FMT(1) User Commands FMT(1)

NAME

fmt - simple text formatters

SYNOPSIS

fmt [-cs] [-w width | -width] [inputfile]...

DESCRIPTION

fmt is a simple text formatter that fills and joins lines to produce
output lines of (up to) the number of characters specified in the -w
width option. The default width is 72. fmt concatenates the inputfiles
listed as arguments. If none are given, fmt formats text from the
standard input.


Blank lines are preserved in the output, as is the spacing between words.
fmt does not fill nor split lines beginning with a `.' (dot), for
compatibility with nroff(1). Nor does it fill or split a set of
contiguous non-blank lines which is determined to be a mail header, the
first line of which must begin with "From".


Indentation is preserved in the output, and input lines with differing
indentation are not joined (unless -c is used).


fmt can also be used as an in-line text filter for vi(1). The vi command:


!}fmt


reformats the text between the cursor location and the end of the
paragraph.

OPTIONS

-c
Crown margin mode. Preserve the indentation of the
first two lines within a paragraph, and align the
left margin of each subsequent line with that of the
second line. This is useful for tagged paragraphs.


-s
Split lines only. Do not join short lines to form
longer ones. This prevents sample lines of code, and
other such formatted text, from being unduly
combined.


-w width | -width
Fill output lines to up to width columns.

OPERANDS

inputfile
Input file.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

See environ(7) for a description of the LC_CTYPE environment variable
that affects the execution of fmt.

SEE ALSO

nroff(1), vi(1), attributes(7), environ(7)

NOTES

The -width option is acceptable for BSD compatibility, but it may go away
in future releases.

May 9, 1997 FMT(1)