Commands Reference, Volume 4

proff Command

Purpose

Formats text for printers with personal printer data streams.

Syntax

proff [ -LList ] [ -PPrinter ] [ -t ] [ nroffFlags ] [ File ... ]

Description

The proff command formats text by using the nroff command on the specified files for printers that support ppds (personal printer data streams), such as the Quietwriter III printer, the Quickwriter printer, and the Proprinter printer.

If no file is specified, standard input is read. A parameter value of - (minus) specifies standard input.

Parameters

nroffFlags	Specifies the nroff command flags used by the proff command to format the text file for a ppds-supported printer output.
File	Specifies the text file that the proff command formats for printers that support ppds.

Flags

-LList	Passes the specified list as flags for the qprt command. To pass a single flag to the qprt command, use the -L flag followed immediately by the nroff command flag being passed. For example: -L-h. To pass multiple flags or a string to the lpr command, use the -L flag followed immediately by the flags or string enclosed by " " (double quotes): -L"-h -r -m".
-PPrinter	Sends output to a specified printer corresponding to an entry in the /etc/qconfig file. The default is taken from the PRINTER environment variable, if it exists; otherwise the system default queue name is used.
-t	Sends output to standard output.
-	Specifies that standard input is used as the source for the formatting process. All other flags are passed to the nroff command.

Example

The following is a typical command sequence to process output for the IBM Proprinter printer:

proff -t testfile

Environment Variable

PRINTER

Specifies the desired printer queue.

Files

/usr/share/lib/nterm/tab.ppds	Contains driving tables for printers with personal printer data streams.
/etc/qconfig	Describes the queues and devices.

Related Information

The col command, eqn command, lpr command, nroff command, qprt command, tbl command.