XK0-006 System Management Practice Question
Which of the following commands can be used to display the contents of a file one page at a time? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse `cat` as a pagination tool because it displays file contents, but it lacks any paging or interactive control, while `head` and `tail` are often mistakenly thought to paginate because they show a subset of lines.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
less
Option A, less, is correct because it is a pager that displays a file's contents one screen (page) at a time, allowing forward and backward navigation with keys like Space, b, and q. Option E, more, is also correct because it is a pager that shows file contents one page at a time, advancing with Space and exiting with q, though it traditionally only scrolls forward. Option B, head, is incorrect because it prints only the first 10 lines (by default) and exits, not paging through the file. Option C, cat, is incorrect because it concatenates and dumps the entire file to standard output at once without pagination. Option D, tail, is incorrect because it prints only the last 10 lines (by default) and exits, not displaying the file page by page.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
less
Why this is correct
`less` reads the file lazily and renders it in a scrollable pager, displaying one screenful at a time while allowing forward and backward navigation without loading the whole file into memory. This directly satisfies the requirement to view file contents page by page, unlike `cat`, which dumps everything at once.
- ✗
head
Why it's wrong here
head prints only the first ten lines by default, so it cannot page through an entire file. It is tempting because it does limit output, and it would be correct for previewing a file's opening lines or inspecting a header before full processing.
- ✗
cat
Why it's wrong here
cat writes the whole file to standard output in one continuous stream, with no paging or pause between screens. It is tempting because it displays file contents, and it would be correct for concatenating files or piping output into another command.
- ✗
tail
Why it's wrong here
tail prints only the last ten lines by default, so it cannot page through an entire file. It is tempting because it does limit output, and it would be correct for viewing recent log entries or following appended lines with the -f flag.
- ✓
more
Why this is correct
The more pager reads a file and displays it one screenful at a time, pausing for user input before advancing, which directly satisfies the requirement to view contents page by page. It supports scrolling forward through long files, unlike cat, which dumps everything at once.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the XK0-006 exam.