ms(5)ms(5)NAMEms - Text formatting macros
SYNOPSIS
nroff -ms [options] file...
DESCRIPTION
This package of nroff macro definitions provides a formatting facility
for various styles of articles, theses, and books. When producing
2-column output on a terminal or lineprinter, or when reverse line
motions are needed, filter the output through col(1). All external -ms
macros are defined in the following section. Many nroff requests are
unsafe in conjunction with this package. However, the first four
requests in the list that follows can be used with impunity after ini‐
tialization, and the last two may be used even before initialization:
Begin new page Break output line Insert n spacing lines Center next n
lines Line spacing: n=1 single, n=2 double space No alignment of right
margin
Font and point size changes with \f and \s are also allowed; for exam‐
ple, \fIword\fR italicize word. Output of the tbl and neqn preproces‐
sors for equations and tables ris acceptable as input.
REQUESTS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Macro Name Initial Break/Reset Explanation
Value
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
.AB x - y Begin abstract; if x
=no, do not label
abstract.
.AE - y End abstract.
.AI - y Author's institution.
.AM - n Better accent mark defi‐
nitions.
.AU - y Author's name.
.B x - n Embolden x; if no x,
switch to boldface.
.B1 - y Begin text to be
enclosed in a box.
.B2 - y End boxed text and print
it.
.BT date n Bottom title, printed at
foot of page.
.BX x - n Print word x in a box.
.CM if t n Cut mark between pages.
.CT - y/y Chapter title: page num‐
ber moved to CF (TM
only).
.DA x if n n Force date x at bottom
of page; today if no x.
.DE - y End display (unfilled
text) of any kind.
.DS x y I y Begin display with keep;
x =I,L,C,B; y =indent.
.ID y 8n,.5i y Indented display with no
keep; y =indent.
.LD - y Left display with no
keep.
.CD - y Centered display with no
keep.
.BD - y Block display; center
entire block.
.EF x - n Even page footer x (3
part, as for .tl).
.EH x - n Even page header x (3
part, as for .tl).
.EN - y End displayed equation
produced by *neqn.
.EQ x y - y Break out equation; x
=L,I,C; y =equation num‐
ber.
.FE - n End footnote to be
placed at bottom of
page.
.FP - n Numbered footnote para‐
graph; may be redefined.
.FS x - n Start footnote; x is
optional footnote label.
.HD undef n Optional page header
below header margin.
.I x - n Italicize x; if no x,
switch to italics.
.IP x y - y/y Indented paragraph, with
hanging tag x; y=
indent.
.IX x y - y Index words x, y and so
on (up to five levels).
.KE - n End keep of any kind.
.KF - n Begin floating keep;
text fills remainder of
page.
.KS - y Begin keep; unit kept
together on a single
page.
.LG - n Larger; increase point
size by 2.
.LP - y/y Left (block) paragraph.
.MC x - y/y Multiple columns; x
=column width.
.ND x if t n No date in page footer;
x is date on cover.
.NH x y - y/y Numbered header; x
=level, x =0 resets, x
=S sets to y.
.NL 10p n Set point size back to
normal.
.OF x - n Odd page footer x (3
part, as for .tl).
.OH x - n Odd page header x (3
part, as for .tl).
.P1 if TM n Print header on first
page.
.PP - y/y Paragraph with first
line indented.
.PT - % - n Page title, printed at
head of page.
.PX x - y Print index (table of
contents); x =no, sup‐
presses title.
.QP - y/y Quote paragraph
(indented and shorter).
.R on n Return to Roman font.
.RE 5n y/y Retreat: end level of
relative indentation.
.RP x - n Released paper format; x
=no, stops title on
first page.
.RS 5n y/y Right shift: start level
of relative indentation.
.SH - y/y Section header, in bold-
face.
.SM - n Smaller; decrease point
size by 2.
.TA 8n,5n n Set tabs to 8n 16n ...
(nroff) 5n 10n ...
(*roff).
.TC x - y Print table of contents
at end; x =no, sup‐
presses title.
.TE - y End of table processed
by tbl.
.TH - y End multipage header of
table.
.TL - y Title in boldface and
two points larger.
.TM off n UC Berkeley thesis mode.
.TS x - y/y Begin table; if x =H,
table has multipage
header.
.UL x - n Underline x, even in
*roff.
.UX x - n UNIX; trademark message
first time; x appended.
.XA x y - y Another index entry; x
=page or no for none; y
=indent.
.XE - y End index entry (or
series of .IX entries).
.XP - y/y Paragraph with first
line exdented, others
indented.
.XS x y - y Begin index entry; x
=page or no for none; y
=indent.
.1C on y/y One-column format, on a
new page.
.2C - y/y Begin two-column format.
.]- - n Beginning of refer ref‐
erence.
.[0 - n End of unclassifiable
type of reference.
.[N - n N= 1:journal-article,
2:book, 3:book-article,
4:report.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
REGISTERS
Formatting distances can be controlled in -ms by means of built-in num‐
ber registers. For example, this sets the line length to 6.5 inches:
.nr LL 6.5i
Here is a table of number registers and their default values:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Register Name Controls Effects Default
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PS Point size paragraph 10
VS Vertical spacing paragraph 12
LL Line length paragraph 6i
LT Title length next page same as LL
FL Footnote length next .FS 5.5i
PD Paragraph distance paragraph 1v (if n), .3v (if
t)
DD Display distance displays 1v (if n), .5v (if
t)
PI Paragraph indent paragraph 5n
QI Quote indent next .QP 5n
FI Footnote indent next .FS 2n
PO Page offset next page 0 (if n), ~1i (if
t)
HM Header margin next page 1i
FM Footer margin next page 1i
FF Footnote format next .FS 0 (1, 2, 3 avail‐
able)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When resetting these values, make sure to specify the appropriate
units. Setting the line length to 7, for example, results in output
with one character per line. Setting FF to 1 suppresses footnote super‐
scripting; setting it to 2 also suppresses indentation of the first
line; and setting it to 3 produces an .IP-like footnote paragraph.
Here is a list of string registers available in -ms; they can be used
anywhere in the text:
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Name String's Function
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
\*Q Quote (" in nroff, “ in *roff )
\*U Unquote (" in nroff, ” in *roff )
\*- Dash (-- in nroff, -- in *roff )
\*(MO Month (month of the year)
\*(DY Day (current date)
\** Automatically numbered footnote
\*' Acute accent (before letter)
\*` Grave accent (before letter)
\*^ Circumflex (before letter)
\*, Cedilla (before letter)
\*: Umlaut (before letter)
\*~ Tilde (before letter)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When using the extended accent mark definitions available with .AM,
these strings should come after, rather than before, the letter to be
accented.
RESTRICTIONS
Floating keeps and regular keeps are diverted to the same space, so
they cannot be mixed together with predictable results.
FILES
The -ms macro package source file Files that are hardlinked to ???.s
files Supplemental -ms macros
SEE ALSOcol(1), neqn(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)ms(5)