1 Major changes between "less" versions 123 and 170
3 * New option -j allows target lines to be positioned anywhere on screen.
5 * New option -S truncates displayed line at the screen width,
6 rather than wrapping onto the next line.
8 * New option -y limits amount of forward scroll.
10 * New option -T specifies a "tags" file.
12 * Non-printable, non-control characters are displayed in octal.
13 Such characters, as well as control characters, are displayed
16 * New command -+ sets an option to its default.
17 * New command -- sets an option to the opposite of its default.
19 * Lesskey file may have a string appended to a key's action,
20 which acts as though typed in after the command.
22 * New commands ESC-^F and ESC-^B match arbitrary types of brackets.
24 * New command F monitors a growing file (like "tail -f").
26 * New command | pipes a section of the input file into a shell command.
28 * New command :x directly jumps to a file in the command line list.
30 * Search commands have been enhanced and reorganized:
31 n Repeat search, same direction.
32 N Repeat search, opposite direction.
33 ESC-/ Search forward thru file boundaries
34 ESC-? Search backward thru file boundaries
35 ESC-n Repeat search thru file boundaries, same direction.
36 ESC-N Repeat search thru file boundaries, opposite direction.
37 Special character * causes search to search thru file boundaries.
38 Special character @ causes search to begin at start/end of file list.
40 * Examining a new file adds it to the command line list.
41 A list of files, or an expression which matches more than one file,
42 may be examined; all of them are added to the command line list.
44 * Environment variables LESSCHARSET and LESSCHARDEF can define
45 a non-ASCII character set.
47 * Partial support for MSDOS, including options -R for repainting screen
48 on quit, -v/-V to select video mode, and -W to change window size.
51 ======================================================================
54 Major changes between "less" versions 97 and 123
56 * New option (-N) causes line numbers to be displayed in the
57 text of the file (like vi "set nu").
59 * New option (-?) prints help message immediately.
61 * New option (-r) displays "raw" control characters, without
62 mapping them to ^X notation.
64 * New option (-f) forces less to open non-regular files
67 * New option (-k) can be used to specify lesskey files by name.
69 * New option (-y) can be used to set a forward scroll limit
70 (like -h sets a backward scroll limit).
72 * File marks (set by the m command) are now preserved when a new
73 file is edited. The ' command can thus be used to switch files.
75 * New command ESC-/ searches all files (on the command line)
78 * New command ESC-n repeats previous search, spanning files.
80 * The N command has been changed to repeat the previous search
81 in the reverse direction. The old N command is still available
84 * New command ESC-N repeats previous search in the reverse
85 direction and spanning files.
87 * 8 bit characters are now supported. A new option (-g) can be
88 used to strip off the eighth bit (the previous behavior).
90 * Options which take a following string (like -t) may now
91 optionally have a space between the option letter and the string.
93 * Six new commands { } ( ) [ and ] can be used to match
94 brackets of specific types, similar to vi % command.
96 * New commands z and w move forward/backward one window and
97 simultaneously set the window size.
99 * Prompt string expansion now has %L for line number of the last
100 line in the file, and %E for the name of the editor.
101 Also, % escapes which refer to a line (b=bottom, t=top, etc.)
102 can use j for the jump target line.
104 * New environment variable LESSEDIT can be used to tailor the
105 command string passed to the editor by the v command.
107 * Examining a file which was previously examined will return
108 to the same position in the file.
110 * A "%" is expanded to the current filename and a "#" to the
111 previous filename, in both shell commands and the E command.
112 (Previously % worked only in shell commands and # worked
113 only in the E command.)
115 * New command ":ta" is equivalent to "-t".
117 * New command "s" is equivalent to "-l".
119 * The - command may be followed by "+X" to revert to the default
120 for option X, or "-X" to get the opposite of the default.
122 * Lesskey files may now include characters after the action as
123 extra input to be parsed after the action; for example:
124 "toggle-option X" to toggle a specific option X.