[Chapter 12] 12.2 Command-Line Invocation

12.2 Command-Line Invocation

nroff and troff are invoked from the command line as follows:

nroff  [options
]  [files
]

troff  [options
]  [files
]

Many of the options are the same for both formatters.

12.2.1 nroff/troff Options

-F dir: Search for font tables in directory dir .
-i: Read standard input after files are processed.
-m name: Prepend a macro file to input files . Historically, one of /usr/lib/tmac/tmac. name or /usr/share/lib/tmac/tmac. name were the locations of the macros for name . Solaris uses /usr/share/lib/tmac/ name . The actual location and filename(s) vary among different Unix systems.
-n N: First output page has page number N .
-o list: Print pages contained only in the comma-separated list . Page ranges can be specified as n -m , - m (first page through m ), or n - (n through end of file).
-r aN: Set register a to N . The register a is restricted to one-character names.
-s N: Stop every n pages. This allows changing a paper cassette. Resume by pressing Return (in nroff ) or by pressing the start button on the typesetter (in troff ).
-T name: Prepare output designed for printer or typesetter name . For device names, see your specific documentation or a local expert.
-u N: The font in position 3 is overstruck N times. Typically used to adjust the weight of the bold font.
-z: Discard output except messages generated by .tm request (otroff only).

12.2.2 nroff-Only Options

-e: When justifying output lines, space words equally (using terminal resolution instead of full space increments).
-h: Hasten output by replacing eight horizontal spaces with a tab.
-q: Invoke simultaneous input/output of .rd requests.

12.2.3 troff-Only Options

-a: Format a printable ASCII approximation. Useful for finding page counts without producing printed output.
-f: Don't stop the typesetter when formatting is done (otroff only).
-N: Run as nroff instead of as troff (recent versions of ditroff only).

12.2.4 Examples

Run chap1 through the tbl preprocessor, then format the result using the mm macros, with register N set to 5 (sets the page-numbering style), etc.:

tbl chap1 | troff -mm -rN5 | 

spooler
 &

Format chap2 using the ms macros; the first page is 7, but print only pages 8-10, 15, and 18 through the end of the file:

nroff -ms -n7 -o8-10,15,18- chap2 | col > chap2.txt &