You can define $PAGER as something like "cat >/tmp/$$;more /tmp/$$;rm /tmp/$$" to get the back-scrolling at the cost of somewhat reduced speed. You won't see the first page until the last has been formatted (which is why we don't do this by default). Bruce -- Pixar's Toy Story: Over 1/3 Billion dollars world box office so far. Bruce Perens AB6YM Bruce@Pixar.com http://www.hams.com/