NAME

tbl − format tables for nroff or troff

SYNOPSIS

tbl [ files ] ... 

DESCRIPTION

Tbl is a preprocessor for formatting tables for nroff 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 reformatted. Details are given in the reference manual.

As an example, letting \t represent a tab (which should be typed as a genuine tab) the input

.TS

doublebox;
c s s
c c s
c c c
l n n.
Household Population
Town\tHouseholds
\tNumber\tSize
Bedminster\t789\t3.26
Bernards Twp.\t3087\t3.74
Bernardsville\t2018\t3.30
Bound Brook\t3425\t3.04
Branchburg\t1644\t3.49
Bridgewater\t7897\t3.81
Far Hills\t240\t3.19
.TE

yields

Household Population
TownHouseholds
NumberSize
Bedminster7893.26
Bernards Twp.30873.74
Bernardsville20183.30
Bound Brook34253.04
Branchburg16443.49
Bridgewater78973.81
Far Hills2403.19

If no arguments are given, tbl reads the standard input, so it may be used as a filter.  When it is used with eqn or neqn the tbl command should be first, to minimize the volume of data passed through pipes. 

SEE ALSO

troff(1), eqn(1)
M. E. Lesk, TBL. 

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