Tips You Can't Do Without

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# 12. Tips You Can't Do Without

- Command completion: pressing <TAB> when issuing a command will complete the command line for you. Example: you have to type `less this_is_a_long_name`; typing in `less thi<TAB>` will suffice. (If you have other files that start with the same characters, supply enough characters to resolve any ambiguity.)

- Back-scrolling: pressing SHIFT--PAG UP (the grey key) allows you to backscroll a few pages, depending on your PC's video memory.

- Resetting the screen: if you happen to `more` or `cat` a binary file, your screen may end up full of garbage. To fix things, blind type `reset` or this sequence of characters: `echo CTRL-V ESC c RETURN`.

- Pasting text: in console, see below; in X, click and drag to select the text in an `xterm` window, then click the middle button (or the two buttons together if you have a two-button mouse) to paste.

- Using the mouse: ask your sysadm to install `gpm`, a mouse driver for the console. Click and drag to select text, then right click to paste the selected text. It works across different VCs.

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