diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/IO.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/IO.hs
index c460940e1..7a691a9d5 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/IO.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/IO.hs
@@ -171,12 +171,12 @@ pprint' = pPrintOpt NoCheckColorTty prettyoptsNoColor
 -- "Avoid using pshow, pprint, dbg* in the code below to prevent infinite loops." (?)
 
 -- | Display the given text on the terminal, using the user's $PAGER if the text is taller 
--- than the current terminal and stdout is interactive and TERM is not "dumb"
--- (except on Windows, where a pager will not be used).
+-- than the current terminal and stdout is interactive and TERM is not "dumb";
+-- except on Windows, where currently we don't attempt to use a pager.
 -- If the text contains ANSI codes, because hledger thinks the current terminal
 -- supports those, the pager should be configured to display those, otherwise
 -- users will see junk on screen (#2015).
--- We call "setLessR" at hledger startup to make that less likely.
+-- We call "setupPager" at hledger startup to make that less likely.
 pager :: String -> IO ()
 #ifdef mingw32_HOST_OS
 pager = putStrLn
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
index b204d8f97..aac9c9f62 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Utils.hs
@@ -123,13 +123,14 @@ writeOutput opts s = do
   f <- outputFileFromOpts opts
   (maybe putStr writeFile f) s
 
--- | Write some output to stdout or to a file selected by --output-file.
--- If the file exists it will be overwritten. This function operates on Lazy
--- Text values.
+-- | Write some output, to a file specified by --output-file if any,
+-- otherwise to stdout.
+-- If writing to a file and the file exists, it will be overwritten.
+-- If writing to stdout, a pager is used when appropriate and possible.
 writeOutputLazyText :: CliOpts -> TL.Text -> IO ()
 writeOutputLazyText opts s = do
   f <- outputFileFromOpts opts
-  (maybe TL.putStr TL.writeFile f) s
+  maybe (pager.TL.unpack) TL.writeFile f s
 
 -- -- | Get a journal from the given string and options, or throw an error.
 -- readJournal :: CliOpts -> String -> IO Journal
diff --git a/hledger/hledger.m4.md b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
index 3ee3e6b31..341af0b76 100644
--- a/hledger/hledger.m4.md
+++ b/hledger/hledger.m4.md
@@ -721,6 +721,21 @@ The `-O` option can be combined with `-o` to override the file extension if need
 $ hledger balancesheet -o foo.txt -O csv    # write CSV to foo.txt
 ```
 
+## Paging
+
+On unix-like systems, when displaying large output in the terminal,
+hledger tries to use a pager when appropriate:
+the one specified by the `PAGER` environment variable,
+otherwise `less` if available, otherwise `more` if available.
+The pager shows one page of text at a time, and lets you scroll around to see more.
+While it is active, usually `SPACE` shows the next page, `q` quits, and `?` shows more features.
+
+The pager is expected to display ANSI color and text styling if possible.
+hledger adds `R` to the `LESS` and `MORE` environment variables to enable this
+in `less` (and in its `more` compatibility mode).
+If you use a different pager, you might need to configure it similarly, to avoid seeing junk on screen.
+Or you can set the `NO_COLOR` environment variable described below.
+
 Here are some notes about the various output formats.
 
 ### Text output
@@ -906,23 +921,6 @@ the [commodity directive](#commodity-directive).
 In some cases hledger will adjust number formatting to improve their parseability
 (such as adding [trailing decimal marks](#trailing-decimal-marks) when needed).
 
-## Paging
-
-When showing long output in the terminal, hledger will try to use
-the pager specified by the `PAGER` environment variable, or `less`, or `more`.
-(A pager is a helper program that shows one page at a time rather than scrolling everything off screen).
-Currently it does this only for help output, not for reports; specifically,
-
-- when listing commands, with `hledger`
-- when showing help with `hledger [CMD] --help`,
-- when viewing manuals with `hledger help` or `hledger --man`.
-
-Note the pager is expected to handle ANSI codes, which hledger uses eg for bold emphasis. 
-For the common pager `less` (and its `more` compatibility mode),
-we add `R` to the `LESS` and `MORE` environment variables to make this work.
-If you use a different pager, you might need to configure it similarly, to avoid seeing junk on screen (let us know).
-Otherwise, you can set the `NO_COLOR` environment variable to 1 to disable all ANSI output (see [Colour](#colour)).
-
 ## Debug output
 
 We intend hledger to be relatively easy to troubleshoot, introspect and develop.