How to open or view large log files in unix. vi editor complains of the file being too large to open.

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If you don't need to modify the file, you can use 'more'
Read 'more' man page.

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This script will pull a chunk of lines from a file into a workfile and invoke vi on the workfile.

#!/bin/sh
#
# viewpart
#
# Usage: viewpart filename starting_line [ # ]
#
# Without # of lines, remainder of file is taken.

if [ $# -ne 2 -a $# -ne 3 ] ; then
???echo '\nUsage: viewpart filename starting_line [ # ]\n'
???exit 1
fi

fname=$1
start=$2
lines=$3

if [ ! -r $fname ] ; then
???echo "Cannot read $fname"
???exit 1
fi

workfile=/tmp/viewpart$$

if [ "$lines" ] ; then
???tail +$start $fname | head -$lines > $workfile
else
???tail +$start $fname > $workfile
fi

vi $workfile

echo "\nRemove workfile $workfile ? [yn] \c"
read answer

if [ "$answer" = y ] ; then
???rm -f $workfile
???echo "\n$workfile removed\n"
else
???echo "\n$workfile NOT removed\n"
fi

exit 0

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Many implementations of vi set the dir value to /var/tmp. This is ok if /var/tmp is a large filesystem. However, many times it is not. To change it to /tmp (or some other large filesystem), open the editor by typing:
vi

While in the vi editor, type the command:

:set dir

This will display the directory where vi is opening files. If it is pointing to a small filesystem, type the command:

:set dir=/tmp (or other large filesystem)

You can now open the file by typing:

:r <filename>

Don't use the angle brackets around filename, it's just to highlight the syntax.

The options previously proposed are good ones and the script looks nice. This is just a "FYI" regarding temp files in vi.

If you need to set these everytime you open vi then create a .exrc file. The file will read:

set dir=/tmp

Set the ownership of the file so others cannot change it. Commands can be placed in the .exrc file and will execute when vi is invoked. This is not a good thing if you are root. It can be used to do interesting things.

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