EXPAND(1)               COMMAND REFERENCE               EXPAND(1)



NAME
     expand - expand tabs to spaces

SYNOPSIS
     expand [ -tabstop,[tabstop...] ] [ filename ... ]

DESCRIPTION
     Expand processes the named files or the standard input
     writing the standard output with tabs changed into blanks.
     Backspace characters are preserved into the output and
     decrement the column count for tab calculations.  Expand is
     useful for pre-processing character files (before sorting,
     looking at specific columns, etc.) that contain tabs.

     If a single tabstop argument is given then tabs are set
     tabstop spaces apart instead of the default 8.  If multiple
     tabstops are given then the tabs are set at those specific
     columns.

     The tabstop numbers must be between 1 and 256 and given in
     increasing order.

EXAMPLES
     The following example expands the tabs in the file 'text' at
     columns 4, 15, 34, 72, and 84 and puts the output in the
     file 'text.t'.

          expand -4,15,34,72,84 text > text.t

RETURN VALUE
     [NO_ERRS]      Command completed without error.

     [USAGE]        Incorrect command line syntax. Execution
                    terminated.

     [NP_ERR]       An error occurred that was not a system
                    error.  Execution terminated.

     [P_ERR]        A system error occurred. Execution
                    terminated.  See intro(2) for more
                    information on system errors.

SEE ALSO
     unexpand(1).











Printed 4/6/89                                                  1

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