lesskey
Hurricane Electric Internet Services
NAME
lesskey - specify key bindings for less
SYNOPSIS
lesskey [-o output] [input]
lesskey -V
DESCRIPTION
Lesskey is used to specify a set of key bindings to be used
by less. The input file is a text file which describes the
key bindings, If the input file is "-", standard input is
read. If no input file is specified, $HOME/.lesskey is
read. The output file is a binary file which is used by
less. If no output file is specified, $HOME/.less is writ-
ten. If the output file already exists, lesskey will
overwrite it.
The input file consists of lines of the form:
string <whitespace> action [extra-string] <newline>
Whitespace is any sequence of one or more spaces and/or
tabs. The string is the command key(s) which invoke the
action. The string may be a single command key, or a
sequence of up to 15 keys. The action is the name of the
less action, from the list below. The characters in the
string may appear literally, or be prefixed by a caret to
indicate a control key. A backslash followed by one to
three octal digits may be used to specify a character by its
octal value. A backslash followed by b, e, n, r or t speci-
fies BACKSPACE, ESCAPE, NEWLINE, RETURN or TAB, respec-
tively. A backslash followed by any other character indi-
cates that character is to be taken literally. Characters
which must be preceded by backslash include caret, space,
tab and the backslash itself. Blank lines and lines which
start with a pound sign (#) are ignored.
An action may be followed by an "extra" string. When such a
command is entered while running less, the action is per-
formed, and then the extra string is parsed, just as if it
were typed in to less. This feature can be used in certain
cases to extend the functionality of a command. For exam-
ple, see the "{" and ":t" commands in the example below.
The -V flag causes lesskey to print its version number and
immediately exit. Other flags and arguments are ignored.
EXAMPLE
The following input file describes the set of default com-
mand keys used by less:
forw-line
forw-line
e forw-line
j forw-line
^E forw-line
^N forw-line
k back-line
y back-line
^Y back-line
^K back-line
^P back-line
J forw-line-force
K back-line-force
Y back-line-force
d forw-scroll
^D forw-scroll
u back-scroll
^U back-scroll
40 forw-screen
f forw-screen
^F forw-screen
^V forw-screen
b back-screen
^B back-screen
\v back-screen
z forw-window
w back-window
F forw-forever
R repaint-flush
r repaint
^R repaint
^L repaint
g goto-line
< goto-line
\< goto-line
p percent
% percent
{ forw-bracket {}
} back-bracket {}
( forw-bracket ()
) back-bracket ()
[ forw-bracket []
] back-bracket []
\^F forw-bracket
\^B back-bracket
G goto-end
\> goto-end
> goto-end
= status
^G status
:f status
/ forw-search
? back-search
\/ forw-search *
\? back-search *
n repeat-search
\n repeat-search-all
N reverse-search
\N reverse-search-all
undo-hilite
m set-mark
' goto-mark
^X^X goto-mark
E examine
:e examine
^X^V examine
:n next-file
:p prev-file
:x index-file
- toggle-option
:t toggle-option t
s toggle-option o
_ display-option
| pipe
v visual
! shell
+ firstcmd
H help
h help
V version
q quit
:q quit
:Q quit
ZZ quit
PRECEDENCE
Commands specified by lesskey take precedence over the
default commands. A default command key may be disabled by
including it in the input file with the action "invalid".
Alternatively, a key may be defined to do nothing by using
the action "noaction". "noaction" is similar to "invalid",
but less will give an error beep for an "invalid" command,
but not for a "noaction" command. In addition, ALL default
commands may be disabled by adding this control line to the
input file:
#stop
This will cause all default commands to be ignored. The
#stop line should be the last line in that section of the
file. (Another section, introduced by #line-edit, may fol-
low the #stop line.)
Be aware that #stop can be dangerous. Since all default com-
mands are disabled, you must provide sufficient commands
before the #stop line to enable all necessary actions. For
example, failure to provide a "quit" command can lead to
frustration.
LINE EDITING
New key bindings may be specified for the line editing com-
mands, in a manner similar to the way key bindings for ordi-
nary commands are specified. This control line marks the
beginning of a section of line-editing commands:
#line-edit
Following this line is a list of keys and actions, one per
line as in the example below.
EXAMPLE
The following input file describes the set of default line-
editing keys used by less:
#line-edit
forw-complete
17 back-complete
\ back-complete
14 expand
^V literal
^A literal
\l right
\h left
\b word-left
\w word-right
\i insert
\x delete
\ word-backspace
\0 home
\$ end
\k up
\j down
SEE ALSO
less(1)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1984,1985,1989,1994,1995 Mark Nudelman
Hurricane Electric Internet Services
Copyright (C) 1998
Hurricane Electric.
All Rights Reserved.