fmt(1)							      General Commands Manual							    fmt(1)

NAME

       fmt - Formats mail messages prior to sending

SYNOPSIS

       fmt [-width] file...

DESCRIPTION

       The  fmt command reads the input file or files, or standard input if no files are specified, and writes to standard output a version of the
       input with lines of a length as close as possible to width columns. (Because fmt is internationalized software, the number of display  col-
       umns is not necessarily equivalent to the number of bytes.)

       The fmt command both joins and splits lines to achieve the desired width, but words are never joined or split; spaces are always preserved,
       and lines are split at spaces only.  In effect, fmt ignores newline characters in the input and wraps words to make lines a close as possi-
       ble  to	width columns, resulting in individual lines of varying length but a consistent (new) text width overall.  Because blank lines are
       always preserved, fmt does not merge paragraphs separated by blank lines.

       If you specify more than one file, the files are concatenated as input to fmt.  If you do not specify -width, the default line length is 72
       columns.  Spacing at the beginning of input lines is always preserved in the output.

       The  fmt  command  is generally used to format mail messages to improve their appearance before they are sent.  It may also be useful, how-
       ever, for other simple formatting tasks.  For example, when you are using vi, you can use the command :%!fmt -60 to reformat your  text	so
       that all lines are approximately 60 columns long.

NOTES

       The  fmt command is a fast, simple formatting program.  Standard text editing programs are more appropriate than fmt for complex formatting
       operations.  Do not use the fmt command if the message contains embedded messages or preformatted information from other files.	This  com-
       mand formats the heading information in embedded messages and may change the format of preformatted information.

EXAMPLES

       file1 contains these lines:

	      Australia is an island-continent, home to many very interesting plants and animals.

	      To reformat this text to a narrower width, enter: fmt -30 file1

	      This  results in the following, displayed on your screen: Australia is an island-continent, home to many very interesting plants and
	      animals.

	      To make file1 wider, enter: fmt -60 file1

	      This results in: Australia is an island-continent, home to many very interesting plants and animals.  To format a message  you  have
	      created with the mailx editor, at the left margin enter: ~|fmt

	      After you enter the command, your message is formatted, in this case to the default line length of 72 columns, and the word continue
	      is displayed to indicate that you can enter more information or send your message.

SEE ALSO

       Commands:  mail(1), mailx(1), vi(1)

																	    fmt(1)