Provided by: groff_1.23.0-2_amd64 bug

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) produce PDF documents.  The documents include a PDF outline
       that  appears  in the navigation pane panel of document viewers, and may contain clickable
       internal and external links.

       Normally.  groff's native PDF driver, gropdf(1), 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).   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
       option.  (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
       \*[<colorname>]
              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<n>]...\*[ST<n>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 <family>
              set the family type

       .FT    set the font style (roman, italic, etc.)

       .HI [ <measure> ]
              hanging indent

       .HY    automatic hyphenation on/off

       .HY_SET
              set automatic hyphenation parameters

       .IB [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
              indent both

       .IBX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent both

       .IL [ <measure> ]
              indent left

       .ILX [ CLEAR ]
              exit indent left

       .IQ [ CLEAR ]
              quit any/all indents

       .IR [ <measure> ]
              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 <paper_type>
              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 [ <measure> ]
              temporary left indent

       .WS    set the minimum word space size

Documentation of details

   Details of inline escape sequences in alphabetical order
       \*[<colorname>]
              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
              inline  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]
              afterward.  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
              inline  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<number>]...\*[ST<number>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.   <number>,
              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
              broken 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
              manually with .BR (but not .SPREAD).

              To  circumvent  this  behaviour, I recommend using the PAD to set up string tabs in
              centered or flush right lines.  Say, for example, you want to use a string  tab  to
              underscore 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>
              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
              nominal 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
              nominal 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 <fallback font> [ ABORT | WARN ]
              Fallback Font

              In  the  event  that  you  pass an invalid argument to .FAMILY (i.e. a non-existent
              family), 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 Roman 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 current family set with .FAMILY.  By default, mom then aborts, which allows
              you to correct the problem.

              If you'd prefer that mom not abort  on  non-existent  fonts,  but  rather  continue
              processing  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 <family>
              Type Family, alias of .FAMILY

       .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
              remembers  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
                     <some text> \" Bookman Medium Italic
                     .FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
                     <more text> \" Helvetica Medium Italic

              However,  if  the  font  style  does  not exist in the new family, mom will set all
              subsequent type in the fallback font (by default, Courier Medium Roman)  until  she
              encounters 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
                     <some text> \" Univers Medium Condensed
                     .FAMILY H \" Helvetica family
                     <more text> \" 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,aswellasto see a list  of  the  extensions  mom  provides  to
              groff's basic R, I, B, BI styles.

              Suggestion:  When  adding  families to groff, I recommend following the established
              standard 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 | <any other valid font style>
              Alias to .FT

       .FT R | B | BI | <any other valid font style>
              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, depending 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 [ <measure> ]
              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 exactly 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 actual 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 [ <left measure> <right measure> ]
              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
              invocations  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 <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IB automatically turns off .IL and .IR.

       .IL [ <measure> ]
              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
              argument 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 <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IL automatically turns off IB.

       .IQ [ <measure> ]
              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
              original  left  margin and line length, but also clear any values associated with a
              particular 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 [ <measure> ]
              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 required.  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 <n>) automatically cancels any active indents.

              Additional note: Invoking .IR automatically turns off IB.

       .L_MARGIN <left 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 enter 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 margin 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 introduction 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 [ <distance to advance below longest column> ]
              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 <distance> 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 normally place you, you'd enter
                     .MCX 6p

              Note:  If  you wish to advance a precise distance below the baseline of the longest
              column, 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
              (subject to the top margin set with .T_MARGIN).

       .PAGE <width> [ <length> [ <lm> [ <rm> [ <tm> [ <bm> ] ] ] ] ]

              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
              remember,  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.  <lm>, <rm>, <tm> and <bm> 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.  <tm>  comes
              after  <rm>  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
              dimensions of your printer sheet (width and length), or when you want to  tell  her
              everything 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
              ensuring groff respects your .PAGE dimensions and margins.

       .PAGELENGTH <length of printer sheet>
              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
              ensuring groff respects your PAGELENGTH.

       .PAGEWIDTH <width of printer sheet>

              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
              ensuring groff respects your PAGEWIDTH.

       .PAPER <paper type>
              provides a convenient way to set the page dimensions for some common printer  sheet
              sizes.  The argument <paper type> can be one of: LETTER, LEGAL, STATEMENT, TABLOID,
              LEDGER, FOLIO, QUARTO, EXECUTIVE, 10x14, A3, A4, A5, B4, B5.

       .PRINTSTYLE

       .PT_SIZE <size of type in points>
              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
              require 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 example
                     .ALIAS PS PT_SIZE
              would allow you to set point sizes with .PS.

       .R_MARGIN <right 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
              calculates 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 <tab number> 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 <tab number>
              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
              inline 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 <tab number>
              Alias to .TAB

       .TI [ <measure> ]
              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.
              Conversely, 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>
              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
              processing  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
                     <text>

Authors

       mom was written by Peter Schaffter ⟨peter@schaffter.ca⟩.  PDF support was provided by Deri
       James ⟨deri@chuzzlewit.myzen.co.uk⟩.  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

       ⟨http://www.schaffter.ca/mom/momdoc/toc.html⟩
              HTML documentation online

       ⟨http://www.schaffter.ca/mom/⟩
              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), groff(1), troff(1)