4.6.3 Document Control Settings

ms exposes many aspects of document layout to user control via groff requests. To use them, you must understand how to define registers and strings.

Request: .nr reg value

Set register reg to value. If reg doesn’t exist, GNU troff creates it.

Request: .ds name contents

Set string name to contents.

A list of document control registers and strings follows. For any parameter whose default is unsatisfactory, define its register or string before calling any ms macro other than RP.

Margin settings

Register: \n[PO]

Defines the page offset (i.e., the left margin).

Effective: next page.

Default: Varies by output device and paper format; 1i is used for typesetters using U.S. letter paper, and zero for terminals. See Paper Format.

Register: \n[LL]

Defines the line length (i.e., the width of the body text).

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: Varies by output device and paper format; 6.5i is used for typesetters using U.S. letter paper (see Paper Format) and 65n on terminals.

Register: \n[LT]

Defines the title line length (i.e., the header and footer width). This is usually the same as LL, but need not be.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: Varies by output device and paper format; 6.5i is used for typesetters using U.S. letter paper (see Paper Format) and 65n on terminals.

Register: \n[HM]

Defines the header margin height at the top of the page.

Effective: next page.

Default: 1i.

Register: \n[FM]

Defines the footer margin height at the bottom of the page.

Effective: next page.

Default: 1i.

Titles (headers, footers)

String: \*[LH]

Defines the text displayed in the left header position.

Effective: next header.

Default: empty.

String: \*[CH]

Defines the text displayed in the center header position.

Effective: next header.

Default: ‘-\n[%]-’.

String: \*[RH]

Defines the text displayed in the right header position.

Effective: next header.

Default: empty.

String: \*[LF]

Defines the text displayed in the left footer position.

Effective: next footer.

Default: empty.

String: \*[CF]

Defines the text displayed in the center footer position.

Effective: next footer.

Default: empty.

String: \*[RF]

Defines the text displayed in the right footer position.

Effective: next footer.

Default: empty.

Text settings

Register: \n[PS]

Defines the type size of the body text.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 10p.

Register: \n[VS]

Defines the vertical spacing (type size plus leading).

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 12p.

Register: \n[HY]

Defines the automatic hyphenation mode used with the hy request. Setting HY to 0 is equivalent to using the nh request. This is a Tenth Edition Research Unix extension.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 6.

String: \*[FAM]

Defines the font family used to typeset the document. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: defined by the output device; often ‘T’ (see ms Body Text)

Paragraph settings

Register: \n[PI]

Defines the indentation amount used by the PP, IP (unless overridden by an optional argument), XP, and RS macros.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 5n.

Register: \n[PD]

Defines the space between paragraphs.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 0.3v (1v on low-resolution devices).

Register: \n[QI]

Defines the indentation amount used on both sides of a paragraph set with the QP or between the QS and QE macros.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 5n.

Register: \n[PORPHANS]

Defines the minimum number of initial lines of any paragraph that must be kept together to avoid isolated lines at the bottom of a page. If a new paragraph is started close to the bottom of a page, and there is insufficient space to accommodate PORPHANS lines before an automatic page break, then a page break is forced before the start of the paragraph. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 1.

Heading settings

Register: \n[PSINCR]

Defines an increment in type size to be applied to a heading at a lesser depth than that specified in GROWPS. The value of PSINCR should be specified in points with the p scaling unit and may include a fractional component; for example, ‘.nr PSINCR 1.5p’ sets a type size increment of 1.5p. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next heading.

Default: 1p.

Register: \n[GROWPS]

Defines the heading depth above which the type size increment set by PSINCR becomes effective. For each heading depth less than the value of GROWPS, the type size is increased by PSINCR. Setting GROWPS to any value less than 2 disables the incremental heading size feature. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next heading.

Default: 0.

Register: \n[HORPHANS]

Defines the minimum number of lines of an immediately succeeding paragraph that should be kept together with any heading introduced by the NH or SH macros. If a heading is placed close to the bottom of a page, and there is insufficient space to accommodate both the heading and at least HORPHANS lines of the following paragraph, before an automatic page break, then the page break is forced before the heading. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next paragraph.

Default: 1.

String: \*[SN-STYLE]

Defines the style used to print numbered headings. See Headings in ms. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next heading.

Default: alias of SN-DOT

Footnote settings

Register: \n[FI]

Defines the footnote indentation. This is a Berkeley extension.

Effective: next footnote.

Default: 2n.

Register: \n[FF]

Defines the format of automatically numbered footnotes, and those for which the FS request is given a marker argument, at the bottom of a column or page. This is a Berkeley extension.

0

Set an automatic number⁸ as a superscript (on typesetter devices) or surrounded by square brackets (on terminals). The footnote paragraph is indented as with PP if there is an FS argument or an automatic number, and as with LP otherwise. This is the default.

1

As 0, but set the marker as regular text and follow an automatic number with a period.

2

As 1, but without indentation (like LP).

3

As 1, but set the footnote paragraph with the marker hanging (like IP).

Effective: next footnote.

Default: 0.

Register: \n[FPS]

Defines the footnote type size.

Effective: next footnote.

Default: \n[PS] - 2p.

Register: \n[FVS]

Defines the footnote vertical spacing.

Effective: next footnote.

Default: \n[FPS] + 2p.

Register: \n[FPD]

Defines the footnote paragraph spacing. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next footnote.

Default: \n[PD] / 2.

String: \*[FR]

Defines the ratio of the footnote line length to the current line length. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next footnote in single-column arrangements, next page otherwise.

Default: 11/12.

Display settings

Register: \n[DD]

Sets the display distance—the vertical spacing before and after a display, a tbl table, an eqn equation, or a pic image. This is a Berkeley extension.

Effective: next display boundary.

Default: 0.5v (1v on low-resolution devices).

Register: \n[DI]

Sets the default amount by which to indent a display started with DS and ID without arguments, to ‘.DS I’ without an indentation argument, and to equations set with ‘.EQ I’. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next indented display.

Default: 0.5i.

Other settings

Register: \n[MINGW]

Defines the default minimum width between columns in a multi-column document. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next page.

Default: 2n.

Register: \n[TC-MARGIN]

Defines the width of the field in which page numbers are set in a table of contents entry; the right margin thus moves inboard by this amount. This is a GNU extension.

Effective: next PX call.

Default: \w'000'