[plug] question about file types

[Tamara Thompson]

This is just a minor annoyance, but when I'm exploring my Redhat system, sometimes I can't tell by the ls -l whether a file is a binary or a script.  So I just 'more' 'em.  
Problem is, <sheepish grin> as often as not I open a binary file and it mucks up my console.  Total garbage on screen, as if the font has been changed to hieroglyphs.  
1) is there a way to determine if a file is a readable script or a binary?
2) is there a quick and easy way to restore the VGA settings?  
Logging out and back in fixes it, but seems rather inelegant to me.

Tamara