Manual: col

COL(1)							User Commands						      COL(1)

NAME
       col - filter reverse line feeds from input

SYNOPSIS
       col options

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
	   Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character written to each column position.

       -f, --fine
	   Permit half-forward line feeds. Normally characters destined for a half-line boundary are printed on the
	   following line.

       -h, --tabs
	   Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.

       -l, --lines number
	   Buffer at least number lines in memory. By default, 128 lines are buffered.

       -p, --pass
	   Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged. Normally col will filter out any control
	   sequences other than those recognized and interpreted by itself, which are listed below.

       -x, --spaces
	   Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.

       -H, --help
	   Display help text and exit.

       -V, --version
	   Display version and exit.

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
	   reverse line feed (escape then 7)

       ESC-8
	   half reverse line feed (escape then 8)

       ESC-9
	   half forward line feed (escape then 9)

       backspace
	   moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column

       newline
	   forward line feed (10); also does carriage return

       carriage return
	   (13)

       shift in
	   shift to normal character set (15)

       shift out
	   shift to alternate character set (14)

       space
	   moves forward one column (32)

       tab
	   moves forward to next tab stop (9)

       vertical tab
	   reverse line feed (11)

       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 .

AVAILABILITY
       The col command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive
       .

util-linux 2.41.3					 2025-12-15						      COL(1)