COL(1)                                                     COL(1)

     NAME
          col - column alignment

     SYNOPSIS
          col [ -bfx ]

     DESCRIPTION
          Col overlays lines to expunge reverse line feeds (ESC-7) and
          half line feeds (ESC-9 and ESC-8) as produced by nroff for
          .2C in ms(6) or man(6) and for tbl(1). Col is a pure filter.
          It normally emits only full line feeds; option -f (fine)
          allows half line feeds too.  Option -b removes backspaces,
          printing just one of each pile of overstruck characters.
          Col normally converts white space to tabs; option -x over-
          rides this feature.  Other escaped characters and non-
          printing characters are ignored.

     EXAMPLES
          tbl file | nroff -ms | col | p
               Format some tables for printing on typewriters; use col
               to remove reverse line feeds, and paginate the output.

     SEE ALSO
          pr(1)

     BUGS
          Col can't back up more than 128 lines or handle more than
          800 characters per line, and understands `VT' (013) as
          reverse line feed.

     Page 1                       Plan 9            (printed 10/30/25)