tabs(1) tabs(1)
NAME
tabs - set tabs on a terminal
SYNOPSIS
tabs [-T type] [+mn] [tabspec]
DESCRIPTION
tabs sets the tab stops on the user's terminal, clearing any previous
settings. For tabs to be effective, the terminal must have hardware
tabs that can be set remotely using escape sequences.
The lowest column number is 1. For tabs, column 1 refers to the left-
most column on the screen, even on terminals whose column markers
begin at 0.
OPTIONS
-T type
Terminal type, which needs to be known for margin setting. type
is a name listed in /usr/share/lib/terminfo [see term(4)].
-T type not specified:
tabs uses the value of the TERM environment variable. If TERM is
not defined in the current environment [see environ(5)], tabs
uses a type whose attributes are valid for many terminals.
+mn Resets the left margin. All tabs are moved n columns to the
right, with n+1 becoming the left margin. If n is omitted, a
value of 10 is assumed. For a TermiNet, the first value in the
tab list should be 1, or the margin will move even further to the
right. Normally, the leftmost margin is set with +m0. On most
terminals, the margin is reset further to the right only when +m
is specified explicitly.
tabspec
Four different types of tab specification are permitted:
-code tabs in a predefined pattern (canned)
-n tabs at regular intervals (repetitive)
--file tabs in a pattern defined in file (file)
n1,n2 ... tabs at freely selectable positions (arbitrary)
-code You determine the pattern of tabs on a line by specify-
ing one of the following:
-a Tab stops in columns 1, 10, 16, 36, 72.
This corresponds to Assembler, IBM S/370, first
format.
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tabs(1) tabs(1)
-a2 Tab stops in columns 1, 10, 16, 40, 72.
This corresponds to Assembler, IBM S/370, second
format.
-c Tab stops in columns 1, 8, 12, 16, 20, 55.
This corresponds to COBOL normal format.
-c2 Tab stops in columns 1, 6, 10, 14, 49.
This corresponds to COBOL compact format. Columns
1-6 are omitted. The first character typed corre-
sponds to column 7, one space takes you to column
8, and a tab reaches column 12. Files using this
tab setup should include a format specification as
follows [see fspec(4)]: <:t-c2m6s66d:>.
-c3 Tab stops in columns 1, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30,
34, 38, 42, 46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 67.
This corresponds to COBOL compact format with
additional tabs. Columns 1-6 are omitted. The
first character typed corresponds to column 7, one
space takes you to column 8, and a tab reaches
column 12. Files using this tab setup should
include a format specification as follows [see
fspec(4)]: <:t-c3m6s66d:>.
This is the recommended format for COBOL.
-f Tab stops in columns 1, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23.
This corresponds to FORTRAN format.
-p Tab stops in columns 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29,
33, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61.
This corresponds to PL/I format.
-s Tab stops in columns 1, 10, 55.
This corresponds to SNOBOL format.
-u Tab stops in columns 1, 12, 20, 44.
This corresponds to UNIVAC 1100 Assembler format.
-n The number specified causes tab stops to be set in
columns 1+n, 1+2n, 1+3n. Specifying 8 tabs gives you
the UNIX system standard tab setting. Specifying 0
clears all tab stops.
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tabs(1) tabs(1)
--file tabs reads the first line of the file, searching for a
format specification [see fspec(4)]. If it finds one,
it sets the tab stops accordingly. Otherwise, the
default value -8 is assumed. This type of format may be
used to ensure that a tabbed file is printed with the
correct tab settings, with tabs being used in conjunc-
tion with pr [see pr(1)].
n1,n2, ...
You can freely select the columns for the tab stops by
means of a list containing up to 64 numbers in ascend-
ing order. A number preceded by a plus sign is added to
the value of the previous number. This does not apply
to the first number. The format 1,10,20,30, for exam-
ple, can be specified as 1,10,+10,+10.
The numbers are separated by a comma, or the list is
enclosed in quotes, whereby the numbers are separated
by a comma and/or a blank. n1,n2, ... must be specified
as the last argument in the command line.
tabspec not specified:
tabs uses the default setting -8, which corresponds to the UNIX
system standard tab setting.
Note: The mechanisms for clearing tab stops and setting the left
margin are not the same on every terminal.
tabs can set a maximum of 64 tab stops, but will only clear
20.
ERROR MESSAGES
illegal tabs
When setting arbitrary tab stops you failed to maintain ascending
order or you specified a zero.
illegal increment
When setting arbitrary tab stops you specified a zero or omitted an
increment.
unknown tab code
The code you specified as tabspec cannot be found.
can't open
The file you specified as tabspec cannot be opened.
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tabs(1) tabs(1)
file indirection
The format specification in the file specified as tabspec points to
another file. Indirect references of this sort are not permitted.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
TERM Terminal type.
LOCALE
The LCMESSAGES environment variable governs the language in which
message texts are displayed. If LCMESSAGES is undefined or is defined
as the null string, it defaults to the value of LANG. If LANG is like-
wise undefined or null, the system acts as if it were not internation-
alized.
The LCALL environment variable governs the entire locale. LCALL
takes precedence over all the other environment variables which affect
internationalization.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Setting tab stops in COBOL normal format:
$ tabs -c
Example 2
Set a tab in every sixth column, i.e. in columns 1, 7, 13, 19, ...:
$ tabs -6
Example 3
Set tabs in columns 1, 8 and 36:
$ tabs 1,8,36
This has the same effect as:
$ tabs 1,+7,+28
Example 4
Setting tab stops in accordance with the first line (format specifica-
tion) of your file $HOME/tabspec.list/file1:
$ tabs --$HOME/tabspec.list/file1
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FILES
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
Files used to name and define terminals
SEE ALSO
expand(1), newform(1), pr(1), stty(1), tput(1), unexpand(1), fspec(4),
term(4), terminfo(4), environ(5), term(5), termnames(5).
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