TROFF(1) User Commands TROFF(1)

NAME

troff - typeset or format documents

SYNOPSIS

troff [-a] [-f] [-Fdir] [-i] [-mname] [-nN] [-olist] [-raN]
[-sN] [-Tdest] [-uN] [-z] [filename]...

DESCRIPTION

troff formats text in the filenames for typesetting or laser
printing. Input to troff is expected to consist of text interspersed
with formatting requests and macros. If no filename argument is
present, troff reads standard input. A minus sign (-) as a filename
indicates that standard input should be read at that point in the
list of input files.


The output of troff is usually piped through dpost(1) to create a
printable postscript file (see EXAMPLES).

OPTIONS

The following options are supported. They may appear in any order,
but all must appear before the first filename.

-a
Send an ASCII approximation of formatted output to standard
output. (Note: a rough ASCII version can also be printed
out on ordinary terminals with an old and rarely used
command, /usr/bin/ta.)


-f
Do not print a trailer after the final page of output or
cause the postprocessor to relinquish control of the
device.


-Fdir
Search directory dir for font width or terminal tables
instead of the system default directory.


-i
Read standard input after all input files are exhausted.


-mname
Prepend the macro file /usr/share/lib/tmac/name to the
input filenames. Note: most references to macro packages
include the leading m as part of the name; for example, the
man(7) macros reside in /usr/share/lib/tmac/an. The macro
directory can be changed by setting the TROFFMACS
environment variable to a specific path. Be certain to
include the trailing '/' (slash) at the end of the path.


-nN
Number the first generated page N.


-olist
Print only pages whose page numbers appear in the comma-
separated list of numbers and ranges. A range N-M means
pages N through M; an initial -N means from the beginning
to page N; and a final N- means from N to the end.


-q
Quiet mode in nroff; ignored in troff.


-raN
Set register a (one-character names only) to N.


-sN
Stop the phototypesetter every N pages. On some devices,
troff produces a trailer so you can change cassettes;
resume by pressing the typesetter's start button.


-Tdest
Prepare output for typesetter dest. The following values
can be supplied for dest:

post
A PostScript printer; this is the default value.
The output of the -T option must go through
dpost(1) before it is sent to a PostScript printer
to obtain the proper output.


-uN
Set the emboldening factor for the font mounted in position
3 to N. If N is missing, then set the emboldening factor to
0.


-z
Suppress formatted output. Only diagnostic messages and
messages output using the .tm request are output.

OPERANDS

The following operand is supported:

filename
The file containing text to be processed by troff.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Using troff

The following example shows how to print an input text file mytext,
coded with formatting requests and macros. The input file contains
equations and tables and must go through the tbl(1) and eqn(1)
preprocessors before it is formatted by troff with ms macros,
processed by dpost(1), and printed by lp(1):


tbl mytext | eqn | troff -ms | dpost | lp

FILES

/tmp/trtmp
temporary file


/usr/share/lib/tmac/*
standard macro files


/usr/lib/font/*
font width tables for alternate mounted
troff fonts


/usr/share/lib/nterm/*
terminal driving tables for nroff

SEE ALSO

checknr(1), col(1), dpost(1), eqn(1), lp(1), man(1), nroff(1),
tbl(1), attributes(7), man(7), me(7), ms(7)

NOTES

troff is not 8-bit clean because it is by design based on 7-bit
ASCII.


Previous documentation incorrectly described the numeric register yr
as being the Last two digits of current year. yr is in actuality the
number of years since 1900. To correctly obtain the last two digits
of the current year through the year 2099, the definition given below
of string register yy may be included in a document and subsequently
used to display a two-digit year. Note that any other available one-
or two-character register name may be substituted for yy.

.\" definition of new string register yy--last two digits of year
.\" use yr (# of years since 1900) if it is < 100
.ie \n(yr<100 .ds yy \n(yr
.el \{ .\" else, subtract 100 from yr, store in ny
.nr ny \n(yr-100
.ie \n(ny>9 \{ .\" use ny if it is two digits
.ds yy \n(ny
.\" remove temporary number register ny
.rr ny \}
.el \{.ds yy 0
.\" if ny is one digit, append it to 0
.as yy \n(ny
.rr ny \} \}


August 24, 2009 TROFF(1)