bzmore, bzless -- display bzip2 compressed files on a page-by-page basis

SYNOPSIS

bzmore [file]...

bzless [file]...

The bzmore utility is a filter which allows examination of compressed or plain text files one screenful at a time on a soft-copy terminal. bzmore works on files compressed with bzip2 and also on uncompressed files. If a file does not exist, bzmore looks for a file of the same name with the addition of a .bz2 suffix.

The bzmore utility normally pauses after each screenful, printing --More-- at the bottom of the screen. If the user then types a carriage return, one more line is displayed. If the user hits a space, another screenful is displayed. Other possibilities are enumerated later.

bzmore looks in the file $ROOTDIR/etc/termcap to determine terminal characteristics, and to determine the default window size. On a terminal capable of displaying 24 lines, the default window size is 22 lines. Other sequences which may be typed when bzmore pauses, and their effects, are as follows (i is an optional integer argument, defaulting to 1):

[i]<space>: displays i more lines, (or another screenful if no argument is given)
[i]CTRL-D
[i]d: displays 11 more lines (a "scroll"). If i is given, then the scroll size is set to i.
[i]z: is the same as typing a space except that i, if present, becomes the new window size. Note that the window size reverts back to the default at the end of the current file.
[i]s: skips i lines and displays a screenful of lines.
[i]f: skips i screenfuls and displays a screenful of lines.
q
Q: quits reading the current file; goes on to the next (if any).
e
q: when the prompt --More--(Next file: file) is displayed, this command causes bzmore to exit.
s: when the prompt --More--(Next file: file) is displayed, this command causes bzmore to skip the next file and continue.
=: displays the current line number.
[i]/expr: searches for the i-th occurrence of the regular expression expr. If the pattern is not found, bzmore goes on to the next file (if any). Otherwise, a screenful is displayed, starting two lines before the place where the expression was found. The user's erase and kill characters may be used to edit the regular expression. Erasing back past the first column cancels the search command.
[i]n: searches for the i-th occurrence of the last regular expression entered.
!command: invokes a shell with command. The character ! in command is replaced with the previous shell command. The sequence \! is replaced by !.
:q
:Q: quits reading the current file; goes on to the next (if any). (same as q or Q).
.: (dot) repeats the previous command.

These commands take effect immediately, that is, it is not necessary to type a carriage return. Up to the time when the command character itself is given, the user may hit the line kill character to cancel the numerical argument being formed. In addition, you may hit the erase character to redisplay the --More-- message.

At any time when output is being sent to the terminal, the user can hit the quit key (normally CTRL-\). bzmore stops sending output, and displays the usual --More-- prompt. The user may then enter one of the above commands in the normal manner. Unfortunately, some output is lost when this is done, due to the fact that any characters waiting in the terminal's output queue are flushed when the quit signal occurs.

The terminal is set to noecho mode by this program so that the output can be continuous. What you type will thus not show on your terminal, except for the >/ and ! commands.

The bzless utility is identical to the bzmore utility.

FILES

$ROOTDIR/etc/termcap: is the terminal database.

DIAGNOSTICS

Possible exit status values are:

0: Successful completion.
>0: An error occurred.

NOTE

These utilities are provided as a KornShell executable scripts. MKS cannot be responsible for proper functionality of this code if you alter the bzmore.sh and bzless.sh files in any way.

PORTABILITY

Windows 10. Windows Server 2016. Windows Server 2019. Windows 11. Windows Server 2022. Windows Server 2025.

AVAILABILITY

PTC MKS Toolkit for Power Users
PTC MKS Toolkit for System Administrators
PTC MKS Toolkit for Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Interoperability
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers 64-Bit Edition
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers 64-Bit Edition

bzmore, bzless
display bzip2 compressed files on a page-by-page basis

Command