--- name: "groff_man" section: "7" platform: "linux" package: "groff" version: "1.24.2-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/groff_man" --- # groff\_man(7) compose manual pages with GNU roff ## Name groff\_man - compose manual pages with GNU *roff* ## Synopsis **groff -man** \[*option* ...\] \[*file* ...\] **groff -m man** \[*option* ...\] \[*file* ...\] ## Description The GNU implementation of the *man* macro package is part of the *groff* document formatting system. It is used to compose manual pages (“man pages”) like the one you are reading. This document presents the macros thematically; for those needing only a quick reference, the following table lists them alphabetically, with references to appropriate subsections below. Readers who are not already experienced *groff* users should consult [*groff\_man\_style*(7)](/groff_man_style/7.md), an expanded version of this document, for additional explanations and advice. It covers only those concepts required for man page document maintenance, and not the full breadth of the *groff* typesetting system. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Macro | Meaning | Subsection | | **.B** | Bold | Font style macros | | **.BI** | Bold, italic alternating | Font style macros | | **.BR** | Bold, roman alternating | Font style macros | | **.EE** | Example end | Document structure macros | | **.EX** | Example begin | Document structure macros | | **.HP** | Begin hanging paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.I** | Italic | Font style macros | | **.IB** | Italic, bold alternating | Font style macros | | **.IP** | Indented paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.IR** | Italic, roman alternating | Font style macros | | **.LP** | Begin paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.ME** | Mail-to end | Hyperlink macros | | **.MR** | Man page cross reference | Hyperlink macros | | **.MT** | Mail-to start | Hyperlink macros | | **.P** | Begin paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.PP** | Begin paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.RB** | Roman, bold alternating | Font style macros | | **.RE** | Relative inset end | Document structure macros | | **.RI** | Roman, italic alternating | Font style macros | | **.RS** | Relative inset start | Document structure macros | | **.SH** | Section heading | Document structure macros | | **.SM** | Small | Font style macros | | **.SS** | Subsection heading | Document structure macros | | **.SY** | Synopsis start | Synopsis macros | | **.TH** | Title heading | Document structure macros | | **.TP** | Tagged paragraph | Paragraphing macros | | **.TQ** | Supplemental paragraph tag | Paragraphing macros | | **.UE** | URI end | Hyperlink macros | | **.UR** | URI start | Hyperlink macros | | **.YS** | Synopsis end | Synopsis macros | We discuss other macros (**AT**, **DT**, **OP**, **PD**, **SB**, and **UC**) in subsection “Deprecated features” below. Throughout Unix documentation, a manual entry is referred to simply as a “man page”, regardless of its length, without gendered implication, and irrespective of the macro package selected for its composition. ### Macro reference preliminaries A tagged paragraph describes each macro. We present coupled pairs together, as with **EX** and **EE**. If you require an empty macro argument, specify it as a pair of neutral double quotes (**""**). Most macro arguments are formatted as text in the output; exceptions are noted. ### Document structure macros Document structure macros organize a man page's content. All of them break the output line. **TH** (title heading) identifies the document as a man page and configures the page headers and footers. Section headings (**SH**), one of which is mandatory and many of which are conventionally expected, facilitate location of material by the reader and aid the man page writer to discuss all essential aspects of the topics presented. Subsection headings (**SS**) are optional and permit sections that grow long to develop in a controlled way. Many technical discussions benefit from examples; lengthy ones, especially those reflecting multiple lines of input to or output from the system, are usefully bracketed by **EX** and **EE**. When none of the foregoing meets a structural demand, use **RS**/**RE** to inset a region within a (sub)section. - **.TH** *identifier section* \[*footer-middle* \[*footer-inside* \[*header-middle*\]\]\] Break the page, reset the page number to 1 (unless the **-rC1** option is given), and use the arguments to populate the page header and footer. Together, *identifier* and the *section* of the manual to which it belongs can uniquely identify a *man* document on the system. See [*man*(1)](/man/1.md) or [*intro*(1)](/intro/1.md) for the manual sectioning applicable to your system. *identifier* and *section* are positioned at the left and right in the header; the latter is set after the former, in parentheses and without space. *footer-middle* is centered in the footer. By default, *footer-inside* is positioned at the bottom left. Use of the double-sided layout option **-rD1** places *footer-inside* at the bottom left on recto (odd-numbered) pages, and the bottom right on verso (even-numbered) pages. By default, the outside footer is the page number. Use of the continuous-rendering option **-rcR=1** replaces it with *identifier* and *section,* as in the header. *header-middle* is centered in the header. If *section* is an integer between 1 and 9 (inclusive), there is no need to specify *header-middle;* *an.tmac* supplies text for it. If *identifier* or *footer-inside* would overrun the space available in the header and/or footer, this package may abbreviate them with ellipses. *groff man* suppresses headers and footers in HTML output. - A valid *man* document calls **TH** only once, early in the file, prior to any other macro calls. - **.SH** \[ *heading-text*\] Set *heading-text* as a section heading. Given no argument, **SH** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line becomes *heading-text.* The heading text is set in bold (or the font specified by the string **HF**), and, on typesetters, slightly larger than the base type size. If the heading font **\\\*\[HF\]** is bold, use of an italic style in *heading-text* is mapped to the bold-italic style if available in the font family. The inset level is reset to 1; see subsection “Horizontal and vertical spacing” below. Text lines after the call are set as an ordinary paragraph (**P**). - The content of *heading-text* and ordering of sections follows a set of common practices, as does much of the layout of material within sections. For example, a section called “Name” or “NAME” must exist, must be the first section after the **TH** call, and must contain only text of the form *topic*\[ **,** *another-topic* \]... \\- *summary-description* for tools like [*makewhatis*(8)](/makewhatis/8.md) or [*mandb*(8)](/mandb/8.md) to index them. - **.SS** \[ *subheading-text*\] Set *subheading-text* as a subsection heading indented between a section heading and an ordinary paragraph (**P**). Given no argument, **SS** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line becomes *subheading-text.* The subheading text is set in bold (or the font specified by the string **HF**). If the heading font **\\\*\[HF\]** is bold, use of an italic style in *subheading-text* is mapped to the bold-italic style if available in the font family. The inset level is reset to 1; see subsection “Horizontal and vertical spacing” below. Text lines after the call are set as an ordinary paragraph (**P**). - **.EX** **.EE** Begin and end example. After **EX**, filling is disabled (and, on typesetters, a monospaced font family is selected). Calling **EE** enables filling (and restores the previous family). - Ninth Edition Unix introduced the **EX** and **EE** extensions. Documenter's Workbench (DWB), Heirloom Doctools, and Plan 9 *troff*s, and *mandoc* (since 1.12.2) support them. Solaris *troff* does not. - **.RS** \[ *inset-amount*\] Start new relative inset. *man* saves any current inset amount and moves right by: *inset-amount,* if specified; the *indentation* amount of the preceding **IP**, **TP**, or **HP** macro call if no (sub-)sectioning or ordinary paragraphing macro has intervened; or the amount of the **IN** register. **RS** calls can nest; each increments by 1 the *level* used by **RE**. The level prior to any **RS** call is 1. - **.RE** \[ *inset-level*\] End a relative inset, reducing it to that of *inset-level* (or by 1 if not specified) and restoring the corresponding inset amount. ### Paragraphing macros These macros break the output line. An *ordinary* paragraph (**P**) indents all output lines by the same amount. A hanging paragraph (**HP**) is a cosmetic variant of **P** with a hanging indent. Definition lists frequently occur in man pages; these can be set as *tagged paragraphs,* which have one (**TP**) or more (**TQ**) leading tags followed by a paragraph that has an additional indentation. The indented paragraph (**IP**) macro can continue the indented content of a narrative started with **TP**, or present an itemized or ordered list. If a paragraphing macro has been called since **SH** or **SS**, all except **TQ** follow the break with vertical space (in an amount configured by the deprecated **PD** macro); see subsection “Horizontal and vertical spacing” below. Except for **TQ**, these macros reset the type size, hyphenation, and adjustment to (configured) defaults, and the font style to roman.\ - **.P** **.LP** **.PP** Begin a new paragraph; these macros are synonymous. Any indentation from use of **IP**, **TP**, or **HP** is cleared. The inset amount, as affected by **RS** and **RE**, is not. - **.HP** \[ *indentation*\] Set a paragraph with a hanging indentation. Text on output lines after the first is indented by *indentation,* if specified, and by the amount of the **IN** register otherwise. - *Caution:* A hanging indentation cannot be expressed naturally in (pure) HTML, a hanging paragraph is not distinguishable from an ordinary one if it formats on only one output line, and non-*roff*-based man page interpreters may treat **HP** as an ordinary paragraph anyway. Thus, information or distinctions you mean to express with indentation may be lost. - **.TP** \[ *indentation*\] Set an indented paragraph with a leading unindented tag. The macro plants a one-line input trap that honors the **\\c** escape sequence; text on the next line becomes the tag, set without indentation. Text on subsequent lines is indented by *indentation,* if specified, and by the amount of the **IN** register otherwise. If the tag, plus the “tag spacing” stored in the **TS** register (see section “Options” below) is wider than the indentation, the package breaks the line after the tag. - **.TQ** Set an additional tag for a paragraph tagged with **TP**, planting a one-line input trap as with **TP**. - **TQ** is a GNU extension supported by Heirloom Doctools *troff* (since Git snapshot 151218) and *mandoc* (since 1.14.5) but not by DWB, Plan 9, or Solaris *troff*s. - **.IP** \[ *mark* \[*indentation*\]\] Set an indented paragraph with an optional mark. Arguments, if present, are handled as with **TP**, except that the *mark* argument to **IP** cannot include a macro call, and the tag separation amount stored in the **TS** register is not enforced. ### Synopsis macros Use **SY** and **YS** to summarize syntax using familiar Unix conventions. Heirloom Doctools *troff* (since Git snapshot 151218) and *mandoc* (since 1.14.5) support these GNU extensions; DWB, Plan 9, and Solaris *troff*s do not. - **.SY** *keyword* \[*suffix*\] Begin synopsis. Adjustment and automatic hyphenation are disabled. If **SY** has already been called without a corresponding **YS**, a break is performed. *keyword* and any *suffix* are set in bold. When *suffix* is present, the package sets the next word after it without intervening space. If a break is required in subsequent text (up to a paragraphing, sectioning, or **YS** macro call), lines after the first are indented. Unless the previous synopsis's indentation is reused (see **YS** below), output lines after the first indent by the width of the pending output line up to the end of *keyword* plus a space, if *keyword* is the only argument, and up to the end of *suffix* otherwise.\ - **.YS** \[ *reuse-indentation*\] End synopsis, breaking the line and restoring indentation, adjustment, and hyphenation to their previous states. If an argument is given, the indentation corresponding to the previous **SY** call is reused by the next **SY** call instead of being computed. ### Hyperlink macros Man page cross references are best presented with **MR**. Mark email addresses with **MT**/**ME** and other sorts of URI with **UR**/**UE**. To hyperlink text, terminals and pager programs must support ECMA-48 OSC 8 escape sequences (see [*grotty*(1)](/grotty/1.md)). When device support is unavailable or disabled with the **U** register (see section “Options” below), *groff man* renders these URIs between angle brackets (**⟨ ⟩**) after the linked text. **MT**, **ME**, **UR**, and **UE** are GNU extensions supported by Heirloom Doctools *troff* (since Git snapshot 151218) and *mandoc* (**UR**/**UE** since 1.12.3; **MT**/**ME** since 1.14.2) but not by DWB, Plan 9 (original), or Solaris *troff*s. Plan 9 from User Space's *troff* implements **MR**.\ Prepare arguments to **MR**, **MT**, and **UR** for typesetting; they can appear in the output. Use special character escape sequences to encode Unicode basic Latin characters where necessary, particularly the hyphen-minus. - **.MR** *topic* \[*manual-section* \[*trailing-text*\]\] *(since* groff *1.23)* Set a man page cross reference as “*topic***(***manual-section***)** ”. If *manual-section* is absent, the package omits the surrounding parentheses. If *trailing-text* (typically punctuation) is specified, it follows the closing parenthesis without intervening space. Hyphenation is disabled while the cross reference is set. *topic* is set in the font specified by the **MF** string. If *manual-section* is present, the cross reference hyperlinks to a URI of the form “**man:** *topic*(*manual-section*)”. - **.MT** *address* **.ME** \[ *trailing-text*\] Identify *address* as an RFC 6068 *addr-spec* for a “mailto:” URI with the text between the two macro calls as the link text. An argument to **ME** is placed after the link text without intervening space. *address* may not be visible in the rendered document if hyperlinks are enabled and supported by the output driver. If they are not, *address* is set in angle brackets after the link text and before *trailing-text.* If hyperlinking is enabled but there is no link text, *address* is formatted and hyperlinked *without* angle brackets, except when *address* appears as a **TP** paragraph tag. - **.UR** *uri* **.UE** \[ *trailing-text*\] Identify *uri* as an RFC 3986 URI hyperlink with the text between the two macro calls as the link text. An argument to **UE** is placed after the link text without intervening space. *uri* may not be visible in the rendered document if hyperlinks are enabled and supported by the output driver. If they are not, *uri* is set in angle brackets after the link text and before *trailing-text.* If hyperlinking is enabled but there is no link text, *uri* is formatted and hyperlinked *without* angle brackets, except when *uri* appears as a **TP** paragraph tag. If a **UR**/**UE** or **MT**/**ME** pair occurs in a **TP** tag and hyperlinking is unavailable, *groff man* sets the link target at the beginning of the indented paragraph, not as part of the tag, unless there is no link text. ### Font style macros The *man* macro package is limited in its font styling options, offering only **bold** (**B**), *italic* (**I**), and roman. Italic text may instead render underscored on terminals. **SM** sets text at a smaller type size, which differs visually from regular-sized text only on typesetters. The macros **BI**, **BR**, **IB**, **IR**, **RB**, and **RI** set their odd- and even-numbered arguments as text in the alternating styles their names indicate, with no space separating them. The default type size and family for typesetters is 10-point Times, except on the **X75-12** and **X100-12** devices where the type size is 12 points. The default style is roman. - **.B** \[ *text*\] Set *text* in bold. Given no argument, **B** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line, which can be further formatted with a macro, is set in bold. - **.I** \[ *text*\] Set *text* in an italic or oblique face. Given no argument, **I** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line, which can be further formatted with a macro, is set in an italic or oblique face. - **.SM** \[ *text*\] Set *text* one point smaller than the default type size on typesetters. Given no argument, **SM** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line, which can be further formatted with a macro, is set smaller.\ Unlike the above font style macros, the font style alternation macros below set no input traps; they must be given arguments to have effect. They apply italic corrections as appropriate. - **.BI** *bold-text italic-text* ... Set each argument in bold and italics, alternately. - **.BR** *bold-text roman-text* ... Set each argument in bold and roman, alternately. - **.IB** *italic-text bold-text* ... Set each argument in italics and bold, alternately. - **.IR** *italic-text roman-text* ... Set each argument in italics and roman, alternately. - **.RB** *roman-text bold-text* ... Set each argument in roman and bold, alternately. - **.RI** *roman-text italic-text* ... Set each argument in roman and italics, alternately. ### Horizontal and vertical spacing The package sets all text inboard of the left edge of the output medium by the amount of the *page offset;* see register **PO** in section “Options” below. Headers, footers (both set with **TH**), and section headings (**SH**) lie at the page offset. *groff* *man* indents subsection headings (**SS**) by the amount in the **SN** register. Ordinary paragraphs not within an **RS**/**RE** inset region are inset by the amount stored in the **BP** register; see section “Options” below. The **IN** register configures the default indentation amount used by **RS** (as the *inset-amount*), **IP**, **TP**, and **HP**; an overriding argument is a number plus an optional scaling unit. If no scaling unit is given, the *man* package assumes “n”. An indentation specified in a call to **IP**, **TP**, or **HP** persists until (1) another of these macros is called with an *indentation* argument, or (2) **SH**, **SS**, or **P** or its synonyms is called; these clear the indentation entirely. Several macros insert vertical space: **SH**, **SS**, **TP**, **P** (and its synonyms), **IP**, and **HP**. They then enable *no-space mode;* see [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md). The default inter-section and inter-paragraph spacing is 1v for terminals and 0.4v for typesetters. (The deprecated macro **PD** can change this vertical spacing, but we discourage its use.) Between **EX** and **EE** calls, the inter-paragraph spacing is 1v regardless of output device. ### Registers Registers are described in section “Options” below. They can be set not only on the command line but in the site *man.local* file as well; see section “Files” below. ### Strings The following strings are defined for use in man pages. None of these is necessary in a contemporary man page; see [*groff\_man\_style*(7)](/groff_man_style/7.md). *groff man* supports others for configuration of rendering parameters; see section “Options” below. - **\\\*R** interpolates a special character escape sequence for the “registered sign” glyph, **\\(rg**, if available, and “(Reg.)” otherwise. - **\\\*S** interpolates an escape sequence setting the type size to the document default. - **\\\*(lq** **\\\*(rq** interpolate special character escape sequences for left and right double-quotation marks, **\\(lq** and **\\(rq**, respectively. - **\\\*(Tm** interpolates a special character escape sequence for the “trade mark sign” glyph, **\\(tm**, if available, and “(TM)” otherwise. ### Hooks Two macros, both GNU extensions, are called internally by the *groff man* package to format page headers and footers and can be redefined by the administrator in a site's *man.local* file (see section “Files” below). The presentation of **TH** above describes the default headers and footers. Because these macros are hooks for *groff man* internals, man pages have no reason to call them. Such hook definitions typically consist of “sp” and “tl” requests. **PT** furthermore has the responsibility of emitting a PDF bookmark after writing the first page header in a document. Consult the existing implementations in *an.tmac* when drafting replacements. - **.BT** Set the page footer text (“bottom trap”). - **.PT** Set the page header text (“page trap”). To remove a page header or footer entirely, define the appropriate macro as empty rather than deleting it. ### Deprecated features Use of the following in man pages for public distribution is discouraged. - **.AT** \[ *system* \[*release*\]\] Alter the footer for use with legacy AT&T man pages, overriding any definition of the *footer-inside* argument to **TH**. This macro exists only to render man pages from historical systems. - The inside footer is populated per the value of *system.* - 3 7th edition *(default)* - 4 System III - 5 System V - The optional *release* argument specifies the release number, as in “System V Release 3”. - **.DT** Reset tab stops to the default (every 0.5i). - Use of this presentation-oriented macro is deprecated. It translates poorly to HTML, under which exact space control and tabulation are not readily available. Thus, information or distinctions that you use tab stops to express are likely to be lost. If you feel tempted to change the tab stops such that calling this macro later to restore them is desirable, consider composing a table using [*tbl*(1)](/tbl/1.md) instead.\ - **.OP** *option-name* \[*option-argument*\] Indicate an optional command parameter called *option-name*, which is set in bold. If the option takes an argument, specify *option-argument* using a noun, abbreviation, or hyphenated noun phrase. If present, *option-argument* is preceded by a space and set in italics. Square brackets in roman surround both arguments. - Use of this quasi-semantic macro, an extension whose name originated in DWB *troff*, is deprecated; *groff*'s interface differs. Neither can easily be used to annotate options that take optional arguments or options whose arguments have internal structure (such as a mixture of literal and variable components). One could work around these limitations with font selection escape sequences, but font style alternation macros are preferable; they are more flexible and perform italic corrections on typesetters. - **.PD** \[ *vertical-space*\] Configure the amount of vertical space between paragraphs or (sub)sections. The optional argument *vertical-space* specifies the amount; the default scaling unit is “v”. Without an argument, inter-paragraph spacing resets to its default value; see subsection “Horizontal and vertical spacing” above. - Use of this presentation-oriented macro is deprecated. It translates poorly to HTML, under which exact control of inter-paragraph spacing is not readily available. Thus, information or distinctions that you use **PD** to express are likely to be lost. - **.SB** \[ *text*\] Set *text* in bold and (on typesetters) one point smaller than the default type size. Given no argument, **SB** plants a one-line input trap; text on the next line, which can be further formatted with a macro, is set smaller and in bold. Use of this macro, an extension originating in SunOS 4.0 *troff*, is deprecated. **SM** without an argument, followed immediately by “**B** *text*”, produces the same output more portably. The macros' order is interchangeable; put *text* with the latter. - **.UC** \[ *version*\] Alter the footer for use with legacy BSD man pages, overriding any definition of the *footer-inside* argument to **TH**. This macro exists only to render man pages from historical systems. - The inside footer is populated per the value of *version.* - 3 3rd Berkeley Distribution *(default)* - 4 4th Berkeley Distribution - 5 4\.2 Berkeley Distribution - 6 4\.3 Berkeley Distribution - 7 4\.4 Berkeley Distribution ### History M. Douglas McIlroy ⟨m.douglas.mcilroy@dartmouth.edu⟩ designed, implemented, and documented the AT&T *man* macros for Unix Version 7 (1979) and employed them to edit Volume 1 of its *Programmer's Manual*, a compilation of all man pages supplied by the system. The package supported the macros listed in this page not described as extensions, except **P** and the deprecated **AT** and **UC**. It documented no registers and defined only **R** and **S** strings. **UC** appeared in 3BSD (1980). Unix System III (1980) introduced **P** and exposed the registers **IN** and **LL**, which had been internal to Seventh Edition Unix *man*. PWB/Unix 2.0 (1980) added the **Tm** string. 4BSD (1980) added **lq** and **rq** strings. SunOS 2.0 (1985) recognized **C**, **D**, **P**, and **X** registers. 4.3BSD (1986) added **AT** and **P**. Ninth Edition Unix (1986) introduced **EX** and **EE**. SunOS 4.0 (1988) added **SB**. Unix System V (1988) incorporated the **lq** and **rq** strings. Except for **EX**/**EE**, James Clark implemented the foregoing features in early versions of *groff.* Later, *groff* 1.20 (2009) resurrected **EX**/**EE** and originated **SY**/**YS**, **TQ**, **MT**/**ME**, and **UR**/**UE**. Plan 9 from User Space's *troff* introduced **MR** in 2020, and incorporated the **lq** and **rq** strings in 2025.\ ## Options The following *groff* options set registers (with **-r**) and strings (with **-d**) recognized and used by the *man* macro package. To ensure rendering consistent with output device capabilities and reader preferences, man pages should never manipulate them. - **-dAD=***adjustment-mode* Set line adjustment to *adjustment-mode,* which is typically “**b**” for adjustment to both margins (the default), or “**l**” for left alignment (ragged right margin). Any valid argument to *groff*'s “ad” request may be used. See [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md) for less-common choices. - **-rBP=***base-paragraph-inset* Set the inset amount for ordinary paragraphs not within an **RS**/**RE** inset. The default is 5n. - **-rcR=1** Enable continuous rendering. Output is not paginated; instead, one (potentially very long) page is produced. This is the default for terminal and HTML devices. Use **-rcR=0** to disable it on terminals; on HTML devices, it cannot be disabled. - **-rC1** Number output pages consecutively, in strictly increasing sequence, rather than resetting the page number to 1 (or the value of register **P**) with each new *man* document. - **-rCHECKSTYLE=***n* Report problems with usage of this macro package exhibited by the input at verbosity level *n*, where *n* is an integer in the range 0–3, inclusive; **0** disables the messages and is the default. This feature is a development and debugging aid for man page maintainers; the problems diagnosed, and range and meanings of the supported levels, are subject to change. - **-rCS=1** Set section headings (the argument(s) to **SH**) in full capitals. This transformation is off by default because it discards lettercase distinctions. - **-rCT=1** Set the man page identifier (the first argument to **TH**) in full capitals in headers and footers. This transformation is off by default because it discards lettercase distinctions. - **-rD1** Enable double-sided layout, formatting footers for even and odd pages differently; see the description of **TH** in subsection “Document structure macros” above. - **-rFT=***footer-distance* Set distance of the footer relative to the bottom of the page to *footer-distance;* this amount is always negative. At one half-inch above this location, the page text is broken before writing the footer. Ignored if continuous rendering is enabled. The default is “-0.5i - 1v”. - **-dHF=***heading-font* Select the font used for section and subsection headings; the default is “**B**” (bold style of the default family). Any valid argument to *groff*'s “ft” request may be used. See [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md). - **-rHY=0** Disable automatic hyphenation. Normally, it is enabled (1). The hyphenation mode is determined by the *groff* locale; see section “Localization“ of [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md). - **-rIN=***standard-indentation* Set the default indentation amount used by **IP**, **TP**, and **HP**, and the inset amount used by **RS**. The default is 7n on terminals and 7.2n on typesetters. Use only integer multiples of unit “n” on terminals for consistent indentation. - **-rLL=***line-length* Set line length; the default is 80n on terminals and 6.5i on typesetters. - **-rLT=***title-length* Set the line length for titles. By default, it is set to the line length (see **-rLL** above).\ - **-dMF=***man-page-topic-font* Select the font used for man page identifiers in **TH** calls and topics named in **MR** calls; the default is “**I**” (italic style of the default family). Any valid argument to *groff*'s “ft” request may be used. If the **MF** string ends in “I”, the package assumes it to be an oblique typeface, and applies italic corrections before and after man page topics and identifiers. - **-rP***n* Start enumeration of pages at *n*. The default is 1. - **-rPO=***page-offset* Set page offset; the default is 0 on terminals and 1i on typesetters. - **-rS***type-size* Use *type-size* for the document's body text; acceptable values are 10, 11, or 12 points. See subsection “Font style macros” above for the default. - **-rSN=***subsection-indentation* Set indentation of subsection headings to *subsection-indentation.* The default is 3n. - **-rTS=***separation* Require the given *separation* between a **TP** paragraph's tag and its body. The default is 2n. - **-rU0** Disable generation of URI hyperlinks in output drivers capable of them, making the arguments to **MT** and **UR** calls visible as formatted text. [*grohtml*(1)](/grohtml/1.md), [*gropdf*(1)](/gropdf/1.md), and [*grotty*(1)](/grotty/1.md) enable hyperlinks by default (the last only if not in its legacy output mode). - **-rX***p* Number successors of page *p* as *p*a, *p*b, *p*c, and so forth. The register tracking the suffixed page letter uses format “a” (see the “af” request in [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md)).\ ## Files - */usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/an.tmac* Most *man* macros are defined in this file. It also loads extensions from *an-ext.tmac* (see below). - */usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/andoc.tmac* This brief *groff* program detects whether the *man* or *mdoc* macro package is used by a document and loads the correct macro definitions, taking advantage of the fact that pages using them must call **TH** or **Dd**, respectively, before any other macros. A *man* program or a user typing, for example, “**groff -mandoc page.1**”, need not know which package the file *page.1* uses. Multiple man pages, in either format, can be handled; *andoc* reloads each macro package as necessary. Page-local redefinitions of names used by the *man* or *mdoc* packages prior to **TH** or **Dd** calls are “clobbered” by the reloading process. If you want to provide your own definition of an extension macro to ensure its availability, the *an-ext.tmac* entry below offers advice. - */usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/an-ext.tmac* Definitions of macros described above as extensions (and not deprecated) are contained in this file; in some cases, they are simpler versions of definitions appearing in *an.tmac*, and are ignored if the formatter is GNU *troff*. They are written to be compatible with AT&T *troff* and permissively licensed—not copylefted. To reduce the risk of name space collisions, string and register names begin only with “**m**”. We encourage man page authors who are concerned about portability to legacy Unix systems to copy these definitions into their pages, and maintainers of *troff* implementations or work-alike systems that format man pages to re-use them. To ensure reliable rendering, define them after your page calls **TH**; see the discussion of *andoc.tmac* above. Further, it is wise to define such page-local macros (if at all) after the “Name” section to accommodate timid [*makewhatis*(8)](/makewhatis/8.md) or [*mandb*(8)](/mandb/8.md) implementations that easily give up scanning for indexing material. - */usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/man.tmac* is a wrapper enabling the package to be loaded with the option “**-m man**”. - */usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mandoc.tmac* is a wrapper enabling *andoc.tmac* to be loaded with the option “**-m mandoc**”. - */usr/share/groff/site-tmac/man.local* Put site-local changes and customizations into this file. ## Authors James Clark wrote the initial GNU implementation of the *man* macro package. Later, Werner Lemberg ⟨wl@\\:gnu\\:.org⟩ supplied the **S**, **LT**, and **cR** registers, the last a 4.3BSD-Reno [*mdoc*(7)](/mdoc/7.md) feature. Larry Kollar ⟨kollar@\\:alltel\\:.net⟩ added the **FT**, **HY**, and **SN** registers; the **HF** string; and the **PT** and **BT** macros in *groff* 1.19 (2003). Lemberg and Eric S. Raymond ⟨esr@\\:thyrsus\\:.com⟩ contributed **EX**/**EE**, **MT**/**ME**, **UR**/**UE**, **TQ**, and an early version of the **SY**/**YS** macros to *groff* 1.20 (2009). G. Branden Robinson ⟨g.branden\\:.robinson@\\:gmail\\:.com⟩ implemented the **AD** and **MF** strings; **CS**, **CT**, and **U** registers; and the **MR** macro for *groff* 1.23 (2023), and the **BP**, **PO**, and **TS** registers and a revised implementation of the **SY**/**YS** macros for *groff* 1.24 (2026). Susan G. Kleinmann ⟨sgk@\\:debian\\:.org⟩ wrote the initial version of this document for the Debian GNU/Linux system. Lemberg imported it to *groff.* He and Robinson revised and updated it. Raymond and Robinson documented the extension macros. ## See also [*tbl*(1)](/tbl/1.md), [*eqn*(1)](/eqn/1.md), and [*refer*(1)](/refer/1.md) are preprocessors used with man pages. [*man*(1)](/man/1.md) describes the man page librarian on your system. [*groff\_mdoc*(7)](/groff_mdoc/7.md) details the *groff* version of BSD's alternative macro package for man pages. [*groff\_man\_style*(7)](/groff_man_style/7.md), [*groff*(7)](/groff/7.md), [*groff\_char*(7)](/groff_char/7.md)