NAME

pr − convert text files for printing

SYNOPSIS

pr [+PAGE] [−COLUMN] [−abcdfFmrtv] [−e[in-tab-char[in-tab-width]]] [−h header] [−i[out-tab-char[out-tab-width]]] [−l page-length] [−n[number-separator[digits]]] [−o left-margin] [−s[column-separator]] [−w page-width] [−−help] [−−version] [file...]

DESCRIPTION

This manual page documents the GNU version of pr.  pr prints on the standard output a paginated and optionally multicolumn copy of the text files given on the command line, or of the standard input if no files are given or when the file name ‘−’ is encountered.  Form feeds in the input cause page breaks in the output. 

OPTIONS

+PAGE
Begin printing with page PAGE. 

−COLUMN
Produce COLUMN-column output and print columns down.  The column width is automatically decreased as COLUMN increases; unless you use the −w option to increase the page width as well, this option might cause some columns to be truncated. 

−a Print columns across rather than down. 

−b Balance columns on the last page. 

−c Print control characters using hat notation (e.g., ‘^G’); print other unprintable characters in octal backslash notation. 

−d Double space the output. 

−e[in-tab-char[in-tab-width]]
Expand tabs to spaces on input.  Optional argument in-tab-char is the input tab character, default tab.  Optional argument in-tab-width is the input tab character’s width, default 8. 

−F, −f
Use a formfeed instead of newlines to separate output pages.

−h header
Replace the filename in the header with the string header. 

−−help
Print a usage message and exit with a non-zero status.

−i[out-tab-char[out-tab-width]]
Replace spaces with tabs on output.  Optional argument out-tab-char is the output tab character, default tab.  Optional argument out-tab-width is the output tab character’s width, default 8. 

−l page-length
Set the page length to page-length lines.  The default is 66.  If page-length is less than 10, the headers and footers are omitted, as if the −t option had been given. 

−m Print all files in parallel, one in each column. 

−n[number-separator[digits]]
Precede each column with a line number; with parallel files, precede each line with a line number.  Optional argument number-separator is the character to print after each number, default tab.  Optional argument digits is the number of digits per line number, default 5. 

−o left-margin
Offset each line with a margin left-margin spaces wide.  The total page width is this offset plus the width set with the −w option. 

−r Do not print a warning message when an argument file cannot be opened.  Failure to open a file still makes the exit status nonzero, however. 

−s[column-separator]
Separate columns by the single character column-separator, default tab, instead of spaces. 

−t Do not print the 5-line header and the 5-line trailer that are normally on each page, and do not fill out the bottoms of pages (with blank lines or formfeeds). 

−v Print unprintable characters in octal backslash notation. 

−−version
Print version information on standard output then exit.

−w page-width
Set the page width to page-width columns.  The default is 72.