I've found several places in otp: http://github.com/erlang/otp/blob/dev/lib/stdlib/src/io_lib.erl#L166 http://github.com/erlang/otp/blob/dev/lib/stdlib/src/io_lib_pretty.erl#L37 Am I right, thinking that these places hardcode width of terminal and insert newline, where it is not required for me?