Revision 24d21c94-ad67-42f8-9f6c-af6d0cc57e22 - Code Review Stack Exchange

I had expected you to post a question using the same sample input/output as you had provided at https://unix.stackexchange.com/q/782790/133219 so that's what I had based my answer below on, hopefully it also does what you're example here shows. If not, at least it's a good starting point for you.

Try this:

 $ cat ./foldLines.sh
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
 awk -v maxLen=72 '
 {
 gsub(/ - /, "--")
 gsub(/ {0,1}[—–] {0,1}/, "--")
 gsub(/…/, "...")
 gsub(/\\\*/, "†")
 gsub(/\*/, "/")
 gsub(/\\\./, ".")
 
 out = sep = ""
 for ( i=1; i<=NF; i++ ) {
 nextOut = out sep $i
 if ( length(nextOut) > maxLen ) {
 print out
 out = $i
 }
 else {
 out = nextOut
 sep = FS
 }
 }
 print out
 }
 ' "${@:--}"

<p>

 $ ./foldLines.sh <<<'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmo tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.'
 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmo
 tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim minim veniam
 quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo
 consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit
 esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat
 cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim
 id est laborum.