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Printed 10/17/86                                                1

TBL(1)                  COMMAND REFERENCE                  TBL(1)



NAME
     tbl - format tables for nroff or troff

SYNOPSIS
     tbl [ -TX ][ filenames ]

DESCRIPTION
     Tbl is a preprocessor that formats tables for nroff(1) or
     troff(1). The input files are copied to the standard output,
     except for lines between .TS and .TE command lines, which
     are assumed to describe tables and are reformatted by tbl.
     (The .TS and .TE command lines are not altered by tbl.)

     .TS is followed by global options.  The available global
     options are:

          center    Center the table (default is left-adjust).
          expand    Make the table as wide as the current line
                    length.
          box       Enclose the table in a box.
          doublebox Enclose the table in a double box.
          allbox    Enclose each item of the table in a box.
          tab (x)   Use the character x instead of a tab to
                    separate items in a line of input data.

     The global options, if any, are terminated with a semi-colon
     (;).

     The Next come lines describing the format of each line of
     the table.  Each such format line describes one line of the
     actual table, except that the last format line (which must
     end with a period) describes all remaining lines of the
     table.  Each column of each line of the table is described
     by a single key-letter, optionally followed by specifiers
     that determine the font and point size of the corresponding
     item, that indicate where vertical bars are to appear
     between columns, that determine column widths, inter-column
     spacing, etc.  The available key-letters are:

          c    Center item within the column.
          r    Right-adjust item within the column.
          l    Left-adjust item within the column.
          n    Numerically adjust item in the column; unit
               positions of numbers are aligned vertically.
          s    Span previous item on the left into this column.
          a    Center longest line in this column and then left-
               adjust all other lines in this column with respect
               to that centered line.
          *    Span down previous entry in this column.
              Replace this entry with a horizontal line.
          =    Replace this entry with a double horizontal line.




Printed 10/17/86                                                1

TBL(1)                  COMMAND REFERENCE                  TBL(1)



     The characters B and I stand for the bold and italic fonts,
     respectively; the pipe character ( | ) indicates a vertical
     line between columns.

     The format lines are followed by lines containing the actual
     data for the table, followed finally by .TE.  Within such
     data lines, data items are normally separated by tab
     characters.

     If a data line consists of only  or =, a single or double
     line (respectively) is drawn across the table at that point;
     if a single item in a data line consists of only  or =,
     then that item is replaced by a single or double line.

     Full details of all these and other features of tbl are
     given in the reference manual cited below.

     The -TX option forces tbl to use only full vertical line
     motions, making the output more suitable for devices that
     cannot generate partial vertical line motions (for example,
     line printers).

     If no filenames are given as arguments (or if - is specified
     as the last argument), tbl reads the standard input, so it
     may be used as a filter.  When it is used with eqn(1) or
     neqn, tbl should come first to minimize the volume of data
     passed through pipes.

EXAMPLES
     If we let -> represent a tab (which should be typed as a
     genuine tab), then the input:

          .TS
          center box ;
          cB s s
          cI | cI s
          ^ | c c
          l | n n .
          Household Population
          
          Town->Households
          ->Number->Size
          =
          Bedminster->789->3.26
          Bernards Twp.->3087->3.74
          Bernardsville->2018->3.30
          Bound Brook->3425->3.04
          Bridgewater->7897->3.81
          Far Hills->240->3.19
          .TE





Printed 10/17/86                                                2

TBL(1)                  COMMAND REFERENCE                  TBL(1)



     yields:

                   _______________________________
                   |    Household Population      |
                   |______________|_______________|
                   |              |  Households   |
                   |    Town      | Number   Size |
                   |||
                   |Bedminster    |   789    3.26 |
                   |Bernards Twp. |  3087    3.74 |
                   |Bernardsville |  2018    3.30 |
                   |Bound Brook   |  3425    3.04 |
                   |Bridgewater   |  7897    3.81 |
                   |Far Hills     |   240    3.19 |
                   |______________|_______________|

CAVEATS
     See CAVEATS under nroff(1).

SEE ALSO
     eqn(1), mm(1), mmt(1), nroff(1), troff(1), mm(7), mv(7).

REFERENCES
     Table Formatting Program (Tbl) in the UTek Tools
     documentation.






























Printed 10/17/86                                                3

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