1.\" $Vendor-Id: man.7,v 1.46 2009/11/02 17:07:30 kristaps Exp $ 2.\" 3.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se> 4.\" 5.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any 6.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above 7.\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies. 8.\" 9.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES 10.\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF 11.\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR 12.\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES 13.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN 14.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF 15.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. 16.\" 17.Dd $Mdocdate$ 18.Dt MAN 7 19.Os 20. 21. 22.Sh NAME 23.Nm man 24.Nd man language reference 25. 26. 27.Sh DESCRIPTION 28The 29.Nm man 30language was historically used to format 31.Ux 32manuals. This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and 33usage. 34. 35.Pp 36.Bf -emphasis 37Do not use 38.Nm 39to write your manuals. 40.Ef 41Use the 42.Xr mdoc 7 43language, instead. 44. 45.Pp 46An 47.Nm 48document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control 49character 50.Sq \&. 51are parsed for macros. Other lines are interpreted within the scope of 52prior macros: 53.Bd -literal -offset indent 54\&.SH Macro lines change control state. 55Other lines are interpreted within the current state. 56.Ed 57. 58. 59.Sh INPUT ENCODING 60.Nm 61documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the 62space character, and the tabs character. All manuals must have 63.Ux 64line termination. 65. 66.Pp 67Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a 68vertical space. 69. 70.Pp 71The 72.Sq \ec 73escape is common in historical 74.Nm 75documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the 76subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace. 77. 78. 79.Ss Comments 80Text following a 81.Sq \e\*" , 82whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of 83line. A macro line with only a control character and comment escape, 84.Sq \&.\e" , 85is also ignored. Macro lines with only a control character and 86optionally whitespace are stripped from input. 87. 88. 89.Ss Special Characters 90Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines. 91Sequences begin with the escape character 92.Sq \e 93followed by either an open-parenthesis 94.Sq \&( 95for two-character sequences; an open-bracket 96.Sq \&[ 97for n-character sequences (terminated at a close-bracket 98.Sq \&] ) ; 99or a single one-character sequence. See 100.Xr mandoc_char 7 101for a complete list. Examples include 102.Sq \e(em 103.Pq em-dash 104and 105.Sq \ee 106.Pq back-slash . 107. 108. 109.Ss Text Decoration 110Terms may be text-decorated using the 111.Sq \ef 112escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R 113(Roman, or reset). 114. 115. 116.Ss Whitespace 117Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned 118from input. These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end 119utility such as 120.Xr mandoc 1 . 121. 122. 123.Ss Dates 124The 125.Sx \&TH 126macro is the only 127.Nm 128macro that requires a date. The form for this date is the ISO-8601 129standard 130.Cm YYYY-MM-DD . 131. 132. 133.Ss Scaling Widths 134Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as 135stipulating a two-inch paragraph indentation with the following: 136.Bd -literal -offset indent 137\&.HP 2i 138.Ed 139. 140.Pp 141The syntax for scaled widths is 142.Sq Li [+-]?[0-9]*.[0-9]*[:unit:]? , 143where a decimal must be preceded or proceeded by at least one digit. 144Negative numbers, while accepted, are truncated to zero. The following 145scaling units are accepted: 146. 147.Pp 148.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact 149.It c 150centimetre 151.It i 152inch 153.It P 154pica (~1/6 inch) 155.It p 156point (~1/72 inch) 157.It f 158synonym for 159.Sq u 160.It v 161default vertical span 162.It m 163width of rendered 164.Sq m 165.Pq em 166character 167.It n 168width of rendered 169.Sq n 170.Pq en 171character 172.It u 173default horizontal span 174.It M 175mini-em (~1/100 em) 176.El 177.Pp 178Using anything other than 179.Sq m , 180.Sq n , 181.Sq u , 182or 183.Sq v 184is necessarily non-portable across output media. 185. 186.Pp 187If a scaling unit is not provided, the numerical value is interpreted 188under the default rules of 189.Sq v 190for vertical spaces and 191.Sq u 192for horizontal ones. 193.Em Note : 194this differs from 195.Xr mdoc 7 , 196which, if a unit is not provided, will instead interpret the string as 197literal text. 198. 199. 200.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE 201Each 202.Nm 203document must contain contains at least the 204.Sx \&TH 205macro describing the document's section and title. It may occur 206anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the 207first macro. 208. 209.Pp 210Beyond 211.Sx \&TH , 212at least one macro or text node must appear in the document. Documents 213are generally structured as follows: 214.Bd -literal -offset indent 215\&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10 216\&. 217\&.SH NAME 218\efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here 219\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only. 220\&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY 221\&. 222\&.SH SYNOPSIS 223\efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments... 224\&. 225\&.SH DESCRIPTION 226The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files... 227\&. 228\&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES 229\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only. 230\&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS 231\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only. 232\&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES 233\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only. 234\&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT 235\&.\e\*q .SH FILES 236\&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES 237\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only. 238\&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS 239\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only. 240\&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS 241\&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO 242\&.\e\*q .BR foo ( 1 ) 243\&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS 244\&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY 245\&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS 246\&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS 247\&.\e\*q .SH BUGS 248\&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 249.Ed 250.Pp 251The sections in a 252.Nm 253document are conventionally ordered as they appear above. Sections 254should be composed as follows: 255.Bl -ohang -offset indent 256.It Em NAME 257The name(s) and a short description of the documented material. The 258syntax for this is generally as follows: 259.Pp 260.D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description 261.It Em LIBRARY 262The name of the library containing the documented material, which is 263assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual. For functions in 264the C library, this may be as follows: 265.Pp 266.D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc) 267.It Em SYNOPSIS 268Documents the utility invocation syntax, function call syntax, or device 269configuration. 270.Pp 271For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is 272generally structured as follows: 273.Pp 274.D1 \efBname\efR [-\efBab\efR] [-\efBc\efR\efIarg\efR] \efBpath\efR... 275.Pp 276For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9): 277.Pp 278.D1 \&.B char *name(char *\efIarg\efR); 279.Pp 280And for the third, configurations (section 4): 281.Pp 282.D1 \&.B name* at cardbus ? function ? 283.Pp 284Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a 285.Em SYNOPSIS . 286.It Em DESCRIPTION 287This expands upon the brief, one-line description in 288.Em NAME . 289It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a 290command). 291.It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES 292Implementation-specific notes should be kept here. This is useful when 293implementing standard functions that may have side effects or notable 294algorithmic implications. 295.It Em EXIT STATUS 296Command exit status for section 1, 6, and 8 manuals. This section is 297the dual of 298.Em RETURN VALUES , 299which is used for functions. Historically, this information was 300described in 301.Em DIAGNOSTICS , 302a practise that is now discouraged. 303. 304.It Em RETURN VALUES 305This section is the dual of 306.Em EXIT STATUS , 307which is used for commands. It documents the return values of functions 308in sections 2, 3, and 9. 309. 310.It Em ENVIRONMENT 311Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g., 312.Xr environ 7 . 313. 314.It Em FILES 315Documents files used. It's helpful to document both the file and a 316short description of how the file is used (created, modified, etc.). 317. 318.It Em EXAMPLES 319Example usages. This often contains snippets of well-formed, 320well-tested invocations. Make doubly sure that your examples work 321properly! 322. 323.It Em DIAGNOSTICS 324Documents error conditions. This is most useful in section 4 manuals. 325Historically, this section was used in place of 326.Em EXIT STATUS 327for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is 328discouraged. 329. 330.It Em ERRORS 331Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9. 332. 333.It Em SEE ALSO 334References other manuals with related topics. This section should exist 335for most manuals. 336.Pp 337.D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&), 338.Pp 339Cross-references should conventionally be ordered 340first by section, then alphabetically. 341. 342.It Em STANDARDS 343References any standards implemented or used, such as 344.Pp 345.D1 IEEE Std 1003.2 (\e(lqPOSIX.2\e(rq) 346.Pp 347If not adhering to any standards, the 348.Em HISTORY 349section should be used. 350. 351.It Em HISTORY 352The history of any manual without a 353.Em STANDARDS 354section should be described in this section. 355. 356.It Em AUTHORS 357Credits to authors, if applicable, should appear in this section. 358Authors should generally be noted by both name and an e-mail address. 359. 360.It Em CAVEATS 361Explanations of common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained 362in this section. 363. 364.It Em BUGS 365Extant bugs should be described in this section. 366. 367.It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 368Documents any security precautions that operators should consider. 369. 370.El 371. 372. 373.Sh MACRO SYNTAX 374Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a 375control character , 376.Sq \&. , 377at the beginning of the line. An arbitrary amount of whitespace may 378sit between the control character and the macro name. Thus, the 379following are equivalent: 380.Bd -literal -offset indent 381\&.PP 382\&.\ \ \ PP 383.Ed 384. 385.Pp 386The 387.Nm 388macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope. Line 389macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some situations, 390the subsequent line). Block macros are scoped to the current line and 391subsequent lines until closed by another block macro. 392. 393. 394.Ss Line Macros 395Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body 396consisting of zero or more arguments. If a macro is scoped to the next 397line and the line arguments are empty, the next line is used instead, 398else the general syntax is used. Thus: 399.Bd -literal -offset indent 400\&.I 401foo 402.Ed 403. 404.Pp 405is equivalent to 406.Sq \&.I foo . 407If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used; in 408other words, if a next-line macro is preceded by a block macro, it is 409ignored. 410.Bd -literal -offset indent 411\&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB 412\(lBbody...\(rB 413.Ed 414. 415.Pp 416.Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" 417.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope 418.It Sx \&B Ta n Ta next-line 419.It Sx \&BI Ta n Ta current 420.It Sx \&BR Ta n Ta current 421.It Sx \&DT Ta 0 Ta current 422.It Sx \&I Ta n Ta next-line 423.It Sx \&IB Ta n Ta current 424.It Sx \&IR Ta n Ta current 425.It Sx \&PD Ta n Ta current 426.It Sx \&R Ta n Ta next-line 427.It Sx \&RB Ta n Ta current 428.It Sx \&RI Ta n Ta current 429.It Sx \&SB Ta n Ta next-line 430.It Sx \&SM Ta n Ta next-line 431.It Sx \&TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current 432.It Sx \&UC Ta n Ta current 433.It Sx \&br Ta 0 Ta current 434.It Sx \&fi Ta 0 Ta current 435.It Sx \&i Ta n Ta current 436.It Sx \&na Ta 0 Ta current 437.It Sx \&nf Ta 0 Ta current 438.It Sx \&r Ta 0 Ta current 439.It Sx \&sp Ta 1 Ta current 440.El 441. 442.Pp 443The 444.Sx \&PD , 445.Sx \&RS , 446.Sx \&RE , 447.Sx \&UC , 448.Sx \&br , 449.Sx \&fi , 450.Sx \&i , 451.Sx \&na , 452.Sx \&nf , 453.Sx \&r , 454and 455.Sx \&sp 456macros should not be used. They're included for compatibility. 457. 458. 459.Ss Block Macros 460Block macros are comprised of a head and body. Like for in-line macros, 461the head is scoped to the current line and, in one circumstance, the 462next line; the body is scoped to subsequent lines and is closed out by a 463subsequent block macro invocation. 464.Bd -literal -offset indent 465\&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB 466\(lBhead...\(rB 467\(lBbody...\(rB 468.Ed 469. 470.Pp 471The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed 472by 473.Sx \&SH ; 474sub-section, closed by a section or 475.Sx \&SS ; 476part, closed by a section, sub-section, or 477.Sx \&RE ; 478or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part, 479.Sx \&HP , 480.Sx \&IP , 481.Sx \&LP , 482.Sx \&P , 483.Sx \&PP , 484or 485.Sx \&TP . 486No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro. 487. 488.Pp 489.Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" -compact -offset indent 490.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope 491.It Sx \&HP Ta <2 Ta current Ta paragraph 492.It Sx \&IP Ta <3 Ta current Ta paragraph 493.It Sx \&LP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph 494.It Sx \&P Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph 495.It Sx \&PP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph 496.It Sx \&RE Ta 0 Ta current Ta none 497.It Sx \&RS Ta 1 Ta current Ta part 498.It Sx \&SH Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta section 499.It Sx \&SS Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta sub-section 500.It Sx \&TP Ta n Ta next-line Ta paragraph 501.El 502. 503.Pp 504If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line 505macros (excluding 506.Sx \&DT , 507.Sx \&PD , 508.Sx \&TH , 509.Sx \&UC , 510.Sx \&br , 511.Sx \&na , 512.Sx \&sp , 513.Sx \&nf , 514and 515.Sx \&fi ) . 516. 517. 518.Sh REFERENCE 519This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged 520alphabetically. For the scoping of individual macros, see 521.Sx MACRO SYNTAX . 522. 523. 524.Ss \&B 525Text is rendered in bold face. 526.Pp 527See also 528.Sx \&I , 529.Sx \&R , 530.Sx \&b , 531.Sx \&i , 532and 533.Sx \&r . 534. 535. 536.Ss \&BI 537Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic. Thus, 538.Sq .BI this word and that 539causes 540.Sq this 541and 542.Sq and 543to render in bold face, while 544.Sq word 545and 546.Sq that 547render in italics. Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output. 548.Pp 549Examples: 550.Pp 551.D1 \&.BI bold italic bold italic 552.Pp 553The output of this example will be emboldened 554.Dq bold 555and italicised 556.Dq italic , 557with spaces stripped between arguments. 558.Pp 559See also 560.Sx \&IB , 561.Sx \&BR , 562.Sx \&RB , 563.Sx \&RI , 564and 565.Sx \&IR . 566. 567. 568.Ss \&BR 569Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font). 570Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output. 571.Pp 572See 573.Sx \&BI 574for an equivalent example. 575.Pp 576See also 577.Sx \&BI , 578.Sx \&IB , 579.Sx \&RB , 580.Sx \&RI , 581and 582.Sx \&IR . 583. 584. 585.Ss \&DT 586Has no effect. Included for compatibility. 587. 588. 589.Ss \&HP 590Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but 591subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax: 592.Bd -filled -offset indent 593.Pf \. Sx \&HP 594.Op Cm width 595.Ed 596.Pp 597The 598.Cm width 599argument must conform to 600.Sx Scaling Widths . 601If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the 602saved or default width is used. 603.Pp 604See also 605.Sx \&IP , 606.Sx \&LP , 607.Sx \&P , 608.Sx \&PP , 609and 610.Sx \&TP . 611. 612. 613.Ss \&I 614Text is rendered in italics. 615.Pp 616See also 617.Sx \&B , 618.Sx \&R , 619.Sx \&b , 620.Sx \&i , 621and 622.Sx \&r . 623. 624. 625.Ss \&IB 626Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face. Whitespace 627between arguments is omitted in output. 628.Pp 629See 630.Sx \&BI 631for an equivalent example. 632.Pp 633See also 634.Sx \&BI , 635.Sx \&BR , 636.Sx \&RB , 637.Sx \&RI , 638and 639.Sx \&IR . 640. 641. 642.Ss \&IP 643Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax: 644.Bd -filled -offset indent 645.Pf \. Sx \&IP 646.Op Cm head Op Cm width 647.Ed 648.Pp 649The 650.Cm width 651argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by 652.Sx Scaling Widths , 653It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or 654default width is used. 655.Pp 656The 657.Cm head 658argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin. This is 659useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on. 660.Pp 661See also 662.Sx \&HP , 663.Sx \&LP , 664.Sx \&P , 665.Sx \&PP , 666and 667.Sx \&TP . 668. 669. 670.Ss \&IR 671Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font). 672Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output. 673.Pp 674See 675.Sx \&BI 676for an equivalent example. 677.Pp 678See also 679.Sx \&BI , 680.Sx \&IB , 681.Sx \&BR , 682.Sx \&RB , 683and 684.Sx \&RI . 685. 686. 687.Ss \&LP 688Begin an undecorated paragraph. The scope of a paragraph is closed by a 689subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file. The saved 690paragraph left-margin width is re-set to the default. 691.Pp 692See also 693.Sx \&HP , 694.Sx \&IP , 695.Sx \&P , 696.Sx \&PP , 697and 698.Sx \&TP . 699. 700. 701.Ss \&P 702Synonym for 703.Sx \&LP . 704.Pp 705See also 706.Sx \&HP , 707.Sx \&IP , 708.Sx \&LP , 709.Sx \&PP , 710and 711.Sx \&TP . 712. 713. 714.Ss \&PP 715Synonym for 716.Sx \&LP . 717.Pp 718See also 719.Sx \&HP , 720.Sx \&IP , 721.Sx \&LP , 722.Sx \&P , 723and 724.Sx \&TP . 725. 726. 727.Ss \&R 728Text is rendered in roman (the default font). 729.Pp 730See also 731.Sx \&I , 732.Sx \&B , 733.Sx \&b , 734.Sx \&i , 735and 736.Sx \&r . 737. 738. 739.Ss \&RB 740Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face. 741Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output. 742.Pp 743See 744.Sx \&BI 745for an equivalent example. 746.Pp 747See also 748.Sx \&BI , 749.Sx \&IB , 750.Sx \&BR , 751.Sx \&RI , 752and 753.Sx \&IR . 754. 755. 756.Ss \&RE 757Explicitly close out the scope of a prior 758.Sx \&RS . 759. 760. 761.Ss \&RI 762Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics. 763Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output. 764.Pp 765See 766.Sx \&BI 767for an equivalent example. 768.Pp 769See also 770.Sx \&BI , 771.Sx \&IB , 772.Sx \&BR , 773.Sx \&RB , 774and 775.Sx \&IR . 776. 777. 778.Ss \&RS 779Begin a part setting the left margin. The left margin controls the 780offset, following an initial indentation, to un-indented text such as 781that of 782.Sx \&PP . 783This has the following syntax: 784.Bd -filled -offset indent 785.Pf \. Sx \&Rs 786.Op Cm width 787.Ed 788.Pp 789The 790.Cm width 791argument must conform to 792.Sx Scaling Widths . 793If not specified, the saved or default width is used. 794. 795. 796.Ss \&SB 797Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font) 798bold face. 799. 800. 801.Ss \&SH 802Begin a section. The scope of a section is only closed by another 803section or the end of file. The paragraph left-margin width is re-set 804to the default. 805. 806. 807.Ss \&SM 808Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default 809font). 810. 811. 812.Ss \&SS 813Begin a sub-section. The scope of a sub-section is closed by a 814subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file. The paragraph 815left-margin width is re-set to the default. 816. 817. 818.Ss \&TH 819Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax: 820.Bd -filled -offset indent 821.Pf \. Sx \&TH 822.Cm title section 823.Op Cm date Op Cm source Op Cm volume 824.Ed 825.Pp 826At least the upper-case document title 827.Cm title 828and numeric manual section 829.Cm section 830arguments must be provided. The 831.Cm date 832argument should be formatted as described in 833.Sx Dates : 834if it does not conform, the current date is used instead. The 835.Cm source 836string specifies the organisation providing the utility. The 837.Cm volume 838string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the 839manual section. 840.Pp 841Examples: 842.Pp 843.D1 \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU 844. 845. 846.Ss \&TP 847Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is 848followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a 849buffer to the indentation width. Subsequent output lines are indented. 850The syntax is as follows: 851.Bd -filled -offset indent 852.Pf \. Sx \&TP 853.Op Cm width 854.Ed 855.Pp 856The 857.Cm width 858argument must conform to 859.Sx Scaling Widths . 860If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if 861unspecified, the saved or default width is used. 862.Pp 863See also 864.Sx \&HP , 865.Sx \&IP , 866.Sx \&LP , 867.Sx \&P , 868and 869.Sx \&PP . 870. 871. 872.Ss \&PD 873Has no effect. Included for compatibility. 874. 875. 876.Ss \&UC 877Has no effect. Included for compatibility. 878. 879. 880.Ss \&br 881Breaks the current line. Consecutive invocations have no further effect. 882.Pp 883See also 884.Sx \&sp . 885. 886. 887.Ss \&fi 888End literal mode begun by 889.Sx \&nf . 890. 891. 892.Ss \&i 893Italicise arguments. If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text 894is italicised. 895.Pp 896See also 897.Sx \&B , 898.Sx \&I , 899.Sx \&R . 900.Sx \&b , 901and 902.Sx \&r . 903. 904. 905.Ss \&na 906Don't align to the right margin. 907. 908. 909.Ss \&nf 910Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of 911line boundaries preserved. May be ended by 912.Sx \&fi . 913. 914. 915.Ss \&r 916Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font). 917.Pp 918See also 919.Sx \&B , 920.Sx \&I , 921.Sx \&R , 922.Sx \&b , 923and 924.Sx \&i . 925. 926. 927.Ss \&sp 928Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax: 929.Bd -filled -offset indent 930.Pf \. Sx \&sp 931.Op Cm height 932.Ed 933.Pp 934Insert 935.Cm height 936spaces, which must conform to 937.Sx Scaling Widths . 938If 0, this is equivalent to the 939.Sx \&br 940macro. Defaults to 1, if unspecified. 941.Pp 942See also 943.Sx \&br . 944. 945. 946.Sh COMPATIBILITY 947This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at 948this time limited to 949.Xr groff 1 . 950.Bl -hyphen 951.It 952In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a 953standalone double-quote in formatted output. This idiosyncratic 954behaviour is no longer applicable. 955.It 956The 957.Sq sp 958macro does not accept negative numbers. 959.It 960Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text 961lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace 962in free-form text lines. 963.El 964. 965. 966.Sh SEE ALSO 967.Xr mandoc 1 , 968.Xr mandoc_char 7 969. 970. 971.Sh AUTHORS 972The 973.Nm 974reference was written by 975.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se . 976. 977. 978.Sh CAVEATS 979Do not use this language. Use 980.Xr mdoc 7 , 981instead. 982. 983