5.1.8 Macro Packages

Macro definitions can be collected into macro files, roff input files designed to produce no output themselves but instead ease the preparation of other roff documents. There is no syntactical difference between a macro file and any other roff document; only its purpose distinguishes it. When a macro file is installed at a standard location and suitable for use by a general audience, it is often termed a macro package.²⁹ Macro packages can be loaded by supplying the -m option to GNU troff or a groff front end. Alternatively, a document requiring a macro package can load it with the mso (“macro source”) request.