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. In non raw mode, lines that look like mail headers or begin with a period are not formatted.
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-C
-
instructs fmt to center the text.
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-g goal
-
New way to set the goal length.
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-m maximum
-
New way to set the maximum length.
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-w maximum
-
New way to set the maximum length.
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-r
-
Raw mode; formats all lines and does not make exceptions for lines that start with a period or look like mail headers.
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
!}fmt
will reformat a paragraph, evening the lines.
