# man > troff(1) > **TLDR:** Typesetting processor for the groff (GNU Troff) document formatting system. > - Format output for a PostScript printer, saving the output to a file: `troff {{path/to/input.roff}} | grops > {{path/to/output.ps}}` - Format output for a PostScript printer using the me macro package, saving the output to a file: `troff -{{me}} {{path/to/input.roff}} | grops > {{path/to/output.ps}}` - Format output as ASCII text using the man macro package: `troff -T {{ascii}} -{{man}} {{path/to/input.roff}} | grotty` - Format output as a pdf file, saving the output to a file: `troff -T {{pdf}} {{path/to/input.roff}} | gropdf > {{path/to/output.pdf}}` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [_troff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/troff/1/markdown) General Commands Manual [_troff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/troff/1/markdown) ## Name troff - GNU _roff_ typesetter and document formatter ## Synopsis **troff **[**-abcCEiRUz**] [**-d _**ctext_] [**-d _**string_**=_**text_] [**-f _**font-family_] [**-F _**font-directory_] [**-I _**inclusion-directory_] [**-m _**macro-package_] [**-M _**macro-directory_] [**-n _**page-number_] [**-o _**page-list_] [**-r _**cnumeric-expression_] [**-r _**register_**=_**numeric-expression_] [**-T _**output-_ _device_] [**-w _**warning-category_] [**-W _**warning-category_] [_file_ ...] ### troff --help ### troff -v ### troff --version ## Description GNU _troff_ transforms ]8;;man:[groff(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/7/markdown)\[_groff_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/7/markdown)]8;;\ language input into the device-independent output format de‐ scribed in ]8;;man:[groff_out(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffout/5/markdown)\[_groff_out_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffout/5/markdown)]8;;\; _troff_ is thus the heart of the GNU _roff_ document formatting system. If no _file_ operands are given on the command line, or if _file_ is “**-**”, the standard input stream is read. GNU _troff_ is functionally compatible with the AT&T _troff_ typesetter and features numerous ex‐ tensions. Many people prefer to use the ]8;;man:[groff(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/1/markdown)\[_groff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/1/markdown)]8;;\ command, a front end which also runs pre‐ processors and output drivers in the appropriate order and with appropriate options. ## Options ### -h --help -v --version exit afterward. ### -a is set to 1. This option produces a sort of abstract preview of the formatted output. • Page breaks are marked by a phrase in angle brackets; for example, “”. • Lines are broken where they would be in the formatted output. • A horizontal motion of any size is represented as one space. Adjacent horizontal motions are not combined. Inter-sentence space nodes (those arising from the second argument to the **.ss **request) are not represented. • Vertical motions are not represented. • Special characters are rendered in angle brackets; for example, the default soft hy‐ phen character appears as “”. The above description should not be considered a specification; the details of **-a **out‐ put are subject to change. ### -b stream with each diagnostic message. The line numbers given in the backtrace might not always be correct, because _troff_'s idea of line numbers can be confused by re‐ quests that append to macros. ### -c ### -C -c ### -d _ ### -d _ Define _roff_ string _c_ or _string_ as _text._ _c_ must be one character; _string_ can be of ar‐ bitrary length. Such string assignments happen before any macro file is loaded, in‐ cluding the startup file. Due to ]8;;man:[getopt_long(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getoptlong/3/markdown)\[_getopt_long_(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getoptlong/3/markdown)]8;;\ limitations, _c_ cannot be, and _string_ cannot contain, an equals sign, even though that is a valid character in a _roff_ iden‐ tifier. ### -E -Ww sent to the standard error stream by documents or macro packages using **tm **or related requests. ### -f _ ### -F _ description files. See the description of _GROFF_FONT_PATH_ in section “Environment” below for the default search locations and ordering. ### -i ### -I _ **soquiet **requests; and in “**\X'ps: import'**”, “**\X'ps: file'**”, and “**\X'pdf: pdfpic'**” de‐ vice control escape sequences). **-I **may be specified more than once; each _dir_ is searched in the given order. To search the current working directory before others, add “**-I .**” at the desired place; it is otherwise searched last. **-I **works similarly to, and is named for, the “include” option of Unix C compilers. ### -m _ Process the file name_.tmac_ prior to any input files. If not found, _tmac._name is at‐ tempted. _name_ (in both arrangements) is presumed to be a macro file; see the descrip‐ tion of _GROFF_TMAC_PATH_ in section “Environment” below for the default search loca‐ tions and ordering. ### -M _ tion “Environment” below for the default search locations and ordering. ### -n _ ### -o _ Output only pages in _list,_ which is a comma-separated list of inclusive page ranges; _n_ means page _n,_ _m_**-_**n_ means every page between _m_ and _n_, **-_**n_ means every page up to _n_, and _n_**- **means every page from _n_ on. _troff_ stops processing and exits after formatting the last page enumerated in _list._ ### -r _ ### -r _ Define _roff_ register _c_ or _register_ as _numeric-expression._ _c_ must be a one-character name; _register_ can be of arbitrary length. Such register assignments happen before any macro file is loaded, including the startup file. Due to ]8;;man:[getopt_long(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getoptlong/3/markdown)\[_getopt_long_(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/getoptlong/3/markdown)]8;;\ limita‐ tions, _c_ cannot be, and _register_ cannot contain, an equals sign, even though that is a valid character in a _roff_ identifier. ### -R ### -T _ ### -U disabled by default because they allow an untrusted input document to write to arbi‐ trary file names and run arbitrary commands. This option also adds the current direc‐ tory to the macro package search path; see the **-m **and **-M **options above. ### -w _ ### -W _ Enable (**-w**) or inhibit (**-W**) warnings in category _name._ See section “Warnings” below. ### -z ## Warnings Warning diagnostics emitted by _troff_ are divided into named, numbered categories. The name associated with each warning category is used by the **-w **and **-W **options. Each category is also assigned a power of two; the sum of enabled category codes is used by the **warn **request and the **.warn **register. Warnings of each category are produced under the following circum‐ stances. ┌───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐ │ Bit Code Category │ Bit Code Category │ ├───────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤ │ 0 _1_ **char **│ 10 _1024_ **reg **│ │ 1 _2_ **number **│ 11 _2048_ **tab **│ │ 2 _4_ **break **│ 12 _4096_ **right-brace **│ │ 3 _8_ **delim **│ 13 _8192_ **missing **│ │ 4 _16_ **el **│ 14 _16384_ **input **│ │ 5 _32_ **scale **│ 15 _32768_ **escape **│ │ 6 _64_ **range **│ 16 _65536_ **space **│ │ 7 _128_ **syntax **│ 17 _131072_ **font **│ │ 8 _256_ **di **│ 18 _262144_ **ig **│ │ 9 _512_ **mac **│ 19 _524288_ **color **│ │ │ 20 _1048576_ **file **│ └───────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘ **break **4 A filled output line could not be broken such that its length was less than the output line length **\n[.l]**. This category is enabled by default. **char **1 No mounted font defines a glyph for the requested character. This cate‐ gory is enabled by default. **color **524288 An undefined color name was selected, an attempt was made to define a color using an unrecognized color space, an invalid component in a color definition was encountered, or an attempt was made to redefine a default color. **delim **8 The closing delimiter in an escape sequence was missing or mismatched. **di **256 A **di**, **da**, **box**, or **boxa **request was invoked without an argument when there was no current diversion. **el **16 The **el **request was encountered with no prior corresponding **ie **request. **escape **32768 An unsupported escape sequence was encountered. **file **1048576 An attempt was made to load a file that does not exist. This category is enabled by default. **font **131072 A non-existent font was selected, or the selection was ignored because a font selection escape sequence was used after the output line continua‐ tion escape sequence on an input line. This category is enabled by de‐ fault. **ig **262144 An invalid escape sequence occurred in input ignored using the **ig **re‐ quest. This warning category diagnoses a condition that is an error when it occurs in non-ignored input. **input **16384 An invalid character occurred on the input stream. **mac **512 An undefined string, macro, or diversion was used. When such an object is dereferenced, an empty one of that name is automatically created. So, unless it is later deleted, at most one warning is given for each. This warning is also emitted upon an attempt to move an unplanted trap macro. In such cases, the unplanted macro is _not_ dereferenced, so it is not created if it does not exist. **missing **8192 A request was invoked with a mandatory argument absent. **number **2 An invalid numeric expression was encountered. This category is enabled by default. **range **64 A numeric expression was out of range for its context. **reg **1024 An undefined register was used. When an undefined register is derefer‐ enced, it is automatically defined with a value of 0. So, unless it is later deleted, at most one warning is given for each. **right-brace **4096 A right brace escape sequence **\} **was encountered where a number was ex‐ pected. **scale **32 A scaling unit inappropriate to its context was used in a numeric expres‐ sion. **space **65536 A space was missing between a request or macro and its argument. This warning is produced when an undefined name longer than two characters is encountered and the first two characters of the name constitute a defined name. No request is invoked, no macro called, and an empty macro is not defined. This category is enabled by default. It never occurs in com‐ patibility mode. **syntax **128 A self-contradictory hyphenation mode was requested; an empty or incom‐ plete numeric expression was encountered; an operand to a numeric opera‐ tor was missing; an attempt was made to define a recursive, empty, or nonsensical character class; or a _groff_ extension conditional expression operator was used while in compatibility mode. **tab **2048 A tab character was encountered where a number was expected, or appeared in an unquoted macro argument. Two warning names group other warning categories for convenience. **all **All warning categories except **di**, **mac**, and **reg**. This shorthand is intended to produce all warnings that are useful with macro packages and documents written for AT&T _troff_ and its descendants, which have less fastidious diagnostics than GNU _troff_. **w **All warning categories. Authors of documents and macro packages targeting _groff_ are encouraged to use this setting. ## Environment _GROFF_FONT_PATH_ and _GROFF_TMAC_PATH_ each accept a search path of directories; that is, a list of directory names separated by the system's path component separator character. On Unix systems, this character is a colon (:); on Windows systems, it is a semicolon (;). _GROFF_FONT_PATH_ A list of directories in which to seek the selected output device's directory of de‐ vice and font description files. _troff_ will scan directories given as arguments to any specified **-F **options before these, then in a site-specific directory (_/usr/share/_ _groff/site-font_), a standard location (_/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/font_), and a compati‐ bility directory (_/usr/lib/font_) after them. _GROFF_TMAC_PATH_ A list of directories in which to search for macro files. _troff_ will scan directories given as arguments to any specified **-M **options before these, then the current direc‐ tory (only if in unsafe mode), the user's home directory, a site-specific directory (_/usr/share/groff/site-tmac_), and a standard location (_/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac_) after them. _GROFF_TYPESETTER_ Set the default output device. If empty or not set, **ps **is used. The **-T **option over‐ rides _GROFF_TYPESETTER_. _SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH_ A timestamp (expressed as seconds since the Unix epoch) to use as the output creation timestamp in place of the current time. The time is converted to human-readable form using ]8;;man:[gmtime(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gmtime/3/markdown)\[_gmtime_(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gmtime/3/markdown)]8;;\ and ]8;;man:[asctime(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/asctime/3/markdown)\[_asctime_(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/asctime/3/markdown)]8;;\ when the formatter starts up and stored in registers usable by documents and macro packages. _TZ_ The time zone to use when converting the current time to human-readable form; see ]8;;man:[tzset(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tzset/3/markdown)\[_tzset_(3)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tzset/3/markdown)]8;;\. If _SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH_ is used, it is always converted to human-readable form using UTC. ## Files _/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/troffrc_ is an initialization macro file loaded before any macro packages specified with **-m **op‐ tions. _/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/troffrc-end_ is an initialization macro file loaded after all macro packages specified with **-m **op‐ tions. _/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/_name_.tmac_ are macro files distributed with _groff_. _/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/font/dev_name_/DESC_ describes the output device _name_. _/usr/share/groff/1.23.0/font/dev_name_/_F describes the font _F_ of device _name._ _troffrc_ and _troffrc-end_ are sought neither in the current nor the home directory by default for security reasons, even if the **-U **option is specified. Use the **-M **command-line option or the _GROFF_TMAC_PATH_ environment variable to add these directories to the search path if nec‐ essary. ## Authors The GNU version of _troff_ was originally written by James Clark; he also wrote the original version of this document, which was updated by ]8;;mailto:\Werner Lemberg]8;;\, ]8;;mailto:\Bernd Warken]8;;\, and ]8;;mailto:\G. Branden Robinson]8;;\. **See also** _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”. ]8;;man:[groff(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/1/markdown)\[_groff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/1/markdown)]8;;\ offers an overview of the GNU _roff_ system and describes its front end executable. ]8;;man:[groff(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/7/markdown)\[_groff_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groff/7/markdown)]8;;\ details the _groff_ language, including a short but complete reference of all predefined requests, registers, and escape sequences. ]8;;man:[groff_char(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffchar/7/markdown)\[_groff_char_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffchar/7/markdown)]8;;\ explains the syntax of _groff_ special character escape sequences, and lists all special characters predefined by the language. ]8;;man:[groff_diff(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffdiff/7/markdown)\[_groff_diff_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffdiff/7/markdown)]8;;\ enumerates the differences between AT&T device-independent _troff_ and _groff_. ]8;;man:[groff_font(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grofffont/5/markdown)\[_groff_font_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grofffont/5/markdown)]8;;\ covers the format of _groff_ device and font description files. ]8;;man:[groff_out(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffout/5/markdown)\[_groff_out_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/groffout/5/markdown)]8;;\ describes the format of _troff_'s output. ]8;;man:[groff_tmac(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grofftmac/5/markdown)\[_groff_tmac_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/grofftmac/5/markdown)]8;;\ includes information about macro files that ship with _groff_. ]8;;man:[roff(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/roff/7/markdown)\[_roff_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/roff/7/markdown)]8;;\ supplies background on _roff_ systems in general, including pointers to further related documentation. groff 1.23.0 31 March 2024 [_troff_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/troff/1/markdown)