Ubuntu Manpage: groff_mom - modern macros for document composition with GNU roff

Name

       groff_mom - modern macros for document composition with GNU roff

Synopsis

       groff -mom [option ...] [file ...]
       groff -m mom [option ...] [file ...]

Description

mom is a macro set for groff, designed primarily to prepare documents for PDF and PostScript output. mom
provides macros in two categories: typesetting and document processing. The former provide access to
groff's typesetting capabilities in ways that are simpler to master than groff's requests and escape
sequences. The latter provide highly customizable markup tags that allow the user to design and output
professional-looking documents with a minimum of typesetting intervention.

Files processed with pdfmom(1) produce PDF documents. The documents include a PDF outline that appears
in the navigation pane panel of document viewers, and may contain clickable internal and external links.

Normally. groff's native PDF driver, gropdf(1), is used to generate the output. When pdfmom is given
the “-T ps” option, it still produces PDF, but processing is delegated to pdfroff, which uses groff's
PostScript driver, grops(1). Not all PDF features are available when -T ps is given; its primary use is
to allow processing of files with embedded PostScript images.

Files processed with groff -mom (or -m mom) format for the device specified with the -T option. (In this
installation, ps is the default output device.)

mom comes with her own comprehensive documentation in HTML. A PDF manual, “Producing PDFs with groff and
mom”, discusses preparation of PDF documents with mom in detail.

Files

       /usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mom.tmac
              is a wrapper enabling the package to be loaded with “groff -m mom”.

       /usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/om.tmac
              implements the package.

       /usr/share/doc/groff-base/html/mom/toc.html
              is the entry point to the HTML documentation.

       /usr/share/doc/groff-base/pdf/mom-pdf.pdf
              is “Producing PDFs with groff and mom”, by Deri James and Peter Schaffter.

       /usr/share/doc/groff-base/examples/mom/*.mom
              are examples of mom usage.

Reference

   Escape sequences
       \*[<colorname>]
              begin using an initialized colour inline

       \*[BCK n]
              move backward in a line

       \*[BOLDER]
              invoke pseudo bold inline (related to macro .SETBOLDER)

       \*[BOLDERX]
              off pseudo bold inline (related to macro .SETBOLDER)

       \*[BU n]
              move characters pairs closer together inline (related to macro .KERN)

       \*[COND]
              invoke pseudo condensing inline (related to macro .CONDENSE)

       \*[CONDX]
              off pseudo condensing inline (related to macro .CONDENSE)

       \*[CONDSUP]...\*[CONDSUPX]
              pseudo-condensed superscript

       \*[DOWN n]
              temporarily move downward in a line

       \*[EN-MARK]
              mark initial line of a range of line numbers (for use with line numbered endnotes)

       \*[EXT]
              invoke pseudo extending inline (related to macro .EXTEND)

       \*[EXTX]
              off pseudo condensing inline (related to macro .EXTEND)

       \*[EXTSUP]...\*[EXTSUPX]
              pseudo extended superscript

       \*[FU n]
              move characters pairs further apart inline (related to macro .KERN)

       \*[FWD n]
              move forward in a line

       \*[LEADER]
              insert leaders at the end of a line

       \*[RULE]
              draw a full measure rule

       \*[SIZE n]
              change the point size inline (related to macro .PT_SIZE)

       \*[SLANT]
              invoke pseudo italic inline (related to macro .SETSLANT)

       \*[SLANTX]
              off pseudo italic inline (related to macro .SETSLANT)

       \*[ST<n>]...\*[ST<n>X]
              string tabs (mark tab positions inline)

       \*[SUP]...\*[SUPX]
              superscript

       \*[TB+]
              inline escape for .TN (Tab Next)

       \*[UL]...\*[ULX]
              invoke underlining inline (fixed width fonts only)

       \*[UP n]
              temporarily move upward in a line

   Macros
       .AUTOLEAD
              set the linespacing relative to the point size

       .B_MARGIN
              set a bottom margin

       .BR    break a justified line

       .CENTER
              set line-by-line quad centre

       .CONDENSE
              set the amount to pseudo condense

       .EL    break a line without advancing on the page

       .EXTEND
              set the amount to pseudo extend

       .FALLBACK_FONT
              establish a fallback font (for missing fonts)

       .FAM   alias to .FAMILY

       .FAMILY <family>
              set the family type

       .FT    set the font style (roman, italic, etc.)

       .HI [ <measure> ]
              hanging indent

       .HY    automatic hyphenation on/off

       .HY_SET
              set automatic hyphenation parameters

       .IB [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
              indent both

       .IBX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent both

       .IL [ <measure> ]
              indent left

       .ILX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent left

       .IQ [ CLEAR ]
              quit any/all indents

       .IR [ <measure> ]
              indent right

       .IRX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent right

       .JUSTIFY
              justify text to both margins

       .KERN  automatic character pair kerning on/off

       .L_MARGIN
              set a left margin (page offset)

       .LEFT  set line-by-line quad left

       .LL    set a line length

       .LS    set a linespacing (leading)

       .PAGE  set explicit page dimensions and margins

       .PAGEWIDTH
              set a custom page width

       .PAGELENGTH
              set a custom page length

       .PAPER <paper_type>
              set common paper sizes (letter, A4, etc)

       .PT_SIZE
              set the point size

       .QUAD  "justify" text left, centre, or right

       .R_MARGIN
              set a right margin

       .RIGHT set line-by-line quad right

       .SETBOLDER
              set the amount of emboldening

       .SETSLANT
              set the degree of slant

       .SPREAD
              force justify a line

       .SS    set the sentence space size

       .T_MARGIN
              set a top margin

       .TI [ <measure> ]
              temporary left indent

       .WS    set the minimum word space size

Documentation of details

Details of inline escape sequences in alphabetical order
\*[<colorname>]
begin using an initialized colour inline

\*[BCK n]
move backward in a line

\*[BOLDER]
\*[BOLDERX]
Emboldening on/off

\*[BOLDER] begins emboldening type. \*[BOLDERX] turns the feature off. Both are inline escape
sequences; therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be embedded in text
lines, like this:
Not \*[BOLDER]everything\*[BOLDERX] is as it seems.

Alternatively, if you wanted the whole line emboldened, you should do
\*[BOLDER]Not everything is as it seems.\*[BOLDERX]
Once \*[BOLDER] is invoked, it remains in effect until turned off.

Note: If you're using the document processing macros with .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores
\*[BOLDER] requests.

\*[BU n]
move characters pairs closer together inline (related to macro .KERN)

\*[COND]
\*[CONDX]
Pseudo-condensing on/off

\*[COND] begins pseudo-condensing type. \*[CONDX] turns the feature off. Both are inline escape
sequences; therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be embedded in text
lines, like this:
\*[COND]Not everything is as it seems.\*[CONDX]
\*[COND] remains in effect until you turn it off with \*[CONDX].

IMPORTANT: You must turn \*[COND] off before making any changes to the point size of your type,
either via the .PT_SIZE macro or with the \s inline escape sequence. If you wish the new point
size to be pseudo-condensed, simply reinvoke \*[COND] afterward. Equally, \*[COND] must be turned
off before changing the condense percentage with .CONDENSE.

Note: If you're using the document processing macros with .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores
\*[COND] requests.

\*[CONDSUP]...\*[CONDSUPX]
pseudo-condensed superscript

\*[DOWN n]
temporarily move downward in a line

\*[EN-MARK]
mark initial line of a range of line numbers (for use with line numbered endnotes)

\*[EXT]
\*[EXTX]
Pseudo-extending on/off

\*[EXT] begins pseudo-extending type. \*[EXTX] turns the feature off. Both are inline escape
sequences; therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be embedded in text
lines, like this:
\*[EXT]Not everything is as it seems.\*[EXTX]
\*[EXT] remains in effect until you turn it off with \*[EXTX].

IMPORTANT: You must turn \*[EXT] off before making any changes to the point size of your type,
either via the .PT_SIZE macro or with the \s inline escape sequence. If you wish the new point
size to be pseudo-extended, simply reinvoke \*[EXT] afterward. Equally, \*[EXT] must be turned
off before changing the extend percentage with .EXTEND.

Note: If you are using the document processing macros with .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom ignores
\*[EXT] requests.

\*[EXTSUP]...\*[EXTSUPX]
pseudo extended superscript

\*[FU n]
move characters pairs further apart inline (related to macro .KERN)

\*[FWD n]
move forward in a line

\*[LEADER]
insert leaders at the end of a line

\*[RULE]
draw a full measure rule

\*[SIZE n]
change the point size inline (related to macro .PT_SIZE)

\*[SLANT]
\*[SLANTX]
Pseudo italic on/off

\*[SLANT] begins pseudo-italicizing type. \*[SLANTX] turns the feature off. Both are inline
escape sequences; therefore, they should not appear as separate lines, but rather be embedded in
text lines, like this:
Not \*[SLANT]everything\*[SLANTX] is as it seems.

Alternatively, if you wanted the whole line pseudo-italicized, you'd do
\*[SLANT]Not everything is as it seems.\*[SLANTX]

Once \*[SLANT] is invoked, it remains in effect until turned off.

Note: If you're using the document processing macros with .PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE, mom underlines
pseudo-italics by default. To change this behaviour, use the special macro .SLANT_MEANS_SLANT.

\*[ST<number>]...\*[ST<number>X]
Mark positions of string tabs

The quad direction must be LEFT or JUSTIFY (see .QUAD and .JUSTIFY) or the no-fill mode set to
LEFT in order for these inlines to function properly. Please see IMPORTANT, below.

String tabs need to be marked off with inline escape sequences before being set up with the .ST
macro. Any input line may contain string tab markers. <number>, above, means the numeric
identifier of the tab.

The following shows a sample input line with string tab markers.
\*[ST1]De minimus\*[ST1X]non curat\*[ST2]lex\*[ST2X].

String tab 1 begins at the start of the line and ends after the word time. String tab 2 starts at
good and ends after men. Inline escape sequences (e.g., font or point size changes, or horizontal
movements, including padding) are taken into account when mom determines the position and length
of string tabs.

Up to nineteen string tabs may be marked (not necessarily all on the same line, of course), and
they must be numbered between 1 and 19.

Once string tabs have been marked in input lines, they have to be set with .ST, after which they
may be called, by number, with .TAB.

Note: Lines with string tabs marked off in them are normal input lines, i.e. they get printed,
just like any input line. If you want to set up string tabs without the line printing, use the
.SILENT macro.

IMPORTANT: Owing to the way groff processes input lines and turns them into output lines, it is
not possible for mom to guess the correct starting position of string tabs marked off in lines
that are centered or set flush right.

Equally, she cannot guess the starting position if a line is fully justified and broken with
.SPREAD.

In other words, in order to use string tabs, LEFT must be active, or, if .QUAD LEFT or JUSTIFY are
active, the line on which the string tabs are marked must be broken manually with .BR (but not
.SPREAD).

To circumvent this behaviour, I recommend using the PAD to set up string tabs in centered or flush
right lines. Say, for example, you want to use a string tab to underscore the text of a centered
line with a rule. Rather than this,
.CENTER
\*[ST1]A line of text\*[ST1X]\c
.EL
.ST 1
.TAB 1
.PT_SIZE 24
.ALD 3p
\*[RULE]
.RLD 3p
.TQ
you should do:
.QUAD CENTER
.PAD "#\*[ST1]A line of text\*[ST1X]#"
.EL
.ST 1
.TAB 1
.PT_SIZE 24
.ALD 3p
\" You can't use \*[UP] or \*[DOWN] with \*[RULE].
.RLD 3p
.TQ

\*[SUP]...\*[SUPX]
superscript

\*[TB+]
Inline escape for .TN (Tab Next)

\*[UL]...\*[ULX]
invoke underlining inline (fixed width fonts only)

\*[UP n]
temporarily move upward in a line

Details of macros in alphabetical order
.AUTOLEAD
set the linespacing relative to the point size

.B_MARGIN <bottom margin>
Bottom Margin

Requires a unit of measure

.B_MARGIN sets a nominal position at the bottom of the page beyond which you don't want your type
to go. When the bottom margin is reached, mom starts a new page. .B_MARGIN requires a unit of
measure. Decimal fractions are allowed. To set a nominal bottom margin of 3/4 inch, enter
.B_MARGIN .75i

Obviously, if you haven't spaced the type on your pages so that the last lines fall perfectly at
the bottom margin, the margin will vary from page to page. Usually, but not always, the last line
of type that fits on a page before the bottom margin causes mom to start a new page.

Occasionally, owing to a peculiarity in groff, an extra line will fall below the nominal bottom
margin. If you're using the document processing macros, this is unlikely to happen; the document
processing macros are very hard-nosed about aligning bottom margins.

Note: The meaning of .B_MARGIN is slightly different when you're using the document processing
macros.

.FALLBACK_FONT <fallback font> [ ABORT | WARN ]
Fallback Font

In the event that you pass an invalid argument to .FAMILY (i.e. a non-existent family), mom, by
default, uses the fallback font, Courier Medium Roman (CR), in order to continue processing your
file.

If you'd prefer another fallback font, pass .FALLBACK_FONT the full family+font name of the font
you'd like. For example, if you'd rather the fallback font were Times Roman Medium Roman,
.FALLBACK_FONT TR
would do the trick.

Mom issues a warning whenever a font style set with .FT does not exist, either because you haven't
registered the style or because the font style does not exist in the current family set with
.FAMILY. By default, mom then aborts, which allows you to correct the problem.

If you'd prefer that mom not abort on non-existent fonts, but rather continue processing using a
fallback font, you can pass .FALLBACK_FONT the argument WARN, either by itself, or in conjunction
with your chosen fallback font.

Some examples of invoking .FALLBACK_FONT:

.FALLBACK_FONT WARN
mom will issue a warning whenever you try to access a non-existent font but will continue
processing your file with the default fallback font, Courier Medium Roman.

.FALLBACK_FONT TR WARN
mom will issue a warning whenever you try to access a non-existent font but will continue
processing your file with a fallback font of Times Roman Medium Roman; additionally, TR
will be the fallback font whenever you try to access a family that does not exist.

.FALLBACK_FONT TR ABORT
mom will abort whenever you try to access a non-existent font, and will use the fallback
font TR whenever you try to access a family that does not exist. If, for some reason, you
want to revert to ABORT, just enter ".FALLBACK_FONT ABORT" and mom will once again abort on
font errors.

.FAM <family>
Type Family, alias of .FAMILY

.FAMILY <family>
Type Family, alias of .FAM

.FAMILY takes one argument: the name of the family you want. Groff comes with a small set of
basic families, each identified by a 1-, 2- or 3-letter mnemonic. The standard families are:
A = Avant Garde
BM = Bookman
H = Helvetica
HN = Helvetica Narrow
N = New Century Schoolbook
P = Palatino
T = Times Roman
ZCM = Zapf Chancery

The argument you pass to .FAMILY is the identifier at left, above. For example, if you want
Helvetica, enter
.FAMILY H

Note: The font macro (.FT) lets you specify both the type family and the desired font with a
single macro. While this saves a few keystrokes, I recommend using .FAMILY for family, and .FT
for font, except where doing so is genuinely inconvenient. ZCM, for example, only exists in one
style: Italic (I).

Therefore,
.FT ZCMI
makes more sense than setting the family to ZCM, then setting the font to I.

Additional note: If you are running a groff version prior to 1.19.2, you must follow all .FAMILY
requests with a .FT request, otherwise mom will set all type up to the next .FT request in the
fallback font.

If you are running groff 1.19.2 or later, when you invoke the .FAMILY macro, mom remembers the
font style (Roman, Italic, etc) currently in use (if the font style exists in the new family) and
will continue to use the same font style in the new family. For example:
.FAMILY BM \" Bookman family
.FT I \" Medium Italic
<some text> \" Bookman Medium Italic
.FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
<more text> \" Helvetica Medium Italic

However, if the font style does not exist in the new family, mom will set all subsequent type in
the fallback font (by default, Courier Medium Roman) until she encounters a .FT request that's
valid for the family.

For example, assuming you don't have the font Medium Condensed Roman (mom extension CD) in the
Helvetica family:
.FAMILY UN \" Univers family
.FT CD \" Medium Condensed
<some text> \" Univers Medium Condensed
.FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
<more text> \" Courier Medium Roman!

In the above example, you must follow .FAMILY H with a .FT request that's valid for Helvetica.

Please see the Appendices, Adding fonts to groff, for information on adding fonts and families to
groff,aswellasto see a list of the extensions mom provides to groff's basic R, I, B, BI styles.

Suggestion: When adding families to groff, I recommend following the established standard for the
naming families and fonts. For example, if you add the Garamond family, name the font files
GARAMONDR
GARAMONDI
GARAMONDB
GARAMONDBI
GARAMOND then becomes a valid family name you can pass to .FAMILY. (You could, of course, shorten
GARAMOND to just G, or GD.) R, I, B, and BI after GARAMOND are the roman, italic, bold and bold-
italic fonts respectively.

.FONT R | B | BI | <any other valid font style>
Alias to .FT

.FT R | B | BI | <any other valid font style>
Set font

By default, groff permits .FT to take one of four possible arguments specifying the desired font:
R = (Medium) Roman
I = (Medium) Italic
B = Bold (Roman)
BI = Bold Italic

For example, if your family is Helvetica, entering
.FT B
will give you the Helvetica bold font. If your family were Palatino, you'd get the Palatino bold
font.

Mom considerably extends the range of arguments you can pass to .FT, making it more convenient to
add and access fonts of differing weights and shapes within the same family.

Have a look here for a list of the weight/style arguments mom allows. Be aware, though, that you
must have the fonts, correctly installed and named, in order to use the arguments. (See Adding
fonts to groff for instructions and information.) Please also read the ADDITIONAL NOTE found in
the description of the .FAMILY macro.

How mom reacts to an invalid argument to .FT depends on which version of groff you're using. If
your groff version is 1.19.2 or later, mom will issue a warning and, depending on how you've set
up the fallback font, either continue processing using the fallback font, or abort (allowing you
to correct the problem). In earlier versions, mom will silently continue processing, using either
the fallback font or the font that was in effect prior to the invalid .FT call.

.FT will also accept, as an argument, a full family and font name.

For example,
.FT HB
will set subsequent type in Helvetica Bold.

However, I strongly recommend keeping family and font separate except where doing so is genuinely
inconvenient.

For inline control of fonts, see Inline Escapes, font control.

.HI [ <measure> ]
Hanging indent — the optional argument requires a unit of measure.

A hanging indent looks like this:
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I
could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge. You who so well know the nature of my soul
will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a
threat, at length I would be avenged...
The first line of text hangs outside the left margin.

In order to use hanging indents, you must first have a left indent active (set with either .IL or
.IB). Mom will not hang text outside the left margin set with .L_MARGIN or outside the left
margin of a tab.

The first time you invoke .HI, you must give it a measure. If you want the first line of a
paragraph to hang by, say, 1 pica, do
.IL 1P
.HI 1P
Subsequent invocations of .HI do not require you to supply a measure; mom keeps track of the last
measure you gave it.

Generally speaking, you should invoke .HI immediately prior to the line you want hung (i.e.
without any intervening control lines). And because hanging indents affect only one line, there's
no need to turn them off.

IMPORTANT: Unlike IL, IR and IB, measures given to .HI are NOT additive. Each time you pass a
measure to .HI, the measure is treated literally. Recipe: A numbered list using hanging indents

Note: mom has macros for setting lists. This recipe exists to demonstrate the use of hanging
indents only.
.PAGE 8.5i 11i 1i 1i 1i 1i
.FAMILY T
.FT R
.PT_SIZE 12
.LS 14
.JUSTIFY
.KERN
.SS 0
.IL \w'\0\0.'
.HI \w'\0\0.'
1.\0The most important point to be considered is whether
the answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe, and
Everything really is 42. We have no one's word on the
subject except Mr. Adams's.
.HI
2.\0If the answer to the meaning of Life, the Universe,
and Everything is indeed 42, what impact does this have on
the politics of representation? 42 is, after all not a
prime number. Are we to infer that prime numbers don't
deserve equal rights and equal access in the universe?
.HI
3.\0If 42 is deemed non-exclusionary, how do we present
it as the answer and, at the same time, forestall debate
on its exclusionary implications?

First, we invoke a left indent with a measure equal to the width of 2 figures spaces plus a period
(using the \w inline escape). At this point, the left indent is active; text afterward would
normally be indented. However, we invoke a hanging indent of exactly the same width, which hangs
the first line (and first line only!) to the left of the indent by the same distance (in this
case, that means “out to the left margin”). Because we begin the first line with a number, a
period, and a figure space, the actual text (The most important point...) starts at exactly the
same spot as the indented lines that follow.

Notice that subsequent invocations of .HI don't require a measure to be given.

Paste the example above into a file and preview it with
pdfmom filename.mom | ps2pdf - filename.pdf
to see hanging indents in action.

.IB [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
Indent both — the optional argument requires a unit of measure

.IB allows you to set or invoke a left and a right indent at the same time.

At its first invocation, you must supply a measure for both indents; at subsequent invocations
when you wish to supply a measure, both must be given again. As with .IL and .IR, the measures
are added to the values previously passed to the macro. Hence, if you wish to change just one of
the values, you must give an argument of zero to the other.

A word of advice: If you need to manipulate left and right indents separately, use a combination
of .IL and .IR instead of .IB. You'll save yourself a lot of grief.

A minus sign may be prepended to the arguments to subtract from their current values. The \w
inline escape may be used to specify text-dependent measures, in which case no unit of measure is
required. For example,
.IB \w'margarine' \w'jello'
left indents text by the width of the word margarine and right indents by the width of jello.

Like .IL and .IR, .IB with no argument indents by its last active values. See the brief
explanation of how mom handles indents for more details.

Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

Additional note: Invoking .IB automatically turns off .IL and .IR.

.IL [ <measure> ]
Indent left — the optional argument requires a unit of measure

.IL indents text from the left margin of the page, or if you're in a tab, from the left edge of
the tab. Once IL is on, the left indent is applied uniformly to every subsequent line of text,
even if you change the line length.

The first time you invoke .IL, you must give it a measure. Subsequent invocations with a measure
add to the previous measure. A minus sign may be prepended to the argument to subtract from the
current measure. The \w inline escape may be used to specify a text-dependent measure, in which
case no unit of measure is required. For example,
.IL \w'margarine'
indents text by the width of the word margarine.

With no argument, .IL indents by its last active value. See the brief explanation of how mom
handles indents for more details.

Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

Additional note: Invoking .IL automatically turns off IB.

.IQ [ <measure> ]
IQ — quit any/all indents

IMPORTANT NOTE: The original macro for quitting all indents was .IX. This usage has been
deprecated in favour of IQ. .IX will continue to behave as before, but mom will issue a warning
to stderr indicating that you should update your documents.

As a consequence of this change, .ILX, .IRX and .IBX may now also be invoked as .ILQ, .IRQ and
.IBQ. Both forms are acceptable.

Without an argument, the macros to quit indents merely restore your original margins and line
length. The measures stored in the indent macros themselves are saved so you can call them again
without having to supply a measure.

If you pass these macros the optional argument CLEAR, they not only restore your original left
margin and line length, but also clear any values associated with a particular indent style. The
next time you need an indent of the same style, you have to supply a measure again.

.IQ CLEAR, as you'd suspect, quits and clears the values for all indent styles at once.

.IR [ <measure> ]
Indent right — the optional argument requires a unit of measure

.IR indents text from the right margin of the page, or if you're in a tab, from the end of the
tab.

The first time you invoke .IR, you must give it a measure. Subsequent invocations with a measure
add to the previous indent measure. A minus sign may be prepended to the argument to subtract
from the current indent measure. The \w inline escape may be used to specify a text-dependent
measure, in which case no unit of measure is required. For example,
.IR \w'jello'
indents text by the width of the word jello.

With no argument, .IR indents by its last active value. See the brief explanation of how mom
handles indents for more details.

Note: Calling a tab (with .TAB <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

Additional note: Invoking .IR automatically turns off IB.

.L_MARGIN <left margin>
Left Margin

L_MARGIN establishes the distance from the left edge of the printer sheet at which you want your
type to start. It may be used any time, and remains in effect until you enter a new value.

Left indents and tabs are calculated from the value you pass to .L_MARGIN, hence it's always a
good idea to invoke it before starting any serious typesetting. A unit of measure is required.
Decimal fractions are allowed. Therefore, to set the left margin at 3 picas (1/2 inch), you'd
enter either
.L_MARGIN 3P
or
.L_MARGIN .5i

If you use the macros .PAGE, .PAGEWIDTH or .PAPER without invoking .L_MARGIN (either before or
afterward), mom automatically sets .L_MARGIN to 1 inch.

Note: .L_MARGIN behaves in a special way when you're using the document processing macros.

.MCO Begin multi-column setting.

.MCO (Multi-Column On) is the macro you use to begin multi-column setting. It marks the current
baseline as the top of your columns, for use later with .MCR. See the introduction to columns for
an explanation of multi-columns and some sample input.

Note: Do not confuse .MCO with the .COLUMNS macro in the document processing macros.

.MCR Once you've turned multi-columns on (with .MCO), .MCR, at any time, returns you to the top of your
columns.

.MCX [ <distance to advance below longest column> ]
Optional argument requires a unit of measure.

Exit multi-columns.

.MCX takes you out of any tab you were in (by silently invoking .TQ) and advances to the bottom of
the longest column.

Without an argument, .MCX advances 1 linespace below the longest column.

Linespace, in this instance, is the leading in effect at the moment .MCX is invoked.

If you pass the <distance> argument to .MCX, it advances 1 linespace below the longest column (see
above) PLUS the distance specified by the argument. The argument requires a unit of measure;
therefore, to advance an extra 6 points below where .MCX would normally place you, you'd enter
.MCX 6p

Note: If you wish to advance a precise distance below the baseline of the longest column, use .MCX
with an argument of 0 (zero; no unit of measure required) in conjunction with the .ALD macro, like
this:
.MCX 0
.ALD 24p
The above advances to precisely 24 points below the baseline of the longest column.

.NEWPAGE

Whenever you want to start a new page, use .NEWPAGE, by itself with no argument. Mom will finish
up processing the current page and move you to the top of a new one (subject to the top margin set
with .T_MARGIN).

.PAGE <width> [ <length> [ <lm> [ <rm> [ <tm> [ <bm> ] ] ] ] ]

All arguments require a unit of measure

IMPORTANT: If you're using the document processing macros, .PAGE must come after .START.
Otherwise, it should go at the top of a document, prior to any text. And remember, when you're
using the document processing macros, top margin and bottom margin mean something slightly
different than when you're using just the typesetting macros (see Top and bottom margins in
document processing).

.PAGE lets you establish paper dimensions and page margins with a single macro. The only required
argument is page width. The rest are optional, but they must appear in order and you can't skip
over any. <lm>, <rm>, <tm> and <bm> refer to the left, right, top and bottom margins
respectively.

Assuming your page dimensions are 11 inches by 17 inches, and that's all you want to set, enter
.PAGE 11i 17i
If you want to set the left margin as well, say, at 1 inch, PAGE would look like this:
.PAGE 11i 17i 1i

Now suppose you also want to set the top margin, say, at 1–1/2 inches. <tm> comes after <rm> in
the optional arguments, but you can't skip over any arguments, therefore to set the top margin,
you must also give a right margin. The .PAGE macro would look like this:
.PAGE 11i 17i 1i 1i 1.5i
| |
required right---+ +---top margin
margin

Clearly, .PAGE is best used when you want a convenient way to tell mom just the dimensions of your
printer sheet (width and length), or when you want to tell her everything about the page
(dimensions and all the margins), for example
.PAGE 8.5i 11i 45p 45p 45p 45p
This sets up an 8½ by 11 inch page with margins of 45 points (5/8-inch) all around.

Additionally, if you invoke .PAGE with a top margin argument, any macros you invoke after .PAGE
will almost certainly move the baseline of the first line of text down by one linespace. To
compensate, do
.RLD 1v
immediately before entering any text, or, if it's feasible, make .PAGE the last macro you invoke
prior to entering text.

Please read the Important note on page dimensions and papersize for information on ensuring groff
respects your .PAGE dimensions and margins.

.PAGELENGTH <length of printer sheet>
tells mom how long your printer sheet is. It works just like .PAGEWIDTH.

Therefore, to tell mom your printer sheet is 11 inches long, you enter
.PAGELENGTH 11i
Please read the important note on page dimensions and papersize for information on ensuring groff
respects your PAGELENGTH.

.PAGEWIDTH <width of printer sheet>

The argument to .PAGEWIDTH is the width of your printer sheet.

.PAGEWIDTH requires a unit of measure. Decimal fractions are allowed. Hence, to tell mom that
the width of your printer sheet is 8½ inches, you enter
.PAGEWIDTH 8.5i

Please read the Important note on page dimensions and papersize for information on ensuring groff
respects your PAGEWIDTH.

.PAPER <paper type>
provides a convenient way to set the page dimensions for some common printer sheet sizes. The
argument <paper type> can be one of: LETTER, LEGAL, STATEMENT, TABLOID, LEDGER, FOLIO, QUARTO,
EXECUTIVE, 10x14, A3, A4, A5, B4, B5.

.PRINTSTYLE

.PT_SIZE <size of type in points>
Point size of type, does not require a unit of measure.

.PT_SIZE (Point Size) takes one argument: the size of type in points. Unlike most other macros
that establish the size or measure of something, .PT_SIZE does not require that you supply a unit
of measure since it's a near universal convention that type size is measured in points.
Therefore, to change the type size to, say, 11 points, enter
.PT_SIZE 11
Point sizes may be fractional (e.g., 10.25 or 12.5).

You can prepend a plus or a minus sign to the argument to .PT_SIZE, in which case the point size
will be changed by + or - the original value. For example, if the point size is 12, and you want
14, you can do
.PT_SIZE +2
then later reset it to 12 with
.PT_SIZE -2
The size of type can also be changed inline.

Note: It is unfortunate that the pic preprocessor has already taken the name, PS, and thus mom's
macro for setting point sizes can't use it. However, if you aren't using pic, you might want to
alias .PT_SIZE as .PS, since there'd be no conflict. For example
.ALIAS PS PT_SIZE
would allow you to set point sizes with .PS.

.R_MARGIN <right margin>
Right Margin

Requires a unit of measure.

IMPORTANT: .R_MARGIN, if used, must come after .PAPER, .PAGEWIDTH, .L_MARGIN, and/or .PAGE (if a
right margin isn't given to PAGE). The reason is that .R_MARGIN calculates line length from the
overall page dimensions and the left margin.

Obviously, it can't make the calculation if it doesn't know the page width and the left margin.

.R_MARGIN establishes the amount of space you want between the end of typeset lines and the right
hand edge of the printer sheet. In other words, it sets the line length. .R_MARGIN requires a
unit of measure. Decimal fractions are allowed.

The line length macro (LL) can be used in place of .R_MARGIN. In either case, the last one
invoked sets the line length. The choice of which to use is up to you. In some instances, you
may find it easier to think of a section of type as having a right margin. In others, giving a
line length may make more sense.

For example, if you're setting a page of type you know should have 6-pica margins left and right,
it makes sense to enter a left and right margin, like this:
.L_MARGIN 6P
.R_MARGIN 6P

That way, you don't have to worry about calculating the line length. On the other hand, if you
know the line length for a patch of type should be 17 picas and 3 points, entering the line length
with LL is much easier than calculating the right margin, e.g.,
.LL 17P+3p

If you use the macros .PAGE, .PAGEWIDTH or PAPER without invoking .R_MARGIN afterward, mom
automatically sets .R_MARGIN to 1 inch. If you set a line length after these macros (with .LL),
the line length calculated by .R_MARGIN is, of course, overridden.

Note: .R_MARGIN behaves in a special way when you're using the document processing macros.

.ST <tab number> L | R | C | J [ QUAD ]

After string tabs have been marked off on an input line (see \*[ST]...\*[STX]), you need to set
them by giving them a direction and, optionally, the QUAD argument.

In this respect, .ST is like .TAB_SET except that you don't have to give .ST an indent or a line
length (that's already taken care of, inline, by \*[ST]...\*[STX]).

If you want string tab 1 to be left, enter
.ST 1 L
If you want it to be left and filled, enter
.ST 1 L QUAD
If you want it to be justified, enter
.ST 1 J

.TAB <tab number>
After tabs have been defined (either with .TAB_SET or .ST), .TAB moves to whatever tab number you
pass it as an argument.

For example,
.TAB 3
moves you to tab 3.

Note: .TAB breaks the line preceding it and advances 1 linespace. Hence,
.TAB 1
A line of text in tab 1.
.TAB 2
A line of text in tab 2.
produces, on output
A line of text in tab 1.
A line of text in tab 2.

If you want the tabs to line up, use .TN (“Tab Next”) or, more conveniently, the inline escape
sequence \*[TB+]:
.TAB 1
A line of text in tab 1.\*[TB+]
A line of text in tab 2.
which produces
A line of text in tab 1. A line of text in tab 2.

If the text in your tabs runs to several lines, and you want the first lines of each tab to align,
you must use the multi-column macros.

Additional note: Any indents in effect prior to calling a tab are automatically turned off by TAB.
If you were happily zipping down the page with a left indent of 2 picas turned on, and you call a
tab whose indent from the left margin is 6 picas, your new distance from the left margin will be 6
picas, not I 6 picas plus the 2 pica indent.

Tabs are not by nature columnar, which is to say that if the text inside a tab runs to several
lines, calling another tab does not automatically move to the baseline of the first line in the
previous tab. To demonstrate:
TAB 1
Carrots
Potatoes
Broccoli
.TAB 2
$1.99/5 lbs
$0.25/lb
$0.99/bunch
produces, on output
Carrots
Potatoes
Broccoli
$1.99/5 lbs
$0.25/lb
$0.99/bunch

.TB <tab number>
Alias to .TAB

.TI [ <measure> ]
Temporary left indent — the optional argument requires a unit of measure

A temporary indent is one that applies only to the first line of text that comes after it. Its
chief use is indenting the first line of paragraphs. (Mom's .PP macro, for example, uses a
temporary indent.)

The first time you invoke .TI, you must give it a measure. If you want to indent the first line
of a paragraph by, say, 2 ems, do
.TI 2m

Subsequent invocations of .TI do not require you to supply a measure; mom keeps track of the last
measure you gave it.

Because temporary indents are temporary, there's no need to turn them off.

IMPORTANT: Unlike .IL, .IR and IB, measures given to .TI are NOT additive. In the following
example, the second ".TI 2P" is exactly 2 picas.
.TI 1P
The beginning of a paragraph...
.TI 2P
The beginning of another paragraph...

.TN Tab Next

Inline escape \*[TB+]

TN moves over to the next tab in numeric sequence (tab n+1) without advancing on the page. See
the NOTE in the description of the .TAB macro for an example of how TN works.

In tabs that aren't given the QUAD argument when they're set up with .TAB_SET or ST, you must
terminate the line preceding .TN with the \c inline escape sequence. Conversely, if you did give
a QUAD argument to .TAB_SET or ST, the \c must not be used.

If you find remembering whether to put in the \c bothersome, you may prefer to use the inline
escape alternative to .TN, \*[TB+], which works consistently regardless of the fill mode.

Note: You must put text in the input line immediately after .TN. Stacking of .TN's is not
allowed. In other words, you cannot do
.TAB 1
Some text\c
.TN
Some more text\c
.TN
.TN
Yet more text
The above example, assuming tabs numbered from 1 to 4, should be entered
.TAB 1
Some text\c
.TN
Some more text\c
.TN
\&\c
.TN
Yet more text
\& is a zero-width, non-printing character that groff recognizes as valid input, hence meets the
requirement for input text following .TN.

.TQ TQ takes you out of whatever tab you were in, advances 1 linespace, and restores the left margin,
line length, quad direction and fill mode that were in effect prior to invoking any tabs.

.T_MARGIN <top margin>
Top margin

Requires a unit of measure

.T_MARGIN establishes the distance from the top of the printer sheet at which you want your type
to start. It requires a unit of measure, and decimal fractions are allowed. To set a top margin
of 2½ centimetres, you'd enter
.T_MARGIN 2.5c
.T_MARGIN calculates the vertical position of the first line of type on a page by treating the top
edge of the printer sheet as a baseline. Therefore,
.T_MARGIN 1.5i
puts the baseline of the first line of type 1½ inches beneath the top of the page.

Note: .T_MARGIN means something slightly different when you're using the document processing
macros. See Top and bottom margins in document processing for an explanation.

IMPORTANT: .T_MARGIN does two things: it establishes the top margin for pages that come after it
and it moves to that position on the current page. Therefore, .T_MARGIN should only be used at
the top of a file (prior to entering text) or after NEWPAGE, like this:
.NEWPAGE
.T_MARGIN 6P
<text>

Authors

       mom was written by Peter Schaffter.  PDF support was  provided  by  Deri James.   This  manual  page  was
       written by Bernd Warken.

Name

Synopsis

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Reference

Documentation of details

Authors

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