Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Step By Step Guide
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# 3.7. Clearing and Resetting the Terminal

After even one `ls` command in a shell prompt, the terminal window you are working in can begin to look crowded. You can always exit from the terminal window and open a new one, but there is a quicker and easier way to remove the contents displayed in the terminal.

Try typing the command `clear` at the shell prompt. The `clear` command does just what it implies: it clears the terminal window.

| Tip
| A useful shortcut to typing `clear` at a shell prompt is to press <KEYCAP >[Ctrl]</KEYCAP >-<KEYCAP >[L]</KEYCAP >, which also clears terminal. Refer to Appendix F Keyboard Shortcuts for more useful shortcuts.

Sometimes, you may accidentally open a program file or some other non-text file in a terminal window. Once you close the file, you could find that the text you are typing does not match the output on the monitor.

In such cases, type `reset` to return the terminal window to its default values.

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