NAME
fmt —
simple text formatter
SYNOPSIS
fmt |
[goal [maximum]] [name ...] |
DESCRIPTION
Fmt is a simple text formatter which reads the
concatenation of input files (or standard input if none are given) and
produces on standard output a version of its input with lines as close to the
goal length as possible without exceeding the maximum.
The goal length defaults to 65 and the maximum to 75.
The spacing at the beginning of the input lines is preserved in the output, as
are blank lines and interword spacing.
Fmt is meant to format mail messages prior
to sending, but may also be useful for other simple tasks. For instance,
within visual mode of the
ex(1)
editor (e.g. vi(1)) the command
!}fmtwill reformat a paragraph, evening the lines.
SEE ALSO
HISTORY
The fmt command appeared in
3BSD.
BUGS
The program was designed to be simple and fast - for more complex operations, the standard text processors are likely to be more appropriate.