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NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | LANGUAGE OVERVIEW | SIMPLE EXAMPLES | USAGE | INTERACTION WITH EQN | GNU TBL ENHANCEMENTS | GNU TBL WITHIN MACROS | BUGS | REFERENCE | SEE ALSO | COLOPHON |
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TBL(1) General Commands Manual TBL(1)
tbl - format tables for troff
tbl [-Cv] [files ...]
This manual page describes the GNU version of tbl, which is part of
the groff document formatting system. tbl compiles descriptions of
tables embedded within troff input files into commands that are
understood by troff. Normally, it should be invoked using the -t
option of groff. It is highly compatible with Unix tbl. The output
generated by GNU tbl cannot be processed with Unix troff; it must be
processed with GNU troff. If no files are given on the command line
or a filename of - is given, the standard input is read.
-C Enable compatibility mode to recognize .TS and .TE even when
followed by a character other than space or newline. Leader
characters (\a) are handled as interpreted.
-v Print the version number.
tbl expects to find table descriptions wrapped in the .TS (table
start) and .TE (table end) macros. Within each such table sections,
another table can be defined by using the request .T& before the
final command .TE. Each table definition has the following
structure:
Global options
This is optional. This table part can use several of these
options distributed in 1 or more lines. The global option
part must always be finished by a semi-colon ; .
Table format specification
This part must be given, it is not optional. It determines
the number of columns (cells) of the table. Moreover each
cell is classified by being central, left adjusted, or
numerical, etc. This specification can have several lines,
but must be finished by a dot . at the end of the last line.
After each cell definition, column specifiers can be appended,
but that's optional.
Cells are separated by a tab character by default. That can be
changed by the global option tbl(c), where c is an arbitrary
character.
The easiest table definition is.
.TS
c c c .
This is centered
Well, this also
.TE
By using c c c, each cell in the whole table will be centered. The
separating character is here the default tab.
The result is
This is centered
Well, this also
This definition is identical to
.TS
tab(@);
ccc.
This@is@centered
Well,@this@also
.TE
Here, the separating tab character is changed to the letter @.
Moreover a title can be added and the centering directions can be
changed to many other formats:
.TS
tab(@);
c s s
l c n .
Title
left@centers@123
another@number@75
.TE
The result is
Title
left centers 123
another number 75
Here l means left-justified, and n means numerical, which is here
right-justified.
Global options
The line immediately following the .TS macro may contain any of the
following global options (ignoring the case of characters – Unix tbl
only accepts options with all characters lowercase or all characters
uppercase), separated by spaces, tabs, or commas:
allbox Enclose each item of the table in a box.
box Enclose the table in a box.
center Center the table (default is left-justified). The alternative
keyword name centre is also recognized (this is a GNU tbl
extension).
decimalpoint(c)
Set the character to be recognized as the decimal point in
numeric columns (GNU tbl only).
delim(xy)
Use x and y as start and end delimiters for eqn(1).
doublebox
Enclose the table in a double box.
doubleframe
Same as doublebox (GNU tbl only).
expand Make the table as wide as the current line length (providing a
column separation factor). Ignored if one or more ‘x’ column
specifiers are used (see below).
In case the sum of the column widths is larger than the
current line length, the column separation factor is set to
zero; such tables extend into the right margin, and there is
no column separation at all.
frame Same as box (GNU tbl only).
linesize(n)
Set lines or rules (e.g. from box) in n-point type.
nokeep Don't use diversions to prevent page breaks (GNU tbl only).
Normally tbl attempts to prevent undesirable breaks in boxed
tables by using diversions. This can sometimes interact badly
with macro packages own use of diversions, when footnotes, for
example, are used.
nospaces
Ignore leading and trailing spaces in data items (GNU tbl
only).
nowarn Turn off warnings related to tables exceeding the current line
width (GNU tbl only).
tab(x) Use the character x instead of a tab to separate items in a
line of input data.
The global options must end with a semicolon. There might be
whitespace between an option and its argument in parentheses.
Table format specification
After global options come lines describing the format of each line of
the table. Each such format line describes one line of the table
itself, except that the last format line (which you must end with a
period) describes all remaining lines of the table. A single-key
character describes each column of each line of the table. Key
characters can be separated by spaces or tabs. You may run format
specifications for multiple lines together on the same line by
separating them with commas.
You may follow each key character with specifiers that determine the
font and point size of the corresponding item, that determine column
width, inter-column spacing, etc.
The longest format line defines the number of columns in the table;
missing format descriptors at the end of format lines are assumed to
be L. Extra columns in the data (which have no corresponding format
entry) are ignored.
The available key characters are:
a,A Center longest line in this column and then left-justifies all
other lines in this column with respect to that centered line.
The idea is to use such alphabetic subcolumns (hence the name
of the key character) in combination with L; they are called
subcolumns because A items are indented by 1n relative to
L entries. Example:
.TS
tab(;);
ln,an.
item one;1
subitem two;2
subitem three;3
.T&
ln,an.
item eleven;11
subitem twentytwo;22
subitem thirtythree;33
.TE
Result:
item one 1
subitem two 2
subitem three 3
item eleven 11
subitem twentytwo 22
subitem thirtythree 33
c,C Center item within the column.
l,L Left-justify item within the column.
n,N Numerically justify item in the column: Units positions of
numbers are aligned vertically. If there is one or more dots
adjacent to a digit, use the rightmost one for vertical align‐
ment. If there is no dot, use the rightmost digit for verti‐
cal alignment; otherwise, center the item within the column.
Alignment can be forced to a certain position using ‘\&’; if
there is one or more instances of this special (non-printing)
character present within the data, use the leftmost one for
alignment. Example:
.TS
n.
1
1.5
1.5.3
abcde
a\&bcde
.TE
Result:
1
1.5
1.5.3
abcde
abcde
If numerical entries are combined with L or R entries – this
can happen if the table format is changed with .T& – center
the widest number (of the data entered under the N specifier
regime) relative to the widest L or R entry, preserving the
alignment of all numerical entries. Contrary to A type
entries, there is no extra indentation.
Using equations (to be processed with eqn) within columns
which use the N specifier is problematic in most cases due to
tbl's algorithm for finding the vertical alignment, as
described above. Using the global delim option, however, it
is possible to make tbl ignore the data within eqn delimiters
for that purpose.
r,R Right-justify item within the column.
s,S Span previous item on the left into this column. Not allowed
for the first column.
^ Span down entry from previous row in this column. Not allowed
for the first row.
_,- Replace this entry with a horizontal line. Note that ‘_’ and
‘-’ can be used for table fields only, not for column separa‐
tor lines.
= Replace this entry with a double horizontal line. Note that
‘=’ can be used for table fields only, not for column separa‐
tor lines.
| The corresponding column becomes a vertical rule (if two of
these are adjacent, a double vertical rule).
A vertical bar to the left of the first key letter or to the right of
the last one produces a line at the edge of the table.
To change the data format within a table, use the .T& command (at the
start of a line). It is followed by format and data lines (but no
global options) similar to the .TS request.
Column specifiers
Here are the specifiers that can appear in suffixes to column key
letters (in any order):
b,B Short form of fB (make affected entries bold).
d,D Start an item that vertically spans rows, using the ‘^’ column
specifier or ‘\^’ data item, at the bottom of its range rather
than vertically centering it (GNU tbl only). Example:
.TS
tab(;) allbox;
l l
l ld
r ^
l rd.
0000;foobar
T{
1111
.br
2222
T};foo
r;
T{
3333
.br
4444
T};bar
\^;\^
.TE
Result:
┌─────┬────────┐
│0000 │ foobar │
├─────┼────────┤
│1111 │ │
│2222 │ │
├─────┤ │
│ r │ foo │
├─────┼────────┤
│3333 │ │
│4444 │ bar │
└─────┴────────┘
e,E Make equally-spaced columns. All columns marked with this
specifier get the same width; this happens after the affected
column widths have been computed (this means that the largest
width value rules).
f,F Either of these specifiers may be followed by a font name
(either one or two characters long), font number (a single
digit), or long name in parentheses (the last form is a GNU
tbl extension). A one-letter font name must be separated by
one or more blanks from whatever follows.
i,I Short form of fI (make affected entries italic).
m,M This is a GNU tbl extension. Either of these specifiers may
be followed by a macro name (either one or two characters
long), or long name in parentheses. A one-letter macro name
must be separated by one or more blanks from whatever follows.
The macro which name can be specified here must be defined
before creating the table. It is called just before the ta‐
ble's cell text is output. As implemented currently, this
macro is only called if block input is used, that is, text
between ‘T{’ and ‘T}’. The macro should contain only simple
troff requests to change the text block formatting, like text
adjustment, hyphenation, size, or font. The macro is called
after other cell modifications like b, f or v are output.
Thus the macro can overwrite other modification specifiers.
p,P Followed by a number, this does a point size change for the
affected fields. If signed, the current point size is incre‐
mented or decremented (using a signed number instead of a
signed digit is a GNU tbl extension). A point size specifier
followed by a column separation number must be separated by
one or more blanks.
t,T Start an item vertically spanning rows at the top of its range
rather than vertically centering it.
u,U Move the corresponding column up one half-line.
v,V Followed by a number, this indicates the vertical line spacing
to be used in a multi-line table entry. If signed, the cur‐
rent vertical line spacing is incremented or decremented
(using a signed number instead of a signed digit is a GNU tbl
extension). A vertical line spacing specifier followed by a
column separation number must be separated by one or more
blanks. No effect if the corresponding table entry isn't a
text block.
w,W Minimum column width value. Must be followed either by a
troff(1) width expression in parentheses or a unitless inte‐
ger. If no unit is given, en units are used. Also used as
the default line length for included text blocks. If used
multiple times to specify the width for a particular column,
the last entry takes effect.
x,X An expanded column. After computing all column widths without
an x specifier, use the remaining line width for this column.
If there is more than one expanded column, distribute the
remaining horizontal space evenly among the affected columns
(this is a GNU extension). This feature has the same effect
as specifying a minimum column width.
z,Z Ignore the corresponding column for width-calculation pur‐
poses, this is, don't use the fields but only the specifiers
of this column to compute its width.
A number suffix on a key character is interpreted as a column separa‐
tion in en units (multiplied in proportion if the expand option is on
– in case of overfull tables this might be zero). Default separation
is 3n.
The column specifier x is mutually exclusive with e and w (but e is
not mutually exclusive with w); if specified multiple times for a
particular column, the last entry takes effect: x unsets both e
and w, while either e or w overrides x.
Table data
The format lines are followed by lines containing the actual data for
the table, followed finally by .TE. Within such data lines, items
are normally separated by tab characters (or the character specified
with the tab option). Long input lines can be broken across multiple
lines if the last character on the line is ‘\’ (which vanishes after
concatenation).
Note that tbl computes the column widths line by line, applying \w on
each entry which isn't a text block. As a consequence, constructions
like
.TS
c,l.
\s[20]MM
MMMM
.TE
fail; you must either say
.TS
cp20,lp20.
MM
MMMM
.TE
or
.TS
c,l.
\s[20]MM
\s[20]MMMM
.TE
A dot starting a line, followed by anything but a digit is handled as
a troff command, passed through without changes. The table position
is unchanged in this case.
If a data line consists of only ‘_’ or ‘=’, a single or double line,
respectively, is drawn across the table at that point; if a single
item in a data line consists of only ‘_’ or ‘=’, then that item is
replaced by a single or double line, joining its neighbours. If a
data item consists only of ‘\_’ or ‘\=’, a single or double line,
respectively, is drawn across the field at that point which does not
join its neighbours.
A data item consisting only of ‘\Rx’ (‘x’ any character) is replaced
by repetitions of character ‘x’ as wide as the column (not joining
its neighbours).
A data item consisting only of ‘\^’ indicates that the field immedi‐
ately above spans downward over this row.
Text blocks
A text block can be used to enter data as a single entry which would
be too long as a simple string between tabs. It is started with ‘T{’
and closed with ‘T}’. The former must end a line, and the latter
must start a line, probably followed by other data columns (separated
with tabs or the character given with the tab global option).
By default, the text block is formatted with the settings which were
active before entering the table, possibly overridden by the m, v,
and w tbl specifiers. For example, to make all text blocks ragged-
right, insert .na right before the starting .TS (and .ad after the
table).
If either ‘w’ or ‘x[cq] specifiers are not given for all columns of a
text block span, the default length of the text block (to be more
precise, the line length used to process the text block diversion) is
computed as L×C/(N+1), where ‘L’ is the current line length, ‘C’ the
number of columns spanned by the text block, and ‘N’ the total number
of columns in the table. Note, however, that the actual diversion
width as returned in register \n[dl] is used eventually as the text
block width. If necessary, you can also control the text block width
with a direct insertion of a .ll request right after ‘T{’.
Miscellaneous
The number register \n[TW] holds the table width; it can't be used
within the table itself but is defined right before calling .TE so
that this macro can make use of it.
tbl also defines a macro .T# which produces the bottom and side lines
of a boxed table. While tbl does call this macro itself at the end
of the table, it can be used by macro packages to create boxes for
multi-page tables by calling it within the page footer. An example
of this is shown by the -ms macros which provide this functionality
if a table starts with .TS H instead of the standard call to the .TS
macro.
tbl(1) should always be called before eqn(1) (groff(1) automatically
takes care of the correct order of preprocessors).
There is no limit on the number of columns in a table, nor any limit
on the number of text blocks. All the lines of a table are
considered in deciding column widths, not just the first 200. Table
continuation (.T&) lines are not restricted to the first 200 lines.
Numeric and alphabetic items may appear in the same column.
Numeric and alphabetic items may span horizontally.
tbl uses register, string, macro and diversion names beginning with
the digit 3. When using tbl you should avoid using any names
beginning with a 3.
Since tbl defines its own macros (right before each table) it is
necessary to use an ‘end-of-macro’ macro. Additionally, the escape
character has to be switched off. Here an example.
.eo
.de ATABLE ..
.TS
allbox tab(;);
cl.
\$1;\$2
.TE
...
.ec
.ATABLE A table
.ATABLE Another table
.ATABLE And "another one"
Note, however, that not all features of tbl can be wrapped into a
macro because tbl sees the input earlier than troff. For example,
number formatting with vertically aligned decimal points fails if
those numbers are passed on as macro parameters because decimal point
alignment is handled by tbl itself: It only sees ‘\$1’, ‘\$2’, etc.,
and therefore can't recognize the decimal point.
You should use .TS H/.TH in conjunction with a supporting macro
package for all multi-page boxed tables. If there is no header that
you wish to appear at the top of each page of the table, place the
.TH line immediately after the format section. Do not enclose a
multi-page table within keep/release macros, or divert it in any
other way.
A text block within a table must be able to fit on one page.
The bp request cannot be used to force a page-break in a multi-page
table. Instead, define BP as follows
.de BP
. ie '\\n(.z'' .bp \\$1
. el \!.BP \\$1
..
and use BP instead of bp.
Using \a directly in a table to get leaders does not work (except in
compatibility mode). This is correct behaviour: \a is an uninter‐
preted leader. To get leaders use a real leader, either by using a
control A or like this:
.ds a \a
.TS
tab(;);
lw(1i) l.
A\*a;B
.TE
A leading and/or trailing ‘|’ in a format line, such as
|l r|.
gives output which has a 1n space between the resulting bordering
vertical rule and the content of the adjacent column, as in
.TS
tab(#);
|l r|.
left column#right column
.TE
If it is desired to have zero space (so that the rule touches the
content), this can be achieved by introducing extra “dummy” columns,
with no content and zero separation, before and/or after, as in
.TS
tab(#);
r0|l r0|l.
#left column#right column#
.TE
The resulting “dummy” columns are invisible and have zero width; note
that such columns usually don't work with TTY devices.
Lesk, M.E.: "TBL – A Program to Format Tables". For copyright
reasons it cannot be included in the groff distribution, but copies
can be found with a title search on the World Wide Web.
groff(1), troff(1)
This page is part of the groff (GNU troff) project. Information
about the project can be found at
⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩. If you have a bug report for
this manual page, see ⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩. This
page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
⟨https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/groff.git⟩ on 2018-02-02. (At that
time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in the repos‐
itory was 2018-02-02.) If you discover any rendering problems in
this HTML version of the page, or you believe there is a better or
more up-to-date source for the page, or you have corrections or
improvements to the information in this COLOPHON (which is not part
of the original manual page), send a mail to man-pages@man7.org
Groff Version 1.22.3 24 November 2017 TBL(1)
Pages that refer to this page: col(1), colcrt(1), groff(1), mmroff(1), tbl(1), groff_hdtbl(7), groff_man(7), groff_me(7), groff_mm(7), groff_mmse(7), groff_ms(7), man(7)
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