MirBSD manpage: ms(7)
MS(7) UNIX Programmer's Manual MS(7)
ms - text formatting macros
nroff -ms [ options ] file ...
troff -ms [ options ] file ...
This package of nroff and troff macro definitions provides a
formatting facility for various styles of articles, theses,
and books. When producing 2-column output on a terminal or
lineprinter, or when reverse line motions are needed, filter
the output through col(1). All external -ms macros are
defined below. Many nroff and troff requests are unsafe in
conjunction with this package. However, the first four
requests below may be used with impunity after initializa-
tion, and the last two may be used even before initializa-
tion:
.bp begin new page
.br break output line
.sp n insert n spacing lines
.ce n center next n lines
.ls n line spacing: n=1 single, n=2 double space
.na no alignment of right margin
Font and point size changes with \f and \s are also allowed;
for example, ``\fIword\fR'' will italicize word. Output of
the tbl, eqn, and refer(1) preprocessors for equations,
tables, and references is acceptable as input.
/usr/share/tmac/tmac.x
/usr/share/ms/x.???
eqn(1), refer(1), tbl(1), troff(1)
Macro Initial Break? Explanation
Name Value Reset?
.AB x - y begin abstract; if x=no don't label abstract
.AE - y end abstract
.AI - y author's institution
.AM - n better accent mark definitions
.AU - y author's name
.B x - n embolden x; if no x, switch to boldface
.B1 - y begin text to be enclosed in a box
.B2 - y end boxed text and print it
.BT date n bottom title, printed at foot of page
.BX x - n print word x in a box
.CM if t n cut mark between pages
.CT - y,y chapter title: page number moved to CF (TM only)
.DA x if n n force date x at bottom of page; today if no x
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.DE - y end display (unfilled text) of any kind
.DS x y I y begin display with keep; x=I,L,C,B; y=indent
.ID y 8n,.5i y indented display with no keep; y=indent
.LD - y left display with no keep
.CD - y centered display with no keep
.BD - y block display; center entire block
.EF x - n even page footer x (3 part as for .tl)
.EH x - n even page header x (3 part as for .tl)
.EN - y end displayed equation produced by eqn
.EQ x y - y break out equation; x=L,I,C; y=equation number
.FE - n end footnote to be placed at bottom of page
.FP - n numbered footnote paragraph; may be redefined
.FS x - n start footnote; x is optional footnote label
.HD undef n optional page header below header margin
.I x - n italicize x; if no x, switch to italics
.IP x y - y,y indented paragraph, with hanging tag x; y=indent
.IX x y - y index words x y and so on (up to 5 levels)
.KE - n end keep of any kind
.KF - n begin floating keep; text fills remainder of page
.KS - y begin keep; unit kept together on a single page
.LG - n larger; increase point size by 2
.LP - y,y left (block) paragraph.
.MC x - y,y multiple columns; x=column width
.ND x if t n no date in page footer; x is date on cover
.NH x y - y,y numbered header; x=level, x=0 resets, x=S sets to y
.NL 10p n set point size back to normal
.OF x - n odd page footer x (3 part as for .tl)
.OH x - n odd page header x (3 part as for .tl)
.P1 if TM n print header on 1st page
.PP - y,y paragraph with first line indented
.PT - % - n page title, printed at head of page
.PX x - y print index (table of contents); x=no suppresses title
.QP - y,y quote paragraph (indented and shorter)
.R on n return to Roman font
.RE 5n y,y retreat: end level of relative indentation
.RP x - n released paper format; x=no stops title on 1st page
.RS 5n y,y right shift: start level of relative indentation
.SH - y,y section header, in boldface
.SM - n smaller; decrease point size by 2
.TA 8n,5n n set tabs to 8n 16n ... (nroff) 5n 10n ... (troff)
.TC x - y print table of contents at end; x=no suppresses title
.TE - y end of table processed by tbl
.TH - y end multi-page header of table
.TL - y title in boldface and two points larger
.TM off n UC Berkeley thesis mode
.TS x - y,y begin table; if x=H table has multi-page header
.UL x - n underline x, even in troff
.UX x - n UNIX; trademark message first time; x appended
.XA x y - y another index entry; x=page or no for none; y=indent
.XE - y end index entry (or series of .IX entries)
.XP - y,y paragraph with first line exdented, others indented
.XS x y - y begin index entry; x=page or no for none; y=indent
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.1C on y,y one column format, on a new page
.2C - y,y begin two column format
.]- - n beginning of refer reference
.[0 - n end of unclassifiable type of reference
.[N - n N= 1:journal-article, 2:book, 3:book-article, 4:report
Formatting distances can be controlled in -ms by means of
built-in number registers. For example, this sets the line
length to 6.5 inches:
.nr LL 6.5i
Here is a table of number registers and their default
values:
Name Register Controls Takes Effect Default
PS point size paragraph 10
VS vertical spacing paragraph 12
LL line length paragraph 6i
LT title length next page same as LL
FL footnote length next .FS 5.5i
PD paragraph distance paragraph 1v (if n), .3v (if t)
DD display distance displays 1v (if n), .5v (if t)
PI paragraph indent paragraph 5n
QI quote indent next .QP 5n
FI footnote indent next .FS 2n
PO page offset next page 0 (if n), ~1i (if t)
HM header margin next page 1i
FM footer margin next page 1i
FF footnote format next .FS 0 (1, 2, 3 available)
When resetting these values, make sure to specify the
appropriate units. Setting the line length to 7, for exam-
ple, will result in output with one character per line. Set-
ting FF to 1 suppresses footnote superscripting; setting it
to 2 also suppresses indentation of the first line; and set-
ting it to 3 produces an .IP-like footnote paragraph.
Here is a list of string registers available in -ms; they
may be used anywhere in the text:
Name String's Function
\*Q quote (" in nroff, `` in troff )
\*U unquote (" in nroff, '' in troff )
\*- dash (-- in nroff, - in troff )
\*(MO month (month of the year)
\*(DY day (current date)
\** automatically numbered footnote
\*[ opening footnote string delimiter
\*] closing footnote string delimiter
\*([. opening reference tag delimiter
\*(.] closing reference tag delimiter
\*' acute accent (before letter)
\*` grave accent (before letter)
\*^ circumflex (before letter)
\*, cedilla (before letter)
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\*: umlaut (before letter)
\*~ tilde (before letter)
The opening and closing delimiters for footnote numbers and
reference tags may be changed by resetting the appropriate
string. Both opening delimiters change to italics and super-
script in troff, reverting to the previous font and the
baseline at the closing delimiter. In nroff, square brackets
are used as delimiters, with footnote numbers in italics.
When using the extended accent mark definitions available
with .AM, these strings should come after, rather than
before, the letter to be accented.
Floating keeps and regular keeps are diverted to the same
space, so they cannot be mixed together with predictable
results.
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