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TROFF(1)							      TROFF(1)

NAME
       troff - format documents

SYNOPSIS
       troff [ -abivzCERU ] [ -wname ] [ -Wname ] [ -dcs ] [ -ffam ]
	     [ -mname ] [ -nnum ] [ -olist ] [ -rcn ] [ -Tname ] [ -Fdir ]
	     [ -Mdir ] [ files... ]

       It is possible to have whitespace between a command line option and its
       parameter.

DESCRIPTION
       This manual page describes the GNU version of troff, which is  part  of
       the  groff  document  formatting	 system.  It is highly compatible with
       UNIX troff.  Usually it should be  invoked  using  the  groff  command,
       which will also run preprocessors and postprocessors in the appropriate
       order and with the appropriate options.

OPTIONS
       -a	 Generate an ASCII approximation of the typeset output.

       -b	 Print a backtrace with each warning or error  message.	  This
		 backtrace should help track down the cause of the error.  The
		 line numbers given in the backtrace may not  always  be  cor‐
		 rect:	troff's idea of line numbers gets confused by as or am
		 requests.

       -i	 Read the standard input after all the named input files  have
		 been processed.

       -v	 Print the version number.

       -wname	 Enable warning name.  Available warnings are described in the
		 Warnings subsection below.  Multiple -w options are allowed.

       -Wname	 Inhibit warning name.	Multiple -W options are allowed.

       -E	 Inhibit all error messages.

       -z	 Suppress formatted output.

       -C	 Enable compatibility mode.

       -dcs
       -dname=s	 Define c or name to be a string s; c must  be	a  one	letter
		 name.

       -ffam	 Use fam as the default font family.

       -mname	 Read in the file name.tmac.  If it isn't found, try tmac.name
		 instead.  It will be first searched for in directories	 given
		 with the -M command line option, then in directories given in
		 the GROFF_TMAC_PATH environment variable, then in the current
		 directory  (only  if  in  unsafe  mode),  the home directory,
		 /usr/local/lib/groff/site-tmac,  /usr/local/share/groff/site-
		 tmac, and /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac.

       -U	 Unsafe mode.  This will enable the following requests: .open,
		 .opena, .pso, .sy, and	 .pi.	For  security  reasons,	 these
		 potentially  dangerous	 requests  are disabled otherwise.  It
		 will also add the current directory to the macro search path.

       -R	 Don't load troffrc and troffrc-end.

       -nnum	 Number the first page num.

       -olist	 Output only pages in list, which is a comma-separated list of
		 page ranges; n means print page n, m-n means print every page
		 between m and n, -n means print every page up to n, n-	 means
		 print	every page from n.  Troff will exit after printing the
		 last page in the list.

       -rcn
       -rname=n	 Set number register c or name to n; c must be a one character
		 name; n can be any troff numeric expression.

       -Tname	 Prepare output for device name, rather than the default ps.

       -Fdir	 Search	 in  directory (or directory path) dir for subdirecto‐
		 ries devname (name is the name of the device) and  there  for
		 the  DESC  file  and  font  files.  dir is scanned before all
		 other font directories.

       -Mdir	 Search directory (or directory path)  dir  for	 macro	files.
		 This is scanned before all other macro directories.

USAGE
       Only the features not in UNIX troff are described here.

   Long names
       The  names  of number registers, fonts, strings/macros/diversions, spe‐
       cial characters can be of any length. In escape	sequences,  where  you
       can  use	 (xx for a two character name, you can use [xxx] for a name of
       arbitrary length:

       \[xxx] Print the special character called xxx.

       \f[xxx]
	      Set font xxx.

       \*[xxx]
	      Interpolate string xxx.

       \n[xxx]
	      Interpolate number register xxx.

   Fractional pointsizes
       A scaled point is equal to 1/sizescale points, where sizescale is spec‐
       ified  in the DESC file (1 by default).	There is a new scale indicator
       z which has the effect  of  multiplying	by  sizescale.	 Requests  and
       escape  sequences  in troff interpret arguments that represent a point‐
       size as being in units of scaled points, but they  evaluate  each  such
       argument	 using	a  default scale indicator of z.  Arguments treated in
       this way are the argument to the ps request, the third argument to  the
       cs  request,  the  second  and fourth arguments to the tkf request, the
       argument to the \H escape sequence, and those variants of the \s escape
       sequence that take a numeric expression as their argument.

       For  example,  suppose  sizescale  is 1000; then a scaled point will be
       equivalent to a millipoint; the request .ps 10.25 is equivalent to  .ps
       10.25z and so sets the pointsize to 10250 scaled points, which is equal
       to 10.25 points.

       The number register \n[.s] returns the pointsize in points  as  decimal
       fraction.  There is also a new number register \n[.ps] that returns the
       pointsize in scaled points.

       It would make no sense to use  the  z  scale  indicator	in  a  numeric
       expression  whose  default  scale indicator was neither u nor z, and so
       troff disallows this.  Similarly it would make no sense to use a	 scal‐
       ing  indicator  other than z or u in a numeric expression whose default
       scale indicator was z, and so troff disallows this as well.

       There is also new scale indicator s which multiplies by the  number  of
       units in a scaled point.	 So, for example, \n[.ps]s is equal to 1m.  Be
       sure not to confuse the s and z scale indicators.

   Numeric expressions
       Spaces are permitted in a number expression within parentheses.

       M indicates a scale of 100ths of an em.

       e1>?e2 The maximum of e1 and e2.

       e1<?e2 The minimum of e1 and e2.

       (c;e)  Evaluate e using c as the default scaling indicator.   If	 c  is
	      missing, ignore scaling indicators in the evaluation of e.

   New escape sequences
       \A'anything'
	      This  expands  to	 1  or	0  according  as anything is or is not
	      acceptable as the name of a  string,  macro,  diversion,	number
	      register,	 environment or font.  It will return 0 if anything is
	      empty.  This is useful if you want to lookup user input in  some
	      sort of associative table.

       \B'anything'
	      This  expands  to	 1  or	0 according as anything is or is not a
	      valid numeric expression.	 It  will  return  0  if  anything  is
	      empty.

       \C'xxx'
	      Typeset  character named xxx.  Normally it is more convenient to
	      use \[xxx].  But \C has the advantage that it is compatible with
	      recent versions of UNIX and is available in compatibility mode.

       \E     This  is	equivalent to an escape character, but it's not inter‐
	      preted in copy-mode.  For example,  strings  to  start  and  end
	      superscripting could be defined like this:

		     .ds { \v'-.3m'\s'\En[.s]*6u/10u'
		     .ds } \s0\v'.3m'

	      The  use	of \E ensures that these definitions will work even if
	      \*{ gets interpreted in copy-mode (for example, by being used in
	      a macro argument).

       \N'n'  Typeset the character with code n in the current font.  n can be
	      any integer.  Most  devices  only	 have  characters  with	 codes
	      between 0 and 255.  If the current font does not contain a char‐
	      acter with that code, special fonts will not be  searched.   The
	      \N  escape sequence can be conveniently used on conjunction with
	      the char request:

		     .char \[phone] \f(ZD\N'37'

	      The code of each character is given in the fourth column in  the
	      font description file after the charset command.	It is possible
	      to include unnamed characters in the font	 description  file  by
	      using  a	name of ---; the \N escape sequence is the only way to
	      use these.

       \R'name ±n'
	      This has the same effect as

		     .nr name ±n

       \s(nn
       \s±(nn Set the point size to nn points; nn must be exactly two digits.

       \s[±n]
       \s±[n]
       \s'±n'
       \s±'n' Set the point size to n scaled points; n is a numeric expression
	      with a default scale indicator of z.

       \Vx
       \V(xx
       \V[xxx]
	      Interpolate  the	contents  of  the environment variable xxx, as
	      returned by getenv(3).  \V is interpreted in copy-mode.

       \Yx
       \Y(xx
       \Y[xxx]
	      This is approximately equivalent to  \X'\*[xxx]'.	  However  the
	      contents of the string or macro xxx are not interpreted; also it
	      is permitted for xxx to have been defined as a  macro  and  thus
	      contain  newlines (it is not permitted for the argument to \X to
	      contain newlines).  The inclusion of newlines requires an exten‐
	      sion  to	the UNIX troff output format, and will confuse drivers
	      that do not know about this extension.

       \Z'anything'
	      Print anything and then  restore	the  horizontal	 and  vertical
	      position; anything may not contain tabs or leaders.

       \$0    The  name	 by  which  the	 current  macro	 was invoked.  The als
	      request can make a macro have more than one name.

       \$*    In a macro, the concatenation of all the arguments separated  by
	      spaces.

       \$@    In  a  macro,  the  concatenation of all the arguments with each
	      surrounded by double quotes, and separated by spaces.

       \$(nn
       \$[nnn]
	      In a macro, this gives the nn-th or nnn-th argument.  Macros can
	      have an unlimited number of arguments.

       \?anything\?
	      When used in a diversion, this will transparently embed anything
	      in the diversion.	 anything is read  in  copy  mode.   When  the
	      diversion is reread, anything will be interpreted.  anything may
	      not contain newlines; use \! if you want to embed newlines in  a
	      diversion.   The	escape	sequence \? is also recognised in copy
	      mode and turned into a single internal code;  it	is  this  code
	      that terminates anything.	 Thus
		     .nr x 1
		     .nf
		     .di d
		     \?\\?\\\\?\\\\\\\\nx\\\\?\\?\?
		     .di
		     .nr x 2
		     .di e
		     .d
		     .di
		     .nr x 3
		     .di f
		     .e
		     .di
		     .nr x 4
		     .f

	      will print 4.

       \/     This  increases the width of the preceding character so that the
	      spacing between that character and the following character  will
	      be correct if the following character is a roman character.  For
	      example, if an italic f is immediately followed by a roman right
	      parenthesis,  then  in many fonts the top right portion of the f
	      will overlap the top left of the right parenthesis producing f),
	      which  is	 ugly.	Inserting \/ produces f) and avoids this prob‐
	      lem.  It is a good idea to use this escape sequence whenever  an
	      italic  character	 is  immediately followed by a roman character
	      without any intervening space.

       \,     This modifies the spacing of the following character so that the
	      spacing  between that character and the preceding character will
	      correct if the preceding character is a  roman  character.   For
	      example,	inserting \, between the parenthesis and the f changes
	      (f to (f.	 It is a good idea to use this escape  sequence	 when‐
	      ever  a  roman  character	 is  immediately followed by an italic
	      character without any intervening space.

       \)     Like \& except that it behaves like a  character	declared  with
	      the  cflags request to be transparent for the purposes of end of
	      sentence recognition.

       \~     This produces an unbreakable space that stretches like a	normal
	      inter-word space when a line is adjusted.

       \:     This  causes  the	 insertion of a zero-width break point.	 It is
	      equal to \% but without insertion of a soft hyphen character.

       \#     Everything up to and including  the  next	 newline  is  ignored.
	      This  is	interpreted in copy mode.  This is like \" except that
	      \" does not ignore the terminating newline.

   New requests
       .aln xx yy
	      Create an alias xx for number register object named yy.  The new
	      name  and	 the  old  name	 will be exactly equivalent.  If yy is
	      undefined, a warning of type reg	will  be  generated,  and  the
	      request will be ignored.

       .als xx yy
	      Create  an  alias	 xx  for  request, string, macro, or diversion
	      object named yy.	The new name and the old name will be  exactly
	      equivalent  (it  is  similar to a hard rather than a soft link).
	      If yy is undefined, a warning of type mac will be generated, and
	      the  request  will  be  ignored.	The de, am, di, da, ds, and as
	      requests only create a new object if  the	 name  of  the	macro,
	      diversion or string diversion is currently undefined or if it is
	      defined to be a request; normally they modify the	 value	of  an
	      existing object.

       .am1 xx yy
	      Similar  to  .am,	 but compatibility mode is switched off during
	      execution.  On entry, the current compatibility  mode  is	 saved
	      and restored at exit.

       .asciify xx
	      This  request  `unformats'  the  diversion xx in such a way that
	      ASCII and space characters (and some escape sequences) that were
	      formatted	 and  diverted	into  xx will be treated like ordinary
	      input characters when xx is reread.  Useful  for	diversions  in
	      conjunction  with	 the .writem request.  It can be also used for
	      gross hacks; for example, this

		     .tr @.
		     .di x
		     @nr n 1
		     .br
		     .di
		     .tr @@
		     .asciify x
		     .x

	      will set register n to 1.	 Note that  glyph  information	(font,
	      font size, etc.) is not preserved; use .unformat instead.

       .backtrace
	      Print a backtrace of the input stack on stderr.

       .blm xx
	      Set the blank line macro to xx.  If there is a blank line macro,
	      it will be invoked when a blank line is encountered  instead  of
	      the usual troff behaviour.

       .box xx
       .boxa xx
	      These  requests  are  similar to the di and da requests with the
	      exception that a partially filled line will not become  part  of
	      the  diversion  (i.e.,  the  diversion  always starts with a new
	      line) but restored after ending the  diversion,  discarding  the
	      partially filled line which possibly comes from the diversion.

       .break Break  out  of  a	 while	loop.  See also the while and continue
	      requests.	 Be sure not to confuse this with the br request.

       .brp   This is the same as \p.

       .cflags n c1 c2...
	      Characters c1, c2,...  have properties determined by n, which is
	      ORed from the following:

	      1	     the  character  ends  sentences (initially characters .?!
		     have this property);

	      2	     lines can be broken before the  character	(initially  no
		     characters have this property); a line will not be broken
		     at a character with this property unless  the  characters
		     on each side both have non-zero hyphenation codes.

	      4	     lines  can be broken after the character (initially char‐
		     acters -\(hy\(em have this property); a line will not  be
		     broken at a character with this property unless the char‐
		     acters on each side both have non-zero hyphenation codes.

	      8	     the character overlaps horizontally (initially characters
		     \(ul\(rn\(ru have this property);

	      16     the  character  overlaps  vertically (initially character
		     \(br has this property);

	      32     an end of sentence character followed by  any  number  of
		     characters	 with this property will be treated as the end
		     of a sentence if followed by a newline or two spaces;  in
		     other words the character is transparent for the purposes
		     of end of sentence recognition; this is the same as  hav‐
		     ing  a  zero  space  factor  in TeX (initially characters
		     "')]*\(dg\(rq have this property).

       .char c string
	      Define character c to be string.	Every time character  c	 needs
	      to  be printed, string will be processed in a temporary environ‐
	      ment and the result will be wrapped up  into  a  single  object.
	      Compatibility  mode  will be turned off and the escape character
	      will be set to \ while string is being processed.	 Any embolden‐
	      ing,  constant  spacing or track kerning will be applied to this
	      object rather than to individual characters in string.  A	 char‐
	      acter  defined  by  this	request can be used just like a normal
	      character provided by the output device.	 In  particular	 other
	      characters  can  be translated to it with the tr request; it can
	      be made the leader character by the lc  request;	repeated  pat‐
	      terns can be drawn with the character using the \l and \L escape
	      sequences; words containing the character can be hyphenated cor‐
	      rectly,  if  the	hcode  request is used to give the character a
	      hyphenation code.	 There is a  special  anti-recursion  feature:
	      use  of character within the character's definition will be han‐
	      dled like normal characters not defined with char.  A  character
	      definition can be removed with the rchar request.

       .chop xx
	      Chop  the	 last  character  off  macro, string, or diversion xx.
	      This is useful for removing the newline from the end  of	diver‐
	      sions that are to be interpolated as strings.

       .close stream
	      Close  the  stream  named	 stream;  stream  will no longer be an
	      acceptable argument to the write request.	 See the open request.

       .continue
	      Finish the current iteration of a	 while	loop.	See  also  the
	      while and break requests.

       .cp n  If  n  is non-zero or missing, enable compatibility mode, other‐
	      wise disable it.	In compatibility  mode,	 long  names  are  not
	      recognised,  and	the  incompatibilities caused by long names do
	      not arise.

       .dei xx yy
	      Define macro indirectly.	The following example

		     .ds xx aa
		     .ds yy bb
		     .dei xx yy

	      is equivalent to

		     .de aa bb

       .de1 xx yy
	      Similar to .de, but compatibility mode is	 switched  off	during
	      execution.   On  entry,  the current compatibility mode is saved
	      and restored at exit.

       .do xxx
	      Interpret .xxx with compatibility mode disabled.	For example,

		     .do fam T

	      would have the same effect as

		     .fam T

	      except that it would work even if compatibility  mode  had  been
	      enabled.	 Note that the previous compatibility mode is restored
	      before any files sourced by xxx are interpreted.

       .ecs   Save current escape character.

       .ecr   Restore escape character saved with  ecs.	  Without  a  previous
	      call to ecs, `\' will be the new escape character.

       .evc xx
	      Copy  the contents of environment xx to the current environment.
	      No pushing or popping of environents will be done.

       .fam xx
	      Set the current font family to xx.  The current font  family  is
	      part  of the current environment.	 If xx is missing, switch back
	      to previous font family.	See the description of the sty request
	      for more information on font families.

       .fspecial f s1 s2...
	      When  the	 current font is f, fonts s1, s2,...  will be special,
	      that is, they will searched for characters not  in  the  current
	      font.   Any  fonts  specified  in	 the  special  request will be
	      searched after fonts specified in the fspecial request.

       .ftr f g
	      Translate font f to g.  Whenever a font named f is  referred  to
	      in  \f  escape sequence, or in the ft, ul, bd, cs, tkf, special,
	      fspecial, fp, or sty requests, font g will be  used.   If	 g  is
	      missing, or equal to f then font f will not be translated.

       .hcode c1 code1 c2 code2...
	      Set the hyphenation code of character c1 to code1 and that of c2
	      to code2.	 A hyphenation code must be a single  input  character
	      (not  a  special character) other than a digit or a space.  Ini‐
	      tially each lower-case letter has a hyphenation code,  which  is
	      itself,  and each upper-case letter has a hyphenation code which
	      is the lower case version of itself.  See also the hpf request.

       .hla lang
	      Set the  current	hyphenation  language  to  lang.   Hyphenation
	      exceptions  specified  with  the hw request and hyphenation pat‐
	      terns specified with the hpf request are	both  associated  with
	      the  current  hyphenation	 language.  The hla request is usually
	      invoked by the troffrc file.

       .hlm n Set the maximum number of consecutive hyphenated lines to n.  If
	      n	 is  negative,	there is no maximum.  The default value is -1.
	      This value is associated with  the  current  environment.	  Only
	      lines output from an environment count towards the maximum asso‐
	      ciated with that environment.  Hyphens  resulting	 from  \%  are
	      counted; explicit hyphens are not.

       .hpf file
	      Read  hyphenation	 patterns from file; this will be searched for
	      in the same way that name.tmac is searched for when  the	-mname
	      option  is  specified.   It  should  have the same format as the
	      argument to the \patterns primitive in TeX; the letters  appear‐
	      ing  in  this  file  are	interpreted as hyphenation codes.  A %
	      character in the patterns file introduces a comment that contin‐
	      ues  to the end of the line.  The set of hyphenation patterns is
	      associated with the current language set	by  the	 hla  request.
	      The hpf request is usually invoked by the troffrc file.

       .hym n Set  the	hyphenation  margin  to n: when the current adjustment
	      mode is not b, the line will not be hyphenated if the line is no
	      more  than  n  short.  The default hyphenation margin is 0.  The
	      default scaling indicator for this request is  m.	  The  hyphen‐
	      ation  margin  is	 associated with the current environment.  The
	      current hyphenation margin is available in the  \n[.hym]	regis‐
	      ter.

       .hys n Set the hyphenation space to n: when the current adjustment mode
	      is b don't hyphenate the line if the line can  be	 justified  by
	      adding  no  more	than  n	 extra	space to each word space.  The
	      default hyphenation space is 0.  The default  scaling  indicator
	      for this request is m.  The hyphenation space is associated with
	      the current  environment.	  The  current	hyphenation  space  is
	      available in the \n[.hys] register.

       .kern n
	      If  n is non-zero or missing, enable pairwise kerning, otherwise
	      disable it.

       .length xx string
	      Compute the length of string and return it in the number	regis‐
	      ter xx (which is not necessarily defined before).

       .linetabs n
	      If  n  is	 non-zero or missing, enable line-tabs mode, otherwise
	      disable it (which is the default).  In line-tabs mode, tab  dis‐
	      tances are computed relative to the (current) output line.  Oth‐
	      erwise they are taken relative to the input line.	 For  example,
	      the following

		     .ds x a\t\c
		     .ds y b\t\c
		     .ds z c
		     .ta 1i 3i
		     \*x
		     \*y
		     \*z

	      yields

		     a	       b	 c

	      In line-tabs mode, the same code gives

		     a	       b		   c

	      Line-tabs	 mode  is associated with the current environment; the
	      read-only number register \n[.linetabs] is set to 1 if in	 line-
	      tabs mode, and 0 otherwise.

       .mso file
	      The  same	 as the so request except that file is searched for in
	      the same directories as macro files for the the -m command  line
	      option.	If the file name to be included has the form name.tmac
	      and it isn't found, mso tries to include tmac.name  instead  and
	      vice versa.

       .nop anything
	      Execute anything.	 This is similar to `.if 1'.

       .nroff Make  the n built-in condition true and the t built-in condition
	      false.  This can be reversed using the troff request.

       .open stream filename
	      Open filename for writing and associate the stream named	stream
	      with it.	See also the close and write requests.

       .opena stream filename
	      Like open, but if filename exists, append to it instead of trun‐
	      cating it.

       .pnr   Print the names and contents of  all  currently  defined	number
	      registers on stderr.

       .psbb filename
	      Get  the bounding box of a PostScript image filename.  This file
	      must conform to Adobe's Document	Structuring  Conventions;  the
	      command  looks for a %%BoundingBox comment to extract the bound‐
	      ing box values.  After a successful call,	 the  coordinates  (in
	      PostScript  units)  of the lower left and upper right corner can
	      be  found	 in  the  registers  \n[llx],  \n[lly],	 \n[urx],  and
	      \n[ury],	respectively.	If  some  error has occurred, the four
	      registers are set to zero.

       .pso command
	      This behaves like the so request except that  input  comes  from
	      the standard output of command.

       .ptr   Print  the names and positions of all traps (not including input
	      line traps and diversion traps) on stderr.  Empty slots  in  the
	      page  trap list are printed as well, because they can affect the
	      priority of subsequently planted traps.

       .rchar c1 c2...
	      Remove the definitions of characters c1, c2,...  This undoes the
	      effect of a char request.

       .return
	      Within a macro, return immediately.  No effect otherwise.

       .rj
       .rj n  Right justify the next n input lines.  Without an argument right
	      justify the next input line.  The number of lines	 to  be	 right
	      justified is available in the \n[.rj] register.  This implicitly
	      does .ce 0.  The ce request implicitly does .rj 0.

       .rnn xx yy
	      Rename number register xx to yy.

       .shc c Set the soft hyphen character to c.  If c is omitted,  the  soft
	      hyphen  character	 will  be  set	to the default \(hy.  The soft
	      hyphen character is the character which will be inserted when  a
	      word  is hyphenated at a line break.  If the soft hyphen charac‐
	      ter does not exist in the font of the character immediately pre‐
	      ceding a potential break point, then the line will not be broken
	      at that point.  Neither definitions  (specified  with  the  char
	      request)	nor  translations  (specified with the tr request) are
	      considered when finding the soft hyphen character.

       .shift n
	      In a macro, shift the  arguments	by  n  positions:  argument  i
	      becomes  argument i-n; arguments 1 to n will no longer be avail‐
	      able.  If n is missing, arguments will be shifted by 1.	Shift‐
	      ing by negative amounts is currently undefined.

       .special s1 s2...
	      Fonts  s1,  s2,  are special and will be searched for characters
	      not in the current font.

       .sty n f
	      Associate style f with font position n.  A font position can  be
	      associated either with a font or with a style.  The current font
	      is the index of a font position and so is also either a font  or
	      a	 style.	 When it is a style, the font that is actually used is
	      the font the name of which is the concatenation of the  name  of
	      the current family and the name of the current style.  For exam‐
	      ple, if the current font is 1 and font position 1 is  associated
	      with style R and the current font family is T, then font TR will
	      be used.	If the current font is not a style, then  the  current
	      family  is ignored.  When the requests cs, bd, tkf, uf, or fspe‐
	      cial are applied to a style, then they will instead  be  applied
	      to the member of the current family corresponding to that style.
	      The default family can be set with the -f	 option.   The	styles
	      command  in the DESC file controls which font positions (if any)
	      are initially associated with styles rather than fonts.

       .substring xx n1 [n2]
	      Replace the string in register xx with the substring defined  by
	      the  indices  n1	and n2.	 The first character in the string has
	      index one.  If n2 is omitted, it is taken to  be	equal  to  the
	      string's	length.	  If  the  index value n1 or n2 is negative or
	      zero, it will be counted from the end of the string, going back‐
	      wards:  The last character has index 0, the character before the
	      last character has index -1, etc.

       .tkf f s1 n1 s2 n2
	      Enable track kerning for font f.	When the current font is f the
	      width  of every character will be increased by an amount between
	      n1 and n2; when the current point size is less than or equal  to
	      s1 the width will be increased by n1; when it is greater than or
	      equal to s2 the width will be increased by n2;  when  the	 point
	      size is greater than or equal to s1 and less than or equal to s2
	      the increase in width is a linear function of the point size.

       .tm1 string
	      Similar to the tm request, string is read in copy mode and writ‐
	      ten on the standard error, but an initial double quote in string
	      is stripped off to allow initial blanks.

       .tmc string
	      Similar to tm1 but without writing a final newline.

       .trf filename
	      Transparently output the contents of file filename.   Each  line
	      is  output  as  it would be were it preceded by \!; however, the
	      lines are not subject to copy-mode interpretation.  If the  file
	      does  not end with a newline, then a newline will be added.  For
	      example, you can define a macro x	 containing  the  contents  of
	      file f, using

		     .di x
		     .trf f
		     .di

	      Unlike  with  the cf request, the file cannot contain characters
	      such as NUL that are not legal troff input characters.

       .trnt abcd
	      This is the same as the tr request except that the  translations
	      do  not  apply  to  text that is transparently throughput into a
	      diversion with \!.  For example,

		     .tr ab
		     .di x
		     \!.tm a
		     .di
		     .x

	      will print b; if trnt is used instead of tr it will print a.

       .troff Make the n built-in condition false, and the t  built-in	condi‐
	      tion true.  This undoes the effect of the nroff request.

       .unformat xx
	      This  request  `unformats'  the  diversion  xx.  Contrary to the
	      .asciify request, which tries to convert formatted  elements  of
	      the  diversion back to input tokens as much as possible, .unfor‐
	      mat will only handle tabs	 and  spaces  between  words  (usually
	      caused  by spaces or newlines in the input) specially.  The for‐
	      mer are treated as if they were input tokens, and the latter are
	      stretchable  again.  Note that the vertical size of lines is not
	      preserved.  Glyph information (font,  font  size,	 space	width,
	      etc.)  is	 retained.   Useful  in	 conjunction with the .box and
	      .boxa requests.

       .vpt n Enable vertical position traps if n is  non-zero,	 disable  them
	      otherwise.   Vertical  position traps are traps set by the wh or
	      dt requests.  Traps set by the it request are not vertical posi‐
	      tion  traps.  The parameter that controls whether vertical posi‐
	      tion traps are enabled is global.	 Initially  vertical  position
	      traps are enabled.

       .warn n
	      Control  warnings.   n is the sum of the numbers associated with
	      each warning that is to be enabled; all other warnings  will  be
	      disabled.	  The number associated with each warning is listed in
	      the `Warnings' section.  For example, .warn 0 will  disable  all
	      warnings,	 and  .warn  1	will  disable all warnings except that
	      about missing characters.	 If n is not given, all warnings  will
	      be enabled.

       .while c anything
	      While  condition	c  is true, accept anything as input; c can be
	      any condition acceptable to an if request; anything can comprise
	      multiple	lines  if  the	first line starts with \{ and the last
	      line ends with \}.  See also the break and continue requests.

       .write stream anything
	      Write anything to the stream named stream.  stream  must	previ‐
	      ously  have  been	 the  subject of an open request.  anything is
	      read in copy mode; a leading " will be stripped.

       .writem stream xx
	      Write the contents of the macro or string xx to the stream named
	      stream.  stream must previously have been the subject of an open
	      request.	xx is read in copy mode.

   Extended requests
       .cf filename
	      When used in a diversion, this will embed in  the	 diversion  an
	      object  which,  when reread, will cause the contents of filename
	      to be transparently copied  through  to  the  output.   In  UNIX
	      troff, the contents of filename is immediately copied through to
	      the output regardless of whether there is a  current  diversion;
	      this behaviour is so anomalous that it must be considered a bug.

       .ev xx If  xx  is not a number, this will switch to a named environment
	      called xx.  The environment should be popped with a matching  ev
	      request  without	any  arguments,	 just as for numbered environ‐
	      ments.  There is no limit on the number of  named	 environments;
	      they will be created the first time that they are referenced.

       .fp n f1 f2
	      The  fp  request	has an optional third argument.	 This argument
	      gives the external name of the font, which is used  for  finding
	      the font description file.  The second argument gives the inter‐
	      nal name of the font which is used to refer to the font in troff
	      after  it	 has been mounted.  If there is no third argument then
	      the internal name will be used as the external name.  This  fea‐
	      ture  allows  you	 to use fonts with long names in compatibility
	      mode.

       .ss m n
	      When two arguments are given to the ss request, the second argu‐
	      ment  gives  the sentence space size.  If the second argument is
	      not given, the sentence space size will be the same as the  word
	      space  size.  Like the word space size, the sentence space is in
	      units of one twelfth of the spacewidth parameter for the current
	      font.  Initially both the word space size and the sentence space
	      size are 12.  Contrary to UNIX troff,  GNU  troff	 handles  this
	      request  in  nroff mode also; a given value is then rounded down
	      to the nearest multiple of 12.  The sentence space size is  used
	      in two circumstances: if the end of a sentence occurs at the end
	      of a line in fill mode, then both an inter-word space and a sen‐
	      tence  space  will  be  added; if two spaces follow the end of a
	      sentence in the middle of a line, then the second space will  be
	      a sentence space.	 Note that the behaviour of UNIX troff will be
	      exactly that exhibited by GNU troff  if  a  second  argument  is
	      never  given to the ss request.  In GNU troff, as in UNIX troff,
	      you should always follow a sentence with either a newline or two
	      spaces.

       .ta n1 n2...nn T r1 r2...rn
	      Set tabs at positions n1, n2,..., nn and then set tabs at nn+r1,
	      nn+r2,...., nn+rn and then at nn+rn+r1, nn+rn+r2,...,  nn+rn+rn,
	      and so on.  For example,

		     .ta T .5i

	      will set tabs every half an inch.

   New number registers
       The following read-only registers are available:

       \n[.C] 1 if compatibility mode is in effect, 0 otherwise.

       \n[.cdp]
	      The  depth  of  the last character added to the current environ‐
	      ment.  It is positive if the character extends below  the	 base‐
	      line.

       \n[.ce]
	      The  number  of lines remaining to be centered, as set by the ce
	      request.

       \n[.cht]
	      The height of the last character added to the  current  environ‐
	      ment.   It  is positive if the character extends above the base‐
	      line.

       \n[.csk]
	      The skew of the last character added to the current environment.
	      The skew of a character is how far to the right of the center of
	      a character the center of an accent over that  character	should
	      be placed.

       \n[.ev]
	      The  name	 or  number  of	 the  current  environment.  This is a
	      string-valued register.

       \n[.fam]
	      The current font family.	This is a string-valued register.

       \n[.fp]
	      The number of the next free font position.

       \n[.g] Always 1.	 Macros should use this to determine whether they  are
	      running under GNU troff.

       \n[.hla]
	      The current hyphenation language as set by the hla request.

       \n[.hlc]
	      The  number  of  immediately  preceding  consecutive  hyphenated
	      lines.

       \n[.hlm]
	      The maximum allowed number of consecutive hyphenated  lines,  as
	      set by the hlm request.

       \n[.hy]
	      The current hyphenation flags (as set by the hy request).

       \n[.hym]
	      The current hyphenation margin (as set by the hym request).

       \n[.hys]
	      The current hyphenation space (as set by the hys request).

       \n[.in]
	      The indent that applies to the current output line.

       \n[.int]
	      Set  to  a  positive  value  if  last output line is interrupted
	      (i.e., if it contains \c).

       \n[.kern]
	      1 if pairwise kerning is enabled, 0 otherwise.

       \n[.lg]
	      The current ligature mode (as set by the lg request).

       \n[.linetabs]
	      The current line-tabs mode (as set by the linetabs request).

       \n[.ll]
	      The line length that applies to the current output line.

       \n[.lt]
	      The title length as set by the lt request.

       \n[.ne]
	      The amount of space that was needed in the last ne request  that
	      caused  a	 trap  to  be  sprung.	Useful in conjunction with the
	      \n[.trunc] register.

       \n[.ns]
	      1 if no-space mode is active, 0 otherwise.

       \n[.pn]
	      The number of the next page:  either  the	 value	set  by	 a  pn
	      request, or the number of the current page plus 1.

       \n[.ps]
	      The current pointsize in scaled points.

       \n[.psr]
	      The last-requested pointsize in scaled points.

       \n[.rj]
	      The  number  of  lines  to  be  right-justified as set by the rj
	      request.

       \n[.sr]
	      The last requested pointsize in points as	 a  decimal  fraction.
	      This is a string-valued register.

       \n[.tabs]
	      A string representation of the current tab settings suitable for
	      use as an argument to the ta request.

       \n[.trunc]
	      The amount of vertical space  truncated  by  the	most  recently
	      sprung  vertical	position trap, or, if the trap was sprung by a
	      ne request, minus the amount of vertical motion produced by  the
	      ne  request.   In other words, at the point a trap is sprung, it
	      represents the difference of what the  vertical  position	 would
	      have been but for the trap, and what the vertical position actu‐
	      ally is.	Useful in conjunction with the \n[.ne] register.

       \n[.ss]
       \n[.sss]
	      These give the values of the parameters set  by  the  first  and
	      second arguments of the ss request.

       \n[.vpt]
	      1 if vertical position traps are enabled, 0 otherwise.

       \n[.warn]
	      The  sum	of  the	 numbers associated with each of the currently
	      enabled warnings.	 The number associated with  each  warning  is
	      listed in the `Warnings' subsection.

       \n[.x] The major version number.	 For example, if the version number is
	      1.03 then \n[.x] will contain 1.

       \n[.y] The minor version number.	 For example, if the version number is
	      1.03 then \n[.y] will contain 03.

       \n[.Y] The revision number of groff.

       \n[llx]
       \n[lly]
       \n[urx]
       \n[ury]
	      These  four  registers  are set by the .psbb request and contain
	      the bounding box values (in PostScript units) of a  given	 Post‐
	      Script image.

       The following read/write registers are set by the \w escape sequence:

       \n[rst]
       \n[rsb]
	      Like  the	 st and sb registers, but takes account of the heights
	      and depths of characters.

       \n[ssc]
	      The amount of horizontal space (possibly negative)  that	should
	      be added to the last character before a subscript.

       \n[skw]
	      How  far	to right of the center of the last character in the \w
	      argument, the center of an accent from a roman  font  should  be
	      placed over that character.

       Other available read/write number registers are:

       \n[c.] The  current  input line number.	\n[.c] is a read-only alias to
	      this register.

       \n[hp] The current horizontal position at input line.

       \n[systat]
	      The return value of the system() function executed by  the  last
	      sy request.

       \n[slimit]
	      If  greater  than	 0, the maximum number of objects on the input
	      stack.  If less than or equal to 0, there is  no	limit  on  the
	      number  of objects on the input stack.  With no limit, recursion
	      can continue until virtual memory is exhausted.

       \n[year]
	      The current year.	 Note that the traditional troff number regis‐
	      ter \n[yr] is the current year minus 1900.

   Miscellaneous
       troff  predefines  a  single (read/write) string-based register, \*(.T,
       which contains the argument given to the -T command line option, namely
       the  current  output  device (for example, latin1 or ascii).  Note that
       this is not the same as the (read-only) number register \n[.T] which is
       defined to be 1 if troff is called with the -T command line option, and
       zero otherwise.	This behaviour is different to UNIX troff.

       Fonts not listed in the DESC file are automatically mounted on the next
       available  font	position when they are referenced.  If a font is to be
       mounted explicitly with the fp request on an unused font	 position,  it
       should be mounted on the first unused font position, which can be found
       in the \n[.fp] register; although troff does not enforce this strictly,
       it  will	 not  allow a font to be mounted at a position whose number is
       much greater than that of any currently used position.

       Interpolating a string does not hide existing macro arguments.  Thus in
       a macro, a more efficient way of doing

	      .xx \\$@

       is

	      \\*[xx]\\

       If  the	font  description  file contains pairwise kerning information,
       characters from that font will be kerned.  Kerning between two  charac‐
       ters can be inhibited by placing a \& between them.

       In  a  string comparison in a condition, characters that appear at dif‐
       ferent input levels to the first delimiter character will not be recog‐
       nised  as  the second or third delimiters.  This applies also to the tl
       request.	 In a \w escape sequence, a character that appears at  a  dif‐
       ferent  input  level  to	 the  starting delimiter character will not be
       recognised as the closing delimiter character.  When decoding  a	 macro
       argument	 that  is delimited by double quotes, a character that appears
       at a different input level to the starting delimiter character will not
       be  recognised  as the closing delimiter character.  The implementation
       of \$@ ensures that the double  quotes  surrounding  an	argument  will
       appear the same input level, which will be different to the input level
       of the argument itself.	In a long escape name ] will not be recognized
       as a closing delimiter except when it occurs at the same input level as
       the opening ].  In compatibility mode, no  attention  is	 paid  to  the
       input-level.

       There are some new types of condition:

       .if rxxx
	      True if there is a number register named xxx.

       .if dxxx
	      True  if	there  is a string, macro, diversion, or request named
	      xxx.

       .if cch
	      True if there is a character ch available; ch is either an ASCII
	      character	 or  a special character \(xx or \[xxx]; the condition
	      will also be true if ch has been defined by the char request.

       The tr request can now map characters onto \~.

   Warnings
       The warnings that can be given by troff are divided into the  following
       categories.   The  name	associated with each warning is used by the -w
       and -W options; the number is used by the  warn	request,  and  by  the
       .warn register.

       char	      1	  Non-existent	 characters.	This   is  enabled  by
			  default.

       number	      2	  Invalid numeric expressions.	 This  is  enabled  by
			  default.

       break	      4	  In  fill  mode,  lines  which could not be broken so
			  that their length was less  than  the	 line  length.
			  This is enabled by default.

       delim	      8	  Missing or mismatched closing delimiters.

       el	     16	  Use of the el request with no matching ie request.

       scale	     32	  Meaningless scaling indicators.

       range	     64	  Out of range arguments.

       syntax	    128	  Dubious syntax in numeric expressions.

       di	    256	  Use of di or da without an argument when there is no
			  current diversion.

       mac	    512	  Use of undefined  strings,  macros  and  diversions.
			  When	an  undefined  string,	macro  or diversion is
			  used, that string is automatically defined as empty.
			  So, in most cases, at most one warning will be given
			  for each name.

       reg	   1024	  Use of undefined number registers.   When  an	 unde‐
			  fined	 number	 register  is  used,  that register is
			  automatically defined to have a value of 0.  a defi‐
			  nition is automatically made with a value of 0.  So,
			  in most cases, at most one warning will be given for
			  use of a particular name.

       tab	   2048	  Inappropriate use of a tab character.	 Either use of
			  a tab character where a number was expected, or  use
			  of tab character in an unquoted macro argument.

       right-brace 4096	  Use of \} where a number was expected.

       missing	   8192	  Requests that are missing non-optional arguments.

       input	  16384	  Illegal input characters.

       escape	  32768	  Unrecognized escape sequences.  When an unrecognized
			  escape sequence is encountered, the escape character
			  is ignored.

       space	  65536	  Missing  space  between  a  request or macro and its
			  argument.  This warning will be given when an	 unde‐
			  fined	 name  longer  than  two characters is encoun‐
			  tered, and the first two characters of the name make
			  a  defined  name.   The request or macro will not be
			  invoked.  When this warning is given,	 no  macro  is
			  automatically	 defined.  This is enabled by default.
			  This warning will never occur in compatibility mode.

       font	 131072	  Non-existent fonts.  This is enabled by default.

       ig	 262144	  Illegal escapes in text ignored with the ig request.
			  These	 are  conditions  that are errors when they do
			  not occur in ignored text.

       There are also names that can be used to refer to groups of warnings:

       all    All warnings except di, mac and reg.  It is intended  that  this
	      covers all warnings that are useful with traditional macro pack‐
	      ages.

       w      All warnings.

   Incompatibilities
       Long names cause some incompatibilities.	 UNIX troff will interpret

	      .dsabcd

       as defining a string ab with contents cd.   Normally,  GNU  troff  will
       interpret this as a call of a macro named dsabcd.  Also UNIX troff will
       interpret \*[ or \n[ as references  to  a  string  or  number  register
       called  [.  In GNU troff, however, this will normally be interpreted as
       the start of a long name.  In compatibility mode GNU troff will	inter‐
       pret  these things in the traditional way.  In compatibility mode, how‐
       ever, long names are not recognised.  Compatibility mode can be	turned
       on  with	 the  -C command line option, and turned on or off with the cp
       request.	 The number register \n[.C] is 1 if compatibility mode is  on,
       0 otherwise.

       GNU   troff   does   not	  allow	  the  use  of	the  escape  sequences
       \\|\^\&\}\{\(space)\'\`\-\_\!\%\c in names of strings,  macros,	diver‐
       sions,  number  registers, fonts or environments; UNIX troff does.  The
       \A escape sequence may be helpful  in  avoiding	use  of	 these	escape
       sequences in names.

       Fractional  pointsizes  cause  one noteworthy incompatibility.  In UNIX
       troff the ps request ignores scale indicators and so

	      .ps 10u

       will set the pointsize to 10 points, whereas in GNU troff it  will  set
       the pointsize to 10 scaled points.

       In  GNU	troff  there  is a fundamental difference between unformatted,
       input characters, and formatted, output	characters.   Everything  that
       affects how an output character will be output is stored with the char‐
       acter; once an output character has been constructed it	is  unaffected
       by  any	subsequent  requests that are executed, including bd, cs, tkf,
       tr, or fp requests.  Normally output characters	are  constructed  from
       input  characters  at  the  moment  immediately before the character is
       added to the current output line.  Macros, diversions and  strings  are
       all,  in	 fact,	the  same  type of object; they contain lists of input
       characters and output characters in any combination.  An output charac‐
       ter  does  not behave like an input character for the purposes of macro
       processing; it does not inherit any of the special properties that  the
       input  character	 from  which  it  was constructed might have had.  For
       example,

	      .di x
	      \\\\
	      .br
	      .di
	      .x

       will print \\ in GNU troff; each pair of input \s is  turned  into  one
       output  \  and  the  resulting  output \s are not interpreted as escape
       characters when they are reread.	 UNIX troff would  interpret  them  as
       escape  characters  when they were reread and would end up printing one
       \.  The correct way to obtain a printable \ is to  use  the  \e	escape
       sequence:  this	will  always  print  a	single instance of the current
       escape character, regardless of whether or not it is used in  a	diver‐
       sion;  it will also work in both GNU troff and UNIX troff.  If you wish
       for some reason to store in a diversion an escape sequence that will be
       interpreted when the diversion is reread, you can either use the tradi‐
       tional \! transparent output facility, or, if this is  unsuitable,  the
       new \? escape sequence.

ENVIRONMENT
       GROFF_TMAC_PATH
	      A	 colon	separated  list	 of directories in which to search for
	      macro files.  troff will scan directories given in the -M option
	      before  these, and in standard directories (current directory if
	      in unsafe	 mode,	home  directory,  /usr/local/share/groff/site-
	      tmac,			       /usr/local/lib/groff/site-tmac,
	      /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac) after these.

       GROFF_TYPESETTER
	      Default device.

       GROFF_FONT_PATH
	      A colon separated list of directories in which to search for the
	      devname  directory.  troff will scan directories given in the -F
	      option   before	these,	  and	 in    standard	   directories
	      (/usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/font:/usr/lib/font) after these.

FILES
       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac/troffrc
	      Initialization file (called before any other macro package).

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac/troffrc-end
	      Initialization file (called after any other macro package).

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac/name.tmac
       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/tmac/tmac.name
	      Macro files

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/font/devname/DESC
	      Device description file for device name.

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.17.2/font/devname/F
	      Font file for font F of device name.

       Note  that  troffrc and troffrc-end are neither searched in the current
       nor in the home directory by default for security reasons (even if  the
       -U   option  is	given).	  Use  the  -M	command	 line  option  or  the
       GROFF_TMAC_PATH environment variable to add these  directories  to  the
       search path if necessary.

SEE ALSO
       groff(7)	 --  This  is  a short but complete reference of all requests,
       registers, and escapes.

       groff(1),  tbl(1),  pic(1),  eqn(1),   refer(1),	  soelim(1),   grn(1),
       grops(1),  grodvi(1),  grotty(1), grohtml(1), grolj4(1), groff_font(5),
       groff_out(5), groff_char(7)

Groff Version 1.17.2		 27 June 2001			      TROFF(1)
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Polarhome, production since 1999.
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Based on Fawad Halim's script.
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