Linux is a powerful operating system. It integrates a large number of tools that will be useful for working with files and text. One such tool is the “less” command. This command gives the user the ability to view and analyze text files without opening them in a full text editor. In this article we will look at what “less” is in the Linux world, how to use it and what functions it has.
Less and More Commands in Linux
“More“. This command is worth mentioning because it is a simple text viewer that allows you to view files frame by frame. You can view the file by pressing the Spacebar to move to the next frame or the Enter key to move to the next line of text. “More” does not support scrolling up.
In turn, the “less” command provides more functionality. This viewer supports both downward and upward scrolling, making it more flexible. You can use the arrow keys, Page Up and Page Down to navigate through the file. “Less” also supports searching and page-by-page display of the percentage of data read.
Additional Less Command Options
Below are several examples of how less works and a description of the functionality with additional commands.
| Command’s Syntax | A Short Description |
| -p pattern | Start from the very beginning/first appearance of the template specified in the file |
| -с | A function to compress consecutive empty strings into a single string. |
| -n | Suppress line numbers. |
| -g | A special option to highlight the string that was found by the last search command. |
| -F | Terminate the program if the whole document can fit on the initial display. |
| -G | Disable the highlighting of search results. |
| -i | Disregard letter case when conducting searches. |
This article introduced the definition of the “less” command, which provides users with an efficient way to read large text files by loading and displaying them in stages. It should also be noted that by using the “less” command in combination with pipelines, users can immediately view the results of other commands, which adds to its functionality. In general, “less” is a valuable tool for managing and analyzing the contents of text files in a Linux environment.
