term% cat index.txt DIRED(1) General Commands Manual DIRED(1)
NAME
dired - directory editor
SYNOPSIS
dired [ option ... ] [ dir-name | file-list ]
DESCRIPTION
Dired displays a directory listing like `ls -l' (see ls(1)) and allows
you to prowl around the listed entries, deleting, editing, and display‐
ing them. Dired must know what kind of terminal you are using; the en‐
vironment variable TERM should be set (see term(7)).
With no argument, the current directory is listed. With only one argu‐
ment, the argument is interpreted as a directory and it is listed.
With multiple arguments, the arguments are interpreted as filenames.
Options are:
-[sr][nsrw]
Sort or reverse sort by Name, Size, Read date, or Write date re‐
spectively.
-wn If n is f, use the full screen; if h, use half the screen (de‐
fault); if a number, use n lines for the directory listing , re‐
serving the rest of the screen for quick file display.
The fields of a dired listing are: mode, link count, owner, size, write
date and name. A cursor shows the current entry.
Commands consist of single characters; arguments are prompted for, and
echoed, in the bottom line of the screen. The commands are:
<cr>
<lf>
^N Step to the next file.
^
-
<backspace>
^P Step to previous file.
! Prompt for a shell command. The command is executed, and con‐
firmation is required before returning to the display. All `%'
characters in the command are replaced with the pathname of the
current entry, and all `#' characters are replaced with the
trailing filename component (what you see on the screen).
. Repeats the previous ! shell command, substituting the current
entry for any special characters (%#) in the original command.
a Abort this directory level of dired without deleting any files.
b Step one page backward in the directory listing.
c Refresh the current line.
d Mark the current entry for deletion. Deletion of a directory is
recursive.
e If the current entry is a file, edit it with the editor `e', or
another editor named by the environment variable EDITOR. If the
current entry is a directory, descend (by forking) to list that
directory.
f Step one page forward in the directory listing.
h
? Display a help file.
l
^L Refresh the display.
m Display the current file with the pager p(1), or another pager
named by the environment variable PAGER. (Supply your own ety‐
mology for `m'.)
p Print the current file on the line printer.
q Quit this directory level of dired. List the files marked for
deletion and request confirmation before deleting them.
r
s Sort the file list by various fields: name, read date, size,
write date, denoted `n', `r', `s', and `w'. Default sort is by
name. Ordering for s is increasing if by name, decreasing if by
size or date. Ordering for r is opposite. A sort can be
stopped with ^G.
t Type. Display the current file. In two-window mode pause after
each screenfull until you type a carriage return. The display
may be interrupted by ^C or `q'.
T Same as t but without any pauses.
u Unmark the current entry if it was marked for deletion.
FILES
/usr/lib/dired help file for `?' and `h'
lpr(1) line printer
SEE ALSO
ls(1)
DIAGNOSTICS
While dired is preparing a listing it reports, `Reading,' and types a
dot for each 10 files.
BUGS
Long lines and diagnostics can foul up the display.
Needs a command to search for a given file.
DIRED(1)