4 .\" A complete reference of the mdoc macro package for GNU troff.
6 .\" Based on NetBSD's mdoc.samples.7, version 1.21.
9 .\" Warning: You can't format this file with the old mdoc macros!
12 .\" Copyright (c) 1990, 1993
13 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
15 .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
16 .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
18 .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
19 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
20 .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
21 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
22 .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
24 .\" ftp://ftp.cs.berkeley.edu/pub/4bsd/README.Impt.License.Change]
25 .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
26 .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
27 .\" without specific prior written permission.
29 .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
30 .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
31 .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
32 .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
33 .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
34 .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
35 .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
36 .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
37 .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
38 .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
41 .\" @(#)mdoc.samples.7 8.2 (Berkeley) 12/30/93
43 .\" This reference invokes every macro in the package several
44 .\" times and is guaranteed to give a worst case performance
45 .\" for an already extremely slow package.
56 .Nd reference for groff's mdoc implementation
61 .Nm groff Fl m Ns Cm doc Ar
66 A complete reference for writing
74 formatting package for
79 package, addressed page layout leaving the manipulation of fonts and other
80 typesetting details to the individual author.
83 page layout macros make up the
84 .Em "page structure domain"
85 which consists of macros for titles, section headers, displays and lists
86 \- essentially items which affect the physical position of text on a
88 In addition to the page structure domain, there are two more domains, the
93 The general text domain is defined as macros which perform tasks such as
94 quoting or emphasizing pieces of text.
95 The manual domain is defined as macros that are a subset of the day to day
96 informal language used to describe commands, routines and related
99 Macros in the manual domain handle command names, command line arguments and
100 options, function names, function parameters, pathnames, variables, cross
101 references to other manual pages, and so on.
102 These domain items have value for both the author and the future user of the
104 Hopefully, the consistency gained across the manual set will provide easier
105 translation to future documentation tools.
109 manual pages, a manual entry is simply referred to as a man page, regardless
110 of actual length and without sexist intention.
113 .Sh "GETTING STARTED"
115 The material presented in the remainder of this document is outlined
118 .Bl -enum -width 3n -offset indent
120 . Tn "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
122 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
124 . It "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
125 . It "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
126 . It "Escaping Special Characters"
127 . It "Other Possible Pitfalls"
131 . Tn "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
140 . Tn "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
142 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
143 . It "What's in a Name" Ns ...
144 . It "General Syntax"
150 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
154 . It "Configuration Declarations (Section Four Only)"
155 . It "Command Modifiers"
156 . It "Defined Variables"
158 . It "Environment Variables"
160 . It "Function Declarations"
161 . It "Function Types"
162 . It "Functions (Library Routines)"
163 . It "Function Arguments"
166 . \" .It "Header File (including source code)"
167 . It "Interactive Commands"
174 . It "Variable Types"
176 . It "Manual Page Cross References"
180 . Tn "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
182 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
187 . It "DragonFly Macro"
191 . It "Emphasis Macro"
193 . It "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
194 . It "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
195 . It "No-Space Macro"
196 . It "Section Cross References"
198 . It "Mathematical Symbols"
199 . It "References and Citations"
200 . It "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
201 . It "Extended Arguments"
205 . Tn "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
207 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
208 . It "Section Headers"
209 . It "Subsection Headers"
210 . It "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
212 . It "Examples and Displays"
213 . It "Lists and Columns"
217 . Tn "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
220 . Tn "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
226 . Tn "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
243 .Sh "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
247 package attempts to simplify the process of writing a man page.
248 Theoretically, one should not have to learn the tricky details of
253 however, there are a few limitations which are unavoidable and best gotten
255 And, too, be forewarned, this package is
264 a macro is called by placing a
266 (dot character) at the beginning of a line followed by the two-character
267 (or three-character) name for the macro.
268 There can be space or tab characters between the dot and the macro name.
269 Arguments may follow the macro separated by spaces (but
272 It is the dot character at the beginning of the line which causes
275 to interpret the next two (or more) characters as a macro name.
276 A single starting dot followed by nothing is ignored.
279 (dot character) at the beginning of an input line in some context other than
280 a macro invocation, precede the
284 escape sequence which translates literally to a zero-width space, and is
285 never displayed in the output.
290 macros accept an unlimited number of arguments (contrary to other versions
291 of troff which can't handle more than nine arguments).
292 In limited cases, arguments may be continued or extended on the next
294 .Sx Extended Arguments
296 Almost all macros handle quoted arguments (see
297 .Sx Passing Space Characters in an Argument
302 general text domain and manual domain macros are special in that their
305 for callable macro names.
306 This means an argument on the argument list which matches a general text or
307 manual domain macro name (and which is defined to be callable) will be
308 executed or called when it is processed.
309 In this case the argument, although the name of a macro, is not preceded by
313 This makes it possible to nest macros; for example the option macro,
317 the flag and argument macros,
321 to specify an optional flag with an argument:
323 .Bl -tag -width ".Op Fl s Ar bytes" -offset indent
326 .Ql ".Op Fl s Ar bytes"
330 To prevent a string from being interpreted as a macro name, precede the
331 string with the escape sequence
334 .Bl -tag -width ".Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes" -offset indent
335 .It Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes
337 .Ql ".Op \e&Fl s \e&Ar bytes"
345 are not interpreted as macros.
346 Macros whose argument lists are parsed for callable arguments are referred
349 and macros which may be called from an argument list are referred to as
351 throughout this document.
354 as almost all of the macros in
356 are parsed, but as it was cumbersome to constantly refer to macros as
357 being callable and being able to call other macros, the term parsed
361 In the following, we call an
363 macro which starts a line (with a leading dot) a
365 if this distinction is necessary.
367 .Ss "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
369 Sometimes it is desirable to give as an argument a string containing one or
370 more blank space characters, say, to specify arguments to commands which
371 expect particular arrangement of items in the argument list.
372 Additionally, it makes
375 For example, the function command
377 expects the first argument to be the name of a function and any remaining
378 arguments to be function parameters.
381 stipulates the declaration of function parameters in the parenthesized
382 parameter list, each parameter is guaranteed to be at minimum a two word
387 There are two possible ways to pass an argument which contains
389 One way of passing a string containing blank spaces is to use the hard or
390 unpaddable space character
392 that is, a blank space preceded by the escape character
394 This method may be used with any macro but has the side effect of
395 interfering with the adjustment of text over the length of a line.
397 sees the hard space as if it were any other printable character and cannot
398 split the string into blank or newline separated pieces as one would expect.
399 This method is useful for strings which are not expected to overlap a line
401 An alternative is to use
403 a paddable (i.e.\& stretchable), unbreakable space (this is a
407 The second method is to enclose the string with double quotes.
411 .Bl -tag -width ".Fn fetch char\ *str" -offset indent
412 .It Fn fetch char\ *str
414 .Ql ".Fn fetch char\e *str"
415 .It Fn fetch "char *str"
416 can also be created by
417 .Ql ".Fn fetch \*[q]char *str\*[q]"
423 before the space in the first example
424 or double quotes in the second example
427 would see three arguments, and the result would be:
429 .Dl Fn fetch char *str
431 .\" For an example of what happens when the parameter list overlaps a newline
432 .\" boundary, see the
436 .Ss "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
439 can be confused by blank space characters at the end of a line.
440 It is a wise preventive measure to globally remove all blank spaces
442 .Ao blank-space Ac Ns Ao end-of-line Ac
444 Should the need arise to use a blank character at the end of a line, it
445 may be forced with an unpaddable space and the
451 .Ss "Escaping Special Characters"
453 Special characters like the newline character
455 are handled by replacing the
461 to preserve the backslash.
463 .Ss "Other Possible Pitfalls"
465 A warning is emitted when an empty input line is found outside of displays
470 (Well, it is even better to use
472 macros to avoid the usage of low-level commands.)
474 Leading spaces will cause a break and are output directly.
475 Avoid this behaviour if possible.
476 Similarly, do not use more than one space character between words in an
477 ordinary text line; contrary to other text formatters, they are
479 replaced with a single space.
483 directly as an argument.
492 inserts two space characters after a punctuation mark closing a sentence;
497 are treated transparently, not influencing the sentence-ending behaviour.
498 To change this, insert
500 before or after the dot:
502 .Bd -literal -offset indent
521 .Bd -filled -offset indent
538 As can be seen in the first and third line,
540 handles punctuation characters specially in macro arguments.
541 This will be explained in section
544 In the same way, you have to protect trailing full stops of abbreviations
545 with a trailing zero-width space:
548 A comment in the source file of a man page can be either started with
554 anywhere (the latter is a
557 extension); the rest of such a line is ignored.
560 .Sh "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
562 The body of a man page is easily constructed from a basic template:
564 .Bd -literal -offset indent
565 \&.\e" The following commands are required for all man pages.
566 \&.Dd Month day, year
567 \&.Dt DOCUMENT_TITLE [section number] [architecture/volume]
568 \&.Os [OPERATING_SYSTEM] [version/release]
571 \&.Nd one line description of name
572 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2 and 3 only.
576 \&.\e" The following commands should be uncommented and
577 \&.\e" used where appropriate.
578 \&.\e" .Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
579 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 function
580 \&.\e" return values only.
581 \&.\e" .Sh RETURN VALUES
582 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 only.
583 \&.\e" .Sh ENVIRONMENT
586 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 only
587 \&.\e" (command return values (to shell) and
588 \&.\e" fprintf/stderr type diagnostics).
589 \&.\e" .Sh DIAGNOSTICS
590 \&.\e" .Sh COMPATIBILITY
591 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 error
592 \&.\e" and signal handling only.
602 The first items in the template are the commands
607 the document date, the operating system the man page or subject source is
608 developed or modified for, and the man page title (in
610 along with the section of the manual the page belongs in.
611 These commands identify the page and are discussed below in
614 The remaining items in the template are section headers
622 The headers are discussed in
623 .Sx "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN" ,
624 after presentation of
625 .Sx "MANUAL DOMAIN" .
626 Several content macros are used to demonstrate page layout macros; reading
627 about content macros before page layout macros is recommended.
632 In the description of all macros below, optional arguments are put into
636 represents zero or more additional arguments.
637 Alternative values for a parameter are separated with
639 If there are alternative values for a mandatory parameter, braces are used
642 to enclose the value set.
643 Meta-variables are specified within angles.
647 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent
651 .Op \-test1 Op \-test2 | \-test3
657 Except stated explicitly, all macros are parsed and callable.
659 Note that a macro takes effect up to the next nested macro.
666 Consequently, a warning message is emitted for most commands if the first
667 argument is a macro itself since it cancels the effect of the calling
669 Another consequence is that quoting macros never insert literal quotes;
672 .Ql ".Ic \*[q]foo <bar>\*[q]" .
674 Most macros have a default width value which can be used to specify a label
684 It is recommended not to use this rather obscure feature to avoid
685 dependencies on local modifications of the
692 The title macros are part of the page structure domain but are presented
693 first and separately for someone who wishes to start writing a man page
695 Three header macros designate the document title or manual page title, the
696 operating system, and the date of authorship.
697 These macros are called once at the very beginning of the document and are
698 used to construct headers and footers only.
702 .Op Aq document title
703 .Op Aq section number
706 The document title is the subject of the man page and must be in
708 due to troff limitations.
712 The section number may be a number in the range
713 .No 1,\~ Ns ... Ns ,\~9
719 If it is specified, and no volume name is given, a default volume name is
724 .Tn \*[operating-system] ,
725 the following sections are defined:
729 1 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-1]
730 2 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-2]
731 3 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-3]
732 4 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-4]
733 5 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-5]
734 6 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-6]
735 7 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
736 8 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-8]
737 9 \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-9]
741 A volume name may be arbitrary or one of the following:
746 USD \*[volume-ds-USD]
747 PS1 \*[volume-ds-PS1]
748 AMD \*[volume-ds-AMD]
749 SMM \*[volume-ds-SMM]
750 URM \*[volume-ds-URM]
751 PRM \*[volume-ds-PRM]
753 IND \*[volume-ds-IND]
754 LOCAL \*[volume-ds-LOCAL]
755 CON \*[volume-ds-CON]
767 Values from the previous table will specify a new volume name.
768 If the third parameter is a keyword designating a computer architecture,
769 its value is prepended to the default volume name as specified by the
771 By default, the following architecture keywords are defined:
773 \# we use `No' to avoid hyphenation
774 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
775 .No acorn26 , acorn32 , algor , alpha , amd64 , amiga , amigappc ,
776 .No arc , arm , arm26 , arm32 , armish , atari , aviion ,
777 .No beagle , bebox , cats , cesfic , cobalt , dreamcast ,
778 .No emips , evbarm , evbmips , evbppc , evbsh3 , ews4800mips ,
779 .No hp300 , hp700 , hpcarm , hpcmips , hpcsh , hppa , hppa64 ,
780 .No i386 , ia64 , ibmnws , iyonix , landisk , loongson , luna68k , luna88k ,
781 .No m68k , mac68k , macppc , mips , mips64 , mipsco , mmeye ,
782 .No mvme68k , mvme88k , mvmeppc , netwinder , news68k , newsmips , next68k ,
783 .No ofppc , palm , pc532 , playstation2 , pmax , pmppc , powerpc , prep ,
784 .No rs6000 , sandpoint , sbmips , sgi , sgimips , sh3 , shark ,
785 .No socppc , solbourne , sparc , sparc64 , sun2 , sun3 ,
786 .No tahoe , vax , x68k , x86_64 , xen , zaurus
790 If the section number is neither a numeric expression in the range 1 to\~9
791 nor one of the above described keywords, the third parameter is used
792 verbatim as the volume name.
794 In the following examples, the left (which is identical to the right) and
795 the middle part of the manual page header strings are shown.
798 prevents the digit\~7 from being a valid numeric expression.
801 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dt\ FOO\ 2\ i386" -compact -offset indent
804 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
805 .It Li ".Dt FOO 7 bar"
807 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
808 .It Li ".Dt FOO \e&7 bar"
811 .It Li ".Dt FOO 2 i386"
813 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system]/\*[volume-as-i386] \*[volume-ds-2]
814 .It Li ".Dt FOO \*[q]\*[q] bar"
821 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
823 look for strings named
825 (for the former type) and
827 (for the latter type);
829 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
833 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
836 .Op Aq operating system
839 If the first parameter is empty,
841 .Sq Tn "\*[operating-system]"
843 This may be overridden in the local configuration file,
845 In general, the name of the operating system should be the common acronym,
850 The release should be the standard release nomenclature for the system
852 In the following table, the possible second arguments for some predefined
853 operating systems are listed.
856 local additions might be defined in
858 look for strings named
859 .Ql operating\-system\-XXX\-YYY ,
862 is the acronym for the operating system and
867 .Bl -tag -width ".No DragonFly" -offset indent
869 7th, 7, III, 3, V, V.2, V.3, V.4
871 3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.3t, 4.3T, 4.3r, 4.3R, 4.4
873 0.8, 0.8a, 0.9, 0.9a, 1.0, 1.0a, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.2b, 1.2c, 1.2d, 1.2e,
874 1.3, 1.3a, 1.4, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3, 1.6, 1.6.1,
875 1.6.2, 1.6.3, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.1, 3.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3,
876 3.1, 3.1.1, 4.0, 4.0.1, 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.1, 6.0
878 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.5, 1.1.5.1, 2.0, 2.0.5, 2.1, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.2, 2.2.1,
879 2.2.2, 2.2.5, 2.2.6, 2.2.7, 2.2.8, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.0, 4.1,
880 4.1.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 5.0, 5.1,
881 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.0,
884 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4,
885 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9,
888 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.10, 1.12, 1.12.2, 2.0, 2.2,
889 2.4, 2.6, 2.8, 2.9, 2.9.1, 2.10, 2.10.1, 2.11
891 8.0.0, 8.1.0, 8.2.0, 8.3.0, 8.4.0, 8.5.0, 8.6.0, 8.7.0, 8.8.0, 8.9.0,
892 8.10.0, 8.11.0, 9.0.0, 9.1.0, 9.2.0, 9.3.0, 9.4.0, 9.5.0, 9.6.0, 9.7.0,
893 9.8.0, 10.1.0, 10.2.0, 10.3.0, 10.4.0, 10.5.0, 10.6.0, 10.7.0, 11.0.0
900 an unknown second parameter will be replaced with the string
902 for the other predefined acronyms it will be ignored and a warning message
904 Unrecognized arguments are displayed as given in the page footer.
905 For instance, a typical footer might be:
910 .Ql 4.3\~Berkeley Distribution ,
911 or for a locally produced set
913 .Dl .Os CS Department
920 macro is not present, the bottom left corner of the manual page will be
923 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
934 is used for the date string.
935 If it has exactly three arguments, they are concatenated, separated with
938 .Dl .Dd January 25, 2001
940 The month's name shall not be abbreviated.
942 With any other number of arguments, the current date is used, ignoring
945 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
949 .Sh "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
951 .Ss "What's in a Name" Ns ...
953 The manual domain macro names are derived from the day to day informal
954 language used to describe commands, subroutines and related files.
955 Slightly different variations of this language are used to describe the
956 three different aspects of writing a man page.
957 First, there is the description of
960 Second is the description of a
965 macros, and third, the description of a command to a user in the verbal
966 sense; that is, discussion of a command in the text of a man page.
970 macros are themselves a type of command; the general syntax for a troff
973 .Bd -filled -offset indent
974 .Li ".Xx argument1 argument2" ...
979 is a macro command, and anything following it are arguments to
981 In the second case, the description of a
983 command using the content macros is a bit more involved; a typical
985 command line might be displayed as:
987 .Bd -filled -offset indent
990 .Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
996 is the command name and the
1001 argument designated as optional by the option brackets.
1009 .Em meta arguments ;
1010 in this example, the user has to replace the meta expressions given in angle
1011 brackets with real file names.
1012 Note that in this document meta arguments are used to describe
1014 commands; in most man pages, meta variables are not specifically written
1015 with angle brackets.
1016 The macros which formatted the above example:
1018 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1021 \&.Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
1025 In the third case, discussion of commands and command syntax includes both
1026 examples above, but may add more detail.
1031 from the example above might be referred to as
1034 .Em file arguments .
1035 Some command line argument lists are quite long:
1038 .Bl -tag -width ".Nm make" -offset indent -compact
1041 .Op Fl D Ar variable
1043 .Op Fl f Ar makefile
1044 .Op Fl I Ar directory
1045 .Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1046 .Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1054 Here one might talk about the command
1056 and qualify the argument,
1058 as an argument to the flag,
1060 or discuss the optional file operand
1062 In the verbal context, such detail can prevent confusion, however the
1064 package does not have a macro for an argument
1069 argument macro is used for an operand or file argument like
1071 as well as an argument to a flag like
1073 The make command line was produced from:
1075 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1078 \&.Op Fl D Ar variable
1080 \&.Op Fl f Ar makefile
1081 \&.Op Fl I Ar directory
1082 \&.Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1083 \&.Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1094 macros are explained in
1097 .Ss "General Syntax"
1099 The manual domain and general text domain macros share a similar syntax with
1100 a few minor deviations; most notably,
1106 differ only when called without arguments; and
1110 impose an order on their argument lists.
1111 All content macros are capable of recognizing and properly handling
1112 punctuation, provided each punctuation character is separated by a leading
1114 If a command is given:
1116 .Dl \&.Ar sptr, ptr),
1122 The punctuation is not recognized and all is output in the
1125 If the punctuation is separated by a leading white space:
1127 .Dl \&.Ar "sptr , ptr ) ,"
1131 .Dl Ar sptr , ptr ) ,
1133 The punctuation is now recognized and output in the default font
1134 distinguishing it from the argument strings.
1135 To remove the special meaning from a punctuation character escape it with
1138 The following punctuation characters are recognized by
1141 .Bl -column -offset indent-two XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
1142 .It Li .\& Ta Li ,\& Ta Li :\& Ta Li ;\& Ta Li (\&
1143 .It Li )\& Ta Li [\& Ta Li ]\& Ta Li ?\& Ta Li !\&
1148 is limited as a macro language, and has difficulty when presented with a
1149 string containing a member of the mathematical, logical or quotation set:
1151 .Bd -literal -offset indent-two
1152 {+,\-,/,*,%,<,>,<=,>=,=,==,&,`,',"}
1158 may assume it is supposed to actually perform the operation or evaluation
1159 suggested by the characters.
1160 To prevent the accidental evaluation of these characters, escape them with
1162 Typical syntax is shown in the first content macro displayed below,
1170 The address macro identifies an address construct.
1172 .Dl Usage: .Ad Ao address Ac ...
1174 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ad\ f1\ ,\ f2\ ,\ f3\ :" -compact -offset 15n
1177 .It Li ".Ad addr1 ."
1179 .It Li ".Ad addr1 , file2"
1181 .It Li ".Ad f1 , f2 , f3 :"
1183 .It Li ".Ad addr ) ) ,"
1188 The default width is 12n.
1194 macro is used to specify the name of the author of the item being
1195 documented, or the name of the author of the actual manual page.
1197 .Dl Usage: .An Ao author name Ac ...
1199 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .An\ \*[q]Joe\ Author\*[q]\ )\ )\ ," -offset 15n
1200 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q]"
1202 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ,"
1204 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org"
1205 .An "Joe Author" Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org
1206 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ) ) ,"
1207 .An "Joe Author" ) ) ,
1211 The default width is 12n.
1217 command causes a line break allowing each new name to appear on its own
1219 If this is not desirable,
1221 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1226 call will turn this off.
1227 To turn splitting back on, write
1229 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1237 argument macro may be used whenever an argument is referenced.
1238 If called without arguments, the
1242 .Dl Usage: .Ar Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1244 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ar\ file1\ file2" -compact -offset 15n
1249 .It Li ".Ar file1 ."
1251 .It Li ".Ar file1 file2"
1253 .It Li ".Ar f1 f2 f3 :"
1255 .It Li ".Ar file ) ) ,"
1260 The default width is 12n.
1262 .Ss "Configuration Declaration (Section Four Only)"
1266 macro is used to demonstrate a
1268 declaration for a device interface in a section four manual.
1270 .Dl Usage: .Cd Ao argument Ac ...
1272 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Cd\ Xdevice\ le0\ at\ scode?X" -offset 15n
1273 .It Li ".Cd \*[q]device le0 at scode?\*[q]"
1274 .Cd "device le0 at scode?"
1281 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1284 The default width is 12n.
1286 .Ss "Command Modifiers"
1288 The command modifier is identical to the
1290 (flag) command with the exception that the
1292 macro does not assert a dash in front of every argument.
1293 Traditionally flags are marked by the preceding dash, however, some commands
1294 or subsets of commands do not use them.
1295 Command modifiers may also be specified in conjunction with interactive
1296 commands such as editor commands.
1300 The default width is 10n.
1302 .Ss "Defined Variables"
1304 A variable (or constant) which is defined in an include file
1305 is specified by the macro
1308 .Dl Usage: .Dv Ao defined variable Ac ...
1310 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dv\ MAXHOSTNAMELEN" -compact -offset 15n
1311 .It Li ".Dv MAXHOSTNAMELEN"
1313 .It Li ".Dv TIOCGPGRP )"
1318 The default width is 12n.
1324 errno macro specifies the error return value for section 2, 3, and\~9 library
1326 The second example below shows
1330 general text domain macro, as it would be used in a section two manual page.
1332 .Dl Usage: .Er Ao errno type Ac ...
1334 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Er\ ENOTDIR" -compact -offset 15n
1337 .It Li ".Er ENOENT ) ;"
1339 .It Li ".Bq Er ENOTDIR"
1344 The default width is 17n.
1346 .Ss "Environment Variables"
1350 macro specifies an environment variable.
1352 .Dl Usage: .Ev Ao argument Ac ...
1354 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ev\ PRINTER\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1355 .It Li ".Ev DISPLAY"
1359 .It Li ".Ev PRINTER ) ) ,"
1364 The default width is 15n.
1370 macro handles command line flags.
1374 For interactive command flags, which are not prepended with a dash, the
1377 macro is identical, but without the dash.
1379 .Dl Usage: .Fl Ao argument Ac ...
1381 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fl\ xyz\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1394 .It Li ".Fl xyz ) ,"
1402 macro without any arguments results in a dash representing stdin/stdout.
1405 a single dash will result in two dashes.
1407 The default width is 12n.
1409 .Ss "Function Declarations"
1413 macro is used in the
1415 section with section two or three functions.
1416 It is neither callable nor parsed.
1418 .Dl Usage: .Fd Ao argument Ac ...
1420 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fd\ X#include\ <sys/types.h>X" -compact -offset 15n
1421 .It Li ".Fd \*[q]#include <sys/types.h>\*[q]"
1422 .Fd "#include <sys/types.h>"
1429 command causes a line break if a function has already been presented and a
1430 break has not occurred.
1431 This leaves a nice vertical space in between the previous function call and
1432 the declaration for the next function.
1439 section, represents the
1441 statement, and is the short form of the above example.
1442 It specifies the C\~header file as being included in a C\~program.
1443 It also causes a line break.
1447 section, it represents the header file enclosed in angle brackets.
1449 .Dl Usage: .In Ao header file Ac
1451 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .In\ stdio.h" -compact -offset 15n
1452 .nr in-synopsis-section 1
1453 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1455 .nr in-synopsis-section 0
1456 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1460 .Ss "Function Types"
1462 This macro is intended for the
1465 It may be used anywhere else in the man page without problems, but its main
1466 purpose is to present the function type in kernel normal form for the
1468 of sections two and three (it causes a line break, allowing the function
1469 name to appear on the next line).
1471 .Dl Usage: .Ft Ao type Ac ...
1473 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ft\ struct\ stat" -compact -offset 15n
1474 .It Li ".Ft struct stat"
1478 .Ss "Functions (Library Routines)"
1486 .Dl Usage: .Fn Ao function Ac Oo Ao parameter Ac Oc ...
1488 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fn\ align\ Xchar\ *ptrX\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1489 .It Li ".Fn getchar"
1491 .It Li ".Fn strlen ) ,"
1493 .It Li ".Fn align \*[q]char *ptr\*[q] ,"
1494 .Fn align "char *ptr" ,
1497 Note that any call to another macro signals the end of the
1499 call (it will insert a closing parenthesis at that point).
1501 For functions with many parameters (which is rare), the macros
1509 (function argument).
1513 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1522 \&.Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1531 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1540 .Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1549 section, the function will always begin at the beginning of line.
1550 If there is more than one function presented in the
1552 section and a function type has not been given, a line break will occur,
1553 leaving a nice vertical space between the current function name and the one
1556 The default width values of
1560 are 12n and 16n, respectively.
1562 .Ss "Function Arguments"
1566 macro is used to refer to function arguments (parameters) outside of the
1568 section of the manual or inside the
1570 section if the enclosure macros
1578 may also be used to refer to structure members.
1580 .Dl Usage: .Fa Ao function argument Ac ...
1582 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fa\ d_namlen\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1583 .It Li ".Fa d_namlen ) ) ,"
1585 .It Li ".Fa iov_len"
1590 The default width is 12n.
1596 macro generates text for use in the
1600 .Dl Usage: .Rv Oo \-std Oc Op Ao function Ac ...
1603 .Ql ".Rv \-std atexit"
1606 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1607 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1608 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1611 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1617 option is valid only for manual page sections\~2 and\~3.
1618 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1626 macro generates text for use in the
1630 .Dl Usage: .Ex Oo \-std Oc Op Ao utility Ac ...
1636 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1637 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1638 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1641 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1647 option is valid only for manual page sections 1, 6 and\~8.
1648 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1652 .Ss "Interactive Commands"
1656 macro designates an interactive or internal command.
1658 .Dl Usage: .Ic Ao argument Ac ...
1660 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ic\ setenv\ ,\ unsetenv" -compact -offset 15n
1663 .It Li ".Ic \*[q]do while {...}\*[q]"
1664 .Ic "do while {...}"
1665 .It Li ".Ic setenv , unsetenv"
1666 .Ic setenv , unsetenv
1670 The default width is 12n.
1676 macro is used to specify the library where a particular function is compiled
1679 .Dl Usage: .Lb Ao argument Ac ...
1681 Available arguments to
1683 and their results are:
1686 .Bl -tag -width ".Li librpcsec_gss" -compact -offset indent
1793 .It Li librpcsec_gss
1830 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
1832 look for strings named
1835 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
1843 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1850 literal macro may be used for special characters, variable constants, etc.\&
1851 \- anything which should be displayed as it would be typed.
1853 .Dl Usage: .Li Ao argument Ac ...
1855 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Li\ cntrl\-D\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1858 .It Li ".Li M1 M2 M3 ;"
1860 .It Li ".Li cntrl\-D ) ,"
1862 .It Li ".Li 1024 ..."
1867 The default width is 16n.
1873 macro is used for the document title or subject name.
1874 It has the peculiarity of remembering the first argument it was called with,
1875 which should always be the subject name of the page.
1876 When called without arguments,
1878 regurgitates this initial name for the sole purpose of making less work for
1881 causes a line break within the
1885 Note: A section two or three document function name is addressed with the
1893 and remaining sections.
1894 For interactive commands, such as the
1900 macro should be used.
1906 it can not recall the first argument it was invoked with.
1908 .Dl Usage: .Nm Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1910 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nm\ groff_mdoc" -compact -offset 15n
1911 .It Li ".Nm groff_mdoc"
1913 .It Li ".Nm \e\-mdoc"
1915 .It Li ".Nm foo ) ) ,"
1922 The default width is 10n.
1928 macro places option brackets around any remaining arguments on the
1929 command line, and places any trailing punctuation outside the brackets.
1934 (which produce an opening and a closing option bracket respectively) may be used
1935 across one or more lines or to specify the exact position of the closing
1938 .Dl Usage: .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ...
1940 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ c\ Ar\ objfil\ Op\ Ar\ corfil\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1945 .It Li ".Op Fl k ) ."
1947 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile"
1948 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile
1949 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,"
1950 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,
1951 .It Li ".Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil"
1952 .Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil
1953 .It Li ".Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,"
1954 .Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,
1955 .It Li ".Op word1 word2"
1957 .It Li ".Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ..."
1958 .Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ...
1961 Here a typical example of the
1967 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1969 \&.Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1970 \&.Op Fl i Ar interval
1978 .Bd -filled -offset indent
1980 .Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1981 .Op Fl i Ar interval
1987 The default width values of
1991 are 14n and 10n, respectively.
1997 macro formats path or file names.
1998 If called without arguments, the
2000 string is output, which represents the current user's home directory.
2002 .Dl Usage: .Pa Oo Ao pathname Ac Oc ...
2004 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pa\ /tmp/fooXXXXX\ )\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2007 .It Li ".Pa /usr/share"
2009 .It Li ".Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) ."
2010 .Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) .
2014 The default width is 32n.
2020 macro replaces standard abbreviations with their formal names.
2022 .Dl Usage: .St Ao abbreviation Ac ...
2025 .Dq Abbreviation/Formal Name
2031 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2050 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2051 .It Li \-iso9945\-1\-90
2053 .It Li \-iso9945\-1\-96
2057 .It Li \-p1003.1\-88
2059 .It Li \-p1003.1\-90
2061 .It Li \-p1003.1\-96
2063 .It Li \-p1003.1b\-93
2065 .It Li \-p1003.1c\-95
2067 .It Li \-p1003.1g\-2000
2069 .It Li \-p1003.1i\-95
2071 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2001
2073 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2004
2075 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2008
2081 Part 2: Shell and Utilities
2083 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2084 .It Li \-iso9945\-2\-93
2088 .It Li \-p1003.2\-92
2090 .It Li \-p1003.2a\-92
2097 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2127 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2134 .Ss "Variable Types"
2138 macro may be used whenever a type is referenced.
2141 section, it causes a line break (useful for old style variable declarations).
2143 .Dl Usage: .Vt Ao type Ac ...
2145 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Vt\ extern\ char\ *optarg\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2146 .It Li ".Vt extern char *optarg ;"
2147 .Vt extern char *optarg ;
2154 Generic variable reference.
2156 .Dl Usage: .Va Ao variable Ac ...
2158 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Va\ Xchar\ sX\ ]\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2161 .It Li ".Va settimer ,"
2163 .It Li ".Va \*[q]int *prt\*[q] ) :"
2165 .It Li ".Va \*[q]char s\*[q] ] ) ) ,"
2166 .Va "char s" ] ) ) ,
2170 The default width is 12n.
2172 .Ss "Manual Page Cross References"
2176 macro expects the first argument to be a manual page name.
2177 The optional second argument, if a string (defining the manual section), is
2178 put into parentheses.
2180 .Dl Usage: .Xr Ao man page name Ac Oo Ao section Ac Oc ...
2182 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Xr\ xinit\ 1x\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2189 .It Li ".Xr xinit 1x ;"
2194 The default width is 10n.
2197 .Sh "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
2202 .Dl Usage: .At Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2204 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .At\ v6\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2211 The following values for
2215 .Dl 32v, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, V, V.1, V.2, V.3, V.4
2220 .Dl "Usage: .Bx" Bro \-alpha | \-beta | \-devel Brc ...
2221 .Dl " .Bx" Oo Ao version Ac Oo Ao release Ac Oc Oc ...
2223 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bx\ -devel" -compact -offset 15n
2228 .It Li ".Bx \-devel"
2233 will be prepended to the string
2235 The following values for
2239 .Dl Reno, reno, Tahoe, tahoe, Lite, lite, Lite2, lite2
2244 .Dl Usage: .Nx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2246 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nx\ 1.4\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2253 For possible values of
2255 see the description of the
2257 command above in section
2258 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2263 .Dl Usage: .Fx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2265 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fx\ 2.2\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2272 For possible values of
2274 see the description of the
2276 command above in section
2277 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2279 .Ss "DragonFly Macro"
2282 .Dl Usage: .Dx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2284 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dx\ 1.4\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2291 For possible values of
2293 see the description of the
2295 command above in section
2296 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2301 .Dl Usage: .Ox Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2303 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ox\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2311 .Dl Usage: .Bsx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2313 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bsx\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2323 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ux" -compact -offset 15n
2328 .Ss "Emphasis Macro"
2330 Text may be stressed or emphasized with the
2333 The usual font for emphasis is italic.
2335 .Dl Usage: .Em Ao argument Ac ...
2337 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Em\ vide\ infra\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2338 .It Li ".Em does not"
2340 .It Li ".Em exceed 1024 ."
2342 .It Li ".Em vide infra ) ) ,"
2343 .Em vide infra ) ) ,
2347 The default width is 10n.
2353 font mode must be ended with the
2355 macro (the latter takes no arguments).
2356 Font modes may be nested within other font modes.
2359 has the following syntax:
2361 .Dl .Bf Ao font mode Ac
2364 must be one of the following three types:
2366 .Bl -tag -width ".Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic" -compact -offset indent
2367 .It Sy \&Em | Fl emphasis
2370 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2371 .It Sy \&Li | Fl literal
2374 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2375 .It Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic
2378 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2381 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
2383 .Ss "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
2385 The concept of enclosure is similar to quoting.
2386 The object being to enclose one or more strings between a pair of characters
2387 like quotes or parentheses.
2388 The terms quoting and enclosure are used interchangeably throughout this
2390 Most of the one-line enclosure macros end in small letter
2392 to give a hint of quoting, but there are a few irregularities.
2393 For each enclosure macro there is also a pair of open and close macros which
2394 end in small letters
2407 Quote Open Close Function Result
2408 \&.Aq .Ao .Ac Angle Bracket Enclosure <string>
2409 \&.Bq .Bo .Bc Bracket Enclosure [string]
2410 \&.Brq .Bro .Brc Brace Enclosure {string}
2411 \&.Dq .Do .Dc Double Quote "string"
2412 \&.Eq .Eo .Ec Enclose String (in XX) XXstring
2413 \&.Pq .Po .Pc Parenthesis Enclosure (string)
2414 \&.Ql Quoted Literal \*[Lq]string\*[Rq] or string
2415 \&.Qq .Qo .Qc Straight Double Quote "string"
2416 \&.Sq .So .Sc Single Quote 'string'
2419 All macros ending with
2423 have a default width value of 12n.
2425 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ec , .Eo"
2427 These macros expect the first argument to be the opening and closing strings
2430 Due to the nine-argument limit in the original troff program two other
2431 macros have been implemented which are now rather obsolete:
2433 takes the first and second parameter as the left and right enclosure string,
2434 which are then used to enclose the arguments of
2436 The default width value is 12n for both macros.
2438 The first and second arguments of this macro are the opening and
2439 closing strings respectively, followed by the arguments to be enclosed.
2441 The quoted literal macro behaves differently in troff and nroff mode.
2444 a quoted literal is always quoted.
2445 If formatted with troff, an item is only quoted if the width of the item is
2446 less than three constant width characters.
2447 This is to make short strings more visible where the font change to literal
2448 (constant width) is less noticeable.
2450 The default width is 16n.
2452 The prefix macro suppresses the whitespace between its first and second
2455 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pf\ (\ Fa\ name2" -offset indent
2456 .It Li ".Pf ( Fa name2"
2461 The default width is 12n.
2465 macro (see below) performs the analogous suffix function.
2469 macro inserts an apostrophe and exits any special text modes, continuing in
2475 Examples of quoting:
2478 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Em\ Greek\ ,\ French\ ." -compact -offset indent
2481 .It Li ".Aq Pa ctype.h ) ,"
2485 .It Li ".Bq Em Greek , French ."
2486 .Bq Em Greek , French .
2489 .It Li ".Dq string abc ."
2491 .It Li ".Dq \'^[A\-Z]\'"
2493 .It Li ".Ql man mdoc"
2497 .It Li ".Qq string ) ,"
2499 .It Li ".Qq string Ns ),"
2505 .It Li ".Em or Ap ing"
2510 For a good example of nested enclosure macros, see the
2513 It was created from the same underlying enclosure macros as those presented
2519 extended argument list macros are discussed below.
2521 .Ss "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
2525 macro can be used in a macro command line for parameters which should
2532 if you really want that English word (and not the macro) as a parameter.
2534 .Dl Usage: .No Ao argument Ac ...
2536 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .No\ test\ Ta\ with\ Ta\ tabs" -compact -offset 15n
2537 .It Li ".No test Ta with Ta tabs"
2538 .No test Ta with Ta tabs
2542 The default width is 12n.
2544 .Ss "No-Space Macro"
2548 macro suppresses insertion of a space between the current position and its
2550 For example, it is useful for old style argument lists where there is no
2551 space between the flag and argument:
2553 .Dl "Usage:" ... Ao argument Ac \&Ns Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
2554 .Dl " " .Ns Ao argument Ac ...
2556 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ I\ Ns\ Ar\ directory" -compact -offset 15n
2557 .It Li ".Op Fl I Ns Ar directory"
2558 .Op Fl I Ns Ar directory
2563 macro always invokes the
2565 macro after eliminating the space unless another macro name follows it.
2566 If used as a command (i.e., the second form above in the
2573 .Ss "Section Cross References"
2577 macro designates a reference to a section header within the same document.
2579 .Dl Usage: .Sx Ao section reference Ac ...
2581 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sx\ FILES" -offset 15n
2587 The default width is 16n.
2591 The symbolic emphasis macro is generally a boldface macro in either the
2592 symbolic sense or the traditional English usage.
2594 .Dl Usage: .Sy Ao symbol Ac ...
2596 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sy\ Important\ Notice" -compact -offset 15n
2597 .It Li ".Sy Important Notice"
2598 .Sy Important Notice
2602 The default width is 6n.
2604 .Ss Mathematical Symbols
2606 Use this macro for mathematical symbols and similar things.
2608 .Dl Usage: .Ms Ao math symbol Ac ...
2610 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ms\ sigma" -compact -offset 15n
2616 The default width is 6n.
2618 .Ss "References and Citations"
2620 The following macros make a modest attempt to handle references.
2621 At best, the macros make it convenient to manually drop in a subset of
2625 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent -compact
2627 Reference start (does not take arguments).
2628 Causes a line break in the
2630 section and begins collection of reference information until the reference
2633 Reference end (does not take arguments).
2634 The reference is printed.
2636 Reference author name; one name per invocation.
2644 Issuer/publisher name.
2650 Optional information.
2654 Corporate or foreign author.
2660 Optional hypertext reference.
2665 Macros beginning with
2667 are not callable but accept multiple arguments in the usual way.
2670 macro is handled properly as a parameter; other macros will cause strange
2675 can be used outside of the
2681 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2685 \&.%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2686 \&.%R "Technical Report ABC\-DE\-12\-345"
2687 \&.%Q "Drofnats College"
2695 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
2699 .%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2700 .%R "Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345"
2701 .%Q "Drofnats College"
2707 .Ss "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
2709 The trade name macro prints its arguments in a smaller font.
2710 Its intended use is to imitate a small caps fonts for uppercase acronyms.
2712 .Dl Usage: .Tn Ao symbol Ac ...
2714 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Tn\ ASCII" -compact -offset 15n
2722 The default width is 10n.
2724 .Ss "Extended Arguments"
2730 macros allow one to extend an argument list on a macro boundary for the
2737 are implemented similarly to all other macros opening and closing an
2738 enclosure (without inserting characters, of course).
2739 This means that the following is true for those macros also.
2741 Here is an example of
2743 using the space mode macro to turn spacing off:
2745 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2747 \&.It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2748 \&.No \een Ar count No \een
2756 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2759 .It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2760 .No \en Ar count No \en
2769 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2771 \&.It Cm S No / Ar old_pattern Xo
2772 \&.No / Ar new_pattern
2781 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2784 .It Cm S No \&/ Ar old_pattern Xo
2785 .No \&/ Ar new_pattern
2795 and enclosure macros: Test the value of a variable.
2797 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2800 \&.Oo \e&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2801 \&.Ar operator variable ...
2808 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2809 .Bl -tag -width flag -compact
2812 .Oo \&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2813 .Ar operator variable ...
2820 .Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
2822 .Ss "Section Headers"
2826 section header macros are required in every man page.
2827 The remaining section headers are recommended at the discretion of the
2828 author writing the manual page.
2831 macro is parsed but not generally callable.
2832 It can be used as an argument in a call to
2834 only; it then reactivates the default font for
2837 The default width is 8n.
2839 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ RETURN\ VALUES"
2844 If not specified, headers, footers and page layout defaults will not be set
2845 and things will be rather unpleasant.
2848 section consists of at least three items.
2851 name macro naming the subject of the man page.
2852 The second is the name description macro,
2854 which separates the subject name from the third item, which is the
2856 The description should be the most terse and lucid possible, as the space
2862 then all its arguments.
2864 .It Li ".Sh LIBRARY"
2865 This section is for section two and three function calls.
2866 It should consist of a single
2870 .Sx "Library Names" .
2872 .It Li ".Sh SYNOPSIS"
2875 section describes the typical usage of the subject of a man page.
2876 The macros required are either
2887 The function name macro
2889 is required for manual page sections\~2 and\~3; the command and general name
2892 is required for sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and\~8.
2893 Section\~4 manuals require a
2898 configuration device usage macro.
2899 Several other macros may be necessary to produce the synopsis line as shown
2902 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2910 The following macros were used:
2913 .Dl ".Op Fl benstuv"
2917 .It Li ".Sh DESCRIPTION"
2918 In most cases the first text in the
2920 section is a brief paragraph on the command, function or file, followed by a
2921 lexical list of options and respective explanations.
2922 To create such a list, the
2929 macros are used (see
2930 .Sx Lists and Columns
2933 .It Li ".Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
2934 Implementation specific information should be placed here.
2936 .It Li ".Sh RETURN VALUES"
2937 Sections 2, 3 and\~9 function return values should go here.
2940 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2942 section for most section 2 and 3 library functions;
2944 .Sx "Return Values" .
2950 section headers are part of the preferred manual page layout and must be
2951 used appropriately to maintain consistency.
2952 They are listed in the order in which they would be used.
2954 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ COMPATIBILITY"
2955 .It Li ".Sh ENVIRONMENT"
2958 section should reveal any related environment variables and clues to their
2959 behavior and/or usage.
2962 Files which are used or created by the man page subject should be listed via
2969 .It Li ".Sh EXAMPLES"
2970 There are several ways to create examples.
2973 section below for details.
2975 .It Li ".Sh DIAGNOSTICS"
2976 Diagnostic messages from a command should be placed in this section.
2979 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2981 section for most section 1, 6 and\~8 commands;
2985 .It Li ".Sh COMPATIBILITY"
2986 Known compatibility issues (e.g. deprecated options or parameters)
2987 should be listed here.
2990 Specific error handling, especially from library functions (man page
2991 sections 2, 3, and\~9) should go here.
2994 macro is used to specify an error (errno).
2996 .It Li ".Sh SEE ALSO"
2997 References to other material on the man page topic and cross references to
2998 other relevant man pages should be placed in the
3001 Cross references are specified using the
3006 style references are not accommodated.
3008 It is recommended that the cross references are sorted on the section
3009 number, then alphabetically on the names within a section, and placed
3010 in that order and comma separated.
3018 .It Li ".Sh STANDARDS"
3019 If the command, library function or file adheres to a specific
3020 implementation such as
3024 this should be noted here.
3025 If the command does not adhere to any standard, its history should be noted
3030 .It Li ".Sh HISTORY"
3031 Any command which does not adhere to any specific standards should be
3032 outlined historically in this section.
3034 .It Li ".Sh AUTHORS"
3035 Credits should be placed here.
3038 macro for names and the
3040 macro for e-mail addresses within optional contact information.
3041 Explicitly indicate whether the person authored the initial manual page
3042 or the software or whatever the person is being credited for.
3044 Blatant problems with the topic go here.
3050 sections may be added; for example, this section was set with:
3052 .Bd -literal -offset 15n
3053 \&.Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
3056 .Ss "Subsection Headers"
3058 Subsection headers have exactly the same syntax as section headers:
3060 is parsed but not generally callable.
3061 It can be used as an argument in a call to
3063 only; it then reactivates the default font for
3066 The default width is 8n.
3068 .Ss "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
3070 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pp"
3074 paragraph command may be used to specify a line space where necessary.
3075 The macro is not necessary after a
3083 macro (which both assert a vertical distance unless the
3087 The macro is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments; an
3094 .\" This worked with version one, need to redo for version three
3097 .\" .Cw (ax+bx+c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
3098 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
3115 .\" .Em is produced by
3131 .\" This example shows the same equation in a different format.
3135 .\" signs were forced with
3139 .\" .Cw (ax\ +\ bx\ +\ c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
3140 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
3151 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3162 .\" .Em is produced by
3170 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3181 .\" The incantation below was
3187 .\" .Cw \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\& is\ produced\ by
3189 .\" .Li \&.Cx Op Sy ?/
3199 .\" .Em is produced by
3201 .\" .Li \&.Ar \e\ b1 e1 f1
3215 The only keep that is implemented at this time is for words.
3222 The only option that
3224 accepts currently is
3226 (this is also the default if no option is given) which is useful for
3227 preventing line breaks in the middle of options.
3228 In the example for the make command line arguments (see
3229 .Sx What's in a Name ) ,
3232 from placing up the flag and the argument on separate lines.
3234 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
3236 More work needs to be done with the keep macros; specifically, a
3238 option should be added.
3240 .Ss "Examples and Displays"
3242 There are seven types of displays.
3244 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .D1"
3247 Display one line of indented text.
3248 This macro is parsed but not callable.
3252 The above was produced by:
3253 .Li ".D1 Fl ldghfstru" .
3257 Display one line of indented
3262 example macro has been used throughout this file.
3263 It allows the indentation (display) of one line of text.
3264 Its default font is set to constant width (literal).
3266 is parsed but not callable.
3268 .Dl % ls \-ldg /usr/local/bin
3270 The above was produced by:
3271 .Li ".Dl % ls \e\-ldg /usr/local/bin" .
3277 display must be ended with the
3280 It has the following syntax:
3282 .Bd -ragged -compact
3283 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bd" -offset indent
3285 .Bro \-literal | \-filled | \-unfilled | \-ragged | \-centered Brc
3286 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-file Ao file name Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3291 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac " -compact
3293 Fill, but do not adjust the right margin (only left-justify).
3295 Center lines between the current left and right margin.
3296 Note that each single line is centered.
3298 Do not fill; display a block of text as typed, using line breaks as
3299 specified by the user.
3300 This can produce overlong lines without warning messages.
3302 Display a filled block.
3303 The block of text is formatted (i.e., the text is justified on both the left
3306 Display block with literal font (usually fixed-width).
3307 Useful for source code or simple tabbed or spaced text.
3308 .It Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac
3309 The file whose name follows the
3311 flag is read and displayed before any data enclosed with
3315 using the selected display type.
3317 .Xr troff/ Ns Nm \-mdoc
3318 commands in the file will be processed.
3319 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3322 is specified with one of the following strings, the string is interpreted to
3323 indicate the level of indentation for the forthcoming block of text:
3326 .Bl -tag -width ".Ar indent-two" -compact
3328 Align block on the current left margin; this is the default mode of
3331 Supposedly center the block.
3332 At this time unfortunately, the block merely gets left aligned about an
3333 imaginary center margin.
3335 Indent by one default indent value or tab.
3336 The default indent value is also used for the
3340 macros, so one is guaranteed the two types of displays will line up.
3341 The indentation value is normally set to\~6n or about two thirds of an inch
3342 (six constant width characters).
3344 Indent two times the default indent value.
3348 aligns the block about two inches from the right side of the page.
3349 This macro needs work and perhaps may never do the right thing within
3356 is a valid numeric expression instead
3357 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3359 use that value for indentation.
3360 The most useful scale indicators are
3364 specifying the so-called
3368 This is approximately the width of the letters
3373 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3377 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3379 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3380 Finally, if all tests fail,
3383 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3385 Suppress insertion of vertical space before begin of display.
3389 End display (takes no arguments).
3392 .Ss "Lists and Columns"
3394 There are several types of lists which may be initiated with the
3397 Items within the list are specified with the
3399 item macro, and each list must end with the
3402 Lists may be nested within themselves and within displays.
3403 The use of columns inside of lists or lists inside of columns is unproven.
3405 In addition, several list attributes may be specified such as the width of a
3406 tag, the list offset, and compactness (blank lines between items allowed or
3408 Most of this document has been formatted with a tag style list
3411 It has the following syntax forms:
3414 .Bd -ragged -compact
3415 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bl" -offset indent -compact
3417 .Bro \-hang | \-ohang | \-tag | \-diag | \-inset Brc
3418 .Oo \-width Ao string Ac Oc
3419 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3421 .No \-column Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc
3422 .Ao string1 Ac Ao string2 Ac ... Xc
3424 .Bro \-item | \-enum Oo \-nested Oc | \-bullet | \-hyphen | \-dash Brc
3425 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3430 And now a detailed description of the list types.
3433 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl column" -compact
3437 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3438 \&.Bl \-bullet \-offset indent \-compact
3440 Bullet one goes here.
3450 .Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
3452 Bullet one goes here.
3458 .It Fl dash No ( or Fl hyphen )
3461 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3462 \&.Bl \-dash \-offset indent \-compact
3474 .Bl -dash -offset indent -compact
3485 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3486 \&.Bl \-enum \-offset indent \-compact
3498 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3506 If you want to nest enumerated lists, use the
3508 flag (starting with the second-level list):
3510 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3511 \&.Bl \-enum \-offset indent \-compact
3514 \&.Bl \-enum \-nested \-compact
3518 And item three here.
3529 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3532 .Bl -enum -nested -compact
3536 And item three here.
3546 without list markers.
3548 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3549 \&.Bl \-item \-offset indent
3565 .Bl -item -offset indent
3581 to specify the tag width.
3584 .Bl -tag -width "PPID" -compact -offset indent
3586 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3590 resulting from references by the process
3591 to pages not loaded in core.
3593 numerical user-id of process owner
3595 numerical id of parent of process priority
3596 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3602 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3603 \&.Bl \-tag \-width "PPID" \-compact \-offset indent
3605 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3609 resulting from references by the process
3610 to pages not loaded in core.
3612 numerical user\-id of process owner
3614 numerical id of parent of process priority
3615 (non\-positive when in non\-interruptible wait)
3621 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and are similar to inset
3622 lists except callable macros are ignored.
3625 flag is not meaningful in this context.
3629 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3631 \&.It You can't use Sy here.
3632 The message says all.
3640 .It You can't use Sy here.
3641 The message says all.
3646 A list with hanging tags.
3648 .Bl -hang -offset indent
3650 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3651 label is smaller than the label width.
3652 .It Em Longer hanged list labels
3653 blend into the paragraph unlike
3654 tagged paragraph labels.
3657 And the unformatted text which created it:
3659 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3660 \&.Bl \-hang \-offset indent
3662 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3663 label is smaller than the label width.
3664 \&.It Em Longer hanged list labels
3665 blend into the paragraph unlike
3666 tagged paragraph labels.
3672 Lists with overhanging tags do not use indentation for the items; tags are
3673 written to a separate line.
3675 .Bl -ohang -offset indent
3677 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3681 resulting from references by the process
3682 to pages not loaded in core.
3684 numerical user-id of process owner
3686 numerical id of parent of process priority
3687 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3693 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3694 \&.Bl \-ohang \-offset indent
3696 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3700 resulting from references by the process
3701 to pages not loaded in core.
3703 numerical user\-id of process owner
3705 numerical id of parent of process priority
3706 (non\-positive when in non\-interruptible wait)
3712 Here is an example of inset labels:
3713 .Bl -inset -offset indent
3715 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3716 is the most common type of list used in the
3720 attribute as described below.
3722 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3723 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3726 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3728 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3730 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3731 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3733 manuals to other formats.
3736 Here is the source text which produced the above example:
3738 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3739 \&.Bl \-inset \-offset indent
3741 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3742 is the most common type of list used in the
3745 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3746 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3749 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3751 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3753 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3754 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3756 manuals to other formats.
3762 This list type generates multiple columns.
3763 The number of columns and the width of each column is determined by the
3774 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3776 macro name, interpret
3778 and use the width of the result.
3779 Otherwise, the width of
3781 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the
3787 argument is parsed to make a row, each column within the row is a separate
3788 argument separated by a tab or the
3794 .Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3795 .It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3796 .It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*(<=
3797 .It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*(>=
3804 \&.Bl \-column \-offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3805 \&.It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3806 \&.It Li <= Ta <= Ta \e*(<=
3807 \&.It Li >= Ta >= Ta \e*(>=
3812 Don't abuse this list type!
3813 For more complicated cases it might be far better and easier to use
3815 the table preprocessor.
3821 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl indent Ao Ar string Ac"
3822 .It Fl width Ao Ar string Ac
3827 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3829 macro name, interpret
3831 and use the width of the result.
3832 Almost all lists in this document use this option.
3836 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3837 \&.Bl \-tag \-width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3838 \&.It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3839 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3841 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3848 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3849 .It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3850 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3852 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3856 (Note that the current state of
3860 is interpreted; afterwards, all variables are restored again.
3861 However, boxes (used for enclosures) can't be saved in
3864 as a consequence, arguments must always be
3866 to avoid nasty errors.
3867 For example, do not write
3870 .Ql ".Ao Ar string Xc"
3871 instead if you really need only an opening angle bracket.)
3875 is a valid numeric expression
3876 .Em ( with a scale indicator other than
3878 use that value for indentation.
3879 The most useful scale indicators are
3883 specifying the so-called
3887 This is approximately the width of the letters
3892 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3896 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3898 macro name, and the default width value associated with this macro is used.
3899 Finally, if all tests fail,
3902 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the width.
3904 If a width is not specified for the tag list type, every time
3906 is invoked, an attempt is made to determine an appropriate width.
3907 If the first argument to
3909 is a callable macro, the default width for that macro will be used;
3910 otherwise, the default width of
3913 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3918 a default indent value (normally set to\~6n, similar to the value used in
3925 is a valid numeric expression instead
3926 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3928 use that value for indentation.
3929 The most useful scale indicators are
3933 specifying the so-called
3937 This is approximately the width of the letters
3942 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3946 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3948 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3949 Finally, if all tests fail,
3952 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3954 Suppress insertion of vertical space before the list and between list items.
3958 .Sh "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
3960 Here a list of the remaining macros which do not fit well into one of the
3962 We couldn't find real examples for the following macros:
3966 They are documented here for completeness \- if you know how to use them
3967 properly please send a mail to
3968 .Mt bug-groff@gnu.org
3969 (including an example).
3971 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bt"
3975 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
3979 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
3983 .Dl Usage: .Fr Ao function return value Ac ...
3985 Don't use this macro.
3986 It allows a break right before the return value (usually a single digit)
3987 which is bad typographical behaviour.
3990 to tie the return value to the previous word.
3993 Use this macro to include a (header) file literally.
3996 followed by the file name, then the contents of
3999 .Dl Usage: .Hf Ao file Ac
4001 It is neither callable nor parsed.
4007 Exact usage unknown.
4008 The documentation in the
4010 source file describes it as a macro for
4011 .Dq "menu entries" .
4013 Its default width is 6n.
4019 Exact usage unknown.
4020 The documentation in the
4022 source file describes it as
4023 .Dq old function type (fortran) .
4026 Activate (toggle) space mode.
4028 .Dl Usage: .Sm Oo on | off Oc ...
4030 If space mode is off, no spaces between macro arguments are inserted.
4031 If called without a parameter (or if the next parameter is neither
4041 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
4045 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
4049 .Sh "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
4051 The following strings are predefined:
4056 String Nroff Troff Meaning
4057 <= <= \*[<=] less equal
4058 >= >= \*[>=] greater equal
4059 Rq '' \*[Rq] right double quote
4060 Lq `` \*[Lq] left double quote
4061 ua ^ \*[ua] upwards arrow
4062 aa \' \*[aa] acute accent
4063 ga \` \*[ga] grave accent
4064 q \&" \*[q] straight double quote
4065 Pi pi \*[Pi] greek pi
4066 Ne != \*[Ne] not equal
4067 Le <= \*[Le] less equal
4068 Ge >= \*[Ge] greater equal
4069 Lt < \*[Lt] less than
4070 Gt > \*[Gt] greater than
4071 Pm +\- \*[Pm] plus minus
4072 If infinity \*[If] infinity
4073 Am \*[Am] \*[Am] ampersand
4074 Na \*[Na] \*[Na] not a number
4075 Ba \*[Ba] \*[Ba] vertical bar
4078 The names of the columns
4082 are a bit misleading;
4086 representation, while
4088 gives the best glyph form available.
4089 For example, a Unicode enabled
4091 device will have proper glyph representations for all strings, whereas the
4092 enhancement for a Latin1
4094 device is only the plus-minus sign.
4096 String names which consist of two characters can be written as
4098 string names which consist of one character can be written as
4100 A generic syntax for a string name of any length is
4109 \#=====================================================================
4115 available in previous versions of
4117 has been removed since
4120 provides better facilities to check parameters; additionally, many error and
4121 warning messages have been added to this macro package, making it both more
4124 The only remaining debugging macro is
4126 which yields a register dump of all global registers and strings.
4127 A normal user will never need it.
4130 .Sh "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
4132 By default, the package inhibits page breaks, headers, and footers if
4139 to make the manual more efficient for viewing on-line.
4140 This behaviour can be changed (e.g.\& to create a hardcopy of the
4142 output) by setting the register
4144 to zero while calling
4146 resulting in multiple pages instead of a single, very long page:
4148 .Dl groff \-Tlatin1 \-rcR=0 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.txt
4150 For double-sided printing, set register
4154 .Dl groff \-Tps \-rD1 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.ps
4156 To change the document font size to 11pt or 12pt, set register
4160 .Dl groff \-Tdvi \-rS11 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.dvi
4168 The line and title length can be changed by setting the registers
4174 .Dl groff \-Tutf8 \-rLL=100n \-rLT=100n \-mdoc foo.man | less
4176 If not set, both registers default to 78n for TTY devices and 6.5i
4182 .Bl -tag -width mdoc/doc-ditroff -compact
4184 The main manual macro package.
4186 A wrapper file to call
4188 .It Pa mdoc/doc-common
4189 Common strings, definitions, stuff related typographic output.
4190 .It Pa mdoc/doc-nroff
4191 Definitions used for a
4194 .It Pa mdoc/doc-ditroff
4195 Definitions used for all other devices.
4197 Local additions and customizations.
4199 Use this file if you don't know whether the
4203 package should be used.
4204 Multiple man pages (in either format) can be handled.
4218 Section 3f has not been added to the header routines.
4221 font should be changed in
4226 needs to have a check to prevent splitting up
4227 if the line length is too short.
4229 separates the last parenthesis, and sometimes
4230 looks ridiculous if a line is in fill mode.
4232 The list and display macros do not do any keeps
4233 and certainly should be able to.
4234 .\" Note what happens if the parameter list overlaps a newline
4236 .\" to make sure a line boundary is crossed:
4238 .\" \&.Fn struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *dictionarylookup struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *tab[]
4241 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4242 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4243 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4245 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] .
4247 .\" If double quotes are used, for example:
4249 .\" \&.Fn \*qstruct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup\*q \*qchar *h\*q \*qstruct dictionarytable *tab[]\*q
4252 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4253 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4255 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4257 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" .
4259 .\" Not a pretty sight...
4260 .\" In a paragraph, a long parameter containing unpaddable spaces as
4261 .\" in the former example will cause
4263 .\" to break the line and spread
4264 .\" the remaining words out.
4265 .\" The latter example will adjust nicely to
4266 .\" justified margins, but may break in between an argument and its
4270 .\" the right margin adjustment is normally ragged and the problem is
4273 .\" Local Variables: