+ + + + + + + +

+ +

Inline escapes

+ +

Introduction

+Inline escapes, as described in the +groff terms +section of this manual, are typesetting commands that appear in text +input lines, +as opposed to macros and other +control lines +that must appear on lines by themselves. +

+ +

+Aside from altering type parameters within a line, inlines also tell +groff about special characters—em-dashes, bullets, +figure/digit-width spaces, +and so on. It is beyond the scope of this manual to provide +a complete list of groff’s inline functions and special +characters. I recommend having a look at the +canonical reference materials +should you need more information than is contained herein. +

+ +

+In groff, the escape character is the backslash (\). +Groff interprets everything following the backslash as instructions, +not literal text, until the escape sequence is complete. Should +you need the actual backslash character as part of a line of text, +simply enter it twice (\\). Groff understands that this +means “please print a backslash character.” +

+ +

+You can also use \e to print a literal backslash, or use +ESC_CHAR to change the escape +character to something other than the backslash, which lets you +use a single backslash as a literal backslash. +

+ +

+Groff has a number of ways of recognizing what constitutes a +complete escape sequence. This is both a boon and a curse; some +escape sequences have no terminating delimiter and consequently +become difficult to distinguish from real input text. Others +require the use of an opening parenthesis with no corresponding +closing parenthesis. Still others need to be enclosed in square +brackets. +

+ +

+Mom recognizes that certain escapes get used more often than others. +For these, she has a consistent input style that takes the form +\*[...], which makes them stand out well +from the text of your documents. These escapes are the ones listed +under +Mom’s personal inline escapes. +

+ +

+Despite mom’s best intentions, there are still +a number of typesetting functions that can only be accomplished +with groff’s native inline escapes. I’ve listed the +ones that strike me as essential, but there are many others. If you +want to know what they are, please read the +canonical reference materials +pertaining to groff. +

+ +

+Helpful bit of information: +Inline escapes can be used in +document processing macros +that take +string arguments. +

+ +

List of inline escapes

+ +

Mom’s personal inline escapes +
Commonly-used groff inline escapes +
- \f Font control
- \h Inline horizontal motions
- \v Inline vertical motions
- \w String width function
- \l Horizontal line drawing function
- Special characters

+ +

+ + + +

Mom’s personal inline escapes

+ +

Changing fonts

+ +

+Mom provides five escapes for changing fonts inline: +
+ + \*[ROM] Change to the medium roman font + \*[IT] Change to the medium italic font + \*[BD] Change to the bold roman font + \*[BDI] Change to the bold italic font + \*[PREV] Revert to the previous font (once only)* + +

+ +

+*Note: +\*[PREV] does not operate "stack +style". It returns to the previous font once only, and +afterwards has no effect. In other words, in the case of +\*[PREV]\*[PREV], only the first +\*[PREV] is respected; the second one is silently +ignored. +

+ +

+These escapes are provided for merely for convenience, legibility, +and consistency when typesetting with mom. For more complete and +flexible inline font control, please see +font control with \f. +

+ +

Notes concerning document processing

+If you’re using the +document processing macros, +inline font changes remain in effect only for the duration of the +current document element tag. +

+ +

+Additionally, if you’re designing your own +HEADERS or FOOTERS +and want to use mom’s inline escapes for changing fonts as +part of the left, centre and/or right strings, or in the strings +for +recto +and/or +verso +HEADERS or FOOTERS, or in the strings passed to +HEADERS_AND_FOOTERS, +you must enter the inlines beginning with \E* +rather than just \*, e.g. +\E*[BD]. You may, in such cases, prefer to +use the simpler groff inline escape +\f. +

+ + + +

Changing point size

+Mom has two inline escapes for changing point size: +
+ + \*[SIZE <size>] + +and +
+ + \*S[<size>] + +where “size” is the new size you want. You can use +either; they behave exactly the same way. For example, to change +the point size of type inline to 12 points, you could enter either +
+ + \*[SIZE 12] + +or +
+ + \*S[12] + +Entering either \*[SIZE] or +\*S[] with no argument reverts to the former +point size. +

+ +

+The advantage of the first form is that it’s easy to remember, +and follows mom’s usual inline syntax. The advantage of the +second is that it’s more concise. +

+ +

+Notice that in both cases, the new size does not require a +unit of measure; +points +is assumed. However, a unit of measure may be appended to the size +if that’s what you wish. Fractional sizes are, of course, +allowed. +

+ +

+The size given to \*[SIZE <size>] +or \*S[<size>] may be expressed in +plus or minus terms, which can be very useful. In the following +examples, the word “mom” will be output 2 points larger +than the point size of the rest of the line. +
+ + While she isn't perfect, \*S[+2]mom\*S[-2] isn't half bad. + While she isn't perfect, \*[SIZE +2]mom\*[SIZE -2] isn't half bad. + +Please note that inline size changes do not update the leading if +AUTOLEAD +is enabled. +

+ +

NOTE CONCERNING DOCUMENT PROCESSING

+If you’re using the +document processing macros +and wish to design your own +HEADERS or FOOTERS +using mom’s inline escape for changing point size as part of +the left, centre and/or right strings, or in the strings for +recto +and/or +verso +HEADERS or FOOTERS, or in the strings passed to +HEADERS_AND_FOOTERS, +you must use the form \*S[<n>] +and enter the inline beginning with \E*, like this: +\E*S[<+|-><n>]. +

+ +

+Additional note: +If you’re accustomed to groff’s usual way of handling +inline size requests (\sN, \s±N, \s(NN, \s±(NN, \s[NNN], +\s±[NNN]), feel free to continue with your old habits. Mom +doesn’t care. +

+ + + +

Capitalise a section of type

+If you need to capitalise a region of type inline, +bracket the region of type with the inline escapes, +\*[UC] (Upper Case) and +\*[LC] (Lower Case), like this: +
+ + All work \*[UC]and\*[LC] no play makes Jack a dull boy. + +The above produces, on output +
+ + All work AND no play makes Jack a dull boy. + +

+ +

+Note: +\*[UC] and \*[LC] must not be used inside the +string arguments +passed to the +HEADER_<POSITION> +macro. Instead, use the control macro +HEADER_<POSITION>_CAPS. +For +HEADER_RECTO +(or _VERSO) or +FOOTER_RECTO +(or _VERSO), supply the CAPS option to the appropriate +macro. +

+ + + +

Pairwise kerning

+Pairwise kerning means moving specific letter pairs closer +together or further apart (see +Typesetting terms, kerning +for more details). +

+ +

+Mom permits inline pairwise kerning through the use of the inline +escapes +
+ + \*[BU <n>] Closes the space between letters (Back Units). + \*[FU <n>] Opens the space between letters (Forward Units). + +<n> is the number of +kern units +by which to close or open the space between letters. +

+ +

+For example, +
+ + THE HUMAN COST OF COMMODIF\*[FU 1]YING FRESH W\*[BU 4]A\*[BU 5]TER + +moves the letter Y in “COMMODIFYING” one kern unit away +from the letter F, and the letter A in “WATER” four +kern units closer to the letter W. Additionally, the letter T in +“WATER” is moved five kern units closer to the letter A. +

+ +

+For backward compatibility, the forms +
+ + \*[BU1]...\*[BU36] Move backward 1...36 kern units + \*[FU1]...\*[FU36] Move forward 1...36 kern units + +also exist (i.e. with no space before the number of kern units desired, +up to a limit of 36). +

+ +

+The default size of a kern unit is 1/36 of the current point size; +this may be changed by invoking the macro .KERN_UNIT +with the desired value, which represents a fraction of the current +point size. For example, to change the kern unit to 1/54 of the +current point size, +
+ + .KERN_UNIT 54 + +To restore the kern unit to its default, invoke +.KERN_UNIT with an argument of DEFAULT. +

+ + +

Notes concerning document processing

+If you’re using the +document processing macros +and wish to design your own +HEADERS or FOOTERS +using mom’s inline escapes for kerning as part of the left, +centre and/or right strings, or in the strings for +recto +and/or +verso +HEADERS or FOOTERS, or in the strings passed to +HEADERS_AND_FOOTERS, +you must use the forms +\E*[BU<n>] and +\E*[FU<n>] (i.e. with no space), +and enter the inline beginning with \E* +rather than just \*, e.g. +\E*[BU4]. +

+ +

+Additional note: +Using the BU or FU escapes between characters +pairs that are already automatically kerned (see +KERN) +disables the automatic kerning and uses the value you give to +BU or FU instead. +

+ + + +

Horizontal inline movement

+Sometimes, you may need to insert a specified amount of white +space into an +output line, +or—occasionally—back up to a previous position on an +output +line in order to create special typographic effects. +

+ +

+Mom’s inline escapes for these horizontal movements are +
+ + \*[BCK <n unit>] Move backward inline the specified number of + units of measure; decimal fractions are allowed. + +and + + \*[FWD <n unit>] Move forward inline the specified number of + units of measure; decimal fractions are allowed. + +

+ +

+For example, +
+ + 1.\*[FWD 12p]The Free Trade Play-Offs: WalMart 100, Mexico 0 + +puts 12 points of space between 1. and +The. +

+ +

+Note: +For backward compatibility, the forms +
+ + \*[BP.25]...\*[BP12.75] Move backward .25...12.75 points + \*[FP.25]...\*[FP12.75] Move forward .25...12.75 points + +also exist (i.e. with no space before the digit and points being +the unit of measure, hence no unit of measure required). Both +accept quarter points, so it’s possible to do, +for example, \*[FP.5] or +\*[BP1.25] up to a limit of 12.75 points. +

+ +

Note concerning document processing

+If you’re using the +document processing macros +and wish to design your own +HEADERS or FOOTERS +using mom’s inline escapes for horizontal movements as part of +the left, centre and/or right strings, or in the strings for +recto +and/or +verso +HEADERS or FOOTERS, or in the strings passed to +HEADERS_AND_FOOTERS, +you must use the forms +\E*[BP<n>] and +\E*[FP<n>] (i.e. with no space), +and enter the inline beginning with \E* +rather than just \*, e.g. +\E*[BP.75]. You may, in such cases, prefer +to use the native groff inline escape +\h. +

+ + + +

Vertical inline movement

+If you need to move portions of type up or down on a line, mom +provides the following inline escapes: +
+ + \*[DOWN <n unit>] Move down inline the specified number of + units of measure + + \*[UP <n unit>] Move up inline the specified number of + units of measure + +For example, +
+ + Tel: 905\*[UP 1p]-\*[DOWN 1p]4072 + +moves the hyphen in the telephone number up by 1 point, then +moves back down by the same amount. +

+ +

+Note: +\*[UP] and +\*[DOWN] +do not work in conjunction with the inline escape, +\*[RULE]. +

+ +

+Additional note: +For backward compatibility, the following are also available: +
+ + \*[ALD.25]...\*[ALD12.75] Advance lead .25...12.75 points (move downward) + \*[RLD.25]...\*[RLD12.75] Reverse lead .25...12.75 points (move upward) + +

+ +

+Both \*[ALD] and +\*[RLD] work in points, hence you +mustn’t use a unit of measure. +

+ +

Note concerning document processing

+If you’re using the +document processing macros +and wish to design your own +HEADERS or FOOTERS +using mom’s inline escapes for vertical movements as part of +the left, centre and/or right strings, or in the strings for +recto +and/or +verso +HEADERS or FOOTERS, or in the strings passed to +HEADERS_AND_FOOTERS, +you must use the forms +\E*[ALD<n>] and +\E*[RLD<n>] (i.e. with no space), and enter the +inline beginning with \E* rather than just +\*, +e.g. \E*[ALD.5]. +You may, in such cases, prefer to use the native groff inline +escape +\v. + +

+ + + +

Terminate a line without advancing on the page

+Sometimes, you want mom to break a line but not advance on the page. +This can be accomplished with the macro +EL +or with the escape \*[B]. Simply attach +\*[B] to the end of any input line. Using +the example given in the document entry for EL, you’d use +\*[B] like this: +
+ + .LEFT + .LS 12.5 + A line of text.\*[B] + .ALD 24p + The next line of text. + + +\*[B] works reliably regardless of the current +fill mode. +

+ + + +

Call the next sequential tab without advancing on the page

+Sometimes, you want mom to move to the next tab in sequence (e.g. +from TAB 1 to TAB 2, or TAB 8 to TAB 9) without mom advancing on the +page. (See the NOTE +here +if you’re not clear how mom manages tabs and linebreaks.) To +do so, simply attach the escape \*[TB+] to +the end of the input line in previous tab, like this: +
+ + .TAB 1 + Some text\*[TB+] \" In tab 1 + Some more text \" In tab 2, same baseline. + + +\*[TB+] works reliably regardless of the +current +fill mode. +

+ + + +

Full measure rules

+I find I often need rules drawn to the full measure of the +current line or tab length. The official way to do this is +\l'\n[.l]u', which is annoying to type, +and doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot if you’re new +to groff. The inline, \*[RULE], is a +simple replacement for \l'\n[.l]u'. Use it +whenever you need a rule drawn to the full measure of the current +line or tab length, for example: +
+ + .LL 6P + \*[RULE] + + +The above draws a rule the full measure of the 6-pica line length. +For another way to draw full measure rules, see the macro +DRH. +

+ +

+\*[RULE] must appear on an +input line +by itself, and always causes a break when entered after a normal +input line of text. It does not, however, deposit a break when used +immediately after a macro. +

+ +

+The weight of the rule drawn with \*[RULE] +is controlled with the macro +RULE_WEIGHT. +Mom’s default is 1/2 point. +

+ +

+Note: +\*[RULE] draws the rule to the full measure, +hence it cannot be used to fill the remainder of a partial line with +a rule in this way: +
+ + Signature__________________________________________ + +If you wish to accomplish this effect, you have to use +\*[RULE] in conjunction with the +PAD +macro and +string tabs. +(See the +example +provided with PAD.) + +

+ +

+Please also note that the inline escapes +\*[UP] +and +\*[DOWN] +cannot be used in conjunction with \*[RULE]. +

+ +

+This doesn’t work: +
+ + \*[DOWN 2p]\*[RULE]\*[UP 2p] + +whereas this does: +
+ + .ALD 2p + \*[RULE] + .RLD 2p + +

+ +

+See groff’s +Horizontal line drawing function +for more information on drawing horizontal rules. +

+ + + +

+Macro: RULE_WEIGHT <weight in points> +

+ +

+• Must not have a +unit of measure +appended. +
+ Argument must be greater than 0 and less than 100; decimal +fractions are allowed. +

+ +

+RULE_WEIGHT allows you to tell mom how heavy (in other words, how +“thick”) you want the rules drawn with the inline +escape, +\*[RULE]. +It takes a single argument: the weight of the rule in +points +but without the +unit of measure +p attached. Thus, to set the weight of rules +drawn with \*[RULE] to 1-1/4 points, +you’d do +
+ + .RULE_WEIGHT 1.25 + +

+ +

+RULE_WEIGHT also sets the weight of rules drawn +with +.DRH +when DRH is not given any arguments. +

+ +

+ + + +

Commonly-used groff inline escapes

+ +

Font control (`\f`)

+ +

+Groff’s basic mechanism for inline font control is the escape +\f[<font>]. +
+ + \f[R] Change to the medium roman font (equivalent to mom's \*[ROM]) + \f[I] Change to the medium italic font (equivalent to mom's \*[IT]) + \f[B] Change to the bold roman font (equivalent to mom's \*[BD]) + \f[BI] Change to the bold italic font (equivalent to mom's \*[BDI]) + \f[P] Revert to the previous font (equivalent to mom's \*[PREV]) + +

+ +

+\f[<font>] can be used with any valid +font style +registered with groff. (See +here +for a list of pre-registered font styles provided by mom). +

+ +

+\f[<family><font>] can also take a complete valid +family+font name combo. This is especially useful should you +need to change both family and font inline. For example, if your +prevailing family and font are Times Roman and you want a few words +in Courier Bold Italic, you could do this: +
+ + .FAM T + .FT R + The command \f[CBI]ls -l\f[P] gives a "long" directory listing. + +The Unix command ls -l will appear in Courier Bold Italic +in a line that is otherwise in Times Roman. +

+ + + +

Inline horizontal motions (`\h`)

+ +

+Whenever you need to move forward or backward on a line, use the +inline +
+ + \h'<distance>' + +In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, always append a +unit of measure +to <distance>. For example, +
+ + \h'1.25i' + +moves you 1.25 inches to the right (forward) of the horizontal +position on the current +output line. +

+ +

+Note: +\h'<distance>' is exactly equivalent to a +\*[FWD n<unit>]. +

+ +

+To move backwards by the same amount, do +
+ + \h'-1.25i' + +

+ +

+Note: +\h'-<distance>' is exactly equivalent to +\*[BCK n<unit>]. +

+ + + +

Inline vertical motions (`\v`)

+ +

+If you need to raise or lower type on a line (say, for sub- or +superscripts, or any other special effect), use +
+ + \v'<distance>' + +In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, always append a +unit of measure +to <distance>. For example, +
+ + \v'.6m' + +moves you (approx.) 2/3 of an +em +downward on the current +output line. +

+ +

+Note: +\v'<distance>' is exactly equivalent to +\*[DOWN n<unit>]. +

+ +

+To move upward an equivalent amount, do +
+ + \v'-.6m' + +

+ +

+Note: +\v'<-distance>' is exactly equivalent to +\*[UP n<unit>]. +

+ +

+Important: +The vertical motion of \v only affects type on the +current +output line. +When groff breaks the output line, the effect of +\v is cancelled; the baseline of the next output line +is where it would be if you hadn’t used \v. +

+ +

+Tip: +When using \v for occasional effects in a line, +don’t forget to reverse it when you’ve done what you +want to do. Otherwise, the remaining type will be set too high (if +you used \v with the minus sign) or too low (if you used +\v without the minus sign). +

+ + + +

String width function (`\w`)

+ +

+In the context of mom, the string width inline +\w'<string>' primarily serves to let you establish the +horizontal measure of something (e.g. indents) based on the length +of a bit of text. For example, if you want a left indent the length +of the word “Examples:” plus a space, you can set it with +the \w inline escape: +
+ + .IL "\w'Examples: '" + +

+ +

+Note: +Whenever you pass \w'string' +to a macro that normally requires a +unit of measure, +do NOT add a unit of measure to the +\w'string' argument. +

+ +

+Furthermore, if the \w is used in place of a +numeric argument +to a macro and string is composed of several words +separated by spaces, you must surround the whole escape with double +quotes, as in the example above. +

+ + + +

Horizontal line drawing function (`\l`)

+ +

+The \l'distance' inline allows you to draw a horizontal +rule of the specified distance. You must supply a +unit of measure. +Therefore, to set a 3-pica rule into a line of text, you’d do +
+ + A line of text with a superfluous \l'3P' 3-pica rule in it. + +\l'3P', above, not only draws the rule, but advances 3 +picas horizontally as well, just as you’d expect. +

+ +

+For an easy way of drawing rules to the full measure of the current +line or tab length, see +Full measure rules. +

+ +

+The weight (thickness) of rules varies according to the point +size in effect when you invoke \l, but you can’t fix +the weight with any real precision. A point size of 12 produces +a tastefully moderate rule weight of between one-half and one +point (depending on your printer). +

+ +

+Note: +Besides \l, groff provides a number of more +sophisticated “drawing” escapes. It is well beyond +the scope of this documentation to demonstrate their usage; see +
+ + info groff \\D + +for directions concerning their use. The drawing escapes can be a +bit unwieldy, so mom provides “user-friendly” macros for +the +graphical objects +most commonly encountered in typesetting: horizontal and vertical +rules, boxes, and circles (ellipses). +

+ +

+Additionally, groff comes with two “preprocessors” that +let you create ruled tables and vector diagrams (line drawings): +tbl and pic. The documentation for tbl can be +downloaded from +
+ http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/doc/76/tbl.ps.gz +
+and pic from +
+ http://www.kohala.com/start/troff/gpic.raymond.ps +
+Both are powerful tools, but they can be nasty to learn—at +first, anyway. You may prefer to use a vector drawing program +to create diagrams and tables; inserting the results into a +document is easy enough with +PDF_IMAGE +or +PSPIC. +

+ + + +

Special characters and symbols

+Here follows a short list of commonly-used special characters +available via inline escapes. If you’re not sure of the +meaning of some of these characters, consult the +Definitions of Terms. +

+ +

+For a complete list of special characters and glyphs (i.e. just +about anything you’d ever want to appear on the printed +page, including mathematical symbols, accented characters, unusual +ligatures and letters unique to various European languages), consult +man groff_char. +

+ + + CHARACTER ESCAPE SEQUENCE + --------- --------------- + Comment line \# or .\" + Fixed-width space \<space> + Unbreakable space \~ + Digit-width (figure) space \0 + Zero-width character \& + Discretionary hyphen \% + Backslash \\ or \e + Plus/minus (arithmetic) \[+-] + Subtract (arithmetic) \[mi] + Multiply (arithmetic) \[mu] + Divide (arithmetic) \[di] + Em-dash \[em] + En-dash \[en] + Left double-quote \[lq] + Right double-quote \[rq] + Open (left) single-quote \[oq] + Close (right) single-quote \[cq] + Bullet \[bu] + Ballot box \[sq] + One-quarter \[14] + One-half \[12] + Three-quarters \[34] + Degree sign \[de] + Dagger \[dg] + Foot mark \[fm] + Cent sign \[ct] + Registered trademark \[rg] + Copyright \[co] + Section symbol \[se] + +
+ +

+ + + + + + + + +

Back to Table of Contents

Top

Next: Coloured text

+ +

Inline escapes

Introduction

List of inline escapes

Mom’s personal inline escapes

Changing fonts

Notes concerning document processing

Changing point size

NOTE CONCERNING DOCUMENT PROCESSING

Capitalise a section of type

Pairwise kerning

Notes concerning document processing

Horizontal inline movement

Note concerning document processing

Vertical inline movement

Note concerning document processing

Terminate a line without advancing on the page

Call the next sequential tab without advancing on the page

Full measure rules

Commonly-used groff inline escapes

Font control (\f)

Inline horizontal motions (\h)

Inline vertical motions (\v)

String width function (\w)

Horizontal line drawing function (\l)

Special characters and symbols

Font control (`\f`)

Inline horizontal motions (`\h`)

Inline vertical motions (`\v`)

String width function (`\w`)

Horizontal line drawing function (`\l`)