troff(1) User Commands troff(1)NAMEtroff - typeset or format documents
SYNOPSIStroff [-a] [-f] [-Fdir] [-i] [-mname] [-nN] [-olist] [-raN] [-sN]
[-Tdest] [-uN] [-z] [filename...]
DESCRIPTIONtroff formats text in the filenames for typesetting or laser printing.
Input to troff is expected to consist of text interspersed with format‐
ting 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 pack‐
ages include the leading m as part of the name; for
example, the man(5) 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 val‐
ues 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 Post‐
Script printer to obtain the proper output.
aps Autologic APS-5.
-uN Set the emboldening factor for the font mounted in
position 3 to N. If N is missing, then set the embold‐
ening 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) pre‐
processors 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
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWdoc │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOchecknr(1), col(1), dpost(1), eqn(1), lp(1), man(1), nroff( 1), tbl(1),
attributes(5), man(5), me(5), ms(5)NOTEStroff 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 \} \}
SunOS 5.10 22 Jul 1998 troff(1)
