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- .\" @(#)tt04 6.1 (Berkeley) 5/23/86
- .\"
- .NH
- Indents and Line Lengths
- .PP
- .UL troff
- starts with a line length of 6.5 inches,
- which some people think is too wide for 8\(12\(mu11 paper.
- To reset the line length,
- use
- the
- .BD .ll
- command, as in
- .P1
- ^ll 6i
- .P2
- As with
- .BD .sp ,
- the actual length can be specified in several ways;
- inches are probably the most intuitive.
- .PP
- The maximum line length provided by the typesetter is 7.5 inches, by the way.
- To use the full width, you will have to reset the default physical left margin (``page offset''),
- which is normally slightly less than one inch from the left edge
- of the paper.
- This is done by the
- .BD .po
- command.
- .P1
- ^po 0
- .P2
- sets the offset as far to the left as it will go.
- .WS
- .PP
- The indent command
- .BD .in
- causes the left margin to be indented
- by some specified amount from the page offset.
- If we use
- .BD .in
- to move the left margin in,
- and
- .BD .ll
- to move the right margin to the left,
- we can
- make offset blocks of text:
- .P1
- ^in 0.3i
- ^ll \(mi0.3i
- text to be set into a block
- ^ll +0.3i
- ^in \(mi0.3i
- .P2
- will create a block that looks like this:
- .P1
- .fi
- .ll -0.3i
- Pater noster qui est in caelis sanctificetur nomen tuum;
- adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo,
- et in terra. ...
- Amen.
- .ll +0.3i
- .P2
- Notice the use of `+' and `\(mi'
- to specify the amount of change.
- These change the previous setting by the specified amount,
- rather than just overriding it.
- The distinction is quite important:
- .BD .ll\ +1i
- makes lines one inch longer;
- .BD .ll\ 1i
- makes them one inch
- .ul
- long.
- .PP
- With
- .BD .in ,
- .BD .ll
- and
- .BD .po ,
- the previous value is used if no argument is specified.
- .PP
- To indent a single line, use the `temporary indent'
- command
- .BD .ti .
- For example, all paragraphs in this memo
- effectively begin with the command
- .P1
- ^ti 3
- .P2
- Three of what?
- The default unit for
- .BD .ti ,
- as for most horizontally oriented commands
- .BD .ll , (
- .BD .in ,
- .BD .po ),
- is ems;
- an em is roughly the width of the letter `m'
- in the current point size.
- (Precisely, a em in size
- .ul
- p
- is
- .ul
- p
- points.)
- Although inches are usually clearer than ems to people who don't set type
- for a living,
- ems have a place:
- they are a measure of size that is proportional to the current point size.
- If you want to make text that keeps its proportions
- regardless of point size,
- you should use ems for all dimensions.
- Ems can be specified as scale factors directly,
- as in
- .BD .ti\ 2.5m .
- .PP
- Lines can also be indented negatively
- if the indent is already positive:
- .P1
- ^ti \(mi0.3i
- .P2
- causes the next line to be moved back three tenths of an inch.
- Thus to make a decorative initial capital,
- we indent the whole paragraph, then move the letter `P' back with
- a
- .BD .ti
- command:
- .P1
- .ll -0.3i
- .fi
- .in +.3i
- .ti -0.3i
- \s36\v'2'P\v'-2'\s0ater noster qui est in caelis sanctificetur
- nomen tuum;
- adveniat regnum tuum;
- 'in -.3i
- fiat voluntas tua,
- sicut in caelo, et in terra. ...
- Amen.
- .ll +0.3i
- .P2
- Of course, there is also some trickery to make the `P'
- bigger (just a `\es36P\es0'),
- and to move it
- down from its normal position
- (see the section on local motions).
-