xref: /netbsd/usr.bin/fmt/fmt.1 (revision bf9ec67e)
1.\"	$NetBSD: fmt.1,v 1.7 2001/12/01 19:11:58 wiz Exp $
2.\"
3.\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1990, 1993
4.\"	The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
5.\"
6.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
7.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
8.\" are met:
9.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
10.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
11.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
12.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
13.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
14.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
15.\"    must display the following acknowledgement:
16.\"	This product includes software developed by the University of
17.\"	California, Berkeley and its contributors.
18.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
19.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
20.\"    without specific prior written permission.
21.\"
22.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
23.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
24.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
25.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
26.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
27.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
28.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
29.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
30.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
31.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
32.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
33.\"
34.\"     @(#)fmt.1	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
35.\"
36.Dd June 6, 1993
37.Dt FMT 1
38.Os
39.Sh NAME
40.Nm fmt
41.Nd simple text formatter
42.Sh SYNOPSIS
43.Nm
44.Op Fl C
45.Oo
46.Ar goal
47.Op Ar maximum
48.Oc
49.Op name ...
50.Sh DESCRIPTION
51.Nm
52is a simple text formatter which reads the concatenation of input
53files (or standard input if none are given) and produces on standard
54output a version of its input with lines as close to the
55.Ar goal
56length
57as possible without exceeding the maximum.  The
58.Ar goal
59length defaults
60to 65 and the maximum to 75.  The spacing at the beginning of the
61input lines is preserved in the output, as are blank lines and
62interword spacing.
63.Pp
64.Fl C
65instructs
66.Nm fmt
67to center the text.
68.Pp
69.Nm
70is meant to format mail messages prior to sending, but may also be useful
71for other simple tasks.
72For instance,
73within visual mode of the
74.Xr ex 1
75editor (e.g.
76.Xr vi 1 )
77the command
78.Pp
79.Dl \&!}fmt
80.Pp
81will reformat a paragraph,
82evening the lines.
83.Sh SEE ALSO
84.Xr mail 1 ,
85.Xr nroff 1
86.Sh HISTORY
87The
88.Nm
89command appeared in
90.Bx 3 .
91.\" .Sh AUTHORS
92.\" Kurt Shoens
93.\" .br
94.\" Liz Allen (added goal length concept)
95.Sh BUGS
96The program was designed to be simple and fast \- for more complex
97operations, the standard text processors are likely to be more appropriate.
98