TBL(1B)

NAME
tbl - (BSD) format tables for nroff or troff

SYNOPSIS
/usr/ucb/tbl [-g] [-me|-mm|-ms] [-TX] [files] ...

DESCRIPTION
Tbl is a preprocessor for formatting tables for nroff or troff. The input files are copied to the standard output, except for lines between .TS and .TE command lines, which are assumed to describe tables and reformatted. With the -mx options, the respective macro packages are copied to the beginning of the output. Details are given in the reference manual.

As an example, letting \t represent a tab (which should be typed as a genuine tab) the input

    .TS
    c s s
    c c s
    c c c
    l n n.
    Household Population
    Town\tHouseholds
    \tNumber\tSize
    Bedminster\t789\t3.26
    Bernards Twp.\t3087\t3.74
    Bernardsville\t2018\t3.30
    Bound Brook\t3425\t3.04
    Branchburg\t1644\t3.49
    Bridgewater\t7897\t3.81
    Far Hills\t240\t3.19
    .TE

yields

    Household Population
    Town | Households
     | Number | Size
    Bedminster | 789 | 3.26
    Bernards Twp. | 3087 | 3.74
    Bernardsville | 2018 | 3.30
    Bound Brook | 3425 | 3.04
    Branchburg | 1644 | 3.49
    Bridgewater | 7897 | 3.81
    Far Hills | 240 | 3.19

If no arguments are given, tbl reads the standard input, so it may be used as a filter. When it is used with eqn or neqn the tbl command should be first, to minimize the volume of data passed through pipes.

tbl normally uses line drawing commands with repeated underline and box rule characters (i.e. troff \l and \L). With the -g option, graphic drawing commands (i.e. \D) are used instead.

The -TX option causes tbl not to produce fractional line motions.

SEE ALSO
troff(1B), eqn(1B)
M. E. Lesk, TBL.