The Datafile PD-CD 4/DATAFILE_PDCD4.iso/unix/riscbsd/1_1_contri/usd/24_troff/m1

Text File | 1986-04-17 | 25.1 KB | 710 lines

.\"    @(#)m1    6.1 (Berkeley) 4/17/86
.\"
.pn8
.tr |
.tr ~|
.rm mx
.br
.ce
.ftB
.ps+2
.rs
.\".sp1.0i
REFERENCE MANUAL
.ftR
.ps-2
.sp
.mh
General Explanation
.sc
Form of input.
Input consists of \fItext lines\fR, which are destined to be printed,
interspersed with \fIcontrol lines\fR,
which set parameters or otherwise control subsequent processing.
Control lines begin with a \fIcontrol character\fR\(em\
normally \fB.\fR (period) or \fB\'\fR (acute accent)\(em\
followed by a one or two character name that specifies
a basic \fIrequest\fR or the substitution of
a user-defined \fImacro\fR in place of the control line.
The control character \fB\'\fR suppresses the \fIbreak\fR function\(em\
the forced output of a partially filled line\(em\
caused by certain requests.
The control character may be separated from the request/macro name by
white space (spaces and/or tabs) for \(aesthetic reasons.
Names must be followed by either
space or newline.
Control lines with unrecognized names are ignored.
.pg
Various special functions may be introduced anywhere in the input by
means of an \fIescape\fR character, normally \fB\e\fR.
For example, the function
\fB\en\fIR\fR
causes the interpolation (insertion in place) of the contents of the
\fInumber register R\fR
in place of the function;
here \fIR\fR is either a single character name
as in \fB\en\fIx\fR,
or left-parenthesis-introduced, two-character name as in \fB\en(\fIxx\fR.
.sc
Formatter and device resolution.
\*(TR internally uses 432 units\(slinch, (for historical reasons, corresponding to
the Graphic Systems phototypesetter
which had a horizontal resolution of
1\(sl432 inch and a vertical resolution
of 1\(sl144 inch.)
\*(NR internally uses 240 units\(slinch,
corresponding to the least common multiple of the
horizontal and vertical resolutions of various
typewriter-like output devices.
\*(TR rounds horizontal\(slvertical numerical parameter input to its own
internal horizontal\(slvertical resolution.
\*(NR similarly rounds numerical input to the actual resolution
of the output device indicated by the \fB\(miT\fR option
(default Model 37 Teletype).
.sc
Numerical parameter input.
Both \*(NR and \*(TR
accept numerical input with the scale
indicator suffixes
shown in the following table,
where
\fIS\fR is the current type size in points,
\fIV\fR is the current vertical line spacing in
basic units,
and
\fIC\fR is a \fInominal character width\fR in basic units.
.TS
center box;
c|c|ls
c|c|ll
c|l|l|l.
Scale        Number of basic units
Indicator    Meaning    \*(TR    \*(NR
_
\fBi\fR    Inch    432    240
\fBc\fR    Centimeter    432\(mu50\(sl127    240\(mu50\(sl127
\fBP\fR    Pica = 1\(sl6 inch    72    240\(sl6
\fBm\fR    Em = \fIS\fR points    6\(mu\fIS\fR    \fIC\fR
\fBn\fR    En = Em\(sl2    3\(mu\fIS\fR    \fIC, same as Em\fR
\fBp\fR    Point = 1\(sl72 inch    6    240\(sl72
\fBu\fR    Basic unit    1    1
\fBv\fR    Vertical line space    \fIV\fR    \fIV\fR
none    Default, see below
.TE
In \*(NR, \fIboth\fR the em and the en are taken to be equal to the \fIC\fR,
which is output-device dependent;
common values are 1\(sl10 and 1\(sl12 inch.
Actual character widths in \*(NR need not be all the same and constructed characters
such as \(mi> (\(->) are often extra wide.
The default scaling is ems for the horizontally-oriented requests
and functions
\fBll\fR,
\fBin\fR,
\fBti\fR,
\fBta\fR,
\fBlt\fR,
\fBpo\fR,
\fBmc\fR,
\fB\eh\fR,
and
\fB\el\fR;
\fIV\^\fRs
for the vertically-oriented requests and functions
\fBpl\fR,
\fBwh\fR,
\fBch\fR,
\fBdt\fR,
\fBsp\fR,
\fBsv\fR,
\fBne\fR,
\fBrt\fR,
\fB\ev\fR,
\fB\ex\fR,
and
\fB\eL\fR;
\fBp\fR for the \fBvs\fR request;
and \fBu\fR for the requests
\fBnr\fR,
\fBif\fR,
and
\fBie\fR.
\fIAll\fR other requests ignore any scale indicators.
When a number register containing an already appropriately scaled number
is interpolated to provide numerical input,
the unit scale indicator
\fBu\fR may need to be appended to prevent
an additional inappropriate default scaling.
The number, \fIN\fR, may be specified in decimal-fraction form
but the parameter finally stored is rounded to an integer number of basic units.
.pg
The \fIabsolute position\fR indicator \fB~\fR may be prefixed
to a number \fIN\fR
to generate the distance to the vertical or horizontal place \fIN\fR.
For vertically-oriented requests and functions, \fB~\|\fIN\fR
becomes the distance in basic units from the current vertical place on the page or in a \fIdiversion\fR (\(sc7.4)
to the vertical place \fIN\fR.
For \fIall\fR other requests and functions,
\fB~\|\fIN\fR
becomes the distance from
the current horizontal place on the \fIinput\fR line to the horizontal place \fIN\fR.
For example,
.x1
\&\fB.sp  ~\|3.2c\fR
.x2
will space \fIin the required direction\fR to 3.2 centimeters from the top of the page.
.sc
.tr &&
Numerical expressions.
Wherever numerical input is expected, an expression involving parentheses,
the arithmetic operators \fB\(pl\fR, \fB\(mi\fR, \fB\(sl\fR, \fB\(**\fR, \fB%\fR (mod),
and the logical operators
\fB<\fR,
\fB>\fR,
\fB<\(eq\fR,
\fB>\(eq\fR,
\fB\(eq\fR (or \fB\(eq\(eq\fR),
\fB&\fR\ (and),
\fB:\fR\ (or)
may be used.
Except where controlled by parentheses, evaluation of expressions is left-to-right;
there is no operator precedence.
In the case of certain requests, an initial \fB\(pl\fR or \fB\(mi\fR is stripped
and interpreted as an increment or decrement indicator respectively.
In the presence of default scaling, the desired scale indicator must be
attached to \fIevery\fR number in an expression
for which the desired and default scaling differ.
For example,
if the number register \fBx\fR contains 2
and the current point size is 10,
then
.br
.tr &.
.x1
.ftB
\&.ll  (4.25i\(pl\enxP\(pl3)\(sl2u
.ftR
.x2
will set the line length to 1\(sl2 the sum of 4.25 inches \(pl 2 picas \(pl 30 points.
.sc
Notation.
Numerical parameters are indicated in this manual in two ways.
\(+-\fIN\fR means that the argument may take the forms \fIN\fR, \(pl\fIN\fR, or \(mi\fIN\fR and
that the corresponding effect is to set the affected parameter
to \fIN\fR, to increment it by \fIN\fR, or to decrement it by \fIN\fR respectively.
Plain \fIN\fR means that an initial algebraic sign is \fInot\fR
an increment indicator,
but merely the sign of \fIN\fR.
Generally, unreasonable numerical input is either ignored
or truncated to a reasonable value.
For example,
most requests expect to set parameters to non-negative
values;
exceptions are
\fBsp\fR,
\fBwh\fR,
\fBch\fR,
\fBnr\fR,
and
\fBif\fR.
The requests
\fBps\fR,
\fBft\fR,
\fBpo\fR,
\fBvs\fR,
\fBls\fR,
\fBll\fR,
\fBin\fR,
and
\fBlt\fR
restore the \fIprevious\fR parameter value in the \fIabsence\fR
of an argument.
.pg
Single character arguments are indicated by single lower case letters
and
one/two character arguments are indicated by a pair of lower case letters.
Character string arguments are indicated by multi-character mnemonics.
.mh
Font and Character Size Control
.sc
Character set.
The \*(TR character set consists of a typesetter-dependent basic
character set plus a Special Mathematical Font character
set\(emeach having 102 characters.
An example of these character sets is shown in the Appendix Table|I.
All printable \s-1ASCII\s+1 characters are included,
with some on the Special Font.
With three exceptions, these \s-1ASCII\s+1 characters are input as themselves,
and non-\s-1ASCII\s+1 characters are input in the form \fB\e(\fIxx\fR where
\fIxx\fR is a two-character name given in the Appendix Table|II.
The three \s-1ASCII\s+1 exceptions are mapped as follows:
.TS
center box;
cs|cs
cc|cc
cl|cl.
\s-1ASCII\s+1 Input    Printed by \*(TR
Character    Name    Character    Name
_
\'    acute accent    '    close quote
\`    grave accent    `    open quote
\(mi    minus    -    hyphen
.TE
.tr ~~
The characters
\fB\'\fR,
\fB\`\fR,
and
\fB\-\fR
may be input
by \fB\e\'\fR, \fB\e\`\fR, and \fB\e\-\fR respectively or by their names (Table II).
The \s-1ASCII\s+1 characters \fB@\fR, \fB#\fR, \fB"\fR, \fB\(aa\fR, \fB\(ga\fR, \fB<\fR, \fB>\fR, \fB\e\fR, \fB{\fR, \fB}\fR, \fB~\fR, \fB^\fR, and \fB\(ul\fR exist
only on the Special Font and are printed as a 1-em space if that font
is not mounted.
.pg
.tr ~|
\*(NR understands the entire \*(TR character set,
but can in general print only \s-1ASCII\s+1
characters,
additional characters as may be available on
the output device,
such characters as may be able to be constructed
by overstriking or other combination,
and those that can reasonably be mapped
into other printable characters.
The exact behavior is determined by a driving
table prepared for each device.
The characters
\fB\'\fR,
\fB\`\fR,
and
\fB\(ul\fR
print
as themselves.
.sc
Fonts.
The default mounted fonts are
Times Roman (\fBR\fR),
Times Italic (\fBI\fR),
Times Bold (\fBB\fR),
and the Special Mathematical Font (\fBS\fR)
on physical typesetter positions 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively.
These fonts are used in this document.
The \fIcurrent\fR font, initially Roman, may be changed
(among the mounted fonts)
by use of the \fBft\fR request,
or by imbedding at any desired point
either \fB\ef\fIx\fR, \fB\ef(\fIxx\fR, or \fB\ef\fIN\fR
where
\fIx\fR and \fIxx\fR are the name of a mounted font
and \fIN\fR is a numerical font position.
It is \fInot\fR necessary to change to the Special Font;
characters on that font are automatically handled.
A request for a named but not-mounted font is \fIignored\fR.
\*(TR can be informed that any particular font is mounted
by use of the \fBfp\fR request.
The list of known fonts is installation dependent.
In the subsequent discussion of font-related requests,
\fIF\fR represents either a one\(sltwo-character
font name or the numerical font position, 1-4.
The current font is available (as numerical position) in the read-only number register \fB.f\fR.
.pg
\*(NR understands font control
and normally underlines Italic characters (see \(sc10.5).
.sc
Character size.
Character point sizes available are typesetter dependent, but often include
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 28, and 36.
This is a range of 1\(sl12 inch to 1\(sl2 inch.
The \fBps\fR request is used to change or restore the point size.
Alternatively the point size may be changed between any two characters
by imbedding a \fB\es\fIN\fR
at the desired point
to set the size to \fIN\fR,
or a \fB\es\fI\(+-N\fR (1\(<=\fIN\fR\(<=9)
to increment\(sldecrement the size by \fIN\fR;
\fB\es0\fR restores the \fIprevious\fR size.
Requested point size values that are between two valid
sizes yield the larger of the two.
The current size is available in the \fB.s\fR register.
\*(NR ignores type size control.
.h1 *
.fn
.xx
*Notes are explained at the end of the Summary and Index above.
.ef
.bt
\fB&ps\fI|\(+-N\fR    10\|point    previous    E    Point size
set to \(+-\fIN\fR.
Alternatively imbed \fB\es\fIN\fR or \fB\es\fI\(+-N\fR.
Any positive size value may be requested;
if invalid, the next larger valid size will result, with a
maximum of 36.
A paired sequence
\(pl\fIN\fR,\|\(mi\fIN\fR
will work because the previous requested value is also remembered.
Ignored in \*(NR.
.bt
\fB&fz\fI|F|\(+-N\fR    off    -    E    The characters in font \fIF\fR will be adjusted to
be in size \(+-\fIN\fR.  Characters in the Special Font encountered during the
use of font \fIF\fR will have the same size modification. (Use the \fB&fz S\fR
request if different treatment of Special Font characters is required). \fB&fz\fR
must follow any \fB&fp\fR request for the position.
.bt
\fB&fz|S|\fIF|\(+-N\fR    off    -    E    The characters in the Special Font
will be in size \(+-\fIN\fR independent of previous \fB&fz\fR requests.
.bt
\fB&ss\fI|N\fR    12\(sl36\|em    ignored    E    Space-character size
is set to \fIN\fR\(sl36\|ems.
This size is the minimum word spacing in adjusted text.
Ignored in \*(NR.
.bt
\fB&cs|\fIF\|N\|M\fR    off    -    P    Constant character space
(width) mode is
set on for font \fIF\fR (if mounted); the width of every character will be
taken to be \fIN\fR\(sl36 ems.
If \fIM\fR is absent,
the em is that of the character's point size;
if \fIM\fR is given,
the em is \fIM\fR-points.
All affected characters
are centered in this space, including those with an actual width
larger than this space.
Special Font characters occurring while the current font
is \fIF\fR are also so treated.
If \fIN\fR is absent, the mode is turned off.
The mode must be still or again in effect when the characters are physically printed.
Ignored in \*(NR.
.bt
\fB&bd\fI|F|N\fR    off    -    P    The characters in font \fIF\fR will be artificially
emboldened by printing each one twice, separated by \fIN\fR\^\(mi1 basic units.
A reasonable value for \fIN\fR is 3 when the character size is in the vicinity
of 10 points.
If \fIN\fR is missing the embolden mode is turned off.
The column heads above were printed with \fB.bd|I|3\fR.
The mode must be still or again in effect when the characters are physically printed.
Ignored in \*(NR.
.bt
\fB&bd|S|\fIF|N\fR    off    -    P    The characters in the Special Font
will be emboldened whenever the current font is \fIF\fR.
This manual was printed with \fB.bd\|S\|B\|3\fR.
The mode must be still or again in effect when the characters are physically printed.
.bt
\fB&ft|\fIF\fR    Roman    previous    E    Font changed to
\fIF\fR.
Alternatively, imbed \fB\ef\fIF\fR.
The font name \fBP\fR is reserved to mean the previous font.
.bt
\fB&fp|\fIN|F\fR    R,I,B,S    ignored    -    Font position.
This is a statement
that a font named \fIF\fR is mounted on position \fIN\fR (1-4).
It is a fatal error if \fIF\fR is not known.
The phototypesetter has four fonts physically mounted.
Each font consists of a film strip which can be mounted on a numbered
quadrant of a wheel.
The default mounting sequence assumed by \*(TR is
R, I, B, and S on positions 1, 2, 3 and 4.
.mh
Page control
.pg
Top and bottom margins are \fInot\fR automatically provided;
it is conventional to define two \fImacros\fR and to set \fItraps\fR
for them at vertical positions 0 (top) and \fI\(miN\fR (\fIN\fR from the bottom).
See \(sc7 and Tutorial Examples \(scT2.
A pseudo-page transition onto the \fIfirst\fR page occurs
either when the first \fIbreak\fR occurs or
when the first \fInon-diverted\fR text processing occurs.
Arrangements
for a trap to occur at the top of the first page
must be completed before this transition.
In the following, references to the \fIcurrent diversion\fR (\(sc7.4)
mean that the mechanism being described works during both
ordinary and diverted output (the former considered as the top diversion level).
.pg
The usable page width on the Graphic Systems phototypesetter
was about 7.54|inches,
beginning about 1\(sl27|inch from the left edge of the
8|inch wide, continuous roll paper, but these characteristics are typesetter-
dependent.
The physical limitations on \*(NR output
are output-device dependent.
.h1
.bt
\fB&pl\fI|\(+-N\fR    11\|in    11\|in    \fBv\fR    Page length set to \fI\(+-N\fR.
The internal limitation is about 75|inches in \*(TR and
about 136|inches in \*(NR.
The current page length is available in the \fB.p\fR register.
.bt
\fB&bp\fI|\(+-N\fR    \fIN\(eq\fR1    -    B*,\fBv\fR    Begin page.
.fn
.xx
*The use of "\ \fB\'\fR\ " as control character (instead of "\fB.\fR")
suppresses the break function.
.ef
The current page is ejected and a new page is begun.
If \fI\(+-N\fR is given, the new page number will be \fI\(+-N\fR.
Also see request \fBns\fR.
.bt
\fB&pn\fI|\(+-N\fR    \fIN\fR\(eq1    ignored    -    Page number.
The next page (when it occurs) will have the page number \fI\(+-N\fR.
A \fBpn\fR must occur before the initial pseudo-page transition
to affect the page number of the first page.
The current page number is in the \fB%\fR register.
.bt
\fB&po\fI|\(+-N\fR    0;|26\(sl27\|in\(dg    previous    \fBv\fR    Page offset.
.fn
.xx
\(dgValues separated by ";" are for \*(NR and \*(TR respectively.
.ef
The current \fIleft margin\fR is set to \fI\(+-N\fR.
The \*(TR initial value provides about 1|inch of paper margin
including the physical typesetter margin of 1\(sl27|inch.
In \*(TR the maximum (line-length)+(page-offset) is about 7.54 inches.
See \(sc6.
The current page offset is available in the \fB.o\fR register.
.bt
\fB&ne\fI|N\fR    -    \fIN\(eq\fR1\|\fIV\fR    D,\fBv\fR    Need \fIN\fR vertical space.
If the distance, \fID\fR, to the next trap position (see \(sc7.5) is less than \fIN\fR,
a forward vertical space of size \fID\fR occurs,
which will spring the trap.
If there are no remaining
traps on the page,
\fID\fR is the distance to the bottom of the page.
If \fID\|<\|V\fR, another line could still be output
and spring the trap.
In a diversion, \fID\fR is the distance to the \fIdiversion trap\fR, if any,
or is very large.
.bt
\fB&mk\fI|R\fR    none    internal    D    Mark the \fIcurrent\fR vertical place
in an internal register (both associated with the current diversion level),
or in register \fIR\fR, if given.
See \fBrt\fR request.
.bt
\fB&rt\fI|\(+-N\fR    none    internal    D,\fBv\fR    Return \fIupward only\fR to a marked vertical place
in the current diversion.
If \fI\(+-N\fR (w.r.t. current place) is given,
the place is \fI\(+-N\fR from the top of the page or diversion
or, if \fIN\fR is absent, to a
place marked by a previous \fBmk\fR.
Note that the \fBsp\fR request (\(sc5.3) may be used
in all cases instead of \fBrt\fR
by spacing to the absolute place stored in a explicit register;
e.|g. using the sequence \fB.mk|\fIR\fR ... \fB.sp|~\|\en\fIR\fBu\fR.
.mh
Text Filling, Adjusting, and Centering
.sc
Filling and adjusting.
Normally,
words are collected from input text lines
and assembled into a output text line
until some word doesn't fit.
An attempt is then made
to hyphenate the word to assemble a part
of it into the output line.
The spaces between the words on the output line
are then increased to spread out the line
to the current \fIline length\fR
minus any current \fIindent\fR.
A \fIword\fR is any string of characters delimited by
the \fIspace\fR character or the beginning/end of the input line.
Any adjacent pair of words that must be kept together
(neither split across output lines nor spread apart
in the adjustment process)
can be tied together by separating them with the
\fIunpaddable space\fR character
"\fB\e\ \ \fR" (backslash-space).
The adjusted word spacings are uniform in \*(TR
and the minimum interword spacing can be controlled
with the \fBss\fR request (\(sc2).
In \*(NR, they are normally nonuniform because of
quantization to character-size spaces;
however,
the command line option \fB\-e\fR causes uniform
spacing with full output device resolution.
Filling, adjustment, and hyphenation (\(sc13) can all be
prevented or controlled.
The \fItext length\fR on the last line output is available in the \fB.n\fR register,
and text base-line position on the page for this line is in the \fBnl\fR register.
The text base-line high-water mark (lowest place) on the current page is in
the \fB.h\fR register. The \fB.k\fR register (read-only) contains the horizontal size of
the text portion (without indent) of the current partially-collected output
line (if any) in the current environment.
.pg
An input text line ending with \fB.\fR\^, \fB?\fR, or \fB!\fR is taken
to be the end of a \fIsentence\fR, and an additional space character is
automatically provided during filling.
Multiple inter-word space characters found in the input are retained,
except for trailing spaces;
initial spaces also cause a \fIbreak\fR.
.pg
When filling is in effect, a \fB\ep\fR may be imbedded or attached to a word to
cause a \fIbreak\fR at the \fIend\fR of the word and have the resulting output
line \fIspread out\fR to fill the current line length.
.pg
.tr &&
A text input line that happens to begin
with a control character (\(sc10.4) can
be made to not look like a control line
by preceding it by
the non-printing, zero-width filler character \fB\e&\fR.
Still another way is to specify output translation of some
convenient character into the control character
using \fBtr\fR (\(sc10.5).
.tr &.
.sc
Interrupted text.
The copying of a input line in \fInofill\f (non-fill) mode can be \fIinterrupted\fR
by terminating
the partial line with a \fB\ec\fR.
The \fInext\fR encountered input text line will be considered to be a continuation
of the same line of input text.
Similarly,
a word within \fIfilled\fR text may be interrupted by terminating the
word (and line) with \fB\ec\fR;
the next encountered text will be taken as a continuation of the
interrupted word.
If the intervening control lines cause a break,
any partial line will be forced out along with any partial word.
.h1
.bt
\fB&br\fR    -    -    B    Break.
The filling of the line currently
being collected is stopped and
the line is output without adjustment.
Text lines beginning with space characters
and empty text lines (blank lines) also cause a break.
.bt
.lg0
\fB&fi\fR    \(fill|on    -    B,E    Fill subsequent output lines.
.lg
The register \fB.u\fR is 1 in fill mode and 0 in nofill mode.
.bt
\fB&nf\fR    fill|on    -    B,E    Nofill.
Subsequent output lines are \fIneither\fR filled \fInor\fR adjusted.
Input text lines are copied directly to output lines
\fIwithout regard\fR for the current line length.
.bt
\fB&ad\fI|c\fR    adj,both    adjust    E    \
Line adjustment is begun.
If fill mode is not on, adjustment will be deferred until
fill mode is back on.
If the type indicator \fIc\fR is present,
the adjustment type is changed as shown in the following table.
The type indicator can also be a value saved  from the read-only \fB.j\fR number
register, which is set to contain the current adjustment mode and type.
.TS
center box;
c|c
c|l.
Indicator    Adjust Type
_
\fBl\fR    adjust left margin only
\fBr\fR    adjust right margin only
\fBc\fR    center
\fBb\fR or \fBn\fR    adjust both margins
absent    unchanged
.TE
.bt
\fB&na\fR    adjust    -    E    Noadjust.
Adjustment is turned off;
the right margin will be ragged.
The adjustment type for \fBad\fR is not changed.
Output line filling still occurs if fill mode is on.
.bt
\fB&ce\fI|N\fR    off    \fIN\fR\(eq1    B,E    Center the next \fIN\fR input text lines
within the current (line-length minus indent).
If \fIN\fR\(eq\^0, any residual count is cleared.
A break occurs after each of the \fIN\fR input lines.
If the input line is too long,
it will be left adjusted.
.mh
Vertical Spacing
.sc
Base-line spacing.
The vertical spacing \fI(V)\fR between the base-lines of successive
output lines can be set
using the \fBvs\fR request
with a resolution of 1\(sl144\|inch\|\(eq\|1\(sl2|point
in \*(TR,
and to the output device resolution in \*(NR.
\fIV\fR must be large enough to accommodate the character sizes
on the affected output lines.
For the common type sizes (9-12 points),
usual typesetting practice is to set \fIV\fR to 2\ points greater than the
point size;
\*(TR default is 10-point type on a 12-point spacing
(as in this document).
The current \fIV\fR is available in the \fB.v\fR register.
Multiple-\fIV\|\fR line separation (e.\|g. double spacing) may be requested
with \fBls\fR.
.sc
Extra line-space.
If a word contains a vertically tall construct requiring
the output line containing it to have extra vertical space
before and\(slor after it,
the \fIextra-line-space\fR function \fB\ex\fI\'N\|\|\'\fR
can be imbedded in or attached to that word.
In this and other functions having a pair of delimiters around
their parameter (here \fB\'\fR\|),
the delimiter choice is arbitrary,
except that it can't look like the continuation of a number expression for \fIN\fR.
If \fIN\fR is negative,
the output line containing the word will
be preceded by \fIN\fR extra vertical space;
if \fIN\fR is positive,
the output line containing the word
will be followed by \fIN\fR extra vertical space.
If successive requests for extra space apply to the same line,
the maximum values are used.
The most recently utilized post-line extra line-space is available in the \fB.a\fR register.
.sc
Blocks of vertical space.
A block of vertical space is ordinarily requested using \fBsp\fR,
which honors the \fIno-space\fR mode and which does
not space \fIpast\fR a trap.
A contiguous block of vertical space may be reserved using \fBsv\fR.
.h1
.bt
\fB&vs\fI|N\fR    1\(sl6in;12pts    previous    E,\fBp\fR    Set vertical base-line spacing size \fIV\fR.
Transient \fIextra\fR vertical space available with \fB\ex\fI\'N\|\|\'\fR (see above).
.bt
\fB&ls\fI|N\fR    \fIN\(eq\^\fR1    previous    E    \fILine\fR spacing
set to \fI\(+-N\fR.
\fIN\(mi\fR1 \fIV\fR\^s \fI(blank lines)\fR are
appended to each output text line. The (read-only) number register \fB.L\fR
is set to contain the current line-spacing value.
Appended blank lines are omitted, if the text or previous appended blank line reached a trap position.
.bt
\fB&sp\fI|N\fR    -    \fIN\fR\(eq1\fIV\fR    B,\fBv\fR    Space vertically in \fIeither\fR direction.
If \fIN\fR is negative, the motion is \fIbackward\fR (upward)
and is limited to the distance to the top of the page.
Forward (downward) motion is truncated to the distance to the
nearest trap.
If the no-space mode is on,
no spacing occurs (see \fBns\fR, and \fBrs\fR below).
.bt
\fB&sv\fI|N\fR    -    \fIN\(eq\fR1\fIV\fR    \fBv\fR    Save a contiguous vertical block of size \fIN\fR.
If the distance to the next trap is greater
than \fIN\fR, \fIN\fR vertical space is output.
No-space mode has \fIno\fR effect.
If this distance is less than \fIN\fR,
no vertical space is immediately output,
but \fIN\fR is remembered for later output (see \fBos\fR).
Subsequent \fBsv\fR requests will overwrite any still remembered \fIN\fR.
.bt
\fB&os\fR    -    -    -    Output saved vertical space.
No-space mode has \fIno\fR effect.
Used to finally output a block of vertical space requested
by an earlier \fBsv\fR request.
.bt
\fB&ns\fR    space    -    D    No-space mode turned on.
When on, the no-space mode inhibits \fBsp\fR requests and
\fBbp\fR requests \fIwithout\fR a next page number.
The no-space mode is turned off when a line of
output occurs, or with \fBrs\fR.
.bt
\fB&rs\fR    space    -    D    Restore spacing.
The no-space mode is turned off.
.bt
Blank|text|line.    -    B    Causes a break and
outputs a blank line just like \fBsp|1\fR.