NAME

psdit − convert ditroff intermediate format to POSTSCRIPT format

SYNOPSIS

psdit [ −Ffontdir ] [ −pprologue ] [ −olist ] [ file ]

DESCRIPTION

psdit translates a file created by device-independent [di]troff(1) to  format for printing on a  printer. If no file is mentioned, the standard input is used.  The  file is sent to the standard output.  The options are:

−F fontdir
take font information from fontdir instead of the default (see below). 

−p prologue
use the contents of prologue instead of the default  prologue (see below). 

−o list
prints pages whose numbers are given in the comma-separated list. The list contains single numbers N and ranges N1−N2.  A missing N1 means the lowest-numbered page, a missing N2 means the highest. 

Note: the input for psdit should be prepared with the corresponding −Tpsc option of [di]troff, pic, etc.
eqn should be run with the flags −r576 and −m2 to produce suitable output. 
pic should be run with the −D flag.  With DWB pic, use −T576 to set the correct resolution. 

psdit allows for users to cause troff to include arbitrary  code in the generated  file.  psdit recognizes the heretofore undefined “%” command in the ditroff intermediate file format to signal the start of raw to be placed as is in the the output file.  Everthing between (but not including) the percent sign and a line containing a single period (“.”) will be placed in the generated  output.  This  is not insulated from the ditroff coordinate system or the state of the generated . However, two functions are defined in the prologue so that user’s may insulate themselves if they so desire.  The PB function (for picture begin) will perform a save operation, translate the  coordinate system to ditroff’s idea of the current position on the page, and change the scale and orienation of the coordinate system axes to be the standard  72 units per inch.  The PE macro (for picture end) will end this protected environment. 

Several methods may be employed to incorporated such included into the ditroff intermediate file.  The “.cf” “.sy” and “\!” troff commands may be useful.  For example, the following sequence may appear in troff input:

(usual troff input)
\!%PB
.cf mypic.ps
\!PE
\!.
(more regular troff input)

to include mypic.ps as an illustration.  This facility is both powerful and useful, but indiscriminate inclusion of badly-behaving  code may be dangerous to your document’s health. 

ENVIRONMENT

PSLIBDIR
path name of a directory to use instead of /usr/lib/ps for psdit prologue.

FILES

/usr/lib/font/devpsc/* ditroff default description files for  virtual device. 

/usr/lib/ps/psdit.pro default  prologue. 

SEE ALSO

psroff(1). 
4.2bsd: ditroff(1), lpr(1).
System V: troff(1), lp(1).
A Typesetter-independent TROFF Brian W. Kernighan, Bell Laboratories 1982
Documenter’s Workbench

AUTHOR

Adobe Systems Incorporated

BUGS

The versions of eqn and pic distributed with ditroff (from AT&T) have the device names compiled in (so much for device independence!).  They should just read the device description file for the information they need.  You must be careful to know which version of eqn you are running or you will get undesirable results. 
The B-splines generated by ditroff are drawn with an approximation.  The functions D~ and D~~ in the prologue need a little work. 

NOTES

is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. 
Documenter’s Workbench is a trademark of AT&T Technologies.

Version 2.5r1  —  December 06, 1986