1EXPAND(1)                   General Commands Manual                  EXPAND(1)
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NAME

6       expand, unexpand - expand tabs to spaces, and vice versa
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SYNOPSIS

9       expand [ -tabstop ] [ -tab1,tab2,...,tabn ] [ file ...  ]
10       unexpand [ -a ] [ file ...  ]
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DESCRIPTION

13       Expand  processes  the  named  files  or the standard input writing the
14       standard output with tabs changed into  blanks.   Backspace  characters
15       are  preserved  into  the output and decrement the column count for tab
16       calculations.  Expand is  useful  for  pre-processing  character  files
17       (before sorting, looking at specific columns, etc.) that contain tabs.
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19       If a single tabstop argument is given, then tabs are set tabstop spaces
20       apart instead of the default 8.  If multiple tabstops  are  given  then
21       the tabs are set at those specific columns.
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23       Unexpand  puts  tabs  back into the data from the standard input or the
24       named files and writes the result on the standard output.  By  default,
25       only  leading  blanks  and  tabs  are reconverted to maximal strings of
26       tabs.  If the -a option is given, then tabs are inserted whenever  they
27       would compress the resultant file by replacing two or more characters.
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314th Berkeley Distribution         May 9, 1986                        EXPAND(1)