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212In Unix, how do I refer to files with names containing a space?
The commands described below need to be entered while logged in to the Unix server. Normally you'll see a prompt ending with $ when the command interpreter (or shell) is ready for another command.
Suppose you have a file called
my file (with a space between the words my and file)
Then (for example):
- To view the file without renaming it:
more my?file
(the ? signifies 'any character' and can be used to represent a space) - To rename the file and then view it:
mv my?file my_file
(mv means 'move', or rename)
more my_file
You can also enclose the entire file name in double-quotes, like this:
more "my file"
or
mv "my file" my_file
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