Output Keywords

EXPand or '*'

Tells WHOIS to always expand the long display for a single match to include all the subdisplays, without asking you, the user, if you wish to see them or not.

'~'

This one doesn't even have a keyword, just the magic character equivalent. It is the opposite of '*' and says not to show any subdisplays at all, period.

Full

Gives a long display for EACH matching record, not just when there's only a single match.

SUMmary

For completeness, this always gives a summary line for each match, even if there's only one.

SUBdisplay or '%'

Shows the subdisplay for the matching record following a summary line for the record itself. See the section " Subdisplays " for details.