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Name

groff_mm - groff mm macros

Synopsis

groff -mm [ options... ] [ files... ]

Description

The groff mm macros are intended to be compatible with the DWB mm macros with the following limitations:

mm is intended to support easy localization. Use mmse as an example how to adapt the output format to a national standard. Localized strings are collected in the file ‘/usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/xx.tmac’, where xx denotes the two-letter code for the language, as defined in the ISO 639 standard. For Swedish, this is ‘sv.tmac’ [en] not ‘se’, which is the ISO 3166 two-letter code for the country (as used for the output format localization).

A file called locale or country_locale is read after the initialization of the global variables. It is therefore possible to localize the macros with a different company name and so on.

In this manual, square brackets are used to show optional arguments.

Number registers and strings

Many macros can be controlled by number registers and strings. A number register is assigned with the nr command:

.nr XXX [[+-]]n [i]

XXX is the name of the register, n~is the value to be assigned, and i~is the increment value for auto-increment. n~can have a plus or minus sign as a prefix if an increment or decrement of the current value is wanted. (Auto-increment or auto-decrement occurs if the number register is used with a plus or minus sign, [rs]n+[XXX] or [rs]n-[XXX].)

Strings are defined with ds.

.ds YYY string

The string is assigned everything to the end of the line, even blanks. Initial blanks in string should be prefixed with a double-quote. (Strings are used in the text as [rs]*[YYY].)

Special formatting of number registers

A number register is printed with normal digits if no format has been given. Set the format with af:

.af R c

R~is the name of the register, c~is the format.

FormSequence
10, 1, 2, 3, ...
001000, 001, 002, 003, ...
i0, i, ii, iii, iv, ...
I0, I, II, III, IV, ...
a0, a, b, c, ..., z, aa, ab, ...
A0, A, B, C, ..., Z, AA, AB, ...

Fonts

In mm, the fonts (or rather, font styles) R~(normal), I~(italic), and B~(bold) are hardwired to font positions 1, 2, and~3, respectively. Internally, font positions are used for backwards compatibility. From a practical point of view it doesn’t make a big difference [en] a different font family can still be selected with a call to the .fam request or using groff’s -f command line option. On the other hand, if you want to replace just, say, font B, you have to replace the font at position~2 (with a call to ‘.fp~2~...’).

Macros

)E level text
Add heading text text to the table of contents with level, which is either~0 or in the range 1 to~7. See also .H. This macro is used for customized tables of contents.
1C [1]
Begin one-column processing. A~1 as an argument disables the page break. Use wide footnotes, small footnotes may be overprinted.
2C
Begin two-column processing. Splits the page in two columns. It is a special case of MC. See also 1C.
AE
Abstract end, see AS.
AF [name-of-firm]
Author’s firm, should be called before AU, see also COVER.
AL [type [text-indent [1]]]
Start auto-increment list. Items are numbered beginning with one. The type argument controls the format of numbers.
ArgDescription1Arabic (the default)AUpper-case letters (A-Z)aLower-case letters (a-z)IUpper-case romaniLower-case roman
text-indent
sets the indentation and overrides Li. A third argument prohibits printing of a blank line before each item.
APP name text
Begin an appendix with name name. Automatic naming occurs if name is [dq][dq]. The appendices start with~A if automatic naming is used. A new page is ejected, and a header is also produced if the number variable Aph is non-zero. This is the default. The appendix always appears in the ‘List of contents’ with correct page numbers. The name ‘APPENDIX’ can be changed by setting the string App to the desired text. The string Apptxt contains the current appendix text.
APPSK name pages text
Same as .APP, but the page number is incremented with pages. This is used when diagrams or other non-formatted documents are included as appendices.
AS [arg [indent]]
Abstract start. Indentation is specified in ‘ens’, but scaling is allowed. Argument arg controls where the abstract is printed.
ArgPlacement
0Abstract is printed on page~1 and on the cover sheet if used in thereleased-paper style (MT 4), otherwise it is printed on page~1 without a cover sheet.
1Abstract is only printed on the cover sheet (MT 4 only).
2Abstract is printed only on the cover sheet (other than MT 4 only). The cover sheet is printed without a need for CS.
An abstract is not printed at all in external letters (MT 5).
The indent parameter controls the indentation of both margins, otherwise normal text indentation is used.
AST [title]
Abstract title. Default is ‘ABSTRACT’. Sets the text above the abstract text.
AT title1 [title2 [...]]
Author’s title. AT must appear just after each AU. The title shows up after the name in the signature block.
AU [name [initials [loc [dept [ext [room [arg [arg [arg]]]]]]]]]
Author information. Specifies the author of the memo or paper, and is printed on the cover sheet and on other similar places. AU must not appear before TL. The author information can contain initials, location, department, telephone extension, room number or name and up to three extra arguments.
AV [name [1]]
Approval signature. Generates an approval line with place for signature and date. The string ‘APPROVED:’ can be changed with variable Letapp; it is replaced with an empty lin if there is a second argument. The string ‘Date’ can be changed with variable Letdate.
AVL [name]
Letter signature. Generates a line with place for signature.
B [bold-text [prev-font-text [bold [...]]]]
Begin boldface. No limit on the number of arguments. All arguments are concatenated to one word; the first, third and so on is printed in boldface.
B1
Begin box (as the ms macro). Draws a box around the text. The text is indented one character, and the right margin is one character shorter.
B2
End box. Finishes the box started with B1.
BE
End bottom block, see BS.
BI [bold-text [italic-text [bold-text [...]]]]
Bold-italic. No limit on the number of arguments, see~B.
BL [text-indent [1]]
Start bullet list. Initializes a list with a bullet and a space in the beginning of each list item (see LI). text-indent overrides the default indentation of the list items set by number register Pi. A third argument prohibits printing of a blank line before each item.
BR [bold-text [roman-text [bold-text [...]]]]
Bold-roman. No limit on the number of arguments.
BS
Bottom block start. Begins the definition of a text block which is printed at the bottom of each page. The block ends with BE.
BVL text-indent [mark-indent [1]]
Start of broken variable-item list. Broken variable-item list has no fixed mark, it assumes that every LI has a mark instead. The text always begins at the next line after the mark. text-indent sets the indentation to the text, and mark-indent the distance from the current indentation to the mark. A third argument prohibits printing of a blank line before each item.
COVER [arg]
Begin a coversheet definition. It is important that .COVER appears before any normal text. This macro uses arg to build the filename ‘/usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/mm/arg.cov’. Therefore it is possible to create unlimited types of cover sheets. ‘ms.cov’ is supposed to look like the ms cover sheet. .COVER requires a .COVEND at the end of the cover definition. Always use this order of the cover macros:
Qrf
may be changed to support other languages. Strings Qrfh and Qrfp are set by GETR and contain the page and header number, respectively.
GETST refname [varname]
Include the string saved with the second argument to .SETR. This is a dummy string in pass~1. If varname is used, GETST sets it to the saved string. See INITR.
H level [heading-text [heading-suffix]]
Numbered section heading. Section headers can have a level between 1 and 14; level~1 is the top level. The text is given in heading-text, and must be surrounded by double quotes if it contains spaces. heading-suffix is added to the header in the text but not in the table of contents. This is normally used for footnote marks and similar things. Don’t use [rs]*F in heading-suffix, it doesn’t work. A manual label must be used, see FS.

A call to the paragraph macro~P directly after~H is ignored. H~takes care of spacing and indentation.

Page ejection before heading
Number register
Ej controls page ejection before the heading. By default, a level-one heading gets two blank lines before it; higher levels only get one. A new page is ejected before each first-level heading if number register Ej is~1. All levels below or equal the value of Ej get a new page. Default value for Ej is~0.
Heading break level
A line break occurs after the heading if the heading level is less
or equal to number register Hb. Default value is~2.
Heading space level
A blank line is inserted after the heading if the heading level is less
or equal to number register Hs. Default value is~2.
Text follows the heading on the same line if the level is greater
than both Hb and Hs.
Post-heading indent
Indentation of the text after the heading is controlled by number
register Hi. Default value is~0.
Hi
0The text is left-justified.
1Indentation of the text follows the value of number register Pt , see P.
2The text is lined up with the first word of the heading.
Centered section headings
All headings whose level is equal or below number register
Hc and also less than or equal to Hb or Hs are centered.
Font control of the heading
The font of each heading level is controlled by string
HF. It contains a font number or font name for each level. Default value is
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
(all headings in italic).
This could also be written as
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Note that some other implementations use
3~3~2~2~2~2~2 as the default value. All omitted values are presumed to have value~1.
Point size control
String
HP controls the point size of each heading, in the same way as HF controls the font. A value of~0 selects the default point size. Default value is
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Beware that only the point size changes, not the vertical size.
The latter can be controlled by the user-specified macros HX and/or HZ.
Heading counters
Fourteen number registers named
H1 up to H14 contain the counter for each heading level. The values are printed using Arabic numerals; this can be changed with the macro HM (see below). All marks are concatenated before printing. To avoid this, set number register Ht to~1. This only prints the current heading counter at each heading.
Automatic table of contents
All headings whose level is equal or below number register
Cl are saved to be printed in the table of contents. Default value is~2.
Special control of the heading, user-defined macros
The following macros can be defined by the user to get a finer control
of vertical spacing, fonts, or other features. Argument level is the level-argument to~H, but~0 for unnumbered headings (see HU). Argument rlevel is the real level; it is set to number register Hu for unnumbered headings. Argument heading-text is the text argument to H and HU.
HX level rlevel heading-text
This macro is called just before the printing of the heading. The following registers are available for HX. Note that HX may alter }0, }2, and ;3.
}0 (string)
Contains the heading mark plus two spaces if rlevel is non-zero, otherwise empty.
;0 (register)
Contains the position of the text after the heading. 0~means that the text should follow the heading on the same line, 1~means that a line break should occur before the text, and 2~means that a blank line should separate the heading and the text.
}2 (string)
Contains two spaces if register ;0 is~0. It is used to separate the heading from the text. The string is empty if ;0 is non-zero.
;3 (register)
Contains the needed space in units after the heading. Default is 2v. Can be used to change things like numbering (}0), vertical spacing (}2), and the needed space after the heading.
HY dlevel rlevel heading-text
This macro is called after size and font calculations and might be used to change indentation.
HZ dlevel rlevel heading-text
This macro is called after the printing of the heading, just before H or HU exits. Can be used to change the page header according to the section heading.
HC [hyphenation-character]
Set hyphenation character. Default value is ‘[rs]%’. Resets to the default if called without argument. Hyphenation can be turned off by setting number register Hy to~0 at the beginning of the file.
HM [arg1 [arg2 [... [arg14]]]]
Heading mark style. Controls the type of marking for printing of the heading counters. Default is~1 for all levels.
Argument
1Arabic numerals.
0001Arabic numerals with leading zeroes, one or more.
Aupper-case alphabetic
alower-case alphabetic
Iupper-case roman numerals
ilower-case roman numerals
[dq][dq]Arabic numerals.
HU heading-text
Unnumbered section header. HU behaves like H at the level in number register Hu. See~H.
HX dlevel rlevel heading-text
User-defined heading exit. Called just before printing the header. See~H.
HY dlevel rlevel heading-text
User-defined heading exit. Called just before printing the header. See~H.
HZ dlevel rlevel heading-text
User-defined heading exit. Called just after printing the header. See~H.
I [italic-text [prev-font-text [italic-text [...]]]]
Italic. Changes the font to italic if called without arguments. With one argument it sets the word in italic. With two arguments it concatenates them and sets the first word in italic and the second in the previous font. There is no limit on the number of argument; all are concatenated.
IA [addressee-name [title]]
Begin specification of the addressee and addressee’s address in letter style. Several names can be specified with empty IA/IE-pairs, but only one address. See LT.
IB [italic-text [bold-text [italic-text [...]]]]
Italic-bold. Even arguments are printed in italic, odd in boldface. See~I.
IE
End the address specification after IA.
INITI type filename [macro]
Initialize the new index system and set the filename to collect index lines in with IND. Argument type selects the type of index: page number, header marks or both. The default is page numbers.
It is also possible to create a macro that is responsible
for formatting each row; just add the name of the macro as a third argument. The macro is then called with the index as argument(s).
type
NPage numbersHHeader marksBBoth page numbers and header marks, separated with a tab character.
INITR filename
Initialize the cross reference macros. Cross references are written to stderr and are supposed to be redirected into file ‘filename.qrf’. Requires two passes with groff; this is handled by a separate program called mmroff(1) . This program exists because groff(1) by default deactivates the unsafe operations that are required by INITR. The first pass looks for cross references, and the second one includes them. INITR can be used several times, but it is only the first occurrence of INITR that is active.
See also
SETR, GETPN, and GETHN.
IND arg1 [arg2 [...]]
Write a line in the index file selected by INITI with all arguments and the page number or header mark separated by tabs.
Examples
arg1[rs]tpage number

arg1[rs]targ2[rs]tpage number
arg1[rs]theader mark
arg1[rs]tpage number[rs]theader mark
INDP
Print the index by running the command specified by string variable Indcmd, which has ‘sort -t[rs]t’ as the default value. INDP reads the output from the command to form the index, by default in two columns (this can be changed by defining TYIND). The index is printed with string variable Index as header, default is ‘INDEX’. One-column processing is reactivated after the list. INDP calls the user-defined macros TXIND, TYIND, and TZIND if defined. TXIND is called before printing the string ‘INDEX’, TYIND is called instead of printing ‘INDEX’, and TZIND is called after the printing and should take care of restoring to normal operation again.
ISODATE [0]
Change the predefined date string in DT to ISO-format, this is, ‘YYYY-MM-DD’. This can also be done by adding -rIso=1 on the command line. Reverts to old date format if argument is~0.
IR [italic-text [roman-text [italic-text [...]]]]
Italic-roman. Even arguments are printed in italic, odd in roman. See~I.
LB text-indent mark-indent pad type [mark [LI-space [LB-space]]]
List-begin macro. This is the common macro used for all lists. text-indent is the number of spaces to indent the text from the current indentation.
pad
and mark-indent control where to put the mark. The mark is placed within the mark area, and mark-indent sets the number of spaces before this area. By default it is~0. The mark area ends where the text begins. The start of the text is still controlled by text-indent.
The mark is left-justified within the mark area if
pad is~0. If pad is greater than~0, mark-indent is ignored, and the mark is placed pad spaces before the text. This right-justifies the mark.
If
type is~0 the list either has a hanging indentation or, if argument mark is given, the string mark as a mark.
If
type is greater than~0 automatic numbering occurs, using arabic numbers if mark is empty. mark can then be any of ‘1’, ‘A’, ‘a’, ‘I’, or ‘i’.
type
selects one of six possible ways to display the mark.
type

1x.2x)3(x)4[x]5<x>6{x}
Every item in the list gets
LI-space number of blank lines before them. Default is~1.
LB
itself prints LB-space blank lines. Default is~0.
LC [list-level]
List-status clear. Terminates all current active lists down to list-level, or~0 if no argument is given. This is used by~H to clear any active list.
LE [1]
List end. Terminates the current list. LE outputs a blank line if an argument is given.
LI [mark [1|2]]
List item preceding every item in a list. Without argument, LI prints the mark determined by the current list type. By giving LI one argument, it uses that as the mark instead. Two arguments to LI makes mark a prefix to the current mark. There is no separating space between the prefix and the mark if the second argument is ‘2’ instead of ‘1’. This behaviour can also be achieved by setting number register Limsp to zero. A zero length mark makes a hanging indentation instead.
A blank line is printed before the list item by default.
This behaviour can be controlled by number register Ls. Pre-spacing occurs for each list level less than or equal to Ls. Default value is 99. There is no nesting limit.
The indentation can be changed through number register
Li. Default is~6.
All lists begin with a list initialization macro,
LB. There are, however, seven predefined list types to make lists easier to use. They all call LB with different default values.
ALAutomatically Incremented ListMLMarked ListVLVariable-Item ListBLBullet ListDLDash ListRLReference ListBVLBroken Variable List.
These lists are described at other places in this manual.
See also LB.
LT [arg]
Format a letter in one of four different styles depending on the argument. See also section INTERNALS.
ArgStyleBLBlocked.Date line, return address, writer’s address and closing
begins at the center of the line. All other lines begin at the left margin.
SBSemi-blocked. Same as blocked, except that the first line in every paragraph is indented five spaces.
FBFull-blocked. All lines begin at the left margin.
SPSimplified. Almost the same as the full-blocked style. Subject and the writer’s identification are printed in all-capital.
LO type [arg]
Specify options in letter (see .LT). This is a list of the standard options:
CNConfidential notation.Prints ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ on the second line below the date line.
Any argument replaces ‘CONFIDENTIAL’. See also string variable LetCN.
RNReference notation. Prints ‘In reference to:’ and the argument two lines below the date line. See also string variable LetRN.
ATAttention. Prints ‘ATTENTION:’ and the argument below the inside address. See also string variable LetAT.
SASalutation. Prints ‘To Whom It May Concern:’ or the argument if it was present. The salutation is printed two lines below the inside address. See also string variable LetSA.
SJSubject line. Prints the argument as subject prefixed with ‘SUBJECT:’ two lines below the inside address, except in letter type ‘SP’, where the subject is printed in all-capital without any prefix. See also string variable LetSJ.
MC column-size [column-separation]
Begin multiple columns. Return to normal with 1C. MC creates as many columns as the current line length permits. column-size is the width of each column, and column-separation is the space between two columns. Default separation is column-size/15. See also 1C.
ML mark [text-indent [1]]
Marked list start. The mark argument is printed before each list item. text-indent sets the indent and overrides Li. A third argument prohibits printing of a blank line before each item.
MT [arg [addressee]]
Memorandum type. The argument arg is part of a filename in ‘/usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/mm/*.MT’. Memorandum types 0 to~5 are supported, including type ‘string’ (which gets internally mapped to type~6). addressee just sets a variable, used in the AT&T macros.
arg
0Normal memorandum, no type printed.1Memorandum with ‘MEMORANDUM FOR FILE’ printed.2Memorandum with ‘PROGRAMMER’S NOTES’ printed.3Memorandum with ‘ENGINEER’S NOTES’ printed.4Released paper style.5External letter style.
See also
COVER/COVEND, a more flexible type of front page.
MOVE y-pos [x-pos [line-length]]
Move to a position, setting page offset to x-pos. If line-length is not given, the difference between current and new page offset is used. Use PGFORM without arguments to return to normal.
MULB cw1 space1 [cw2 space2 [cw3 ...]]
Begin a special multi-column mode. All columns widths must be specified. The space between the columns must be specified also. The last column does not need any space definition. MULB starts a diversion, and MULE ends the diversion and prints the columns. The unit for the width and space arguments is ‘n’, but MULB accepts all normal unit specifications like ‘c’ and ‘i’. MULB operates in a separate environment.
MULN
Begin the next column. This is the only way to switch the column.
MULE
End the multi-column mode and print the columns.
nP [type]
Print numbered paragraph with header level two. See .P.
NCOL
Force printing to the next column. Don’t use this together with the MUL* macros, see 2C.
NS [arg [1]]
Print different types of notations. The argument selects between the predefined type of notations. If the second argument is available, then the argument becomes the entire notation. If the argument doesn’t select a predefined type, it is printed as ‘Copy (arg) to’. It is possible to add more standard notations, see the string variables Letns and Letnsdef.
ArgNotationnoneCopy To[dq][dq]Copy To1Copy To (with att.) to2Copy To (without att.) to3Att.4Atts.5Enc.6Encs.7Under separate cover8Letter to9Memorandum to10Copy (with atts.) to11Copy (without atts.) to12Abstract Only to13Complete Memorandum to14CC
ND new-date
New date. Overrides the current date. Date is not printed if new-date is an empty string.
OF [arg]
Odd-page footer, a line printed just above the normal footer. See EF and PF.
This macro defines string
EOPof.
OH [arg]
Odd-page header, a line printed just below the normal header. See EH and PH.
This macro defines string
TPoh.
OP
Make sure that the following text is printed at the top of an odd-numbered page. Does not output an empty page if currently at the top of an odd page.
P [type]
Begin new paragraph. P~without argument produces left-justified text, even the first line of the paragraph. This is the same as setting type to~0. If the argument is~1, the first line of text following~P is indented by the number of spaces in number register Pi, by default~5.
Instead of giving an argument to~P
it is possible to set the paragraph type in number register Pt. Using 0 and~1 is the same as adding that value to P. A value of~2 indents all paragraphs, except after headings, lists, and displays (this value can’t be used as an argument to P itself).
The space between two paragraphs is controlled by number register
Ps, and is~1 by default (one blank line).
PGFORM [linelength [pagelength [pageoffset [1]]]]
Set line length, page length, and/or page offset. This macro can be used for special formatting, like letter heads and other. It is normally the first command in a file, though it is not necessary. PGFORM can be used without arguments to reset everything after a MOVE call. A line break is done unless the fourth argument is given. This can be used to avoid the page number on the first page while setting new width and length. (It seems as if this macro sometimes doesn’t work too well. Use the command line arguments to change line length, page length, and page offset instead.)
PGNH
No header is printed on the next page. Used to get rid of the header in letters or other special texts. This macro must be used before any text to inhibit the page header on the first page.
PIC [-L] [-C] [-R] [-I n] filename [width [height]]
Include a PostScript file in the document. The macro depends on mmroff(1) and INITR. The arguments -L, -C, -R, and -I n adjust the picture or indent it. The optional width and height can also be given to resize the picture.
PE
Picture end. Ends a picture for pic(@MAN1EXT).
PF [arg]
Page footer. PF sets the line to be printed at the bottom of each page. Empty by default. See PH for the argument specification.
This macro defines string
EOPf.
PH [arg]
Page header, a line printed at the top of each page. The argument should be specified as
[dq]’left-part’center-part’right-part’[dq]
where
left-part, center-part, and right-part are printed left-justified, centered, and right justified, respectively. Within the argument to PH, the character ‘%’ is changed to the current page number. The default argument is
[dq]’’- % -’’[dq]
which gives the page number between two dashes.
This macro defines string
TPh.
PS
Picture start (from pic). Begins a picture for pic(1) .
PX
Page header user-defined exit. This macro is called just after the printing of the page header in no-space mode.
R
Roman. Return to roman font, see also~I.
RB [roman-text [bold-text [roman-text [...]]]]
Roman-bold. Even arguments are printed in roman, odd in boldface. See~I.
RD [prompt [diversion [string]]]
Read from standard input to diversion and/or string. The text is saved in a diversion named diversion. Recall the text by writing the name of the diversion after a dot on an empty line. A string is also defined if string is given. Diversion and/or prompt can be empty ([dq][dq]).
RF
Reference end. Ends a reference definition and returns to normal processing. See RS.
RI [roman-text [italic-text [roman-text [...]]]]
Print even arguments in roman, odd in italic. See~I.
RL [text-indent[1]]
Reference list start. Begins a list where each item is preceded with an automatically incremented number between square brackets. text-indent changes the default indentation.
RP [arg1 [arg2]]
Produce reference page. This macro can be used if a reference page is wanted somewhere in the document. It is not needed if TC is used to produce a table of contents. The reference page is then printed automatically.
The reference counter is not reset if
arg1 is~1.
arg2
tells RP whether to eject a page or not.
arg2
0The reference page is printed on a separate page.1Do not eject page after the list.2Do not eject page before the list.3Do not eject page before and after the list.
The reference items are separated by a blank line.
Setting number register Ls to~0 suppresses the line.
The string
Rp contains the reference page title and is set to ‘REFERENCES’ by default. The number register Rpe holds the default value for the second argument of RP; it is initially set to~0.
RS [string-name]
Begin an automatically numbered reference definition. Put the string [rs]*(Rf where the reference mark should be and write the reference between RS/RF at next new line after the reference mark. The reference number is stored in number register :R. If string-name is given, a string with that name is defined and contains the current reference mark. The string can be referenced as [rs]*[string-name] later in the text.
S [size [spacing]]
Set point size and vertical spacing. If any argument is equal to ‘P’, the previous value is used. A ‘C’ means current value, and ‘D’ the default value. If ‘+’ or ‘-’ is used before the value, the current value is incremented or decremented, respectively.
SA [arg]
Set right-margin justification. Justification is turned on by default. No argument or value ‘0’ turns off justification, and ‘1’ turns on justification.
SETR refname [string]
Remember the current header and page number as refname. Saves string if string is defined. string is retrieved with .GETST. See INITR.
SG [arg [1]]
Signature line. Prints the authors name(s) after the formal closing. The argument is appended to the reference data, printed at either the first or last author. The reference data is the location, department, and initials specified with .AU. It is printed at the first author if the second argument is given, otherwise at the last. No reference data is printed if the author(s) is specified through .WA/.WE. See section INTERNALS.
SK [pages]
Skip pages. If pages is~0 or omitted, a skip to the next page occurs unless it is already at the top of a page. Otherwise it skips pages pages.
SM string1 [string2 [string3]]
Make a string smaller. If string2 is given, string1 is made smaller and string2 stays at normal size, concatenated with string1. With three arguments, everything is concatenated, but only string2 is made smaller.
SP [lines]
Space vertically. lines can have any scaling factor, like ‘3i’ or ‘8v’. Several SP calls in a line only produces the maximum number of lines, not the sum. SP is ignored also until the first text line in a page. Add [rs]& before a call to SP to avoid this.
TAB
Reset tabs to every 5n. Normally used to reset any previous tab positions.
TB [title [override [flag [refname]]]]
Table title. The arguments are the same as for EC. TB uses the number register Tb as a counter. The string Lt controls the title of the List of Tables; default value is ‘LIST OF TABLES’. The List of Tables is only printed if number register Lt is~1, which is the default. The string Litb contains the word ‘TABLE’, which is printed before the number.
Special handling of the title occurs if
TB is used inside DS/DE, it is not affected by the format of DS.
TC [slevel [spacing [tlevel [tab [h1 [h2 [h3 [h4 [h5]]]]]]]]]
Table of contents. This macro is normally used as the last line of the document. It generates a table of contents with headings up to the level controlled by number register Cl. Note that Cl controls the saving of headings, it has nothing to do with TC. Headings with a level less than or equal to slevel get spacing number of lines before them. Headings with a level less than or equal to tlevel have their page numbers right-justified with dots or spaces separating the text and the page number. Spaces are used if tab is greater than zero, dots otherwise. Other headings have the page number directly at the end of the heading text (ragged-right).
The rest of the arguments is printed, centered, before the
table of contents.
The user-defined macros
TX and TY are used if TC is called with at most four arguments. TX is called before the printing of the string ‘CONTENTS’, and TY is called instead of printing ‘CONTENTS’.
Equivalent macros can be defined for list of figures, tables, equations
and exhibits by defining TXxx or TYxx, where xx is ‘Fg’, ‘TB’, ‘EC’, or ‘EX’, respectively.
String
Ci can be set to control the indentations for each heading-level. It must be scaled, like
....
  • By default,
    the indentation is controlled by the maximum length of headings in each level.
    The string variables
    Lifg, Litb, Liex, Liec, and Licon contain ‘Figure’, ‘TABLE’, ‘Exhibit’, ‘Equation’, and ‘CONTENTS’, respectively. These can be redefined to other languages.
    TE
    Table end. See TS.
    TH [N]
    Table header. See TS. TH ends the header of the table. This header is printed again if a page break occurs. Argument ‘N’ isn’t implemented yet.
    TL [charging-case-number [filing-case-number]]
    Begin title of memorandum. All text up to the next AU is included in the title. charging-case-number and filing-case-number are saved for use in the front page processing.
    TM [num1 [num2 [...]]]
    Technical memorandum numbers used in .MT. An unlimited number of arguments may be given.
    TP
    Top-of-page user-defined macro. This macro is called instead of the normal page header. It is possible to get complete control over the header. Note that the header and the footer are printed in a separate environment. Line length is preserved, though. See EOP.
    strings available to TP
    TPhargument of PH
    TPehargument of EH
    TPohargument of OH
    TS [H]
    Table start. This is the start of a table specification to tbl(1) . TS ends with TE. Argument ‘H’ tells mm that the table has a header. See TH.
    TX
    User-defined table of contents exit. This macro is called just before TC prints the word ‘CONTENTS’. See TC.
    TY
    User-defined table of contents exit. This macro is called instead of printing ‘CONTENTS’. See TC.
    VERBON [flag [point-size [font]]]
    Begin verbatim output using Courier font. Usually for printing programs. All characters have equal width. The point size can be changed with the second argument. By specifying a third argument it is possible to use another font instead of Courier. flag controls several special features. Its value is the sum of all wanted features.
    ArgDescription1Disable the escape character ([rs]).This is normally turned on during verbose output.
    2Add an empty line before the verbose text.
    4Add an empty line after the verbose text.
    8Print the verbose text with numbered lines. This adds four digit-sized spaces in the beginning of each line. Finer control is available with the string variable Verbnm. It contains all arguments to the troff(1) command .nm, normally ‘1’.
    16Indent the verbose text by ‘5n’. This is controlled by the number-variable Verbin (in units).
    VERBOFF
    End verbatim output.
    VL text-indent [mark-indent [1]]
    Variable-item list. It has no fixed mark, it assumes that every LI has a mark instead. text-indent sets the indent to the text, and mark-indent the distance from the current indentation to the mark. A third argument prohibits printing of a blank line before each item.
    VM [-T] [top [bottom]]
    Vertical margin. Increase the top and bottom margin by top and bottom, respectively. If option -T is specified, set those margins to top and bottom. If no argument is given, reset the margin to zero, or to the default (‘7v 5v’) if -T is used. It is highly recommended that macros TP and/or EOP are defined if using -T and setting top and/or bottom margin to less than the default.
    WA [writer-name [title]]
    Begin specification of the writer and writer’s address. Several names can be specified with empty WA/WE pairs, but only one address.
    WE
    End the address specification after .WA.
    WC [format1] [format2] [...]
    Footnote and display width control.
    NSet default mode which is equal to using the options-WF, -FF, -WD, and FB.
    WFWide footnotes, wide also in two-column mode.
    -WFNormal footnote width, follow column mode.
    FFAll footnotes gets the same width as the first footnote encountered.
    -FFNormal footnotes, width follows WF and -WF.
    WDWide displays, wide also in two-column mode.
    -WDNormal display width, follow column mode.
    FBFloating displays generates a line break when printed on the current page.
    -FBFloating displays does not generate line break.

    Strings used in mm

    App
    A string containing the word ‘APPENDIX’.
    Apptxt
    The current appendix text.
    EM
    Em dash string
    H1txt
    Updated by .H and .HU to the current heading text. Also updated in table of contents & friends.
    HF
    Font list for headings, ‘2 2 2 2 2 2 2’ by default. Non-numeric font names may also be used.
    HP
    Point size list for headings. By default, this is ‘0 0 0 0 0 0 0’ which is the same as ‘10 10 10 10 10 10 10’.
    Index
    Contains the string ‘INDEX’.
    Indcmd
    Contains the index command. Default value is ‘sort -t[rs]t’.
    Lifg
    String containing ‘Figure’.
    Litb
    String containing ‘TABLE’.
    Liex
    String containing ‘Exhibit’.
    Liec
    String containing ‘Equation’.
    Licon
    String containing ‘CONTENTS’.
    Lf
    Contains the string ‘LIST OF FIGURES’.
    Lt
    Contains the string ‘LIST OF TABLES’.
    Lx
    Contains the string ‘LIST OF EXHIBITS’.
    Le
    Contains the string ‘LIST OF EQUATIONS’.
    Letfc
    Contains the string ‘Yours very truly,’, used in .FC.
    Letapp
    Contains the string ‘APPROVED:’, used in .AV.
    Letdate
    Contains the string ‘Date’, used in .AV.
    LetCN
    Contains the string ‘CONFIDENTIAL’, used in .LO CN.
    LetSA
    Contains the string ‘To Whom It May Concern:’, used in .LO SA.
    LetAT
    Contains the string ‘ATTENTION:’, used in .LO AT.
    LetSJ
    Contains the string ‘SUBJECT:’, used in .LO SJ.
    LetRN
    Contains the string ‘In reference to:’, used in .LO RN.
    Letns
    is an array containing the different strings used in .NS. It is really a number of string variables prefixed with Letns!. If the argument doesn’t exist, it is included between () with Letns!copy as a prefix and Letns!to as a suffix. Observe the space after ‘Copy’ and before ‘to’.
    NameValueLetns!0Copy toLetns!1Copy (with att.) toLetns!2Copy (without att.) toLetns!3Att.Letns!4Atts.Letns!5Enc.Letns!6Encs.Letns!7Under separate coverLetns!8Letter toLetns!9Memorandum toLetns!10Copy (with atts.) toLetns!11Copy (without atts.) toLetns!12Abstract Only toLetns!13Complete Memorandum toLetns!14CCLetns!copyCopy [rs]"Letns!to" to
    Letnsdef
    Define the standard notation used when no argument is given to .NS. Default is~0.
    MO1 - MO12
    Strings containing the month names ‘January’ through ‘December’.
    Qrf
    String containing ‘See chapter [rs][rs]*[Qrfh], page [rs][rs]n[Qrfp].’.
    Rp
    Contains the string ‘REFERENCES’.
    Tcst
    Contains the current status of the table of contents and list of figures, etc. Empty outside of .TC. Useful in user-defined macros like .TP.
    ValueMeaningcoTable of contentsfgList of figurestbList of tablesecList of equationsexList of exhibitsapAppendix
    Tm
    Contains the string ‘[rs](tm’, the trade mark symbol.
    Verbnm
    Argument to .nm in the .VERBON command. Default is~1.

    Number variables used in mm

    Aph
    Print an appendix page for every new appendix if this number variable is non-zero. No output occurs if Aph is zero, but there is always an appendix entry in the ‘List of contents’.
    Cl
    Contents level (in the range 0 to 14). The contents is saved if a heading level is lower than or equal to the value of Cl. Default is~2.
    Cp
    Eject page between list of table, list of figure, etc., if the value of Cp is zero. Default is~0.
    D
    Debug flag. Values greater than zero produce debug information of increasing verbosity. A value of~1 gives information about the progress of formatting. Default is~0.
    De
    If set to~1, eject after floating display is output. Default is~0.
    Dsp
    If defined, it controls the space output before and after static displays. Otherwise the value of Lsp is used.
    Df
    Control floating keep output. This is a number in the range 0 to 5, with a default value of~5. See .DF.
    Ds
    If set to~1, use the amount of space stored in register Lsp before and after display. Default is~1.
    Ej
    If set to~1, eject page before each first-level heading. Default is~0.
    Eq
    Equation labels are left-adjusted if set to~0 and right-adjusted if set to~1. Default is~0.
    Fs
    Footnote spacing. Default is~1.
    H1 - H7
    Heading counters
    H1dot
    Append a dot after the level-one heading number if value is greater than zero. Default is~1.
    H1h
    A copy of number register H1, but it is incremented just before the page break. Useful in user-defined header macros.
    Hb
    Heading break level. A number in the range 0 to 14, with a default value of~2. See~.H.
    Hc
    Heading centering level. A number in the range 0 to 14, with a default value value of~0. See~.H.
    Hi
    Heading temporary indent. A number in the range 0 to 2, with a default value of~1.
    0no indentation, left margin1indent to the right, similar to‘.P 1’
    2indent to line up with text part of preceding heading
    Hps
    Heading pre-space level. If the heading level is less than or equal to Hps, two lines precede the section heading instead of one. Default is first level only. The real amount of lines is controlled by the variables Hps1 and Hps2.
    Hps1
    Number of lines preceding .H if the heading level is greater than Hps. Value is in units, default is 0.5.
    Hps2
    Number of lines preceding .H if the heading level is less than or equal to Hps. Value is in units, default is~1.
    Hs
    Heading space level. A number in the range 0 to 14, with a default value of~2. See~.H.
    Hss
    Number of lines following .H if the heading level is less than or equal to Hs. Value is in units, default is~1.
    Ht
    Heading numbering type.
    0multiple levels (1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc.)1single level
    Default is~0.
    Hu
    Unnumbered heading level. Default is~2.
    Hy
    Hyphenation status of text body.
    0no hyphenation1hyphenation on, set to value~14
    Default is~0.
    Iso
    Set this variable to~1 on the command line to get an ISO-formatted date string (-rIso=1). Useless inside of a document.
    L
    Page length, only for command line settings.
    Letwam
    Maximum lines in return-address, used in .WA/.WE. Default is~14.
    Lf, Lt, Lx, Le
    Enable (1) or disable (0) the printing of List of figures, List of tables, List of exhibits and List of equations, respectively. Default values are Lf=1, Lt=1, Lx=1, and Le=0.
    Li
    List indentation, used by .AL. Default is~6.
    Limsp
    A flag controlling the insertion of space between prefix and mark in automatic lists (.AL).
    0no space1emit space
    Ls
    List space threshold. If current list level is greater than Ls no spacing occurs around lists. Default is~99.
    Lsp
    The vertical space used by an empty line. The default is 0.5v in troff mode and 1v in nroff mode.
    N
    Page numbering style.
    0normal header for all pages.1header replaces footer on first page, header is empty.2page header is removed on the first page.3‘section-page’ numbering style enabled.4page header is removed on the first page.5‘section-page’ and ‘section-figure’ numbering style enabled.
    Default is~0.
    See also the number registers Sectf and Sectp.
    Np
    A flag to control whether paragraphs are numbered.
    0not numbered1numbered in first-level headings.
    Default is~0.
    O
    Page offset, only for command line settings.
    Of
    Format of figure, table, exhibit, and equation titles.
    0[dq]. [dq]1[dq] - [dq]
    Default is~0.
    P
    Current page-number, normally the same as ‘%’ unless ‘section-page’ numbering style is enabled.
    Pi
    Paragraph indentation. Default is~5.
    Pgps
    A flag to control whether header and footer point size should follow the current settings or just change when the header and footer are defined.
    0Point size only changes to the current setting when.PH,
    .PF, .OH, .EH, .OF, or .OE is executed.
    1Point size changes after every .S. This is the default.
    Ps
    Paragraph spacing. Default is~1.
    Pt
    Paragraph type.
    0left-justified1indented paragraphs2indented paragraphs except after.H,
    .DE, or .LE.
    Default is~0.
    Rpe
    Set default value for second argument of .RP. Default is~0.
    Sectf
    A flag controlling ‘section-figures’ numbering style. A non-zero value enables this. See also register~N.
    Sectp
    A flag controlling ‘section-page’ numbering style. A non-zero value enables this. See also register~N.
    Si
    Display indentation. Default is~5.
    Verbin
    Indentation for .VERBON. Default is 5n.
    W
    Line length, only for command line settings. .
  • Always~1.

    • Internals

    The letter macros are using different submacros depending on the letter type. The name of the submacro has the letter type as suffix. It is therefore possible to define other letter types, either in the national macro-file, or as local additions. .LT sets the number variables Pt and Pi to 0 and~5, respectively. The following strings and macros must be defined for a new letter type.
    let@init_type
    This macro is called directly by .LT. It is supposed to initialize variables and other stuff.
    let@head_type
    This macro prints the letter head, and is called instead of the normal page header. It is supposed to remove the alias let@header, otherwise it is called for all pages.
    let@sg_type name title n flag [arg1 [arg2 [...]]]
    .SG is calling this macro only for letters; memorandums have its own processing. name and title are specified through .WA/.WB. n~is the counter, 1-max, and flag is true for the last name. Any other argument to .SG is appended.
    let@fc_type closing
    This macro is called by .FC, and has the formal closing as the argument.

    .LO is implemented as a general option-macro. It demands that a string named Lettype is defined, where type is the letter type. .LO then assigns the argument to the string variable let*lo-type.

    Author

    Jörgen Hägg, Lund, Sweden <jh@axis.se>.

    Files

    /usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/m.tmac
    /usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/mm/*.cov
    /usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/mm/*.MT
    /usr/share/groff/1.22.2/tmac/mm/locale

    See Also

    groff(1) , troff(1) , tbl(1) , pic(1) , eqn(1)
    groff_mmse(7)

    Table of Contents