COL(1)                                    User Commands                                    COL(1)



NAME
       col - filter reverse line feeds from input

SYNOPSIS
       col [options]

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

       col reads from standard input and writes to standard output.

OPTIONS
       -b, --no-backspaces
              Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character written to each col-
              umn position.

       -f, --fine
              Forward  half line feeds are permitted fine mode.  Normally characters printed on a
              half-line boundary are printed on the following line.

       -p, --pass
              Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.  Normally, col will
              filter  out  any  control  sequences from the input other than those recognized and
              interpreted by itself, which are listed below.

       -h, --tabs
              Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.

       -x, --spaces
              Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.

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

       -V, --version
              Output version information and exit.

       -H, --help
              Output help and exit.

NOTES
       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
              newline           forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
              carriage return   (13)
              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 display a warning mes-
       sage.

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

STANDARDS
       The col utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2.  The -l option is an
       extension to the standard.

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

AVAILABILITY
       The col command is part of the util-linux package  and  is  available  from  Linux  Kernel
       Archive <ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>.



util-linux                                September 2011                                   COL(1)