

MCOL (1)                     10/1/78                     MCOL (1)




NAME
   mcol - multicolumn formatting

SYNOPSIS
   mcol [-cn] [-ln] [-wn] [-gn] [-dn] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION
   Mcol  reads  the named files and formats them into multicolumn
   output on the standard output.  If the filename "-" is  given,
   or no files are specified, the standard input is read. 
   
   The options are as follows. 

   -cn  Format the output into "n" columns.  Default is 2. 

   -ln  Set  the  output  page  size  to  "n".  Mcol produces its
        output in pages, but does not  place  separators  between
        the   pages   on  the  assumption  that  some  subsequent
        processor will do that.   (The  default  page  length  is
        55.)

   -wn  Set  the  column  width  to "n" characters.  Lines longer
        than "n" characters are truncated.  (The  default  column
        width is 60.)

   -gn  Set  the  "gutter" width to "n".  The gutter is the white
        space between columns.  (The default gutter width is 8.)

   -dn  Assume output is to be printed  on  a  display  terminal.
        The  column  size  is  set to "n" characters and the page
        size is set to 24  lines.   The  number  of  columns  and
        gutter  width  are  computed  to  maximize  the amount of
        information on a single screen.  If "n"  is  omitted,  10
        is  used,  which  is  useful for displaying lists of file
        names. 


FILES
   None

SEE ALSO

DIAGNOSTICS
   invalid column count
   invalid page size
   invalid column width
   invalid gutter width
      The value of one of the option flags is invalid or  exceeds
      the limitations of mcol. 

   ignoring invalid flag
      A  command argument option flag was given which mcol didn't
      recognize. 








MCOL (1)                     10/1/78                     MCOL (1)


   insufficient buffer space
      Mcol could not buffer an entire page.  This is usually  the
      result  of  options  that specify a large page size or many
      columns.  The buffer size is set by the  MAXBUF  definition
      in the source code. 

   too many lines
      The  number  of  lines per page times the number of columns
      exceeded mcol's line buffer space.  The maximum  number  of
      lines  allowed  is  set  by  the  MAXPTR  definition in the
      source code. 

BUGS/DEFICIENCIES

AUTHORS
   Original by David Hanson and friends  (U.  of  Arizona),  with
   modifications by Debbie Scherrer (LBL). 












































