PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual

Transcription

1 Information Management Technology Library PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual Abstract This manual explains in detail the commands and advanced features of the PS TEXT FORMAT formatter product. Part Number Tandem Computers Incorporated

2 Document History Edition Part Number Product Version OS Version Date First Edition A00 TFORM B20 GUARDIAN 90 B20 October 1985 Second Edition A00 TFORM B30 GUARDIAN 90 B30 April 1986 Update TFORM C00 GUARDIAN 90 C00 November 1987 Third Edition TFORM C10 GUARDIAN 90 C10 March 1989 New editions incorporate any updates issued since the previous edition. Copyright All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form, including photocopying or translation to another language, without the prior written consent of Tandem Computers Incorporated. Copyright 1989 Tandem Computers Incorporated.

3 Contents ix Preface xv Notation Conventions Section 1 Section 2 Introduction to TFORM 1-1 An Overview of TFORM 1-1 Creating a Document With TFORM 1-2 Constructing TFORM commands 1-2 Parts of a TFORM command 1-4 Units 1-5 Running TFORM 1-5 Using RUN 1-8 Printing Your Output 1-8 Default Formatting Overview of TFORM Capabilities 2-1 Command Overview 2-2 Basic Formatting With TFORM 2-2 Indicating Form Length and Width 2-4 Setting Margins 2-5 Setting Headers 2-6 Setting Footers 2-8 Joining Text 2-9 Justifying Text 2-10 Centering Text 2-10 Indenting Text 2-12 Leaving Blank Space in Text 2-13 Handling Page Breaks 2-15 Creating Special Effects With TFORM 2-15 Sentence and Paragraph Spacing 2-18 Using Levels Headings in Text 2-21 Creating Lists 2-23 Creating Boxes 2-24 Using Tabs 2-25 Controlling Hyphenation 2-26 Using Sequential Line Numbering 2-26 Printing Marks in the Margin Tandem Computers Incorporated iii

4 Contents 2-27 Customizing Your Text 2-28 Controlling the Printed Output 2-30 Advanced Features of TFORM 2-30 Sourcing in Other Files 2-30 Using Auxiliary Files 2-31 Conditional Processing 2-31 Repetitive Processing 2-31 Generating Form Letters 2-32 Creating Your Own Macros and Functions Section 3 TFORM Commands 3-1 Command Overview 3-1 Formatting Commands 3-3 Control Commands 3-4 Programmatic Commands 3-5 Standard Macro Summary 3-6 Command Descriptions 3-6 Assign 3-9 BREAK 3-11 CENTER 3-13 CHANGES 3-16 COMMENT 3-18 CONTENTS 3-21 DEFINE 3-26 ENV 3-29 ERROR 3-30 EXIT 3-31 FILE 3-37 FOOTER 3-41 FUNCTION 3-46 HEADER 3-50 HELP 3-55 IF 3-58 INDENT 3-62 KEEP 3-64 LETTER iv Tandem Computers Incorporated

5 Contents 3-71 LEVEL 3-83 LIST 3-94 LOOP 3-98 MACRO Macro Invocation Command NEW PAGE PRINT SET SOURCE SPACE STYLE Temporary Indentation (TI) TIME TITLE TODAY VERBATIM Section 4 Escape Sequences 4-1 Metacharacters 4-2 Comment Metacharacter 4-2 Discretionary Hyphen 4-2 Tabulation Symbol 4-3 Backspace Symbol 4-5 Rendition Controls 4-5 Boldface Type 4-6 Changing Fonts 4-6 Overstruck Type 4-7 Shadow Type 4-7 Subscripts 4-8 Superscripts 4-8 Underlining 4-9 Indirection Escape Sequence 4-11 Double Indirection Tandem Computers Incorporated v

6 Contents Section 5 Expressions 5-1 Introduction 5-2 Primary Expressions 5-3 Complex Expressions 5-3 Expression Types 5-3 Examples of Expressions 5-5 Variables 5-5 System Variables 5-13 Operands 5-13 Operators 5-13 Unary Operators 5-14 Binary Operators 5-15 Logical Operators 5-15 Comparing Operand Types 5-16 Evaluation of Expressions 5-16 Functions 5-17 ABS Function 5-18 ALIGN Function 5-19 ARG Function 5-20 CHR Function 5-20 DEFINE Function 5-20 FIND Function 5-21 JUSTIFY Function 5-22 LENGTH Function 5-22 LOWER Function 5-22 MAX Function 5-23 MIN Function 5-23 MODULO Function 5-24 NUMERIC Funciton 5-24 ORD Function vi Tandem Computers Incorporated

7 Contents 5-25 ROMAN Function 5-25 SELECT Function 5-26 STRING Function 5-27 TRANSLATE Function 5-28 UPPER Function 5-28 WIDTH Function Section 6 System Parameters 6-2 COPIES 6-3 DEVICE^TYPE 6-5 FORM 6-6 HOLD 6-7 PRINTER^TYPE 6-8 REPORT^NAME 6-9 SPOOLOUT Appendixes A-1 Syntax Summary B-1 TFORM Messages C-1 Limits and Defaults D-1 Comparison of TGAL and TFORM E-1 TFORMCVT: Converting From TGAL to TFORM F-1 Moving Between TFORM and T-TEXT G-1 Examples of Function and Macro Constructs H-1 Font Characteristics Figures 1-10 Figure 1-1. A Default-Formatted Page 2-3 Figure 2-1. TFORM Page Layout Tandem Computers Incorporated vii

8 Contents Tables 1-4 Table 1-1. TFORM Units of Measurement 1-9 Table 1-2. TFORM Formatting Defaults 3-76 Table 3-1. LEVEL FORMAT Default Values 3-79 Table 3-2. LEVEL STYLE Default Values 3-81 Table 3-3. LEVEL CONTENTS Default Values 5-4 Table 5-1. Syntax of an Expression 5-6 Table 5-2. SYS_CHARS Characters 5-9 Table 5-3. SYS_PRINTFLAGS Characters 5-10 Table 5-4. SYS_SETFLAGS Characters 5-11 Table 5-5. SYS_STACKFLAGS Characters 5-14 Table 5-6. Unary Operators 5-14 Table 5-7. Binary Operators 5-15 Table 5-8. Logical Operators A-12 Table A-1. Escape Sequences A-17 Table A-2. String Characters Changed by DEFINE A-20 Table A-3. Flags and the PRINT Command A-21 Table A-4. Flags Changed by SET Command A-22 Table A-5. String of Characters Representing Flags D-1 Table D-1. Comparsion of TGAL and TFORM H-2 Table H-1. Priorities of Font Characteristics H-5 Table H-2. Default Fonts and Characteristic Values H-8 Table H-3. Defined Symbol Sets H-11 Table H-4. Stroke Weight H-13 Table H-5. Typeface Values viii Tandem Computers Incorporated

9 Preface PS TEXT FORMAT (or TFORM) is a command-oriented text formatter. TFORM operates in two ways: in a sheltered environment under the control of the T-TEXT text editor, or as an independent text formatter. This manual describes the second use of TFORM as a stand-alone formatter. (See the T-TEXT User s Manual for more information about TFORM in the T-TEXT environment.) You use TFORM to control the margins, indentation, headers, footers, and page numbers of documents that you produce. TFORM can also produce boldface type, underline, draw boxes, make lists of various kinds, and provide other enhancements that make the printed result not only readable but pleasing to the eye. In its most sophisticated applications, TFORM can print customized form letters, use auxiliary input and output files, make value substitutions, carry out conditional or repetitive processing, and even do computations. What This Book Is About The PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual explains in detail the PS TEXT FORMAT product. This manual contains detailed descriptions of the many TFORM commands, syntax summaries for each command, some examples describing the options of more sophisticated commands, and tips for using the commands. It also describes the more advanced features of TFORM, such as escape sequences, which include special printing capabilities, special formatting characters, and value substitution; expressions, which allow you to handle data and do computations; and system parameters, which govern the environment and activities of TFORM. The several appendixes provide you with a syntax summary of the different elements of TFORM; explanations of the error messages that TFORM delivers; details of the limits and defaults of TFORM; a description of the conversion utility TFORMCVT that provides specific pathways between files formatted with TGAL, T-TEXT, or TFORM; and examples of FUNCTION and MACRO constructs Tandem Computers Incorporated ix

10 Preface Who Should Use This Book This manual assumes that you are familiar with some type of formatter and have read or glanced at the PS TEXT FORMAT Quick Start and the PS TEXT EDIT and PS TEXT FORMAT User s Guide before using this manual. Note If you are unfamiliar with using a formatter, then you should first read the PS TEXT FORMAT Quick Start and the PS TEXT EDIT and PS TEXT FORMAT User s Guide before attempting to use this manual to learn TFORM. The PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual is for you if you want: An overview of the capabilities of TFORM An explanation of TFORM concepts and definitions of TFORM terminology Descriptions and syntax of the TFORM commands and command options Details of the more advanced features of TFORM How to Use This Book Use the Table of Contents and the Index to guide you to the appropriate section or page number. Section 1, Introduction to TFORM, contains an overview of TFORM, basic concepts and terminology, and instructions for using TFORM with your text editor. Section 2, Overview of TFORM Capabilities, describes a set of useful commands and provides examples for using TFORM on basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Section 3, TFORM Commands, describes, in alphabetical sequence, the TFORM commands, including the TFORM-supplied macro packages that you use exactly like TFORM commands. The descriptions include syntax, use of the command, command options, examples, and tips. Section 4, Escape Sequences, contains explanations and examples of formatting characters, controlling special printing effects, and value substitution. x Tandem Computers Incorporated

11 Preface Section 5, Expressions, describes the constants, variables, operators, and functions you can use to examine, evaluate, and convert various kinds of data and to perform computations. Section 6, System Parameters, contains a description of each system parameter, set by the command interpreter s PARAM command, that affect the environment and activities of TFORM. Appendix A, Syntax Summary, lists the syntax descriptions of all TFORM commands, escape sequences, expressions, and functions. Appendix B, TFORM Messages, lists all the TFORM error messages with a summary of the intent of each. Appendix C, Limits and Defaults, summarizes the minimum, maximum, and default values for the various TFORM measurements and environment settings. Appendix D, Comparison of TGAL and TFORM, correlates the TFORM commands with the commands of Tandem s earlier text formatter, TGAL. Appendix E, Converting from TGAL to TFORM, describes the way that the conversion program TFORMCVT converts, as precisely as possible, commands in a TGAL-formatted file to their TFORM counterparts. Appendix F, Converting Between TFORM and T-TEXT, describes the way that the conversion program TFORMCVT operates bi-directionally to convert, as precisely as possible, TFORM or T-TEXT commands to their T-TEXT or TFORM counterparts. Appendix G, Examples of FUNCTION and MACRO Constructs, presents examples of FUNCTION and MACRO constructs. Each of the examples provide comments describing various statements in the constructs, and the MACRO constructs contain the macro invocation commands that run the different macros. Appendix H, Fonts, describes font characteristics in detail and how printers load and select fonts Tandem Computers Incorporated xi

12 Preface Two reference cards are available for the PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual. One describes TFORM commands and functions; the other compares TGAL and TFORM commands. Both are intended as condensed summaries of information that is presented in greater detail in the manual. What s New in This Manual This edition of the reference manual includes information about new features of and enhancements to TFORM. The update package (part number 82243) is also included in this version of this manual. The new features and enhancements include: A new FONT option in the STYLE command A new FONT rendition control escape sequence that lets you change fonts on a page In addition, a new appendix describing fonts in detail has been included in this edition. xii Tandem Computers Incorporated

13 Preface Where to Go for More Information Some of the information covered in the PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Manual is also presented in the PS TEXT FORMAT Quick Start, the PS TEXT EDIT and PS TEXT FORMAT User s Guide, and in the material displayed by the HELP command. Two reference cards available for TFORM are: PS TEXT FORMAT Reference Card TGAL to TFORM Reference Card You can use TFORM to format files created with any of these three Tandem editors: EDIT, PS TEXT EDIT, and T-TEXT. The following manuals and reference cards provide information on the use of these editors: PS TEXT EDIT and PS TEXT FORMAT User s Guide EDIT Manual PS TEXT EDIT Quick Start for 3270 Terminals PS TEXT EDIT Quick Start for 6530 Terminals PS TEXT EDIT Reference Manual PS TEXT EDIT Reference Card PS TEXT EDIT EDIT/VS to TEDIT Reference Card Getting to Know T-TEXT T-TEXT User s Manual To order copies of these manuals, contact your Tandem sales office Tandem Computers Incorporated xiii

14 Preface xiv Tandem Computers Incorporated

15 Notation Conventions You must enter commands in a certain form so that TFORM understands them. This form is called syntax. To help you learn to use the TFORM commands, this manual and the TFORM HELP facility adopt certain conventions for representing syntax. Upper- and lowercase letters have specific meanings, and certain other symbols are also used to explain how to enter the command. Spaces and commas separate the parts of the commands (command name, options, and keywords). If you would like to study a certain command s syntax, look up the individual command in Section 3, TFORM Commands. Notation UPPERCASE LETTERS italics Brackets [ ] Braces { } Vertical line Ellipsis Spaces Meaning Uppercase letters represent keywords and reserved words; you must enter these items exactly as shown. Lowercase italic letters represent variable items that you must supply. Brackets enclose optional syntax items. A group of vertically aligned items enclosed in brackets represents a list of selections from which you may choose one or none. Braces enclose required syntax items. A group of vertically aligned items enclosed in braces represents a list of selections from which you must choose one. A vertical line separating items in a horizontally aligned list of options, enclosed in either braces or brackets, is an alternative to vertical alignment of the selections. An ellipsis immediately following a pair of brackets or braces indicates that you can repeat the enclosed syntax items any number of times. If two items are separated by a space, that space is required between the items. (But if either of the items is a punctuation symbol, such as a parenthesis or a comma, the space is optional.) Tandem Computers Incorporated xv

16 Notation Conventions Notation Punctuation char exp int num string text title units Meaning Parentheses, commas, semicolons, and other symbols not described above must be entered precisely as shown. Quotation marks around any symbol indicate that it is not a syntax descriptor but a required character, and you must enter it as shown. is a single character that can be entered from the terminal keyboard. is an expression of numeric, character, or Boolean type. It may be a single digit or character, or a complex construct of operators and operands. Expressions are described in Section 5. is an integer. is a number, either an integer or combination of an integer and a fraction (either of which may be zero) separated by a decimal point. is one or more characters enclosed in quotation marks. is any combination of one or more characters (no quotation marks necessary). is a one-, two-, or three-field entity, depending on how you enter it. Its form is [ text ] [ [ text ] [ [ text ] ] ] Vertical bars ( ) are used as the field delimiters, which divide the title into left, center, and right fields. TFORM left-justifies any field to the left of the first delimiter (or if you omit both delimiters), centers any field positioned between the vertical bars, and right-justifies any field to the right of the second delimiter. Fields may be empty or spaced-filled, and you can use any combination of the one, two, or three fields. Titles are enclosed in quotation marks. is one of CHARS, CM, DECIPOINTS, INCHES, LINES, MM, PICAS, or POINTS. TFORM stores all units in the form of decipoints, converting CHARS and LINES to decipoints at command execution time. Any unit name may be abbreviated to its first two characters. A table presenting the conversion factors is presented in Section 1. xvi Tandem Computers Incorporated

17 An Overview of TFORM 1 Introduction to TFORM PS TEXT FORMAT (we ll use the more familiar name of TFORM throughout this manual) is a text formatter. You use it to convert documents stored as files on disc (files usually created by a text editor) into usable form on paper. TFORM controls the character width and line height; adds margins, indentation, headers, footers, and page numbers; and specifies underlining, boldface type, boxes, and other enhancements that make the document not only readable but aesthetically pleasing as well. You can use TFORM to format any variety of documents. Casual users might want to print a memo or a hard copy of an electronic mail message. Others who write more often might use TFORM to control the formatting of reports and other standard business documents. Technical designers and writers, who create external specifications, articles, and manuals, can use most or all of the formatting features of TFORM to produce sophisticated documents. Creating a Document With TFORM You follow three basic steps when you use TFORM: 1. You create a document file, usually with a text editor such as PS TEXT EDIT (TEDIT) or EDIT/VS. Note You could also create a document file by saving PS MAIL messages in one or more files that you specify. You can even use TFORM interactively that is, you can converse with TFORM at your terminal to enter data directly to TFORM. You type TFORM, then press RETURN. TFORM responds by displaying the TFORM prompt (a question mark) at your terminal when it is ready to accept input. Enter commands and text, then press RETURN. TFORM processes what you have entered, then displays the TFORM prompt when it is again ready to accept input. Using TFORM interactively is a good way to learn the TFORM commands and to see how they work. You can also try out unfamiliar features in this interactive way so that you know what to expect from TFORM when you use a new command in your document Tandem Computers Incorporated 1 1

18 Introduction to TFORM 2. You type TFORM commands in your document along with the rest of the text. These commands tell TFORM how you want the printed file to look. You usually enter TFORM commands on lines above the text that you want TFORM to act upon. TFORM distinguishes commands from your text by specific characters in the command line. 3. You run TFORM with that document file and give TFORM a print location to which to send the formatted document. TFORM creates the formatted output file and sends it to the print location you ve specified. Constructing TFORM Commands Parts of a TFORM Command As you create your document (or after you complete it), you enter TFORM commands to tell TFORM how to format your printed output. The basic structure of all TFORM commands is the same. It is described in the following paragraphs. A TFORM command is composed of three parts: the trigger character, the command name, and any values you supply. The Trigger Character A TFORM command line begins with a special character, called a trigger character, in the first position of the line. TFORM uses the backslash (\) character as the trigger character by default, but if you re going to use the backslash often in your text, you can use the DEFINE TRIGGER command to specify any other printable character as your trigger, except the following characters: # - ( ) < > &.! = You can t use these characters because them in other combinations for special purposes. In this manual, the default backslash (\) character is used as the trigger character Tandem Computers Incorporated

19 Introduction to TFORM You can put multiple commands in a line, separated by semicolons. If you do this, only the first command on the line is preceded by a trigger; don t put triggers before the subsequent commands in the line. Note An exception to this general rule is the COMMENT command. If you include a COMMENT command on a line with other commands, it must be the last command on the line: TFORM views everything to the right of a comment as commentary and does not print it. In addition, you must always keep the trigger with the symbolic version of the COMMENT command (\!). See the description of COMMENT in Section 3 for more details. The Command Name The second part of a command is the command name, which is sometimes followed by one or more options that supply additional information qualifying the command. In this manual, command names (and other keywords that may appear in commands) always appear in capital letters, to identify them as keywords. When you type them in your document, though, TFORM doesn t care whether you use uppercase or lowercase letters. In most cases, you can abbreviate keywords with as few as three characters. (Later, when you start creating your own variable and macro names, you ll have to make sure that their names are different from TFORM keywords within the first three characters; otherwise, you won t be able to abbreviate.) Values The third part of a command, not always present, is one or more variable values that you supply. In this manual, these values appear as lowercase letters set in italics: int means that you must use an integer for that value, char represents a character, and so on. You might want to refer to the Notation Conventions summary in the Preface section to see the symbols and abbreviations used to represent the various types of values, and their characteristics, as well as the general rules for representing commands and other program entities Tandem Computers Incorporated 1 3

20 Introduction to TFORM Units Some commands accept units of measurement. You can use a number of different units: characters, centimeters, decipoints, inches, lines, millimeters, picas, or points. You specify them as CHARS, CM, DECIPOINTS, INCHES, LINES, MM, PICAS, or POINTS (you can abbreviate any unit name with its first two or more characters). Whatever unit you use, TFORM stores it in the form of decipoints. Table 1-1 is a conversion list for the various measurements. Note that characters and lines are flexible units; TFORM converts them to decipoints at command execution time, based on the current pitch setting. Table 1-1. TFORM Units of Measurement Unit DECIPOINT POINT PICA MM (millimeter) CM (centimeter) INCH CHAR LINE Conversion values 1/720 inch 10 decipoints; 1/72 inch 12 points; 1/6 inch 28 decipoints; approx. 1/25 inch 283 decipoints; approx. 2/5 inch 720 decipoints; 72 points; 6 picas; 25.4 mm; 2.54 cm Width of a character at the current pitch setting Height of a line at the current vertical pitch Tandem Computers Incorporated

21 Introduction to TFORM Running TFORM Using RUN Once you have completed your document and added all your TFORM commands, you are ready to run TFORM and print your document. You start TFORM with an implied RUN command from your command interpreter, specifying your document file as the input file and a print location as the output file. TFORM processes the input file, creates the formatted output file, and sends it to the specified print location. (You can, if you wish, send the formatted document to another edit-format file for viewing.) TFORM never changes the source file when operating in the stand-alone mode. The syntax of the standard RUN command you use from your command interpreter to start TFORM is presented on the next page. If you want you can also include standard RUN command options, such as PRI or NOWAIT, between the slashes. (For more information on using the RUN command, see the Tandem Advanced Command Language (TACL) Reference Manual, Volumes 1 and 2. The following examples of the RUN commands are considered TFORM invocations; that is, you are invoking TFORM from your command interpreter and you do not need to include the keyword RUN. Notice in the following examples that you can add comments or TFORM commands after the second slash: TFORM /IN NEWSLETR.AUGISSUE, OUT $S.#LQP, NOWAIT/ Check breaks TFORM /IN COSTMEMO, OUT $LP5/\SET SEQUENCING ON; PRINT PAGE 1 TFORM /IN $DATA3.LETTERS.ACME0624, $S.#HOLD/ Tandem Computers Incorporated 1 5

22 Introduction to TFORM TFORM / [ IN infile ][, OUT outfile ] / \command [;...] text infile is the primary input file, an edit-format document file. If you omit the IN parameter, TFORM accepts input from your terminal keyboard. outfile is the file, device, or process (usually the spooler) to which TFORM sends your document. If you omit the OUT parameter, TFORM sends its output to your terminal screen. command text is a TFORM command to be executed before any commands in the input file. You can enter multiple commands, separated by semicolons. The first command begins with a backslash (\) character; following ones don t. There must be no spaces separating the.forwardslash (/) that closes the RUN command proper and the backslash (\) trigger character of the TFORM command. is any text you want to be printed before the text in the input file. Text is limited to one line Tandem Computers Incorporated

23 Introduction to TFORM You can t mix commands and text in the RUN command. If you start with one or more commands and follow them with text, TFORM issues an error message because the text doesn t resemble any recognizable command (if it does, you might be in even deeper trouble). If you start with text and follow it with commands, TFORM thinks the commands are just more text. When you use an edit file name as the outfile in your RUN command, TFORM first checks to see if that file name already exists. If it does, TFORM returns a message that tells you a duplication error occurred. You can use a different file name for your outfile, or you can purge the existing file before using that file name, which would then be unique. You can direct your output to the screen of your terminal by omitting the OUT portion of the RUN command. You can examine the formatting as your document is processed by TFORM, and you can make any changes and corrections to your document before it is printed or filed. (See the PRINT MANUALLY ON command for a way to view output at your terminal one page at a time.) Tandem Computers Incorporated 1 7

24 Introduction to TFORM Printing Your Output Default Formatting The TFORM output usually goes through the spooler, which is a system program that receives output and stores it on disc until the print location you have designated becomes available. By sending it to the spooler, you have a chance to preview the formatted file with PERUSE (another process you invoke from the command interpreter) and to make any amendments, adjustments, or corrections before printing the document. (For more information on the spooler and the PERUSE program, see the Spooler Utilities Reference Manual.) You can send the output to either the Tandem 5530 letter-quality printer or any printer supported by Tandem NonStop systems (TFORM is not available for use with the NonStop 1+ system). To take full advantage of the more sophisticated formatting features such as boldface and shadow print, subscripts and superscripts, and proportional spacing you must use the Tandem 5530 letter-quality printer. Although, you can send documents containing TFORM commands for those features to any Tandem supported printer, TFORM simply ignores or flags with warning messages the commands that request those features. In output directed to the 5530 letter-quality printer, TFORM includes special control characters (for features such as pitch control or boldface type). TFORM determines if you are sending output to the 5530 from the spooler, location you give in the RUN COMMAND. If you use a temporary print location for the spooler output (so that you can examine the formatted document with PERUSE before redirecting the file to the letter-quality printer), the printed document will be different from one sent directly to the 5530, because the special control characters will not have been included in the file. If you send a file to the printer that contains no TFORM commands at all, TFORM uses its formatting defaults to print your document. A default is the value TFORM automatically uses if you don t give it explicit information. Table 1-2 lists the values that TFORM automatically uses as its formatting defaults Tandem Computers Incorporated

25 Introduction to TFORM Table 1-2. TFORM Formatting Defaults Feature Form length Form width Top margin Bottom margin Left margin Right margin Horizontal pitch Vertical pitch Interline spacing Line justification Line joining Headers Footers Page numbers Hyphenation Default Value 11 inches 8.5 inches 0.5 inch 0.5 inch 0.75 inch 0.75 inch 10 characters per inch 6 lines per inch Single spacing Left-justified, ragged right Off None None None Off The default combination of form size, horizontal and vertical pitches, and single spacing gives you up to 70 characters per line and up to 60 lines per page. If you printed a page using only these formatting defaults, you would get an output document with a page format like the one shown in Figure 1-1. This do-nothing formatting is probably sufficient for printing ordinary documents such as memos or electronic mail messages Tandem Computers Incorporated 1 9

26 Introduction to TFORM Figure 1-1. A Default-Formatted Page texttexttext this is line 1 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttext ttexttexttext this is line 2 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttext xttexttexttext this is line 3 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttex exttexttexttext this is line 4 texttexttexttextmoretexttexttexttext texttexttexttext this is line 5 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttext ttexttexttexttext this is line 6 texttextandmoretexttexttexttexttext xttexttexttexttext this is line 7 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttex exttexttexttexttext this is line 8 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext texcollectortexttext this is line 9 texttexttextstillmoretexttexttext ttexttexttexttexttext this is line 10 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttext this is line 11 texttexttexttexttextmumblemumbletext exttexttexttext this is line 12 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttext this is line 13 texttextandyetevenmoretexttexttext ttexttexttexttext this is line 14 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttex xtmoretexttexttext this is line 15 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttext this is line 16 texthowaboutthistexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttext this is line 17 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext ttextgoodtexttexttext this is line 18 texttextpsstbuddywantsometext xttexttexttexttexttext this is line 19 texttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttexttext this is line 20 texttexttexttexttexttexttext teincometexttext this is line 21 textnobodymakestextlikethisanymore ttexttexttexttext this is line 22 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttexttext this is line 23 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttext this is line 24 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttext this is line 25 texttheeyesoftextareuponyoutext ttextdumdedumtexttext this is line 26 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttexttexttext this is line 27 texttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttexttext this is line 28 texttexttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttexttext this is line 29 textawholebunchoftexttext ttextttheyellowroseoftext this is line 30 texttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttexttext this is line 31 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttext this is line 32 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttext this is line 33 textcanyoubelievethistexttexttex ttexttexttexttexttext this is line 34 texttexttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttexttexttext this is line 35 texttexttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttexttext this is line 36 texttexttexttexttexttexttext texttextidermisttexttext this is line 37 texttextonetoknowonetexttext ttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 38 texttexttexttexttexttexttex xttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 39 texttexttexttexttexttext extlovethistexttexttexttext this is line 40 texttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttext this is line 41 textnothingissurebutdeathandtext ttexttexttexttexttext this is line 42 textthumbtexttexttexttexttext xttexttexttexttexttext this is line 43 textareyoutheretexttexttext extrareadallaboutittext this is line 44 texttexttexttexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttexttext this is line 45 texttexttexttexttexttexttext ttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 46 textihadsometextbutitdied xttextnicetexttexttexttext this is line 47 texttexttexttexttexttext exttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 48 textsenselesstexttext texttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 49 texttexttexttexttexttext ttextdukeofearldukeofearltext this is line 50 textstilltexttexttext xttexttexttexttexttext this is line 51 textofthesermontexttexttexttex exttexttexttexttexttext this is line 52 texttextcontexttexttexttext texttexttexttexttexttext this is line 53 texttexttexttexttexttexttext ttextyrannosaurustexttext this is line 54 texttexttastetexttexttext xttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 55 texttexthelpmothertexttext exttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 56 texttexttexttexttexttext texttextextortionisttexttext this is line 57 textimonialtexttexttext ttexttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 58 texttexttexttexttexttex xttextisanybodyreadingthistext this is line 59 texttexttexttexttext pretexttexttexttexttexttexttext this is line 60 texttexttexttexttext S Tandem Computers Incorporated

27 Command Overview 2 Overview of TFORM Capabilities The TFORM command set is designed to meet the needs of a broad range of users. You can think of it as having several layers of capability. At its core are the commands to handle the basic formatting that every document requires (and that every user uses). Beyond that are the commands that only more specialized documents require (and that only more sophisticated users are likely to have need of). Included in the core are: The full complement of formatting commands to control margins and indentation, the placement and content of page headers and footers (including page numbers), line joining and justification, hyphenation, sentence and paragraph style, horizontal and vertical pitch, tab stops, boxed text, and the printing of marginal sequence numbers and change indicators. A set of escape sequences that you can include in your text to control the way text appears (such as boldface, underlining, and superscripting) and to handle special formatting cases (such as tabulation, hyphenation, or a required carriage return). A set of predefined macros that enable you to organize your document into sections and subsections, to format lists of all types, to manipulate calendar dates, and to produce form letters. The second layer of capability, for more advanced users, includes: A set of control commands to insert nonprinting documentation in the source file, to source in data from other files, to manipulate auxiliary files for form-letter production or similar applications, to change font characteristics, and to define your own control characters. A set of program commands to perform repetitive formatting; to perform conditional operations based on evaluation of numeric, character, or logical expressions; and to create functions and macros that perform specialized sets of operations whenever they are called (a macro is like a small program or subroutine; a function is like a macro, except that it can return a value) Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 1

28 Overview of TFORM Capabilities The following paragraphs attempt only a brief survey of the capabilities of TFORM. They take a closer look at the core features than at the advanced. For a full description of the commands touched on here, refer to Section 3. Basic Formatting With TFORM Indicating Form Length and Width The first thing you need to learn is how to control the basic structure of your page with TFORM. Figure 2-1 identifies the elements of page layout that TFORM recognizes and allows you to affect. The paragraphs that follow describe briefly how to: Indicate form length and width Set margins Set up headers and footers Join and justify text Center text Indent text Leave blank space in text Handle page breaks TFORM has no way of knowing what size paper you re using unless you tell it. If you don t tell it, TFORM assumes that you re using a standard 8-1/2 by 11-inch page. To specify a different form size, you use the STYLE command. For example, if you have a 7 by 9-inch page, type the following commands at the beginning of your input file: \STYLE FORM WIDTH 7 INCHES \STYLE FORM LENGTH 9 INCHES Tandem Computers Incorporated

29 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Figure 2-1. TFORM Page Layout Form Width Use PRINT OFFSET to shift the entire formatted page to the right or left Print Offset Left Header Margin First Header... nth Header Top Margin HEADER REGION Header Gap Right Header Margin Left Margin TEXT REGION Right Margin Form Length The text area adjusts to accommodate the number of headers and footers Footer Gap Use INDENT LEFT or INDENT RIGHT to temporarily adjust your margins Left Footer Margin Indent Left First Footer... nth Footer FOOTER REGION Bottom Margin Right Footer Margin Indent Right S Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 3

30 Overview of TFORM Capabilities You can abbreviate these commands or express the measurements in other units if you choose. Each of the following sets of command examples, for instance, are equivalent to the previous ones: \STY FOR WID 7; STY FOR LEN 9 Notice that you can combine two or more commands on a command line if you separate them with semicolons. \STYLE FORM WIDTH 42 PICAS \STYLE FORM LENGTH 648 POINTS When you don t explicitly indicate a unit of measurement with STYLE FORM, TFORM assumes inches. Setting Margins Use the STYLE MARGIN command if you want to change the default margins. If you want, for example, to set your top and bottom margins to half an inch, simply type: \STYLE MARGIN TOP 0.5 \STYLE MARGIN BOTTOM 0.5 You can change left and right margins in similar fashion, using STYLE MARGIN LEFT and STYLE MARGIN RIGHT. Suppose you want to set the margins all around your page to 1 INCH. You can do so with the following command line at the beginning of your input file: \STY MAR TOP 1; STY MAR BOT 1; STY MAR RIG 1; STY MAR LEF 1 When you don t explicitly indicate a unit of measurement with STYLE MARGIN, TFORM assumes inches Tandem Computers Incorporated

31 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Setting Headers A header is a line of text that prints across the top of each page of your document. Generally, you use headers (or running heads, as they re sometimes called) to display information about the document to which a page belongs or about the content of the page. To set up a header, you use the HEADER command, enclosing in quotation marks the text that you want to print. TFORM lets you divide your header into three separate fields that print left-justified, centered, and rightjustified, respectively. If you want the header to be separated into parts or printed in specific fields, you use vertical bars to tell TFORM which parts to print where. Suppose you want to use the header Section 2: Overview. If you want it to appear right-justified, your HEADER command should look like this: \HEADER " Section 2: Overview" If you want the same header centered, your command should look like this: \HEADER " Section 2: Overview " Finally, if you want the header separated into two parts, one left-justified and the other right-justified, your command should look like this: \HEADER "Section 2 Overview" Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 5

32 Overview of TFORM Capabilities TFORM also lets you vary the placement of your header from page to page. Suppose you plan to print your document using both sides of the paper and then binding it like a book. You d probably want your headers to appear in the outer corners for highest visibility. Thus, on the left-facing (or evennumbered) pages, you d want the header to be left-justified; and on the right-facing (or odd-numbered pages), you d want the header to be rightjustified. Your TFORM commands in that case should look like this: \HEADER EVEN "Section 2: Overview" \HEADER ODD " Section 2: Overview" Setting Footers A footer is just like a header, except that it s at the bottom of the page. Typically, you use footers for version information, notices of copyright or confidentiality, or page numbers. As with headers, TFORM lets you divide a footer into three separate fields. You can also vary the placement of your footer from page to page. Finally, if you put the character # anywhere in the text of your footer, TFORM substitutes the current page number for it. Suppose you want a three-part footer with Copyright 1986 left-justified, Company Confidential centered, and the page number right-justified. Your FOOTER command should look like this: \FOOTER "Copyright 1986 Company Confidential #" Or maybe you re binding your document like a book and just want page numbers in the outer corners for maximum visibility. Your commands should look like this: \FOOTER EVEN "#" \FOOTER ODD " #" Tandem Computers Incorporated

33 Overview of TFORM Capabilities More About Headers and Footers When establishing headers and footers, remember: TFORM lets you define up to ten headers and ten footers; ordinarily you won t want more than one or two of each. If you plan to use more than one header or footer per page, you must identify them in your commands as HEADER 1, HEADER 2, FOOTER 1, FOOTER 2, and so on. You can use the character # in the HEADER command instead of the FOOTER If you want the page number to appear at the top of your page. You can print a date in your header or footer with the TODAY command and the SYS_DATE variable. See Section 3. TFORM lets you define margins for your headers and footers independent of the margins you establish for the body of your text. If you want special margins for your headers (or footers), simply use a version of the STYLE MARGIN command with the further qualifications HEADER LEFT and HEADER RIGHT (or FOOTER LEFT and FOOTER RIGHT). To define the distance between your last header and the beginning of the text on your page (or between the last line of text and the first footer) use the STYLE GAP command. For instance, if you want a twoline gap separating headers and footers from text, your commands should look like this: \STYLE GAP HEADER 2 LINES \STYLE GAP FOOTER 2 LINES If you don t define a gap, TFORM sets it to one line, unless there are no header or footer lines to be separated from the text; in that case, the gap is zero. TFORM always prints single-spaced headers and footers, regardless of the interline spacing defined for the text region Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 7

34 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Joining Text Once you ve established your margins, you can allow TFORM to decide where lines should end to best fill the available space. If you tell TFORM to join all lines automatically, you don t have to worry about whether the lines of text as you type them are too long or too short. You do this with the SET command: \SET JOIN ON When joining is in effect, TFORM examines each line as it formats it and, if the line is too long, TFORM breaks off one or more words and begins the next line with them. If a line is short enough that one or more words from the next line will fit, TFORM brings enough words up from the next line to fill the current one. This continues until TFORM runs out of input lines to process or finds a blank line, a page break, a mandatory line break, or a SET command to turn joining off. This form of the SET command is: \SET JOIN OFF If you re using unedited data, formatting with JOIN ON can minimize line too long errors. But if you re not careful, you may find that what you intended to display as an indented example or as a column of words has all been joined together in continuous lines. You can prevent this by turning joining off at the start of the column and turning it back on again at the end, or by telling TFORM to force a line break. To do the latter, insert a command between each line that you don t want joined. The BREAK command has two forms: \ \BREAK Tandem Computers Incorporated

35 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Justifying Text TFORM also lets you justify your text. If you want both the right and left ends of formatted lines to align on their respective margins, use the SET command to tell TFORM: \SET JUSTIFY ON When TFORM has completed regular formatting of a line, it starts adding extra space alternating left and right sides of the line and working inward from the ends until the line just fills the line width determined by whatever margins are in effect. With most printers, this means adding blanks between words. With the 5530 letter-quality printer, TFORM can microjustify, inserting tiny microspaces between letters; when joining and justification are both on, the adjustment is usually impossible to spot. Also with the 5530 printer, TFORM can squeeze a line until it fits if it is slightly too long and would otherwise have to be broken off and padded with spaces. TFORM continues justifying until it finds a blank line, a page break, a mandatory line break, the end of the file, or a SET command to turn justifying off. This form of the SET command is: \SET JUSTIFY OFF Note With justification on and joining off, TFORM can t take words from a following line to extend a short line, so the amount of space added to that line can produce unacceptable results. For this reason, you should ordinarily use joining and justification together. If joining and justification are both in effect, a SET JOIN OFF command also turns off justification. A subsequent SET JOIN ON command turns justification back on as well (unless in the meantime you enter a SET JUSTIFY OFF command) Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 9

36 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Centering Text If you want to center text on a page, use the CENTER command. To center five lines of text, for example, type the following command on the line just before the lines you want centered: \CENTER 5 You can also tell TFORM to center all following lines until it sees a blank line, a command line, or until you turn centering off. The forms of the CENTER command that you use in these cases are, respectively: \CENTER BLANK \CENTER COMMAND \CENTER ON \CENTER OFF If line joining is on, the CENTER command causes a line break. Indenting Text Indentation is a temporary change to a side margin. With TFORM, you can indent on the left, on the right, or both. You can indent inward (toward the center of the page) or outward (toward the edge). You can indent a single line, a specific number of lines, or large blocks of text. If, for example, you want to indent a line three characters from the left, simply type: \INDENT Tandem Computers Incorporated

37 Overview of TFORM Capabilities Unless you explicitly indicate a direction of indentation, TFORM assumes you mean LEFT. If you want to indent from the right or on both sides, use INDENT RIGHT or INDENT BOTH and the number of characters. Unless you explicitly indicate a unit of measurement, TFORM assumes you mean characters. To indent some number of lines say, five three characters each, type: \INDENT 5 3 You could also tell TFORM to indent all following lines three characters each until it sees a blank line, a command line, or until you turn indenting off. The forms of the INDENT command that you use in these cases are, respectively: \INDENT BLANK 3 \INDENT COMMAND 3 \INDENT ON 3 \INDENT OFF Some things to remember about indentation: You can increase or decrease the current indentation by using an explicit + or - sign when specifying the indentation amount. A + sign causes further indentation inward; a - sign causes indentation outward. If this causes the indentation to become less than zero, you get negative indenting toward the edge of the form. If line joining or justifying is in effect when you tell TFORM to indent, TFORM joins or justifies the appropriate number of lines at the indented line length Tandem Computers Incorporated 2 11

38 Overview of TFORM Capabilities There is a one-character difference between setting a margin and indenting. A margin setting of 10 starts you at position 10; when you indent 10 spaces, you begin typing at position 11. When you use a form of INDENT like INDENT 5 3, indicating a specific number of lines to indent, TFORM indents whatever text you ve typed on that number of input lines. The formatted result depends on such factors as pitch, line width, and joining, as well as on the amount of text you ve typed on your input lines. You may get more indented lines than the number you specified, or you may get fewer. Indentation can be nested. For example, if you type the command INDENT ON 10, then later the command INDENT ON 15, you ll get a certain number of lines indented 10 characters, then a certain number of lines indented 15 characters. When you type an INDENT OFF command, indentation reverts to 10 characters; it takes a second INDENT OFF command to turn off the initial indentation you specified. Similarly, if you type INDENT 12 10, then four lines later type INDENT 4 20, you get four lines indented 10 characters, then four lines indented 20 characters, then four lines indented 10 characters; indentation then goes back to zero. The first INDENT command counts the lines indented by the second command as part of its operation to indent 12 lines. Leaving Blank Space in Text If you want to create some amount of blank space in your text to make room for a pasted-in illustration, for example use the SPACE command. To create a blank space of five lines, for example, simply type: \SPACE 5 Unless you explicitly indicate a unit of measurement, TFORM assumes you mean lines. Interline spacing has no effect on the SPACE command. The command shown above causes TFORM to leave five blank lines at the current vertical pitch, even if it is formatting text at double or triple spacing Tandem Computers Incorporated