2.5 Paper Format

The formatter reads the device description file DESC for the selected output device when it starts; page dimensions declared there are used if present.

groff’s build process configures a default page format and writes it to typesetters’ DESC files. This installation defaults to ‘letter’. If the DESC file lacks this information, the formatter and output driver use a page length of ‘11i’ (eleven inches) for compatibility with AT&T troff.

In the formatter, the pl request changes the page length, but macro packages often do not support alteration of the paper format within a document. One might, for instance, want to switch between portrait and landscape orientations. Macro packages lack a consistent approach to configuration of parameters dependent on the paper format; some, like ms, benefit from a preamble in the document prior to the first macro call, while others, like mm, instead require the specification of registers on the command line, or otherwise before its macro file is interpreted, to configure page dimensions.

Output drivers for typesetters also recognize command-line options -p to override the default page dimensions and -l to use landscape orientation. The output driver’s man page, such as grops(1), may be helpful.

groff’s -d paper command-line option is a convenient means of setting the paper format; see groff_tmac(5). Combine it with appropriate -P options for the output driver, overriding its defaults. The following command formats for PostScript on A4 paper in landscape orientation.

$ groff -T ps -d paper=a4l -P -pa4 -P -l -m s my.ms >my.ps