Re: [Groff] underlining

[Carsten Kunze]

There is good reason for using italic font for text marked with .ul. For 
typesetting underlining is very bad typography. So the current programming IS 
best programming. And it is documented in really every book about UNIX troff 
(did you read one?).

So create a new groff request (different name from .ul) it does not harm. But 
please do NOT change .ul --it works perfect!

--Carsten


----- Original Nachricht ----
Von:     Bernd Warken <address@hidden>
An:      groff mailinglist <address@hidden>
Datum:   07.07.2014 21:28
Betreff: [Groff] underlining

> 1) I propose to add documentation for underlining in `groff.7'.
> 
> 2) A long time ago, Werner Lemberg wrote an ul.tmac and publisheed it only
> in this
> mailing list.  But I could not find this tmac file somewhere else.
> 
> 3) There is a `groff' request `.ul', that just generates an italic font
> change.
> In nroff (ttyt/latin1 mode), italic is always printed as underlined - so .ul
> works
> there.  But in `troff', italic mode is kept.  So a better programming for
> `.ul'
> in `troff' would be useful.
> 
> 4) The following macro can basically handle underlining also in `troff',
> maybe it should
> be improved a bit.  I forgot, where I got this macro definition,  I use it
> since
> several years in some of my man-pages.
> 
> 5) Macro:
> .\" .UNDERLINE before underlined after
> .de UNDERLINE
> .  ie n \\$1\fI\\$2\fP\\$3
> .  el \\$1\Z'\\$2'\v'.25m'\D'l \w'\\$2'u 0'\v'-.25m'\\$3
> ..
> 
> 6) Unfortunately, `doclifter' has much trouble with definitions of all kind.
>  For that
> the following parts without `.de' can be used.
> 
> .\" Copy the following lines for any underlined part
> .
> .\" before, not underlined, choose \& when empty
> .ds u1 before
> .\" this is underlined
> .ds u2 in
> .\" after, not underlined, choose \& when empty
> .ds u3 after
> .
> .ie n \(*u1\fI\*(u2\fP\*(u3\"
> .el \(*u1\Z'\*(u2'\v'.25m'\D'l \w'\*(u2'u 0'\v'-.25m'\*(u3\"
> ..
> 
> 7) I propose to include similar documentations about underlining in groff.7
> (man/groff.man).
> 
> Bernd Warken
> 
>