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<td><a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a></td>
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<h1 id="goodies" class="docs">Goodies</h1>
<p>
The macros in this section are a collection of useful (and sometimes
nearly indispensable) routines to simplify typesetting.
</p>
<div id="goodies-macros-mini-toc" style="margin-top: -1em; font-size: 95%;">
<div class="mini-toc-col-1">
<ul class="no-enumerator">
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#alias">ALIAS</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– rename macros</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#silent">SILENT</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– “hide” input lines from output</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#trap">TRAP</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– suspend/re-invoke traps</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#smartquotes">SMARTQUOTES</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– convert typewriter doublequotes to proper doublequotes</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#caps">CAPS</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– convert to upper case</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#string">STRING</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– user-definable strings</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#esc-char">ESC_CHAR</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– change the escape character to something other than a backslash</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies"><a href="#sizespecs">SIZESPECS</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– get cap-height, x-height and descender depth of a font</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies no-anchor"><span style="font-size: 90%;">Underscoring/underlining</span>
<ul class="sublist">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#underscore">UNDERSCORE</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– single underscore</span>
<ul class="sublist sub">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#underscore-weight">Controlling the weight of underscores</a></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#underscore-color">Colorizing underscores</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#underscore2">UNDERSCORE2</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– double underscore</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#underline">UNDERLINE</a>
<ul class="sublist sub">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#ul">\*[UL]</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– inline escape to underline</span></li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies no-anchor"><span style="font-size: 90%;">Padding</span>
<ul class="sublist">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#pad">PAD</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– insert equalized space into lines</span>
<ul class="sublist sub">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#pad-marker">PAD_MARKER</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– change/set the marker used with PAD</span></li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="mini-toc-col-2">
<ul class="no-enumerator">
<li class="list-head-goodies no-anchor"><span style="font-size: 90%;">Leaders</span>
<ul class="sublist">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#leader">\*[LEADER]</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– inline escape to add leaders to a line</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#leader-character">LEADER_CHARACTER</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– change/set the leader character</span></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies no-anchor"><span style="font-size: 90%;">Drop caps</span>
<ul class="sublist">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap">DROPCAP</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– set a drop cap</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color" style="list-style-type: none;"><a href="#dropcap-support"><span class="normal-smaller" style="font-weight: bold;">Support macros for DROPCAP</span></a>
<ul class="sublist sub">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap-family">DROPCAP_FAMILY</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– change drop cap family</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap-font">DROPCAP_FONT</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– change drop cap font</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap-adjust">DROPCAP_ADJUST</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– alter size of drop cap</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap-color">DROPCAP_COLOR</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– change colour of drop cap</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#dropcap-gutter">DROPCAP_GUTTER</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– change space between drop cap and running text</span></li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color no-anchor"><span style="font-size: 90%;">Superscripts</span>
<ul class="sublist">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#sup">\*[SUP]</a> <span class="normal-smaller">– inline escape to set superscripts</span>
<ul class="sublist sub">
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#sup-raise">SUPERSCRIPT_RAISE_AMOUNT</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">(control superscript raise amount</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#cond-or-ext-sup">\*[CONDSUP]</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– condensed superscripts</span></li>
<li class="list-head-goodies text-color"><a href="#cond-or-ext-sup">\*[EXTSUP]</a> <span class="normal-sub-sub">– extended superscripts</span></li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="rule-medium" style="padding-bottom: 1em;"><hr/></div>
<!-- -ALIAS- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="alias" class="macro-id">Rename macros</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>ALIAS</b> <kbd class="macro-args"><new name> <old name></kbd>
</div>
<p>
The ALIAS macro may well be your best friend. With it, you can
change the name of a macro to anything you like (provided the new
name is not already being used by mom; see the
<a href="reserved.html#reserved">list of reserved words</a>).
</p>
<p>
Groff has always been a bit intimidating for new users because
its standard macro packages use very terse macro names. Mom
doesn’t like people to feel intimidated; she wants them
to feel welcome. Consequently, she tries for easy-to-grasp,
self-explanatory macro names. However, mom knows that people have
their own ways of thinking, their own preferences, their own habits.
Some of her macro names may not suit you; they might be too long,
or aren’t what you automatically think of when you want to
do a particular thing, or might conflict with habits you’ve
developed over the years.
</p>
<p>
If you don’t like one of mom’s macro names, say,
PAGEWIDTH, change it, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.ALIAS PW PAGEWIDTH
| |
new--+ +--official
name name
</span>
The first argument to ALIAS is the new name you want for a macro.
The second is the “official” name by which the macro is
normally invoked. After ALIAS, either can be used.
</p>
<p>
Note that in ALIAS, you do NOT include the period (dot) that
precedes the macro when it’s a
<a href="definitions.html#controllines">control line</a>.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="tip">Tip:</span>
A particularly good candidate for ALIAS is the macro,
<a href="typesetting.html#ps">PT_SIZE</a>.
A more natural name for it (at least to old-school phototypesetters)
would simply be PS, but PS conflicts with the <b>eqn</b> equation
preprocessor and thus mom uses the longer form. However, if
you’re not using <b>eqn</b>, you can happily rename PT_SIZE to
PS:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.ALIAS PS PT_SIZE
</span>
</p>
</div>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
If you use ALIAS a lot, and always for the same things, consider
creating an aliases file of the form
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.ALIAS <new name> <old name>
.ALIAS <new name> <old name>
.ALIAS <new name> <old name>
...etc
</span>
Put the file someplace convenient and source it (include it) at the
beginning of your documents with the
<a href="docprocessing.html#include">INCLUDE</a>
macro. Assuming that you’ve created an aliases file called
<b>mom-aliases</b> in your home directory under a directory called
<b>Mom</b>, you’d source it by placing
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.INCLUDE /home/<username>/Mom/mom-aliases
</span>
at the top of your documents.
</p>
<p class="tip-bottom">
If you share documents that make use of an alias file, remember that
other people don’t have the file. Paste the whole thing at
the top of your documents, please.
</p>
</div>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="experts">Experts:</span>
ALIAS is an alias of <kbd>.als</kbd>. You can use either, or mix
'n' match with impunity.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -SILENT- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="silent" class="macro-id">Hide input lines from output</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>SILENT</b> <kbd class="macro-args">toggle</kbd>
</div>
<p class="alias" style="margin-bottom: 0;">
<i>Alias:</i> <b>COMMENT</b>
</p>
<p>
Sometimes, you want to “hide”
<a href="definitions.html#inputline">input lines</a>
from final output. This is most likely to be the case when setting
up string tabs (see the
<a href="typesetting.html#string-tabs-tut">quickie tutorial on string tabs</a>
for an example), but there are other places where you might want
input lines to be invisible as well. Any place you don’t want
input lines to appear in the output, use the SILENT macro.
</p>
<p>
SILENT is a toggle. Invoking it without an argument turns it on;
any argument turns it off. E.g.,
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SILENT
A line of text
.SILENT OFF
</span>
The line “A line of text” will not appear in the
output copy.
</p>
<p>
SILENT is aliased as COMMENT. If you want to insert non-printing
comments into your documents, you may prefer this.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="tip">Tip:</span>
SILENT does not automatically break an
<a href="definitions.html#inputline">input line</a>
(see
<a href="typesetting.html#br">BR</a>)
when you’re in one of the
<a href="definitions.html#filled">fill modes</a>
(<a href="typesetting.html#justify">JUSTIFY</a>
or
<a href="typesetting.html#quad">QUAD L | R | C | J</a>).
The same applies to tabs
(<a href="typesetting.html#tab-set">typesetting</a>
or
<a href="typesetting.html#st">string</a>)
to which you’ve passed the J or QUAD argument. You must
insert <kbd>.BR</kbd> yourself, or risk a portion of your text
disappearing into a black hole.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -TRAP- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="trap" class="macro-id">Suspend/re-invoke traps</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>TRAP</b> <kbd class="macro-args">toggle</kbd>
</div>
<p>
Traps are vertical positions on the output page at which you or
mom have instructed groff to start doing something automatically.
Commonly, this is near the bottom of the page, where automatic
behind-the-scenes processing is needed in order for one page to
finish and another to start.
</p>
<p>
Sometimes, traps get sprung when you don’t want them. If this
happens, surround just the offending macros and input lines with
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.TRAP OFF
...
.TRAP
</span>
TRAP is a toggle, therefore any argument turns it off (i.e. suspends
the trap), and no argument turns it (back) on.
</p>
<!-- -SMARTQUOTES- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="smartquotes" class="macro-id">Convert typewriter doublequotes to proper doublequotes</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>SMARTQUOTES</b> <kbd class="macro-args">[<off>] [ ,, | >> | << ]</kbd>
</div>
<span style="margin-left: .5em">or</span>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>SMARTQUOTES</b> <kbd class="macro-args">DA | DE | ES | FR | IT | NL | NO | PT | SV</kbd>
</div>
<p>
If you invoke SMARTQUOTES without an argument, mom converts all
instances of the inch-mark, (<kbd>"</kbd>), also called
a doublequote, into the appropriate instances of true Anglo-American
open-and close-doublequotes. (See
<a href="#sq-international">Internationalization</a>
for how to get SMARTQUOTES to behave correctly for non-English
quoting styles.)
</p>
<p>
Typographically, there is a difference between the inch-mark and
quotation marks—a BIG difference. Sadly, typewriters and computer
keyboards supply only one: the inch-mark. While using inches for
doublequotes is, and always has been, acceptable in typewriter-style
copy, it has never been, and, God willing, never will be acceptable in
typeset copy. Failure to turn inches into quotes is the first thing
a professional typesetter notices in documents prepared by amateurs.
And you don’t want to look like an amateur, do you?
</p>
<h3 id="sq-international" class="docs">Internationalization</h3>
<p>
If you invoke SMARTQUOTES with one of the optional arguments
(<kbd>,,</kbd> or <kbd>>></kbd>
or <kbd><<</kbd>) you can use
<kbd>"</kbd> (i.e. the inch-mark/doublequotes key)
as “cheap” open-and close-quotes when inputting text in
a language other than English, and have mom convert them, on output,
into the chosen open-and close-quote style.
</p>
<p>
<kbd>,,</kbd> opens quotes with “lowered
doublequotes” and closes them with “raised
doublequotes”, as in this ascii approximation:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
,,Hilfe !``
</span>
<kbd>>></kbd> opens quotes with guillemets
pointing to the right, and closes them with guillemets pointing to
the left, as in this ascii approximation:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
>>Zurück !<<
</span>
<kbd><<</kbd> opens quotes with guillemets
pointing to the left, and closes them with guillemets pointing to
the right, as in this ascii approximation:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
<<Mais monsieur! Je ne suis pas ce genre de fille!>>
</span>
Please note: the above arguments to SMARTQUOTES are literal
ASCII characters. <kbd>,,</kbd> is two commas;
<kbd><<</kbd> is two less-than signs;
<kbd>>></kbd> is two greater-than signs.
</p>
<p>
Alternatively, you can pass SMARTQUOTES the two-letter, ISO 639
abbreviation for the language you’re writing in, and mom will
output the correct quotes.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SMARTQUOTES DA = Danish >>text<<
.SMARTQUOTES DE = German ,,text``
.SMARTQUOTES ES = Spanish ``text´´
.SMARTQUOTES FR = French << text >>
.SMARTQUOTES IT = Italian << text >>
.SMARTQUOTES NL = Dutch ´´text´´
.SMARTQUOTES NO = Norwegian <<text>>
.SMARTQUOTES PT = Portuguese <<text>>
.SMARTQUOTES SV = Swedish >>text>>
</span>
</p>
<p>
Turn SMARTQUOTES off by passing it any argument not in the argument
list (e.g. OFF, QUIT, X, etc.)
</p>
<p>
If you’re using the
<a href="docprocessing.html#docprocessing">document processing macros</a>
with
<a href="docprocessing.html#printstyle">PRINTSTYLE TYPESET</a>,
SMARTQUOTES is on by default (in the Anglo-American style); with
<a href="docprocessing.html#printstyle">PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE</a>,
it’s off by default (and should probably stay that way).
</p>
<p>
Finally, if you’re fussy about the kerning of quote marks in
relation to the text they surround, or have special quoting needs,
you have to enter quote marks by hand using groff’s native
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escapes</a>
for special characters (see <kbd>man groff-char</kbd>
for a complete list of special characters). Entering quote marks
this way allows you to use mom’s
<a href="inlines.html#inline-kerning-mom">inline kerning escapes</a>
to fine-tune the look of quotes.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
SMARTQUOTES does not work on single quotes, which most people
input with the apostrophe (found at the right-hand end of the
“home row” on a QWERTY keyboard). Groff will interpret
all instances of the apostrophe as an apostrophe, making the symbol
useless as an open-single-quote. For open single quotes, input
the backtick character typically found under the tilde on most
keyboards. (Pour nous autres, “backtick” veut dire
l’accent grave.) Here’s an example of correct input
copy with single quotes:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
"But she said, `I don’t want to!'"
</span>
</p>
<p class="tip-bottom" style="margin-top: -1em;">
<span class="additional-note">Additional note:</span>
Whether or not you have SMARTQUOTES turned on, get into the habit of
entering the foot-and inch-marks, when you need them, with the
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escapes</a>
<kbd>\*[FOOT]</kbd> and
<kbd>\*[INCH]</kbd>, instead of
<kbd>'</kbd> and <kbd>"</kbd>.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -CAPS- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="caps" class="macro-id">Convert to upper case</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>CAPS</b> <kbd class="macro-args">toggle</kbd>
</div>
<p>
CAPS converts all lower case letters to upper case.
Primarily, it’s a support macro used by the
<a href="docprocessing.html#docprocessing">document processing macros</a>,
but you may find it helpful on occasion. CAPS is a toggle, therefore
no argument turns it on, any argument (OFF, QUIT, X, etc.) turns
it off.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.CAPS
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
.CAPS OFF
</span>
produces, on output
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.
</span>
If you wish to capitalise a section of type inline, use the
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escapes</a>,
<a href="inlines.html#uc-lc"><kbd>\*[UC]...\*[LC]</kbd></a>
like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
All work \*[UC]and\*[LC] no play makes Jack a dull boy.
</span>
The above produces, on output
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
All work AND no play makes Jack a dull boy.
</span>
</p>
<!-- -STRING- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="string" class="macro-id">User-defined strings</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>STRING</b> <kbd class="macro-args"><name> <what you want in the string></kbd>
</div>
<p>
You may find sometimes that you have to type out portions of text
repeatedly. If you’d like not to wear out your fingers, you can
define a string that, whenever you call it by name, outputs whatever
you put into it.
</p>
<p>
For example, say you’re creating a document that repeatedly uses
the phrase “the Montreal/Windsor corridor”. Instead
of typing all that out every time, you could define a string, like
this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.STRING mw the Montreal/Windsor corridor
</span>
Once a string is defined, you can call it any time with the
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escape</a>
<kbd>\*[<stringname>]</kbd>. Using the example
string above
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
The schedule for trains along \*[mw]:
</span>
produces, on output
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
The schedule for trains along the Montreal/Windsor corridor:
</span>
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
Be very careful not to put any spaces at the ends of strings
you’re defining, unless you want them. Everything after
the name argument you pass to STRING goes into the string,
including trailing spaces. It’s a good idea to get into the
habit of using groff’s native commenting mechanism, <kbd
class="bold">\"</kbd>, immediately following any string definition
in order to avoid spaces you can’t see, like this
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.STRING mw the Montreal/Windsor corridor\"
</span>
</p>
</div>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="experts">Experts:</span>
STRING is an alias for
<b>ds</b>. You can use either, or mix 'n' match with impunity.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -ESC_CHAR- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="esc-char" class="macro-id">Change the escape character</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>ESC_CHAR</b> <kbd class="macro-args"><new character> | <anything></kbd>
</div>
<p>
Groff’s and mom’s default escape character is
the backslash. Sometimes, you may want to include a literal
backslash in your document. There are two ways to accomplish
this. One is simply to double the backslash character (<kbd
class="bold">\\</kbd>), which is convenient if you don’t have
a lot of backslashes to input. If you need to input a whole batch
of backslashes (say, when including code snippets in your document),
you can use ESC_CHAR to make the change permanent (until you decide
to restore the escape character to its default, the backslash).
</p>
<p>
ESC_CHAR with a single character argument changes the escape
character to whatever the argument is. ESC_CHAR with no argument
restores the escape character to the backslash.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="experts">Experts:</span>
ESC_CHAR is an alias of <kbd>.ec</kbd>. Mix 'n' match
the two with impunity.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -SIZESPECS- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="sizespecs" class="macro-id">Get cap-height, x-height and descender depth of a font</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>SIZESPECS</b>
</div>
<p>
Whenever you need to get the
<a href="definitions.html#capheight">cap-height</a>,
<a href="definitions.html#xheight">x-height</a>
or
<a href="definitions.html#descender">descender</a>
depth of type at the current point size, invoke <kbd
class="bold">.SIZESPECS</kbd>, which takes no argument.
The dimensions are stored in the string registers
<b>\*[$CAP_HEIGHT]</b>, <b>\*[$X_HEIGHT]</b> and
<b>\*[$DESCENDER]</b>, respectively, in
<a href="definitions.html#units">machine units</a>
to which the
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>,
<b>u</b>, is already appended.
</p>
<p>
Thus, if you wanted to advance 2 inches from your current position
on the page plus the cap-height of the current point size of type
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.PT_SIZE <n>
.SIZESPECS
.ALD 2i+\*[$CAP_HEIGHT]
</span>
would do the trick.
</p>
<!-- -UNDERSCORE- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="underscore" class="macro-id">Single underscore</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>UNDERSCORE</b> <kbd class="macro-args">[ <distance below baseline> ] "<string>"</kbd>
</div>
<p class="requires">
• Optional argument requires a <a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
</p>
<p>
By default, UNDERSCORE places an underscore 2 points beneath the
required
<a href="definitions.html#stringargument">string argument</a>.
The string must be enclosed in double-quotes, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE "Unmonitored monopolies breed high prices and poor products."
</span>
If you wish to change the distance of the rule from the baseline,
use the optional argument
<kbd><distance below baseline></kbd>
(with a unit of measure).
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE 3p "Unmonitored monopolies breed high prices and poor products."
</span>
The above places upper edge of the underscore 3 points below the
<a href="definitions.html#baseline">baseline</a>.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
UNDERSCORE does not work across line breaks in output copy, which is
to say that you can’t underscore a multi-line passage simply
by putting the text of the whole thing in the string you pass to
UNDERSCORE. If you need to several lines of type, use
<a href="#underline">UNDERLINE</a>.
</p>
</div>
<h3 id="underscore-weight" class="docs">Controlling the weight of underscores</h3>
<p>
The weight (thickness) of underscores may be controlled with the
macro, UNDERSCORE_WEIGHT. Thus, if you want underscores with a
weight of 1-1/2 points, you’d invoke:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE_WEIGHT 1.5
</span>
prior to invoking <kbd>.UNDERSCORE</kbd>. Every
subsequent instance of <kbd>.UNDERSCORE</kbd> will use
this weight.
</p>
<p>
Mom’s default underscore weight is 1/2 point.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
UNDERSCORE_WEIGHT also sets the weight of
<a href="#UNDERSCORE2">double underscores.</a>
</p>
</div>
<h3 id="underscore-color" class="docs">Colorizing underscored text</h3>
<p>
If you want underscored text to be in a different colour from the
text around it, use the
<a href="color.html#color">COLOR</a>
macro, rather than the
<a href="color.html#color-inline">inline escape for changing color</a>.
In other words, assuming your prevailing text color is black and
you want underscored text in red
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.COLOR red
.UNDERSCORE "text to underscore"
.COLOR black
</span>
rather than
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE "\*[red]text to underscore\*[black]"
</span>
The latter will render the text in red, and the underscore in black.
You can use this to create truly rainbow effects if you want, e.g.
text in red, underscore in blue, and prevailing type in black:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE "\*[red]text to underscore\*[blue]"
.COLOR black
</span>
</p>
<!-- -UNDERSCORE2- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="underscore2" class="macro-id">Double underscore</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>UNDERSCORE2</b> <kbd class="macro-args">[ <distance below baseline> [ <distance between rules> ] ] "<string>"</kbd>
</div>
<p class="requires">
• Optional arguments require a <a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
</p>
<p>
By default, UNDERSCORE2 places a double underscore 2 points beneath
the required
<a href="definitions.html#stringargument">string argument</a>.
The string must be enclosed in double-quotes, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE2 "Unmonitored monopolies breed high prices and poor products."
</span>
The default distance between the two rules is 2 points, measured
from the bottom edge of the upper rule to the top edge of the lower
one.
</p>
<p>
If you wish to change the distance of the double underscore from the
<a href="definitions.html#baseline">baseline</a>,
use the optional argument
<kbd><distance below baseline></kbd>
(with a unit of measure), e.g.,
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERSCORE2 3p "Unmonitored monopolies breed high prices and poor products."
</span>
which places the upper edge of the first rule of the double
underscore 3 points below the baseline.
</p>
<p>
If you wish to change the distance between the two rules as well,
use the second optional argument
<kbd><distance between rules></kbd>
(with a unit of measure). Be aware that you must give a value for
the first optional argument if you want to use the second. The
distance between the two rules is measured from the bottom edge of
the upper rule to the top edge of the lower one.
</p>
<p>
The weight (thickness) of double underscores may be controlled with
the macro
<a href="#underscore-weight">UNDERSCORE_WEIGHT</a>
(q.v).
</p>
<!-- -UNDERLINE- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="underline" class="macro-id">Underline</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>UNDERLINE</b> <kbd class="macro-args">toggle</kbd>
</div>
<p>
The distinction between underscoring and underlining is that
underscoring is suitable for occasional effects (a word here, a word
there), whereas underlining underlines whole passages of type.
Furthermore, you cannot colorize underlining, and there’s a
special macro,
<a href="#underline-specs">UNDERLINE_SPECS</a>,
to control the weight and distance from the baseline of the
underline.
</p>
<p>
UNDERLINE is a toggle macro, therefore you invoke it by itself (i.e.
with no argument) to initiate underlining, and with any argument
(<kbd>OFF, QUIT, X,</kbd> etc) to turn it off.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip-top">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
Underlining may also be turned on and off
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline</a>
with the escapes
<kbd><a href="#ul">\*[UL]...\*[ULX]</a></kbd>.
</p>
<p class="tip-bottom">
<span class="additional-note">Additional note:</span>
Neither <kbd>.UNDERLINE</kbd> nor <kbd>\*[UL]</kbd> persist past the
current document element tag. For example, if you turn underlining
on in a paragraph
(<kbd><a href="docelement.html#pp">.PP</a></kbd>),
your next paragraph will not be underlined (nor your next head,
subhead, etc), regardless of whether you explicitly turn underlining
off.
</p>
</div>
<h4 id="underline-specs" class="docs">UNDERLINE_SPECS</h4>
<p>
The weight of underlining and the distance from the baseline is
set with
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.UNDERLINE_SPECS <weight> <distance>
</span>
The <kbd><weight></kbd> argument can be expressed in any
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
you like, but points is the most usual. Mom’s default is 1/2 point
(.5p). The same holds for the <kbd><distance></kbd> argument;
mom’s default is 1-1/4 points (1.25p).
</p>
<!-- -UL- -->
<h4 id="ul" class="docs">INLINE ESCAPE FOR UNDERLINING</h4>
<p>
The macro pair,
<kbd><a href="#underline">.UNDERLINE</a></kbd> /
<kbd>.UNDERLINE OFF</kbd>, and the inline escapes,
<kbd>\*[UL]</kbd> / <kbd>\*[ULX]</kbd>, are functionally identical,
hence, in
<a href="definitions.html#filled">fill</a>
modes
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
Which should I heed?
.UNDERLINE
Just do it
.UNDERLINE OFF
or
.UNDERLINE
just say no?
.UNDERLINE OFF
</span>
produces the same result as
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
Which should I heed? \*[UL]Just do it\*[ULX] or \*[UL]just say no?\*[ULX]
</span>
</p>
<!-- -PAD- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="pad" class="macro-id">Insert space into lines</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>PAD</b> <kbd class="macro-args">"<string with pad markers inserted>" [ NOBREAK ]</kbd>
</div>
<p>
With PAD, you can insert proportional amounts of whitespace into a
line. The optional <kbd id="nobreak" class="bold">NOBREAK</kbd>
argument tells mom not to advance on the page after the PAD macro
has been invoked.
</p>
<p>
PAD calculates the difference between the length of text on the line
and the distance remaining to its end, then inserts the difference
(as whitespace) at the place(s) you specify.
</p>
<p>
Take, for example, the following relatively common typesetting
situation, found at the bottom of legal agreements:
<br/>
<span class="pre">
Date Signature |
</span>
</p>
<p>
The person signing the agreement is supposed to fill in the date
as well as a signature. Space needs to be left for both, but the
exact amount is neither known, nor important. All that matters is
that there be a little space after Date, and rather more space after
Signature. (In the above, <kbd>|</kbd> represents the
end of the line at the prevailing line length.)
</p>
<p>
The
<a href="goodies.html#pad-marker">pad marker</a>
(see below) is <kbd>#</kbd> (the pound or number sign
on your keyboard) and can be used multiple times in a line. With
that in mind, here’s how you’d input the Date/Signature line
(assuming a length of 30 picas):
<br/>
<span class="pre">
.LL 30P
.PAD "Date#Signature###"
</span>
</p>
<p>
When the line is output, the space remaining on the line, after
"Date" and "Signature" have been taken into
account, is split into four (because there are four # signs). One
quarter of the space is inserted between Date and Signature, the
remainder is inserted after Signature.
</p>
<div class="examples-container">
<h3 id="pad-example" class="docs notes">Example of PAD usage</h3>
<p style="margin-top: .5em;">
One rarely wants merely to insert space in a line; one usually wants
to fill it with something, hence PAD is particularly useful in
conjunction with
<a href="typesetting.html#string-tabs">string tabs</a>.
The following uses the Date/Signature example, above, but adds
rules into the whitespace through the use of string tabs and
mom’s
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escape</a>
<kbd><a href="inlines.html#inline-rule-mom">\*[RULE]</a></kbd>.
(Instead of <kbd>\*[RULE]</kbd>, groff’s line
drawing function,
<kbd><a href="inlines.html#inline-linedrawing-groff">\l'<distance>'</a></kbd>
could be used.)
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.LL 30P
.PAD "Date \*[ST1]#\*[ST1X] Signature \*[ST2]###\*[ST2X]" NOBREAK
.ST 1 J
.ST 2 J
.TAB 1
\*[RULE]
.TN
\*[RULE]
.TQ
</span>
If you’re not a typesetter, and if you’re new to groff,
the example probably looks like gibberish. My apologies. However,
remember that typesetting is a craft, and without having studied the
craft, it takes a while to grasp its concepts.
</p>
<p>
Basically, what the example does is:
</p>
<ol style="margin-top: -.5em; margin-bottom: -.5em;">
<li>Pads the Date/Signature line with a shorter space for Date
(<kbd>#</kbd>) and a longer space for Signature
(<kbd>###</kbd>), encloses the padded space with string tabs
markers, and outputs the line without advancing on the page.
</li>
<li>Sets the quad for the two string tabs (in this instance, justified).
</li>
<li>Calls the first string tab and draws a rule to its full
length.
</li>
<li>Calls the second tab with
<a href="typesetting.html#tn">TN</a>
(which moves to tab 2 and stays on the same baseline)
then draws a rule to the full length of string tab 2.
</li>
</ol>
<p>
Often, when setting up string tabs this way, you don’t want the
padded line to print immediately. To accomplish this, use
<kbd><a href="#silent">SILENT</a></kbd>.
See the
<a href="typesetting.html#string-tabs-tut">quickie tutorial on string tabs</a>
for an example.
</p>
</div>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip-top">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
Because the pound sign
(<kbd>#</kbd>) is used as the pad marker, you
can’t use it as a literal part of the pad string. If you need
the sign to appear in the text of a padded line, change the pad
marker with
<kbd><a href="#pad-marker">PAD_MARKER</a></kbd>.
Also, be aware that <kbd>#</kbd> as a pad marker
only applies within the PAD macro; at all other times it prints
literally, just as you’d expect.
</p>
<p class="tip-bottom">
Another important consideration when using PAD is that because the
string must be enclosed in double-quotes, you can’t use the
double-quote (<kbd>"</kbd>) as part of the string. The
way to circumvent this is to use the groff
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escapes</a>
<kbd>\(lq</kbd> and <kbd>\(rq</kbd>
(leftquote and rightquote respectively) whenever double-quotes are
required in the string passed to PAD.
</p>
</div>
<!-- -PAD_MARKER- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="pad-marker" class="macro-id">Change/set the marker used with PAD</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>PAD_MARKER</b> <kbd class="macro-args">"<character to use as the pad marker></kbd>
</div>
<p>
If you need to change mom’s default pad marker (<kbd
class="bold">#</kbd>), either because you want a literal # in
the padded line, or simply because you want to use another character
instead, use PAD_MARKER, whose argument is the new pad marker
character you want.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.PAD_MARKER @
</span>
changes the pad marker to <kbd>@</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
Once you’ve changed the pad marker, the new marker remains in effect
for every instance of
<a href="#pad">PAD</a>
until you change it again (say, back to the pound sign).
</p>
<!-- -\*[LEADER]- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="leader" class="macro-id">Inline escape to add leaders to a line</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Inline: <b>\*[LEADER]</b>
</div>
<p>
Whenever you want to fill a line or tab with
<a href="definitions.html#leader">leaders</a>,
use the
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline escape</a>
<kbd>\*[LEADER]</kbd>. The remainder of the line or
tab will be filled with the leader character. Mom’s default
leader character is a period (dot), but you can change it to any
character you like with
<kbd><a href="#leader-character">LEADER_CHARACTER</a></kbd>.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip-top">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
<kbd>\*[LEADER]</kbd> fills lines or tabs right to
their end. You cannot insert leaders into a line or tab and have
text following the leader on the same line or in the same tab.
Should you wish to achieve such an effect typographically, create
tabs for each element of the line and fill them appropriately with
the text and leaders you need.
<a href="typesetting.html#string-tabs">String tabs</a>
are perfect for this. An example follows.
<br/>
<span class="pre">
.LL 30P
.PAD "Date\*[ST1]#\*[ST1X]Signature\*[ST2]###\*[ST2X]"
.EL
.ST 1 J
.ST 2 J
.TAB 1
\*[LEADER]
.TN
\*[LEADER]
.TQ
</span>
</p>
<p class="tip-bottom">
The PAD line sets the words Date and Signature, and marks string
tabs around the pad space inserted in the line. The string tabs are
then "set", called, and filled with leaders. The result
looks like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre" style="margin-bottom: -1em;">
Date.............Signature.....................................
</span>
</p>
</div>
<!-- -LEADER_CHARACTER- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="leader-character" class="macro-id">Change/set the leader character</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>LEADER_CHARACTER</b> <kbd class="macro-args"><character></kbd>
</div>
<p>
LEADER_CHARACTER takes one argument: a single character you would
like to be used for
<a href="definitions.html#leader">leaders</a>.
(See
<kbd><a href="#leader">\*[LEADER]</a></kbd>
for an explanation of how to fill lines with leaders.)
</p>
<p>
For example, to change the leader character from mom’s
default (a period) to the underscore character, enter
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.LEADER_CHARACTER _
</span>
</p>
<!-- -DROPCAP- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="dropcap" class="macro-id">Drop caps</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>DROPCAP</b> <kbd class="macro-args"><dropcap letter> <number of lines to drop> [ COND <percentage> | EXT <percentage> ]</kbd>
</div>
<p>
The first two arguments to DROPCAP are the letter you want to be the
<a href="definitions.html#dropcap">drop cap</a>
and the number of lines you want it to drop. By default, mom uses
the current family and font for the drop cap.
</p>
<p>
The optional argument (<kbd>COND</kbd> or <kbd>EXT</kbd>) indicates
that you want the drop cap condensed (narrower) or extended (wider).
If you use <kbd class="bold">COND</kbd> or <kbd>EXT</kbd>, you must
follow the argument with the percentage of the letter’s normal
width you want it condensed or extended. No percent sign
(<kbd>%</kbd>) is required.
</p>
<p>
Mom will do her very best to get the drop cap to line up with the
first line of text indented beside it, then set the correct number
of indented lines, and restore your left margin when the number of
drop cap lines has been reached.
</p>
<p>
Beginning a paragraph with a drop cap “T” looks like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre">
.DROPCAP T 3 COND 90
he thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I
could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.
You who so well know the nature of my soul will not suppose,
however, that I gave utterance to a threat...
</span>
</p>
<p>
The drop cap, slightly condensed but in the current family and font,
will be three lines tall, with whatever text fills those three
lines indented to the right of the letter. The remainder of the
paragraph’s text will revert to the left margin.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
When using the
<a href="docprocessing.html#docprocessing">document processing macro</a>
<a href="docelement.html#pp">PP</a>,
DROPCAP only works
</p>
<ul style="margin-top: -1em; margin-bottom: 0;">
<li>with initial paragraphs (i.e. at the start of the document,
or after
<a href="docelement.html#head">HEAD</a>),</li>
<li>when <kbd>.DROPCAP</kbd> comes immediately after <kbd>.PP</kbd>,</li>
<li>the
<a href="docprocessing.html#printstyle">PRINTSTYLE</a>
is TYPESET.</li>
</ul>
<p class="tip-bottom">
If these conditions aren’t met, DROPCAP is silently ignored.
</p>
</div>
<div class="box-important">
<p class="tip">
<span class="important">Warning:</span>
DROPCAP puts a bit of a strain on resource-challenged systems. If
you have such a system and use drop caps extensively in a document,
be prepared for a wait while mom does her thing.
</p>
</div>
<h3 id="dropcap-support" class="docs control-macros-header">Support macros for DROPCAP</h3>
<p>
Drop caps are the bane of most typesetters’ existence.
It’s very difficult to get the size of the drop cap right
for the number of drop lines, especially if the drop cap is in a
different family from the prevailing family of running text. Not
only that, but there’s the gutter around the drop cap to take
into account, plus the fact that the letter may be too wide or too
narrow to look anything but odd or misplaced.
</p>
<p>
Mom solves the last of these problems with the <kbd>COND</kbd> and
<kbd>EXT</kbd> arguments. The rest she solves with macros that
change the default behaviour of DROPCAP, namely
</p>
<ul class="no-enumerator" style="margin-top: -.5em; margin-left: -.5em;">
<li><a href="#dropcap-family">DROPCAP_FAMILY</a></li>
<li><a href="#dropcap-font">DROPCAP_FONT</a></li>
<li><a href="#dropcap-color">DROPCAP_COLOR</a></li>
<li><a href="#dropcap-adjust">DROPCAP_ADJUST</a></li>
<li><a href="#dropcap-gutter">DROPCAP_GUTTER</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="margin-top: -.5em;">
These macros must, of course, come before you invoke DROPCAP.
</p>
<h3 id="dropcap-family" class="control-macro">• DROPCAP_FAMILY</h3>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
Set the drop cap family by giving DROPCAP_FAMILY the name of the
family you want, e.g.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DROPCAP_FAMILY H
</span>
which will set the family to Helvetica for the drop cap only.
</p>
<h3 id="dropcap-font" class="control-macro">• DROPCAP_FONT</h3>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
Set the drop cap font by giving DROPCAP_FONT the name of the font
you want, e.g.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DROPCAP_FONT I
</span>
which will set the font to italic for the drop cap only.
</p>
<h3 id="dropcap-adjust" class="control-macro">• DROPCAP_ADJUST</h3>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
If the size mom calculates for the drop cap isn’t precisely
what you want, you can increase or decrease it with DROPCAP_ADJUST,
like this: e.g.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DROPCAP_ADJUST +1
</span>
or
<br/>
<span class="pre">
.DROPCAP_ADJUST -.75
</span>
</p>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
DROPCAP_ADJUST only understands
<a href="definitions.html#picaspoints">points</a>,
therefore do not append any
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
to the argument. And always be sure to prepend the plus or
minus sign, depending on whether you want the drop cap larger or
smaller.
</p>
<h3 id="dropcap-color" class="control-macro">• DROPCAP_COLOR</h3>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
If you’d like your drop cap colourized, simply invoke
<kbd>.DROPCAP_COLOR <color></kbd> with the name of a
colour you’ve already created (“initialized”) with
<a href="color.html#newcolor">NEWCOLOR</a>
or
<a href="color.html#xcolor">XCOLOR</a>.
Only the drop cap will be colourized; all other text will remain at
the current colour default (usually black).
</p>
<h3 id="dropcap-gutter" class="control-macro">• DROPCAP_GUTTER</h3>
<p style="margin-left: .66em;">
By default, mom puts three points of space between the drop cap
and the text indented beside it. If you want another value, use
DROPCAP_GUTTER (with a unit of measure), like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DROPCAP_GUTTER 6p
</span>
</p>
<!-- -\*[SUP]- -->
<div class="macro-id-overline">
<h3 id="sup" class="macro-id">Superscript</h3>
</div>
<div class="box-macro-args">
Inlines: <kbd>\*[SUP]...\*[SUPX]</kbd>
</div>
<p>
Superscripts are accomplished
<a href="definitions.html#inlines">inline</a>.
Whenever you need one, typically for numerals, all you need to do is
surround the superscript with the inlines above. <kbd>\*[SUP]</kbd>
begins superscripting; <kbd>\*[SUPX]</kbd> turns it off.
</p>
<p id="cond-or-ext-sup">
If your running type is
<a href="typesetting.html#cond-inline">pseudo-condensed</a>
or
<a href="typesetting.html#ext-inline">pseudo-extended</a>
and you want your superscripts to be equivalently pseudo-condensed
or -extended, use <kbd>\*[CONDSUP]...\*[CONDSUPX]</kbd> or
<kbd>\*[EXTSUP]...\*[EXTSUPX]</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
The superscript inlines are primarily used by the
<a href="docprocessing.html#docprocessing">document processing macros</a>
for automatic generation of numbered footnotes. However, you may
find them useful for other purposes.
</p>
<div class="box-tip">
<p class="tip">
<span class="note">Note:</span>
Mom does a pretty fine job of making superscripts look good in any
font and at any size. If you’re fussy, though (and I am),
about precise vertical placement, kerning, weight, size, and so on,
you may want to roll your own solution. And sorry, there’s
no mom equivalent for subscripts. I'm neither a mathematician
nor a chemist, so I don’t need them. Of course, anyone who
wishes to contribute a subscript routine to mom will receive
blessings not only in this lifetime, but in all lifetimes to come.
</p>
</div>
<h3 id="sup-raise" class="docs">SUPERSCRIPT RAISE AMOUNT</h3>
<p>
By default, mom raises superscripts 1/3 of an
<a href="definitions.html#ems">em</a>
above the baseline. If you’re not happy with this default,
you can change it by invoking SUPERSCRIPT_RAISE_AMOUNT with the
amount you want them raised. A
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
must be appended directly to the amount. Thus, you want
superscripts raised by 3
<a href="definitions.html#picaspoints">points</a>
instead of 1/3 em, you’d do
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SUPERSCRIPT_RAISE_AMOUNT 3p
</span>
and all subsequent superscripts would be raised by 3 points.
</p>
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