less and more (paginated viewing) in Linux CLI - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using less and more for Paginated Viewing in Linux CLI

📖 Scenario: You are working on a Linux server and need to read long text files without scrolling endlessly. Using paginated viewing tools like less and more helps you read files page by page, making it easier to find information.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use less and more commands to view the contents of a text file one page at a time.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a text file named sample.txt with specific content.

Use a variable to store the filename.

Use the more command to view the file content paginated.

Use the less command to view the file content paginated.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Viewing long log files, configuration files, or command outputs in a manageable way on Linux servers or terminals.

💼 Career

System administrators, developers, and anyone working with Linux command line need to efficiently read and navigate large text files.

1

Create a text file with sample content

Create a file named sample.txt with the following exact content (each line):
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8
Line 9
Line 10

Linux CLI

# Create the file sample.txt with the specified lines
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use the echo command with -e to add new lines and redirect output to sample.txt.

2

Store the filename in a variable

Create a variable called filename and assign it the value sample.txt.

Linux CLI

echo -e "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3\nLine 4\nLine 5\nLine 6\nLine 7\nLine 8\nLine 9\nLine 10" > sample.txt
# Create a variable filename with value sample.txt
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Assign the string sample.txt to the variable filename without spaces around the equals sign.

3

View the file content using more

Use the more command with the variable filename to view the file content page by page.

Linux CLI

echo -e "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3\nLine 4\nLine 5\nLine 6\nLine 7\nLine 8\nLine 9\nLine 10" > sample.txt
filename=sample.txt
# Use more command to view the file content
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use more "$filename" to view the file content stored in the variable.

4

View the file content using less

Use the less command with the variable filename to view the file content page by page.

Linux CLI

echo -e "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3\nLine 4\nLine 5\nLine 6\nLine 7\nLine 8\nLine 9\nLine 10" > sample.txt
filename=sample.txt
more "$filename"
# Use less command to view the file content
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use less "$filename" to view the file content stored in the variable.