PR(1) OpenBSD Reference Manual PR(1)NAMEpr - print files
SYNOPSISpr [+page] [-column] [-adFfmrt] [-e [char] [gap]] [-h header] [-i [char]
[gap]] [-l lines] [-n [char] [width]] [-o offset] [-s [char]]
[-w width] [-] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
The pr utility is a printing and pagination filter for text files. When
multiple input files are specified, each is read, formatted, and written
to standard output. By default, the input is separated into 66-line
pages, each with
o A 5-line header with the page number, date, time, and the
pathname of the file.
o A 5-line trailer consisting of blank lines.
Optionally, the trailer can be replaced by a <form-feed> where this is
more appropriate for the output device being used and <tab>s can be
expanded to input relative <spaces>s or <space>s can be contracted to
output relative <tab>s. The pr utility also interprets <form-feed>s in
the input as the logical end of pages.
When multiple column output is specified, text columns are of equal
width. By default text columns are separated by at least one <blank>.
Input lines that do not fit into a text column are truncated, except in
the default single columns output mode.
If standard output is associated with a terminal, diagnostic messages are
suppressed until the pr utility has completed processing.
In the following option descriptions, column, lines, offset, page, and
width are positive decimal integers and gap is a non-negative decimal
integer.
The options are as follows:
+page Begin output at page number page of the formatted input.
-column
Produce output that is columns wide (default is 1) that is
written vertically down each column in the order in which the
text is received from the input file. The options -e and -i are
assumed. This option should not be used with -m. When used with
-t, the minimum number of lines is used to display the output.
-a Modify the effect of the -column option so that the columns are
filled across the page in a round-robin order (e.g., when column
is 2, the first input line heads column 1, the second heads
column 2, the third is the second line in column 1, etc.). This
option requires the use of the -column option.
-d Produce output that is double spaced. An extra <newline>
character is output following every <newline> found in the input.
-e [char] [gap]
Expand each input <tab> to the next greater column position
specified by the formula n*gap+1, where n is an integer > 0. If
gap is zero or is omitted the default is 8. All <tab> characters
in the input are expanded into the appropriate number of
<space>s. If any nondigit character, char, is specified, it is
used as the input tab character.
-F Use a <form-feed> character for new pages, instead of the default
behavior that uses a sequence of <newline> characters.
-f Same as the -F option.
-h header
Use the string header to replace the file name in the header
line.
-i [char] [gap]
In output, replace multiple <space>s with <tab>s whenever two or
more adjacent <space>s reach column positions gap+1, 2*gap+1,
etc. If gap is zero or omitted, default <tab> settings at every
eighth column position is used. If any nondigit character, char,
is specified, it is used as the output <tab> character.
-l lines
Override the 66 line default and reset the page length to lines.
If lines is not greater than the sum of both the header and
trailer depths (in lines), the pr utility suppresses output of
both the header and trailer, as if the -t option were in effect.
-m Merge the contents of multiple files. One line from each file
specified by a file operand is written side by side into text
columns of equal fixed widths, in terms of the number of column
positions. The number of text columns depends on the number of
file operands successfully opened. The maximum number of files
merged depends on page width and the per process open file limit.
The options -e and -i are assumed.
-n [char] [width]
Provide width digit line numbering. The default for width, if
not specified, is 5. The number occupies the first width column
positions of each text column or each line of -m output. If char
(any nondigit character) is given, it is appended to the line
number to separate it from whatever follows. The default for
char is a <tab>. Line numbers longer than width columns are
truncated.
-o offset
Each line of output is preceded by offset <spaces>s. If the -o
option is not specified, the default is zero. The space taken is
in addition to the output line width.
-r Write no diagnostic reports on failure to open a file.
-s [char]
Separate text columns by the single character char instead of by
the appropriate number of <space>s (default for char is the <tab>
character).
-t Print neither the five-line identifying header nor the five-line
trailer usually supplied for each page. Quit printing after the
last line of each file without spacing to the end of the page.
-w width
Set the width of the line to width column positions for multiple
text-column output only. If the -w option is not specified and
the -s option is not specified, the default width is 72. If the
-w option is not specified and the -s option is specified, the
default width is 512.
file A pathname of a file to be printed. If no file operands are
specified, or if a file operand is ``-'', the standard input is
used. The standard input is used only if no file operands are
specified, or if a file operand is ``-''.
The -s option does not allow the option letter to be separated from its
argument, and the options -e, -i, and -n require that both arguments, if
present, not be separated from the option letter.
EXIT STATUS
The pr utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
Error messages are written to standard error during the printing process
(if output is redirected) or after all successful file printing is
complete (when printing to a terminal).
If pr receives an interrupt while printing to a terminal, it flushes all
accumulated error messages to the screen before terminating.
NOTES
The interpretation of <form-feed>s in the input stream is that they are
special <newline>s which have the side effect of causing a page break.
While this works correctly for all cases, strict interpretation also
implies that the common convention of placing a <form-feed> on a line by
itself is actually interpreted as a blank line, page break, blank line.
RESTRICTIONS
The pr utility is intended to paginate input containing basic ascii(7)
text formatting and input streams containing non-printing
<control-characters>, <escape-sequences> or long lines may result in
formatting errors.
The pr utility does not currently understand over-printing using
<back-space> or <return> characters, and except in the case of unmodified
single-column output, use of these characters will cause formatting
errors.
SEE ALSOcat(1), more(1), ascii(7)STANDARDS
The pr utility is compliant with the IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (``POSIX'')
specification.
IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (``POSIX'') is relatively silent concerning the
handling of input characters beyond the behavior dictated by the pr
required command options.
HISTORY
A pr command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.
BUGS
The lack of a line wrapping option, and the specification that truncation
does not apply to single-column output frequently results in formatting
errors when input lines are longer than actual line width of the output
device.
The default width of 72 is archaic and non-obvious since it is normally
ignored in the default single column mode. Using the -m option with one
column provides a way to truncate single column output but there's no way
to wrap long lines to a fixed line width.
The default of <tab> for the separator for the -n and -s options often
results in lines apparently wider than expected.
OpenBSD 4.9 October 1, 2010 OpenBSD 4.9
