Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!halley!rwr
From: rwr@halley.UUCP (Rick Ramke)
Newsgroups: comp.text.desktop
Subject: Help with troff footnotes
Message-ID: <917@halley.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jul 90 15:39:58 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tandem Computers, Austin, TX
Lines: 22

I'm no troff macro-writing expert, as will quickly become apparent.  Can
someone help?

We use a modified version of the standard an macros (/usr/lib/macros/an,
which are modified versions of the ms macros?) to process our manual 
page source files.  I want to add footnotes to some man pages.  Adding 
the .FS and .FE macros to the macro file did not work (presumably because 
of dependencies that I couldn't figure out).  The closest I've been able to
come is the following, which uses the .wh request:

.wh -.5i RR           \" Set trap .5-inch from bottom of page; call RR.
.de RR                \" Define RR macro.
.in 0                 \" Don't indent.
.ds zz "The footnote. \" Define a string called zz.
\\*(zz                \" Call the string.
..                    \" End the macro definition.

It almost works, but the string always gets written at the top of the
next page.  I want it to print .25-inch  from the bottom of the current
page.

Any suggestions?  Thanks.