NAME

       txt2man - convert flat ASCII text to man page format

SYNOPSIS

       txt2man [-hpTX] [-t mytitle] [-P pname] [-r rel] [-s sect]
               [-v vol] [-I txt] [-B txt] [-d date] [ifile]

DESCRIPTION

       txt2man converts the input text into nroff/troff standard man(7) macros used to format Unix manual pages.
       Nice pages can be generated specially for commands  (section  1  or  8)  or  for  C  functions  reference
       (sections  2,  3),  with the ability to recognize and format command and function names, flags, types and
       arguments.

       txt2man  is  also  able  to  recognize  and  format  sections,  paragraphs,  lists  (standard,  numbered,
       description, nested), cross references and literal display blocks.

       If input file ifile is omitted, standard input is used. Result is displayed on standard output.

       Here is how text patterns are recognized and processed:

       Sections
              These  headers  are  defined  by  a line in upper case, starting column 1. If there is one or more
              leading spaces, a sub-section will be generated instead.  Optionally,  the  Section  name  can  be
              preceded  by a blank line. This is useful for a better visualization of the source text to be used
              to generate the manpage.

       Paragraphs
              They must be separated by a blank line, and left aligned.  Alternatively two blank spaces  can  be
              used  to  produce  the  same result. This option will provide a better visualization of the source
              text to be used to generate the manpage.

       Tag list
              The item definition is separated from the item description by at least 2 blank spaces, even before
              a new line, if definition is too long. Definition will be emphasized by default.

       Bullet list
              Bullet list items are defined by the first word being "-" or "*" or "o".

       Enumerated list
              The first word must be a number followed by a dot.

       Literal display blocks
              This  paragraph  type  is  used  to  display  unmodified text, for example source code. It must be
              separated by a blank line and be indented by a TAB. It is  primarily  used  to  format  unmodified
              source code. It will be printed using fixed font whenever possible (troff).

       Cross references
              A cross reference (another man page) is defined by a word followed by a number in parenthesis.

       Special sections:

       NAME   The function or command name and short description are set in this section.

       SYNOPSIS
              This  section  receives  a  special  treatment  to identify command name, flags and arguments, and
              propagate corresponding attributes later in the text. If a C like  function  is  recognized  (word
              immediately followed by an open parenthesis), txt2man will print function name in bold font, types
              in normal font, and variables in italic font. The whole section will be printed using a fixed font
              family (courier) whenever possible (troff).

       It  is  a  good  practice  to  embed  documentation  into source code, by using comments or constant text
       variables. txt2man allows one to do that, keeping the  document  source  readable,  usable  even  without
       further  formatting  (i.e.  for  online  help) and easy to write. The result is high quality and standard
       complying document.

OPTIONS

       -h     The option -h displays help.

       -d date
              Set date in header. Defaults to current date.

       -P pname
              Set pname as project name in header. Default to uname -s.

       -p     Probe title, section name and volume.

       -t mytitle
              Set mytitle as title of generated man page.

       -r rel Set rel as project name and release.

       -s sect
              Set sect as section in heading, usually a value from 1 to 8.

       -v vol Set vol as volume name, i.e. "Unix user 's manual".

       -I txt Italicize txt in output. Can be specified more than once.

       -B txt Emphasize (bold) txt in output. Can be specified more than once.

       -T     Text result previewing using PAGER, usually more(1).

       -X     X11 result previewing using gxditview(1).

ENVIRONMENT

       PAGER  name of paging command, usually more(1), or less(1). If not set falls back to more(1).

       SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
              Unix timestamp that is used for date in header instead of current date.

EXAMPLES

       Try this command to format this text itself:

           $ txt2man -h 2>&1 | txt2man -T

       The following command will generate a manpage level 1 to foo-1.1.0 program, from foo.txt  file,  used  as
       source code to previously mentioned manpage:

           $ txt2man -d "15 May 2016" -t foo -r foo-1.1.0 -s 1 -v "show stars on screen" foo.txt > foo.1

HINTS

       To  obtain an overall good formatting of output document, keep paragraphs indented correctly. If you have
       unwanted bold sections, search for multiple spaces between words, which are used to identify a  tag  list
       (term  followed by a description). Choose also carefully the name of command line or function parameters,
       as they will be emphasized each time they are encountered in the document.

SEE ALSO

       man(1), mandoc(7), rman(1), groff(1), more(1), gxditview(1), troff(1).

BUGS

       •  Automatic probe (-p option) works only if input is a regular file (i.e.  not stdin).

AUTHOR

       Marc Vertes <mvertes@free.fr>