ms(5) File Formats Manual ms(5)
NAME
ms - Text formatting macros
SYNOPSIS
nroff -ms [options] file...
DESCRIPTION
This package of nroff macro definitions provides a formatting facility for various styles of articles, theses, and books. When producing
2-column output on a terminal or lineprinter, or when reverse line motions are needed, filter the output through col(1). All external -ms
macros are defined in the following section. Many nroff requests are unsafe in conjunction with this package. However, the first four
requests in the list that follows can be used with impunity after initialization, and the last two may be used even before initialization:
Begin new page Break output line Insert n spacing lines Center next n lines Line spacing: n=1 single, n=2 double space No alignment of
right margin
Font and point size changes with f and s are also allowed; for example, fIwordfR italicize word. Output of the tbl and neqn preproces-
sors for equations and tables ris acceptable as input.
REQUESTS
------------------------------------------------------------------
Macro Name Initial Break/Reset Explanation
Value
------------------------------------------------------------------
.AB x - y Begin abstract; if x =no,
do not label abstract.
.AE - y End abstract.
.AI - y Author's institution.
.AM - n Better accent mark defini-
tions.
.AU - y Author's name.
.B x - n Embolden x; if no x,
switch to boldface.
.B1 - y Begin text to be enclosed
in a box.
.B2 - y End boxed text and print
it.
.BT date n Bottom title, printed at
foot of page.
.BX x - n Print word x in a box.
.CM if t n Cut mark between pages.
.CT - y/y Chapter title: page number
moved to CF (TM only).
.DA x if n n Force date x at bottom of
page; today if no x.
.DE - y End display (unfilled
text) of any kind.
.DS x y I y Begin display with keep; x
=I,L,C,B; y =indent.
.ID y 8n,.5i y Indented display with no
keep; y =indent.
.LD - y Left display with no keep.
.CD - y Centered display with no
keep.
.BD - y Block display; center
entire block.
.EF x - n Even page footer x (3
part, as for .tl).
.EH x - n Even page header x (3
part, as for .tl).
.EN - y End displayed equation
produced by *neqn.
.EQ x y - y Break out equation; x
=L,I,C; y =equation num-
ber.
.FE - n End footnote to be placed
at bottom of page.
.FP - n Numbered footnote para-
graph; may be redefined.
.FS x - n Start footnote; x is
optional footnote label.
.HD undef n Optional page header below
header margin.
.I x - n Italicize x; if no x,
switch to italics.
.IP x y - y/y Indented paragraph, with
hanging tag x; y= indent.
.IX x y - y Index words x, y and so on
(up to five levels).
.KE - n End keep of any kind.
.KF - n Begin floating keep; text
fills remainder of page.
.KS - y Begin keep; unit kept
together on a single page.
.LG - n Larger; increase point
size by 2.
.LP - y/y Left (block) paragraph.
.MC x - y/y Multiple columns; x =col-
umn width.
.ND x if t n No date in page footer; x
is date on cover.
.NH x y - y/y Numbered header; x =level,
x =0 resets, x =S sets to
y.
.NL 10p n Set point size back to
normal.
.OF x - n Odd page footer x (3 part,
as for .tl).
.OH x - n Odd page header x (3 part,
as for .tl).
.P1 if TM n Print header on first
page.
.PP - y/y Paragraph with first line
indented.
.PT - % - n Page title, printed at
head of page.
.PX x - y Print index (table of con-
tents); x =no, suppresses
title.
.QP - y/y Quote paragraph (indented
and shorter).
.R on n Return to Roman font.
.RE 5n y/y Retreat: end level of rel-
ative indentation.
.RP x - n Released paper format; x
=no, stops title on first
page.
.RS 5n y/y Right shift: start level
of relative indentation.
.SH - y/y Section header, in bold-
face.
.SM - n Smaller; decrease point
size by 2.
.TA 8n,5n n Set tabs to 8n 16n ...
(nroff) 5n 10n ...
(*roff).
.TC x - y Print table of contents at
end; x =no, suppresses
title.
.TE - y End of table processed by
tbl.
.TH - y End multipage header of
table.
.TL - y Title in boldface and two
points larger.
.TM off n UC Berkeley thesis mode.
.TS x - y/y Begin table; if x =H, ta-
ble has multipage header.
.UL x - n Underline x, even in
*roff.
.UX x - n UNIX; trademark message
first time; x appended.
.XA x y - y Another index entry; x
=page or no for none; y
=indent.
.XE - y End index entry (or series
of .IX entries).
.XP - y/y Paragraph with first line
exdented, others indented.
.XS x y - y Begin index entry; x =page
or no for none; y =indent.
.1C on y/y One-column format, on a
new page.
.2C - y/y Begin two-column format.
.]- - n Beginning of refer refer-
ence.
.[0 - n End of unclassifiable type
of reference.
.[N - n N= 1:journal-article,
2:book, 3:book-article,
4:report.
------------------------------------------------------------------
REGISTERS
Formatting distances can be controlled in -ms by means of built-in number registers. For example, this sets the line length to 6.5 inches:
.nr LL 6.5i
Here is a table of number registers and their default values:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Register Name Controls Effects Default
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS Point size paragraph 10
VS Vertical spacing paragraph 12
LL Line length paragraph 6i
LT Title length next page same as LL
FL Footnote length next .FS 5.5i
PD Paragraph distance paragraph 1v (if n), .3v (if t)
DD Display distance displays 1v (if n), .5v (if t)
PI Paragraph indent paragraph 5n
QI Quote indent next .QP 5n
FI Footnote indent next .FS 2n
PO Page offset next page 0 (if n), ~1i (if t)
HM Header margin next page 1i
FM Footer margin next page 1i
FF Footnote format next .FS 0 (1, 2, 3 available)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
When resetting these values, make sure to specify the appropriate units. Setting the line length to 7, for example, results in output with
one character per line. Setting FF to 1 suppresses footnote superscripting; setting it to 2 also suppresses indentation of the first line;
and setting it to 3 produces an .IP-like footnote paragraph.
Here is a list of string registers available in -ms; they can be used anywhere in the text:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name String's Function
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Q Quote (" in nroff, " in *roff )
*U Unquote (" in nroff, " in *roff )
*- Dash (-- in nroff, -- in *roff )
*(MO Month (month of the year)
*(DY Day (current date)
** Automatically numbered footnote
*' Acute accent (before letter)
*` Grave accent (before letter)
*^ Circumflex (before letter)
*, Cedilla (before letter)
*: Umlaut (before letter)
*~ Tilde (before letter)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When using the extended accent mark definitions available with .AM, these strings should come after, rather than before, the letter to be
accented.
RESTRICTIONS
Floating keeps and regular keeps are diverted to the same space, so they cannot be mixed together with predictable results.
FILES
The -ms macro package source file Files that are hardlinked to ???.s files Supplemental -ms macros
SEE ALSO
col(1), neqn(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)
ms(5)