Formatting issues exporting to a man page

Formatting issues exporting to a man page

[Anthony Agelastos]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 9312 bytes --]

Greetings:
 
I am trying to use org to export to a man page and I noticed that some items with formatting do not show up appropriately. I will provide an example of the issue below in addition to system information and the troubleshooting I’ve done so far. I would appreciate any guidance you can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for your help with this.
 
I have a simple org file that has the following within it.
{{{
  1 #+TITLE: Test of org-mode
  2 #+AUTHOR: Anthony M. Agelastos
  3 #+EMAIL: iqgrande@gmail.com
  4 #+DATE: 2017-10-17
  5 #+LANGUAGE: en
  6 #+OPTIONS: ^:nil
  7 #+DESCRIPTION: This document is a test of org mode.
  8 #+KEYWORDS: org-mode
  9 #+KEYWORDS: test
10 #+LATEX_COMPILER: lualatex
11 #+LATEX_CLASS: article
12 #+LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS: [letterpaper,11pt]
13 #+LATEX_HEADER: \input{preamble}
14 #+STARTUP: overview
15
16 * Introduction
17 ** foo
18 Does this work?
19 ** bar
20 Does this =work=?
21 ** baz
22 Does this ~work~?
23
24 * Results
25 ** foo
26 Does this *work*?
27 ** bar
28 Does this /work/?
}}}
 
This generates the following man page where much of the formatting save for “==” and “~~” work. Those 2, however, ultimately fail with different behavior. I should also note that this exports correctly to Info, PDF, ASCII, HTML, and Markdown.
{{{
Test of org-mode(1)                       General Commands Manual                       Test of org-mode(1)
 
Introduction
   foo
       Does this work?
 
   bar
       Does this .nf nil
 
   baz
       Does  this  (code (:value work :begin 453 :end 459 :post-blank 0 :parent (paragraph (:begin 443 :end
       461 :contents-begin 443 :contents-end  461  :post-blank  0  :post-affiliated  443  :parent  (section
       (:begin  443 :end 462 :contents-begin 443 :contents-end 461 :post-blank 1 :post-affiliated 443 :par‐
       ent (headline (:raw-value baz :begin 436 :end 461 :pre-blank 0 :contents-begin 443 :contents-end 461
       :level  2 :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-type nil :post-blank 0 :footnote-section-p
       nil :archivedp nil :commentedp nil :post-affiliated 436 :title (baz) :parent  (headline  (:raw-value
       Introduction :begin 373 :end 462 :pre-blank 0 :contents-begin 388 :contents-end 461 :level 1 :prior‐
       ity nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-type nil :post-blank 1 :footnote-section-p nil  :archivedp
       nil  :commentedp  nil  :post-affiliated  373  :title  (Introduction)  :parent (org-data nil (section
       (:begin 1 :end 373 :contents-begin 1 :contents-end 372 :post-blank 1 :post-affiliated 1 :parent #10)
       (keyword (:key TITLE :value Test of org-mode :begin 1 :end 27 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 1 :par‐
       ent #11)) (keyword (:key AUTHOR :value Anthony M. Agelastos :begin 27 :end 58 :post-blank  0  :post-
       affiliated  27 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key EMAIL :value iqgrande@gmail.com :begin 58 :end 86 :post-
       blank 0 :post-affiliated 58 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key DATE :value 2017-10-17 :begin 86  :end  105
       :post-blank  0  :post-affiliated  86 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key LANGUAGE :value en :begin 105 :end
       120 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 105 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key OPTIONS :value ^:nil :begin  120
       :end  137  :post-blank  0  :post-affiliated 120 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key DESCRIPTION :value This
       document is a test of org mode. :begin 137 :end 189 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 137 :parent #11))
       (keyword (:key KEYWORDS :value org-mode :begin 189 :end 210 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 189 :par‐
       ent #11)) (keyword (:key KEYWORDS :value test :begin 210 :end 227 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 210
       :parent #11)) (keyword (:key LATEX_COMPILER :value lualatex :begin 227 :end 254 :post-blank 0 :post-
       affiliated 227 :parent #11)) (keyword (:key LATEX_CLASS :value article :begin 254  :end  277  :post-
       blank  0  :post-affiliated  254  :parent  #11)) (keyword (:key LATEX_CLASS_OPTIONS :value [letterpa‐
       per,11pt] :begin 277 :end 319 :post-blank  0  :post-affiliated  277  :parent  #11))  (keyword  (:key
       LATEX_HEADER  :value  input{preamble} :begin 319 :end 352 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 319 :parent
       #11)) (keyword (:key STARTUP :value overview :begin 352 :end 372 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated  352
       :parent #11))) #8 (headline (:raw-value Results :begin 462 :end 522 :pre-blank 0 :contents-begin 472
       :contents-end 522 :level 1 :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-type  nil  :post-blank  0
       :footnote-section-p nil :archivedp nil :commentedp nil :post-affiliated 462 :title (Results) :parent
       #10) (headline (:raw-value foo :begin 472 :end 497 :pre-blank 0  :contents-begin  479  :contents-end
       497  :level  2 :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-type nil :post-blank 0 :footnote-sec‐
       tion-p nil :archivedp nil :commentedp nil :post-affiliated 472 :title (foo)  :parent  #11)  (section
       (:begin  479 :end 497 :contents-begin 479 :contents-end 497 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 479 :par‐
       ent #12) (paragraph (:begin 479 :end 497 :contents-begin 479 :contents-end 497 :post-blank 0  :post-
       affiliated  479 :parent #13) Does this  (bold (:begin 489 :end 495 :contents-begin 490 :contents-end
       494 :post-blank 0 :parent #14) work) ?  ))) (headline (:raw-value bar :begin 497 :end 522 :pre-blank
       0  :contents-begin  504  :contents-end 522 :level 2 :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-
       type nil :post-blank 0 :footnote-section-p nil :archivedp nil :commentedp nil  :post-affiliated  497
       :title (bar) :parent #11) (section (:begin 504 :end 522 :contents-begin 504 :contents-end 522 :post-
       blank 0 :post-affiliated 504 :parent #12) (paragraph (:begin 504 :end 522 :contents-begin 504  :con‐
       tents-end  522  :post-blank  0 :post-affiliated 504 :parent #13) Does this  (italic (:begin 514 :end
       520 :contents-begin 515 :contents-end 519 :post-blank 0  :parent  #14)  work)  ?   ))))))  (headline
       (:raw-value  foo  :begin  388  :end  411 :pre-blank 0 :contents-begin 395 :contents-end 411 :level 2
       :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil  :todo-type  nil  :post-blank  0  :footnote-section-p  nil
       :archivedp  nil  :commentedp  nil :post-affiliated 388 :title (foo) :parent #8) (section (:begin 395
       :end 411 :contents-begin 395 :contents-end 411 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 395 :parent #9) (para‐
       graph  (:begin 395 :end 411 :contents-begin 395 :contents-end 411 :post-blank 0 :post-affiliated 395
       :parent #10) Does this work?  ))) (headline (:raw-value bar :begin 411 :end 436 :pre-blank  0  :con‐
       tents-begin  418 :contents-end 436 :level 2 :priority nil :tags nil :todo-keyword nil :todo-type nil
       :post-blank 0 :footnote-section-p nil :archivedp nil :commentedp  nil  :post-affiliated  411  :title
       (bar)  :parent #8) (section (:begin 418 :end 436 :contents-begin 418 :contents-end 436 :post-blank 0
       :post-affiliated 418 :parent #9) (paragraph (:begin 418 :end 436 :contents-begin  418  :contents-end
       436  :post-blank  0  :post-affiliated  418 :parent #10) Does this  (verbatim (:value work :begin 428
       :end 434 :post-blank 0 :parent #11)) ?  ))) #6)) #4)) #2)) Does this  #0 ?  )))?
 
Results
   foo
       Does this work?
 
   bar
       Does this work?
}}}
 
I generate the man page with the following command.
{{{
emacs -Q -l load.el -l init.el Test.org --batch -f org-man-export-to-man --kill
}}}
 
The “load.el” script contains the following.
{{{
(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/my/org-mode/lisp")
}}}
 
The “init.el” script contains the following.
{{{
;;; EMACS USUALLY HAS A SPLASH SCREEN ON STARTUP. LET'S GET RID OF THAT AND START WITH A BLANK BUFFER.
(setq inhibit-startup-message t)
 
;;; FIX PARAGRAPH FILLING WIDTH
;; To do this easily, just do M-q
(setq-default fill-column 72)
 
;;; MAKE ORG MODE SPIT OUT SMART QUOTES
(setq org-export-with-smart-quotes t)
 
;;; HANDLE TODO BETTER
(setq org-log-done 'time)
(setq org-log-done 'note)
 
;;; ENABLE EXPORTING
(require 'ox-texinfo)
(require 'ox-man)
}}}
 
My org-mode installation was created with the following steps.
{{{
cd /path/to/my
git clone git://orgmode.org/org-mode.git
cd org-mode
make
make doc
make test
<snip>
Ran 755 tests, 754 results as expected, 1 unexpected (2017-10-17 17:33:46-0600)
11 expected failures
 
1 unexpected results:
   FAILED  test-org-publish/resolve-external-link
 
mk/targets.mk:104: recipe for target 'test' failed
make: *** [test] Error 1
}}}
 
I performed the following mitigating steps.
 
Just to be safe, I also rebuilt Emacs 25.3.1 from scratch with nothing fancy (i.e., `./configure --prefix=foo && make && make install`) and used it within my environment while org was built.
I completely removed my “~/.emacs.d” folder so there were no user settings that were contaminating the environment.
I investigated this on macOS 10.12.6, macOS 10.13, and RHEL 7.3 and had the same ultimate behavior along with results from the org `make test`.
 
Kind regards,
 
Anthony M. Agelastos

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 36425 bytes --]

Re: Formatting issues exporting to a man page

[Nicolas Goaziou]

Hello,

Anthony Agelastos <iqgrande@gmail.com> writes:

> Greetings:
>  
> I am trying to use org to export to a man page and I noticed that some
> items with formatting do not show up appropriately. I will provide an
> example of the issue below in addition to system information and the
> troubleshooting I’ve done so far. I would appreciate any guidance you
> can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for your help with this.

I think I fixed these issues. 

However, Man export back-end has still some rough edges and would need
some love (and documentation).

Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: Formatting issues exporting to a man page

[Anthony Michael Agelastos]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1530 bytes --]

Greetings:

Thank you, Nicolas, for your very prompt response. Your enhancements definitely improved things, however the formatting with == still appears to have issues (i.e., there is a “.nf” before the word and the question mark at the end of the sentence is absent). I have the output from `man` on the resultant Test.man file below. I would appreciate any guidance you can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for your help with this. 

{{{
Test of org-mode(1)                       General Commands Manual                       Test of org-mode(1)

Introduction
  foo
      Does this work?

  bar
      Does this .nf work

  baz
      Does this work?

Results
  foo
      Does this work?

  bar
      Does this work?
}}}

Kind regards,
Anthony

> On Oct 18, 2017, at 2:59 PM, Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Anthony Agelastos <iqgrande@gmail.com> writes:
> 
>> Greetings:
>> 
>> I am trying to use org to export to a man page and I noticed that some
>> items with formatting do not show up appropriately. I will provide an
>> example of the issue below in addition to system information and the
>> troubleshooting I’ve done so far. I would appreciate any guidance you
>> can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for your help with this.
> 
> I think I fixed these issues. 
> 
> However, Man export back-end has still some rough edges and would need
> some love (and documentation).
> 
> Regards,
> 
> -- 
> Nicolas Goaziou


[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 3523 bytes --]

Re: Formatting issues exporting to a man page

[Nicolas Goaziou]

Hello,

Anthony Michael Agelastos <iqgrande@gmail.com> writes:

> Greetings:
>
> Thank you, Nicolas, for your very prompt response. Your enhancements
> definitely improved things, however the formatting with == still
> appears to have issues (i.e., there is a “.nf” before the word and the
> question mark at the end of the sentence is absent). I have the output
> from `man` on the resultant Test.man file below. I would appreciate
> any guidance you can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for
> your help with this.

I fixed it. 

The problem is to know what is verbatim markup in Groff. At the moment,
it italicizes the text and protect minus characters.

Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: Formatting issues exporting to a man page

[Anthony Agelastos]

Hello Nicolas:

Things are working much better now. Thank you for your help with this.

Kind regards,
Anthony
(Please excuse typos; this is sent from a mobile device.)

> On Oct 19, 2017, at 13:53, Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Anthony Michael Agelastos <iqgrande@gmail.com> writes:
> 
>> Greetings:
>> 
>> Thank you, Nicolas, for your very prompt response. Your enhancements
>> definitely improved things, however the formatting with == still
>> appears to have issues (i.e., there is a “.nf” before the word and the
>> question mark at the end of the sentence is absent). I have the output
>> from `man` on the resultant Test.man file below. I would appreciate
>> any guidance you can provide with fixing this issue. Thank you for
>> your help with this.
> 
> I fixed it. 
> 
> The problem is to know what is verbatim markup in Groff. At the moment,
> it italicizes the text and protect minus characters.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> -- 
> Nicolas Goaziou