TBL(1)							      General Commands Manual							    TBL(1)

NAME

       tbl - format tables for nroff or troff

SYNOPSIS

       tbl [ file ...  ]

DESCRIPTION

       Tbl  is a preprocessor for formatting tables for nroff or troff(1).  The input files are copied to the standard output, except for segments
       of the form

	      .TS
	      options ;
	      format .
	      data
	      .T&
	      format .
	      data
	      . . .
	      .TE

       which describe tables and are replaced by troff requests to lay out the tables.	If no arguments are given, tbl reads the standard input.

       The (optional) options line is terminated by a semicolon and contains one or more of

	      center center the table; default is left-adjust

	      expand make table as wide as current line length

	      box

	      doublebox
		     enclose the table in a box or double box

	      allbox enclose every item in a box

	      tab(x) use x to separate input items; default is tab

	      linesize(n)
		     set rules in n-point type

	      delim(xy)
		     recognize x and y as eqn(1) delimiters

       Each line, except the last, of the obligatory format describes one row of the table.  The last line describes all rows until the next  .T&,
       where  the  format  changes,  or  the end of the table at .TE.  A format is specified by key letters, one per column, either upper or lower
       case:

	      L
	      Left justify: the default for columns without format keys.

	      R
	      Right justify.

	      C
	      Center.

	      N
	      Numeric: align at decimal point (inferred for integers) or at

	      S
	      Span: extend previous column across this one.

	      A
	      Alphabetic: left-aligned within column, widest item centered, indented relative to L rows.

	      ^
	      Vertical span: continue item from previous row into this row.

	      -
	      Draw a horizontal rule in this column.

	      =
	      Draw a double horizontal rule in this column.

       Key letters may be followed by modifiers, also either case:

	      |      Draw vertical rule between columns.

	      ||     Draw a double vertical rule between columns.

	      n      Gap between column is n ens wide.	Default is 3.

	      Ffont  Use specified font.  B and I mean FB and FI.

	      T      Begin vertically-spanned item at top row of range; default is vertical centering (with

	      Pn     Use point size n.

	      Vn     Use n-point vertical spacing in text block; signed n means relative change.

	      W(n)   Column width as a troff width specification.  Parens are optional if n is a simple integer.

	      E      Equalize the widths of all columns marked E.

       Each line of data becomes one row of the table; tabs separate items.  Lines beginning with are troff requests.  Certain special data  items
       are recognized:

	      _
	      Draw a horizontal rule in this column.

	      =
	      Draw a double horizontal rule in this column.  A data line consisting of a single or draws the rule across the whole table.

	      \_
	      Draw a rule only as wide as the contents of the column.

	      Rx
	      Repeat character x across the column.

	      ^
	      Span the previous item in this column down into this row.

	      T{
	      The  item  is a text block to be separately formatted by troff and placed in the table.  The block continues to the next line begin-
	      ning with T}.  The remainder of the data line follows at that point.

       When it is used in a pipeline with eqn, the tbl command should be first, to minimize the volume of data passed through pipes.

EXAMPLES

       Let <tab> represent a tab (which should be typed as a genuine tab).
       .TS
       c s s
       c c s
       c c c
       l n n.
       Household Population
       Town<tab>Households
       <tab>Number<tab>Size
       Bedminster<tab>789<tab>3.26
       Bernards Twp.<tab>3087<tab>3.74
       Bernardsville<tab>2018<tab>3.30
       .TE

	   Household Population
	   Town 	Households
		       Number	Size
       Bedminster	 789	3.26
       Bernards Twp.	3087	3.74
       Bernardsville	2018	3.30

SOURCE

       /sys/src/cmd/tbl

SEE ALSO

       troff(1), eqn(1), doctype(1)
       M. E. Lesk and L. L. Cherry, ``TBL--a Program to Format Tables'', Unix Research System Programmer's Manual, Tenth Edition, Volume 2.

																	    TBL(1)