NAME
pdf2fax - image Portable Document Format file for facsimile
transmission by HylaFAX
SYNOPSIS
/var/spool/hylafax/bin/pdf2fax [ options ] [ files... ]
DESCRIPTION
pdf2fax takes Portable Document Format (PDF) input and generates a TIFF
Class F image file suitable for facsimile transmission. It is usually
invoked by the HylaFAX scheduler process, faxq(8). PDF imaging is
typically done using the freely available Ghostscript software.
pdf2fax is actually a link (symbolic or otherwise) to the script
appropriate for the PDF imaging tool. The link is setup when the
faxsetup(8) script is run to configure a HylaFAX server machine for
use.
Input files containing PDF may be specified on the command line. If
none are given, then pdf2fax will read from standard input.
By default, pdf2fax will generate a 98 line/inch output document whose
page width is 1728 pixels and page length is 297 mm (a standard A4 page
at low resolution). Horizontal resolution is always 204 dpi. Command
line options may be used to select alternate vertical resolution and
page dimensions.
If no filename is given, pdf2fax writes its output to a file named
pdf.fax; the -o option can be used to specify an alternate filename.
By default, output is compressed using the standard Group 3 1D-encoding
scheme, with EOL codes padded to byte boundaries. If the -2 option is
specified, output is encoded with the optional Group 3 2D-encoding
scheme (EOL codes are still padded to byte boundaries).
This script can modify outgoing facsimile, such as watermarking, To do
this create a shell script etc/FaxModify in the spooling area that
alters the document.
Note that bin/pdf2fax is usually just a link to a shell script that
invokes the appropriate PDF RIP to do the work.
OPTIONS
The following operations are recognized:
-1 Write Group 3 1D-encoded data to the output file.
-2 Write Group 3 2D-encoded data to the output file.
-3 Write Group 4 MMR-encoded data to the output file.
-m pages Set the maximum number of pages that are permitted in the
output file. If more pages are present in the input document
then abort processing.
-o file Write output to the specified file instead of the default
pdf.fax filename.
-w width Set the output page width, in pixels. By default, pages are
1728 pixels wide.
-l length Set the output page length in millimeters. By default, pages
are 297 millimeters long.
-r vres Set the vertical resolution, in lines/inch, at which to image
the PDF.
RUNTIME ENVIRONMENT
Before user-supplied PDF is passed to the PDF interpreter, a limited
number of operators are defined. These operators are operators
commonly found in a LaserWriter printer and (sometimes) generated by
Macintosh-based applications.
The default Display PDF-based execution environment includes support
for the following fonts:
AvantGarde-Book Helvetica-Bold Palatino-BoldItalic
AvantGarde-BookOblique Helvetica-BoldOblique Palatino-Italic
AvantGarde-Demi Helvetica-Narrow Palatino-Roman
AvantGarde-DemiOblique Helvetica-Narrow-Bold StoneSerif
Bookman-Demi Helvetica-Narrow-BoldOblique Symbol
Bookman-DemiItalic Helvetica-Narrow-Oblique Tekton
Bookman-Light Helvetica-Oblique Times-Bold
Bookman-LightItalic Lithos-Bold Times-BoldItalic
Courier NewCenturySchlbk-Bold Times-Italic
Courier-Bold NewCenturySchlbk-BoldItalic Times-Roman
Courier-BoldOblique NewCenturySchlbk-Italic ZapfChancery-MediumItalic
Courier-Oblique NewCenturySchlbk-Roman ZapfDingbats
Helvetica Palatino-Bold
Note that this is the same set of fonts supported by the DPS extension
to the X server.
The default Ghostscript-based environment is more uncertain; consult
the Ghostscript documentation for information on what fonts are
available.
BUGS
Output from the Display PDF version of this command is encoded
according to the Display PDF binary encoding protocol.
Ghostscript-based versions of this program fail to exit with non-zero
status when an invalid PDF document is processed; this makes it
problematic for the HylaFAX queue manager to determine when a problem
arises when preparing a job for transmission.
SEE ALSO
sendfax(1), faxq(8), hylafax-server(5)
March 08, 2001