6.5.1.2 Paging and Scrolling

If you move down when the cursor is at the bottom of the screen, or move up when the cursor is at the top of the screen, you will see the text scroll up or down. This can be an effective way to display more text in a very short file, but it can be tedious to move this way through a long file.

You may have noticed that moving the cursor either past the bottom or past the top of the screen has the effect of scrolling text up or down. This works for a very short file, but it is a tedious way to move through a long file.

You can page or scroll backward or forward through a file, a screen or a half-screen at a time. (To try out these commands on paint, you might want to add text so you have a longer file to work with.)

Note that there is a fundamental difference between paging and scrolling. Scrolling actually scrolls the cursor up or down through the text a line at a time, as though it were on a paper scroll. Paging moves the cursor up or down through the text a screenful at a time. On a fast system, you might not notice the difference. However, if you're working from a remote terminal or in some other situation where your system is running slower than usual, this difference can become painfully apparent.

Page Forward One Screen

To scroll forward (move down) one screenful, press Ctrl-F. (Hold down the Control key and press the F key.) The cursor moves to the upper left corner of the new screen.

Scroll Forward One-Half Screen

To scroll forward one half of a screen, press Ctrl-D.

Page Backward One Screen

To scroll backward (i.e., move up) one screenful, press Ctrl-B.

Scroll Backward One-Half Screen

To scroll backward one half of a screen, press Ctrl-U.