.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