When going through large text files usually the Linux cat command won’t do. This is where you can use the Linux less command instead. It is more of a predecessor and there are several jokes on the theme. This is featured on the cover of “Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook” and there’s also the joke: “I though you were more of a guy/gal”. We’ll show some basic usage of the Linux less command in this article.
Using less to view file’s contents
less myTextFile.txt
Using less as a pipe from output
cat largeTextFile.txt | less
While in less you’re actually in a different “mode” so to say, there are many shortcuts you can use to navigate back and forth, to view them you can use the help page.
Using the Linux less command Help options
less --help
To exit less just press q
