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Name | Synopsis | Description | Macros | Strings | Registers | Internals | Files | Authors | See also | COLOPHON |
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groff_mm(7) Miscellaneous Information Manual groff_mm(7)
groff_mm - memorandum macros for GNU roff
groff -mm [option ...] [file ...]
groff -m mm [option ...] [file ...]
The GNU implementation of the mm macro package is part of the
groff document formatting system. The mm package is suitable for
the composition of letters, memoranda, reports, and books.
Call an mm macro at the beginning of a document to initialize the
package. A simple mm document might use only P for paragraphing.
Set numbered and unnumbered section headings with H and HU,
respectively. Change the style of the typeface with B, I, and R;
you can alternate styles with BI, BR, IB, IR, RB, and RI. Several
nestable list types are available via AL, BL, BVL, DL, ML, RL, and
VL; each of these begins a list, to which LI adds an item and LE
ends the (nested) list. Customized list arrangements are
supported by LB. DS and DF start static and floating displays,
respectively; either is terminated with DE.
groff mm is intended to be compatible with the mm implementation
found in the AT&T Documenter's Workbench (DWB), with the following
limitations.
• Omitted features include the logo and company name strings, }Z
and ]S, respectively; the encoded company site location
addresses recognized as the third argument to the AU macro; the
Pv (“private” heading) register; and the OK (other keywords),
and PM (proprietary markings) macros.
• The CS (output cover sheet) macro is implemented only for
memorandum type 4.
• The grap preprocessor is not explicitly supported; no G1 and G2
macros are defined.
• The registers A, C, E, T, and U, typically set from the troff or
nroff command lines with DWB mm, are not recognized.
• When setting the registers L or W from the command line, use an
explicit scaling unit to avoid surprises.
• DWB mm's nP macro indented the second line of a paragraph to
align it with the start of the text of the first (after the
paragraph number); groff mm's does not.
• Cut marks are not supported.
DWB mm supported only seven levels of heading. As a compatible
extension, groff mm supports fourteen, introducing new registers
H8 through H14, and affecting the interpretation of the HF and HP
strings.
Macro, register, and string descriptions in this page frequently
mention each other; most cross references are to macros. Where a
register or string is referenced, its type is explicitly
identified. mm's macro names are usually in full capitals;
registers and strings tend to have mixed-case names.
Document styles
groff mm offers three different frameworks for document
organization. COVER/COVEND is a flexible means of preparing any
document requiring a cover page. LT/LO aids preparation of
typical Anglophone correspondence (business letters, for example).
The MT memorandum type mechanism implements a group of formal
styles historically used by AT&T Bell Laboratories. Your document
can select at most one of these approaches; when used, each
disables the others.
Localization
groff mm is designed to be easily localized. For languages other
than English, strings that can appear in output are collected in
the file /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/xx.tmac, where xx is
an ISO 639 two-letter language identifier. Localization packages
should be loaded after mm; for example, you might format a Swedish
mm document with the command “groff -mm -msv”.
This package can also be localized by site or territory; for
example, /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mse.tmac illustrates
how to adapt the output to a national standard using its ISO 3166
territory code. Such a package can define a string that causes a
macro file /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/territory_locale
to be loaded at package initialization. If this mechanism is not
used, /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/locale is loaded
instead. No diagnostic is produced if these files do not exist.
Registers and strings
Much mm behavior can be configured by registers and strings. A
register is assigned with the nr request.
.nr ident [±]n [i]
ident is the name of the register, and n is the value to be
assigned. n can be prefixed with a plus or minus sign if
incrementation or decrementation (respectively) of the register's
existing value by n is desired. If assignment of a (possibly)
negative n is required, further prefix it with a zero or enclose
it in parentheses. If i is specified, the register is
automatically modified by i prior to interpolation if a plus or
minus sign is included in the escape sequence as follows.
\n[±][ident]
i can be negative; it combines algebraically with the sign in the
interpolation escape sequence.
Strings are defined with the ds request.
.ds ident contents
contents consumes everything up to the end of the line, including
trailing spaces. It is a good practice to end contents with a
comment escape sequence (\") so that extraneous spaces do not
intrude during document maintenance. To include leading spaces in
contents, prefix it with a double quote. Strings are interpolated
with the \* escape sequence.
\*[ident]
Register and string name spaces are distinct, but strings and
macros share a name space. Defining a string with the same name
as an mm macro is not supported and may cause incorrect rendering,
the emission of diagnostic messages, and an error exit status from
troff.
Register format
A register is interpolated using Arabic numerals if no other
format has been assigned to it. Assign a format to a register
with the af request.
.af R c
R is the name of the register, and c is the format. If c is a
sequence of Arabic numerals, their quantity defines a zero-padded
minimum width for the interpolated register value.
Form Sequence
1 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., 10, ...
001 000, 001, 002, 003, ..., 1000, ...
i 0, i, ii, iii, iv, ...
I 0, I, II, III, IV, ...
a 0, a, b, c, ..., z, aa, ab, ...
A 0, A, B, C, ..., Z, AA, AB, ...
Fonts
In groff mm, the fonts (or rather, font styles) R (roman),
I (italic), and B (bold) are mounted at font positions 1, 2,
and 3, respectively. Internally, font positions are used for
backward compatibility. From a practical point of view, it
doesn't make a big difference—a different font family can still be
selected by invoking groff's fam request or using its -f command-
line option. On the other hand, if you want to replace just, for
example, font I with Zapf Chancery Medium italic (available on
groff's pdf and ps output devices), you have to use the fp
request, replacing the font at position 2 with “.fp 2 ZCMI”).
Because the cover sheet, memorandum type, and refer(1) integration
macros explicitly request fonts named B, I, and R, you will also
need to remap these font names with the ftr request, for instance
with “.ftr I ZCMI”.
An explicitly empty argument may be specified with a pair of
double quotes; to call a macro XX with an empty second argument
but non-empty first and third ones, you could input the following.
.XX foo "" baz
Macro names longer than two characters are GNU extensions; some
shorter names were not part of DWB mm's published interface but
are documented aspects of groff mm.
)E level text
Add heading text text to the table of contents with level,
which is either 0 or in the range 1 to 7. See also H.
This undocumented DWB mm macro is exposed by groff mm to
enable customized tables of contents.
1C [1] Format page text in one column. The page is broken. A 1
argument suppresses this break; its use may cause body text
and a pending footnote to overprint. See 2C, MC, and NCOL.
2C Begin two-column formatting. This is a special case of MC.
See 1C and NCOL.
AE Abstract end; stop collecting abstract text. See AS.
AF [firm-name]
Specify firm associated with the document. At most one can
be declared; the firm name is used by memorandum types and
available to cover sheets. AF terminates a document title
started with TL, and can be called without an argument for
that purpose. See MT and COVER.
AL [type [text-indent [1]]]
Begin an auto-incrementing numbered list. Item numbers
start at one. The type argument assigns the register
format (see above) of the list item enumerators. The
default is 1. An explicitly empty type also indicates the
default. A text-indent argument overrides register Li. A
third argument suppresses the blank line that normally
precedes each list item. Use LI to declare list items, and
LE to end the list.
APP [id [title]]
Begin an appendix. If the identifier id is omitted, it is
incremented (or initialized, if necessary). The register
format used for id is “A”. The page is broken. The
register Aph determines whether an appendix heading is then
formatted. This heading uses the string App followed by
id. Appendices appear in any table of contents (see TC).
The string Apptxt is set to title if the latter is present,
and made empty otherwise.
APPSK id n [title]
As APP, but increment the page number by n. Use this macro
to “skip pages” when diagrams or other materials not
formatted by troff are included in appendices.
AS [placement [indentation]]
Abstract start; begin collecting abstract. Input up to the
next AE call is included in the abstract. placement
influences the location of the abstract on the cover sheet
of a memorandum (see MT). COVER, by contrast, ignores
placement by default, but can be customized to interpret
it.
[1mplacement[24m Effect
0 The abstract appears on page 1 and cover sheet
if the document is a “released paper”
memorandum (“.MT 4”); otherwise, it appears on
page 1 without a cover sheet.
1 The abstract appears only on the cover sheet
(“.MT 4” only).
An abstract does not appear at all in external letters
(“.MT 5”). A placement of 2 was supported by DWB mm but is
not by groff mm.
A second argument increases the indentation by indentation
and reduces the line length by twice this amount. A
scaling unit of ens is assumed. The default is 0.
AST [caption]
Set the caption above the abstract to caption, or clear it
if there is no argument. The default is “ABSTRACT”.
AT title ...
Specify author's title(s). If present, AT must appear just
after the corresponding author's AU. Each title occupies
an output line beneath the author's name in the signature
block used by LT letters (see SG) and in MT memoranda. The
ms cover sheet style also uses it.
AU [name [initials [loc [dept [ext [room [arg1 [arg2 [arg3]]]]]]]]]
Specify author. AU terminates a document title started
with TL, and can be called without arguments for that
purpose. Author information is used by cover sheets, MT
memoranda, and SG. Further arguments comprise initials,
location, department, telephone extension, room number or
name, and up to three additional items. Repeat AU to
identify multiple authors.
Use WA/WE instead to identify the author for documents
employing LT.
AV [name [1]]
Format approval lines for a handwritten signature and date.
Two horizontal rules are drawn, with the specified name and
the text of the string Letdate beneath them. Above these
rules, the text in the string Letapp is formatted; a second
argument replaces this text with a blank line. See LT.
AVL [name]
As AV, but the date, date rule, and approval notation
Letapp are omitted.
B [bold-text [previous-font-text]] ...
Join bold-text in boldface with previous-font-text in the
previous font, without space between the arguments. If no
arguments, switch font to bold style.
B1 Begin boxed, kept display. The text is indented one
character, and the right margin is one character shorter.
This is a GNU extension.
B2 End boxed, kept display. This is a GNU extension.
BE End bottom block; see BS.
BI [bold-text [italic-text]] ...
Join bold-text in boldface with italic-text in italics,
without space between the arguments.
BL [text-indent [1]]
Begin bulleted list. Items are prefixed with a bullet and
a space. A text-indent argument overrides register Pi. A
second argument suppresses blank lines between items. Use
LI to declare list items, and LE to end the list.
BR [bold-text [roman-text]] ...
Join bold-text in boldface with roman-text in roman style,
without space between the arguments.
BS Begin bottom block. Input is collected until BE is called,
and output between the footnote area and footer of each
page.
BVL [text-indent [mark-indent [1]]]
Begin broken variable-item (or “tagged”) list. Each item
is expected to supply its own mark. The line is always
broken after the mark; contrast VL. text-indent sets the
indentation of the text, and mark-indent the distance from
the current list indentation to the mark. A third argument
suppresses the blank line that normally precedes each list
item. Use LI to declare list items, and LE to end the
list.
COVER [style]
Begin a cover page description. COVER must appear before
the body text (or main matter) of a document. The argument
style is used to construct the file name /usr/local/share/
groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/style.cov and load it with the mso
request. The default style is ms; the ms.cov file prepares
a cover page resembling those of the ms package. A .cov
file must define a COVEND macro, which a document must call
at the end of the cover description. Use cover description
macros in the following order; only TL and AU are required.
.COVER
.TL
.AF
.AU
.AT
.AS
.AE
.COVEND
COVEND End the cover description.
DE End static or floating display begun with DS or DF.
DF [format [fill [right-indentation]]]
Begin floating display. A floating display is saved in a
queue and output in the order entered. Arguments are
handled as in DS. Floating displays cannot be nested.
Placement of floating displays is controlled by the
registers De and Df.
DL [text-indent [1]]
Begin dashed list. Items are prefixed with an em dash and
a space. A text-indent argument overrides register Pi. A
second argument suppresses blank lines between items. Use
LI to declare list items, and LE to end the list.
DS [format [fill [right-indentation]]]
Begin static display. Input until DE is called is
collected into a display. The display is output on a
single page unless it is taller than the height of the
page. DS can be nested (contrast with DF).
[1mformat[24m Effect
none Do not indent the display.
L Do not indent the display.
I Indent text by \n[Si].
C Center each line.
CB Center the whole display as a block.
R Right-adjust the lines.
RB Right-adjust the whole display as a block.
The values “L”, “I”, “C”, and “CB” can also be specified as
“0”, “1”, “2”, and “3”, respectively, for compatibility
with DWB mm.
[1mfill[24m Effect
none Disable filling.
N Disable filling.
F Enable filling.
“N” and “F” can also be specified as “0” and “1”,
respectively, for compatibility with DWB mm.
A third argument reduces the line length by right-
indentation.
mm normally places blank lines before and after the
display. Set register Ds to 0 to suppress these.
EC [title [override [flag [refname]]]]
Caption an equation. The caption consists of the string
Liec followed by an automatically incrementing counter
stored in the register Ec, punctuation configured by the
register Of, then title (if any). Use the af request to
configure Ec's number format. override and flag alter the
equation number as follows. Omitting flag and specifying 0
in its place are equivalent.
[1mflag[24m Effect
0 Prefix number with override.
1 Suffix number with override.
2 Replace number with override.
Equation captions are centered irrespective of the
alignment of any enclosing display.
refname stores the equation number using SETR; it can be
retreived with “.GETST refname”. This argument is a GNU
extension.
Captioned equations are listed in a table of contents (see
TC) if the Boolean register Le is true. Such a list uses
the string Le as a heading.
EF ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the even-page footer, which is formatted just above
the normal page footer on even-numbered pages. See PF. EF
defines the string EOPef.
EH ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the even-page header, which is formatted just below
the normal page header on even-numbered pages. See PH. EH
defines the string TPeh.
EN End equation input preprocessed by eqn(1); see EQ.
EOP If defined, this macro is called in lieu of normal page
footer layout. Headers and footers are formatted in a
separate environment. See TP.
Strings available to EOP
─────────────────────────
EOPf argument to PF
EOPef argument to EF
EOPof argument to OF
EPIC [-L] width height [name]
Draw a box with the given width and height. It also prints
the text name or a default string if name is not specified.
This is used to include external pictures; just give the
size of the picture. -L left-aligns the picture; the
default is to center. See PIC.
EQ [label]
Start equation input preprocessed by eqn(1). EQ and EN
macro calls bracket an equation region. Such regions must
be contained in displays (DS/DE), except when the region is
used only to configure eqn and not to produce output. If
present, label appears aligned to the right and centered
vertically within the display; see register Eq. If
multiple eqn regions occur within a display, only the last
label (if any) is used.
EX [title [override [flag [refname]]]]
Caption an exhibit. Arguments are handled analogously to
EC. The register Ex is the exhibit counter. The string
Liex precedes the exhibit number and any title. Exhibit
captions are centered irrespective of the alignment of any
enclosing display.
Captioned exhibits are listed in a table of contents (see
TC) if the Boolean register Lx is true. Such a list uses
the string Lx as a heading.
FC [closing-text]
Output the string Letfc, or the specified closing-text, as
the formal closing of a letter.
FD [arg [1]]
Configure display of footnotes. The first argument encodes
enablement of automatic hyphenation, adjustment to the
right margin, indentation of footnote text, and left- vs.
right-alignment of the footnote label within the space
allocated for it.
[1marg[24m Hyphenate? Adjust? Indent? Label alignment
0 no yes yes left
1 yes yes yes left
2 no no yes left
3 yes no yes left
4 no yes no left
5 yes yes no left
6 no no no left
7 yes no no left
8 no yes yes right
9 yes yes yes right
10 no no yes right
11 yes no yes right
An arg greater than 11 is treated as 0. mm's default is 0.
If a second argument, conventionally 1, is given, footnote
numbering is reset when a first-level heading is
encountered. See FS.
FE End footnote; see FS.
FG [title [override [flag [refname]]]]
Caption a figure. Arguments are handled analogously to EC.
The register Fg is the figure counter. The string Lifg
precedes the figure number and any title. Figure captions
are centered irrespective of the alignment of any enclosing
display.
Captioned figures are listed in a table of contents (see
TC) if the Boolean register Lf is true. Such a list uses
the string Lf as a heading.
FS [label]
Start footnote. Input until FE is called is collected into
a footnote. By default, footnotes are automatically
numbered starting at 1; the number is available in register
:p and, with a trailing period, in string F. This string
precedes the footnote text at the bottom of the column or
page. Footnotes are vertically separated by the product of
registers Fs and Lsp. In groff mm, footnotes may be used
in displays.
A label argument replaces the contents of the string F; it
need not be numeric. In this event, the footnote marker in
the body text must be explicitly written.
GETHN refname [varname]
Include the heading number where the corresponding “.SETR
refname” was placed. This is displayed as “X.X.X.” in
pass 1. See INITR. If varname is used, GETHN sets the
string varname to the heading number.
GETPN refname [varname]
Include the page number where the corresponding “.SETR
refname” was placed. This is displayed as “9999” in
pass 1. See INITR. If varname is used, GETPN sets the
string varname to the page number.
GETR refname
Combine GETHN and GETPN with the text “chapter” and
“, page”. The string Qrf contains the text for the cross
reference:
.ds Qrf See chapter \\*[Qrfh], page \\*[Qrfp].
Qrf may be changed to support other languages. Strings
Qrfh and Qrfp are set by GETR and contain the page and
heading number, respectively.
GETST refname [varname]
Include the string saved with the second argument to .SETR.
This is a dummy string in pass 1. If varname is used,
GETST sets it to the saved string. See INITR.
H level [title [suffix]]
Set a numbered section heading at level. mm produces
numbered heading marks of the form a.b.c..., with up to
fourteen levels of nesting. Each level's number increases
automatically with each H call and is reset to zero when a
more significant level is specified. “1” is the most
significant or coarsest division of the document. Text
after an H call is formatted as a paragraph; calling P is
unnecessary.
title specifies an optional title; it must be double-quoted
if it contains spaces. mm appends suffix to title in the
body of the document, but omits it from any table of
contents (see TC). This facility can be used to annotate
the heading title with a footnote. suffix should not
interpolate the F string; specify a footnote mark
explicitly. See FS.
Heading behavior is highly configurable. Several registers
set a threshold, where heading levels at or below the
threshold value are handled in one way, and those above it
another. For example, a heading level within the threshold
of register Cl is included in the table of contents (see
TC).
Heading layout. Register Ej sets a threshold for page
breaking (ejection) prior to a heading. If not preceded by
a page break, a heading level below the threshold in
register Hps is preceded by the amount of vertical space in
register Hps1, and by the amount in Hps2 otherwise. The Hb
register sets a threshold below which a break occurs after
the heading, and register Hs sets a threshold below which
vertical space follows it. If the heading level is not
less than both of these, a run-in heading is produced;
paragraph text follows on the same output line. Otherwise,
register Hi configures the indentation of text after
headings. Threshold register Hc enables the centering of
headings; a heading level below both of the Hb and Hc
thresholds is centered.
Heading typeface and size. The fonts used for heading
numbers and titles at each level are configured by the HF
string. The string HP likewise assigns a type size to each
heading level. The vertical spacing used by headings may
be controlled by the user-definable macros HX and/or HZ.
Heading number format. Registers named H1 through H14
store counters for each heading level. Their values are
printed using Arabic numerals by default; see HM. The
heading levels are catenated with dots for formatting; to
typeset only the deepest, set the Ht register. Heading
numbers are not suffixed with a trailing dot except when
only the first level is output; to omit a dot in this case
as well, clear the H1dot register.
Customizing heading behavior. mm calls hook macros to
enable further customization of headings. (DWB mm called
these “exits”.) They can be used to change the heading's
mark (the numbered portion before any heading title), its
vertical spacing, and its vertical space requirements (for
instance, to require a minimum quantity of subsequent
output lines). Define hook macros in expectation of the
following parameters. The argument declared-level is the
level argument to H, or 0 for unnumbered headings (see HU).
actual-level is the same as declared-level for numbered
headings, and the value of register Hu for unnumbered
headings. title is the corresponding argument to H or HU.
HX declared-level actual-level title
mm calls HX before setting the heading. Your
definition may alter }0, }2, and ;3.
}0 (string)
contains the heading mark plus two spaces if
declared-level is non-zero, and otherwise is
empty.
;0 (register)
encodes a position for the text after the
heading. 0 means that the heading is to be
run in, 1 means that a break is to occur
before the text, and 2 means that vertical
space is to separate heading and text.
}2 (string)
is the suffix that separates a run-in heading
from the text. It contains two spaces if
register ;0 is 0, and otherwise is empty.
;3 (register)
contains the vertical space required for the
heading to be typeset. If that amount is not
available, the page is broken prior to the
heading. The default is 2v.
HY declared-level actual-level title
mm calls HY after determing the heading typeface and
size. It could be used to change indentation.
HZ declared-level actual-level title
mm calls HZ after formatting the heading, just
before H or HU returns. It could be used to change
the page header to include a section heading.
HC [hyphenation-character]
Set hyphenation character. Default value is “\%”. Resets
to the default if called without argument. Hyphenation can
be turned off by setting register Hy to 0 at the beginning
of the file.
HM [arg1 [arg2 [... [arg14]]]]
Set the heading mark style. Each argument assigns the
specified register format (see above) to the corresponding
heading level. The default is 1 for all levels. An
explicitly empty argument also indicates the default.
HU heading-text
Set an unnumbered section heading. Except for a heading
number, it is treated as a numbered heading of the level
stored in register Hu; see H.
I [italic-text [previous-font-text]] ...
Join italic-text in italics with previous-font-text in the
previous font, without space between the arguments. If no
arguments, switch font to italic style.
IA [recipient-name [title]]
Specify the inside address in a letter. Input is collected
into the inside address until IE is called, and then
output. You can specify multiple recipients with empty
IA/IE pairs; only the last address is used. The arguments
give each recipient a name and title. See LT.
IB [italic-text [bold-text]] ...
Join italic-text in italics with bold-text in boldface,
without space between the arguments.
IE End the inside address begun with IA.
IND argument ...
If the Boolean register Ref is true, write an index entry
as a specially prepared roff comment to the standard error
stream, with each argument separated from its predecessor
by a tab character. The entry's location information is
arranged as configured by the most recent INITI call.
INDP Output the index set up by INITI and populated by IND
calls. By default, INDP calls SK and writes a centered
caption interpolating the string Index. It then disables
filling and calls 2C; afterward, it restores filling and
calls 1C.
Define macros to customize this behavior. INDP calls TXIND
before the caption, TYIND instead of writing the caption,
and TZIND after formatting the index.
INITI location-type file-name [macro]
Initialize groff mm's indexing system. Argument location-
type selects how the location of each index entry is
reported. file-name populates an internal string used
later by INDP.
[1mlocation-type[24m Entry format
N page number
H heading mark
B page number, tab character, heading mark
If macro is specified, it is called for each index entry
with the arguments given to IND.
INITR id
Initialize the cross reference macros. Cross references
are written to the standard error stream, which should be
redirected into a file named id.qrf. mmroff(1) handles
this and the two formatting passes it requires. The first
pass identifies cross references, and the second one
includes them.
See SETR, GETPN, and GETHN.
IR [italic-text [roman-text]] ...
Join italic-text in italics with roman-text in roman style,
without space between the arguments.
ISODATE [0]
Use ISO 8601 format for the date string DT used by some
cover sheet and memorandum types; that is, YYYY-MM-DD.
Must be called before ND to be effective. If given an
argument of 0, the traditional date format for the groff
locale is used; this is also the default.
LB text-indent mark-indent pad type [mark [pre-item-space [pre-
list-space]]]
Begin list. The macros AL, BL, BVL, DL, ML, RL, and VL
call LB in various ways; they are simpler to use and may be
preferred if they suit the desired purpose.
The nesting level of lists is tracked by mm; the outermost
level is 0. The text of each list item is indented by
text-indent; the default is taken from the Li register (in
ens). Each item's mark is indented by mark-indent; the
default is 0n. The mark is normally left-aligned. If pad
is greater than zero, mark-indent is overridden such that
pad ens of space follow the mark. type selects one of six
possible ways to display the mark.
[1mtype[24m Output for a mark “x”
1 x.
2 x)
3 (x)
4 [x]
5 <x>
6 {x}
If type is 0 and mark is unspecified, the items are set
with a hanging indent. Otherwise, mark is interpreted as a
string defining the mark. If type is greater than zero,
items are automatically numbered; mark is interpreted as a
register format. The default type is 0.
The last two arguments manage vertical space. Unless a
list's nesting level is greater than the value of register
Ls, its items are preceded by pre-item-space multiplied by
the register Lsp; the default is 1. LB precedes the list
by pre-list-space multiplied by the register Lsp; the
default is 0.
LC [list-level]
Clear list state. Active lists are terminated as if with
LE, either all (the default) or only those from the current
level down to list-level if specified. H calls LC
automatically.
LE [1] End list. The current list is terminated. An argument
of 1 causes vertical space in the amount of register Lsp to
follow the list.
LI [mark [item-mark-mode]]
Begin a list item. Input is collected into a list item
until the current list is terminated or LI is called again.
By default, the item's text is preceded by any mark
configured by the current list. If only mark is specified,
it replaces the configured mark. A second argument
prefixes mark to the configured mark; an item-mark-mode
value of 1 places an unbreakable space after mark, while a
value of 2 does not (rendering the two adjacent). Also see
register Limsp.
LO option [value]
Specify letter options; see LT. Standard options are as
follows. See IA regarding the inside address and string DT
regarding the date.
[1moption[24m Effect
AT Attention; put contents of string LetAT and value
left-aligned after the inside address.
CN Confidential; put value, or contents of string
LetCN, left-aligned after the date.
RN Reference; put contents of string LetRN and value
after the confidental notation (if any) and the
date, aligned with the latter.
SA Salutation; put value, or contents of string
LetSA, left-aligned after the inside address and
the confidental notation (if any).
SJ Subject; put contents of string LetSJ and value
left-aligned after the inside address and the
attention and salutation notations (if any). In
letter type “SP”, LetSJ is ignored and value is
set in full capitals.
LT [style]
Format a letter in the designated style, defaulting to BL
(see below). A letter begins with the writer's address
(WA/WE), followed by the date (ND), the inside address
(IA/IE), the body of the letter (P and other general-
purpose mm macros), the formal closing (FC), the signature
(SG), and notations (NS/NE). Any of these may be omitted.
Letter options specified with LO add further annotations,
which are extensible; see section “Internals” below.
[1mstyle[24m Description
BL Blocked: the writer's address, date, formal
closing, and signature are indented to the center
of the line. Everything else is left-aligned.
SB Semi-blocked: as BL, but the first line of each
paragraph is indented by 5m.
FB Fully blocked: everything begins at the left
margin.
SP Simplified: as FB, but a formal closing is omitted,
and the signature is set in full capitals.
MC column-width [gutter-width]
Begin multi-column layout. groff mm creates as many
columns of column-width as the line length will permit.
gutter-width is the interior spacing between columns. It
defaults to column-width/15. 1C returns to single-column
layout. MC is a GNU extension. See MULB for an
alternative.
ML mark [text-indent [1]]
Start a list with the mark argument preceding each list
item. text-indent overrides the default indentation of the
list items set by register Li. If a third argument,
conventionally 1, is given, the blank line that normally
precedes each list item is suppressed. Use LI to declare
list items, and LE to end the list.
MT [type [addressee]]
Select memorandum type. These correspond to formats used
by AT&T Bell Laboratories, where the mm package was
initially developed, affecting the document layout. Some
of these included a cover page with a caption categorizing
the document. groff mm uses type to construct the file
name /usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/type.MT and load
it with the mso request. Memorandum types 0 to 5 are
supported; any other value of type is mapped to type 6. If
type is omitted, 0 is implied. addressee sets a string
analogous to one used by AT&T cover sheet macros that are
not implemented in groff mm.
[1mtype[24m Description
0 normal memorandum; no caption
1 captioned “MEMORANDUM FOR FILE”
2 captioned “PROGRAMMER'S NOTES”
3 captioned “ENGINEER'S NOTES”
4 released paper
5 external letter
See COVER for a more flexible cover sheet mechanism.
MOVE y-pos [x-pos [line-length]]
Move to a position, setting page offset to x-pos. If line-
length is not given, the difference between current and new
page offset is used. Use PGFORM without arguments to
return to normal.
MULB cw1 space1 [cw2 space2] ... cwn
Begin alternative multi-column mode. All column widths
must be specified, as must the amount of space between each
column pair. The arguments' default scaling unit is n.
MULB uses a diversion and operates in a separate
environment.
MULN Begin next column in alternative column mode.
MULE End alternative multi-column mode and emit the columns.
NCOL Move to the start of the next column (only when using 2C or
MC). Contrast with MULN.
ND [arg]
Set the document's date. mm does not interpret arg; it can
be a revision identifier (or empty).
NE End notation begun with NS; filling is enabled.
nP [type]
Begin a numbered paragraph at heading level two. See P.
NS [code [1]]
Declare notations, typically for letters or memoranda, of
the type specified by code. The text corresponding to code
is output, and filling is disabled until NE is called.
Typically, a list of names or attachments lies within
NS/NE. If code is absent or does not match one of the
values listed under the Letns string description below,
each line of notations is formatted as “Copy (line) to”.
If a second argument, conventionally 1, is given, code
becomes the entire notation and NE is not necessary. In
groff mm, you can set up further notations to be recognized
by NS; see the strings Letns and Letnsdef below.
OF ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the odd-page footer, which is formatted just above
the normal page footer on odd-numbered pages. See PF. OF
defines the string EOPof.
OH ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the odd-page header, which is formatted just below
the normal page header on odd-numbered pages. See PH. OH
defines the string TPoh.
OP Make sure that the following text is printed at the top of
an odd-numbered page. Does not output an empty page if
currently at the top of an odd page.
P [type]
Begin new paragraph. If type is missing or 0, P sets the
paragraph fully left-aligned. A type of 1 idents the first
line by \[Pi] ens. Set the register Pt to select a default
paragraph indentation style. The register Ps controls the
vertical spacing between paragraphs.
PE Picture end; see pic(1).
PF ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the page footer. The footer is formatted at the
bottom of each page; the argument is otherwise as described
in PH. PF defines the string EOPf. See EF, OF, and EOP.
PGFORM [linelength [pagelength [pageoffset [1]]]]
Set line length, page length, and/or page offset. This
macro can be used for letterheads and similar. It is
normally the first macro call in a file, though it is not
necessary. PGFORM can be used without arguments to reset
everything after a MOVE call. A line break is done unless
the fourth argument is given. This can be used to avoid
the page number on the first page while setting new width
and length. (It seems as if this macro sometimes doesn't
work too well. Use the command-line arguments to change
line length, page length, and page offset instead.)
PGNH Suppress header on the next page. This macro must be
called before any macros that produce output to affect the
layout of the first page.
PH ["'left'center'right'"]
Define the page header, formatted at the top of each page,
as the argument, where left, center, and right are aligned
to the respective locations on the line. A “%” character
in arg is replaced by the page number. If the argument is
absent, no page header is set. The default page header is
"''- % -''"
which centers the page number between hyphens and formats
nothing at the upper left and right. Header macros call PX
(if defined) after formatting the header. PH defines the
string TPh. See EH, OH, and TP.
PIC [-B] [-C|-I n|-L|-R] file [width [height]]
Include PostScript document file. The optional -B argument
draws a box around the picture. The optional -L, -C, -R,
and -I n arguments align the picture or indent it by n
(assuming a scaling unit of m). By default, the picture is
left-aligned. Optional width and height arguments resize
the picture. Use of this macro requires two-pass
processing; see INITR and mmroff(1).
PS Picture start; see pic(1).
PY Picture end with flyback. Ends a pic(1) picture, returning
the vertical position to where it was prior to the picture.
This is a GNU extension.
R [roman-text [previous-font-text]] ...
Join roman-text in roman style with previous-font-text in
the previous font, without space between the arguments. If
no arguments, switch font to roman style.
RB [roman-text [bold-text]] ...
Join roman-text in roman style with bold-text in boldface,
without space between the arguments.
RD [prompt [diversion [string]]]
Read from standard input to diversion and/or string. The
text is saved in a diversion named diversion. Recall the
text by writing the name of the diversion after a dot on an
empty line. A string is also defined if string is given.
Diversion and/or prompt can be empty ("").
RF Reference end. Ends a reference definition and returns to
normal processing. See RS.
RI [roman-text [italic-text]] ...
Join roman-text in roman style with italic-text in italics,
without space between the arguments.
RL [text-indent [1]]
Begin reference list. Each item is preceded by an
automatically incremented number between square brackets;
compare AL. text-indent changes the default indentation.
Use LI to declare list items, and LE to end the list. A
second argument, conventionally 1, suppresses the blank
line that normally precedes each list item.
RP [suppress-counter-reset [page-ejection-policy]]
Format a reference page, listing items accumulated within
RS/RF pairs. The reference counter is reset unless the
first argument is 1. Normally, page breaks occur before
and after the references are output; the register Rpe
configures this behavior, and a second argument overrides
its value. TC calls RP automatically if references have
accumulated.
References are list items, and thus are vertically
separated (see LB). Setting register Ls to 0 suppresses
this spacing. The string Rp contains the reference page
caption.
RS [reference-string]
Begin an automatically numbered reference definition. By
default, references are numbered starting at 1; the number
is available in register :R. Interpolate the string Rf
where the reference mark should be and write the reference
between RS/RF on an input line after the reference mark.
If reference-string is specified, groff ms also stores the
reference mark in a string of that name, which can be
interpolated as \*[reference-string] subsequently.
S [type-size [vertical-spacing]]
Set type size and vertical spacing. Each argument is a
groff measurement, using an appropriate scaling unit and an
optional + or - prefix to increment or decrement the
current value. An argument of P restores the previous
value, C indicates the current value, and D requests the
default. An empty or omitted argument is treated as P.
SA [mode]
Set or restore the default enablement of adjustment.
Specify 0 or 1 as mode to set a document's default
explicitly; 1 is assumed by mm. Adjustment can be
temporarily suspended with the na request. When the H or
HU macros are used to format a heading, or when SA is
called without a mode argument, the default adjustment is
restored.
SETR refname [string]
Remember the current heading and page numbers as refname.
Saves string if string is defined. string is retrieved
with GETST. See INITR.
SG [arg [1]]
Signature line. Prints the authors name(s) after the
formal closing. The argument is appended to the reference
data, printed at either the first or last author. The
reference data is the location, department, and initials
specified with AU. It is printed at the first author if
the second argument is given, otherwise at the last. No
reference data is printed if the author(s) is specified
through WA/WE. See section “Internals” below.
SK [n] Skip n pages. If n is 0 or omitted, the page is broken
unless the drawing position is already at the top of a
page. Otherwise, n pages, blank except for any headers and
footers, are printed.
SM text [post]
SM pre text post
Format text at a smaller type size, joined with any
specified pre and post at normal size.
SP [lines]
Space vertically. lines can have any scaling factor, like
“3i” or “8v”. Several SP calls in a line only produces the
maximum number of lines, not the sum. SP is ignored also
until the first text line in a page. Add \& before a call
to SP to avoid this.
TAB Reset tab stops to every 5 ens.
TB [title [override [flag [refname]]]]
Caption a table. Arguments are handled analogously to EC.
The register Tb is the table counter. The string Litb
precedes the table number and any title. Table captions
are centered irrespective of the alignment of any enclosing
display.
Captioned tables are listed in a table of contents (see TC)
if the Boolean register Lt is true. Such a list uses the
string Lt as a heading.
TC [slevel [spacing [tlevel [tab [h1 [h2 [h3 [h4 [h5]]]]]]]]]
Output table of contents. This macro is normally the last
called in the document. It flushes any pending displays
and, if any references are pending (see RS), calls RP. It
then begins a new page with the contents caption, stored in
the string Licon, centered at the top. The entries follow
after three vees of space. Each entry is a saved section
(number and) heading title (see the Cl register), along
with its associated page number. By default, an entry is
indented by an amount corresponding to its heading level
and the maximum heading length encountered at that heading
level; if defined, the string Ci overrides these
indentations. Entries at heading levels up to and
including slevel are preceded by spacing vees of space.
Entries at heading levels up to and including tlevel are
followed by a leader and a right-aligned page number. If
the Boolean-valued tab argument is true, the leader is
replaced with horizontal motion in the same amount. For
entries above heading level tlevel, the page number follows
the heading text after a word space. Each argument h1...h5
appears in order on its own line, centered, above the
contents caption. Page numbering restarts at 1, in
register format “i”. If the Oc register is true, numbering
of these pages is suppressed.
If TC is called with at most four arguments, it calls the
user-defined macro TX (if defined) prior to formatting the
contents caption, and TY (if defined) instead of formatting
the contents caption.
Analogous handling of lists of figures, tables, equations,
and exhibits is achieved by defining TXxx and TYxx macros,
where xx is “FG”, “TB”, “EC”, or “EX”, respectively.
Similarly, the strings Lifg, Litb, Liex, and Liec determine
captions for their respective lists.
TE Table end. See TS.
TH End table heading. It is repeated after page breaks within
a table. See TS. The N argument supported by DWB mm is
not implemented by groff mm.
TL [charging-case-number [filing-case-number]]
Begin document title. Input is collected into the title
until AF or AU is called, and output as directed by the
cover page. charging-case-number and filing-case-number
are saved for use in memorandum types 0 and 5. See MT.
TM number ...
Declare technical memorandum number(s) used by MT.
TP If defined, this macro is called in lieu of normal page
header layout. Headers and footers are formatted in a
separate environment. See EOP.
Strings available to TP
────────────────────────
TPh argument to PH
TPeh argument to EH
TPoh argument to OH
TS [H] Table start. Argument “H” tells mm that the table has a
heading. See TE, TH, and tbl(1).
VERBON [format [type-size [font]]]
Begin verbatim display, where characters have equal width.
format controls several parameters. Add up the values of
desired features; the default is 0. On typesetting
devices, further arguments configure the type-size in
scaled points, and the face (font); the default is CR
(Courier roman).
Value Effect
1 Disable the formatter's escape character (\).
2 Vertically space before the display.
4 Vertically space after the display.
8 Number output lines; call formatter's nm request
with arguments in string Verbnm.
16 Indent by the amount stored in register Verbin.
VERBOFF
End verbatim display.
VL [text-indent [mark-indent [1]]]
Begin variable-item (or “tagged”) list. Each item should
supply its own mark, or tag. If the mark is wider than
mark-indent, one space separates it from subsequent text;
contrast BVL. text-indent sets the indentation of the
text, and mark-indent the distance from the current list
indentation to the mark. A third argument suppresses the
blank line that normally precedes each list item. Use LI
to declare list items, and LE to end the list.
VM [-T] [top [bottom]]
Vertical margin. Increase the top and bottom margin by top
and bottom, respectively. If option -T is specified, set
those margins to top and bottom. If no argument is given,
reset the margin to zero, or to the default (“7v 5v”) if -T
is used. It is highly recommended that macros TP and/or
EOP are defined if using -T and setting top and/or bottom
margin to less than the default. This undocumented DWB mm
macro is exposed by groff mm to increase user control of
page layout.
WA [writer's-name [title]]
Specify the writer(s) of an LT letter. Input is collected
into the writer's address until WA is called, and then
output. You can specify multiple writers with empty WA/WE
pairs; only the last address is used. The arguments give
each writer a name and title.
WC [format ...]
Control width of footnotes and displays.
[1mformat[24m Effect
N equivalent to “-WF -FF -WD” (default)
WF set footnotes at full line length, even in two-
column mode
-WF set footnotes using column line length
FF apply width of first footnote to encountered to
subsequent ones
-FF footnote width determined by WF and -WF
WD set displays at full line length, even in two-
column mode
-WD set displays using column line length
WE End the writer's address begun with WA.
Many mm strings interpolate predefined, localizable text. These
are presented in quotation marks.
App “APPENDIX”
Apptxt stores the title argument to the last APP call.
BU interpolates a bullet (see BL).
Ci is a list of indentation amounts to use for table of
contents heading levels, overriding their automatic
computation. Each word must be a horizontal measurement
(like “1i”) and is mapped one-to-one to heading levels 1,
2, and so on.
DT The date; set by the ND macro (defaults to the date the
document is formatted). The format is the conventional one
for the groff locale, but see the ISODATE macro and Iso
register.
EM interpolates an em dash.
F interpolates an automatically numbered footnote marker; the
number is used by the next FS call without an argument. In
troff mode, the marker is superscripted; in nroff mode, it
is surrounded by square brackets.
H1txt Updated by .H and .HU to the current heading text. Also
updated in table of contents & friends.
HF assigns font identifiers, separated by spaces, to heading
levels in one-to-one correspondence. Each identifier may
be a font mounting position, font name, or style name.
Omitted values are assumed to be 1. The default is “2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2”, which places all headings in
italics. DWB mm's default was “3 3 2 2 2 2 2”.
HP assigns type sizes, separated by spaces, to heading levels
in one-to-one correspondence. Each size is interpreted in
scaled points; zero values are translated to 10. Omitted
values are assumed to be 0 (and are translated
accordingly). The default is “0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0”.
Index “INDEX”
Le “LIST OF EQUATIONS”
Letfc “Yours very truly,” (see FC)
Letapp “APPROVED:” (see AV)
LetAT “ATTENTION:” (see LO)
LetCN “CONFIDENTIAL” (see LO)
Letdate
“Date” (see AV)
Letns is a group of strings structuring the notations produced by
NS. If the code argument to NS has no corresponding
string, the notation is included between parentheses,
prefixed with Letns!copy, and suffixed with Letns!to.
Observe the spaces after “Copy” and before “to”.
NS code String Contents
0 Letns!0 Copy to
1 Letns!1 Copy (with att.) to
2 Letns!2 Copy (without att.) to
3 Letns!3 Att.
4 Letns!4 Atts.
5 Letns!5 Enc.
6 Letns!6 Encs.
7 Letns!7 Under separate cover
8 Letns!8 Letter to
9 Letns!9 Memorandum to
10 Letns!10 Copy (with atts.) to
11 Letns!11 Copy (without atts.) to
12 Letns!12 Abstract Only to
13 Letns!13 Complete Memorandum to
14 Letns!14 CC
— Letns!copy Copy (with trailing space)
— Letns!to to (note leading space)
Letnsdef
Select the notation format used by NS when it is given no
argument. The default is “0”.
LetRN “In reference to:” (see LO)
LetSA “To Whom It May Concern:” (see LO)
LetSJ “SUBJECT:” (see LO)
Lf “LIST OF FIGURES”
Licon “CONTENTS”
Liec “Equation”
Liex “Exhibit”
Lifg “Figure”
Litb “TABLE”
Lt “LIST OF TABLES”
Lx “LIST OF EXHIBITS”
MO1...MO12
“January” through “December”
Qrf “See chapter \\*[Qrfh], page \\n[Qrfp].”
Rf interpolates an automatically numbered reference mark; the
number is used by the next RS call. In troff mode, the
marker is superscripted; in nroff mode, it is surrounded by
square brackets.
Rp “REFERENCES”
Sm interpolates ℠, the service mark sign.
Tcst interpolates an indicator of the TC macro's processing
status. If TC is not operating, it is empty. User-defined
TP or EOP macros might condition page headers or footers on
its contents.
Value Meaning
co Table of contents
fg List of figures
tb List of tables
ec List of equations
ex List of exhibits
ap Appendix
Tm interpolates ™, the trade mark sign.
Verbnm supplies argument(s) to the nm request employed by the
VERBON macro. The default is “1”.
Default register values, where meaningful, are shown in
parentheses. Many are also marked as Boolean-valued, meaning that
they are considered “true” (on, enabled) when they have a positive
value, and “false” (off, disabled) otherwise.
.mgm indicates that groff mm is in use (Boolean-valued; 1).
:p is an auto-incrementing footnote counter; see FS.
:R is an auto-incrementing reference counter; see RS.
Aph formats an appendix heading (and title, if supplied); see
APP (Boolean-valued; 1).
Au includes supplemental author information (the third and
subsequent arguments to AU) in memorandum “from”
information; see COVER and MT (Boolean-valued; 1).
Cl sets the threshold for inclusion of headings in a table of
contents. Headings at levels above this value are
excluded; see H and TC (2). The Cl register controls
whether a heading is saved for output in the table of
contents at the time H or HU is called; if you change Cl's
value immediately prior to calling TC, you are unlikely to
get the result you want.
Cp suppresses page breaks before lists of captioned equations,
exhibits, figures, and tables, and before an index; see EC,
EX, FG, TB, and INDP (Boolean-valued; 0).
D produces debugging information for the mm package on the
standard error stream. A value of 0 outputs nothing;
1 reports formatting progress. Higher values communicate
internal state information of increasing verbosity (0).
De causes a page break after a floating display is output; see
DF (Boolean-valued; 0).
Df configures the behavior of DF. The following values are
recognized; 4 and 5 do not override the De register (5).
Value Effect
0 Flush pending displays at the end of each section
when section-page numbering is active, otherwise at
the end of the document.
1 Flush a pending display on the current page or
column if there is enough space, otherwise at the
end of the document.
2 Flush one pending display at the top of each page
or column.
3 Flush a pending display on the current page or
column if there is enough space, otherwise at the
top of the next.
4 Flush as many pending displays as possible in a new
page or column.
5 Fill columns or pages with flushed displays until
none remain.
Ds puts vertical space in the amount of register Dsp (if
defined) or Lsp before and after each static display; see
DS (Boolean-valued; 1).
Dsp configures the amount of vertical space placed before and
after static displays; see DS and register Ds (undefined).
Ec is an auto-incrementing equation counter; see EC.
Ej sets the threshold for page breaks (ejection) prior to the
format of headings. Headings at levels above this value
are set on the same page and column if possible; see H (0).
Eq aligns an equation label to the left of a display instead
of the right (Boolean-valued; 0).
Ex is an auto-incrementing exhibit counter; see EX.
Fg is an auto-incrementing figure counter; see FG.
Fs is multiplied by register Lsp to vertically separate
footnotes; see FS (1).
H1...H14
are auto-incrementing counters corresponding to each
heading level; see H.
H1dot appends a period to the number of a level one heading; see
H (Boolean-valued; 1).
H1h is a copy of A copy of register register H1, but it is
incremented just before a page break. This can be useful
in user-defined macros; see H and HX.
Hb sets the threshold for breaking the line after formatting a
heading. Text after headings at levels above this value
are set on the same output line if possible; see H (2).
Hc sets the threshold for centering a heading. Headings at
levels above this value use the prevailing alignment (that
is, they are not centered); see H (0).
Hi configures the indentation of text after headings. It does
not affect “run-in” headings. The following values are
recognized; see H and P (1).
Value Effect
0 no indentation
1 indent per the paragraph type
2 indent to align with heading title
Hps sets the heading level threshold for application of
preceding vertical space; see H. Headings at levels above
the value in register Hps use the amount of space in
register Hps1; otherwise that in Hps2. The value of Hps
should be strictly greater than that of Ej (1).
Hps1 configures the amount of vertical space preceding a heading
above the Hps threshold; see H (troff devices: 0.5v; nroff
devices: 1v).
Hps2 configures the amount of vertical space preceding a heading
at or below the Hps threshold; see H (troff devices: 1v;
nroff devices: 2v).
Hs sets the heading level threshold for application of
succeeding vertical space. If the heading level is greater
than Hs, the heading is followed by vertical space in the
amount of register Hss; see H (2).
Hss is multiplied by register Lsp to produce vertical space
after headings above the threshold in register Hs; see H
(1).
Ht suppresses output of heading level counters above the
lowest when the heading is formatted; see H (Boolean-
valued; 0).
Hu sets the heading level used by unnumbered headings; see HU
(2).
Hy enables automatic hyphenation of words (Boolean-valued; 0).
Iso configures the use of ISO 8601 date format if specified
(with any value) on the command line; see ISODATE. The
default is determined by localization files.
L defines the page length for the document, and must be set
from the command line. A scaling unit should be appended.
The default is that of the selected groff output device.
Le
Lf
Lt
Lx configure the report of lists of equation, figure, table,
and exhibit captions, respectively, after a table of
contents; see TC (Boolean-valued; Le: 0; Lf, Lt, Lx: 1).
Letwam sets the maximum number of input lines permitted in a
writer's address; see WA and WE (14).
Li configures the amount of indentation in ens applied to list
items; see LI (6).
Limsp inserts a space between the prefix and the mark in
automatically numbered lists; see AL (Boolean-valued; 1).
Ls sets a threshold for placement of vertical space before
list items. If the list nesting level is greater than this
value, no such spacing occurs; see LI (99).
Lsp configures the base amount of vertical space used for
separation in the document. mm applies this spacing to
many contexts, sometimes with multipliers; see DS, FS, H,
LI, and P (troff devices: 0.5v; nroff devices: 1v).
N configures the header and footer placements used by PH.
The default footer is empty. If “section-page” numbering
is selected, the default header becomes empty and the
default footer becomes “x-y”, where x is is the section
number (the number of the current first-level heading)
and y the page number within the section. The following
values are recognized; for finer control, see PH, PF, EH,
EF, OH, and OF, and registers Sectf and Sectp. Value 5 is
a GNU extension (0).
Value Effect
0 Set header on all pages.
1 Move header to footer on page 1.
2 Omit header on page 1.
3 Use “section-page” numbering style on all pages.
4 Omit header on all pages.
5 Use “section-page” and “section-figure” numbering
style on all pages.
Np causes paragraphs after first-level headings (only) to be
numbered in the format s.p, where s is is the section
number (the number of the current first-level heading) and
p is the paragraph number, starting at 1; see H and P
(Boolean-valued; 0).
O defines the page offset of the document, and must be set
from the command line. A scaling unit should be appended.
The default is .75i on terminal devices. On typesetters,
it is .963i or set to 1i by the papersize.tmac package; see
groff_tmac(5).
Oc suppresses the appearance of page numbers in the table of
contents; see TC (Boolean-valued; 0).
Of selects a separator format within equation, exhibit,
figure, and table captions; see EC, EX, FG, and TB. The
following values are recognized; the spaces shown are
unpaddable (0).
Value Effect
0 ". "
1 " — "
P interpolates the current page number; it is the same as
register % except when “section-page” numbering is enabled.
Pi configures the amount of indentation in ens applied to the
first line of a paragraph; see P (5).
Pgps causes the type size and vertical spacing set by S to apply
to headers and footers, overriding the HP string. If not
set, S calls affect headers and footers only when followed
by PH, PF, OH, EH, OF, or OE calls (Boolean-valued; 1).
Ps is multiplied by register Lsp to vertically separate
paragraphs; see P (1).
Pt determines when a first-line indentation is applied to a
paragraph; see P (0).
Value Effect
0 never
1 always
2 always, except immediately after H, DE, or LE
Ref is used internally to control mmroff(1)'s two-pass approach
to index and reference management; see INITI and RS
(Boolean-valued; 0).
Rpe configures the default page ejection policy for reference
pages; see RP (0).
Value Effect
0 Break the page before and after the list of references.
1 Suppress page break after the list.
2 Suppress page break before the list.
3 Suppress page breaks before and after the list.
S defines the type size for the document, and must be set
from the command line. A scaling unit should be appended;
p is typical (10p).
Sectf selects the “section-figure” numbering style. Its default
is 0 unless register N is set to 5 at the command line
(Boolean-valued).
Sectp selects the “section-page” numbering style. Its default
is 0 unless register N is set to 3 or 5 at the command line
(Boolean-valued).
Si configures the amount of display indentation in ens; see DS
(5).
Tb is an auto-incrementing table counter; see TB.
V defines the vertical spacing for the document, and must be
set from the command line. A scaling unit should be
appended; p is typical. The default vertical spacing is
120% of the type size.
Verbin configures the amount of indentation for verbatim displays
when indentation is selected; see VERBON (5n).
W defines the “width” of the document (that is, the length of
an output line with no indentation); it must be set from
the command line. A scaling unit should be appended. The
default is 6i or assigned by the papersize.tmac package;
see groff_tmac(5).
The LT letter macros call further macros depending on the letter
type, with which they are suffixed. It is therefore possible to
define additional letter types, either in the territory-specific
macro file, or as local additions. LT sets the registers Pt and
Pi to 0 and 5, respectively. The following macros must be defined
to support a new letter type.
let@init_type
LT calls this macro to initialize any registers and other
data needed by the letter type.
let@head_type
formats the letterhead; it is called instead of the usual
page header macro. Its definition should remove the alias
let@header unless the letterhead is desired on subsequent
pages.
let@sg_type name title n is-final [SG-arg ...]
SG calls this macro only for letters; MT memoranda have
their own signature processing. name and title are
specified through WA/WE. n is the index of the nth writer,
and is-final is true for the last writer to be listed.
Further SG arguments are appended to the signature line.
let@fc_type closing
This macro is called by FC, and has the formal closing as
the argument.
LO implements letter options. It requires that a string named
Lettype be defined, where type is the letter type. LO then
assigns its second argument (value) to the string let*lo-type.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/m.tmac
is the groff implementation of the memorandum macros.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm.tmac
is wrapper to load m.tmac.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/refer-mm.tmac
implements refer(1) support for mm.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/ms.cov
implements an ms-like cover sheet.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/0.MT
implements memorandum types 0–3 and 6.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/4.MT
implements memorandum type 4.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/5.MT
implements memorandum type 5.
/usr/local/share/groff/1.23.0/tmac/mm/locale
performs any (further) desired necessary localization;
empty by default.
The GNU version of the mm macro package was written by Jörgen Hägg
⟨jh@axis.se⟩ of Lund, Sweden.
MM - A Macro Package for Generating Documents
⟨https://tkurtbond.github.io/troff/mm-all.pdf⟩, the DWB 3.3 mm
manual, introduces the package but does not document GNU
extensions.
Groff: The GNU Implementation of troff, by Trent A. Fisher and
Werner Lemberg, is the primary groff manual. You can browse it
interactively with “info groff”.
groff(1), troff(1), tbl(1), pic(1), eqn(1), refer(1),
groff_mmse(7)
This page is part of the groff (GNU troff) project. Information
about the project can be found at
⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩. If you have a bug report for
this manual page, see ⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/⟩. This
page was obtained from the tarball groff-1.23.0.tar.gz fetched
from ⟨https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/groff/⟩ on 2026-01-16. If you
discover any rendering problems in this HTML version of the page,
or you believe there is a better or more up-to-date source for the
page, or you have corrections or improvements to the information
in this COLOPHON (which is not part of the original manual page),
send a mail to man-pages@man7.org
groff 1.23.0 2 July 2023 groff_mm(7)
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