lesspipe.sh, a preprocessor for less
====================================

Version: 1.32
-------------

License: GPL
------------

Usage:	lesspipe.sh is called when the environment variable LESSOPEN is set:
------	LESSOPEN="|lesspipe.sh %s"; export LESSOPEN	(sh like shells)
	setenv LESSOPEN "|lesspipe.sh %s"		(csh, tcsh)
	Use the fully qualified path if lesspipe.sh is not in the search path
	View files in multifile archives:
				less archive_file:contained_file
	This can be used to extract single files from a multifile archive:
				less archive_file:contained_file>extracted_file
        Even a file in a multifile archive that itself is contained in yet
        another archive can be viewed this way:
				less super_archive:archive_file:contained_file
	Display the last file in the file1:..:fileN chain in raw format:
	Suppress input filtering:	less file1:..:fileN:   (append a colon)
	Suppress decompression:	less file1:..:fileN::  (append 2 colons)
	To view files and filesystems on removable media (examples: DOS
	formatted disk or floppy containing tar file) use the appropriate
	device file (e.g. less /dev/fd0)

Required programs:
------------------
	bash (at least version 2.03) or zsh or ksh from vendor (not PD ksh)
	(configure selects the appropriate line as the first line in the script)
	file (a version that recognizes the supported formats)
        (GNU file 3.27 or above recommended)
	ls, rm, cat, cut and further programs for special formats (see below)

Support for the following compression methods:
----------------------------------------------
	gzip, compress, pack	requires gzip
	bzip2			requires bzip2
	zip			requires unzip

Preprocesssing of the following file types (also compressed):
-------------------------------------------------------------
	tar		requires GNU tar
	nroff(mandoc)	requires groff
	ar library	requires ar
	shared library	requires nm
	executable	requires strings
	directory
	RPM		requires rpm, rpm2cpio and GNU cpio
	Microsoft Word	requires antiword
	Debian 		requires  dpkg, dpkg-deb
	html		requires lynx
        pdf		requires pdftotext
	unmounted media requires programs to read from these media
			(GNU file 3.27 or above, tar, mdir, mtype, mtoolstest)
	rtf		requires unrtf
	dvi		requires dvi2tty
	ps		requires ps2ascii and gs

Latest version available from:
------------------------------
	http://www.desy.de/zeuthen/~friebel/unix/lesspipe.html

Extended description:
---------------------
	Appeared in Linux-Magazin 1/2001 pp. 172-174 (in german)
	(see also the files english.txt and german.txt)

Thanks to:
----------
	Florian Cramer <cantsin@zedat.fu-berlin.de> MS Word support, ASCIIart
	Michael Wiedmann <mw@miwie.in-berlin.de> Debian packages support
	Derek B. Noonburg <derekn@foolabs.com> PDF files support
	Heinrich Kuettler <ql.heiner@web.de> formatting, html via lynx
	Philippe DEFERT <philippe.defert@cern.ch> unattended installation
	Vladimir Linek <feedback@suse.de> inspired me to add ps and dvi support
	
Author:  Wolfgang Friebel DESY Zeuthen (Wolfgang.Friebel@desy.de)
