1COL(1)                           User Commands                          COL(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       col - filter reverse line feeds from input
7

SYNOPSIS

9       col options
10

DESCRIPTION

12       col filters out reverse (and half-reverse) line feeds so the output is
13       in the correct order, with only forward and half-forward line feeds. It
14       also replaces any whitespace characters with tabs where possible. This
15       can be useful in processing the output of nroff(1) and tbl(1).
16
17       col reads from standard input and writes to standard output.
18

OPTIONS

20       -b, --no-backspaces
21           Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character
22           written to each column position.
23
24       -f, --fine
25           Permit half-forward line feeds. Normally characters destined for a
26           half-line boundary are printed on the following line.
27
28       -h, --tabs
29           Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.
30
31       -l, --lines number
32           Buffer at least number lines in memory. By default, 128 lines are
33           buffered.
34
35       -p, --pass
36           Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.
37           Normally col will filter out any control sequences other than those
38           recognized and interpreted by itself, which are listed below.
39
40       -x, --spaces
41           Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.
42
43       -h, --help
44           Display help text and exit.
45
46       -V, --version
47           Print version and exit.
48

CONFORMING TO

50       The col utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2.
51       The -l option is an extension to the standard.
52

NOTES

54       The control sequences for carriage motion that col understands and
55       their decimal values are listed in the following table:
56
57       ESC-7
58           reverse line feed (escape then 7)
59
60       ESC-8
61           half reverse line feed (escape then 8)
62
63       ESC-9
64           half forward line feed (escape then 9)
65
66       backspace
67           moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column
68
69       newline
70           forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
71
72       carriage return
73           (13)
74
75       shift in
76           shift to normal character set (15)
77
78       shift out
79           shift to alternate character set (14)
80
81       space
82           moves forward one column (32)
83
84       tab
85           moves forward to next tab stop (9)
86
87       vertical tab
88           reverse line feed (11)
89
90       All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are discarded.
91
92       col keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes
93       sure the character set is correct when they are output.
94
95       If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line, col will
96       display a warning message.
97

HISTORY

99       A col command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
100

SEE ALSO

102       expand(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)
103

REPORTING BUGS

105       For bug reports, use the issue tracker at
106       https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues.
107

AVAILABILITY

109       The col command is part of the util-linux package which can be
110       downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive
111       <https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>.
112
113
114
115util-linux 2.38.1                 2022-05-11                            COL(1)