dpost(1)
dpost --
troff postprocessor for PostScript printers
Synopsis
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/dpost [options] [files]
Description
dpost translates
files
created by
troff(1bsd)
into PostScript and writes the results on the
standard output.
If no
files
are specified, or if - is one of the input
files,
the standard input is read.
The following
options
are understood:
-c num-
Print
num
copies of each page.
By default only one copy is printed.
-e num-
Sets the text encoding level to num.
The recognized choices are 0, 1, and 2.
The size of the output file and print time should
decrease as
num
increases.
Level 2 encoding will typically be about 20 percent faster than
level 0, which is the default and produces output essentially
identical to previous versions of
dpost.
-m num-
Magnify each logical page by the factor
num.
Pages are scaled uniformly about the origin,
which is located near the upper left corner of
each page.
The default magnification is 1.0.
-n num-
Print
num
logical pages on each piece of paper,
where
num
can be any positive integer.
By default,
num
is set to 1.
-o list-
Print those pages for which 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.
-p mode-
Print
files
in either portrait or landscape
mode.
Only the first character of
mode
is significant.
The default
mode
is portrait.
-w num-
Set the line width used to implement
troff
graphics commands to
num
points, where a point is approximately 1/72
of an inch.
By default,
num
is set to 0.3 points.
-x num-
Translate the origin
num
inches along the positive x axis.
The default
coordinate system has the origin fixed near the
upper left corner of the page, with positive
x to the right and positive y down the page.
Positive
num
moves everything right.
The default offset is 0 inches.
-y num-
Translate the origin
num
inches along the positive y axis.
Positive
num
moves text up the page.
The default offset is 0.
-F d ir-
Use
dir
as the font directory.
The default
dir
is /usr/lib/font, and
dpost
reads binary font files from directory
/usr/lib/font/devpost.
-H dir-
Use
dir
as the host resident font directory.
Files in this directory should be complete PostScript font descriptions,
and must be assigned a name that corresponds to the appropriate
two-character
troff
font name.
Each font file is copied to the output
file only when needed
and at most once during each job.
There is no default directory.
-L file-
Use
file
as the PostScript prologue
which, by default, is /usr/lib/postscript/dpost.ps.
-O-
Disables PostScript picture inclusion.
A recommended option when
dpost
is run by a spooler in a networked environment.
-T name-
Use font files for device
name
as the best description of available PostScript fonts.
By default,
name
is set to ``post'' and dpost
reads binary files from /usr/lib/font/devpost.
The
files
should be prepared by troff.
The default font files in /usr/lib/font/devpost produce the
best and most efficient output.
They assume a resolution of 720 dpi, and can be used
to format files by adding the
-Tpost
option to the troff call.
Older versions of the
eqn and pic
preprocessors need to know the resolution that
troff will be using to format the
files.
If those are the versions installed on your system,
use the -r720 option with eqn
and -T720 with pic.
dpost makes no assumptions about resolutions.
The first
x res
command sets the resolution used
to translate the input
files,
the DESC.out file,
usually /usr/lib/font/devpost/DESC.out,
defines the resolution used in the binary font files,
and the PostScript prologue is responsible for setting up
an appropriate user coordinate system.
Files
/usr/lib/font/devpost/*.out
/usr/lib/font/devpost/charlib/*
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/dpost.ps
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/color.ps
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/draw.ps
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/forms.ps
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/ps.requests
/usr/lib/macros/pictures
/usr/lib/macros/color
Diagnostics
An exit status of 0 is returned if
files
have been translated successfully,
while 2 often indicates a syntax error in the input
files.
References
download(1),
postdaisy(1),
postdmd(1),
postio(1),
postmd(1),
postprint(1),
postreverse(1),
posttek(1),
troff(1bsd)
Notices
Output files
often do not conform to Adobe's file structuring conventions.
Piping the output of dpost
through postreverse
should produce a minimally conforming PostScript file.
Although dpost
can handle files formatted for any device,
emulation is expensive and
can easily double the print time and the size of the output file.
No attempt has been made to implement the character sets
or fonts available on all devices supported by
troff.
Missing characters will be replaced by white space,
and unrecognized fonts will usually default to one
of the Times fonts (that is, R, I, B, or BI).
An
x res command
must precede the first x init command,
and all the input
files
should have been prepared for the same output device.
Use of the -T option is not encouraged.
Its only purpose is to enable the use of other
PostScript font and device description files, that perhaps use
different resolutions, character sets, or fonts.
Although level 0 encoding is the only scheme that has been thoroughly
tested, level 2 is fast and may be worth a try.
Examples
If the old versions of eqn and pic
are installed on your system,
you can obtain the best possible looking output
by issuing a command line such as the following:
pic -T720 file | tbl | eqn -r720 | troff -mm -Tpost | dpost
Otherwise,
pic file | tbl | eqn | troff -mm -Tpost | dpost
should give the best results.
© 2004 The SCO Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
UnixWare 7 Release 7.1.4 - 25 April 2004