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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<!-- Created by GNU Texinfo 7.0.3, https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/ -->
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+<!-- This manual documents GNU troff version 1.23.0.
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+Copyright © 1994-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
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+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
+Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A
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+Documentation License". -->
+<title>Dummy Characters (The GNU Troff Manual)</title>
+
+<meta name="description" content="Dummy Characters (The GNU Troff Manual)">
+<meta name="keywords" content="Dummy Characters (The GNU Troff Manual)">
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+<link href="index.html#SEC_Contents" rel="contents" title="Table of Contents">
+<link href="Using-Fonts.html" rel="up" title="Using Fonts">
+<link href="Italic-Corrections.html" rel="prev" title="Italic Corrections">
+<style type="text/css">
+<!--
+a.copiable-link {visibility: hidden; text-decoration: none; line-height: 0em}
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+<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Dummy-Characters">
+<div class="nav-panel">
+<p>
+Previous: <a href="Italic-Corrections.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Italic Corrections</a>, Up: <a href="Using-Fonts.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Using Fonts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Request-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
+</div>
+<hr>
+<h4 class="subsection" id="Dummy-Characters-1">5.19.10 Dummy Characters</h4>
+
+<p>As discussed in <a class="ref" href="Requests-and-Macros.html">Requests and Macros</a>, the first character on an
+input line is treated specially. Further, formatting a glyph has many
+consequences on formatter state (see <a class="pxref" href="Environments.html">Environments</a>). Occasionally,
+we want to escape this context or embrace some of those consequences
+without actually rendering a glyph to the output.
+</p>
+<dl class="first-deffn">
+<dt class="deffn" id="index-_005c_0026-1"><span class="category-def">Escape&nbsp;sequence: </span><span><strong class="def-name"><code class="t">\&amp;</code><span class="r"><i class="slanted"></i></span><code class="t"></code></strong><a class="copiable-link" href='#index-_005c_0026-1'> &para;</a></span></dt>
+<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005c_0026"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-dummy-character-_0028_005c_0026_0029"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-character_002c-dummy-_0028_005c_0026_0029"></a>
+<p>Interpolate a dummy character, which is constitutive of output but
+invisible.<a class="footnote" id="DOCF81" href="groff.html_fot.html#FOOT81"><sup>81</sup></a> Its presence alters the interpretation context of a
+subsequent input character, and enjoys several applications.
+</p>
+<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
+<li>Prevent insertion of extra space after an end-of-sentence character.
+
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">Test.
+Test.
+ &rArr; Test. Test.
+Test.\&amp;
+Test.
+ &rArr; Test. Test.
+</pre></div></div>
+
+</li><li>Prevent recognition of a control character.
+
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.Test
+ error&rarr; warning: macro 'Test' not defined
+\&amp;.Test
+ &rArr; .Test
+</pre></div></div>
+
+</li><li>Prevent kerning between two glyphs.
+
+
+</li><li>Translate a character to &ldquo;nothing&rdquo;.
+
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.tr JIjiK\&amp;k\&amp;UVuv
+Post universitum, alea jacta est, OK?
+ &rArr; Post vniversitvm, alea iacta est, O?
+</pre></div></div>
+</li></ul>
+
+<p>The dummy character escape sequence sees use in macro definitions as a
+means of ensuring that arguments are treated as text even if they begin
+with spaces or control characters.
+</p>
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.de HD \&quot; typeset a simple bold heading
+. sp
+. ft B
+\&amp;\\$1 \&quot; exercise: remove the \&amp;
+. ft
+. sp
+..
+.HD .\|.\|.\|surprised?
+</pre></div></div>
+</dd></dl>
+
+<p>One way to think about the dummy character is to imagine placing the
+symbol &lsquo;<samp class="samp">&amp;</samp>&rsquo; in the input at a certain location; if doing so has all
+the side effects on formatting that you desire except for sticking an
+ugly ampersand in the midst of your text, the dummy character is what
+you want in its place.
+</p>
+<dl class="first-deffn">
+<dt class="deffn" id="index-_005c_0029-1"><span class="category-def">Escape&nbsp;sequence: </span><span><strong class="def-name"><code class="t">\)</code><span class="r"><i class="slanted"></i></span><code class="t"></code></strong><a class="copiable-link" href='#index-_005c_0029-1'> &para;</a></span></dt>
+<dd><a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005c_0029"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-transparent-dummy-character-_0028_005c_0029_0029"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-character_002c-transparent-dummy-_0028_005c_0029_0029"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-dummy-character_002c-transparent-_0028_005c_0029_0029"></a>
+<p>Interpolate a <i class="slanted">transparent</i> dummy character&mdash;one that is
+transparent to end-of-sentence detection. It behaves as <code class="code">\&amp;</code>,
+except that <code class="code">\&amp;</code> is treated as letters and numerals normally are
+after &lsquo;<samp class="samp">.</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">?</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">!</samp>&rsquo;; <code class="code">\&amp;</code> cancels end-of-sentence
+detection, and <code class="code">\)</code> does not.
+</p>
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.de Suffix-&amp;
+. nop \&amp;\\$1
+..
+.
+.de Suffix-)
+. nop \)\\$1
+..
+.
+Here's a sentence.\c
+.Suffix-&amp; '
+Another one.\c
+.Suffix-) '
+And a third.
+ &rArr; Here's a sentence.' Another one.' And a third.
+</pre></div></div>
+</dd></dl>
+
+
+
+
+</div>
+<hr>
+<div class="nav-panel">
+<p>
+Previous: <a href="Italic-Corrections.html">Italic Corrections</a>, Up: <a href="Using-Fonts.html">Using Fonts</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Request-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+</body>
+</html>