tbl(1) — AIX PS/2 1.2.1



TBL(1,C)                    AIX Commands Reference                     TBL(1,C)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tbl



PURPOSE

Formats tables for the nroff and troff commands.

SYNTAX


       +---------+   +--------+
tbl ---| +-----+ |---|        |---|
       +-| -TX |-+   +- file -+
         +-----+      ^      |
                      +------+


Note:  This command does not have MBCS support.

DESCRIPTION

The tbl command is a preprocessor that formats tables for nroff and troff.  The
command reads the specified file or, if you do not specify any file names or
you specify a - (minus) as a file name, it reads standard input.  Except for
text between lines containing .TS and .TE, the input is copied unchanged to
standard output.  Text between ".TS" and ".TE" describes tables and is
reformatted by tbl.  The ".TS" and ".TE" lines are not altered by tbl.  For
more detailed information on how to format text for tbl,see Text Formatting
Guide.

Note:  When tbl is used with eqn or neqn, tbl should come first to minimize the
       volume of data passed through pipelines.

The format of the text processed by the tbl command can be either of the
following:

  .TS
  options;
  format.
  data
  .TE

or










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TBL(1,C)                    AIX Commands Reference                     TBL(1,C)



  .TS
  options;
  format.
  data
  .T&
  more format.
  more data
  .TE

At the start of tbl text, you should include a line containing ".TS".  You can
follow this with a line containing global options.  The available global
options are:

center       Centers the table (the default is left-adjusted).
expand       Makes the table as wide as the current line length.
box          Encloses the table in a box.
doublebox    Encloses the table in a double box.
allbox       Encloses each item of the table in a box.
tab (x)      Uses the character x instead of a tab to separate items in a line
             of input data.
linesize (n) Sets lines and rules for boxes in point size n.
delim (x,y)  Sets x and y as the eqn and neqn text delimiters.

End the list of global options with a ; (semicolon).

After the global options, enter lines describing the format of each row in the
table.  Each format line (except the last) describes one row of the table.  The
last format line one describes all remaining rows of the table.  This must end
with a period to indicate that it is the end of the format specification.  Each
column of the table is described by a single keyletter.  The available
keyletters are:

c     Centers the item in the column.
r     Right-adjusts the item in the column.
l     Left-adjusts the item in the column.
n     Adjusts the line to \&, if it exists.  If the line does not contain \&,
      adjusts line to the decimal point.  If the line does not contain a
      decimal point but does have digits, adjusts to the last digit.  If none
      of these characters are present, centers the line.
s     Allows the previous item on the left to spill over into this column if
      the item is too wide for its column.
a     Centers the longest line in this column and then left-adjusts all other
      lines in it with respect to the centered line.
PS/2  Allows the item above to spill over into this column if the item is too
      large.

After the keyletter, you can enter specifiers that determine where vertical
lines appear between columns, column width, inter-column spacing, and the font
and point size of the item.  The specifiers which control columns and fonts are
as follows:





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TBL(1,C)                    AIX Commands Reference                     TBL(1,C)



Specifier Meaning
e or E  Equal width columns
f or F  Font change
nnn     Column separation
p or P  Point size change
t or T  Vertical spanning at top
u or U  Half line elevation
v or V  Vertical spacing change
w or W  Minimum width column
z or Z  Zero width column
|       Vertical line
||      Double vertical line

The format lines are followed by lines containing data for the table.  The last
line consists of ".TE".  Within the data lines, data items are separated by tab
characters unless the global option tab is used.  The specifiers which control
data entries are as follows:

Specifier Meaning
T{...T} Text block
\^      Vertical span
\_      Short horizontal line
\Rx     Repeat character

The specifiers which control the lines between data entries are as follows:

Specifier Meaning
.xx     Included troff request
_       Single line
=       Double line

If a data line consists of only "_" (underscore) or = (equal sign), a single or
double line is drawn across the table at that point.  If an entry in a data
line consists of only "_" or =, that item is replaced by a single or double
line.

FLAG

-TX    Uses only full vertical line motions, making the output suitable for
       line printers and other devices that do not have partial vertical line
       motions.

RELATED INFORMATION

See the following commands:  "cw, checkcw,"  "eqn, neqn, checkeq,"  "mm,
checkmm,"  "mmt, mant, mvt," "nroff, troff," and  "troff."

See the mm and mv miscellaneous facilities in AIX Operating System Technical
Reference.

See the discussion of tbl in Text Formatting Guide.




Processed November 8, 1990         TBL(1,C)                                   3

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