-.\" $OpenBSD: mandoc.1,v 1.58 2014/06/23 22:03:03 schwarze Exp $
+.\" $OpenBSD: mandoc.1,v 1.59 2014/08/08 16:25:15 schwarze Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
.\" Copyright (c) 2012, 2014 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: June 23 2014 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: August 8 2014 $
.Dt MANDOC 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Pp
.Dl $ mandoc \-Tman foo.mdoc \*(Gt foo.man
.Sh DIAGNOSTICS
-Standard error messages reporting parsing errors are prefixed by
+Messages displayed by
+.Nm
+follow this format:
.Pp
-.D1 Nm Ns : Ar file : Ns Ar line : Ns Ar column : level :
+.D1 Nm Ns : Ar file : Ns Ar line : Ns Ar column : level : message : macro args
.Pp
-where the fields have the following meanings:
-.Bl -tag -width "column"
-.It Ar file
-The name of the input file causing the message.
-.It Ar line
-The line number in that input file.
-Line numbering starts at 1.
-.It Ar column
-The column number in that input file.
-Column numbering starts at 1.
-If the issue is caused by a word, the column number usually
-points to the first character of the word.
-.It Ar level
-The message level, printed in capital letters.
-.El
-.Pp
-The
-.Ar line
+Line and column numbers start at 1.
+Both are omitted for messages referring to an input file as a whole.
+Macro names and arguments are omitted where meaningless.
+Fatal messages about invalid command line arguments
+or operating system errors, for example when memory is exhausted,
+may also omit the
+.Ar file
and
-.Ar column
-fields are omitted when meaningless.
+.Ar level
+fields.
.Pp
Message levels have the following meanings:
.Bl -tag -width "warning"
option or
.Fl T Ns Cm lint
output mode.
-.Pp
-The
-.Nm
-utility may also print messages related to invalid command line arguments
-or operating system errors, for example when memory is exhausted.
-Such messages may not carry the prefix described above.
.Sh COMPATIBILITY
This section summarises
.Nm