| Request | Initial | Cause | Explanation |
| | Value | Break | |
| .(c | - | yes | Begin centered block. |
| .(d | - | no | Begin delayed text. |
| .(f | - | no | Begin footnote. |
| .(l | - | yes | Begin list. |
| .(q | - | yes | Begin major quote. |
| .(xx | - | no | Begin indexed item in index x. |
| .(z | - | no | Begin floating keep. |
| .)c | - | yes | End centered block. |
| .)d | - | yes | End delayed text. |
| .)f | - | yes | End footnote. |
| .)l | - | yes | End list. |
| .)q | - | yes | End major quote. |
| .)x | - | yes | End index item. |
| .)z | - | yes | End floating keep. |
| .++ m H | - | no | Define paper section. |
| | | | m defines the part of the paper, |
| | | | and can be C (chapter), A (appendix), P
(preliminary, for instance, |
| | | | abstract, table of contents, etc.), |
| | | | B (bibliography), RC (chapters |
| | | | renumbered from page one each |
| | | | chapter), or RA (appendix renumbered |
| | | | from page one). |
| .+c T | - | yes | Begin chapter (or appendix, etc., |
| | | | as set by .++). T is |
| | | | the chapter title. |
| .1c | 1 | yes | One column format on a new page. |
| .2c | 1 | yes | Two column format. |
| .ENtblbr | - | yes | Space after equation produced by eqn |
| | | | or neqn. |
| .EQ x y | - | yes | Precede equation; break out and |
| | | | add space. Equation number is y. |
| | | | The optional argument x may be I |
| | | | to indent equation (default), |
| | | | L to left-adjust the equation, or |
| | | | C to center the equation. |
| .GE | - | yes | End gremlin picture. |
| .GS | - | yes | Begin gremlin picture. |
| .PE | - | yes | End pic picture. |
| .PS | - | yes | Begin pic picture. |
| .TE | - | yes | End table. |
| .TH | - | yes | End heading section of table. |
| .TS x | - | yes | Begin table; if x
is H table |
| | | | has repeated heading. |
| .ac A N | - | no | Set up for ACM style output. |
| | | | A is the Author's name(s), N is the |
| | | | total number of pages. Must be given |
| | | | before the first initialization. |
| .b x | no | no | Print x in boldface;
if no argument |
| | | | switch to boldface. |
| .ba +n | 0 | yes | Augments the base indent by n. |
| | | | This indent is used to set the indent |
| | | | on regular text (like paragraphs). |
| .bctblbr | no | yes | Begin new column. |
| .bi x | no | no | Print x in bold
italics |
| | | | (nofill only). |
| .bu | - | yes | Begin bulleted paragraph. |
| .bx x | no | no | Print x in a box
(nofill only). |
| .ef 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set even footer to x y z. |
| .eh 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set even header to x y z. |
| .fo 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set footer to x y z. |
| .hx | - | no | Suppress headers and footers on |
| | | | next page. |
| .he 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set header to x y
z. |
| .hl | - | yes | Draw a horizontal line. |
| .i x | no | no | Italicize x; if x missing, italic |
| | | | text follows. |
| .ip x y | no | yes | Start indented paragraph, with |
| | | | hanging tag x. Indentation is |
| | | | y ens (default 5). |
| .lp | yes | yes | Start left-blocked paragraph. |
| .lo | - | no | Read in a file of local macros |
| | | | of the form .*x. Must be |
| | | | given before initialization. |
| .np | 1 | yes | Start numbered paragraph. |
| .of 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set odd footer to x y z. |
| .oh 'x'y'z | ''''' | no | Set odd header to x y z. |
| .pd | - | yes | Print delayed text. |
| .pp | no | yes | Begin paragraph. First line indented. |
| .r | yes | no | Roman text follows. |
| .retblbr | - | no | Reset tabs to default values. |
| .sc | no | no | Read in a file of special characters |
| | | | and diacritical marks. Must be |
| | | | given before initialization. |
| .sh n x | - | yes | Section head follows, font |
| | | | automatically bold. n is level |
| | | | of section, x is title of section. |
| .sk | no | no | Leave the next page blank. |
| | | | Only one page is remembered ahead. |
| .sm x | - | no | Set x in a smaller
pointsize. |
| .sz +n | 10p | no | Augment the point size by n points. |
| .th | no | no | Produce the paper in thesis format. |
| | | | Must be given before initialization. |
| .tp | no | yes | Begin title page. |
| .u x | - | no | Underline argument (even in troff). |
| | | | (Nofill only). |
| .uh | - | yes | Like .sh but unnumbered. |
| .xp x | - | no | Print index x. |