try zless or zmore...they are shell scripts which basically unzip the file and pipe it into more/less for you The will let you read the .gz readmes with no additional effort. zless /usr/doc/xmms/FAQ.gz > At Tue, 01 Aug 2000 21:25:25 -0700, > S. Champ wrote: > > what is the command to read these README documents, without having > > to first +use > > a command to un-gzip the same? >