MKFONTDIR(1)        UNIX Programmer's Manual         MKFONTDIR(1)



NAME
     mkfontdir - create fonts.dir file from directory of font
     files

SYNOPSIS
     mkfontdir [directory-names]

DESCRIPTION
     For each directory argument, mkfontdir reads all of the bit-
     mapped font files in the directory, searching for properties
     named "FONT", or (failing that) the name of the file
     stripped of its suffix.  These are used as font names, which
     are written out to the file fonts.dir in the directory along
     with the name of the font file.  The fonts.dir file is then
     used by the X server and the Font server to determine what
     fonts are available.

     The kinds of font files read by mkfontdir depends on confi-
     guration parameters, but typically include PCF (suffix
     .pcf), SNF (suffix .snf) and BDF (suffix .bdf).  If a font
     exists in multiple formats, mkfontdir will first choose PCF,
     then SNF and finally BDF.

SCALABLE FONTS
     Mkfontdir does not automatically recognize font files con-
     taining scalable fonts.  The stmkdirs(1) utility can be used
     in place of mkfontdir to generate fonts.dir files that
     include entries for Intellifont and Type 1 scalable fonts in
     addition to entries for bitmapped fonts.

     Mkfontdir offers another mechanism for ``recognizing'' scal-
     able fonts:  a fonts.scale file can be constructed (the for-
     mat is identical to that in fonts.dir) containing entries
     for scalable fonts.  Whenever mkfontdir is run on a direc-
     tory, it copies entries from fonts.scale in that directory
     into the fonts.dir it constructs in that directory.  This is
     a useful mechanism for creating fonts.dir entries for types
     of scalable fonts that are not recognized by stmkdirs.

FONT NAME ALIASES
     The file fonts.alias which can be put in any directory of
     the font-path is used to map new names to existing fonts,
     and should be edited by hand.  The format is simply two
     columns separated by white-space, the first column contain-
     ing aliases and the second containing font-name patterns.

     When a font alias is used, the name it references is
     searched for in the normal manner, looking through each font
     directory in turn.  This means that the aliases need not
     mention fonts in the same directory as the alias file.





HP-UX 9.0 August 1992       Release 5                           1

MKFONTDIR(1)        UNIX Programmer's Manual         MKFONTDIR(1)



     To embed white-space in either name, simply enclose them in
     double-quote marks, to embed double-quote marks (or any
     other character), precede them with back-slash:

     "magic-alias with spaces"     "\"font\name\" with quotes"
     regular-alias            fixed

     If the string "FILE_NAMES_ALIASES" stands alone on a line,
     each file-name in the directory (stripped of its suffix)
     will be used as an alias for that font.

USAGE
     Both the X server and the Font Server look for fonts.dir and
     fonts.alias files in each directory in the font path each
     time it is set (see xset(1)).

SEE ALSO
     X(1), Xserver(1), fs(1), xset(1), stmkdirs(1)





































HP-UX 9.0 August 1992       Release 5                           2