COL(1)                  System General Commands Manual                  COL(1)

NAME
     col - filter reverse line feeds from input

SYNOPSIS
     col [-bfhpx] [-l num]

DESCRIPTION
     col filters out reverse (and half-reverse) line feeds so that the output
     is in the correct order with only forward and half-forward line feeds,
     and replaces whitespace characters with tabs where possible.  This can be
     useful in processing the output of nroff(1) and tbl(1).

     col reads from the standard input and writes to the standard output.

     The options are as follows:

     -b      Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character
             written to each column position.

     -f      Forward half-line feeds are permitted (``fine'' mode).  Normally
             characters printed on a half-line boundary are printed on the
             following line.

     -h      Compress spaces into tabs.  This is the default behavior.

     -p      Escape sequence will not be changed. By default col will normally
             remove escape sequences not listed in the table below.

     -x      Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.

     -l num  Buffer at least num lines in memory.  By default, 128 lines are
             buffered.

     The control sequences for carriage motion that col understands and their
     decimal values are listed in the following table:

     ESC-7            Reverse line feed (escape then 7).
     ESC-8            Half reverse line feed (escape then 8).
     ESC-9            Half forward line feed (escape then 9).
     backspace        Moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column.
     carriage return  (13)
     newline          Forward line feed (10); also does carriage return.
     shift in         Shift to normal character set (15).
     shift out        Shift to alternate character set (14).
     space            Moves forward one column (32).
     tab              Moves forward to next tab stop (9).
     vertical tab     Reverse line feed (11).

     All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are discarded.

     col keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes
     sure the character set is correct when they are output.

     If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line, col will dis-
     play a warning message.

SEE ALSO
     expand(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)

HISTORY
     A col command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

     This utility is expected to meet POSIX 1003.1 and SUS.

Interix                          July 8, 2006                          Interix