nroff.1 (2010 09)

n
nroff(1) nroff(1)
NAME
nroff - format text
SYNOPSIS
nroff [ options ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
nroff is a text formatting program that interprets source text contained in file and prepares it for print-
ing on typewriter-like devices and line printers. If file name is
- or not specified, standard input is used
as source text.
If the file contains plain text with no formatter requests,
nroff uses default line lengths and page
dimensions to produce readable output, outputting a blank line for each blank line encountered in the
input, and filling and adjusting text to both margins.
nroff ignores any lines in the source text that
begin with a period (
.) but are not valid
nroff formatter requests.
Source File Preparation
Document source file preparation is usually easier when text is coded using macro packages such as
mm(1) which provide a high-level interface for headings, page footers, lists, and other features, rather
than coding the file with inherently low-level
nroff requests.
Options
nroff recognizes the following command-line options , which can appear in any order but must appear
before the file argument:
-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 WARN-
INGS below.)
-nn Number first generated page n.
-sn Stop every n pages. nroff halts after every n pages (default n=1) to allow paper
loading or changing, and resumes upon receipt of a line-feed or new-line (new-lines
do not work in pipelines, such as with mm). 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 Precede the input files with the non-compiled (ASCII text) macro file
/usr/lib/nls/LANG/tmac/tmac.name
where LANG is the value of the
LANG environment variable. If LANG is not set or
/usr/lib/nls/LANG/tmac/tmac.name
does not exist, the following file is used instead:
/usr/share/lib/tmac/tmac.name
-Tname Prepare output for specified terminal. Known names are as follows:
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
2631 for the Hewlett-Packard 2631 line printer
HP-UX 11i Version 3: September 2010 − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company 1