Contents of Typing at 's `**' prompt

Typing at 's ``**`' prompt

If you type the name of the program alone on the command line:

mf

then mf displays a `**' prompt, which `is 's way of asking you for an input file name'. (See The ${\mfsl META}$ ${\mfsl FONT\/}$ book, Chapter 5: `Running '.) Thus, to process a file named fred.mf, you may type:

    fred

A backslash (`\') can also be typed here. This causes all subsequent commands at the prompt line to be interpreted as in a file. (Concerning the backslash, see The ${\mfsl META}$ ${\mfsl FONT\/}$ book, Chapter 20: `More About Macros', pages 179 and 180 in the 1986 edition.) Thus we can respond to the ** prompt with:

    \ input fred

or even:

    \ ; input fred

The backslash is useful because certain commands are often executed before a file is input. In particular, quality printing (see subsection $[*]$ below) requires the command mode, and output magnification (subsection $[*]$ ) employs the mag command. For example:

    \mode=localfont; mag=magstep(1); input fred

To read MS-DOS pathnames at the ** prompt, this satisfies :

    \input \seldom\fred.mf

as does:

    d:\seldom\fred.mf