asked Jun 29 '13 at 12:36
Chongxu Ren
981277
981277
1
according to the man page it's pretty much likelessbut can do multiple windows
– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
1
it seemslesscan't perform color. Runls | lessand I get something unreadable.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
6
@MaxfanZone: Tryls --color=yes | less -R.lsusually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something.lessneeds-Rto pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or-rto pass escape all characters to the screen.
– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
1
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
1
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59
|
show 2 more comments
1
according to the man page it's pretty much likelessbut can do multiple windows
– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
1
it seemslesscan't perform color. Runls | lessand I get something unreadable.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
6
@MaxfanZone: Tryls --color=yes | less -R.lsusually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something.lessneeds-Rto pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or-rto pass escape all characters to the screen.
– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
1
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
1
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59
1
1
according to the man page it's pretty much like
less but can do multiple windows– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
according to the man page it's pretty much like
less but can do multiple windows– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
1
1
it seems
less can't perform color. Run ls | less and I get something unreadable.– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
it seems
less can't perform color. Run ls | less and I get something unreadable.– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
6
6
@MaxfanZone: Try
ls --color=yes | less -R. ls usually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something. less needs -R to pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or -r to pass escape all characters to the screen.– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
@MaxfanZone: Try
ls --color=yes | less -R. ls usually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something. less needs -R to pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or -r to pass escape all characters to the screen.– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
1
1
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
1
1
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59
|
show 2 more comments
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
more
more is an old utility. When the text passed to it is too large to fit on one screen, it pages it. You can scroll down but not up.
Some systems hardlink more to less, providing users with a strange hybrid of the two programs that looks like more and quits at the end of the file like more but has some less features such as backwards scrolling. This is a result of less's more compatibility mode. You can enable this compatibility mode temporarily with LESS_IS_MORE=1 less ....
more passes raw escape sequences by default. Escape sequences tell your terminal which colors to display.
less
less was written by a man who was fed up with more's inability to scroll backwards through a file. He turned less into an open source project and over time, various individuals added new features to it. less is massive now. That's why some small embedded systems have more but not less. For comparison, less's source is over 27000 lines long. more implementations are generally only a little over 2000 lines long.
In order to get less to pass raw escape sequences, you have to pass it the -r flag. You can also tell it to only pass ANSI escape characters by passing it the -R flag.
most
most is supposed to be more than less. It can display multiple files at a time. By default, it truncates long lines instead of wrapping them and provides a left/right scrolling mechanism. most's website has no information about most's features. Its manpage indicates that it is missing at least a few less features such as log-file writing (you can use tee for this though) and external command running.
By default, most uses strange non-vi-like keybindings. man most | grep '<vi.?>' doesn't return anything so it may be impossible to put most into a vi-like mode.
most has the ability to decompress gunzip-compressed files before reading. Its status bar has more information than less's.
most passes raw escape sequences by default.
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
“lessis more, but moremorethanmoreis, somoreis lessless, so use morelessif you want lessmore. (...) Iflessis more thanmore,mostis more thanless.” —Slackware Linux Essentials
– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
|
show 2 more comments
Short answer:
Just use less and forget about more
Longer version:
more is old utility
You can't browse step wise with more, you can use space to browse page wise, or enter line by line, that is about it.
less is more + more additional features
You can browse page wise, line wise both up and down, search
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
add a comment |
There is one single application whereby I prefer more to less:
To check my LATEST modified log files (in /var/log/), I use
ls -AltF | more.
While less deletes the screen after exiting with q, more leaves those files and directories listed by ls on the screen, sparing me memorizing their names for examination.
(Should anybody know a parameter or configuration enabling less to keep it's text after exiting, that would render this post obsolete.)
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
11
The parameter you want is-X(long form:--no-init). Fromless' manpage:Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
FWIW,less --versiongives me:less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
add a comment |
more,lessandmostare a terminal pagers or paging programs used to view the contents of text file.
more: more is a very basic,oldest and popular pager. more is originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement. i.e. more can move forwards and backwards in text files but cannot move backwards in pipes.
less: less is a more advanced pager that allows movement forward and backward, and contains extra functions such as search. less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi.
most: less is more than more, most is more than less. Whereas the other pagers can only display one file at a time, most is capable of viewing any number of files,
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "106"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81129%2fwhat-are-the-differences-between-most-more-and-less%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
more
more is an old utility. When the text passed to it is too large to fit on one screen, it pages it. You can scroll down but not up.
Some systems hardlink more to less, providing users with a strange hybrid of the two programs that looks like more and quits at the end of the file like more but has some less features such as backwards scrolling. This is a result of less's more compatibility mode. You can enable this compatibility mode temporarily with LESS_IS_MORE=1 less ....
more passes raw escape sequences by default. Escape sequences tell your terminal which colors to display.
less
less was written by a man who was fed up with more's inability to scroll backwards through a file. He turned less into an open source project and over time, various individuals added new features to it. less is massive now. That's why some small embedded systems have more but not less. For comparison, less's source is over 27000 lines long. more implementations are generally only a little over 2000 lines long.
In order to get less to pass raw escape sequences, you have to pass it the -r flag. You can also tell it to only pass ANSI escape characters by passing it the -R flag.
most
most is supposed to be more than less. It can display multiple files at a time. By default, it truncates long lines instead of wrapping them and provides a left/right scrolling mechanism. most's website has no information about most's features. Its manpage indicates that it is missing at least a few less features such as log-file writing (you can use tee for this though) and external command running.
By default, most uses strange non-vi-like keybindings. man most | grep '<vi.?>' doesn't return anything so it may be impossible to put most into a vi-like mode.
most has the ability to decompress gunzip-compressed files before reading. Its status bar has more information than less's.
most passes raw escape sequences by default.
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
“lessis more, but moremorethanmoreis, somoreis lessless, so use morelessif you want lessmore. (...) Iflessis more thanmore,mostis more thanless.” —Slackware Linux Essentials
– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
|
show 2 more comments
more
more is an old utility. When the text passed to it is too large to fit on one screen, it pages it. You can scroll down but not up.
Some systems hardlink more to less, providing users with a strange hybrid of the two programs that looks like more and quits at the end of the file like more but has some less features such as backwards scrolling. This is a result of less's more compatibility mode. You can enable this compatibility mode temporarily with LESS_IS_MORE=1 less ....
more passes raw escape sequences by default. Escape sequences tell your terminal which colors to display.
less
less was written by a man who was fed up with more's inability to scroll backwards through a file. He turned less into an open source project and over time, various individuals added new features to it. less is massive now. That's why some small embedded systems have more but not less. For comparison, less's source is over 27000 lines long. more implementations are generally only a little over 2000 lines long.
In order to get less to pass raw escape sequences, you have to pass it the -r flag. You can also tell it to only pass ANSI escape characters by passing it the -R flag.
most
most is supposed to be more than less. It can display multiple files at a time. By default, it truncates long lines instead of wrapping them and provides a left/right scrolling mechanism. most's website has no information about most's features. Its manpage indicates that it is missing at least a few less features such as log-file writing (you can use tee for this though) and external command running.
By default, most uses strange non-vi-like keybindings. man most | grep '<vi.?>' doesn't return anything so it may be impossible to put most into a vi-like mode.
most has the ability to decompress gunzip-compressed files before reading. Its status bar has more information than less's.
most passes raw escape sequences by default.
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
“lessis more, but moremorethanmoreis, somoreis lessless, so use morelessif you want lessmore. (...) Iflessis more thanmore,mostis more thanless.” —Slackware Linux Essentials
– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
|
show 2 more comments
more
more is an old utility. When the text passed to it is too large to fit on one screen, it pages it. You can scroll down but not up.
Some systems hardlink more to less, providing users with a strange hybrid of the two programs that looks like more and quits at the end of the file like more but has some less features such as backwards scrolling. This is a result of less's more compatibility mode. You can enable this compatibility mode temporarily with LESS_IS_MORE=1 less ....
more passes raw escape sequences by default. Escape sequences tell your terminal which colors to display.
less
less was written by a man who was fed up with more's inability to scroll backwards through a file. He turned less into an open source project and over time, various individuals added new features to it. less is massive now. That's why some small embedded systems have more but not less. For comparison, less's source is over 27000 lines long. more implementations are generally only a little over 2000 lines long.
In order to get less to pass raw escape sequences, you have to pass it the -r flag. You can also tell it to only pass ANSI escape characters by passing it the -R flag.
most
most is supposed to be more than less. It can display multiple files at a time. By default, it truncates long lines instead of wrapping them and provides a left/right scrolling mechanism. most's website has no information about most's features. Its manpage indicates that it is missing at least a few less features such as log-file writing (you can use tee for this though) and external command running.
By default, most uses strange non-vi-like keybindings. man most | grep '<vi.?>' doesn't return anything so it may be impossible to put most into a vi-like mode.
most has the ability to decompress gunzip-compressed files before reading. Its status bar has more information than less's.
most passes raw escape sequences by default.
more
more is an old utility. When the text passed to it is too large to fit on one screen, it pages it. You can scroll down but not up.
Some systems hardlink more to less, providing users with a strange hybrid of the two programs that looks like more and quits at the end of the file like more but has some less features such as backwards scrolling. This is a result of less's more compatibility mode. You can enable this compatibility mode temporarily with LESS_IS_MORE=1 less ....
more passes raw escape sequences by default. Escape sequences tell your terminal which colors to display.
less
less was written by a man who was fed up with more's inability to scroll backwards through a file. He turned less into an open source project and over time, various individuals added new features to it. less is massive now. That's why some small embedded systems have more but not less. For comparison, less's source is over 27000 lines long. more implementations are generally only a little over 2000 lines long.
In order to get less to pass raw escape sequences, you have to pass it the -r flag. You can also tell it to only pass ANSI escape characters by passing it the -R flag.
most
most is supposed to be more than less. It can display multiple files at a time. By default, it truncates long lines instead of wrapping them and provides a left/right scrolling mechanism. most's website has no information about most's features. Its manpage indicates that it is missing at least a few less features such as log-file writing (you can use tee for this though) and external command running.
By default, most uses strange non-vi-like keybindings. man most | grep '<vi.?>' doesn't return anything so it may be impossible to put most into a vi-like mode.
most has the ability to decompress gunzip-compressed files before reading. Its status bar has more information than less's.
most passes raw escape sequences by default.
edited Jun 29 '13 at 17:38
answered Jun 29 '13 at 13:16
user26112
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
“lessis more, but moremorethanmoreis, somoreis lessless, so use morelessif you want lessmore. (...) Iflessis more thanmore,mostis more thanless.” —Slackware Linux Essentials
– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
|
show 2 more comments
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
“lessis more, but moremorethanmoreis, somoreis lessless, so use morelessif you want lessmore. (...) Iflessis more thanmore,mostis more thanless.” —Slackware Linux Essentials
– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
41
41
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
My head... all these double-entendres...
– Wutaz
Jun 29 '13 at 17:34
185
185
“
less is more, but more more than more is, so more is less less, so use more less if you want less more. (...) If less is more than more, most is more than less.” —Slackware Linux Essentials– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
“
less is more, but more more than more is, so more is less less, so use more less if you want less more. (...) If less is more than more, most is more than less.” —Slackware Linux Essentials– J. A. Corbal
Jun 30 '13 at 20:22
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
@AlberteRomero LOL
– Barranka
Jul 5 '13 at 17:39
5
5
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
@AlberteRomero That's it, more or less, at least most-ly,. LOL I really like the horizonital scroll in most.
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:39
1
1
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
@JonasWielicki done: unix.stackexchange.com/questions/271251/…
– kirushik
Mar 21 '16 at 13:51
|
show 2 more comments
Short answer:
Just use less and forget about more
Longer version:
more is old utility
You can't browse step wise with more, you can use space to browse page wise, or enter line by line, that is about it.
less is more + more additional features
You can browse page wise, line wise both up and down, search
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
add a comment |
Short answer:
Just use less and forget about more
Longer version:
more is old utility
You can't browse step wise with more, you can use space to browse page wise, or enter line by line, that is about it.
less is more + more additional features
You can browse page wise, line wise both up and down, search
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
add a comment |
Short answer:
Just use less and forget about more
Longer version:
more is old utility
You can't browse step wise with more, you can use space to browse page wise, or enter line by line, that is about it.
less is more + more additional features
You can browse page wise, line wise both up and down, search
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
Short answer:
Just use less and forget about more
Longer version:
more is old utility
You can't browse step wise with more, you can use space to browse page wise, or enter line by line, that is about it.
less is more + more additional features
You can browse page wise, line wise both up and down, search
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
edited Jan 30 '16 at 22:10
ott--
7661512
7661512
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
answered Oct 14 '14 at 8:44
tifo
34132
34132
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
add a comment |
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
1
1
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
If "more" is lacking for you and you know a few vi commands use "less"
– Jonathan.Brink
Aug 9 '15 at 20:38
add a comment |
There is one single application whereby I prefer more to less:
To check my LATEST modified log files (in /var/log/), I use
ls -AltF | more.
While less deletes the screen after exiting with q, more leaves those files and directories listed by ls on the screen, sparing me memorizing their names for examination.
(Should anybody know a parameter or configuration enabling less to keep it's text after exiting, that would render this post obsolete.)
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
11
The parameter you want is-X(long form:--no-init). Fromless' manpage:Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
FWIW,less --versiongives me:less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
add a comment |
There is one single application whereby I prefer more to less:
To check my LATEST modified log files (in /var/log/), I use
ls -AltF | more.
While less deletes the screen after exiting with q, more leaves those files and directories listed by ls on the screen, sparing me memorizing their names for examination.
(Should anybody know a parameter or configuration enabling less to keep it's text after exiting, that would render this post obsolete.)
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
11
The parameter you want is-X(long form:--no-init). Fromless' manpage:Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
FWIW,less --versiongives me:less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
add a comment |
There is one single application whereby I prefer more to less:
To check my LATEST modified log files (in /var/log/), I use
ls -AltF | more.
While less deletes the screen after exiting with q, more leaves those files and directories listed by ls on the screen, sparing me memorizing their names for examination.
(Should anybody know a parameter or configuration enabling less to keep it's text after exiting, that would render this post obsolete.)
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
There is one single application whereby I prefer more to less:
To check my LATEST modified log files (in /var/log/), I use
ls -AltF | more.
While less deletes the screen after exiting with q, more leaves those files and directories listed by ls on the screen, sparing me memorizing their names for examination.
(Should anybody know a parameter or configuration enabling less to keep it's text after exiting, that would render this post obsolete.)
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
edited Sep 10 at 8:54
inetphantom
1135
1135
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
answered Jan 30 '16 at 20:31
Wilko Fokken
8111
8111
11
The parameter you want is-X(long form:--no-init). Fromless' manpage:Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
FWIW,less --versiongives me:less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
add a comment |
11
The parameter you want is-X(long form:--no-init). Fromless' manpage:Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
FWIW,less --versiongives me:less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman
– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
11
11
The parameter you want is
-X (long form: --no-init). From less' manpage: Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
The parameter you want is
-X (long form: --no-init). From less' manpage: Disables sending the termcap initialization and deinitialization strings to the terminal. This is sometimes desirable if the deinitialization string does something unnecessary, like clearing the screen.– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:18
1
1
FWIW,
less --version gives me: less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
FWIW,
less --version gives me: less 458 (GNU regular expressions) Copyright (C) 1984-2012 Mark Nudelman– Jan Warchoł
Mar 9 '16 at 10:20
add a comment |
more,lessandmostare a terminal pagers or paging programs used to view the contents of text file.
more: more is a very basic,oldest and popular pager. more is originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement. i.e. more can move forwards and backwards in text files but cannot move backwards in pipes.
less: less is a more advanced pager that allows movement forward and backward, and contains extra functions such as search. less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi.
most: less is more than more, most is more than less. Whereas the other pagers can only display one file at a time, most is capable of viewing any number of files,
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
add a comment |
more,lessandmostare a terminal pagers or paging programs used to view the contents of text file.
more: more is a very basic,oldest and popular pager. more is originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement. i.e. more can move forwards and backwards in text files but cannot move backwards in pipes.
less: less is a more advanced pager that allows movement forward and backward, and contains extra functions such as search. less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi.
most: less is more than more, most is more than less. Whereas the other pagers can only display one file at a time, most is capable of viewing any number of files,
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
add a comment |
more,lessandmostare a terminal pagers or paging programs used to view the contents of text file.
more: more is a very basic,oldest and popular pager. more is originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement. i.e. more can move forwards and backwards in text files but cannot move backwards in pipes.
less: less is a more advanced pager that allows movement forward and backward, and contains extra functions such as search. less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi.
most: less is more than more, most is more than less. Whereas the other pagers can only display one file at a time, most is capable of viewing any number of files,
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
more,lessandmostare a terminal pagers or paging programs used to view the contents of text file.
more: more is a very basic,oldest and popular pager. more is originally allowing only forward navigation through a file, though newer implementations do allow for limited backward movement. i.e. more can move forwards and backwards in text files but cannot move backwards in pipes.
less: less is a more advanced pager that allows movement forward and backward, and contains extra functions such as search. less does not have to read the entire input file before starting, so with large input files it starts up faster than text editors like vi.
most: less is more than more, most is more than less. Whereas the other pagers can only display one file at a time, most is capable of viewing any number of files,
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
answered Nov 16 '17 at 0:17
Premraj
1,01011017
1,01011017
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Unix & Linux Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f81129%2fwhat-are-the-differences-between-most-more-and-less%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
according to the man page it's pretty much like
lessbut can do multiple windows– Bratchley
Jun 29 '13 at 12:53
1
it seems
lesscan't perform color. Runls | lessand I get something unreadable.– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:10
6
@MaxfanZone: Try
ls --color=yes | less -R.lsusually disables its text coloring when it's piping to something.lessneeds-Rto pass ANSI escape characters to the screen or-rto pass escape all characters to the screen.– user26112
Jun 29 '13 at 13:12
1
@EvanTeitelman: Thanks, that worked, I didn't add -R to less.
– Chongxu Ren
Jun 29 '13 at 13:21
1
In the special case of the man command, you can set the PAGER environment variable to any one of these pagers or to anything else that works to use as the pager for man pages. Here's one I wrote that uses your favorite browser as a pager so you don't have to use a new set of key bindings. dl.dropbox.com/u/54584985/kman
– Joe
Jul 5 '13 at 20:59