MKFONTDIR(1)                X Version 11(Release 5)                MKFONTDIR(1)


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

SYNOPSIS
      mkfontdir [directory-names]

DESCRIPTION
      Mkfontdir For each directory argument, mkfontdir reads all of the 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 kinds of font files read by mkfontdir depends on configuration
      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
      Because scalable font files do not usually include the X font name, the
      fonts.dir file in directories containing such fonts must be edited by
      hand to include the appropriate entries for those fonts.  However, when
      mkfontdir is run, all of those additions will be lost, so be careful.

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 straight forward enough, two white-space separated columns,
      the first containing aliases and the second containing font-name
      patterns.

      When a font alias is used, the name it references is search 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.

      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 it's 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)).



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MKFONTDIR(1)                X Version 11(Release 5)                MKFONTDIR(1)


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




















































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