# groff_mom - modern macros for document composition with GNU roff - man(7) - [phpMan] [_groff_mom_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffmom/7/markdown) Miscellaneous Information Manual [_groff_mom_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffmom/7/markdown) ## 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pdfmom/1/markdown) produce PDF documents. The documents include a PDF outline that appears in the navigation pane panel of document viewers, and may contain clickable in‐ ternal and external links. Normally. _groff_'s native PDF driver, [_gropdf_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gropdf/1/markdown), 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grops/1/markdown). 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 **op‐ tion. (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 **\*[_**_**]** 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_**_**]**...**\*[ST_**_**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 _**_ set the _family_ _type_ **.FT **set the font style (roman, italic, etc.) **.HI [ _**_ **]** hanging indent **.HY **automatic hyphenation on/off ### .HY_SET set automatic hyphenation parameters **.IB [ _**_ __ **]** indent both ### .IBX [ CLEAR ] exit indent both **.IL [ _**_ **]** indent left ### .ILX [ CLEAR ] exit indent left ### .IQ [ CLEAR ] quit any/all indents **.IR [ _**_ **]** 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 _**_ 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 [ _**_ **]** temporary left indent **.WS **set the minimum word space size ## Documentation of details ### Details of inline escape sequences in alphabetical order **\*[_**_**]** 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 in‐ line 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] **after‐ ward. 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 in‐ line 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_**_**]**...**\*[ST_**_**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. __, 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 bro‐ ken 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 _manu‐_ _ally_ with **.BR **(but not **.SPREAD**). To circumvent this behaviour, I recommend using the **PAD **to set up string tabs in cen‐ tered or flush right lines. Say, for example, you want to use a _string_ _tab_ to _under‐_ _score_ 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 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 nomi‐ nal 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 nomi‐ nal 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 _**_ **[ ABORT | WARN ]** Fallback Font In the event that you pass an invalid argument to **.FAMILY **(i.e. a non-existent _fami‐_ _ly_), _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 Ro‐** **man 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 cur‐ rent _family_ _set_ with **.FAMILY**. By default, **mom **then aborts, which allows you to cor‐ rect the problem. If you'd prefer that **mom **not abort on non-existent _fonts_, but rather continue process‐ ing 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 _**_ Type Family, alias of **.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_ _re‐_ _members_ 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_ __ _\"_ _Bookman_ _Medium_ _Italic_ **.FAMILY H _**\"_ _Helvetica_ _family_ __ _\"_ _Helvetica_ _Medium_ _Italic_ However, if the font style does not exist in the new family, _mom_ will set all subse‐ quent type in the fallback font (by default, **Courier Medium Roman**) until she encoun‐ ters 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_ __ _\"_ _Univers_ _Medium_ _Condensed_ **.FAMILY H _**\"_ _Helvetica_ _family_ __ _\"_ _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_,_as_well_as_to see a list of the extensions _mom_ provides to _groff_'s ba‐ sic **R**, **I**, **B**, **BI **styles. Suggestion: When adding _families_ _to_ _groff_, I recommend following the established stan‐ dard 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 | _**_ Alias to **.FT** **.FT R | B | BI | _**_ 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, de‐ pending 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 [ _**_ **]** 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 ex‐ actly 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 actu‐ al 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 [ _**_ __ **]** 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 in‐ vocations 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 **) automatically cancels any active indents. _Additional_ _note:_ Invoking **.IB **automatically turns off **.IL **and **.IR**. **.IL [ _**_ **]** 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 ar‐ gument 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 **) automatically cancels any active indents. _Additional_ _note:_ Invoking **.IL **automatically turns off **IB**. **.IQ [ _**_ **]** 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 orig‐ inal left margin and line length, but also clear any values associated with a particu‐ lar 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 [ _**_ **]** 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 re‐ quired. 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 **) automatically cancels any active indents. _Additional_ _note:_ Invoking **.IR **automatically turns off **IB**. **.L_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 en‐ ter 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 mar‐ gin 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 in‐ troduction 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 [ _**_ **]** 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 __ 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 nor‐ mally place you, you'd enter **.MCX 6p** _Note:_ If you wish to advance a precise distance below the baseline of the longest col‐ umn, 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 (sub‐ ject to the top margin set with **.T_MARGIN**). **.PAGE _**_ **[ _**_ **[ _**_ **[ _**_ **[ _**_ **[ _**_ **] ] ] ] ]** 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 re‐ member, 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. __, __, __ and __ 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. __ comes af‐ ter __ 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 dimen‐ sions of your printer sheet (width and length), or when you want to tell her every‐ thing 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 en‐ suring _groff_ respects your **.PAGE **dimensions and margins. **.PAGELENGTH _**_ 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 en‐ suring _groff_ respects your _PAGELENGTH_. **.PAGEWIDTH _**_ 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 en‐ suring _groff_ respects your _PAGEWIDTH_. **.PAPER _**_ provides a convenient way to set the page dimensions for some common printer sheet sizes. The argument __ can be one of: **LETTER**, **LEGAL**, **STATEMENT**, **TABLOID**, **LEDGER**, **FOLIO**, **QUARTO**, **EXECUTIVE**, **10x14**, **A3**, **A4**, **A5**, **B4**, **B5**. ### .PRINTSTYLE **.PT_SIZE _**_ 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 re‐ quire 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 exam‐ ple **.ALIAS PS PT_SIZE** would allow you to set _point_ _sizes_ with **.PS**. **.R_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 **calcu‐ lates 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 _**_ **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 _**_ 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 in‐ line 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 _**_ Alias to **.TAB** **.TI [ _**_ **]** 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. Con‐ versely, 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 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 pro‐ cessing 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** __ ## Authors _mom_ was written by [Peter Schaffter](mailto:). PDF support was provided by [Deri James](mailto:). This manual page was written by Bernd Warken. **See also** _/usr/share/doc/groff-base/html/mom/toc.html_ entry point to the HTML documentation ⟨⟩ HTML documentation online ⟨⟩ the _mom_ macros homepage _Groff:_ _The_ _GNU_ _Implementation_ _of_ _troff_, by Trent A. Fisher and Werner Lemberg, is the primary _groff_ manual. You can browse it interactively with “info groff”. [_pdfmom_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pdfmom/1/markdown), [_groff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/1/markdown), [_troff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/troff/1/markdown) groff 1.23.0 31 March 2024 [_groff_mom_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffmom/7/markdown)