FMT(1) User Commands FMT(1)

NAME

fmt - simple text formatters

SYNOPSIS

fmt [-cs] [-w width | -width] [inputfile]...

DESCRIPTION

fmt is a simple text formatter that fills and joins lines to produce
output lines of (up to) the number of characters specified in the -w
width option. The default width is 72. fmt concatenates the
inputfiles listed as arguments. If none are given, fmt formats text
from the standard input.


Blank lines are preserved in the output, as is the spacing between
words. fmt does not fill nor split lines beginning with a `.' (dot),
for compatibility with nroff(1). Nor does it fill or split a set of
contiguous non-blank lines which is determined to be a mail header,
the first line of which must begin with "From".


Indentation is preserved in the output, and input lines with
differing indentation are not joined (unless -c is used).


fmt can also be used as an in-line text filter for vi(1). The vi
command:


!}fmt


reformats the text between the cursor location and the end of the
paragraph.

OPTIONS

-c
Crown margin mode. Preserve the indentation of
the first two lines within a paragraph, and
align the left margin of each subsequent line
with that of the second line. This is useful for
tagged paragraphs.


-s
Split lines only. Do not join short lines to
form longer ones. This prevents sample lines of
code, and other such formatted text, from being
unduly combined.


-w width | -width
Fill output lines to up to width columns.

OPERANDS

inputfile
Input file.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

See environ(7) for a description of the LC_CTYPE environment variable
that affects the execution of fmt.

SEE ALSO

nroff(1), vi(1), attributes(7), environ(7)

NOTES

The -width option is acceptable for BSD compatibility, but it may go
away in future releases.

May 9, 1997 FMT(1)