LPIC-1 GNU and Unix Commands Practice Question
A user wants to view the contents of a large text file one page at a time, with the ability to scroll both forward and backward. Which command should the user employ?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that cat or head/tail can provide interactive paging; they cannot, as they output content without user-controlled scrolling.
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
The less command is specifically designed for paging through text files, allowing forward and backward scrolling, searching, and other navigation. Unlike cat, which dumps the entire file, or head/tail, which show only portions, less provides an interactive viewing experience ideal for large files. It is a standard tool in Linux environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
tail
Why it's wrong here
The tail command shows the last few lines of a file (by default, 10 lines). It does not provide pagination or the ability to scroll through the entire file. Although tail -f can follow a growing file, it still does not offer page-by-page navigation, so it is not suitable here.
- ✗
head
Why it's wrong here
The head command displays only the first few lines of a file (by default, 10 lines). It does not allow paging through the entire file or scrolling backward. While useful for quickly checking the beginning of a file, it does not meet the requirement to view the whole file page by page.
- ✗
cat
Why it's wrong here
The cat command concatenates and displays the entire file at once, which would flood the terminal with the full content. It does not provide pagination or scrolling, making it unsuitable for viewing large files page by page. It is best for small files or piping to other commands.
- ✓
less
Why this is correct
The less command is a pager that displays text one screen at a time and allows scrolling forward and backward using arrow keys, Page Up/Down, and search. It is designed for viewing large files without loading the entire file into memory, making it the ideal choice for this scenario.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every LPIC-1 question from scratch — 402 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official LPI exam blueprint
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 exam.