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COL(1)                  NetBSD General Commands Manual                  COL(1)


NAME

     col -- filter reverse line feeds from input


SYNOPSIS

     col [-bfpx] [-l num]


DESCRIPTION

     col filters out reverse (and half reverse) line feeds so that the output
     is in the correct order with only forward and half forward line feeds,
     and replaces white-space characters with tabs where possible.  This can
     be useful in processing the output of nroff(1) and tbl(1).

     col reads from the standard input and writes to the standard output.

     The options are as follows:

     -b        Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character
               written to each column position.

     -f        Forward half line feeds are permitted (``fine'' mode).  Nor-
               mally characters printed on a half line boundary are printed on
               the following line.

     -p        Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.
               Normally, col will filter out any control sequences from the
               input other than those recognized and interpreted by itself,
               which are listed below.

     -x        Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.

     -l num    Buffer at least num lines in memory.  By default, 128 lines are
               buffered.

     The control sequences for carriage motion that col understands and their
     decimal values are listed in the following table:

     ESC-7            reverse line feed (escape then 7)
     ESC-8            half reverse line feed (escape then 8)
     ESC-9            half forward line feed (escape then 9)
     backspace        moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column
     carriage return  (13)
     newline          forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
     shift in         shift to normal character set (15)
     shift out        shift to alternative character set (14)
     space            moves forward one column (32)
     tab              moves forward to next tab stop (9)
     vertical tab     reverse line feed (11)

     All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are discarded.

     col keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes
     sure the character set is correct when they are output.

     If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line, col will dis-
     play a warning message.


SEE ALSO

     expand(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)


STANDARDS

     The col utility conforms to X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4, Version 2
     (``XPG4.2'').  The -l option is an extension to the standard.


HISTORY

     A col command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

NetBSD 5.2                     February 22, 1999                    NetBSD 5.2