NetBSD/usr.bin/fmt/fmt.1

.\"	$NetBSD: fmt.1,v 1.9 2005/09/11 23:15:20 wiz Exp $
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.\"     @(#)fmt.1	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
.\"
.Dd June 6, 1993
.Dt FMT 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm fmt
.Nd simple text formatter
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl C
.Oo
.Ar goal
.Op Ar maximum
.Oc
.Op name ...
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
is a simple text formatter which reads the concatenation of input
files (or standard input if none are given) and produces on standard
output a version of its input with lines as close to the
.Ar goal
length as possible without exceeding the
.Ar maximum .
The
.Ar goal
length defaults to 65 and the
.Ar maximum
to 75.
The spacing at the beginning of the input lines is preserved in
the output, as are blank lines and interword spacing.
.Pp
.Fl C
instructs
.Nm fmt
to center the text.
.Pp
.Nm
is meant to format mail messages prior to sending, but may also be useful
for other simple tasks.
For instance, within visual mode of the
.Xr ex 1
editor (e.g.,
.Xr vi 1 )
the command
.Pp
.Dl \&!}fmt
.Pp
will reformat a paragraph, evening the lines.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr mail 1 ,
.Xr nroff 1
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
command appeared in
.Bx 3 .
.\" .Sh AUTHORS
.\" Kurt Shoens
.\" .Pp
.\" Liz Allen (added goal length concept)
.Sh BUGS
The program was designed to be simple and fast \- for more complex
operations, the standard text processors are likely to be more
appropriate.