Contents of Converting between gf- and pk-formats

Converting between `gf`- and `pk`-formats

${\manual META}$ ${\manual FONT}$ (and TEX) is a highly portable programming system available for a wide variety of computing machines from small systems like the Amiga to ``number crunching monsters.'' Also its binary output is intended to be independent of a special hardware configuration. As in the example run listed in section

, ${\manual META}$ ${\manual FONT}$ normally produces threefold output files.

Typesetting systems like TEX don't know where to put the `ink,' they only want information about the respective sizes of the characters and their positions in a font. These informations are written into the `tfm' file (cmr10.tfm in the example run) and contain the ``(TEX) font metric'' information.

Printer drivers or screen previewers that read ``device independent files'' produced by TEX or other programs need the actual information about the shapes of the characters they want to display. ${\manual META}$ ${\manual FONT}$ writes the pixel information about every character in a font of type in the socalled ``generic font format'', i.e., it writes a `gf' file (cmr10.144gf in the example run). The file extension denotes the specific resolution of the produced font in ``dots per inch,'' so you can distinguish between previewer fonts and printer fonts. The ``generic font'' format is very convenient at this place, and even some device driver programs can handle them directly.

More often your TEX system will deal with something called the `pk' representation of the pixel information. `pk' files contain the same information as their `gf' counterparts, but in a highly compressed format, so that `pk' files are much smaller. The conversion between the two pixel information formats is done by means of two programs, ${\mc GF}$ to ${\mc PK}$ and ${\mc PK}$ to ${\mc GF}$ . You call these programs in the following way

   > GFtoPK [-v] gffile [pkfile]
   > PKtoGF [-v] pkfile [gffile]

The `-v' option tells the programs to be a little more `verbose', else you won't see any screen output. The first argument denotes the input file (don't leave the extension out) in the respective format. The optional second argument denotes the output file in the alternative format. If you don't give this second argument, the extension of the input file will be transformed in a standard way to the extension of the output file. The command line

   > GFtoPK cmr10.144gf

will transform cmr10.144gf to cmr10.144pk. You may specify a full path name for the second argument and the output file will be created where you want it.