groff_mom(7) — Linux manual page

Name | Synopsis | Description | Files | Reference | Documentation of details | Authors | See also | COLOPHON

groff_mom(7)        Miscellaneous Information Manual        groff_mom(7)

Name         top

       groff_mom - modern macros for document composition with GNU roff

Synopsis         top

       groff -mom [option ...] [file ...]
       groff -m mom [option ...] [file ...]

Description         top

       mom is a macro set for groff, designed primarily to prepare
       documents for PDF and PostScript output.  mom provides macros in
       two categories: typesetting and document processing.  The former
       provide access to groff's typesetting capabilities in ways that
       are simpler to master than groff's requests and escape sequences.
       The latter provide highly customizable markup tags that allow the
       user to design and output professional-looking documents with a
       minimum of typesetting intervention.

       Files processed with pdfmom(1) produce PDF documents.  The
       documents include a PDF outline that appears in the navigation
       pane panel of document viewers, and may contain clickable
       internal and external links.

       Normally.  groff's native PDF driver, gropdf(1), is used to
       generate the output.  When pdfmom is given the “-T ps” option, it
       still produces PDF, but processing is delegated to pdfroff, which
       uses groff's PostScript driver, grops(1).  Not all PDF features
       are available when -T ps is given; its primary use is to allow
       processing of files with embedded PostScript images.

       Files processed with groff -mom (or -m mom) format for the device
       specified with the -T option.  (In this installation, ps is the
       default output device.)

       mom comes with her own comprehensive documentation in HTML.  A
       PDF manual, “Producing PDFs with groff and mom”, discusses
       preparation of PDF documents with mom in detail.

Files         top

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mom.tmac
              is a wrapper enabling the package to be loaded with the
              option “-m mom”.

       /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/om.tmac
              implements the package.

       /usr/local/share/doc/groff-1.23.0/html/mom/toc.html
              is the entry point to the HTML documentation.

       /usr/local/share/doc/groff-1.23.0/pdf/mom-pdf.pdf
              is “Producing PDFs with groff and mom”, by Deri James and
              Peter Schaffter.

       /usr/local/share/doc/groff-1.23.0/examples/mom/*.mom
              are examples of mom usage.

Reference         top

   Escape sequences
       \*[<colorname>]
              begin using an initialized colour inline

       \*[BCK n]
              move backward in a line

       \*[BOLDER]
              invoke pseudo bold inline (related to macro .SETBOLDER)

       \*[BOLDERX]
              off pseudo bold inline (related to macro .SETBOLDER)

       \*[BU n]
              move characters pairs closer together inline (related to
              macro .KERN)

       \*[COND]
              invoke pseudo condensing inline (related to macro
              .CONDENSE)

       \*[CONDX]
              off pseudo condensing inline (related to macro .CONDENSE)

       \*[CONDSUP]...\*[CONDSUPX]
              pseudo-condensed superscript

       \*[DOWN n]
              temporarily move downward in a line

       \*[EN-MARK]
              mark initial line of a range of line numbers (for use with
              line numbered endnotes)

       \*[EXT]
              invoke pseudo extending inline (related to macro .EXTEND)

       \*[EXTX]
              off pseudo condensing inline (related to macro .EXTEND)

       \*[EXTSUP]...\*[EXTSUPX]
              pseudo extended superscript

       \*[FU n]
              move characters pairs further apart inline (related to
              macro .KERN)

       \*[FWD n]
              move forward in a line

       \*[LEADER]
              insert leaders at the end of a line

       \*[RULE]
              draw a full measure rule

       \*[SIZE n]
              change the point size inline (related to macro .PT_SIZE)

       \*[SLANT]
              invoke pseudo italic inline (related to macro .SETSLANT)

       \*[SLANTX]
              off pseudo italic inline (related to macro .SETSLANT)

       \*[ST<n>]...\*[ST<n>X]
              string tabs (mark tab positions inline)

       \*[SUP]...\*[SUPX]
              superscript

       \*[TB+]
              inline escape for .TN (Tab Next)

       \*[UL]...\*[ULX]
              invoke underlining inline (fixed width fonts only)

       \*[UP n]
              temporarily move upward in a line

   Macros
       .AUTOLEAD
              set the linespacing relative to the point size

       .B_MARGIN
              set a bottom margin

       .BR    break a justified line

       .CENTER
              set line-by-line quad centre

       .CONDENSE
              set the amount to pseudo condense

       .EL    break a line without advancing on the page

       .EXTEND
              set the amount to pseudo extend

       .FALLBACK_FONT
              establish a fallback font (for missing fonts)

       .FAM   alias to .FAMILY

       .FAMILY <family>
              set the family type

       .FT    set the font style (roman, italic, etc.)

       .HI [ <measure> ]
              hanging indent

       .HY    automatic hyphenation on/off

       .HY_SET
              set automatic hyphenation parameters

       .IB [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
              indent both

       .IBX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent both

       .IL [ <measure> ]
              indent left

       .ILX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent left

       .IQ [ CLEAR ]
              quit any/all indents

       .IR [ <measure> ]
              indent right

       .IRX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent right

       .JUSTIFY
              justify text to both margins

       .KERN  automatic character pair kerning on/off

       .L_MARGIN
              set a left margin (page offset)

       .LEFT  set line-by-line quad left

       .LL    set a line length

       .LS    set a linespacing (leading)

       .PAGE  set explicit page dimensions and margins

       .PAGEWIDTH
              set a custom page width

       .PAGELENGTH
              set a custom page length

       .PAPER <paper_type>
              set common paper sizes (letter, A4, etc)

       .PT_SIZE
              set the point size

       .QUAD  "justify" text left, centre, or right

       .R_MARGIN
              set a right margin

       .RIGHT set line-by-line quad right

       .SETBOLDER
              set the amount of emboldening

       .SETSLANT
              set the degree of slant

       .SPREAD
              force justify a line

       .SS    set the sentence space size

       .T_MARGIN
              set a top margin

       .TI [ <measure> ]
              temporary left indent

       .WS    set the minimum word space size

Documentation of details         top

   Details of inline escape sequences in alphabetical order
       \*[<colorname>]
              begin using an initialized colour inline

       \*[BCK n]
              move backward in a line

       \*[BOLDER]
       \*[BOLDERX]
              Emboldening on/off

              \*[BOLDER] begins emboldening type.  \*[BOLDERX] turns the
              feature off.  Both are inline escape sequences; therefore,
              they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be
              embedded in text lines, like this:
                     Not \*[BOLDER]everything\*[BOLDERX] is as it seems.

              Alternatively, if you wanted the whole line emboldened,
              you should do
                     \*[BOLDER]Not everything is as it seems.\*[BOLDERX]
              Once \*[BOLDER] is invoked, it remains in effect until
              turned off.

              Note: If you're using the document processing macros with
              .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores \*[BOLDER] requests.

       \*[BU n]
              move characters pairs closer together inline (related to
              macro .KERN)

       \*[COND]
       \*[CONDX]
              Pseudo-condensing on/off

              \*[COND] begins pseudo-condensing type.  \*[CONDX] turns
              the feature off.  Both are inline escape sequences;
              therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but
              rather be embedded in text lines, like this:
                     \*[COND]Not everything is as it seems.\*[CONDX]
              \*[COND] remains in effect until you turn it off with
              \*[CONDX].

              IMPORTANT: You must turn \*[COND] off before making any
              changes to the point size of your type, either via the
              .PT_SIZE macro or with the \s inline escape sequence.  If
              you wish the new point size to be pseudo-condensed, simply
              reinvoke \*[COND] afterward.  Equally, \*[COND] must be
              turned off before changing the condense percentage with
              .CONDENSE.

              Note: If you're using the document processing macros with
              .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores \*[COND] requests.

       \*[CONDSUP]...\*[CONDSUPX]
              pseudo-condensed superscript

       \*[DOWN n]
              temporarily move downward in a line

       \*[EN-MARK]
              mark initial line of a range of line numbers (for use with
              line numbered endnotes)

       \*[EXT]
       \*[EXTX]
              Pseudo-extending on/off

              \*[EXT] begins pseudo-extending type.  \*[EXTX] turns the
              feature off.  Both are inline escape sequences; therefore,
              they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be
              embedded in text lines, like this:
                     \*[EXT]Not everything is as it seems.\*[EXTX]
              \*[EXT] remains in effect until you turn it off with
              \*[EXTX].

              IMPORTANT: You must turn \*[EXT] off before making any
              changes to the point size of your type, either via the
              .PT_SIZE macro or with the \s inline escape sequence.  If
              you wish the new point size to be pseudo-extended, simply
              reinvoke \*[EXT] afterward.  Equally, \*[EXT] must be
              turned off before changing the extend percentage with
              .EXTEND.

              Note: If you are using the document processing macros with
              .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores \*[EXT] requests.

       \*[EXTSUP]...\*[EXTSUPX]
              pseudo extended superscript

       \*[FU n]
              move characters pairs further apart inline (related to
              macro .KERN)

       \*[FWD n]
              move forward in a line

       \*[LEADER]
              insert leaders at the end of a line

       \*[RULE]
              draw a full measure rule

       \*[SIZE n]
              change the point size inline (related to macro .PT_SIZE)

       \*[SLANT]
       \*[SLANTX]
              Pseudo italic on/off

              \*[SLANT] begins pseudo-italicizing type.  \*[SLANTX]
              turns the feature off.  Both are inline escape sequences;
              therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but
              rather be embedded in text lines, like this:
                     Not \*[SLANT]everything\*[SLANTX] is as it seems.

              Alternatively, if you wanted the whole line pseudo-
              italicized, you'd do
                     \*[SLANT]Not everything is as it seems.\*[SLANTX]

              Once \*[SLANT] is invoked, it remains in effect until
              turned off.

              Note: If you're using the document processing macros with
              .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom underlines pseudo-italics by
              default.  To change this behaviour, use the special macro
              .SLANT_MEANS_SLANT.

       \*[ST<number>]...\*[ST<number>X]
              Mark positions of string tabs

              The quad direction must be LEFT or JUSTIFY (see .QUAD and
              .JUSTIFY) or the no-fill mode set to LEFT in order for
              these inlines to function properly.  Please see IMPORTANT,
              below.

              String tabs need to be marked off with inline escape
              sequences before being set up with the .ST macro.  Any
              input line may contain string tab markers.  <number>,
              above, means the numeric identifier of the tab.

              The following shows a sample input line with string tab
              markers.
                     \*[ST1]De minimus\*[ST1X]non curat\*[ST2]lex\*[ST2X].

              String tab 1 begins at the start of the line and ends
              after the word time.  String tab 2 starts at good and ends
              after men.  Inline escape sequences (e.g., font or point
              size changes, or horizontal movements, including padding)
              are taken into account when mom determines the position
              and length of string tabs.

              Up to nineteen string tabs may be marked (not necessarily
              all on the same line, of course), and they must be
              numbered between 1 and 19.

              Once string tabs have been marked in input lines, they
              have to be set with .ST, after which they may be called,
              by number, with .TAB.

              Note: Lines with string tabs marked off in them are normal
              input lines, i.e. they get printed, just like any input
              line.  If you want to set up string tabs without the line
              printing, use the .SILENT macro.

              IMPORTANT: Owing to the way groff processes input lines
              and turns them into output lines, it is not possible for
              mom to guess the correct starting position of string tabs
              marked off in lines that are centered or set flush right.

              Equally, she cannot guess the starting position if a line
              is fully justified and broken with .SPREAD.

              In other words, in order to use string tabs, LEFT must be
              active, or, if .QUAD LEFT or JUSTIFY are active, the line
              on which the string tabs are marked must be broken
              manually with .BR (but not .SPREAD).

              To circumvent this behaviour, I recommend using the PAD to
              set up string tabs in centered or flush right lines.  Say,
              for example, you want to use a string tab to underscore
              the text of a centered line with a rule.  Rather than
              this,
                     .CENTER
                     \*[ST1]A line of text\*[ST1X]\c
                     .EL
                     .ST 1
                     .TAB 1
                     .PT_SIZE 24
                     .ALD 3p
                     \*[RULE]
                     .RLD 3p
                     .TQ
              you should do:
                     .QUAD CENTER
                     .PAD "#\*[ST1]A line of text\*[ST1X]#"
                     .EL
                     .ST 1
                     .TAB 1
                     .PT_SIZE 24
                     .ALD 3p
                     \" You can't use \*[UP] or \*[DOWN] with \*[RULE].
                     .RLD 3p
                     .TQ

       \*[SUP]...\*[SUPX]
              superscript

       \*[TB+]
              Inline escape for .TN (Tab Next)

       \*[UL]...\*[ULX]
              invoke underlining inline (fixed width fonts only)

       \*[UP n]
              temporarily move upward in a line

   Details of macros in alphabetical order
       .AUTOLEAD
              set the linespacing relative to the point size

       .B_MARGIN <bottom margin>
              Bottom Margin

              Requires a unit of measure

              .B_MARGIN sets a nominal position at the bottom of the
              page beyond which you don't want your type to go.  When
              the bottom margin is reached, mom starts a new page.
              .B_MARGIN requires a unit of measure.  Decimal fractions
              are allowed.  To set a nominal bottom margin of 3/4 inch,
              enter
                     .B_MARGIN .75i

              Obviously, if you haven't spaced the type on your pages so
              that the last lines fall perfectly at the bottom margin,
              the margin will vary from page to page.  Usually, but not
              always, the last line of type that fits on a page before
              the bottom margin causes mom to start a new page.

              Occasionally, owing to a peculiarity in groff, an extra
              line will fall below the nominal bottom margin.  If you're
              using the document processing macros, this is unlikely to
              happen; the document processing macros are very hard-nosed
              about aligning bottom margins.

              Note: The meaning of .B_MARGIN is slightly different when
              you're using the document processing macros.

       .FALLBACK_FONT <fallback font> [ ABORT | WARN ]
              Fallback Font

              In the event that you pass an invalid argument to .FAMILY
              (i.e. a non-existent family), mom, by default, uses the
              fallback font, Courier Medium Roman (CR), in order to
              continue processing your file.

              If you'd prefer another fallback font, pass .FALLBACK_FONT
              the full family+font name of the font you'd like.  For
              example, if you'd rather the fallback font were Times
              Roman Medium Roman,
                     .FALLBACK_FONT TR
              would do the trick.

              Mom issues a warning whenever a font style set with .FT
              does not exist, either because you haven't registered the
              style or because the font style does not exist in the
              current family set with .FAMILY.  By default, mom then
              aborts, which allows you to correct the problem.

              If you'd prefer that mom not abort on non-existent fonts,
              but rather continue processing using a fallback font, you
              can pass .FALLBACK_FONT the argument WARN, either by
              itself, or in conjunction with your chosen fallback font.

              Some examples of invoking .FALLBACK_FONT:

              .FALLBACK_FONT WARN
                     mom will issue a warning whenever you try to access
                     a non-existent font but will continue processing
                     your file with the default fallback font, Courier
                     Medium Roman.

              .FALLBACK_FONT TR WARN
                     mom will issue a warning whenever you try to access
                     a non-existent font but will continue processing
                     your file with a fallback font of Times Roman
                     Medium Roman; additionally, TR will be the fallback
                     font whenever you try to access a family that does
                     not exist.

              .FALLBACK_FONT TR ABORT
                     mom will abort whenever you try to access a non-
                     existent font, and will use the fallback font TR
                     whenever you try to access a family that does not
                     exist.  If, for some reason, you want to revert to
                     ABORT, just enter ".FALLBACK_FONT ABORT" and mom
                     will once again abort on font errors.

       .FAM <family>
              Type Family, alias of .FAMILY

       .FAMILY <family>
              Type Family, alias of .FAM

              .FAMILY takes one argument: the name of the family you
              want.  Groff comes with a small set of basic families,
              each identified by a 1-, 2- or 3-letter mnemonic.  The
              standard families are:
                     A   = Avant Garde
                     BM  = Bookman
                     H   = Helvetica
                     HN  = Helvetica Narrow
                     N   = New Century Schoolbook
                     P   = Palatino
                     T   = Times Roman
                     ZCM = Zapf Chancery

              The argument you pass to .FAMILY is the identifier at
              left, above.  For example, if you want Helvetica, enter
                     .FAMILY H

              Note: The font macro (.FT) lets you specify both the type
              family and the desired font with a single macro.  While
              this saves a few keystrokes, I recommend using .FAMILY for
              family, and .FT for font, except where doing so is
              genuinely inconvenient.  ZCM, for example, only exists in
              one style: Italic (I).

              Therefore,
                     .FT ZCMI
              makes more sense than setting the family to ZCM, then
              setting the font to I.

              Additional note: If you are running a groff version prior
              to 1.19.2, you must follow all .FAMILY requests with a .FT
              request, otherwise mom will set all type up to the next
              .FT request in the fallback font.

              If you are running groff 1.19.2 or later, when you invoke
              the .FAMILY macro, mom remembers the font style (Roman,
              Italic, etc) currently in use (if the font style exists in
              the new family) and will continue to use the same font
              style in the new family.  For example:
                     .FAMILY BM \" Bookman family
                     .FT I \" Medium Italic
                     <some text> \" Bookman Medium Italic
                     .FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
                     <more text> \" Helvetica Medium Italic

              However, if the font style does not exist in the new
              family, mom will set all subsequent type in the fallback
              font (by default, Courier Medium Roman) until she
              encounters a .FT request that's valid for the family.

              For example, assuming you don't have the font Medium
              Condensed Roman (mom extension CD) in the Helvetica
              family:
                     .FAMILY UN \" Univers family
                     .FT CD \" Medium Condensed
                     <some text> \" Univers Medium Condensed
                     .FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
                     <more text> \" Courier Medium Roman!

              In the above example, you must follow .FAMILY H with a .FT
              request that's valid for Helvetica.

              Please see the Appendices, Adding fonts to groff, for
              information on adding fonts and families to
              groff,aswellasto see a list of the extensions mom provides
              to groff's basic R, I, B, BI styles.

              Suggestion: When adding families to groff, I recommend
              following the established standard for the naming families
              and fonts.  For example, if you add the Garamond family,
              name the font files
                     GARAMONDR
                     GARAMONDI
                     GARAMONDB
                     GARAMONDBI
              GARAMOND then becomes a valid family name you can pass to
              .FAMILY.  (You could, of course, shorten GARAMOND to just
              G, or GD.)  R, I, B, and BI after GARAMOND are the roman,
              italic, bold and bold-italic fonts respectively.

       .FONT R | B | BI | <any other valid font style>
              Alias to .FT

       .FT R | B | BI | <any other valid font style>
              Set font

              By default, groff permits .FT to take one of four possible
              arguments specifying the desired font:
                     R = (Medium) Roman
                     I = (Medium) Italic
                     B = Bold (Roman)
                     BI = Bold Italic

              For example, if your family is Helvetica, entering
                     .FT B
              will give you the Helvetica bold font.  If your family
              were Palatino, you'd get the Palatino bold font.

              Mom considerably extends the range of arguments you can
              pass to .FT, making it more convenient to add and access
              fonts of differing weights and shapes within the same
              family.

              Have a look here for a list of the weight/style arguments
              mom allows.  Be aware, though, that you must have the
              fonts, correctly installed and named, in order to use the
              arguments.  (See Adding fonts to groff for instructions
              and information.)  Please also read the ADDITIONAL NOTE
              found in the description of the .FAMILY macro.

              How mom reacts to an invalid argument to .FT depends on
              which version of groff you're using.  If your groff
              version is 1.19.2 or later, mom will issue a warning and,
              depending on how you've set up the fallback font, either
              continue processing using the fallback font, or abort
              (allowing you to correct the problem).  In earlier
              versions, mom will silently continue processing, using
              either the fallback font or the font that was in effect
              prior to the invalid .FT call.

              .FT will also accept, as an argument, a full family and
              font name.

              For example,
                     .FT HB
              will set subsequent type in Helvetica Bold.

              However, I strongly recommend keeping family and font
              separate except where doing so is genuinely inconvenient.

              For inline control of fonts, see Inline Escapes, font
              control.

       .HI [ <measure> ]
              Hanging indent — the optional argument requires a unit of
              measure.

              A hanging indent looks like this:
                     The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I
                       could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
                       revenge.  You who so well know the nature of my soul
                       will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a
                       threat, at length I would be avenged...
              The first line of text hangs outside the left margin.

              In order to use hanging indents, you must first have a
              left indent active (set with either .IL or .IB).  Mom will
              not hang text outside the left margin set with .L_MARGIN
              or outside the left margin of a tab.

              The first time you invoke .HI, you must give it a measure.
              If you want the first line of a paragraph to hang by, say,
              1 pica, do
                     .IL 1P
                     .HI 1P
              Subsequent invocations of .HI do not require you to supply
              a measure; mom keeps track of the last measure you gave
              it.

              Generally speaking, you should invoke .HI immediately
              prior to the line you want hung (i.e. without any
              intervening control lines).  And because hanging indents
              affect only one line, there's no need to turn them off.

              IMPORTANT: Unlike IL, IR and IB, measures given to .HI are
              NOT additive.  Each time you pass a measure to .HI, the
              measure is treated literally.  Recipe: A numbered list
              using hanging indents

              Note: mom has macros for setting lists.  This recipe
              exists to demonstrate the use of hanging indents only.
                     .PAGE 8.5i 11i 1i 1i 1i 1i
                     .FAMILY  T
                     .FT      R
                     .PT_SIZE 12
                     .LS      14
                     .JUSTIFY
                     .KERN
                     .SS 0
                     .IL \w'\0\0.'
                     .HI \w'\0\0.'
                     1.\0The most important point to be considered is whether
                     the answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe, and
                     Everything really is 42.  We have no one's word on the
                     subject except Mr. Adams's.
                     .HI
                     2.\0If the answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe,
                     and Everything is indeed 42, what impact does this have on
                     the politics of representation?  42 is, after all not a
                     prime number.  Are we to infer that prime numbers don't
                     deserve equal rights and equal access in the universe?
                     .HI
                     3.\0If 42 is deemed non-exclusionary, how do we present
                     it as the answer and, at the same time, forestall debate
                     on its exclusionary implications?

              First, we invoke a left indent with a measure equal to the
              width of 2 figures spaces plus a period (using the \w
              inline escape).  At this point, the left indent is active;
              text afterward would normally be indented.  However, we
              invoke a hanging indent of exactly the same width, which
              hangs the first line (and first line only!) to the left of
              the indent by the same distance (in this case, that means
              “out to the left margin”).  Because we begin the first
              line with a number, a period, and a figure space, the
              actual text (The most important point...) starts at
              exactly the same spot as the indented lines that follow.

              Notice that subsequent invocations of .HI don't require a
              measure to be given.

              Paste the example above into a file and preview it with
                     pdfmom filename.mom | ps2pdf - filename.pdf
              to see hanging indents in action.

       .IB [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
              Indent both — the optional argument requires a unit of
              measure

              .IB allows you to set or invoke a left and a right indent
              at the same time.

              At its first invocation, you must supply a measure for
              both indents; at subsequent invocations when you wish to
              supply a measure, both must be given again.  As with .IL
              and .IR, the measures are added to the values previously
              passed to the macro.  Hence, if you wish to change just
              one of the values, you must give an argument of zero to
              the other.

              A word of advice: If you need to manipulate left and right
              indents separately, use a combination of .IL and .IR
              instead of .IB.  You'll save yourself a lot of grief.

              A minus sign may be prepended to the arguments to subtract
              from their current values.  The \w inline escape may be
              used to specify text-dependent measures, in which case no
              unit of measure is required.  For example,
                     .IB \w'margarine' \w'jello'
              left indents text by the width of the word margarine and
              right indents by the width of jello.

              Like .IL and .IR, .IB with no argument indents by its last
              active values.  See the brief explanation of how mom
              handles indents for more details.

              Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels
              any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IB automatically turns off .IL
              and .IR.

       .IL [ <measure> ]
              Indent left — the optional argument requires a unit of
              measure

              .IL indents text from the left margin of the page, or if
              you're in a tab, from the left edge of the tab.  Once IL
              is on, the left indent is applied uniformly to every
              subsequent line of text, even if you change the line
              length.

              The first time you invoke .IL, you must give it a measure.
              Subsequent invocations with a measure add to the previous
              measure.  A minus sign may be prepended to the argument to
              subtract from the current measure.  The \w inline escape
              may be used to specify a text-dependent measure, in which
              case no unit of measure is required.  For example,
                     .IL \w'margarine'
              indents text by the width of the word margarine.

              With no argument, .IL indents by its last active value.
              See the brief explanation of how mom handles indents for
              more details.

              Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels
              any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IL automatically turns off IB.

       .IQ [ <measure> ]
              IQ — quit any/all indents

              IMPORTANT NOTE: The original macro for quitting all
              indents was .IX.  This usage has been deprecated in favour
              of IQ.  .IX will continue to behave as before, but mom
              will issue a warning to stderr indicating that you should
              update your documents.

              As a consequence of this change, .ILX, .IRX and .IBX may
              now also be invoked as .ILQ, .IRQ and .IBQ.  Both forms
              are acceptable.

              Without an argument, the macros to quit indents merely
              restore your original margins and line length.  The
              measures stored in the indent macros themselves are saved
              so you can call them again without having to supply a
              measure.

              If you pass these macros the optional argument CLEAR, they
              not only restore your original left margin and line
              length, but also clear any values associated with a
              particular indent style.  The next time you need an indent
              of the same style, you have to supply a measure again.

              .IQ CLEAR, as you'd suspect, quits and clears the values
              for all indent styles at once.

       .IR [ <measure> ]
              Indent right — the optional argument requires a unit of
              measure

              .IR indents text from the right margin of the page, or if
              you're in a tab, from the end of the tab.

              The first time you invoke .IR, you must give it a measure.
              Subsequent invocations with a measure add to the previous
              indent measure.  A minus sign may be prepended to the
              argument to subtract from the current indent measure.  The
              \w inline escape may be used to specify a text-dependent
              measure, in which case no unit of measure is required.
              For example,
                     .IR \w'jello'
              indents text by the width of the word jello.

              With no argument, .IR indents by its last active value.
              See the brief explanation of how mom handles indents for
              more details.

              Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels
              any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IR automatically turns off IB.

       .L_MARGIN <left margin>
              Left Margin

              L_MARGIN establishes the distance from the left edge of
              the printer sheet at which you want your type to start.
              It may be used any time, and remains in effect until you
              enter a new value.

              Left indents and tabs are calculated from the value you
              pass to .L_MARGIN, hence it's always a good idea to invoke
              it before starting any serious typesetting.  A unit of
              measure is required.  Decimal fractions are allowed.
              Therefore, to set the left margin at 3 picas (1/2 inch),
              you'd enter either
                     .L_MARGIN 3P
              or
                     .L_MARGIN .5i

              If you use the macros .PAGE, .PAGEWIDTH or .PAPER without
              invoking .L_MARGIN (either before or afterward), mom
              automatically sets .L_MARGIN to 1 inch.

              Note: .L_MARGIN behaves in a special way when you're using
              the document processing macros.

       .MCO   Begin multi-column setting.

              .MCO (Multi-Column On) is the macro you use to begin
              multi-column setting.  It marks the current baseline as
              the top of your columns, for use later with .MCR.  See the
              introduction to columns for an explanation of multi-
              columns and some sample input.

              Note: Do not confuse .MCO with the .COLUMNS macro in the
              document processing macros.

       .MCR   Once you've turned multi-columns on (with .MCO), .MCR, at
              any time, returns you to the top of your columns.

       .MCX [ <distance to advance below longest column> ]
              Optional argument requires a unit of measure.

              Exit multi-columns.

              .MCX takes you out of any tab you were in (by silently
              invoking .TQ) and advances to the bottom of the longest
              column.

              Without an argument, .MCX advances 1 linespace below the
              longest column.

              Linespace, in this instance, is the leading in effect at
              the moment .MCX is invoked.

              If you pass the <distance> argument to .MCX, it advances 1
              linespace below the longest column (see above) PLUS the
              distance specified by the argument.  The argument requires
              a unit of measure; therefore, to advance an extra 6 points
              below where .MCX would normally place you, you'd enter
                     .MCX 6p

              Note: If you wish to advance a precise distance below the
              baseline of the longest column, use .MCX with an argument
              of 0 (zero; no unit of measure required) in conjunction
              with the .ALD macro, like this:
                     .MCX 0
                     .ALD 24p
              The above advances to precisely 24 points below the
              baseline of the longest column.

       .NEWPAGE

              Whenever you want to start a new page, use .NEWPAGE, by
              itself with no argument.  Mom will finish up processing
              the current page and move you to the top of a new one
              (subject to the top margin set with .T_MARGIN).

       .PAGE <width> [ <length> [ <lm> [ <rm> [ <tm> [ <bm> ] ] ] ] ]

              All arguments require a unit of measure

              IMPORTANT: If you're using the document processing macros,
              .PAGE must come after .START.  Otherwise, it should go at
              the top of a document, prior to any text.  And remember,
              when you're using the document processing macros, top
              margin and bottom margin mean something slightly different
              than when you're using just the typesetting macros (see
              Top and bottom margins in document processing).

              .PAGE lets you establish paper dimensions and page margins
              with a single macro.  The only required argument is page
              width.  The rest are optional, but they must appear in
              order and you can't skip over any.  <lm>, <rm>, <tm> and
              <bm> refer to the left, right, top and bottom margins
              respectively.

              Assuming your page dimensions are 11 inches by 17 inches,
              and that's all you want to set, enter
                     .PAGE 11i 17i
              If you want to set the left margin as well, say, at 1
              inch, PAGE would look like this:
                     .PAGE 11i 17i 1i

              Now suppose you also want to set the top margin, say, at
              1–1/2 inches.  <tm> comes after <rm> in the optional
              arguments, but you can't skip over any arguments,
              therefore to set the top margin, you must also give a
              right margin.  The .PAGE macro would look like this:
                     .PAGE 11i 17i 1i 1i 1.5i
                                      |   |
                     required right---+   +---top margin
                             margin

              Clearly, .PAGE is best used when you want a convenient way
              to tell mom just the dimensions of your printer sheet
              (width and length), or when you want to tell her
              everything about the page (dimensions and all the
              margins), for example
                     .PAGE 8.5i 11i 45p 45p 45p 45p
              This sets up an 8½ by 11 inch page with margins of 45
              points (5/8-inch) all around.

              Additionally, if you invoke .PAGE with a top margin
              argument, any macros you invoke after .PAGE will almost
              certainly move the baseline of the first line of text down
              by one linespace.  To compensate, do
                     .RLD 1v
              immediately before entering any text, or, if it's
              feasible, make .PAGE the last macro you invoke prior to
              entering text.

              Please read the Important note on page dimensions and
              papersize for information on ensuring groff respects your
              .PAGE dimensions and margins.

       .PAGELENGTH <length of printer sheet>
              tells mom how long your printer sheet is.  It works just
              like .PAGEWIDTH.

              Therefore, to tell mom your printer sheet is 11 inches
              long, you enter
                     .PAGELENGTH 11i
              Please read the important note on page dimensions and
              papersize for information on ensuring groff respects your
              PAGELENGTH.

       .PAGEWIDTH <width of printer sheet>

              The argument to .PAGEWIDTH is the width of your printer
              sheet.

              .PAGEWIDTH requires a unit of measure.  Decimal fractions
              are allowed.  Hence, to tell mom that the width of your
              printer sheet is 8½ inches, you enter
                     .PAGEWIDTH 8.5i

              Please read the Important note on page dimensions and
              papersize for information on ensuring groff respects your
              PAGEWIDTH.

       .PAPER <paper type>
              provides a convenient way to set the page dimensions for
              some common printer sheet sizes.  The argument <paper
              type> can be one of: LETTER, LEGAL, STATEMENT, TABLOID,
              LEDGER, FOLIO, QUARTO, EXECUTIVE, 10x14, A3, A4, A5, B4,
              B5.

       .PRINTSTYLE

       .PT_SIZE <size of type in points>
              Point size of type, does not require a unit of measure.

              .PT_SIZE (Point Size) takes one argument: the size of type
              in points.  Unlike most other macros that establish the
              size or measure of something, .PT_SIZE does not require
              that you supply a unit of measure since it's a near
              universal convention that type size is measured in points.
              Therefore, to change the type size to, say, 11 points,
              enter
                     .PT_SIZE 11
              Point sizes may be fractional (e.g., 10.25 or 12.5).

              You can prepend a plus or a minus sign to the argument to
              .PT_SIZE, in which case the point size will be changed by
              + or - the original value.  For example, if the point size
              is 12, and you want 14, you can do
                     .PT_SIZE +2
              then later reset it to 12 with
                     .PT_SIZE -2
              The size of type can also be changed inline.

              Note: It is unfortunate that the pic preprocessor has
              already taken the name, PS, and thus mom's macro for
              setting point sizes can't use it.  However, if you aren't
              using pic, you might want to alias .PT_SIZE as .PS, since
              there'd be no conflict.  For example
                     .ALIAS PS PT_SIZE
              would allow you to set point sizes with .PS.

       .R_MARGIN <right margin>
              Right Margin

              Requires a unit of measure.

              IMPORTANT: .R_MARGIN, if used, must come after .PAPER,
              .PAGEWIDTH, .L_MARGIN, and/or .PAGE (if a right margin
              isn't given to PAGE).  The reason is that .R_MARGIN
              calculates line length from the overall page dimensions
              and the left margin.

              Obviously, it can't make the calculation if it doesn't
              know the page width and the left margin.

              .R_MARGIN establishes the amount of space you want between
              the end of typeset lines and the right hand edge of the
              printer sheet.  In other words, it sets the line length.
              .R_MARGIN requires a unit of measure.  Decimal fractions
              are allowed.

              The line length macro (LL) can be used in place of
              .R_MARGIN.  In either case, the last one invoked sets the
              line length.  The choice of which to use is up to you.  In
              some instances, you may find it easier to think of a
              section of type as having a right margin.  In others,
              giving a line length may make more sense.

              For example, if you're setting a page of type you know
              should have 6-pica margins left and right, it makes sense
              to enter a left and right margin, like this:
                     .L_MARGIN 6P
                     .R_MARGIN 6P

              That way, you don't have to worry about calculating the
              line length.  On the other hand, if you know the line
              length for a patch of type should be 17 picas and 3
              points, entering the line length with LL is much easier
              than calculating the right margin, e.g.,
                     .LL 17P+3p

              If you use the macros .PAGE, .PAGEWIDTH or PAPER without
              invoking .R_MARGIN afterward, mom automatically sets
              .R_MARGIN to 1 inch.  If you set a line length after these
              macros (with .LL), the line length calculated by .R_MARGIN
              is, of course, overridden.

              Note: .R_MARGIN behaves in a special way when you're using
              the document processing macros.

       .ST <tab number> L | R | C | J [ QUAD ]

              After string tabs have been marked off on an input line
              (see \*[ST]...\*[STX]), you need to set them by giving
              them a direction and, optionally, the QUAD argument.

              In this respect, .ST is like .TAB_SET except that you
              don't have to give .ST an indent or a line length (that's
              already taken care of, inline, by \*[ST]...\*[STX]).

              If you want string tab 1 to be left, enter
                     .ST 1 L
              If you want it to be left and filled, enter
                     .ST 1 L QUAD
              If you want it to be justified, enter
                     .ST 1 J

       .TAB <tab number>
              After tabs have been defined (either with .TAB_SET or
              .ST), .TAB moves to whatever tab number you pass it as an
              argument.

              For example,
                     .TAB 3
              moves you to tab 3.

              Note: .TAB breaks the line preceding it and advances 1
              linespace.  Hence,
                     .TAB 1
                     A line of text in tab 1.
                     .TAB 2
                     A line of text in tab 2.
              produces, on output
                     A line of text in tab 1.
                                                  A line of text in tab 2.

              If you want the tabs to line up, use .TN (“Tab Next”) or,
              more conveniently, the inline escape sequence \*[TB+]:
                     .TAB 1
                     A line of text in tab 1.\*[TB+]
                     A line of text in tab 2.
              which produces
                     A line of text in tab 1.   A line of text in tab 2.

              If the text in your tabs runs to several lines, and you
              want the first lines of each tab to align, you must use
              the multi-column macros.

              Additional note: Any indents in effect prior to calling a
              tab are automatically turned off by TAB.  If you were
              happily zipping down the page with a left indent of 2
              picas turned on, and you call a tab whose indent from the
              left margin is 6 picas, your new distance from the left
              margin will be 6 picas, not I 6 picas plus the 2 pica
              indent.

              Tabs are not by nature columnar, which is to say that if
              the text inside a tab runs to several lines, calling
              another tab does not automatically move to the baseline of
              the first line in the previous tab.  To demonstrate:
                     TAB 1
                     Carrots
                     Potatoes
                     Broccoli
                     .TAB 2
                     $1.99/5 lbs
                     $0.25/lb
                     $0.99/bunch
              produces, on output
                     Carrots
                     Potatoes
                     Broccoli
                                 $1.99/5 lbs
                                 $0.25/lb
                                 $0.99/bunch

       .TB <tab number>
              Alias to .TAB

       .TI [ <measure> ]
              Temporary left indent — the optional argument requires a
              unit of measure

              A temporary indent is one that applies only to the first
              line of text that comes after it.  Its chief use is
              indenting the first line of paragraphs.  (Mom's .PP macro,
              for example, uses a temporary indent.)

              The first time you invoke .TI, you must give it a measure.
              If you want to indent the first line of a paragraph by,
              say, 2 ems, do
                     .TI 2m

              Subsequent invocations of .TI do not require you to supply
              a measure; mom keeps track of the last measure you gave
              it.

              Because temporary indents are temporary, there's no need
              to turn them off.

              IMPORTANT: Unlike .IL, .IR and IB, measures given to .TI
              are NOT additive.  In the following example, the second
              ".TI 2P" is exactly 2 picas.
                     .TI 1P
                     The beginning of a paragraph...
                     .TI 2P
                     The beginning of another paragraph...

       .TN    Tab Next

              Inline escape \*[TB+]

              TN moves over to the next tab in numeric sequence (tab
              n+1) without advancing on the page.  See the NOTE in the
              description of the .TAB macro for an example of how TN
              works.

              In tabs that aren't given the QUAD argument when they're
              set up with .TAB_SET or ST, you must terminate the line
              preceding .TN with the \c inline escape sequence.
              Conversely, if you did give a QUAD argument to .TAB_SET or
              ST, the \c must not be used.

              If you find remembering whether to put in the \c
              bothersome, you may prefer to use the inline escape
              alternative to .TN, \*[TB+], which works consistently
              regardless of the fill mode.

              Note: You must put text in the input line immediately
              after .TN.  Stacking of .TN's is not allowed.  In other
              words, you cannot do
                     .TAB 1
                     Some text\c
                     .TN
                     Some more text\c
                     .TN
                     .TN
                     Yet more text
              The above example, assuming tabs numbered from 1 to 4,
              should be entered
                     .TAB 1
                     Some text\c
                     .TN
                     Some more text\c
                     .TN
                     \&\c
                     .TN
                     Yet more text
              \& is a zero-width, non-printing character that groff
              recognizes as valid input, hence meets the requirement for
              input text following .TN.

       .TQ    TQ takes you out of whatever tab you were in, advances 1
              linespace, and restores the left margin, line length, quad
              direction and fill mode that were in effect prior to
              invoking any tabs.

       .T_MARGIN <top margin>
              Top margin

              Requires a unit of measure

              .T_MARGIN establishes the distance from the top of the
              printer sheet at which you want your type to start.  It
              requires a unit of measure, and decimal fractions are
              allowed.  To set a top margin of 2½ centimetres, you'd
              enter
                     .T_MARGIN 2.5c
              .T_MARGIN calculates the vertical position of the first
              line of type on a page by treating the top edge of the
              printer sheet as a baseline.  Therefore,
                     .T_MARGIN 1.5i
              puts the baseline of the first line of type 1½ inches
              beneath the top of the page.

              Note: .T_MARGIN means something slightly different when
              you're using the document processing macros.  See Top and
              bottom margins in document processing for an explanation.

              IMPORTANT: .T_MARGIN does two things: it establishes the
              top margin for pages that come after it and it moves to
              that position on the current page.  Therefore, .T_MARGIN
              should only be used at the top of a file (prior to
              entering text) or after NEWPAGE, like this:
                     .NEWPAGE
                     .T_MARGIN 6P
                     <text>

Authors         top

       mom was written by Peter Schaffter ⟨peter@schaffter.ca⟩.  PDF
       support was provided by Deri James ⟨deri@chuzzlewit.myzen.co.uk⟩.
       This manual page was written by Bernd Warken.

See also         top

       /usr/local/share/doc/groff-1.23.0/html/mom/toc.html
              entry point to the HTML documentation

       ⟨http://www.schaffter.ca/mom/momdoc/toc.html⟩
              HTML documentation online

       ⟨http://www.schaffter.ca/mom/⟩
              the mom macros homepage

       Groff: The GNU Implementation of troff, by Trent A. Fisher and
       Werner Lemberg, is the primary groff manual.  You can browse it
       interactively with “info groff”.

       pdfmom(1), groff(1), troff(1)

COLOPHON         top

       This page is part of the groff (GNU troff) project.  Information
       about the project can be found at 
       ⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩.  If you have a bug report
       for this manual page, see ⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩.
       This page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
       ⟨https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/groff.git⟩ on 2023-12-22.  (At
       that time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in
       the repository was 2023-12-08.)  If you discover any rendering
       problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there
       is a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
       corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
       (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail to
       man-pages@man7.org

groff 1.23.0.453-330f9-d... 23 September 2023               groff_mom(7)