.Left Statement—Left Justify the Text
The .left statement left justifies the next text to be printed.
This statement has the following format:
.left | .lft [[+|-] n | columnname | expression]
The parameters for the .left statement are as follows:
+ | -
Optional sign that moves the output position n positions relative to the last position output. If sign is not present, the position is the absolute position in the output line.
n
Position to which the next text is left justified. The default value is the left margin of the report (set by the .leftmargin statement).
columnname
Name of a column in the report. You can specify the column name as a delimited identifier by enclosing it in double quotes ("), if you previously specified the .delimid statement.
The position for the column is determined either explicitly through the use of the .position statement, or implicitly as described in Automatic Determination of Default Settings. If columnname is specified, Report-Writer left justifies the next output text and places it at the position associated with the named column.
expression
Numeric or string expression. If the expression is numeric, it must evaluate to the next print position on the line. If the expression is a string, it must evaluate to the name of a column in the report. Precede all variables that are part of the expression with a dollar sign ($).
The plus sign (+) and minus sign (-) must be explicitly stated and cannot be part of the expression.