Name

view − displays a file using the vi commands

Syntax

view [−t tag] [−r] [+command] [−l] [−wn] [−x] name...

Description

The view command displays a text file. The view command and the vi command run almost the same code except that in view changes to a file are not allowed.  It is possible to get to the command mode of ex from within both.

The following is a list of some of the view commands. See the vi Beginner’s Reference Card and the "Introduction to Display Editing with vi" in the Supplementary Documents, Volume 1: General User for more details that can be helpful for using view.

Screen Control Commands

<CTRL/L>Reprints current screen. 

<CTRL/Y>Exposes one more line at top of screen. 

<CTRL/E>Exposes one more line at bottom of screen. 

Paging Commands

<CTRL/F>Pages forward one screen. 

<CTRL/B>Pages back one screen. 

<CTRL/D>Pages down half screen. 

<CTRL/U>Pages up half screen. 

Cursor Positioning Commands

jMoves cursor down one line, same column. 

kMoves cursor up one line, same column. 

hMoves cursor back one character. 

lMoves cursor forward one character. 

<RETURN>Moves cursor to beginning of next line. 

0Moves cursor to beginning of current line. 

$Moves cursor to end of current line. 

<SPACE>Moves cursor forward one character. 

nGMoves cursor to beginning of line n.  Default is last line of file. 

/patternMoves cursor forward to next occurrence of pattern. 

?patternMoves cursor backward to next occurrence of pattern. 

nRepeats last / or ? pattern search. 

Exiting view

ZZExits view.

:qQuits view session.

Options

−t tagSpecifies a list of tag files. The tag files are preceded by a backslash (\) and are separated by spaces. The tag option should always be the first entry. 

+commandTells the editor to begin by executing the specified command.  An example would be +/pattern that would search for a pattern. 

−lSets the showmatch and lisp options for viewing LISP code.. 

−r
Retrieves the last saved version of the name’d file in the event of a system crash. If no file is specified, a list of saved files is produced.

−wn
Sets the default window size to n.  This option is useful for starting in a small window on dialups. 

Note

The −x option is available only if the Encryption layered product is installed. 

−xCauses view to prompt for a key.  The key is used to encrypt and decrypt the contents of the file.  If the file has been encrypted with one key, you must use the same key to decrypt the file. 

See Also

edit(1), ex(1), vi(1)
The Little Gray Book: An ULTRIX Primer
The Big Gray Book: The Next Step with ULTRIX
"An Introduction to Display Editing with vi" in the Supplementary Documents, Volume 1: General User