NAME

nroff − format text

SYNOPSIS

nroff [ options ] [ files ]

DESCRIPTION

Nroff formats text contained in files (standard input by default) for printing on typewriter-like devices and line printers.  Its capabilities are described in the NROFF/TROFF User’s Manual cited below. 

An argument consisting of a minus (−) is taken to be a file name corresponding to the standard input.  The options, which may appear in any order, but must appear before the files, are:

−olist Print only pages whose page numbers appear in the list of numbers and ranges, separated by commas.  A range N−M means pages N through M; an initial −N means from the beginning to page N; and a final N− means from N to the end.  (See BUGS below.) 

−nN Number first generated page N.

−sN Stop every N pages.  Nroff will halt after every N pages (default N=1) to allow paper loading or changing, and will resume upon receipt of a line-feed or new-line (new-lines do not work in pipelines, e.g., with mm(1)). This option does not work if the output of nroff is piped through col(1). When nroff halts between pages, an ASCII BEL is sent to the terminal. 

−raN Set register a (which must have a one-character name) to N.

−i Read standard input after files are exhausted. 

−q Invoke the simultaneous input-output mode of the .rd request. 

−z Print only messages generated by .tm (terminal message) requests. 

−mname Prepend to the input files the non-compacted (ASCII text) macro file /usr/lib/tmac/tmac.name.

−cname Prepend to the input

files the compacted macro files /usr/lib/macros/cmp.[nt]. [dt].name and /usr/lib/macros/ucmp.[nt].name.

−kname Compact the macros used in this invocation of nroff, placing the output in files [dt].name in the current directory. 

−Tname Prepare output for specified terminal.  Known names are 37 for the (default) TELETYPE® Model 37 terminal, tn300 for the GE TermiNet 300 (or any terminal without half-line capability), 300s for the DASI 300s, 300 for the DASI 300, 450 for the DASI 450, lp for a (generic) ASCII line printer, 382 for the DTC-382, 4000A for the Trendata 4000A, 832 for the Anderson Jacobson 832, X for a (generic) EBCDIC printer, and 2631 for the Hewlett Packard 2631 line printer. 

−e Produce equally-spaced words in adjusted lines, using the full resolution of the particular terminal. 

−h Use output tabs during horizontal spacing to speed output and reduce output character count.  Tab settings are assumed to be every 8 nominal character widths. 

−un Set the emboldening factor (number of character overstrikes) for the third font position (bold) to n, or to zero if n is missing. 

EXAMPLE

nroff -o4,8-10 -T300S -mabc file1 file2

requests formatting of pages 4, 8, 9, and 10 of a document contained in the files named "file1" and "file2", specifies the output terminal as a DASI-300S, and invokes the macro package abc.

FILES

/usr/lib/suftabsuffix hyphenation tables

/tmp/ta$#temporary file

/usr/lib/tmac/tmac.∗standard macro files and pointers

/usr/lib/macros/∗standard macro files

/usr/lib/term/∗terminal driving tables for nroff

SEE ALSO

col(1), cw(1), eqn(1), greek(1), mm(1), tbl(1), troff(1), mm(5). 
NROFF/TROFF User’s Manual
A TROFF Tutorial

BUGS

Nroff believes in Eastern Standard Time; as a result, depending on the time of the year and on your local time zone, the date that nroff generates may be off by one day from your idea of what the date is. 

When nroff is used with the −olist option inside a pipeline (e.g., with one or more of cw(1), eqn(1), and tbl(1)), it may cause a harmless "broken pipe" diagnostic if the last page of the document is not specified in list.

Version 2.3  —  July 04, 1985