NAME
dvi2ps - convert a DVI file to PostScript
SYNOPSIS
dvi2ps [-D var=val] [-F fontdesc] [-K] [-R n] [-S]
[-c output-file] [-d] [-f n] [-i file] [-m n] [-n n]
[-o str] [-q] [-r] [-s file] [-t n] [-w]
[dvifile[.dvi]]
DESCRIPTION
This program converts a DVI file to PostScript, and writes the result
to standard output. If no dvifile is given, it reads from standard
input. The setting for the printer is given by the fontdesc file.
OPTIONS
-D var=val
specify a value of a variable var as val.
-F fontdesc
specify a fontdesc file.
-K remove comments from included PS files.
-R n specify the resolution of the printer (n dpi).
-S turn on printing of statistics. Some versions of dvi2ps will
optionally print statistics about font usage and some other
information that is generally only interesting to developers.
On these systems, -S turns on the statistics printing.
-c output-file
write the output to output-file instead of the standard output.
-d select debugging output (you probably don’t want to).
-f n specify a starting page number (this is a TeX page number -
\count0).
-i file
copy the named file to the output. The contents of the file
named will be copied to the Prolog-part (cf. PostScript Document
Structuring Convention) of the output.
-m0 | -mh | -m1 | -m2 | -m3 | -m4 | -m5
specify a magstep to use to print the document. This overrides
whatever might be in the DVI file.
-m n specify a magnification to use to print the document. Magic
numbers 1000, 1095, 1200, 1440, 1728, 2074 or 2488 correspond to
above magsteps.
-n n specify the number of copies to print.
-o str specify a printing option. Valid options are letter, note,
legal, tabloid, a3, a4, a5, b4, b5, landscape, letterlandscape,
notelandscape, legalenvelope, tabloidlandscape, a3landscape,
a4landscape, a5landscape, b4landscape, b5landscape, envelope,
large, small, and manualfeed. This argument may be repeated
several times. envelope is a variant of landscape that selects
manual feed and does proper positioning for regular envelopes.
-q be quiet. Don’t chatter about pages converted, etc.
-r stack pages in reverse order. Normally, the DVI pages are
processed in reverse order, with the result that they are
stacked in the correct order in the output tray. This option
reverses that.
-s file
copy the named file to the output. The contents of the file
named will be copied to the Setup-part (cf. PostScript Document
Structuring Convention) of the output.
-t n specify an ending page number.
-w Don’t print out warnings.
NOTES
This is a ‘bare bones’ DVI-to-PostScript program. Minimal error
checking is done.
Not all fonts are available in the resolution needed to display on the
laser printer; when a missing font is encountered, dvi2ps will
continue to process your DVI file, and will log a warning message. Gaps
will appear in the document where the missing characters should have
been.
It can take up to 60 seconds for the first page to be output. After a
head of steam has been built up, it can roll along at 5-10 seconds per
page.
PostScript ILLUSTRATIONS
This program supports use of the \special command in TeX to include
special PostScript code for graphics, etc. Specifying
\special{psfile=foo.ps} in the TeX source will result in the contents
of file foo.ps (assumed to contain PostScript code) being copied into
the output at that point. For most included graphics, the user’s (0,0)
point will be set to the point of the \special command with x and y
coordinates increasing up and to the right and in units of PostScript
points (72/inch) — thus you must explicitly leave space above the
\special command for most graphics. For graphics produced by Apple
Macintoshes (i.e., MacDraw, MacPaint, etc.), the top left corner of the
drawing will be at the point of the \special command; in this case you
must leave the required space below the \special.
The \special string can contain any number of the following
keyword=value pairs, separated by blanks:
Keyword Value Type (dimensions in points: 72 pt = 1 in)
psfile string - PostScript file to include
epsfile string - Encapsulated PostScript file to include
hsize dimension - maximum horizontal size (for clipping)
vsize dimension - maximum vertical size (for clipping). Use
negative values to specify a clipping region
below the current position.
hoffset dimension - amount to shift right
voffset dimension - amount to shift up
hscale number - scale factor in x-dimension
vscale number - scale factor in y-dimension
rotation number - counter-clockwise rotation angle
Thus:
\special{psfile=foo.ps hoffset=72 hscale=0.9 vscale=0.9}
will shift the graphics produced by file foo.ps right by 1", and will
draw it at 0.9 normal size.
hsize and vsize are given relative to the (0,0) point of the drawing
and are unaffected by offsets and scales.
Offsets are given relative to the point of the \special command, and
are unaffected by scales.
If Macintosh drawings are to be included, the proper LaserPrep file
must be downloaded to the printer, either permanently or as another
header file in addition to the standard tex.ps header file.
FILES
*.dvi TeX DeVice Independent output file
/usr/local/share/texmf/fonts/.../
default font file directories
/usr/local/lib/dvi2ps/fontdesc
default fontdesc file
SEE ALSO
tex(1)
BUGS
There is likely a limit to the size of documents that can be printed
(at least, on the Apple LaserWriter). If you get VMerrors reported
when printing, use the -f and -t options, to select a range of pages.
The exact limit is unknown, but is probably well in excess of 50 pages
for ‘normal’ documents, decreasing with number of different fonts used,
size of fonts, etc.
AUTHORS
Mark Senn wrote the early versions of this program for the BBN
BitGraph. Stephan Bechtolsheim, Bob Brown, Richard Furuta, James
Schaad and Robert Wells improved it. Norm Hutchinson ported the
program to the Sun. Neal Holtz ported it to the Apollo, and then to
produce PostScript. Jean-Francois Lamy fixed the interface for
PostScript illustrations.
(PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.)
4 September 2000