     XTAIL(1L)                                                         XTAIL(1L)
                                        LOCAL

     NAME
          xtail - Watch the growth of files.

     SYNTAX
          uxtail entry ...

     DESCRIPTION
          Xtail monitors one or more files, and displays all data written to a
          file since command invocation.  It is very useful for monitoring
          multiple logfiles simultaneously.

          If an entry given on the command line is a directory, all files in
          that directory will be monitored, including those created after the
          xtail invocation.  If an entry given on the command line doesn't
          exist, xtail will watch for it and monitor it once created.  When
          switching files in the display, a banner showing the pathname of the
          file is printed.

          An interrupt character (usually CTRL/C or DEL) will display a list of
          the most recently modified files being watched.  Send a quit signal
          (usually CTRL/backslash) to stop xtail.

     SEE ALSO
          tail(1)

     NOTES
          Xtail may be easily confused.  For example, if a file is renamed,
          xtail may or may not continue to monitor it.  If you ask it to monitor
          a file multiple times, it probably will.  If you misspell a filename,
          xtail will treat it as a nonexistent entry and happily wait for its
          creation.

          My favorite use is "xtail /usr/spool/uucp/.Log/*".

     AUTHOR
          Chip Rosenthal <chip@vector.Dallas.TX.US>

                                        - 1 -      Formatted:  November 26, 1999