[PLUG] resizing log file viewer in Ubuntu 12.04

[Denis Heidtmann]

On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 12:55 PM, Robert Munro <ramunro at speakeasy.net> wrote:
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>
> On Sat, 22 Mar 2014 19:02:01 -0700 Denis Heidtmann wrote:
>>
>> Unity offers a log file viewer.  It comes up with a window with a
>> vertical size larger than my screen.  The context menu has a resize
>> option, but it does not provide access to the bottom of the window.
>> Google has not helped.  Ideas?
>
> Does the Unity log file viewer offer more features than simply opening
> a terminal and using the tail or less command?
>
> tail -f /var/log/messages # is a rolling real-time display of the log.
>
> less /var/log/messages # lets you scroll the whole system messages log.
>
> I don't know whether Ubuntu uses systemd (though I suspect it
> doesn't), but systemd has added log journaling and a new command,
> journalctl.
>
> HTH,
> Robert

It appears to open a special window with a left pane showing all the
log files (34 of them!). It presents all the contents of the selected
log file in a scrollable window.  The man page for gnome-system-log
refers to /etc/syslog.conf and a missing man page for syslog.conf.
Here is the .conf file:

#  /etc/syslog.conf Configuration file for syslogd.
#
# For more information see syslog.conf(5)
# manpage.

#
# First some standard logfiles.  Log by facility.
#

auth,authpriv.* /var/log/auth.log
*.*;auth,authpriv.none -/var/log/syslog
#cron.* /var/log/cron.log
daemon.* -/var/log/daemon.log
kern.* -/var/log/kern.log
lpr.* -/var/log/lpr.log
mail.* -/var/log/mail.log
user.* -/var/log/user.log

#
# Logging for the mail system.  Split it up so that
# it is easy to write scripts to parse these files.
#
mail.info -/var/log/mail.info
mail.warning -/var/log/mail.warn
mail.err /var/log/mail.err

# Logging for INN news system
#
news.crit /var/log/news/news.crit
news.err /var/log/news/news.err
news.notice -/var/log/news/news.notice

#
# Some `catch-all' logfiles.
#
*.=debug;\
auth,authpriv.none;\
news.none;mail.none -/var/log/debug
*.=info;*.=notice;*.=warning;\
auth,authpriv.none;\
cron,daemon.none;\
mail,news.none -/var/log/messages

#
# Emergencies are sent to everybody logged in.
#
*.emerg *

#
# I like to have messages displayed on the console, but only on a virtual
# console I usually leave idle.
#
#daemon,mail.*;\
# news.=crit;news.=err;news.=notice;\
# *.=debug;*.=info;\
# *.=notice;*.=warning /dev/tty8

# The named pipe /dev/xconsole is for the `xconsole' utility.  To use it,
# you must invoke `xconsole' with the `-file' option:
#
#    $ xconsole -file /dev/xconsole [...]
#
# NOTE: adjust the list below, or you'll go crazy if you have a reasonably
#      busy site..
#
daemon.*;mail.*;\
news.err;\
*.=debug;*.=info;\
*.=notice;*.=warning |/dev/xconsole

-Denis