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version 1.63, 2010/05/07 15:49:36 version 1.114, 2012/04/15 21:24:18
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 .\"     $Id$  .\"     $Id$
 .\"  .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>  .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
   .\" Copyright (c) 2011 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.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  Traditionally, the
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 language was historically used to format  language has been used to write
 .Ux  .Ux
 manuals.  This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and  manuals for the
 usage.  .Xr man 1
   utility.
   It supports limited control of presentational details like fonts,
   indentation and spacing.
   This reference document describes the structure of manual pages
   and the syntax and usage of the man language.
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bf -emphasis  .Bf -emphasis
 Do not use  Do not use
 .Nm  .Nm
 to write your manuals.  to write your manuals:
 .Ef  .Ef
   It lacks support for semantic markup.
 Use the  Use the
 .Xr mdoc 7  .Xr mdoc 7
 language, instead.  language, instead.
 .Pp  .Pp
 An  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.  Other lines are interpreted within the scope of  are called
 prior macros:  .Dq macro lines .
   The first word is the macro name.
   It usually consists of two capital letters.
   For a list of available 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 tabs 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.  
 .Ss Comments  
 Text following a  
 .Sq \e\*" ,  
 whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of  
 line.  A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,  
 .Sq \&.\e" ,  
 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  
 .Sq \ee  
 .Pq back-slash .  
 .Ss Text Decoration  
 Terms may be text-decorated using the  
 .Sq \ef  
 escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), R (Roman), or P  
 (revert to previous mode):  
 .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  
 Text may also be sized with the  
 .Sq \es  
 escape, whose syntax is one of  
 .Sq \es+-n  
 for one-digit numerals;  
 .Sq \es(+-nn  
 or  
 .Sq \es+-(nn  
 for two-digit numerals; and  
 .Sq \es[+-N] ,  
 .Sq \es+-[N] ,  
 .Sq \es'+-N' ,  
 or  
 .Sq \es+-'N'  
 for arbitrary-digit numerals:  
 .Pp  
 .D1 \es+1bigger\es-1  
 .D1 \es[+10]much bigger\es[-10]  
 .D1 \es+(10much bigger\es-(10  
 .D1 \es+'100'much much bigger\es-'100'  
 .Pp  
 Both  
 .Sq \es  
 and  
 .Sq \ef  
 attributes are forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.  
 .Ss Whitespace  
 Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned  
 from input.  These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end  
 utility such as  
 .Xr mandoc 1 .  
 .Ss Dates  
 The  
 .Sx \&TH  
 macro is the only  
 .Nm  .Nm
 macro that requires a date.  The form for this date is the ISO-8601  language are based on the
 standard  .Xr roff 7
 .Cm YYYY-MM-DD .  language; see the
 .Ss Scaling Widths  .Em LANGUAGE SYNTAX
 Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as  and
 stipulating a two-inch paragraph indentation with the following:  .Em MACRO SYNTAX
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  sections in the
 \&.HP 2i  .Xr roff 7
 .Ed  manual for details, in particular regarding
 .Pp  comments, escape sequences, whitespace, and quoting.
 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.  
 .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE  .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
 Each  Each
 .Nm  .Nm
 document must contain contains at least the  document must contain the
 .Sx \&TH  .Sx \&TH
 macro describing the document's section and title.  It may occur  macro describing the document's section and title.
 anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the  It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally it
 first macro.  appears as the first macro.
 .Pp  .Pp
 Beyond  Beyond
 .Sx \&TH ,  .Sx \&TH ,
 at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.  Documents  at least one macro or text line must appear in the document.
 are generally structured as follows:  .Pp
   The following is a well-formed skeleton
   .Nm
   file for a utility
   .Qq progname :
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10  \&.TH PROGNAME 1 2009-10-10
 \&.  
 \&.SH NAME  \&.SH NAME
 \efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here  \efBprogname\efR \e(en a description goes here
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH LIBRARY
 \&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY  \&.\e\(dq For sections 2 & 3 only.
 \&.  \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
 \&.SH SYNOPSIS  \&.SH SYNOPSIS
 \efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...  \efBprogname\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
 \&.  
 \&.SH DESCRIPTION  \&.SH DESCRIPTION
 The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...  The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...
 \&.  \&.\e\(dq .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
 \&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES  \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH RETURN VALUES
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS  \&.\e\(dq For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH ENVIRONMENT
 \&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES  \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH FILES
 \&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT  \&.\e\(dq .SH EXIT STATUS
 \&.\e\*q .SH FILES  \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 6, & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES  \&.\e\(dq .SH EXAMPLES
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH DIAGNOSTICS
 \&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS  \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  \&.\e\(dq .SH ERRORS
 \&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS  \&.\e\(dq For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO  \&.\e\(dq .SH SEE ALSO
 \&.\e\*q .BR foo ( 1 )  \&.\e\(dq .BR foo ( 1 )
 \&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS  \&.\e\(dq .SH STANDARDS
 \&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY  \&.\e\(dq .SH HISTORY
 \&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS  \&.\e\(dq .SH AUTHORS
 \&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS  \&.\e\(dq .SH CAVEATS
 \&.\e\*q .SH BUGS  \&.\e\(dq .SH BUGS
 \&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS  \&.\e\(dq .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
   \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The sections in a  The sections in a
 .Nm  .Nm
 document are conventionally ordered as they appear above.  Sections  document are conventionally ordered as they appear above.
 should be composed as follows:  Sections should be composed as follows:
 .Bl -ohang -offset indent  .Bl -ohang -offset indent
 .It Em NAME  .It Em NAME
 The name(s) and a short description of the documented material.  The  The name(s) and a short description of the documented material.
 syntax for this is generally as follows:  The syntax for this is generally as follows:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description  .D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description
 .It Em LIBRARY  .It Em LIBRARY
 The name of the library containing the documented material, which is  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  assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual.
 the C library, this may be as follows:  For functions in the C library, this may be as follows:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)  .D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
 .It Em SYNOPSIS  .It Em SYNOPSIS
Line 291  This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
Line 171  This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
 It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a  It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a
 command).  command).
 .It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES  .It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
 Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.  This is useful when  Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.
 implementing standard functions that may have side effects or notable  This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side
 algorithmic implications.  effects or notable algorithmic implications.
 .It Em EXIT STATUS  
 Command exit status for section 1, 6, and 8 manuals.  This section is  
 the dual of  
 .Em RETURN VALUES ,  
 which is used for functions.  Historically, this information was  
 described in  
 .Em DIAGNOSTICS ,  
 a practise that is now discouraged.  
 .It Em RETURN VALUES  .It Em RETURN VALUES
 This section is the dual of  This section documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.
 .Em EXIT STATUS ,  
 which is used for commands.  It documents the return values of functions  
 in sections 2, 3, and 9.  
 .It Em ENVIRONMENT  .It Em ENVIRONMENT
 Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,  Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,
 .Xr environ 7 .  .Xr environ 7 .
 .It Em FILES  .It Em FILES
 Documents files used.  It's helpful to document both the file and a  Documents files used.
 short description of how the file is used (created, modified, etc.).  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  .It Em EXAMPLES
 Example usages.  This often contains snippets of well-formed,  Example usages.
 well-tested invocations.  Make doubly sure that your examples work  This often contains snippets of well-formed,
 properly!  well-tested invocations.
   Make sure that examples work properly!
 .It Em DIAGNOSTICS  .It Em DIAGNOSTICS
 Documents error conditions.  This is most useful in section 4 manuals.  Documents error conditions.
   This is most useful in section 4 manuals.
 Historically, this section was used in place of  Historically, this section was used in place of
 .Em EXIT STATUS  .Em EXIT STATUS
 for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is  for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is
Line 326  discouraged.
Line 204  discouraged.
 .It Em ERRORS  .It Em ERRORS
 Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9.  Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9.
 .It Em SEE ALSO  .It Em SEE ALSO
 References other manuals with related topics.  This section should exist  References other manuals with related topics.
 for most manuals.  This section should exist for most manuals.
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),  .D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),
 .Pp  .Pp
Line 342  If not adhering to any standards, the
Line 220  If not adhering to any standards, the
 .Em HISTORY  .Em HISTORY
 section should be used.  section should be used.
 .It Em HISTORY  .It Em HISTORY
 The history of any manual without a  A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.
 .Em STANDARDS  
 section should be described in this section.  
 .It Em AUTHORS  .It Em AUTHORS
 Credits to authors, if applicable, should appear in this section.  Credits to the person or persons who wrote the code and/or documentation.
 Authors should generally be noted by both name and an e-mail address.  Authors should generally be noted by both name and email address.
 .It Em CAVEATS  .It Em CAVEATS
 Explanations of common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained  Common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained
 in this section.  in this section.
 .It Em BUGS  .It Em BUGS
 Extant bugs should be described in this section.  Known bugs, limitations, and work-arounds should be described
   in this section.
 .It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS  .It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
 Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.  Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.
 .El  .El
 .Sh MACRO SYNTAX  .Sh MACRO OVERVIEW
 Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a  This overview is sorted such that macros of similar purpose are listed
 control character ,  together, to help find the best macro for any given purpose.
 .Sq \&. ,  Deprecated macros are not included in the overview, but can be found
 at the beginning of the line.  The  in the alphabetical reference below.
 .Sq \(aq  .Ss Page header and footer meta-data
 macro control character is also accepted.  An arbitrary amount of  .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
 whitespace (spaces or tabs) may sit between the control character and  .It Sx TH Ta set the title: Ar title section date Op Ar source Op Ar volume
 the macro name.  Thus, the following are equivalent:  .It Sx AT Ta display AT&T UNIX version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .It Sx UC Ta display BSD version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
 \&.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 (unless in the case of  
 .Sx \&br ,  
 .Sx \&sp ,  
 or  
 .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 \&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 \&PD  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .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    n         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&br  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&fi  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&i   Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&na  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&nf  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&r   Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .It Sx \&sp  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .\" .It Sx \&Sp  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .\" .It Sx \&Vb  Ta    <1        Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .\" .It Sx \&Ve  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat  
 .El  .El
 .Pp  .Ss Sections and paragraphs
 Macros marked as  .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
 .Qq compat  .It Sx SH Ta section header (one line)
 are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing  .It Sx SS Ta subsection header (one line)
 manuals that mix dialects of roff.  These macros should not be used for  .It Sx PP , LP , P Ta start an undecorated paragraph (no arguments)
 portable  .It Sx RS , RE Ta reset the left margin: Op Ar width
 .Nm  .It Sx IP Ta indented paragraph: Op Ar head Op Ar width
 manuals.  .It Sx TP Ta tagged paragraph: Op Ar width
 .Ss Block Macros  .It Sx HP Ta hanged paragraph: Op Ar width
 Block macros are comprised of a head and body.  Like for in-line macros,  .It Sx \&br Ta force output line break in text mode (no arguments)
 the head is scoped to the current line and, in one circumstance, the  .It Sx \&sp Ta force vertical space: Op Ar height
 next line (the next-line stipulations as in  .It Sx fi , nf Ta fill mode and no-fill mode (no arguments)
 .Sx Line Macros  .It Sx in Ta additional indent: Op Ar width
 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  .Ss Physical markup
 Macros marked  .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
 .Qq compat  .It Sx B Ta boldface font
 are as mentioned in  .It Sx I Ta italic font
 .Sx Line Macros .  .It Sx R Ta roman (default) font
 .Pp  .It Sx SB Ta small boldface font
 If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line  .It Sx SM Ta small roman font
 macros for decorating text.  .It Sx BI Ta alternate between boldface and italic fonts
 .Sh REFERENCE  .It Sx BR Ta alternate between boldface and roman fonts
   .It Sx IB Ta alternate between italic and boldface fonts
   .It Sx IR Ta alternate between italic and roman fonts
   .It Sx RB Ta alternate between roman and boldface fonts
   .It Sx RI Ta alternate between roman and italic fonts
   .El
   .Sh MACRO REFERENCE
 This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged  This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
 alphabetically.  For the scoping of individual macros, see  alphabetically.
   For the scoping of individual macros, see
 .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .  .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
   .Ss \&AT
   Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
   .Tn AT&T UNIX
   releases.
   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  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&I ,  .Sx \&I
 .Sx \&R ,  
 .Sx \&b ,  
 .Sx \&i ,  
 and  and
 .Sx \&r .  .Sx \&R .
 .Ss \&BI  .Ss \&BI
 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.  Thus,  Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.
   Thus,
 .Sq .BI this word and that  .Sq .BI this word and that
 causes  causes
 .Sq this  .Sq this
Line 519  to render in bold face, while
Line 301  to render in bold face, while
 .Sq word  .Sq word
 and  and
 .Sq that  .Sq that
 render in italics.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  render in italics.
   Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  .Pp
 Examples:  Examples:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 \&.BI bold italic bold italic  .Dl \&.BI bold italic bold italic
 .Pp  .Pp
 The output of this example will be emboldened  The output of this example will be emboldened
 .Dq bold  .Dq bold
Line 554  See also
Line 337  See also
 and  and
 .Sx \&IR .  .Sx \&IR .
 .Ss \&DT  .Ss \&DT
 Has no effect.  Included for compatibility.  Has no effect.
   Included for compatibility.
 .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:
Line 581  and
Line 365  and
 Text is rendered in italics.  Text is rendered in italics.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&B ,  .Sx \&B
 .Sx \&R ,  
 .Sx \&b ,  
 .Sx \&i ,  
 and  and
 .Sx \&r .  .Sx \&R .
 .Ss \&IB  .Ss \&IB
 Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.  Whitespace  Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
 between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See  See
 .Sx \&BI  .Sx \&BI
Line 612  Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
Line 393  Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
 The  The
 .Cm width  .Cm width
 argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by  argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by
 .Sx Scaling Widths ,  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 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  .Cm head
 argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.  This is  argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.
 useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.  This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Sx \&HP ,
Line 644  See also
Line 425  See also
 and  and
 .Sx \&RI .  .Sx \&RI .
 .Ss \&LP  .Ss \&LP
 Begin an undecorated paragraph.  The scope of a paragraph is closed by a  Begin an undecorated paragraph.
 subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file.  The saved  The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,
 paragraph left-margin width is re-set to the default.  sub-section, section, or end of file.
   The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&HP ,  .Sx \&HP ,
Line 655  See also
Line 437  See also
 .Sx \&PP ,  .Sx \&PP ,
 and  and
 .Sx \&TP .  .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&OP
   Optional command-line argument.
   This is a non-standard GNU extension, included only for compatibility.
   It has the following syntax:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&OP
   .Cm key Op Cm value
   .Ed
   .Pp
   The
   .Cm key
   is usually a command-line flag and
   .Cm value
   its argument.
 .Ss \&P  .Ss \&P
 Synonym for  Synonym for
 .Sx \&LP .  .Sx \&LP .
Line 681  and
Line 477  and
 Text is rendered in roman (the default font).  Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&I ,  .Sx \&I
 .Sx \&B ,  
 .Sx \&b ,  
 .Sx \&i ,  
 and  and
 .Sx \&r .  .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.
Line 705  and
Line 498  and
 .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 of the original
   .Sx \&RS
   invocation.
 .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.
Line 721  See also
Line 517  See also
 and  and
 .Sx \&IR .  .Sx \&IR .
 .Ss \&RS  .Ss \&RS
 Begin a part setting the left margin.  The left margin controls the  Temporarily reset the default left margin.
 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 Cm width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
Line 736  The
Line 529  The
 argument must conform to  argument must conform to
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 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.
 .Ss \&SH  .Ss \&SH
 Begin a section.  The scope of a section is only closed by another  Begin a section.
 section or the end of file.  The paragraph left-margin width is re-set  The scope of a section is only closed by another section or the end of
 to the default.  file.
   The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
 .Ss \&SM  .Ss \&SM
 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default  Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
 font).  font).
 .Ss \&SS  .Ss \&SS
 Begin a sub-section.  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a  Begin a sub-section.
 subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file.  The paragraph  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,
 left-margin width is re-set to the default.  section, or end of file.
   The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
 .Ss \&TH  .Ss \&TH
 Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:  Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&TH  .Pf \. Sx \&TH
 .Cm title section  .Ar title 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 title  Conventionally, the document
 .Cm title  .Ar title
 and numeric manual section  is given in all caps.
 .Cm section  The recommended
 arguments must be provided.  The  .Ar date
 .Cm date  format is
 argument should be formatted as described in  .Sy YYYY-MM-DD
 .Sx Dates :  as specified in the ISO-8601 standard;
 if it does not conform, the current date is used instead.  The  if the argument does not conform, it is printed verbatim.
 .Cm source  If the
 string specifies the organisation providing the utility.  The  .Ar date
 .Cm volume  is empty or not specified, the current date is used.
   The optional
   .Ar source
   string specifies the organisation providing the utility.
   The
   .Ar volume
 string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the  string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the
 manual section.  manual section.
 .Pp  .Pp
 Examples:  Examples:
 .Pp  .Pp
 .D1 \&.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 a
 buffer to the indentation width.  Subsequent output lines are indented.  buffer to the indentation width.
   Subsequent output lines are indented.
 The syntax is as follows:  The syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&TP  .Pf \. Sx \&TP
Line 800  See also
Line 604  See also
 .Sx \&P ,  .Sx \&P ,
 and  and
 .Sx \&PP .  .Sx \&PP .
 .\" .  .Ss \&UC
 .\" .  Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
 .\" .Ss \&PD  BSD releases.
 .\" Has no effect.  Included for compatibility.  The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.
 .\" .  
 .\" .  
 .\" .Ss \&UC  
 .\" Has no effect.  Included for compatibility.  
 .Ss \&br  .Ss \&br
 Breaks the current line.  Consecutive invocations have no further effect.  Breaks the current line.
   Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&sp .  .Sx \&sp .
 .Ss \&fi  .Ss \&fi
 End literal mode begun by  End literal mode begun by
 .Sx \&nf .  .Sx \&nf .
 .Ss \&i  .Ss \&ft
 Italicise arguments.  Synonym for  Change the current font mode.
 .Sx \&I .  See
   .Sx Text Decoration
   for a listing of available font modes.
   .Ss \&in
   Indent relative to the current indentation:
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  .D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Cm width
 .Sx \&B ,  .Pp
 .Sx \&I ,  If
 .Sx \&R .  .Cm width
 .Sx \&b ,  is signed, the new offset is relative.
 and  Otherwise, it is absolute.
 .Sx \&r .  This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
 .Ss \&na  .Ss \&na
 Don't align to the right margin.  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.  May be ended by  line boundaries preserved.
   May be ended by
 .Sx \&fi .  .Sx \&fi .
 .Ss \&r  Literal mode is implicitly ended by
 Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).  .Sx \&SH
 .Pp  or
 See also  .Sx \&SS .
 .Sx \&B ,  
 .Sx \&I ,  
 .Sx \&R ,  
 .Sx \&b ,  
 and  
 .Sx \&i .  
 .Ss \&sp  .Ss \&sp
 Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:  Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:
 .Bd -filled -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
Line 856  spaces, which must conform to
Line 656  spaces, which must conform to
 .Sx Scaling Widths .  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 If 0, this is equivalent to the  If 0, this is equivalent to the
 .Sx \&br  .Sx \&br
 macro.  Defaults to 1, if unspecified.  macro.
   Defaults to 1, if unspecified.
 .Pp  .Pp
 See also  See also
 .Sx \&br .  .Sx \&br .
 .\" .Ss \&Sp  .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 .\" A synonym for  The
 .\" .Sx \&sp  .Nm
 .\" .Cm 0.5v .  macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.
 .\" .  Line macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some
 .\" .Ss \&Vb  situations, the subsequent line).
 .\" A synonym for  Block macros are scoped to the current line and subsequent lines until
 .\" .Sx \&nf .  closed by another block macro.
 .\" Accepts an argument (the height of the formatted space) which is  .Ss Line Macros
 .\" disregarded.  Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body
 .\" .  consisting of zero or more arguments.
 .\" .Ss \&Ve  If a macro is scoped to the next line and the line arguments are empty,
 .\" A synonym for  the next line, which must be text, is used instead.
 .\" .Sx \&fi .  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
   .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX" -offset indent
   .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 \&OP  Ta    0, 1      Ta    current   Ta    compat
   .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
   .Pp
   Macros marked as
   .Qq compat
   are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing
   manuals that mix dialects of roff.
   These macros should not be used for portable
   .Nm
   manuals.
   .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
   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.
   .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX" -offset indent
   .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
   .Pp
   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.
   .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 COMPATIBILITY  .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 This section documents areas of questionable portability between  This section documents areas of questionable portability between
 implementations of the  implementations of the
Line 883  language.
Line 807  language.
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact  .Bl -dash -compact
 .It  .It
   Do not depend on
   .Sx \&SH
   or
   .Sx \&SS
   to close out a literal context opened with
   .Sx \&nf .
   This behaviour may not be portable.
   .It
 In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce  In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce
 a standalone double-quote in formatted output.  It is not known whether  a standalone double-quote in formatted output.
 this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.  It is not known whether this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.
 .It  .It
 The  troff suppresses a newline before
 .Sx \&sp  
 macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.  In GNU troff, this  
 would result in strange behaviour.  
 .It  
 The  
 .Sq \(aq  .Sq \(aq
 macro control character, in GNU troff (and prior troffs) suppresses a  macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard
 newline before macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard  
 .Sq \&.  .Sq \&.
 control character.  control character.
   .It
   The
   .Sq \eh
   .Pq horizontal position ,
   .Sq \ev
   .Pq vertical position ,
   .Sq \em
   .Pq text colour ,
   .Sq \eM
   .Pq text filling colour ,
   .Sq \ez
   .Pq zero-length character ,
   .Sq \ew
   .Pq string length ,
   .Sq \ek
   .Pq horizontal position marker ,
   .Sq \eo
   .Pq text overstrike ,
   and
   .Sq \es
   .Pq text size
   escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.
   .It
   The
   .Sq \ef
   scaling unit is accepted by mandoc, but rendered as the default unit.
   .It
   The
   .Sx \&sp
   macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.
   In GNU troff, this would result in strange behaviour.
   .It
   In page header lines, GNU troff versions up to and including 1.21
   only print
   .Ar volume
   names explicitly specified in the
   .Sx \&TH
   macro; mandoc and newer groff print the default volume name
   corresponding to the
   .Ar section
   number when no
   .Ar volume
   is given, like in
   .Xr mdoc 7 .
 .El  .El
   .Pp
   The
   .Sx OP
   macro is part of the extended
   .Nm
   macro set, and may not be portable to non-GNU troff implementations.
 .Sh SEE ALSO  .Sh SEE ALSO
   .Xr man 1 ,
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,  .Xr mandoc 1 ,
 .Xr mandoc_char 7  .Xr eqn 7 ,
 .Sh AUTHORS  .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
   .Xr mdoc 7 ,
   .Xr roff 7 ,
   .Xr tbl 7
   .Sh HISTORY
 The  The
 .Nm  .Nm
   language first appeared as a macro package for the roff typesetting
   system in
   .At v7 .
   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
   .Xr mandoc 1
   utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
   .Ox 4.6 .
   .Sh AUTHORS
   This
   .Nm
 reference was written by  reference was written by
 .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@bsd.lv .  .An Kristaps Dzonsons ,
   .Mt kristaps@bsd.lv .
 .Sh CAVEATS  .Sh CAVEATS
 Do not use this language.  Use  Do not use this language.
   Use
 .Xr mdoc 7 ,  .Xr mdoc 7 ,
 instead.  instead.
Legend:
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  Added in v.1.114
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