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NAME
ms - text formatting macros

SYNOPSIS
nroff -ms [ options ] file ...
troff -ms [ options ] file ...

DESCRIPTION
This package of nroff(1) and troff(1) macro definitions provides a
formatting facility for various styles of articles, theses, and
books. When producing 2-column output on a terminal or
lineprinter, or when reverse line motions are needed, filter the
output through col(1). All external ms macros are defined below.
Many nroff(1) and troff(1) requests are unsafe in conjunction with
this package. However, the first four requests below may be used
with impunity after initialization, and the last two may be used
even before initialization:

.bp begin new page
.br break output line
.sp n insert n spacing lines
.ce n center next n lines
.ls n line spacing: n=1 single, n=2 double space
.na no alignment of right margin

Font and point size changes with and are also allowed; for
example, "word" will italicize word. Output of the tbl(1)
and eqn(1), and refer(1)* preprocessors for equations, tables, and
references is acceptable as input.

FILES
/usr/lib/tmac/tmac.x
/usr/lib/ms/x.???

SEE ALSO
eqn(1), refer(1)*, tbl(1), troff(1)

REQUESTS Macro Initial Break? Explanation Name Value Reset?

REGISTERS
Formatting distances can be controlled in ms by means of built-in
number registers. For example, this sets the line length to 6.5
inches:

.nr LL 6.5i

Here is a table of number registers and their default values:

Name Register Controls Takes Effect Default

PS point size paragraph 10
VS vertical spacing paragraph 12
LL line length paragraph 6i
LT title length next page same as LL
FL footnote length next .FS 5.5i
PD paragraph distance paragraph 1v (if n), .3v (if t)
DD display distance displays 1v (if n), .5v (if t)
PI paragraph indent paragraph 5n
QI quote indent next .QP 5n
FI footnote indent next .FS 2n
PO page offset next page 0 (if n), 9~81i (if t)
HM header margin next page 1i
FM footer margin next page 1i
FF footnote format next .FS 0 (1, 2, 3 available)

When resetting these values, make sure to specify the appropriate
units. Setting the line length to 7, for example, will result in
output with one character per line. Setting FF to 1 suppresses
footnote superscripting; setting it to 2 also suppresses
indentation of the first line; and setting it to 3 produces an
.IP-like footnote paragraph.

Here is a list of string registers available in ms; they may be
used anywhere in the text:

Name String’s Function

quote (" in nroff, " in troff )
unquote (" in nroff, " in troff )
dash (-- in nroff, - in troff )
month (month of the year)
day (current date)
automatically numbered footnote
opening footnote string delimiter
closing footnote string delimiter
acute accent (before letter)
grave accent (before letter)
circumflex (before letter)
cedilla (before letter)
umlaut (before letter)
tilde (before letter)

The opening and closing delimiters for footnote numbers may be
changed by resetting the appropriate string. Both opening
delimiters change to italics and superscript in troff(1), reverting
to the previous font and the baseline at the closing delimiter. In
nroff(1), square brackets are used as delimiters, with footnote
numbers in italics.

When using the extended accent mark definitions available with .AM,
these strings should come after, rather than before, the letter to
be accented.

BUGS
Floating keeps and regular keeps are diverted to the same space, so
they cannot be mixed together with predictable results.

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* Not currently supported under MachTen