text-utils/col.1

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  35 .\"     @(#)col.1       6.8 (Berkeley) 6/17/91
  36 .\"
  37 .TH COL "1" "July 2014" "util-linux" "User Commands"
  38 .SH NAME
  39 col \- filter reverse line feeds from input
  40 .SH SYNOPSIS
  41 .B col
  42 [options]
  43 .SH DESCRIPTION
  44 .B col
  45 filters out reverse (and half-reverse) line feeds so the output is in the
  46 correct order, with only forward and half-forward line feeds.  It also replaces
  47 any whitespace characters with tabs where possible.  This can be useful in
  48 processing the output of
  49 .BR nroff (1)
  50 and
  51 .BR tbl (1).
  52 .PP
  53 .B col
  54 reads from standard input and writes to standard output.
  55 .SH OPTIONS
  56 .TP
  57 \fB\-b\fR, \fB\-\-no\-backspaces\fR
  58 Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character written to
  59 each column position.
  60 .TP
  61 \fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-fine\fR
  62 Permit half-forward line feeds.
  63 Normally characters destined for a half-line boundary are printed on the
  64 following line.
  65 .TP
  66 \fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-tabs\fR
  67 Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.
  68 .TP
  69 \fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-lines\fR \fInumber\fR
  70 Buffer at least
  71 .I number
  72 lines in memory.  By default, 128 lines are buffered.
  73 .TP
  74 \fB\-p\fR, \fB\-\-pass\fR
  75 Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.  Normally
  76 .B col
  77 will filter out any control sequences other than those
  78 recognized and interpreted by itself, which are listed below.
  79 .TP
  80 \fB\-x\fR, \fB\-\-spaces\fR
  81 Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.
  82 .TP
  83 \fB\-V\fR, \fB\-\-version\fR
  84 Display version information and exit.
  85 .TP
  86 \fB\-H\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
  87 Display help text and exit.
  88 .SH NOTES
  89 The control sequences for carriage motion that
  90 .B col
  91 understands and their decimal values are listed in the following table:
  92 .PP
  93 .RS
  94 .PD 0
  95 .TP 18
  96 .B ESC\-7
  97 reverse line feed (escape then 7)
  98 .TP
  99 .B ESC\-8
 100 half reverse line feed (escape then 8)
 101 .TP
 102 .B ESC\-9
 103 half forward line feed (escape then 9)
 104 .TP
 105 .B backspace
 106 moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column
 107 .TP
 108 .B newline
 109 forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
 110 .TP
 111 .B carriage return
 112 (13)
 113 .TP
 114 .B shift in
 115 shift to normal character set (15)
 116 .TP
 117 .B shift out
 118 shift to alternate character set (14)
 119 .TP
 120 .B space
 121 moves forward one column (32)
 122 .TP
 123 .B tab
 124 moves forward to next tab stop (9)
 125 .TP
 126 .B vertical tab
 127 reverse line feed (11)
 128 .PD
 129 .RE
 130 .PP
 131 All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are discarded.
 132 .PP
 133 .B col
 134 keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes sure the
 135 character set is correct when they are output.
 136 .PP
 137 If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line,
 138 .B col
 139 will display a warning message.
 140 .SH SEE ALSO
 141 .BR expand (1),
 142 .BR nroff (1),
 143 .BR tbl (1)
 144 .SH STANDARDS
 145 The
 146 .B col
 147 utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2.  The
 148 .B \-l
 149 option is an extension to the standard.
 150 .SH HISTORY
 151 A
 152 .B col
 153 command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
 154 .SH AVAILABILITY
 155 The col command is part of the util-linux package and is available from
 156 .UR https://\:www.kernel.org\:/pub\:/linux\:/utils\:/util-linux/
 157 Linux Kernel Archive
 158 .UE .