Using troff

Troff formats text for printing or display. The troff language is not usually used directly but through some intermediary. Commonly this involves embedding the tags defined by the ms(6) macros into your text document.

For example,

troff -ms file

would output your text file with ms(6) macros as PostScript. Another commonly used set of macros are for typesetting man(6) pages. To view a typeset version of a manpage:

troff -man /sys/man/4/factotum | page

RELATED TOOLS

Various tools can be used in conjunction with troff to form a toolset for word-processing, publishing, or as the back-end of such an application.

• proof(1), page(1) - takes a troff file and displays an approximation of the page on the screen
• dpost(1) - converts troff output to postscript
• lp(1) - for printer output
• spell(1) - for spell-checking
• deroff(1), doctype(1) - for plain text output
• troff2html(1) - for HTML output
• tbl(1) - for formatting tables
• eqn(1) - for typesetting mathematics (e.g. equations)
• pic(1) - for drawing figures
• grap(1) - for drawing graphs
• ms(6) - macros for formatting manuscripts
• mpictures(6) - picture inclusion macros
• man(6) - macros for Plan 9 manpages
• html2ms(1), ms2html(1) - for converting between HTML and ms(6) macros
• fortune(1) - for generating editorial content
• doc2txt(1) - for extracting printable strings from Word documents

REFERENCES

• A TROFF Tutorial - A tutorial for new users (in PostScript format).
• Troff User's Manual - A user manual covering the Plan 9 edition of troff.
• troff(1) - The man page.
• troff.org - A website devoted to troff.
• Publications that use troff - troff works.