Setting the column position in printf

Question

How to fix the positions of output string in shell using printf?

For example ,if I want to print text TEXT-A at position starting from third position from left and one more text TEXT-B at eleventh position from left,as shown below. enter image description here

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 23 '13 at 11:35

5

printf '  %-8s%s\n' TEXT-A TEXT-B

And if you want to truncate the first text if it too long to fit:

printf '  %-8.8s%s\n' TEXT-A TEXT-B

answered Jul 23 '13 at 11:35

Stéphane Chazelas

544,893

Setting the column position in printf

1 Answers1