\"      Id: man.7,v 1.148 2021/08/05 14:31:14 schwarze Exp
\"
\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Kristaps Dzonsons <[email protected]>
\" Copyright (c) 2011-2015, 2017-2020 Ingo Schwarze <[email protected]>
\" Copyright (c) 2017 Anthony Bentley <[email protected]>
\" Copyright (c) 2010 Joerg Sonnenberger <[email protected]>
\"
\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
\"
\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
\"
Dd August 5, 2021
Dt MAN 7
Os
Sh NAME
Nm man
Nd legacy formatting language for manual pages
Sh DESCRIPTION
The
Nm man
language was the standard formatting language for
At
manual pages from 1979 to 1989.
Do not use it to write new manual pages: it is a purely presentational
language and lacks support for semantic markup.
Use the
Xr mdoc 7
language, instead.
Pp
In a
Nm
document, lines beginning with the control character
Sq \&.
are called
Dq macro lines .
The first word is the macro name.
It usually consists of two capital letters.
For a list of portable macros, see
Sx MACRO OVERVIEW .
The words following the macro name are arguments to the macro.
Pp
Lines not beginning with the control character are called
Dq text lines .
They provide free-form text to be printed; the formatting of the text
depends on the respective processing context:
Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.SH Macro lines change control state.
Text lines are interpreted within the current state.
Ed
Pp
Many aspects of the basic syntax of the
Nm
language are based on the
Xr roff 7
language; see the
Em LANGUAGE SYNTAX
and
Em MACRO SYNTAX
sections in the
Xr roff 7
manual for details, in particular regarding
comments, escape sequences, whitespace, and quoting.
Pp
Each
Nm
document starts with the
Ic TH
macro specifying the document's name and section, followed by the
Sx NAME
section formatted as follows:
Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.TH PROGNAME 1 1979-01-10
\&.SH NAME
\efBprogname\efR \e(en one line about what it does
Ed
Sh MACRO OVERVIEW
This overview is sorted such that macros of similar purpose are listed
together.
Deprecated and non-portable macros are not included in the overview,
but can be found in the alphabetical reference below.
Ss Page header and footer meta-data
Bl -column "RS, RE" description
It Ic TH Ta set the title: Ar name section date Op Ar source Op Ar volume
It Ic AT Ta display AT&T UNIX version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
It Ic UC Ta display BSD version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
El
Ss Sections and paragraphs
Bl -column "RS, RE" description
It Ic SH Ta section header (one line)
It Ic SS Ta subsection header (one line)
It Ic PP Ta start an undecorated paragraph (no arguments)
It Ic RS , RE Ta reset the left margin: Op Ar width
It Ic IP Ta indented paragraph: Op Ar head Op Ar width
It Ic TP Ta tagged paragraph: Op Ar width
It Ic PD Ta set vertical paragraph distance: Op Ar height
It Ic in Ta additional indent: Op Ar width
El
Ss Physical markup
Bl -column "RS, RE" description
It Ic B Ta boldface font
It Ic I Ta italic font
It Ic SB Ta small boldface font
It Ic SM Ta small roman font
It Ic BI Ta alternate between boldface and italic fonts
It Ic BR Ta alternate between boldface and roman fonts
It Ic IB Ta alternate between italic and boldface fonts
It Ic IR Ta alternate between italic and roman fonts
It Ic RB Ta alternate between roman and boldface fonts
It Ic RI Ta alternate between roman and italic fonts
El
Sh MACRO REFERENCE
This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
alphabetically.
For the scoping of individual macros, see
Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
Bl -tag -width 3n
It Ic AT
Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
At
releases.
The optional arguments specify which release it is from.
This macro is an extension that first appeared in
Bx 4.3 .
It Ic B
Text is rendered in bold face.
It Ic BI
Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.
Thus,
Sq .BI this word and that
causes
Sq this
and
Sq and
to render in bold face, while
Sq word
and
Sq that
render in italics.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
Pp
Example:
Pp
Dl \&.BI bold italic bold italic
It Ic BR
Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
See also
Ic BI .
It Ic DT
Restore the default tabulator positions.
They are at intervals of 0.5 inches.
This has no effect unless the tabulator positions were changed with the
Xr roff 7
Ic ta
request.
It Ic EE
This is a non-standard Version 9
At
extension later adopted by GNU.
In
Xr mandoc 1 ,
it does the same as the
Xr roff 7
Ic fi
request (switch to fill mode).
It Ic EX
This is a non-standard Version 9
At
extension later adopted by GNU.
In
Xr mandoc 1 ,
it does the same as the
Xr roff 7
Ic nf
request (switch to no-fill mode).
It Ic HP
Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic HP Op Ar width
Pp
The
Ar width
argument is a
Xr roff 7
scaling width.
If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left margins;
if unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
Pp
This macro is portable, but deprecated
because it has no good representation in HTML output,
usually ending up indistinguishable from
Ic PP .
It Ic I
Text is rendered in italics.
It Ic IB
Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
See also
Ic BI .
It Ic IP
Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic IP Op Ar head Op Ar width
Pp
The
Ar width
argument is a
Xr roff 7
scaling width defining the left margin.
It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
default width is used.
Pp
The
Ar head
argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.
This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
It Ic IR
Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
See also
Ic BI .
It Ic LP
A synonym for
Ic PP .
It Ic ME
End a mailto block started with
Ic MT .
This is a non-standard GNU extension.
It Ic MT
Begin a mailto block.
This is a non-standard GNU extension.
It has the following syntax:
Bd -unfilled -offset indent
Pf . Ic MT Ar address
link description to be shown
Pf . Ic ME
Ed
It Ic OP
Optional command-line argument.
This is a non-standard DWB extension.
It has the following syntax:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic OP Ar key Op Ar value
Pp
The
Ar key
is usually a command-line flag and
Ar value
its argument.
It Ic P
This synonym for
Ic PP
is an
At III
extension later adopted by
Bx 4.3 .
It Ic PD
Specify the vertical space to be inserted before each new paragraph.
br
The syntax is as follows:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic PD Op Ar height
Pp
The
Ar height
argument is a
Xr roff 7
scaling width.
It defaults to
Cm 1v .
If the unit is omitted,
Cm v
is assumed.
Pp
This macro affects the spacing before any subsequent instances of
Ic HP ,
Ic IP ,
Ic LP ,
Ic P ,
Ic PP ,
Ic SH ,
Ic SS ,
Ic SY ,
and
Ic TP .
It Ic PP
Begin an undecorated paragraph.
The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,
sub-section, section, or end of file.
The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
It Ic RB
Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
See also
Ic BI .
It Ic RE
Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
Ic RS .
The default left margin is restored to the state before that
Ic RS
invocation.
Pp
The syntax is as follows:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic RE Op Ar level
Pp
Without an argument, the most recent
Ic RS
block is closed out.
If
Ar level
is 1, all open
Ic RS
blocks are closed out.
Otherwise,
Ar level No \(mi 1
nested
Ic RS
blocks remain open.
It Ic RI
Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
See also
Ic BI .
It Ic RS
Temporarily reset the default left margin.
This has the following syntax:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic RS Op Ar width
Pp
The
Ar width
argument is a
Xr roff 7
scaling width.
If not specified, the saved or default width is used.
Pp
See also
Ic RE .
It Ic SB
Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
bold face.
This macro is an extension that probably first appeared in SunOS 4.0
and was later adopted by GNU and by
Bx 4.4 .
It Ic SH
Begin a section.
The scope of a section is only closed by another section or the end of
file.
The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
It Ic SM
Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
font).
It Ic SS
Begin a sub-section.
The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,
section, or end of file.
The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
It Ic SY
Begin a synopsis block with the following syntax:
Bd -unfilled -offset indent
Pf . Ic SY Ar command
Ar arguments
Pf . Ic YS
Ed
Pp
This is a non-standard GNU extension
and very rarely used even in GNU manual pages.
Formatting is similar to
Ic IP .
It Ic TH
Set the name of the manual page for use in the page header
and footer with the following syntax:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic TH Ar name section date Op Ar source Op Ar volume
Pp
Conventionally, the document
Ar name
is given in all caps.
The
Ar section
is usually a single digit, in a few cases followed by a letter.
The recommended
Ar date
format is
Sy YYYY-MM-DD
as specified in the ISO-8601 standard;
if the argument does not conform, it is printed verbatim.
If the
Ar date
is empty or not specified, the current date is used.
The optional
Ar source
string specifies the organisation providing the utility.
When unspecified,
Xr mandoc 1
uses its
Fl Ios
argument.
The
Ar volume
string replaces the default volume title of the
Ar section .
Pp
Examples:
Pp
Dl \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU
It Ic TP
Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is
followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after
advancing to the indentation width.
Subsequent output lines are indented.
The syntax is as follows:
Bd -unfilled -offset indent
Pf . Ic TP Op Ar width
Ar head No \e" one line
Ar body
Ed
Pp
The
Ar width
argument is a
Xr roff 7
scaling width.
If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
It Ic TQ
Like
Ic TP ,
except that no vertical spacing is inserted before the paragraph.
This is a non-standard GNU extension
and very rarely used even in GNU manual pages.
It Ic UC
Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
Bx
releases.
The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.
This macro is an extension that first appeared in
Bx 3 .
It Ic UE
End a uniform resource identifier block started with
Ic UR .
This is a non-standard GNU extension.
It Ic UR
Begin a uniform resource identifier block.
This is a non-standard GNU extension.
It has the following syntax:
Bd -unfilled -offset indent
Pf . Ic UR Ar uri
link description to be shown
Pf . Ic UE
Ed
It Ic YS
End a synopsis block started with
Ic SY .
This is a non-standard GNU extension.
It Ic in
Indent relative to the current indentation:
Pp
D1 Pf . Ic in Op Ar width
Pp
If
Ar width
is signed, the new offset is relative.
Otherwise, it is absolute.
This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
El
Sh MACRO SYNTAX
The
Nm
macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.
Line macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some
situations, the subsequent line).
Block macros are scoped to the current line and subsequent lines until
closed by another block macro.
Ss Line Macros
Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body
consisting of zero or more arguments.
If a macro is scoped to the next line and the line arguments are empty,
the next line, which must be text, is used instead.
Thus:
Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.I
foo
Ed
Pp
is equivalent to
Sq .I foo .
If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
raised.
Pp
The syntax is as follows:
Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
\(lBbody...\(rB
Ed
Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX" -offset indent
It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope     Ta Em Notes
It Ic AT  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic B   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
It Ic BI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic BR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic DT  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic EE  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    Version 9 At
It Ic EX  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    Version 9 At
It Ic I   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
It Ic IB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic IR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic OP  Ta    >=1       Ta    current   Ta    DWB
It Ic PD  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic RB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic RI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic SB  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
It Ic SM  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
It Ic TH  Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic UC  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
It Ic in  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    Xr roff 7
El
Ss Block Macros
Block macros comprise a head and body.
As with in-line macros, the head is scoped to the current line and, in
one circumstance, the next line (the next-line stipulations as in
Sx Line Macros
apply here as well).
Pp
The syntax is as follows:
Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
\(lBhead...\(rB
\(lBbody...\(rB
Ed
Pp
The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
by
Ic SH ;
sub-section, closed by a section or
Ic SS ;
or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section,
Ic HP ,
Ic IP ,
Ic LP ,
Ic P ,
Ic PP ,
Ic RE ,
Ic SY ,
or
Ic TP .
No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
Pp
As a rule, block macros may not be nested; thus, calling a block macro
while another block macro scope is open, and the open scope is not
implicitly closed, is syntactically incorrect.
Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX" -offset indent
It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope  Ta Em Notes
It Ic HP  Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic IP  Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic LP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic ME  Ta    0         Ta    none       Ta    none        Ta    GNU
It Ic MT  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&ME     Ta    GNU
It Ic P   Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic PP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic RE  Ta    <=1       Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    \&
It Ic RS  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&RE     Ta    \&
It Ic SH  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section     Ta    \&
It Ic SS  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section Ta    \&
It Ic SY  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&YS     Ta    GNU
It Ic TP  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
It Ic TQ  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    GNU
It Ic UE  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    GNU
It Ic UR  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part        Ta    GNU
It Ic YS  Ta    0         Ta    none       Ta    none        Ta    GNU
El
Pp
If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
macros for decorating text.
Ss Font handling
In
Nm
documents, both
Sx Physical markup
macros and
Xr roff 7
Ql \ef
font escape sequences can be used to choose fonts.
In text lines, the effect of manual font selection by escape sequences
only lasts until the next macro invocation; in macro lines, it only lasts
until the end of the macro scope.
Note that macros like
Ic BR
open and close a font scope for each argument.
Sh SEE ALSO
Xr man 1 ,
Xr mandoc 1 ,
Xr eqn 7 ,
Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
Xr mdoc 7 ,
Xr roff 7 ,
Xr tbl 7
Sh HISTORY
The
Nm
language first appeared as a macro package for the roff typesetting
system in
At v7 .
Pp
The stand-alone implementation that is part of the
Xr mandoc 1
utility first appeared in
Ox 4.6 .
Sh AUTHORS
An -nosplit
An Douglas McIlroy Aq Mt [email protected]
designed and implemented the original version of these macros,
wrote the original version of this manual page,
and was the first to use them when he edited volume 1 of the
At v7
manual pages.
Pp
An James Clark
later rewrote the macros for groff.
An Eric S. Raymond Aq Mt [email protected]
and
An Werner Lemberg Aq Mt [email protected]
added the extended
Nm
macros to groff in 2007.
Pp
The
Xr mandoc 1
program and this
Nm
reference were written by
An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq Mt [email protected] .

You are viewing proxied material from ftp.icm.edu.pl. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.