Is there a way to dynamically refresh the less command?
In less
, you can type F
to keep reading at the end of a file (like tail -f
); you can type :e
and a file name to view a different file, but unfortunately, if you enter the name of the current file, less
doesn't reload the file. However there's a trick to make it re-read the current file, suggested by sabgenton: type :e
and enter the name of a non-existent file; that causes less to display an error message and then reload the current file.
If you're looking for an alternative to watch ls
, here are a few:
- Modern file managers (e.g. Nautilus, Thunar, Konqueror, Dolphin, Finder) refresh views in real time.
- Emacs doesn't have real-time refresh, but with
auto-revert-mode
, it will reload the file or directory every 5 seconds (the delay is configurable). - Although w3m is primarily a web browser, it makes a passable directory and text file viewer. Press
R
to reload the (local) URL.
Shift+F will make less
similar to tailf
. That is, it gets refreshed if more data is appended to the file.
Simply type:
less +F filename
This emulates pressing "F" within the editor.