mkfontdir(1) mkfontdir(1)
NAME
mkfontdir - create fonts.dir file from directory of font files
SYNOPSIS
mkfontdir [directory-names]
DESCRIPTION
The mkfontdir command searches for properties named ``FONT'',
or the name of the file stripped of its suffix, in all font
files in all directory-names, and writes them to the fonts.dir
file in the directory along with the name of the font file.
The kinds of fonts files read by mkfontdir depends on
configuration parameters, but typically includes PCF (.pcf)
files, SNF (.snf) files, and BDF (.bdf) files. If a font
exists in several formats, mkfontdir will choose to use them
in the above order (PCF first). mkfontdir can also read
compressed versions of these 3 font file types (i.e., pcf.Z,
snf.Z, and bdf.Z files).
Scalable Outline Fonts
If the specified directory contains PostScript Type 1 outline
fonts or Speedo outline (scalable) fonts, the mkfontdir
command simply copies the fonts.scale file to the fonts.dir
file. The fonts.scale file is created by the mkfontscale
command for Type 1 fonts; for Speedo scalable fonts the
fonts.scale file needs to be created manually. (The Speedo
renderer of X11R5 is available in the Graphics Supplemental
Fonts package, dtxtfonts, of UnixWare, although no Speedo
fonts are shipped with it.)
Font Name Aliases
A fonts.alias file is used to map new names to existing fonts.
When a font alias is used, the name it references is searched
for in the normal manner, so that aliases need not mention
fonts in the alias file's directory. One fonts.alias file may
exist per font directory, and may exist without the directory
having any fonts in it. Font alias files are usually edited
by hand to meet local needs.
Each line of a fonts.alias file lists an alias and font-name
patterns. To embed white space in either name, simply enclose
it in double-quote marks; to embed double-quote marks, precede
them with a back-slash:
Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc. Page 1
mkfontdir(1) mkfontdir(1)
"special-alias with spaces" "\"font name\" with quotes and blanks"
fixed -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-80-iso8859-1
A line with only the string FILE_NAMES_ALIASES causes all
file-names in the directory to be stripped of the .snf suffix
and used as an alias for that font.
Changes in font alias files are made known to the X server
with the xset(1) command, which must also be run to make
changes in fonts.dir files known.
USAGE
The UnixWare X Server looks for both fonts.dir and fonts.alias
in each directory in the font path each time it is set with
xset(1). A fonts.dir file must contain at least a 0,
indicating no fonts in the directory, for the directory to be
usable in the font path; this might be desired if the only
purpose of the directory is to add a fonts alias file to the
font path.
Warning
If a font directory contains an empty PCF file, mkfontdir will
issue the erroneous error message failed to create directory
in directory.
REFERENCES
mkfontscale(1), X(1), xlsfonts(1), xset(1)
NOTICES
Portions of this page are derived from material which is
copyright Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc. Page 2