tabs(1) (User Environment Utilities) tabs(1)
NAME
tabs - set tabs on a terminal
SYNOPSIS
tabs [tabspec] [-Ttype] [+mn]
DESCRIPTION
tabs sets the tab stops on the user's terminal according to the tab
specification tabspec, after clearing any previous settings. The
user's terminal must have remotely settable hardware tabs.
tabspec Four types of tab specification are accepted for tabspec.
They are described below: canned (-code), repetitive (-n),
arbitrary (n1,n2,...), and file (--file). If no tabspec is
given, the default value is -8, i.e., UNIX system
``standard'' tabs. The lowest column number is 1. Note that
for tabs, column 1 always refers to the leftmost column on a
terminal, even one whose column markers begin at 0, e.g., the
DASI 300, DASI 300s, and DASI 450.
-code Use one of the codes listed below to select a canned set of
tabs. The legal codes and their meanings are as follows:
-a 1,10,16,36,72
Assembler, IBM S/370, first format
-a2 1,10,16,40,72
Assembler, IBM S/370, second format
-c 1,8,12,16,20,55
COBOL, normal format
-c2 1,6,10,14,49
COBOL compact format (columns 1-6 omitted). Using
this code, the first typed character corresponds to
card column 7, one space gets you to column 8, and a
tab reaches column 12. Files using this tab setup
should include a format specification as follows (see
fspec(4)):
<:t-c2 m6 s66 d:>
-c3 1,6,10,14,18,22,26,30,34,38,42,46,50,54,58,62,67
COBOL compact format (columns 1-6 omitted), with more
tabs than -c2. This is the recommended format for
COBOL. The appropriate format specification is [see
fspec(4)]:
<:t-c3 m6 s66 d:>
-f 1,7,11,15,19,23
FORTRAN
-p 1,5,9,13,17,21,25,29,33,37,41,45,49,53,57,61
PL/I
-s 1,10,55
SNOBOL
-u 1,12,20,44
UNIVAC 1100 Assembler
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tabs(1) (User Environment Utilities) tabs(1)
-n A repetitive specification requests tabs at columns 1+n,
1+2*n, etc. Of particular importance is the value 8: this
represents the UNIX system ``standard'' tab setting, and is
the most likely tab setting to be found at a terminal.
Another special case is the value 0, implying no tabs at all.
n1,n2,...
The arbitrary format permits the user to type any chosen set
of numbers, separated by commas, in ascending order. Up to
40 numbers are allowed. If any number (except the first one)
is preceded by a plus sign, it is taken as an increment to be
added to the previous value. Thus, the formats 1,10,20,30,
and 1,10,+10,+10 are considered identical.
--file If the name of a file is given, tabs reads the first line of
the file, searching for a format specification [see
fspec(4)]. If it finds one there, it sets the tab stops
according to it, otherwise it sets them as -8. This type of
specification may be used to make sure that a tabbed file is
printed with correct tab settings, and would be used with the
pr command:
tabs -- file; pr file
Any of the following also may be used; if a given flag occurs more
than once, the last value given takes effect:
-Ttype tabs usually needs to know the type of terminal in order to
set tabs and always needs to know the type to set margins.
type is a name listed in term(5). If no -T flag is supplied,
tabs uses the value of the environment variable TERM. If
TERM is not defined in the environment [see environ(5)], tabs
tries a sequence that will work for many terminals.
+mn The margin argument may be used for some terminals. It
causes all tabs to be moved over n columns by making column
n+1 the left margin. If +m is given without a value of n,
the value assumed is 10. For a TermiNet, the first value in
the tab list should be 1, or the margin will move even
further to the right. The normal (leftmost) margin on most
terminals is obtained by +m0. The margin for most terminals
is reset only when the +m flag is given explicitly.
Tab and margin setting is performed via the standard output.
EXAMPLES
tabs -a example using -code (canned specification) to set tabs
to the settings required by the IBM assembler:
columns 1, 10, 16, 36, 72.
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tabs(1) (User Environment Utilities) tabs(1)
tabs -8 example of using -n (repetitive specification), where
n is 8, causes tabs to be set every eighth position:
1+(1*8), 1+(2*8), ... which evaluate to columns 9, 17,
...
tabs 1,8,36 example of using n1,n2,... (arbitrary specification)
to set tabs at columns 1, 8, and 36.
tabs --$HOME/fspec.list/att4425
example of using --file (file specification) to
indicate that tabs should be set according to the
first line of $HOME/fspec.list/att4425 [see fspec(4)].
DIAGNOSTICS
illegal tabs when arbitrary tabs are ordered incorrectly
illegal increment when a zero or missing increment is found in an
arbitrary specification
unknown tab code when a canned code cannot be found
can't open if --file option used, and file can't be opened
file indirection if --file option used and the specification in
that file points to yet another file.
Indirection of this form is not permitted
SEE ALSO
newform(1), pr(1), tput(1).
fspec(4), terminfo(4), environ(5), term(5) in the System
Administrator's Reference Manual.
NOTES
There is no consistency among different terminals regarding ways of
clearing tabs and setting the left margin.
tabs clears only 20 tabs (on terminals requiring a long sequence),
but is willing to set 64.
The tabspec used with the tabs command is different from the one used
with the newform command. For example, tabs -8 sets every eighth
position; whereas newform -i-8 indicates that tabs are set every
eighth position.
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