1tbl(1) General Commands Manual tbl(1)
2
6 tbl - prepare tables for groff documents
7
9 tbl [-C] [file ...]
10 tbl --help
12 tbl -v
14 tbl --version
15
17 The GNU implementation of tbl is part of the groff(1) document format‐
18 ting system. tbl is a troff(1) preprocessor that translates descrip‐
19 tions of tables embedded in roff(7) input files into the language un‐
20 derstood by troff. It copies the contents of each file to the standard
21 output stream, except that lines between .TS and .TE are interpreted as
22 table descriptions. While GNU tbl's input syntax is highly compatible
23 with AT&T tbl, the output GNU tbl produces cannot be processed by AT&T
24 troff; GNU troff (or a troff implementing any GNU extensions employed)
25 must be used. Normally, tbl is not executed directly by the user, but
26 invoked by specifying the -t option to groff(1). If no file operands
27 are given on the command line, or if file is “-”, tbl reads the stan‐
28 dard input stream.
29 Overview
31 tbl expects to find table descriptions between input lines that begin
32 with .TS (table start) and .TE (table end). Each such table region en‐
33 closes one or more table descriptions. Within a table region, table
34 descriptions beyond the first must each be preceded by an input line
35 beginning with .T&. This mechanism does not start a new table region;
36 all table descriptions are treated as part of their .TS/.TE enclosure,
37 even if they are boxed or have column headings that repeat on subse‐
38 quent pages (see below).
39 (Experienced roff users should observe that tbl is not a roff language
41 interpreter: the default control character must be used, and no spaces
42 or tabs are permitted between the control character and the macro name.
43 These tbl input tokens remain as-is in the output, where they become
44 ordinary macro calls. Macro packages often define TS, T&, and TE
45 macros to handle issues of table placement on the page. tbl produces
46 groff code to define these macros as empty if their definitions do not
47 exist when the formatter encounters a table region.)
48 Each table region may begin with region options, and must contain one
50 or more table definitions; each table definition contains a format
51 specification followed by one or more input lines (rows) of entries.
52 These entries comprise the table data.
53 Region options
55 The line immediately following the .TS token may specify region op‐
56 tions, keywords that influence the interpretation or rendering of the
57 region as a whole or all table entries within it indiscriminately.
58 They must be separated by commas, spaces, or tabs. Those that require
59 a parenthesized argument permit spaces and tabs between the option's
60 name and the opening parenthesis. Options accumulate and cannot be un‐
61 set within a region once declared; if an option that takes a parameter
62 is repeated, the last occurrence controls. If present, the set of re‐
63 gion options must be terminated with a semicolon (;).
64 Any of the allbox, box, doublebox, frame, and doubleframe region op‐
66 tions makes a table “boxed” for the purpose of later discussion.
67 allbox Enclose each table entry in a box; implies box.
69 box Enclose the entire table region in a box. As a GNU extension,
71 the alternative option name frame is also recognized.
72 center Center the table region with respect to the current indentation
74 and line length; the default is to left-align it. As a GNU ex‐
75 tension, the alternative option name centre is also recognized.
76 decimalpoint(c)
78 Recognize character c as the decimal separator in columns using
79 the N (numeric) classifier (see subsection “Column classifiers”
80 below). This is a GNU extension.
81 delim(xy)
83 Recognize characters x and y as start and end delimiters, re‐
84 spectively, for eqn(1) input, and ignore input between them. x
85 and y need not be distinct.
86 doublebox
88 Enclose the entire table region in a double box; implies box.
89 As a GNU extension, the alternative option name doubleframe is
90 also recognized.
91 expand Spread the table horizontally to fill the available space (line
93 length minus indentation) by increasing column separation. Or‐
94 dinarily, a table is made only as wide as necessary to accommo‐
95 date the widths of its entries and its column separations
96 (whether specified or default). When expand applies to a table
97 that exceeds the available horizontal space, column separation
98 is reduced as far as necessary (even to zero). tbl produces
99 groff input that issues a diagnostic if such compression occurs.
100 The column modifier x (see below) overrides this option.
101 linesize(n)
103 Draw lines or rules (e.g., from box) with a thickness of
104 n points. The default is the current type size when the region
105 begins. This option is ignored on terminal devices.
106 nokeep Don't use roff diversions to manage page breaks. Normally, tbl
108 employs them to avoid breaking a page within a table row. This
109 usage can sometimes interact badly with macro packages' own use
110 of diversions—when footnotes, for example, are employed. This
111 is a GNU extension.
112 nospaces
114 Ignore leading and trailing spaces in table entries. This is a
115 GNU extension.
116 nowarn Suppress diagnostic messages produced at document formatting
118 time when the line or page lengths are inadequate to contain a
119 table row. This is a GNU extension.
120 tab(c) Use the character c instead of a tab to separate entries in a
122 row of table data.
123 Table format specification
125 The table format specification is mandatory: it determines the number
126 of columns in the table and directs how the entries within it are to be
127 typeset. The format specification is a series of column descriptors.
128 Each descriptor encodes a classifier followed by zero or more modi‐
129 fiers. Classifiers are letters (recognized case-insensitively) or
130 punctuation symbols; modifiers consist of or begin with letters or nu‐
131 merals. Spaces, tabs, newlines, and commas separate descriptors. New‐
132 lines and commas are special; they apply the descriptors following them
133 to a subsequent row of the table. (This enables column headings to be
134 centered or emboldened while the table entries for the data are not,
135 for instance.) We term the resulting group of column descriptors a row
136 definition. Within a row definition, separation between column de‐
137 scriptors (by spaces or tabs) is often optional; only some modifiers,
138 described below, make separation necessary.
139 Each column descriptor begins with a mandatory classifier, a character
141 that selects from one of several arrangements. Some determine the po‐
142 sitioning of table entries within a rectangular cell: centered, left-
143 aligned, numeric (aligned to a configurable decimal separator), and so
144 on. Others perform special operations like drawing lines or spanning
145 entries from adjacent cells in the table. Except for “|”, any classi‐
146 fier can be followed by one or more modifiers; some of these accept an
147 argument, which in GNU tbl can be parenthesized. Modifiers select
148 fonts, set the type size, and perform other tasks described below.
149 The format specification can occupy multiple input lines, but must con‐
151 clude with a dot “.” followed by a newline. Each row definition is ap‐
152 plied in turn to one row of the table. The last row definition is ap‐
153 plied to rows of table data in excess of the row definitions.
154 For clarity in this document's examples, we shall write classifiers in
156 uppercase and modifiers in lowercase. Thus, “CbCb,LR.” defines two
157 rows of two columns. The first row's entries are centered and bold‐
158 faced; the second and any further rows' first and second columns are
159 left- and right-aligned, respectively.
160 The row definition with the most column descriptors determines the num‐
162 ber of columns in the table; any row definition with fewer is implic‐
163 itly extended on the right-hand side with L classifiers as many times
164 as necessary to make the table rectangular.
165 Column classifiers
167 The L, R, and C classifiers are the easiest to understand and use.
168 A, a Center longest entry in this column, left-align remaining en‐
170 tries in the column with respect to the centered entry, then in‐
171 dent all entries by one en. Such “alphabetic” entries (hence
172 the name of the classifier) can be used in the same column as L-
173 classified entries, as in “LL,AR.”. The A entries are often
174 termed “sub-columns” due to their indentation.
175 C, c Center entry within the column.
177 L, l Left-align entry within the column.
179 N, n Numerically align entry in the column. tbl aligns columns of
181 numbers vertically at the units place. If multiple decimal sep‐
182 arators are adjacent to a digit, it uses the rightmost one for
183 vertical alignment. If there is no decimal separator, the
184 rightmost digit is used for vertical alignment; otherwise, tbl
185 centers the entry within the column. The roff dummy character
186 \& in an entry marks the glyph preceding it (if any) as the
187 units place; if multiple instances occur in the data, the left‐
188 most is used for alignment.
189 If N-classified entries share a column with L or R entries, tbl
191 centers the widest N entry with respect to the widest L or R en‐
192 try, preserving the alignment of N entries with respect to each
193 other.
194 The appearance of eqn equations within N-classified columns can
196 be troublesome due to the foregoing textual scan for a decimal
197 separator. Use the delim region option to make tbl ignore the
198 data within eqn delimiters for that purpose.
199 R, r Right-align entry within the column.
201 S, s Span previous entry on the left into this column.
203 ^ Span entry in the same column from the previous row into this
205 row.
206 _, - Replace table entry with a horizontal rule. An empty table en‐
208 try is expected to correspond to this classifier; if data are
209 found there, tbl issues a diagnostic message.
210 = Replace table entry with a double horizontal rule. An empty ta‐
212 ble entry is expected to correspond to this classifier; if data
213 are found there, tbl issues a diagnostic message.
214 | Place a vertical rule (line) on the corresponding row of the ta‐
216 ble (if two of these are adjacent, a double vertical rule).
217 This classifier does not contribute to the column count and no
218 table entries correspond to it. A | to the left of the first
219 column descriptor or to the right of the last one produces a
220 vertical rule at the edge of the table; these are redundant (and
221 ignored) in boxed tables.
222 To change the table format within a tbl region, use the .T& token at
224 the start of a line. It is followed by a format specification and ta‐
225 ble data, but not region options. The quantity of columns in a new ta‐
226 ble format thus introduced cannot increase relative to the previous ta‐
227 ble format; in that case, you must end the table region and start an‐
228 other. If that will not serve because the region uses box options or
229 the columns align in an undesirable manner, you must design the initial
230 table format specification to include the maximum quantity of columns
231 required, and use the S horizontal spanning classifier where necessary
232 to achieve the desired columnar alignment.
233 Attempting to horizontally span in the first column or vertically span
235 on the first row is an error. Non-rectangular span areas are also not
236 supported.
237 Column modifiers
239 Any number of modifiers can follow a column classifier. Arguments to
240 modifiers, where accepted, are case-sensitive. If the same modifier is
241 applied to a column specifier more than once, or if conflicting modi‐
242 fiers are applied, only the last occurrence has effect. The modifier x
243 is mutually exclusive with e and w, but e is not mutually exclusive
244 with w; if these are used in combination, x unsets both e and w, while
245 either e or w overrides x.
246 b, B Typeset entry in boldface, abbreviating f(B).
248 d, D Align a vertically spanned table entry to the bottom (“down”),
250 instead of the center, of its range. This is a GNU extension.
251 e, E Equalize the widths of columns with this modifier. The column
253 with the largest width controls. This modifier sets the default
254 line length used in a text block.
255 f, F Select the typeface for the table entry. This modifier must be
257 followed by a font or style name (one or two characters not
258 starting with a digit), font mounting position (a single digit),
259 or a name or mounting position of any length in parentheses.
260 The last form is a GNU extension. (The parameter corresponds to
261 that accepted by the troff ft request.) A one-character argu‐
262 ment not in parentheses must be separated by one or more spaces
263 or tabs from what follows.
264 i, I Typeset entry in an oblique or italic face, abbreviating f(I).
266 m, M Call a groff macro before typesetting a text block (see subsec‐
268 tion “Text blocks” below). This is a GNU extension. This modi‐
269 fier must be followed by a macro name of one or two characters
270 or a name of any length in parentheses. A one-character macro
271 name not in parentheses must be separated by one or more spaces
272 or tabs from what follows. The named macro must be defined be‐
273 fore the table region containing this column modifier is encoun‐
274 tered. The macro should contain only simple groff requests to
275 change text formatting, like adjustment or hyphenation. The
276 macro is called after the column modifiers b, f, i, p, and v
277 take effect; it can thus override other column modifiers.
278 p, P Set the type size for the table entry. This modifier must be
280 followed by an integer n with an optional leading sign. If un‐
281 signed, the type size is set to n scaled points. Otherwise, the
282 type size is incremented or decremented per the sign by n scaled
283 points. The use of a signed multi-digit number is a GNU exten‐
284 sion. (The parameter corresponds to that accepted by the troff
285 ps request.) If a type size modifier is followed by a column
286 separation modifier (see below), they must be separated by at
287 least one space or tab.
288 t, T Align a vertically spanned table entry to the top, instead of
290 the center, of its range.
291 u, U Move the column up one half-line, “staggering” the rows. This
293 is a GNU extension.
294 v, V Set the vertical spacing to be used in a text block. This modi‐
296 fier must be followed by an integer n with an optional leading
297 sign. If unsigned, the vertical spacing is set to n points.
298 Otherwise, the vertical spacing is incremented or decremented
299 per the sign by n points. The use of a signed multi-digit num‐
300 ber is a GNU extension. (This parameter corresponds to that ac‐
301 cepted by the troff vs request.) If a vertical spacing modifier
302 is followed by a column separation modifier (see below), they
303 must be separated by at least one space or tab.
304 w, W Set the column's minimum width. This modifier must be followed
306 by a number, which is either a unitless integer, or a roff hori‐
307 zontal measurement in parentheses. Parentheses are required if
308 the width is to be followed immediately by an explicit column
309 separation (alternatively, follow the width with one or more
310 spaces or tabs). If no unit is specified, ens are assumed.
311 This modifier sets the default line length used in a text block.
312 x, X Expand the column. After computing the column widths, distrib‐
314 ute any remaining line length evenly over all columns bearing
315 this modifier. Applying the x modifier to more than one column
316 is a GNU extension. This modifier sets the default line length
317 used in a text block.
318 z, Z Ignore the table entries corresponding to this column for width
320 calculation purposes; that is, compute the column's width using
321 only the information in its descriptor.
322 n A numeric suffix on a column descriptor sets the separation dis‐
324 tance (in ens) from the succeeding column; the default separa‐
325 tion is 3n. This separation is proportionally multiplied if the
326 expand region option is in effect; in the case of tables wider
327 than the output line length, this separation might be zero. A
328 negative separation cannot be specified. A separation amount
329 after the last column in a row is nonsensical and provokes a di‐
330 agnostic from tbl.
331 Table data
333 The table data come after the format specification. Each input line
334 corresponds to a table row, except that a backslash at the end of a
335 line of table data continues an entry on the next input line. (Text
336 blocks, discussed below, also spread table entries across multiple in‐
337 put lines.) Table entries within a row are separated in the input by a
338 tab character by default; see the tab region option above. Excess en‐
339 tries in a row of table data (those that have no corresponding column
340 descriptor, not even an implicit one arising from rectangularization of
341 the table) are discarded with a diagnostic message. roff control lines
342 are accepted between rows of table data and within text blocks. If you
343 wish to visibly mark an empty table entry in the document source, popu‐
344 late it with the \& roff dummy character. The table data are inter‐
345 rupted by a line consisting of the .T& input token, and conclude with
346 the line .TE.
347 Ordinarily, a table entry is typeset rigidly. It is not filled, bro‐
349 ken, hyphenated, adjusted, or populated with additional inter-sentence
350 space. tbl instructs the formatter to measure each table entry as it
351 occurs in the input, updating the width required by its corresponding
352 column. If the z modifier applies to the column, this measurement is
353 ignored; if w applies and its argument is larger than this width, that
354 argument is used instead. In contrast to conventional roff input
355 (within a paragraph, say), changes to text formatting, such as font se‐
356 lection or vertical spacing, do not persist between entries.
357 Several forms of table entry are interpreted specially.
359 • If a table row contains only an underscore or equals sign (_ or =), a
361 single or double horizontal rule (line), respectively, is drawn
362 across the table at that point.
363 • A table entry containing only _ or = on an otherwise populated row is
365 replaced by a single or double horizontal rule, respectively, joining
366 its neighbors.
367 • Prefixing a lone underscore or equals sign with a backslash also has
369 meaning. If a table entry consists only of \_ or \= on an otherwise
370 populated row, it is replaced by a single or double horizontal rule,
371 respectively, that does not (quite) join its neighbors.
372 • A table entry consisting of \Rx, where x is any roff ordinary or spe‐
374 cial character, is replaced by enough repetitions of the glyph corre‐
375 sponding to x to fill the column, albeit without joining its neigh‐
376 bors.
377 • On any row but the first, a table entry of \^ causes the entry above
379 it to span down into the current one.
380 On occasion, these special tokens may be required as literal table
382 data. To use either _ or = literally and alone in an entry, prefix or
383 suffix it with the roff dummy character \&. To express \_, \=, or \R,
384 use a roff escape sequence to interpolate the backslash (\e or \[rs]).
385 A reliable way to emplace the \^ glyph sequence within a table entry is
386 to use a pair of groff special character escape sequences (\[rs]\[ha]).
387 Rows of table entries can be interleaved with groff control lines;
389 these do not count as table data. On such lines the default control
390 character (.) must be used (and not changed); the no-break control
391 character is not recognized. To start the first table entry in a row
392 with a dot, precede it with the roff dummy character \&.
393 Text blocks
395 An ordinary table entry's contents can make a column, and therefore the
396 table, excessively wide; the table then exceeds the line length of the
397 page, and becomes ugly or is exposed to truncation by the output de‐
398 vice. When a table entry requires more conventional typesetting,
399 breaking across more than one output line (and thereby increasing the
400 height of its row), it can be placed within a text block.
401 tbl interprets a table entry beginning with “T{” at the end of an input
403 line not as table data, but as a token starting a text block. Simi‐
404 larly, “T}” at the start of an input line ends a text block; it must
405 also end the table entry. Text block tokens can share an input line
406 with other table data (preceding T{ and following T}). Input lines be‐
407 tween these tokens are formatted in a diversion by troff. Text blocks
408 cannot be nested. Multiple text blocks can occur in a table row.
409 Text blocks are formatted as was the text prior to the table, modified
411 by applicable column descriptors. Specifically, the classifiers A, C,
412 L, N, R, and S determine a text block's alignment within its cell, but
413 not its adjustment. Add na or ad requests to the beginning of a text
414 block to alter its adjustment distinctly from other text in the docu‐
415 ment. As with other table entries, when a text block ends, any alter‐
416 ations to formatting parameters are discarded. They do not affect sub‐
417 sequent table entries, not even other text blocks.
418 If w or x modifiers are not specified for all columns of a text block's
420 span, the default length of the text block (more precisely, the line
421 length used to process the text block diversion) is computed as
422 L×C/(N+1), where L is the current line length, C the number of columns
423 spanned by the text block, and N the number of columns in the table.
424 If necessary, you can also control a text block's width by including an
425 ll (line length) request in it prior to any text to be formatted. Be‐
426 cause a diversion is used to format the text block, its height and
427 width are subsequently available in the registers dn and dl, respec‐
428 tively.
429 roff interface
431 The register TW stores the width of the table region in basic units; it
432 can't be used within the region itself, but is defined before the .TE
433 token is output so that a groff macro named TE can make use of it. T.
434 is a Boolean-valued register indicating whether the bottom of the table
435 is being processed. The #T register marks the top of the table. Avoid
436 using these names for any other purpose.
437 tbl also defines a macro T# to produce the bottom and side lines of a
439 boxed table. While tbl itself arranges for the output to include a
440 call of this macro at the end of such a table, it can also be used by
441 macro packages to create boxes for multi-page tables by calling it from
442 a page footer macro that is itself called by a trap planted near the
443 bottom of the page. See section “Limitations” below for more on multi-
444 page tables.
445 GNU tbl internally employs register, string, macro, and diversion names
447 beginning with the numeral 3. A document to be preprocessed with GNU
448 tbl should not use any such identifiers.
449 Interaction with eqn
451 tbl should always be called before eqn(1). (groff(1) automatically ar‐
452 ranges preprocessors in the correct order.) Don't call the EQ and EN
453 macros within tables; instead, set up delimiters in your eqn input and
454 use the delim region option so that tbl will recognize them.
455 GNU tbl enhancements
457 In addition to extensions noted above, GNU tbl removes constraints en‐
458 dured by users of AT&T tbl.
459 • Region options can be specified in any lettercase.
461 • There is no limit on the number of columns in a table, regardless of
463 their classification, nor any limit on the number of text blocks.
464 • All table rows are considered when deciding column widths, not just
466 those occurring in the first 200 input lines of a region. Similarly,
467 table continuation (.T&) tokens are recognized outside a region's
468 first 200 input lines.
469 • Numeric and alphabetic entries may appear in the same column.
471 • Numeric and alphabetic entries may span horizontally.
473 Using GNU tbl within macros
475 You can embed a table region inside a macro definition. However, since
476 tbl writes its own macro definitions at the beginning of each table re‐
477 gion, it is necessary to call end macros instead of ending macro defi‐
478 nitions with “..”. Additionally, the escape character must be dis‐
479 abled.
480 Not all tbl features can be exercised from such macros because tbl is a
482 roff preprocessor: it sees the input earlier than troff does. For ex‐
483 ample, vertically aligning decimal separators fails if the numbers con‐
484 taining them occur as macro or string parameters; the alignment is per‐
485 formed by tbl itself, which sees only \$1, \$2, and so on, and there‐
486 fore can't recognize a decimal separator that only appears later when
487 troff interpolates a macro or string definition.
488 Using tbl macros within conditional input (that is, contingent upon an
490 if, ie, el, or while request) can result in misleading line numbers in
491 subsequent diagnostics. tbl unconditionally injects its output into
492 the source document, but the conditional branch containing it may not
493 be taken, and if it is not, the lf requests that tbl injects to restore
494 the source line number cannot take effect. Consider copying the input
495 line counter register c. and restoring its value at a convenient loca‐
496 tion after applicable arithmetic.
497
499 --help displays a usage message, while -v and --version show version
500 information; all exit afterward.
501 -C Enable AT&T compatibility mode: recognize .TS and .TE even when
503 followed by a character other than space or newline. Further‐
504 more, interpret the uninterpreted leader escape sequence \a.
505
507 Multi-page tables, if boxed and/or if you want their column headings
508 repeated after page breaks, require support at the time the document is
509 formatted. A convention for such support has arisen in macro packages
510 such as ms, mm, and me. To use it, follow the .TS token with a space
511 and then “H”; this will be interpreted by the formatter as a TS macro
512 call with an H argument. Then, within the table data, call the TH
513 macro; this informs the macro package where the headings end. If your
514 table has no such heading rows, or you do not desire their repetition,
515 call TH immediately after the table format specification. If a multi-
516 page table is boxed or has repeating column headings, do not enclose it
517 with keep/release macros, or divert it in any other way. Further, the
518 bp request will not cause a page break in a “TS H” table. Define a
519 macro to wrap bp: invoke it normally if there is no current diversion.
520 Otherwise, pass the macro call to the enclosing diversion using the
521 transparent line escape sequence \!; this will “bubble up” the page
522 break to the output device. See section “Examples” below for a demon‐
523 stration.
524 Double horizontal rules are not supported by grotty(1); single rules
526 are used instead. grotty also ignores half-line motions, so the u col‐
527 umn modifier has no effect. On terminal devices (“nroff mode”), hori‐
528 zontal rules and box borders occupy a full vee of space; this amount is
529 doubled for doublebox tables. Tables using these features thus require
530 more vertical space in nroff mode than in troff mode: write ne requests
531 accordingly. Vertical rules between columns are drawn in the space be‐
532 tween columns in nroff mode; using double vertical rules and/or reduc‐
533 ing the column separation below the default can make them ugly or over‐
534 strike them with table data.
535 A text block within a table must be able to fit on one page.
537 Using \a to put leaders in table entries does not work in GNU tbl, ex‐
539 cept in compatibility mode. This is correct behavior: \a is an unin‐
540 terpreted leader. You can still use the roff leader character (Con‐
541 trol+A) or define a string to use \a as it was designed: to be inter‐
542 preted only in copy mode.
543 .ds a \a
545 .TS
546 box center tab(;);
547 Lw(2i)0 L.
548 Population\*a;6,327,119
549 .TE
550 ┌──────────────────────────────┐
552 │Population..........6,327,119 │
553 └──────────────────────────────┘
554 A leading and/or trailing | in a format specification, such as
555 “|LCR|.”, produces an en space between the vertical rules and the con‐
556 tent of the adjacent columns. If no such space is desired (so that the
557 rule abuts the content), you can introduce “dummy” columns with zero
558 separation and empty corresponding table entries before and/or after.
559 .TS
561 center tab(#);
562 R0|L C R0|L.
563 _
564 #levulose#glucose#dextrose#
565 _
566 .TE
567 These dummy columns have zero width and are therefore invisible; unfor‐
569 tunately they usually don't work as intended on terminal devices.
570
572 It can be easier to acquire the language of tbl through examples than
573 formal description, especially at first.
574 .TS
576 box center tab(#);
577 Cb Cb
578 L L.
579 Ability#Application
580 Strength#crushes a tomato
581 Dexterity#dodges a thrown tomato
582 Constitution#eats a month-old tomato without becoming ill
583 Intelligence#knows that a tomato is a fruit
584 Wisdom#chooses \f[I]not\f[] to put tomato in a fruit salad
585 Charisma#sells obligate carnivores tomato-based fruit salads
586 .TE
587 ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
589 │ Ability Application │
590 │Strength crushes a tomato │
591 │Dexterity dodges a thrown tomato │
592 │Constitution eats a month-old tomato without becoming ill │
593 │Intelligence knows that a tomato is a fruit │
594 │Wisdom chooses not to put tomato in a fruit salad │
595 │Charisma sells obligate carnivores tomato-based fruit salads │
596 └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
597 The A and N column classifiers can be easier to grasp in visual render‐
598 ing than in description.
599 .TS
601 center tab(;);
602 CbS,LN,AN.
603 Daily energy intake (in MJ)
604 Macronutrients
605 .\" assume 3 significant figures of precision
606 Carbohydrates;4.5
607 Fats;2.25
608 Protein;3
609 .T&
610 LN,AN.
611 Mineral
612 Pu-239;14.6
613 _
614 .T&
615 LN.
616 Total;\[ti]24.4
617 .TE
618 Daily energy intake (in MJ)
620 Macronutrients
621 Carbohydrates 4.5
622 Fats 2.25
623 Protein 3
624 Mineral
625 Pu-239 14.6
626 ────────────────────────────
627 Total ~24.4
628 Next, we'll lightly adapt a compact presentation of spanning, vertical
630 alignment, and zero-width column modifiers from the mandoc reference
631 for its tbl interpreter. It rewards close study.
632 .TS
634 box center tab(:);
635 Lz S | Rt
636 Ld| Cb| ^
637 ^ | Rz S.
638 left:r
639 l:center:
640 :right
641 .TE
642 ┌───────────┬───┐
644 │le│ft │ r │
645 │ │ center │ │
646 │l │ right │
647 └──┴────────────┘
648 Row staggering is not visually achievable on terminal devices, but a
649 table using it can remain comprehensible nonetheless.
650 .TS
652 center tab(|);
653 Cf(BI) Cf(BI) Cf(B), C C Cu.
654 n|n\f[B]\[tmu]\f[]n|difference
655 1|1
656 2|4|3
657 3|9|5
658 4|16|7
659 5|25|9
660 6|36|11
661 .TE
662 n n×n difference
664 1 1
666 2 4 3
667 3 9 5
668 4 16 7
669 5 25 9
670 6 36 11
671 Some tbl features cannot be illustrated in the limited environment of a
673 portable man page.
674 We can define a macro outside of a tbl region that we can call from
676 within it to cause a page break inside a multi-page boxed table. You
677 can choose a different name; be sure to change both occurrences of
678 “BP”.
679 .de BP
681 . ie '\\n(.z'' .bp \\$1
682 . el \!.BP \\$1
683 ..
684
686 “Tbl—A Program to Format Tables”, by M. E. Lesk, 1976 (revised 16 Janu‐
687 ary 1979), AT&T Bell Laboratories Computing Science Technical Report
688 No. 49.
689 The spanning example above was taken from mandoc's man page for its tbl
691 implementation ⟨https://man.openbsd.org/tbl.7⟩.
692 groff(1), troff(1)
694groff 1.23.0 2 November 2023 tbl(1)