NAME
col - filter reverse line feeds from input
SYNOPSIS
coloptions
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. It also replaces any whitespace 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
-f, --fine
-h, --tabs
-l, --linesnumber
-p, --pass
-x, --spaces
-H, --help
-V, --version
CONFORMING TO
The col utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2. The -l option is an extension to the standard.
NOTES
The control sequences for carriage motion that col understands and their decimal values are listed in the following table:
ESC-7
ESC-8
ESC-9
backspace
newline
carriage return
shift in
shift out
space
tab
vertical tab
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 message.
HISTORY
A col command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
SEE ALSO
expand(1), nroff(1), tbl(1)
REPORTING BUGS
For bug reports, use the issue tracker <https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues>.
AVAILABILITY
The col command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive <https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>.