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version 1.94, 2011/01/04 23:32:21 version 1.141, 2018/12/16 02:21:00
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 .\"     $Id$  .\"     $Id$
 .\"  .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>  .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
   .\" Copyright (c) 2011-2015, 2017, 2018 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
   .\" Copyright (c) 2017 Anthony Bentley <bentley@openbsd.org>
   .\" Copyright (c) 2010 Joerg Sonnenberger <joerg@netbsd.org>
 .\"  .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any  .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above  .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
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 .Os  .Os
 .Sh NAME  .Sh NAME
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 .Nd man language reference  .Nd legacy formatting language for manual pages
 .Sh DESCRIPTION  .Sh DESCRIPTION
 The  The
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 language was historically used to format  language was the standard formatting language for
 .Ux  .At
 manuals.  manual pages from 1979 to 1989.
 This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and usage.  Do not use it to write new manual pages: it is a purely presentational
 .Pp  language and lacks support for semantic markup.
 .Bf -emphasis  
 Do not use  
 .Nm  
 to write your manuals.  
 .Ef  
 Use the  Use the
 .Xr mdoc 7  .Xr mdoc 7
 language, instead.  language, instead.
 .Pp  .Pp
 A  In a
 .Nm  .Nm
 document follows simple rules:  lines beginning with the control  document, lines beginning with the control character
 character  
 .Sq \&.  .Sq \&.
 are parsed for macros.  are called
 Other lines are interpreted within the scope of  .Dq macro lines .
 prior macros:  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  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.SH Macro lines change control state.  \&.SH Macro lines change control state.
 Other lines are interpreted within the current state.  Text lines are interpreted within the current state.
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Sh INPUT ENCODING  
 .Nm  
 documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the  
 space character, and the tab character.  
 All manuals must have  
 .Ux  
 line termination.  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a  Many aspects of the basic syntax of the
 vertical space.  .Nm
 .Ss Comments  language are based on the
 Text following a  .Xr roff 7
 .Sq \e\*q ,  language; see the
 whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of  .Em LANGUAGE SYNTAX
 line.  
 A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,  
 .Sq \&.\e\*q ,  
 is also ignored.  
 Macro lines with only a control character and optionally whitespace are  
 stripped from input.  
 .Ss Special Characters  
 Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.  
 Sequences begin with the escape character  
 .Sq \e  
 followed by either an open-parenthesis  
 .Sq \&(  
 for two-character sequences; an open-bracket  
 .Sq \&[  
 for n-character sequences (terminated at a close-bracket  
 .Sq \&] ) ;  
 or a single one-character sequence.  
 See  
 .Xr mandoc_char 7  
 for a complete list.  
 Examples include  
 .Sq \e(em  
 .Pq em-dash  
 and  and
 .Sq \ee  .Em MACRO SYNTAX
 .Pq back-slash .  sections in the
 .Ss Text Decoration  .Xr roff 7
 Terms may be text-decorated using the  manual for details, in particular regarding
 .Sq \ef  comments, escape sequences, whitespace, and quoting.
 escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I (italic), R (Roman), or P  
 (revert to previous mode):  
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 \efBbold\efR \efIitalic\efP  
 .Pp  
 A numerical representation 3, 2, or 1 (bold, italic, and Roman,  
 respectively) may be used instead.  
 A text decoration is only valid, if specified in free-form text, until  
 the next macro invocation; if specified within a macro, it's only valid  
 until the macro closes scope.  
 Note that macros like  
 .Sx \&BR  
 open and close a font scope with each argument.  
 .Pp  
 The  
 .Sq \ef  
 attribute is forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.  
 .Ss Whitespace  
 Whitespace consists of the space character.  
 In free-form lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; unescaped  
 trailing spaces are stripped from input (unless in a literal context).  
 Blank free-form lines, which may include spaces, are permitted and  
 rendered as an empty line.  
 .Pp  
 In macro lines, whitespace delimits arguments and is discarded.  
 If arguments are quoted, whitespace within the quotes is retained.  
 .Ss Dates  
 The  
 .Sx \&TH  
 macro is the only  
 .Nm  
 macro that requires a date.  
 The form for this date is the ISO-8601  
 standard  
 .Cm YYYY-MM-DD .  
 .Ss Scaling Widths  
 Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as  
 stipulating a two-inch paragraph indentation with the following:  
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  
 \&.HP 2i  
 .Ed  
 .Pp  
 The syntax for scaled widths is  
 .Sq Li [+-]?[0-9]*.[0-9]*[:unit:]? ,  
 where a decimal must be preceded or proceeded by at least one digit.  
 Negative numbers, while accepted, are truncated to zero.  
 The following scaling units are accepted:  
 .Pp  
 .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact  
 .It c  
 centimetre  
 .It i  
 inch  
 .It P  
 pica (~1/6 inch)  
 .It p  
 point (~1/72 inch)  
 .It f  
 synonym for  
 .Sq u  
 .It v  
 default vertical span  
 .It m  
 width of rendered  
 .Sq m  
 .Pq em  
 character  
 .It n  
 width of rendered  
 .Sq n  
 .Pq en  
 character  
 .It u  
 default horizontal span  
 .It M  
 mini-em (~1/100 em)  
 .El  
 .Pp  
 Using anything other than  
 .Sq m ,  
 .Sq n ,  
 .Sq u ,  
 or  
 .Sq v  
 is necessarily non-portable across output media.  
 .Pp  
 If a scaling unit is not provided, the numerical value is interpreted  
 under the default rules of  
 .Sq v  
 for vertical spaces and  
 .Sq u  
 for horizontal ones.  
 .Em Note :  
 this differs from  
 .Xr mdoc 7 ,  
 which, if a unit is not provided, will instead interpret the string as  
 literal text.  
 .Ss Sentence Spacing  
 When composing a manual, make sure that sentences end at the end of  
 a line.  
 By doing so, front-ends will be able to apply the proper amount of  
 spacing after the end of sentence (unescaped) period, exclamation mark,  
 or question mark followed by zero or more non-sentence closing  
 delimiters  
 .Po  
 .Sq \&) ,  
 .Sq \&] ,  
 .Sq \&' ,  
 .Sq \&"  
 .Pc .  
 .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE  
 Each  Each
 .Nm  .Nm
 document must contain the  document starts with the
 .Sx \&TH  .Sx \&TH
 macro describing the document's section and title.  macro specifying the document's name and section, followed by the
 It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally it  .Sx NAME
 appears as the first macro.  section formatted as follows:
 .Pp  
 Beyond  
 .Sx \&TH ,  
 at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.  
 Documents are generally structured as follows:  
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10  \&.TH PROGNAME 1 1979-01-10
 \&.SH NAME  \&.SH NAME
 \efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here  \efBprogname\efR \e(en one line about what it does
 \&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 2 & 3 only.  
 \&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.  
 \&.SH SYNOPSIS  
 \efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...  
 \&.SH DESCRIPTION  
 The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...  
 \&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES  
 \&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH FILES  
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6, & 8 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES  
 \&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS  
 \&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO  
 \&.\e\*q .BR foo ( 1 )  
 \&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS  
 \&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY  
 \&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS  
 \&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS  
 \&.\e\*q .SH BUGS  
 \&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS  
 \&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.  
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Sh MACRO OVERVIEW
 The sections in a  This overview is sorted such that macros of similar purpose are listed
 .Nm  together.
 document are conventionally ordered as they appear above.  Deprecated and non-portable macros are not included in the overview,
 Sections should be composed as follows:  but can be found in the alphabetical reference below.
 .Bl -ohang -offset indent  .Ss Page header and footer meta-data
 .It Em NAME  .Bl -column "RS, RE" description
 The name(s) and a short description of the documented material.  .It Sx TH Ta set the title: Ar name section date Op Ar source Op Ar volume
 The syntax for this is generally as follows:  .It Sx AT Ta display AT&T UNIX version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
 .Pp  .It Sx UC Ta display BSD version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
 .D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description  
 .It Em LIBRARY  
 The name of the library containing the documented material, which is  
 assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual.  
 For functions in the C library, this may be as follows:  
 .Pp  
 .D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)  
 .It Em SYNOPSIS  
 Documents the utility invocation syntax, function call syntax, or device  
 configuration.  
 .Pp  
 For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is  
 generally structured as follows:  
 .Pp  
 .D1 \efBname\efR [-\efBab\efR] [-\efBc\efR\efIarg\efR] \efBpath\efR...  
 .Pp  
 For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):  
 .Pp  
 .D1 \&.B char *name(char *\efIarg\efR);  
 .Pp  
 And for the third, configurations (section 4):  
 .Pp  
 .D1 \&.B name* at cardbus ? function ?  
 .Pp  
 Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a  
 .Em SYNOPSIS .  
 .It Em DESCRIPTION  
 This expands upon the brief, one-line description in  
 .Em NAME .  
 It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a  
 command).  
 .It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES  
 Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.  
 This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side  
 effects or notable algorithmic implications.  
 .It Em RETURN VALUES  
 This section documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.  
 .It Em ENVIRONMENT  
 Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,  
 .Xr environ 7 .  
 .It Em FILES  
 Documents files used.  
 It's helpful to document both the file name and a short description of how  
 the file is used (created, modified, etc.).  
 .It Em EXIT STATUS  
 This section documents the command exit status for  
 section 1, 6, and 8 utilities.  
 Historically, this information was described in  
 .Em DIAGNOSTICS ,  
 a practise that is now discouraged.  
 .It Em EXAMPLES  
 Example usages.  
 This often contains snippets of well-formed,  
 well-tested invocations.  
 Make sure that examples work properly!  
 .It Em DIAGNOSTICS  
 Documents error conditions.  
 This is most useful in section 4 manuals.  
 Historically, this section was used in place of  
 .Em EXIT STATUS  
 for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is  
 discouraged.  
 .It Em ERRORS  
 Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9.  
 .It Em SEE ALSO  
 References other manuals with related topics.  
 This section should exist for most manuals.  
 .Pp  
 .D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),  
 .Pp  
 Cross-references should conventionally be ordered  
 first by section, then alphabetically.  
 .It Em STANDARDS  
 References any standards implemented or used, such as  
 .Pp  
 .D1 IEEE Std 1003.2 (\e(lqPOSIX.2\e(rq)  
 .Pp  
 If not adhering to any standards, the  
 .Em HISTORY  
 section should be used.  
 .It Em HISTORY  
 A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.  
 .It Em AUTHORS  
 Credits to the person or persons who wrote the code and/or documentation.  
 Authors should generally be noted by both name and email address.  
 .It Em CAVEATS  
 Common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained  
 in this section.  
 .It Em BUGS  
 Known bugs, limitations, and work-arounds should be described  
 in this section.  
 .It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS  
 Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.  
 .El  .El
 .Sh MACRO SYNTAX  .Ss Sections and paragraphs
 Macros are one to three characters in length and begin with a  .Bl -column "RS, RE" description
 control character,  .It Sx SH Ta section header (one line)
 .Sq \&. ,  .It Sx SS Ta subsection header (one line)
 at the beginning of the line.  .It Sx PP Ta start an undecorated paragraph (no arguments)
 The  .It Sx RS , RE Ta reset the left margin: Op Ar width
 .Sq \(aq  .It Sx IP Ta indented paragraph: Op Ar head Op Ar width
 macro control character is also accepted.  .It Sx TP Ta tagged paragraph: Op Ar width
 An arbitrary amount of whitespace (spaces or tabs) may sit between the  .It Sx PD Ta set vertical paragraph distance: Op Ar height
 control character and the macro name.  .It Sx fi , nf Ta fill mode and no-fill mode (no arguments)
 Thus, the following are equivalent:  .It Sx in Ta additional indent: Op Ar width
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  
 \&.PP  
 \&.\ \ \ PP  
 .Ed  
 .Pp  
 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, except for  
 .Sx \&br ,  
 .Sx \&sp ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&na .  
 .Pp  
 The syntax is as follows:  
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  
 \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB  
 \(lBbody...\(rB  
 .Ed  
 .Pp  
 .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX"  
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope     Ta Em Notes  
 .It Sx \&AT  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&B   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&BI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&BR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&DT  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&I   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&IB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&IR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&R   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&RB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&RI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&SB  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&SM  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&TH  Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&UC  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&br  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&fi  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&ft  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&in  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&na  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&nf  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&sp  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .El  .El
 .Pp  .Ss Physical markup
 Macros marked as  .Bl -column "RS, RE" description
 .Qq compat  .It Sx B Ta boldface font
 are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing  .It Sx I Ta italic font
 manuals that mix dialects of roff.  .It Sx SB Ta small boldface font
 These macros should not be used for portable  .It Sx SM Ta small roman font
 .Nm  .It Sx BI Ta alternate between boldface and italic fonts
 manuals.  .It Sx BR Ta alternate between boldface and roman fonts
 .Ss Block Macros  .It Sx IB Ta alternate between italic and boldface fonts
 Block macros comprise a head and body.  .It Sx IR Ta alternate between italic and roman fonts
 As with in-line macros, the head is scoped to the current line and, in  .It Sx RB Ta alternate between roman and boldface fonts
 one circumstance, the next line (the next-line stipulations as in  .It Sx RI Ta alternate between roman and italic fonts
 .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  
 .Sx \&SH ;  
 sub-section, closed by a section or  
 .Sx \&SS ;  
 part, closed by a section, sub-section, or  
 .Sx \&RE ;  
 or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,  
 .Sx \&HP ,  
 .Sx \&IP ,  
 .Sx \&LP ,  
 .Sx \&P ,  
 .Sx \&PP ,  
 or  
 .Sx \&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.  
 .Pp  
 .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX"  
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope  Ta Em Notes  
 .It Sx \&HP  Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&IP  Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&LP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&P   Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&PP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&RE  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&RS  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part        Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&SH  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section     Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&SS  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section Ta    \&  
 .It Sx \&TP  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&  
 .El  .El
 .Pp  .Sh MACRO REFERENCE
 Macros marked  
 .Qq compat  
 are as mentioned in  
 .Sx Line Macros .  
 .Pp  
 If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line  
 macros for decorating text.  
 .Sh REFERENCE  
 This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged  This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
 alphabetically.  alphabetically.
 For the scoping of individual macros, see  For the scoping of individual macros, see
 .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .  .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
 .Ss \&AT  .Ss \&AT
 Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from  Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
 .Tn AT&T UNIX  .At
 releases.  releases.
 The optional arguments specify which release it is from.  The optional arguments specify which release it is from.
 .Ss \&B  .Ss \&B
 Text is rendered in bold face.  Text is rendered in bold face.
 .Pp  
 See also  
 .Sx \&I  
 and  
 .Sx \&R .  
 .Ss \&BI  .Ss \&BI
 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.  Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.
 Thus,  Thus,
Line 525  and
Line 144  and
 render in italics.  render in italics.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  .Pp
 Examples:  Example:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Dl \&.BI bold italic bold italic  .Dl \&.BI bold italic bold italic
 .Pp  
 The output of this example will be emboldened  
 .Dq bold  
 and italicised  
 .Dq italic ,  
 with spaces stripped between arguments.  
 .Pp  
 See also  
 .Sx \&IB ,  
 .Sx \&BR ,  
 .Sx \&RB ,  
 .Sx \&RI ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&IR .  
 .Ss \&BR  .Ss \&BR
 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).  Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  
 See  
 .Sx \&BI  
 for an equivalent example.  
 .Pp  
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&BI ,  .Sx \&BI .
 .Sx \&IB ,  
 .Sx \&RB ,  
 .Sx \&RI ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&IR .  
 .Ss \&DT  .Ss \&DT
 Has no effect.  Restore the default tabulator positions.
 Included for compatibility.  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.
   .Ss \&EE
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   In
   .Xr mandoc 1 ,
   it does the same as
   .Sx \&fi .
   .Ss \&EX
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   In
   .Xr mandoc 1 ,
   it does the same as
   .Sx \&nf .
 .Ss \&HP  .Ss \&HP
 Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but  Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
 subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:  subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&HP  .Pf \. Sx \&HP
 .Op Cm width  .Op Ar width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Cm width  .Ar width
 argument must conform to  argument is a
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Xr roff 7
 If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the  scaling width.
 saved or default width is used.  If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left margins;
   if unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  This macro is portable, but deprecated
 .Sx \&IP ,  because it has no good representation in HTML output,
 .Sx \&LP ,  usually ending up indistinguishable from
 .Sx \&P ,  .Sx \&PP .
 .Sx \&PP ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&TP .  
 .Ss \&I  .Ss \&I
 Text is rendered in italics.  Text is rendered in italics.
 .Pp  
 See also  
 .Sx \&B  
 and  
 .Sx \&R .  
 .Ss \&IB  .Ss \&IB
 Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.  Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  
 See  
 .Sx \&BI  
 for an equivalent example.  
 .Pp  
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&BI ,  .Sx \&BI .
 .Sx \&BR ,  
 .Sx \&RB ,  
 .Sx \&RI ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&IR .  
 .Ss \&IP  .Ss \&IP
 Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:  Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&IP  .Pf \. Sx \&IP
 .Op Cm head Op Cm width  .Op Ar head Op Ar width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Cm width  .Ar width
 argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by  argument is a
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Xr roff 7
   scaling width defining the left margin.
 It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or  It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
 default width is used.  default width is used.
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Cm head  .Ar head
 argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.  argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.
 This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.  This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
 .Pp  
 See also  
 .Sx \&HP ,  
 .Sx \&LP ,  
 .Sx \&P ,  
 .Sx \&PP ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&TP .  
 .Ss \&IR  .Ss \&IR
 Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).  Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  
 See  
 .Sx \&BI  
 for an equivalent example.  
 .Pp  
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&BI ,  .Sx \&BI .
 .Sx \&IB ,  
 .Sx \&BR ,  
 .Sx \&RB ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&RI .  
 .Ss \&LP  .Ss \&LP
 Begin an undecorated paragraph.  A synonym for
 The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,  .Sx \&PP .
 sub-section, section, or end of file.  .Ss \&ME
 The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.  End a mailto block started with
   .Sx \&MT .
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   .Ss \&MT
   Begin a mailto block.
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   It has the following syntax:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&MT Ar address
   link description to be shown
   .Pf \. Sx ME
   .Ed
   .Ss \&OP
   Optional command-line argument.
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   It has the following syntax:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&OP
   .Ar key Op Ar value
   .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  The
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Ar key
 .Sx \&IP ,  is usually a command-line flag and
 .Sx \&P ,  .Ar value
 .Sx \&PP ,  its argument.
 and  
 .Sx \&TP .  
 .Ss \&P  .Ss \&P
 Synonym for  A synonym for
 .Sx \&LP .  .Sx \&PP .
   .Ss \&PD
   Specify the vertical space to be inserted before each new paragraph.
   .br
   The syntax is as follows:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&PD
   .Op Ar height
   .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  The
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Ar height
 .Sx \&IP ,  argument is a
 .Sx \&LP ,  .Xr roff 7
 .Sx \&PP ,  scaling width.
 and  It defaults to
 .Sx \&TP .  .Cm 1v .
 .Ss \&PP  If the unit is omitted,
 Synonym for  .Cm v
 .Sx \&LP .  is assumed.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  This macro affects the spacing before any subsequent instances of
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Sx \&HP ,
 .Sx \&IP ,  .Sx \&IP ,
 .Sx \&LP ,  .Sx \&LP ,
 .Sx \&P ,  .Sx \&P ,
   .Sx \&PP ,
   .Sx \&SH ,
   .Sx \&SS ,
   .Sx \&SY ,
 and  and
 .Sx \&TP .  .Sx \&TP .
 .Ss \&R  .Ss \&PP
 Text is rendered in roman (the default font).  Begin an undecorated paragraph.
 .Pp  The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,
 See also  sub-section, section, or end of file.
 .Sx \&I  The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
 and  
 .Sx \&B .  
 .Ss \&RB  .Ss \&RB
 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.  Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  
 See  
 .Sx \&BI  
 for an equivalent example.  
 .Pp  
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&BI ,  .Sx \&BI .
 .Sx \&IB ,  
 .Sx \&BR ,  
 .Sx \&RI ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&IR .  
 .Ss \&RE  .Ss \&RE
 Explicitly close out the scope of a prior  Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
 .Sx \&RS .  .Sx \&RS .
   The default left margin is restored to the state before that
   .Sx \&RS
   invocation.
   .Pp
   The syntax is as follows:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&RE
   .Op Ar level
   .Ed
   .Pp
   Without an argument, the most recent
   .Sx \&RS
   block is closed out.
   If
   .Ar level
   is 1, all open
   .Sx \&RS
   blocks are closed out.
   Otherwise,
   .Ar level No \(mi 1
   nested
   .Sx \&RS
   blocks remain open.
 .Ss \&RI  .Ss \&RI
 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.  Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  
 See  
 .Sx \&BI  
 for an equivalent example.  
 .Pp  
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&BI ,  .Sx \&BI .
 .Sx \&IB ,  
 .Sx \&BR ,  
 .Sx \&RB ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&IR .  
 .Ss \&RS  .Ss \&RS
 Begin a part setting the left margin.  Temporarily reset the default left margin.
 The left margin controls the offset, following an initial indentation,  
 to un-indented text such as that of  
 .Sx \&PP .  
 This has the following syntax:  This has the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&Rs  .Pf \. Sx \&RS
 .Op Cm width  .Op Ar width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Cm width  .Ar width
 argument must conform to  argument is a
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Xr roff 7
   scaling width.
 If not specified, the saved or default width is used.  If not specified, the saved or default width is used.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&RE .
 .Ss \&SB  .Ss \&SB
 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)  Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
 bold face.  bold face.
Line 752  Begin a sub-section.
Line 360  Begin a sub-section.
 The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,
 section, or end of file.  section, or end of file.
 The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.  The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
   .Ss \&SY
   Begin a synopsis block with the following syntax:
   .Bd -unfilled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&SY Ar command
   .Ar arguments
   .Pf \. Sx \&YS
   .Ed
   .Pp
   This is a non-standard GNU extension
   and very rarely used even in GNU manual pages.
   Formatting is similar to
   .Sx \&IP .
 .Ss \&TH  .Ss \&TH
 Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:  Set the name of the manual page for use in the page header
   and footer with the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&TH  .Pf \. Sx \&TH
 .Cm title section  .Ar name section date
 .Op Cm date Op Cm source Op Cm volume  .Op Ar source Op Ar volume
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 At least the upper-case document  Conventionally, the document
 .Cm title  .Ar name
 and the manual  is given in all caps.
 .Cm section  
 arguments must be provided.  
 The  The
 .Cm date  .Ar section
 argument should be formatted as described in  is usually a single digit, in a few cases followed by a letter.
 .Sx Dates ,  The recommended
 but will be printed verbatim if it is not.  .Ar date
 If the date is not specified, the current date is used.  format is
 The  .Sy YYYY-MM-DD
 .Cm source  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.  string specifies the organisation providing the utility.
   When unspecified,
   .Xr mandoc 1
   uses its
   .Fl Ios
   argument.
 The  The
 .Cm volume  .Ar volume
 string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the  string replaces the default volume title of the
 manual section.  .Ar section .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Examples:  Examples:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Dl \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU  .Dl \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU
 .Ss \&TP  .Ss \&TP
 Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is  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 a  followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after
 buffer to the indentation width.  advancing to the indentation width.
 Subsequent output lines are indented.  Subsequent output lines are indented.
 The syntax is as follows:  The syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -unfilled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&TP  .Pf \. Sx \&TP Op Ar width
 .Op Cm width  .Ar head No \e" one line
   .Ar body
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Cm width  .Ar width
 argument must conform to  argument is a
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Xr roff 7
   scaling width.
 If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if  If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
 unspecified, the saved or default width is used.  unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
 .Pp  .Ss \&TQ
 See also  Like
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Sx \&TP ,
 .Sx \&IP ,  except that no vertical spacing is inserted before the paragraph.
 .Sx \&LP ,  This is a non-standard GNU extension
 .Sx \&P ,  and very rarely used even in GNU manual pages.
 and  
 .Sx \&PP .  
 .Ss \&UC  .Ss \&UC
 Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from  Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
 BSD releases.  .Bx
   releases.
 The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.  The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.
 .Ss \&br  .Ss \&UE
 Breaks the current line.  End a uniform resource identifier block started with
 Consecutive invocations have no further effect.  .Sx \&UR .
 .Pp  This is a non-standard GNU extension.
 See also  .Ss \&UR
 .Sx \&sp .  Begin a uniform resource identifier block.
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
   It has the following syntax:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&UR Ar uri
   link description to be shown
   .Pf \. Sx UE
   .Ed
   .Ss \&YS
   End a synopsis block started with
   .Sx \&SY .
   This is a non-standard GNU extension.
 .Ss \&fi  .Ss \&fi
 End literal mode begun by  End literal mode started with
 .Sx \&nf .  .Sx \&nf .
 .Ss \&ft  
 Change the current font mode.  
 See  
 .Sx Text Decoration  
 for a listing of available font modes.  
 .Ss \&in  .Ss \&in
 Indent relative to the current indentation:  Indent relative to the current indentation:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Cm width  .D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Ar width
 .Pp  .Pp
 If  If
 .Cm width  .Ar width
 is signed, the new offset is relative.  is signed, the new offset is relative.
 Otherwise, it is absolute.  Otherwise, it is absolute.
 This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.  This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
 .Ss \&na  
 Don't align to the right margin.  
 .Ss \&nf  .Ss \&nf
 Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of  Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
 line boundaries preserved.  line boundaries preserved.
 May be ended by  May be ended by
 .Sx \&fi .  .Sx \&fi .
 .Ss \&sp  Literal mode is implicitly ended by
 Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:  .Sx \&SH
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  or
 .Pf \. Sx \&sp  .Sx \&SS .
 .Op Cm height  .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  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 Insert  is equivalent to
 .Cm height  .Sq \&.I foo .
 spaces, which must conform to  If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
 If 0, this is equivalent to the  raised.
 .Sx \&br  
 macro.  
 Defaults to 1, if unspecified.  
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  The syntax is as follows:
 .Sx \&br .  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY  \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
 This section documents areas of questionable portability between  \(lBbody...\(rB
 implementations of the  .Ed
 .Nm  .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX" -offset indent
 language.  .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope     Ta Em Notes
   .It Sx \&AT  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&B   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&BI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&BR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&DT  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&EE  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&EX  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&I   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&IB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&IR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&OP  Ta    >=1       Ta    current   Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&PD  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&RB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&RI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&SB  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&SM  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&TH  Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&UC  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&fi  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    Xr roff 7
   .It Sx \&in  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    Xr roff 7
   .It Sx \&nf  Ta    0         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  .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact  The syntax is as follows:
 .It  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce  \&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
 a standalone double-quote in formatted output.  \(lBhead...\(rB
 It is not known whether this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.  \(lBbody...\(rB
 .It  .Ed
 troff suppresses a newline before  .Pp
 .Sq \(aq  The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
 macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard  by
 .Sq \&.  .Sx \&SH ;
 control character.  sub-section, closed by a section or
 .It  .Sx \&SS ;
 The  or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section,
 .Sq \eh  .Sx \&HP ,
 .Pq horizontal position ,  .Sx \&IP ,
 .Sq \ev  .Sx \&LP ,
 .Pq vertical position ,  .Sx \&P ,
 .Sq \em  .Sx \&PP ,
 .Pq text colour ,  .Sx \&RE ,
 .Sq \eM  .Sx \&SY ,
 .Pq text filling colour ,  or
 .Sq \ez  .Sx \&TP .
 .Pq zero-length character ,  No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
 .Sq \ew  .Pp
 .Pq string length ,  As a rule, block macros may not be nested; thus, calling a block macro
 .Sq \ek  while another block macro scope is open, and the open scope is not
 .Pq horizontal position marker ,  implicitly closed, is syntactically incorrect.
 .Sq \eo  .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX" -offset indent
 .Pq text overstrike ,  .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope  Ta Em Notes
 and  .It Sx \&HP  Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .Sq \es  .It Sx \&IP  Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .Pq text size  .It Sx \&LP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.  .It Sx \&ME  Ta    0         Ta    none       Ta    none        Ta    GNU
 .It  .It Sx \&MT  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&ME     Ta    GNU
 The  .It Sx \&P   Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .Sq \ef  .It Sx \&PP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 scaling unit is accepted by mandoc, but rendered as the default unit.  .It Sx \&RE  Ta    <=1       Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    \&
 .It  .It Sx \&RS  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&RE     Ta    \&
 The  .It Sx \&SH  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section     Ta    \&
 .Sx \&sp  .It Sx \&SS  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section Ta    \&
 macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.  .It Sx \&SY  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    to \&YS     Ta    GNU
 In GNU troff, this would result in strange behaviour.  .It Sx \&TP  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
   .It Sx \&TQ  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&UE  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&UR  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part        Ta    GNU
   .It Sx \&YS  Ta    0         Ta    none       Ta    none        Ta    GNU
 .El  .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
   .Sx \&BR
   open and close a font scope for each argument.
 .Sh SEE ALSO  .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr man 1 ,  .Xr man 1 ,
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,  .Xr mandoc 1 ,
   .Xr eqn 7 ,
 .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,  .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
 .Xr mdoc 7 ,  .Xr mdoc 7 ,
 .Xr roff 7 ,  .Xr roff 7 ,
Line 923  language first appeared as a macro package for the rof
Line 622  language first appeared as a macro package for the rof
 system in  system in
 .At v7 .  .At v7 .
 It was later rewritten by James Clark as a macro package for groff.  It was later rewritten by James Clark as a macro package for groff.
   Eric S. Raymond wrote the extended
   .Nm
   macros for groff in 2007.
 The stand-alone implementation that is part of the  The stand-alone implementation that is part of the
 .Xr mandoc 1  .Xr mandoc 1
 utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in  utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
Line 931  utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
Line 633  utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
 This  This
 .Nm  .Nm
 reference was written by  reference was written by
 .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@bsd.lv .  .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq Mt kristaps@bsd.lv .
 .Sh CAVEATS  
 Do not use this language.  
 Use  
 .Xr mdoc 7 ,  
 instead.  
Legend:
Removed from v.1.94  
changed lines
  Added in v.1.141
CVSweb