man(5) File Formats Manual man(5)
NAME
man, man.page - The man macro packages for reference pages
SYNOPSIS
tbl file... | neqn | nroff -h [options] -man | ...
tbl file... | neqn | nroff -h [options] -man.page | ...
OPTIONS
Uses output tabs during horizontal spacing to speed output and reduce output character count. Tab settings are assumed to be every eight
nominal character widths. Numbers the first generated page as N.
Ignored by the man macros for nroff output. Ignored for *troff output unless -rpS is also specified. Turns on line double-spacing
mode if N is greater than 0. Numbers the first generated page as N. Page numbers always print on the outside end of the page
footer.
Ignored by the man macros for nroff output. Sets the section number to S. Section numbers appear in output page footers as S-N
(chapter-page-number).
Page numbers always print on the outside end of the page footer. Starting page number defaults to "1" unless -nN or -rnN is also
specified.
Ignored by the man macros for nroff output. Prints crop marks. Only for use with *troff formatters.
DESCRIPTION
The man macro package is used to format reference pages for unpaginated viewing, or for printing on ASCII printers. The man macro package
is the default. The reference pages installed on the base system are formatted by the man and the catman commands, using the man macro
package.
The man.page macro package is used to format reference manual pages for paginated ASCII output.
The file argument is the name of the reference page source file.
The page width is 77 columns when formatted by the nroff command and the man or man.page macro packages. The output is paginated when for-
matted by the nroff command and the man.page macro package, with page numbers appearing at the bottom right of each output page.
Macros
The following describes the macros in the man and man.page macro packages.
Note that some of the macro descriptions contain information about *troff output. This is provided for completeness, only. Compaq does
not supply or support any *troff formatters.
Any text argument can range from zero to six words. Quotation marks (" ") can be used to include blanks in words. If text is not speci-
fied, special treatment is applied to the next input line that has text to be printed. In this way, can be used to italicize a whole line
or followed by to make small bold letters.
A prevailing indent distance is remembered between successive indented paragraphs, and is reset to a default value upon reaching a nonin-
dented paragraph. Default units for indents i are ens (an en is 1 nroff character or 1/2 em space in the current point size).
Typeface and size are reset to default values before each paragraph, and after processing font and size setting macros. For *troff output
only. Specifies the text string to be printed as the inside page footer. No argument, or the argument 3, specifies the text "7th Edi-
tion." The argument 4 specifies the text "System III." The argument 5 specifies the text "System V." The argument 5 followed by a number
argument specifies the text "System V Release number." Sets text text in boldface. If no text is specified, only the next source text
line is set in boldface. Sets word1 in boldface, word2 in an italic typeface, and then alternates between these two fonts for the remain-
ing words, up to six words. Blanks between words are stripped unless the string is enclosed in quotation marks (" "). Sets word1 in bold-
face, word2 in a roman typeface, and then alternates between these two fonts for the remaining words, up to six words. Blanks between words
are stripped unless the string is enclosed in quotation marks (" "). For *troff output only. Specifies the text string to be printed as
the inside page footer. No argument, or the number 1, specifies the text "1st Carnegie-Mellon Update." The number 2 specifies the text
"2nd Carnegie-Mellon Update." The number 3 specifies the text "3rd Carnegie-Mellon Update." Any whole number n above 3 specifies the text
"nth Carnegie-Mellon Update." Prints the keyboard control character indicator <CTRL/character>. For example, prints as <CTRL/A>. Sets
text in a constant width font until another font change is encountered. Ends an unfilled display block (started by Also ends automatic
centering, if it was in effect. Ends an unfilled display block (started by and restores the left margin to the previous position. Starts
an unfilled display block. Text between and is printed in a roman typeface, with `no fill' mode (no wrapping and blank lines allowed) in
effect. The display block is set flush left. Starts a display block with `no fill' mode (no wrapping and blank lines allowed) in effect.
The display block is shifted right .5 inch for nroff and four picas for *troff formatters. Restores default tabs. Default tabs are set to
every 8 ens for nroff and to every .5 inches for *troff text formatters, starting with .5i, 1i, ... . Ends an example and restores basic
text defaults and indents. Starts an example. Text between
and
is printed in a constant width font with `no fill' mode (no wrapping and blank lines allowed) in effect. The example is set flush left
unless an indent i is specified. Units of i are ens. Sets text in a sans-serif typeface. If no text is specified, only the next source
text line is set in a sans-serif typeface. Sets text in a sans-serif bold typeface. If no text is specified, only the next source text
line is set in a sans-serif bold typeface. Sets text in a sans-serif italic typeface. If no text is specified, only the next source text
line is set in a sans-serif italic typeface. Begins a paragraph with a hanging indent of i ens. Sets text in an italic typeface. If no
text is specified, only the next source text line is set in an italic typeface. Sets a temporary indent to the length of the specified
word. Reverses one line and then sets a temporary indent to the length of the specified word. Sets word1 in an italic typeface, word2 in
boldface, and then alternates between these two fonts for the remaining words, up to six words. Blanks between words are stripped unless
the string is enclosed in quotation marks (" "). Sets the prevailing indent to i. Then begins the indented paragraph with a hanging tag
given by the next text line. If the tag does not fit, the macro places the next text on a separate line. Tag x appears in bold typeface.
Sets word1 in an italic typeface, word2 in a roman typeface, and then alternates between these two fonts for the remaining words, up to six
words. Blanks between words are stripped unless the string is enclosed in quotation marks (" "). Sets reference_page immediately followed
by section_subsection in parentheses followed by optional punctuation, using fonts that distinguish this reference page reference from
ordinary text. For example, man(5). Ends a note. Also cancels automatic centering if it was in effect. Starts a note. If no arguments
are specified, the default header for the note is `Note'. If the first argument is the letter `C', all text in the note is centered, for
the next 99 text lines or until the macro is called, whichever comes first. If the first argument is not `C', it becomes the header of the
note, even if header2 is also specified. The header2 argument becomes the header of the note if the first argument is `C'. Sets the inter-
paragraph distance to v vertical spaces. Resets the distance to the default value if v is omitted. Sets x in an italic or constant width
typeface (depending on the *roff formatter type) and then reverts to the previous typeface. The optional argument y is appended to x with
no space, but printed in the previous typeface. The x argument is usually a path name; y is usually punctuation. Sets x in the current
typeface, sets y in an italic or constant width typeface (depending on the *roff formatter type) and appends it to x, and finally reverts
to the previous typeface. The optional argument z is appended to y, but printed in the previous typeface. Spaces are removed between x,
y, and z, unless quotation marks (" ") are used to enclose strings with spaces. The x argument is usually a fixed path name; y is usually a
variable path name; and z is usually punctuation. Starts a block paragraph. Sets the prevailing indent to .5i for nroff and four picas
for *troff text formatters. Sets the text in a roman typeface until another font change is encountered. Also ends nroff underline mode if
it was in effect. Sets word1 in a roman typeface, word2 in boldface, and then alternates between these two fonts for the remaining words,
up to six words. Blanks between words are stripped unless the string is enclosed in quotation marks (" "). Returns to the kth relative
right shift indent level. (Restores the left margin to the position prior to the kth
call). Specifying k=0 is equivalent to specifying k=1. If k is omitted,
restores the left margin to the most recent previous position. When k=1 or 0, the default
indent increment is restored. Sets word1 in a roman typeface, word2 in an italic typeface, and then alternates between these two
fonts for the remaining words, up to six words. Blanks between words are stripped unless the string is enclosed in quotation marks
(" "). Prints the return character indicator, <RETURN>. Shifts the left margin to the right (relatively) the amount of i ens. The
macro calls can be nested up to nine levels. If i is not specified for the first
call, the relative right shift increases .5 inch for nroff and four picas for *troff text formatters. Nested
calls increment the relative indent by i ens, or by .2 inch for nroff, or by 2 picas for *troff text format-
ters. Creates a section header. Sets text to be two points smaller than the current point size. If no text
is specified, only the next source text line is set in the smaller point size. Creates a subsection header.
Begins a new reference page and sets the page title. Also sets up headers and footers for printed output
pages, sets up all defaults and traps, and calls the and macros. The title appears as a header on all pages of
the formatted reference page. The n argument is the reference page name. The c argument is the primary section
number or letter. The s argument is the subsection, if any. The fc argument is optional and specifies the text
for the page foot center. The fl argument is optional and specifies the text for the page foot left. The hc
argument is optional and specifies the text for the page head center. The o argument is optional and can be
used for "origin" information; for example, "Free Software Foundation" or "X11R5." The a argument is optional
and can be used to specify the machine architecture, for example "RISC."
Fields n, c, and s appear together at the top of each output page (see the top of this page for an exam-
ple). These fields are displayed at both the top left and right of the screen, or printed page. Fields
fc and fl are in effect only with the man.page macro package, or when using a *troff formatter. Field
hc appears at the top center of each output page. Field o, the "origin" label, appears under the refer-
ence page name and section number, at the top left and right sides of the screen, or printed page. Field
a appears under the "origin" label, or under the reference page name and section number if there is no
"origin" label, at the top left and right sides of the screen, or printed page.
The last five fields are optional. To skip a field, specify a pair of quotation marks ("") in the field
to be skipped. Sets the prevailing indent to i. Then begins the indented paragraph with a hanging tag
given by the next text line. If the tag does not fit, the macro places the next text on a separate
line. For *troff output only. Specifies the text string to be printed as the inside page footer. No
argument, or the number 3, specifies the text "3rd Berkeley Distribution." The number 4 specifies the
text "4th Berkeley Distribution." The number 5 specifies the text "4.2 Berkeley Distribution." The
number 6 specifies the text "4.3 Berkeley Distribution." The number 7 specifies the text "4.4 Berkeley
Distribution." End a vertical margin bar. Starts a vertical margin bar, if `4' is specified; other-
wise, the macro does nothing.
Macros That Cause Line Breaks
The following macros cause line breaks:
De DE Ds DS EE EX
HP IP PP RE SH SS
TH TP
Macros That Need Text Lines
The following macros affect the following line of text if they are specified in the input without arguments:
B BI BR G GB GL
I IB IR RI RB SH
SS SM
Defaults
Automatic hyphenation is turned on. However, last lines (ones that will cause a trap) are not hyphenated and the last and first two charac-
ters of a word are not split off.
Characters printed from the Special Font are artificially bolded by three units whenever the current font is `3'.
The default page width is 77 columns for nroff output and 8.5 inches for output generated by *troff text formatters. For nroff output,
section headers and page headers are output flush left, primary paragraphs are indented two columns, and the maximum line length is a total
of 77 columns for an effective right margin of .3 inches. This allows for printing on A4 paper. Left and right page margins are 7.5 picas
when *troff text formatters are used.
The default page length is unlimited (unpaginated) for nroff output with the man macros, and is 66 lines long for nroff with the man.page
macros. The default page length is 11 inches for output generated by *troff text formatters.
The
() ()
macro sets up the following defaults: Text is set in "noadjust" mode; the right margin is ragged. The default interparagraph distance is
1v for nroff and .5v for *troff text formatters. The basic text indent is two columns for nroff and four picas for *troff text formatters,
from the left margin. The maximum text line length is 7.5 inches for nroff and 36 picas for *troff text formatters. Sets tab stops every
8 ens for nroff and every .5 inches for *troff text formatters. The basic text point size is 11 points, with line spacing set to 12
points. The basic text font is "R" (a roman typeface). Reference page headers, section headers, and subsection headers are set in a sans-
serif bold typeface for *troff formatters.
There are no page footers for nroff output with the man macros. Page footers are printed when using *troff formatters, and when using the
man.page macros with either nroff or *troff.
The default page number, when footers are printed, has the format:
name(c[s])-pg
where: is the
() ()
n argument is the
c[s](argument) c[s](argument)
is the current page number
By default, the page number prints on the right side of the page foot.
When printing multiple pages, the page number is reset to "1" at the start of each new reference page.
RESTRICTIONS
Predefined Registers
The following registers are predefined by the man macro packages and should not be changed: Page offset and page margin Left margin indent
relative to the section headers Line length including IN Page length
The register `l' is predefined when you specify the *roff -rl option. Its default value is 0. The man command does not use this option.
The register `n' is predefined when you specify the *roff -rn option. Its default value is 0. The man command does not use this option.
The register `p' is predefined when you specify the *roff -rp option. Its default value is 0. The man command does not use this option.
The register `v' is predefined when you specify the *roff -rv option. Its default value is 0. The man command does not use this option.
Reserved Registers
The following registers are reserved for internal use by the man and man.page macro packages:
A1 d DX EX l m
p p# PF pg pn v
y
In addition, registers beginning with the characters `)', `]', and `}' are also reserved for internal use.
Registers predefined by the nroff, neqn, and tbl commands, and the *eqn and *troff text preprocessors and formatters should not be rede-
fined.
Predefined Strings
The following strings are predefined by the man macro package and should not be changed: " if nroff, " if *troff " if nroff, " if *troff
Command string to change type size to 10 points.
Reserved Strings and Macros
The following string and macro names are reserved for internal use by the man and man.page macro packages:
## A1 BD BK CD D
HB HH ID LD NO NX
P TB UF ya yn yl
ys
In addition, names beginning with the characters `)', `]', and `}' are also reserved for internal use.
Names predefined by the nroff, neqn, and tbl commands, and the *eqn and *troff text preprocessors and formatters should not be redefined.
.TH Macro Restrictions
Section numbers should only be those listed in the man(1) reference page as recognized by the man command.
Sections 5, 6, and the single-letter sections listed in the man(1) reference page normally do not have subsections, so none should be spec-
ified.
Subsections ".z" and ".Z" are not valid and should never be used.
For nroff output, keep the size of the reference page name, including its section and subsection, to a maximum of 38 characters to prevent
overprinting in the reference page header. Similarly, restrict the size of the o and a fields to a maximum of 38 characters. If the hc
field is used, reduce the size of the name, section, and subsection fields by the size of the hc field + 1.
The maximum sizes for the reference page name, o and a fields, are much shorter if the reference page is formatted with a *troff formatter.
The NAME Section
The catman command assumes the NAME section of a reference page has the following format:
name[, name, name ...] - explanatory text
There should be at least one space after any comma and only one space following the "hyphen" (-). A "backslash hyphen" (-) may also be
used to produce a longer dash. Avoid using macros or other markup to code information in the NAME section. The explanatory text should be
brief. The catman command combines information in the NAME section with parameters of the
() ()
macro to create an entry in a database searched by the apropos, man, and whatis commands.
PORTABILITY CONSIDERATIONS
The Tru64 UNIX man macro packages contain extensions and enhancements borrowed from other macro packages. If you need to write portable
reference pages, you should not use the following macros:
AT CM CT CW De Ds
EE EX G GB GL I1
I2 LP MS NE NT PN
Pn R RN UC UF
The
macro is obsolete, but is provided for backward compatibility with other vendors.
The
() ()
macro permits the use of the percent (%) character in any of its fields. The presence of the percent character may cause problems for
other implementations of this macro.
The width of the nroff output is 77 columns, with a 2-column indent, for an effective maximum line length of 75 columns. On other systems,
the width of the nroff output may be only 65 columns, with a 5-column indent, for an effective maximum line length of 60 columns. Avoid
creating tables and no-fill text that require the full 75 columns available. Plan for a maximum line length of 60 columns, instead.
FILES
The man macro package interface The primary man macros package Old BSD V6 man macros for nroff Old BSD V6 man macros for troff The man.page
macro package interface The primary man.page macros package
SEE ALSO
Commands: checkeq(1), man(1), neqn(1), nroff(1), tbl(1), catman(8)
Files: rsml(5)
()