4 ======================================================================
6 For the latest news about less, see the "less" Web page:
7 http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less
8 You can also download the latest version of less from there.
10 To report bugs, suggestions or comments, send email to
11 bug-less@gnu.org or markn@greenwoodsoftware.com.
13 ======================================================================
16 Major changes between "less" versions 358 and 371
18 * -x option can now specify multiple variable-width tab stops.
20 * -X option no longer disables keypad initialization.
21 New option --no-keypad disables keypad initialization.
23 * New commands t and T step through multiple tag matches.
24 Added support for "global(1)" tags
25 (see http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html).
27 * New prompt style set by option -Pw defines the message printed
28 while waiting for data in the F command.
30 * System-wide lesskey file now defaults to sysless in etc directory
31 instead of .sysless in bin directory.
32 Use "configure --sysconfdir=..." to change it.
33 (For backwards compatibility, .sysless in bin is still recognized.)
35 * Pressing RightArrow or LeftArrow while entering a number now shifts
36 the display N columns rather than editing the number itself.
38 * Status column (enabled with -J) now shows search results.
40 * Windows version sets window title.
42 * Default LESSCHARSET for MS-DOS versions is now "dos".
44 * Improved performance in reading very large files.
46 * Eliminated some dependencies on file offets being 32 bits.
48 * Fixed problems when viewing files with very long lines.
50 * Fixed overstriking in UTF-8 mode, and overstriking tabs.
52 * Improved horizontal shifting of text using -R option with ANSI color.
54 * Some fixes for EBCDIC systems.
56 * Some fixes for OS/2 systems.
58 ======================================================================
60 Major changes between "less" versions 354 and 358
62 * Add -J (--status-column) option to display a status column.
64 * Add -# (--shift) option to set default horizontal shift distance.
65 Default horizontal shift distance is now one-half screen width.
67 * Horizontal shifting does not shift line numbers if -N is in effect.
69 * Horizontal shifting acts as though -S were set, to avoid confusion.
71 ======================================================================
74 Major changes between "less" versions 352 and 354
76 * Allow space after numeric-valued command line options.
78 * Fix problem with configuring terminal libraries on some systems.
80 * Add support for PCRE regular expression library.
82 * Add --with-regex option to configure to allow manually selecting
83 a regular expression library.
85 * Fix bug compiling with SECURE = 1.
87 ======================================================================
90 Major changes between "less" versions 346 and 352
92 * Enable UTF-8 if "UTF-8" appears in locale-related environment variables.
94 * Add --with-editor option to configure script.
96 * The -M prompt and = message now show the top and bottom line number.
98 * Fix bug in running the editor on a file whose name contains quotes, etc.
100 * Fix bug in horizontal scrolling of long lines.
102 * Fix bug in doing :d on a file which contains marks.
104 * Fix bug causing cleared lines to sometimes be filled with standout,
105 bold, underline, etc. on certain terminals.
107 * Fixes for MS-DOS (DJGPP) version.
109 ======================================================================
112 Major changes between "less" versions 340 and 346
114 * The UTF-8 character set is now supported.
116 * The default character set is now latin1 rather than ascii.
118 * New option -R (--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS) is like -r but handles
119 long (wrapped) lines correctly, as long as the input contains only
120 normal text and ANSI color escape sequences.
122 * New option -F (--quit-if-one-screen) quits if the text fits on
125 * The -w option now highlights the target line of a g or p command.
127 * A system-wide lesskey file is supported (LESSKEY_SYSTEM).
129 * New escape for prompt strings: %c is replaced by column number.
131 * New escape for prompt strings: %P is replaced by percentage into
132 file, based on line number rather than byte offset.
134 * HOME and END keys now jump to beginning of file or end of file.
136 ======================================================================
139 Major changes between "less" versions 337 and 340
141 * Command line options for less may now be given in either the old
142 single-letter form, or a new long name form (--option-name).
143 See the less man page or "less --help" for the list of long option names.
145 * Command line options for lesskey may now be given in a new long name
146 form. See the lesskey man page for the list of long option names.
148 * New command -- toggles an option using the long option name.
150 * New command __ queries an option using the long option name.
152 * The old -- command is renamed as -!.
154 * If a ^P is entered between the dash and the option letter of the -
155 command, the message describing the new setting is suppressed.
157 * Lesskey files may now contain \k escape sequences to represent the
158 "special" keys (arrows, PAGE-UP/PAGE-DOWN, HOME, END, INSERT, DELETE).
160 * New command :d removes the current file from the list of files.
162 * New option -~ (like -w before version 335)
163 suppresses tildes after end-of-file.
165 * Less is now released under the GNU General Public License.
167 ======================================================================
170 Major changes between "less" versions 335 and 337
172 * Fixed bugs in "make install".
174 ======================================================================
177 Major changes between "less" versions 332 and 335
179 * The old -w flag (suppress tildes after end-of-file) has been removed.
181 * New -w flag highlights the first new line after a forward-screen.
183 * New -W flag highlights the first new line after any forward movement.
185 * Window resize works even if LINES and/or COLUMNS environment
186 variables are incorrect.
188 * New percent escapes for prompt strings:
189 %d is replaced by the page number, and
190 %D is replaced by the number of pages in the file.
192 * Added charsets "iso8859" and "ebcdic".
194 * In Windows version, uses HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH if HOME is not defined.
196 * Fixed some bugs causing incorrect display on DOS/Windows.
198 ======================================================================
201 Major changes between "less" versions 330 and 332
203 * Filenames from the command line are entered into the command history,
204 so UPARROW/DOWNARROW can be used to retrieve them from the :e command.
206 * Now works correctly on Windows when using a scrolling terminal
207 window (buffer larger than display window).
209 * On Windows, now restores the console screen on exit.
210 Use -X to get the old behavior.
212 * Fixed bug on Windows when CAPS-LOCK or NUM-LOCK is pressed.
214 * Fixed bug on Windows when piping output of an interactive program.
216 * Fixed bug in tags file processing when tags file has DOS-style
217 line terminators (CR/LF).
219 * Fixed compilation problem on OS/2.
221 ======================================================================
224 Major changes between "less" versions 321 and 330
226 * Now supports filenames containing spaces (in double quotes).
227 New option -" can be used to change the quoting characters.
229 * In filename completion, a slash is appended to a directory name.
230 If the environment variable LESSSEPARATOR is set, the value of
231 that variable, rather than a slash, is appended.
233 * LeftArrow and RightArrow are same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
235 * Added commands ESC-( and ESC-), same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
237 * A "quit" command defined in a lesskey file may now have an "extra"
238 string, which is used to return an exit code from less when it quits.
240 * New environment variables LESSMETACHARS and LESSMETAESCAPE provide
241 more control over how less interfaces to the shell.
243 * Ported to Microsoft Visual C compiler for Windows.
245 * Ported to DJGPP compiler for MS-DOS.
249 ======================================================================
252 Major changes between "less" versions 291 and 321
254 * Command line at bottom of screen now scrolls, so it can be longer
255 than the screen width.
257 * New commands ESC-] and ESC-[ scroll the display horizontally.
259 * New command ESC-SPACE scrolls forward a full screen, even if it
262 * Alternate modifiers for search commands: ^N is same as !,
263 ^F is same as @, and ^E is same as *.
265 * New modifier for search commands: ^K means highlight the matches
266 currently on-screen, but don't move to the first match.
268 * New modifier for search commands: ^R means don't use regular
269 expressions in the search.
271 * Environment variable LESSKEY gives name of default lesskey file.
273 * Environment variable LESSSECURE will force less to run in
276 * Command line argument "--" signals that the rest of the arguments
277 are files (not option flags).
279 * Help file (less.hlp) is no longer installed. Help text is now
280 embedded in the less executable itself.
282 * Added -Ph to change the prompt for the help text.
283 Added -Ps to change the default short prompt (same as plain -P).
285 * Ported to the Borland C compiler for MS-DOS.
287 * Ported to Windows 95 & Windows NT.
291 * Ported to GNU Hurd.
293 ======================================================================
296 Major changes between "less" versions 290 and 291
298 * Less environment variables can be specified in lesskey files.
300 * Fixed MS-DOS build.
302 ======================================================================
305 Major changes between "less" versions 278 and 290
307 * Accepts GNU-style options "--help" and "--version".
309 * OS/2 version looks for less.ini in $HOME before $INIT and $PATH.
313 ======================================================================
316 Major changes between "less" versions 252 and 278
318 * A LESSOPEN preprocessor may now pipe the converted file data to less,
319 rather than writing it to a temporary file.
321 * Search pattern highlighting has been fixed. It now highlights
322 reliably, even if a string is split across two screen lines,
325 * The -F flag (which suppress search highlighting) has been changed
326 to -G. A new flag, -g, changes search highlighting to highlight
327 only the string found by the last search command, instead of all
328 strings which match the last search command.
330 * New flag -I acts like -i, but ignores case even if the search
331 pattern contains uppercase letters.
333 * Less now checks for the environment variable VISUAL before EDITOR.
337 ======================================================================
340 Major changes between "less" versions 237 and 252
342 * Changes in line-editing keys:
343 The literal key is now ^V or ^A rather than \ (backslash).
344 Filename completion commands (TAB and ^L) are disabled
345 when typing a search pattern.
347 * Line-editing command keys can be redefined using lesskey.
349 * Lesskey with no input file defaults to $HOME/.lesskey
350 rather than standard input.
352 * New option -V displays version number of less.
354 * New option -V displays version number of lesskey.
356 * Help file less.hlp is now installed by default in /usr/local/share
357 rather than /usr/local/lib.
360 ======================================================================
363 Major changes between "less" versions 170 and 237
365 * By popular demand, text which matches the current search pattern
366 is highlighted. New -F flag disables this feature.
368 * Henry Spencer's regexp.c is now included, for systems which do not
369 have a regular expression library.
370 regexp.c is Copyright (c) 1986 by University of Toronto.
372 * New line-editing keys, including command history (arrow keys) and
373 filename completion (TAB).
375 * Input preprocessor allows modification of input files (e.g. uncompress)
376 via LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE environment variables.
378 * New -X flag disables sending termcap "ti" and "te" (initialize and
379 deinitialize) strings to the terminal.
381 * Changing -i from within less now correctly affects a subsequent
384 * Searching for underlined or overstruck text now works when the -u
385 flag is in effect, rather than the -i flag.
387 * Use setlocale (LANG and LC_CTYPE environment variables) to determine
388 the character set if LESSCHARSET/LESSCHARDEF are not set.
390 * The default format for displaying binary characters is now standout
391 (reverse video) rather than blinking. This can still be changed by
392 setting the LESSBINFMT environment variable.
394 * Use autoconf installation technology.
398 ********************************
399 Things that may surprise you
400 ********************************
402 * When you enter text at the bottom of the screen (search string,
403 filename, etc.), some keys act different than previously.
404 Specifically, \ (backslash), ESC, TAB, BACKTAB, and control-L
405 now have line editing functions.
407 * Some previous unofficial versions of less were able to display
408 compressed files. The new LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE feature now provides
409 this functionality in a different way.
411 * Some previous unofficial versions of less provided a -Z flag to
412 set the number of lines of text to retain between full screen scrolls.
413 The -z-n flag (that is, -z with a negative number) provides this
417 ======================================================================
420 Major changes between "less" versions 123 and 170
422 * New option -j allows target lines to be positioned anywhere on screen.
424 * New option -S truncates displayed line at the screen width,
425 rather than wrapping onto the next line.
427 * New option -y limits amount of forward scroll.
429 * New option -T specifies a "tags" file.
431 * Non-printable, non-control characters are displayed in octal.
432 Such characters, as well as control characters, are displayed
435 * New command -+ sets an option to its default.
436 * New command -- sets an option to the opposite of its default.
438 * Lesskey file may have a string appended to a key's action,
439 which acts as though typed in after the command.
441 * New commands ESC-^F and ESC-^B match arbitrary types of brackets.
443 * New command F monitors a growing file (like "tail -f").
445 * New command | pipes a section of the input file into a shell command.
447 * New command :x directly jumps to a file in the command line list.
449 * Search commands have been enhanced and reorganized:
450 n Repeat search, same direction.
451 N Repeat search, opposite direction.
452 ESC-/ Search forward thru file boundaries
453 ESC-? Search backward thru file boundaries
454 ESC-n Repeat search thru file boundaries, same direction.
455 ESC-N Repeat search thru file boundaries, opposite direction.
456 Special character * causes search to search thru file boundaries.
457 Special character @ causes search to begin at start/end of file list.
459 * Examining a new file adds it to the command line list.
460 A list of files, or an expression which matches more than one file,
461 may be examined; all of them are added to the command line list.
463 * Environment variables LESSCHARSET and LESSCHARDEF can define
464 a non-ASCII character set.
466 * Partial support for MSDOS, including options -R for repainting screen
467 on quit, -v/-V to select video mode, and -W to change window size.
470 ======================================================================
473 Major changes between "less" versions 97 and 123
475 * New option (-N) causes line numbers to be displayed in the
476 text of the file (like vi "set nu").
478 * New option (-?) prints help message immediately.
480 * New option (-r) displays "raw" control characters, without
481 mapping them to ^X notation.
483 * New option (-f) forces less to open non-regular files
486 * New option (-k) can be used to specify lesskey files by name.
488 * New option (-y) can be used to set a forward scroll limit
489 (like -h sets a backward scroll limit).
491 * File marks (set by the m command) are now preserved when a new
492 file is edited. The ' command can thus be used to switch files.
494 * New command ESC-/ searches all files (on the command line)
497 * New command ESC-n repeats previous search, spanning files.
499 * The N command has been changed to repeat the previous search
500 in the reverse direction. The old N command is still available
503 * New command ESC-N repeats previous search in the reverse
504 direction and spanning files.
506 * 8 bit characters are now supported. A new option (-g) can be
507 used to strip off the eighth bit (the previous behavior).
509 * Options which take a following string (like -t) may now
510 optionally have a space between the option letter and the string.
512 * Six new commands { } ( ) [ and ] can be used to match
513 brackets of specific types, similar to vi % command.
515 * New commands z and w move forward/backward one window and
516 simultaneously set the window size.
518 * Prompt string expansion now has %L for line number of the last
519 line in the file, and %E for the name of the editor.
520 Also, % escapes which refer to a line (b=bottom, t=top, etc.)
521 can use j for the jump target line.
523 * New environment variable LESSEDIT can be used to tailor the
524 command string passed to the editor by the v command.
526 * Examining a file which was previously examined will return
527 to the same position in the file.
529 * A "%" is expanded to the current filename and a "#" to the
530 previous filename, in both shell commands and the E command.
531 (Previously % worked only in shell commands and # worked
532 only in the E command.)
534 * New command ":ta" is equivalent to "-t".
536 * New command "s" is equivalent to "-l".
538 * The - command may be followed by "+X" to revert to the default
539 for option X, or "-X" to get the opposite of the default.
541 * Lesskey files may now include characters after the action as
542 extra input to be parsed after the action; for example:
543 "toggle-option X" to toggle a specific option X.