Col reads from standard input and writes to standard output.

The options are as follows:

-b

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

-f

Forward half line feeds are permitted (``fine'' mode). Normally characters printed on a half line boundary are printed on the following line.

-p

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

-x

Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.

-l num

Buffer at least num lines in memory. By default, 128 lines are buffered.

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

carriage return

(13)

newline

forward line feed (10); also does carriage return

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.