1TBL(1) General Commands Manual TBL(1)
2
6 tbl - format tables for troff
7
9 tbl [-Cv] [files ...]
10
12 This manual page describes the GNU version of tbl, which is part of the
13 groff document formatting system. tbl compiles descriptions of tables
14 embedded within troff input files into commands that are understood by
15 troff. Normally, it should be invoked using the -t option of groff.
16 It is highly compatible with Unix tbl. The output generated by GNU tbl
17 cannot be processed with Unix troff; it must be processed with GNU
18 troff. If no files are given on the command line or a filename of - is
19 given, the standard input is read.
20
22 -C Enable compatibility mode to recognize .TS and .TE even when
23 followed by a character other than space or newline. Leader
24 characters (\a) are handled as interpreted.
25 -v Print the version number.
27
29 tbl expects to find table descriptions wrapped in the .TS (table start)
30 and .TE (table end) macros.
31 Global options
33 The line immediately following the .TS macro may contain any of the
34 following global options (ignoring the case of characters – Unix tbl
35 only accepts options with all characters lowercase or all characters
36 uppercase), separated by spaces, tabs, or commas:
37 allbox Enclose each item of the table in a box.
39 box Enclose the table in a box.
41 center Center the table (default is left-justified). The alternative
43 keyword name centre is also recognized (this is a GNU tbl exten‐
44 sion).
45 decimalpoint(c)
47 Set the character to be recognized as the decimal point in
48 numeric columns (GNU tbl only).
49 delim(xy)
51 Use x and y as start and end delimiters for eqn(1).
52 doublebox
54 Enclose the table in a double box.
55 doubleframe
57 Same as doublebox (GNU tbl only).
58 expand Make the table as wide as the current line length (providing a
60 column separation factor). Ignored if one or more `x' column
61 specifiers are used (see below).
62 In case the sum of the column widths is larger than the current
64 line length, the column separation factor is set to zero; such
65 tables extend into the right margin, and there is no column sep‐
66 aration at all.
67 frame Same as box (GNU tbl only).
69 linesize(n)
71 Set lines or rules (e.g. from box) in n-point type.
72 nokeep Don't use diversions to prevent page breaks (GNU tbl only).
74 Normally tbl attempts to prevent undesirable breaks in boxed
75 tables by using diversions. This can sometimes interact badly
76 with macro packages' own use of diversions, when footnotes, for
77 example, are used.
78 nospaces
80 Ignore leading and trailing spaces in data items (GNU tbl only).
81 tab(x) Use the character x instead of a tab to separate items in a line
83 of input data.
84 The global options must end with a semicolon. There might be white‐
86 space between an option and its argument in parentheses.
87 Table format specification
89 After global options come lines describing the format of each line of
90 the table. Each such format line describes one line of the table
91 itself, except that the last format line (which you must end with a
92 period) describes all remaining lines of the table. A single-key char‐
93 acter describes each column of each line of the table. Key characters
94 can be separated by spaces or tabs. You may run format specifications
95 for multiple lines together on the same line by separating them with
96 commas.
97 You may follow each key character with specifiers that determine the
99 font and point size of the corresponding item, that determine column
100 width, inter-column spacing, etc.
101 The longest format line defines the number of columns in the table;
103 missing format descriptors at the end of format lines are assumed to
104 be L. Extra columns in the data (which have no corresponding format
105 entry) are ignored.
106 The available key characters are:
108 a,A Center longest line in this column and then left-justifies all
110 other lines in this column with respect to that centered line.
111 The idea is to use such alphabetic subcolumns (hence the name of
112 the key character) in combination with L; they are called sub‐
113 columns because A items are indented by 1n relative to
114 L entries. Example:
115 .TS
117 tab(;);
118 ln,an.
119 item one;1
120 subitem two;2
121 subitem three;3
122 .T&
123 ln,an.
124 item eleven;11
125 subitem twentytwo;22
126 subitem thirtythree;33
127 .TE
128 Result:
130 item one 1
132 subitem two 2
134 subitem three 3
135 item eleven 11
136 subitem twentytwo 22
137 subitem thirtythree 33
138 c,C Center item within the column.
140 l,L Left-justify item within the column.
142 n,N Numerically justify item in the column: Units positions of num‐
144 bers are aligned vertically. If there is one or more dots adja‐
145 cent to a digit, use the rightmost one for vertical alignment.
146 If there is no dot, use the rightmost digit for vertical align‐
147 ment; otherwise, center the item within the column. Alignment
148 can be forced to a certain position using `\&'; if there is one
149 or more instances of this special (non-printing) character
150 present within the data, use the leftmost one for alignment.
151 Example:
152 .TS
154 n.
155 1
156 1.5
157 1.5.3
158 abcde
159 a\&bcde
160 .TE
161 Result:
163 1
165 1.5
166 1.5.3
167 abcde
168 abcde
169 If numerical entries are combined with L or R entries – this can
171 happen if the table format is changed with .T& –, center the
172 widest number (of the data entered under the N specifier regime)
173 relative to the widest L or R entry, preserving the alignment of
174 all numerical entries. Contrary to A type entries, there is no
175 extra indentation.
176 Using equations (to be processed with eqn) within columns which
178 use the N specifier is problematic in most cases due to tbl's
179 algorithm for finding the vertical alignment, as described
180 above. Using the global delim option, however, it is possible
181 to make tbl ignore the data within eqn delimiters for that pur‐
182 pose.
183 r,R Right-justify item within the column.
185 s,S Span previous item on the left into this column. Not allowed
187 for the first column.
188 ^ Span down entry from previous row in this column. Not allowed
190 for the first row.
191 _,- Replace this entry with a horizontal line.
193 = Replace this entry with a double horizontal line.
195 | The corresponding column becomes a vertical rule (if two of
197 these are adjacent, a double vertical rule).
198 A vertical bar to the left of the first key letter or to the right of
200 the last one produces a line at the edge of the table.
201 To change the data format within a table, use the .T& command (at the
203 start of a line). It is followed by format and data lines (but no
204 global options) similar to the .TS request.
205 Column specifiers
207 Here are the specifiers that can appear in suffixes to column key let‐
208 ters (in any order):
209 b,B Short form of fB (make affected entries bold).
211 d,D Start an item vertically spanning rows at the bottom of its
213 range rather than vertically centering it (GNU tbl only).
214 e,E Make equally-spaced columns. All columns marked with this spec‐
216 ifier get the same width; this happens after the affected column
217 widths have been computed (this means that the largest width
218 value rules).
219 f,F Either of these specifiers may be followed by a font name
221 (either one or two characters long), font number (a single
222 digit), or long name in parentheses (the last form is a GNU tbl
223 extension). A one-letter font name must be separated by one or
224 more blanks from whatever follows.
225 i,I Short form of fI (make affected entries italic).
227 m,M This is a GNU tbl extension. Either of these specifiers may be
229 followed by a macro name (either one or two characters long), or
230 long name in parentheses. A one-letter macro name must be sepa‐
231 rated by one or more blanks from whatever follows. The macro
232 which name can be specified here must be defined before creating
233 the table. It is called just before the table's cell text is
234 output. As implemented currently, this macro is only called if
235 block input is used, that is, text between `T{' and `T}'. The
236 macro should contain only simple troff requests to change the
237 text block formatting, like text adjustment, hyphenation, size,
238 or font. The macro is called after other cell modifications
239 like b, f or v are output. Thus the macro can overwrite other
240 modification specifiers.
241 p,P Followed by a number, this does a point size change for the
243 affected fields. If signed, the current point size is incre‐
244 mented or decremented (using a signed number instead of a signed
245 digit is a GNU tbl extension). A point size specifier followed
246 by a column separation number must be separated by one or more
247 blanks.
248 t,T Start an item vertically spanning rows at the top of its range
250 rather than vertically centering it.
251 u,U Move the corresponding column up one half-line.
253 v,V Followed by a number, this indicates the vertical line spacing
255 to be used in a multi-line table entry. If signed, the current
256 vertical line spacing is incremented or decremented (using a
257 signed number instead of a signed digit is a GNU tbl extension).
258 A vertical line spacing specifier followed by a column separa‐
259 tion number must be separated by one or more blanks. No effect
260 if the corresponding table entry isn't a text block.
261 w,W Minimal column width value. Must be followed either by a
263 troff(1) width expression in parentheses or a unitless integer.
264 If no unit is given, en units are used. Also used as the
265 default line length for included text blocks. If used multiple
266 times to specify the width for a particular column, the last
267 entry takes effect.
268 x,X An expanded column. After computing all column widths without
270 an x specifier, use the remaining line width for this column.
271 If there is more than one expanded column, distribute the
272 remaining horizontal space evenly among the affected columns
273 (this is a GNU extension). This feature has the same effect as
274 specifying a minimum column width.
275 z,Z Ignore the corresponding column for width-calculation purposes,
277 this is, don't use the fields but only the specifiers of this
278 column to compute its width.
279 A number suffix on a key character is interpreted as a column separa‐
281 tion in en units (multiplied in proportion if the expand option is on –
282 in case of overfull tables this might be zero). Default separation is
283 3n.
284 The column specifier x is mutually exclusive with e and w (but e is not
286 mutually exclusive with w); if specified multiple times for a particu‐
287 lar column, the last entry takes effect: x unsets both e and w, while
288 either e or w overrides x.
289 Table data
291 The format lines are followed by lines containing the actual data for
292 the table, followed finally by .TE. Within such data lines, items are
293 normally separated by tab characters (or the character specified with
294 the tab option). Long input lines can be broken across multiple lines
295 if the last character on the line is `\' (which vanishes after concate‐
296 nation).
297 Note that tbl computes the column widths line by line, applying \w on
299 each entry which isn't a text block. As a consequence, constructions
300 like
301 .TS
303 c,l.
304 \s[20]MM
305 MMMM
306 .TE
307 fail; you must either say
309 .TS
311 cp20,lp20.
312 MM
313 MMMM
314 .TE
315 or
317 .TS
319 c,l.
320 \s[20]MM
321 \s[20]MMMM
322 .TE
323 A dot starting a line, followed by anything but a digit is handled as a
325 troff command, passed through without changes. The table position is
326 unchanged in this case.
327 If a data line consists of only `_' or `=', a single or double line,
329 respectively, is drawn across the table at that point; if a single item
330 in a data line consists of only `_' or `=', then that item is replaced
331 by a single or double line, joining its neighbours. If a data item
332 consists only of `\_' or `\=', a single or double line, respectively,
333 is drawn across the field at that point which does not join its neigh‐
334 bours.
335 A data item consisting only of `\Rx' (`x' any character) is replaced by
337 repetitions of character `x' as wide as the column (not joining its
338 neighbours).
339 A data item consisting only of `\^' indicates that the field immedi‐
341 ately above spans downward over this row.
342 Text blocks
344 A text block can be used to enter data as a single entry which would be
345 too long as a simple string between tabs. It is started with `T{' and
346 closed with `T}'. The former must end a line, and the latter must
347 start a line, probably followed by other data columns (separated with
348 tabs or the character given with the tab global option).
349 By default, the text block is formatted with the settings which were
351 active before entering the table, possibly overridden by the m, v, and
352 w tbl specifiers. For example, to make all text blocks ragged-right,
353 insert .na right before the starting .TS (and .ad after the table).
354 If either `w' or `x' specifiers are not given for all columns of a text
356 block span, the default length of the text block (to be more precise,
357 the line length used to process the text block diversion) is computed
358 as L×C/(N+1), where `L' is the current line length, `C' the number of
359 columns spanned by the text block, and `N' the total number of columns
360 in the table. Note, however, that the actual diversion width as
361 returned in register \n[dl] is used eventually as the text block width.
362 If necessary, you can also control the text block width with a direct
363 insertion of a .ll request right after `T{'.
364 Miscellaneous
366 The number register \n[TW] holds the table width; it can't be used
367 within the table itself but is defined right before calling .TE so that
368 this macro can make use of it.
369 tbl also defines a macro .T# which produces the bottom and side lines
371 of a boxed table. While tbl does call this macro itself at the end of
372 the table, it can be used by macro packages to create boxes for multi-
373 page tables by calling it within the page footer. An example of this
374 is shown by the -ms macros which provide this functionality if a table
375 starts with .TS H instead of the standard call to the .TS macro.
376
378 tbl(1) should always be called before eqn(1) (groff(1) automatically
379 takes care of the correct order of preprocessors).
380
382 There is no limit on the number of columns in a table, nor any limit on
383 the number of text blocks. All the lines of a table are considered in
384 deciding column widths, not just the first 200. Table continuation
385 (.T&) lines are not restricted to the first 200 lines.
386 Numeric and alphabetic items may appear in the same column.
388 Numeric and alphabetic items may span horizontally.
390 tbl uses register, string, macro and diversion names beginning with the
392 digit 3. When using tbl you should avoid using any names beginning
393 with a 3.
394
396 Since tbl defines its own macros (right before each table) it is neces‐
397 sary to use an `end-of-macro' macro. Additionally, the escape charac‐
398 ter has to be switched off. Here an example.
399 .eo
401 .de ATABLE ..
402 .TS
403 allbox tab(;);
404 cl.
405 \$1;\$2
406 .TE
407 ...
408 .ec
409 .ATABLE A table
410 .ATABLE Another table
411 .ATABLE And "another one"
412 Note, however, that not all features of tbl can be wrapped into a macro
414 because tbl sees the input earlier than troff. For example, number
415 formatting with vertically aligned decimal points fails if those num‐
416 bers are passed on as macro parameters because decimal point alignment
417 is handled by tbl itself: It only sees `\$1', `\$2', etc., and there‐
418 fore can't recognize the decimal point.
419
421 You should use .TS H/.TH in conjunction with a supporting macro package
422 for all multi-page boxed tables. If there is no header that you wish
423 to appear at the top of each page of the table, place the .TH line
424 immediately after the format section. Do not enclose a multi-page ta‐
425 ble within keep/release macros, or divert it in any other way.
426 A text block within a table must be able to fit on one page.
428 The bp request cannot be used to force a page-break in a multi-page ta‐
430 ble. Instead, define BP as follows
431 .de BP
433 . ie '\\n(.z'' .bp \\$1
434 . el \!.BP \\$1
435 ..
436 and use BP instead of bp.
438 Using \a directly in a table to get leaders does not work (except in
440 compatibility mode). This is correct behaviour: \a is an uninterpreted
441 leader. To get leaders use a real leader, either by using a control A
442 or like this:
443 .ds a \a
445 .TS
446 tab(;);
447 lw(1i) l.
448 A\*a;B
449 .TE
450
452 Lesk, M.E.: "TBL – A Program to Format Tables". For copyright reasons
453 it cannot be included in the groff distribution, but copies can be
454 found with a title search on the World Wide Web.
455
457 groff(1), troff(1)
458Groff Version 1.20.1 9 January 2009 TBL(1)