.TH LESSKEY 1 .SH NAME lesskey \- specify key bindings for less .SH SYNOPSIS .B "lesskey [-o output] [input]" .br .B "lesskey -V" .SH DESCRIPTION .I Lesskey is used to specify a set of key bindings to be used by .I 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 .I less. If no output file is specified, $HOME/.less is written. If the output file already exists, .I lesskey will overwrite it. .PP The input file consists of lines of the form: .sp \fIstring\fP <whitespace> \fIaction\fP [extra-string] <newline> .sp Whitespace is any sequence of one or more spaces and/or tabs. The \fIstring\fP is the command key(s) which invoke the action. The \fIstring\fP may be a single command key, or a sequence of up to 15 keys. The \fIaction\fP is the name of the less action, from the list below. The characters in the \fIstring\fP 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 specifies BACKSPACE, ESCAPE, NEWLINE, RETURN or TAB, respectively. A backslash followed by any other character indicates 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. .PP An action may be followed by an "extra" string. When such a command is entered while running .I less, the action is performed, and then the extra string is parsed, just as if it were typed in to .I less. This feature can be used in certain cases to extend the functionality of a command. For example, see the "{" and ":t" commands in the example below. .PP The -V flag causes .I lesskey to print its version number and immediately exit. Other flags and arguments are ignored. .SH EXAMPLE The following input file describes the set of default command keys used by less: .sp .nf \er forw-line \en 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 \e40 forw-screen f forw-screen ^F forw-screen ^V forw-screen b back-screen ^B back-screen \eev 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 \ee< goto-line p percent % percent { forw-bracket {} } back-bracket {} ( forw-bracket () ) back-bracket () [ forw-bracket [] ] back-bracket [] \ee^F forw-bracket \ee^B back-bracket G goto-end \ee> goto-end > goto-end = status ^G status :f status / forw-search ? back-search \ee/ forw-search * \ee? back-search * n repeat-search \een repeat-search-all N reverse-search \eeN reverse-search-all \eu 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 .fi .sp .SH PRECEDENCE Commands specified by .I 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 .I 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: .sp #stop .sp 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 follow the #stop line.) .PP Be aware that #stop can be dangerous. Since all default commands 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. .SH "LINE EDITING" New key bindings may be specified for the line editing commands, in a manner similar to the way key bindings for ordinary commands are specified. This control line marks the beginning of a section of line-editing commands: .sp #line-edit .sp Following this line is a list of keys and actions, one per line as in the example below. .SH EXAMPLE The following input file describes the set of default line-editing keys used by less: .sp .nf #line-edit \et forw-complete \e17 back-complete \ee\et back-complete \e14 expand ^V literal ^A literal \eel right \eeh left \eeb word-left \eew word-right \eei insert \eex delete \ee\eb word-backspace \ee0 home \ee$ end \eek up \eej down .fi .sp .SH "SEE ALSO" less(1) .SH COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 1984,1985,1989,1994,1995 Mark Nudelman