gs man page on DigitalUNIX

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GS(1)				  Ghostscript				 GS(1)

NAME
       gs  -  Ghostscript  (PostScript	and  PDF language interpreter and pre‐
       viewer)

SYNOPSIS
       gs [ options ] [ files ] ... (Unix, VMS)
       gswin32 [ options ] [ files ] ... (MS Windows)
       gswin32c [ options ] [ files ] ... (MS Windows)
       gs386 [ options ] [ files ] ... (DOS for PC)
       gsos2 [ options ] [ files ] ... (OS/2)

DESCRIPTION
       The gs (gswin32, gswin32c, gs386, gsos2) command	 invokes  Ghostscript,
       an  interpreter	of Adobe Systems' PostScript(tm) and Portable Document
       Format (PDF) languages.	gs reads "files" in sequence and executes them
       as Ghostscript programs.	 After doing this, it reads further input from
       the standard input stream (normally the	keyboard),  interpreting  each
       line  separately.   The interpreter quits gracefully when it encounters
       the "quit" command (either in a file or from the keyboard), at  end-of-
       file, or at an interrupt signal (such as Control-C at the keyboard).

       The  interpreter recognizes several switches described below, which may
       appear anywhere in the command line and apply to all files  thereafter.
       Invoking	 Ghostscript with the -h or -? switch produces a message which
       shows several useful switches, all  the	devices	 known	to  that  exe‐
       cutable, and the search path for fonts; on Unix it also shows the loca‐
       tion of detailed documentation.

       Ghostscript may be built able to use many different output devices.  To
       see  which  devices  your  executable can use, run "gs -h".  Unless you
       specify a particular device, Ghostscript normally opens the  first  one
       of  those  and directs output to it, so if the first one in the list is
       the one you want to use, just issue the command

	    gs myfile.ps

       You can also check the set of  available	 devices  from	within	Ghost‐
       script: invoke Ghostscript and type

	    devicenames ==

       but  the	 first	device	on  the	 resulting list may not be the default
       device you determine with "gs -h".  To specify "AbcXyz" as the  initial
       output device, include the switch

	    -sDEVICE=AbcXyz

       For example, for output to an Epson printer you might use the command

	    gs -sDEVICE=epson myfile.ps

       The  "-sDEVICE="	 switch	 must  precede	the first mention of a file to
       print, and only the switch's first use has any effect.	Alternatively,
       in Ghostscript you can type

	    (epson) selectdevice
	    (myfile.ps) run

       All  output  then  goes	to the printer until you select another device
       with the "selectdevice" procedure in the PostScript program stream, for
       example

	    (vga) selectdevice
       or
	    (x11) selectdevice

       Finally,	 you  can specify a default device in the environment variable
       GS_DEVICE.  The order of precedence for these alternatives from highest
       to lowest (Ghostscript uses the device defined highest in the list) is:

	    selectdevice
	    (command line)
	    GS_DEVICE
	    (first device in build list)

       Some printers can print at different resolutions (densities).  To spec‐
       ify the resolution on such a printer, use the "-r" switch:

	    gs -sDEVICE=<device> -r<xres>x<yres>

       For example, on a 9-pin Epson-compatible printer, you get  the  lowest-
       density (fastest) mode with

	    gs -sDEVICE=epson -r60x72

       and the highest-density (best output quality) mode with

	    gs -sDEVICE=epson -r240x72.

       If  you	select a printer as the output device, Ghostscript also allows
       you to choose where Ghostscript sends the output --  on	Unix  systems,
       usually	to  a temporary file.  To send the output to a file "foo.xyz",
       use the switch

	    -sOutputFile=foo.xyz

       You might want to print each page separately.  To  do  this,  send  the
       output to a series of files "foo1.xyz, foo2.xyz, ..." using the "-sOut‐
       putFile=" switch with "%d" in a filename template:

	    -sOutputFile=foo%d.xyz

       Each resulting file receives one page of output, and the files are num‐
       bered in sequence.  "%d" is a printf format specification; you can also
       use a variant like "%02d".

       On Unix systems you can also send output to a pipe.   For  example,  to
       pipe  output to the "lpr" command (which, on many Unix systems, directs
       it to a printer), use the switch

	    -sOutputFile=\|lpr

       You can also send output to standard output for piping with the switch

	    -sOutputFile=-

       In this case you must also use the -q switch,  to  prevent  Ghostscript
       from writing messages to standard output.

       To select a specific paper size, use the command line switch

	    -sPAPERSIZE=a_known_paper_size

       for instance

	    -sPAPERSIZE=a4
       or
	    -sPAPERSIZE=legal

       At this time, the known paper sizes, defined in the initialization file
       "gs_statd.ps", are:

       PAPERSIZE    X inches   Y inches	  X cm	    Y cm
       ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
       a0	    33.0556    46.7778	  83.9611   118.816
       a1	    23.3889    33.0556	  59.4078   83.9611
       a2	    16.5278    23.3889	  41.9806   59.4078
       a3	    11.6944    16.5278	  29.7039   41.9806
       a4	    8.26389    11.6944	  20.9903   29.7039
       a5	    5.84722    8.26389	  14.8519   20.9903
       a6	    4.125      5.84722	  10.4775   14.8519
       a7	    2.91667    4.125	  7.40833   10.4775
       a8	    2.05556    2.91667	  5.22111   7.40833
       a9	    1.45833    2.05556	  3.70417   5.22111
       a10	    1.02778    1.45833	  2.61056   3.70417
       b0	    39.3889    55.6667	  100.048   141.393
       b1	    27.8333    39.3889	  70.6967   100.048
       b2	    19.6944    27.8333	  50.0239   70.6967
       b3	    13.9167    19.6944	  35.3483   50.0239
       b4	    9.84722    13.9167	  25.0119   35.3483
       b5	    6.95833    9.84722	  17.6742   25.0119
       archA	    9	       12	  22.86	    30.48
       archB	    12	       18	  30.48	    45.72
       archC	    18	       24	  45.72	    60.96
       archD	    24	       36	  60.96	    91.44
       archE	    36	       48	  91.44	    121.92
       flsa	    8.5	       13	  21.59	    33.02
       flse	    8.5	       13	  21.59	    33.02
       halfletter   5.5	       8.5	  13.97	    21.59
       note	    7.5	       10	  19.05	    25.4
       letter	    8.5	       11	  21.59	    27.94
       legal	    8.5	       14	  21.59	    35.56
       11x17	    11	       17	  27.94	    43.18
       ledger	    17	       11	  43.18	    27.94

       Note that the B paper sizes are ISO sizes: for information about	 using
       JIS B sizes, see Use.htm.

       Ghostscript  can do many things other than print or view PostScript and
       PDF files.  For example, if you want to know  the  bounding  box	 of  a
       PostScript  (or EPS) file, Ghostscript provides a special "device" that
       just prints out this information:

		 gs -sDEVICE=bbox myfile.ps

       For example, using one of the example  files  distributed  with	Ghost‐
       script,

		 gs -sDEVICE=bbox golfer.ps

       prints out

		 %%BoundingBox: 0 25 583 732
		 %%HiResBoundingBox: 0.808497 25.009496 582.994503 731.809445

INITIALIZATION FILES
       When  looking for the initialization files "gs_*.ps", the files related
       to fonts, or the file for the "run" operator, Ghostscript  first	 tries
       to  open	 the  file  with  the name as given, using the current working
       directory if no directory is specified.	If this fails,	and  the  file
       name  doesn't  specify  an  explicit  directory or drive (for instance,
       doesn't contain "/" on Unix systems or "\" on DOS systems), Ghostscript
       tries directories in this order:

       1.  the	directories  specified	by the -I switches in the command line
	   (see below), if any;

       2.  the directories specified by the GS_LIB  environment	 variable,  if
	   any;

       3.  the directories specified by the GS_LIB_DEFAULT macro in the Ghost‐
	   script makefile when the executable was built.  When gs is built on
	   Unix,    GS_LIB_DEFAULT    is    usually   "/usr/local/share/ghost‐
	   script/#.##:/usr/local/share/ghostscript/fonts" where "#.##" repre‐
	   sents the Ghostscript version number.

       Each  of these (GS_LIB_DEFAULT, GS_LIB, and -I parameter) may be either
       a single directory or a list of directories separated by ":".

X RESOURCES
       Ghostscript looks for the following resources under  the	 program  name
       "Ghostscript":

       borderWidth
	      The border width in pixels (default = 1).

       borderColor
	      The name of the border color (default = black).

       geometry
	      The window size and placement, WxH+X+Y (default is NULL).

       xResolution
	      The  number  of  x  pixels  per  inch  (default is computed from
	      WidthOfScreen and WidthMMOfScreen).

       yResolution
	      The number of y  pixels  per  inch  (default  is	computed  from
	      HeightOfScreen and HeightMMOfScreen).

       useBackingPixmap
	      Determines  whether  backing store is to be used for saving dis‐
	      play window (default = true).

       See the usage document for a more complete list of resources.   To  set
       these  resources on Unix, put them in a file such as "~/.Xresources" in
       the following form:

		 Ghostscript*geometry:	612x792-0+0
		 Ghostscript*xResolution: 72
		 Ghostscript*yResolution: 72

       Then merge these resources into the X server's resource database:

		 % xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources

SWITCHES
       -- filename arg1 ...
	      Takes the next argument as a file name as usual, but  takes  all
	      remaining	 arguments  (even  if  they have the syntactic form of
	      switches) and defines the name "ARGUMENTS"  in  "userdict"  (not
	      "systemdict")  as	 an array of those strings, before running the
	      file.  When Ghostscript finishes executing the  file,  it	 exits
	      back to the shell.

       -Dname=token
       -dname=token
	      Define  a	 name  in "systemdict" with the given definition.  The
	      token must be exactly one token (as defined by the "token" oper‐
	      ator) and may contain no whitespace.

       -Dname
       -dname Define a name in "systemdict" with value=null.

       -Sname=string
       -sname=string
	      Define  a	 name  in  "systemdict"	 with a given string as value.
	      This is different from -d.  For example, -dname=35 is equivalent
	      to the program fragment
			/name 35 def
	      whereas -sname=35 is equivalent to
			/name (35) def

       -q     Quiet startup: suppress normal startup messages, and also do the
	      equivalent of -dQUIET.

       -gnumber1xnumber2
	      Equivalent to -dDEVICEWIDTH=number1 and  -dDEVICEHEIGHT=number2.
	      This  is	for  the benefit of devices (such as X11 windows) that
	      require (or allow) width and height to be specified.

       -rnumber
       -rnumber1xnumber2
	      Equivalent to -dDEVICEXRESOLUTION=number1	 and  -dDEVICEYRESOLU‐
	      TION=number2.  This is for the benefit of devices such as print‐
	      ers that support multiple X and Y resolutions.  If only one num‐
	      ber is given, it is used for both X and Y resolutions.

       -Idirectories
	      Adds  the	 designated  list  of  directories  at the head of the
	      search path for library files.

       -      This is not really a switch, but indicates to  Ghostscript  that
	      standard	input is coming from a file or a pipe and not interac‐
	      tively from the command line.  Ghostscript reads	from  standard
	      input  until it reaches end-of-file, executing it like any other
	      file, and then continues with processing the command line.  When
	      the  command line has been entirely processed, Ghostscript exits
	      rather than going into its interactive mode.

       Note that the normal initialization file	 "gs_init.ps"  makes  "system‐
       dict"  read-only, so the values of names defined with -D, -d, -S, or -s
       cannot be changed (although, of course, they can be superseded by defi‐
       nitions in "userdict" or other dictionaries.)

SPECIAL NAMES
       -dDISKFONTS
	      Causes  individual character outlines to be loaded from the disk
	      the first time  they  are	 encountered.	(Normally  Ghostscript
	      loads  all  the  character outlines when it loads a font.)  This
	      may allow loading more fonts into RAM, at the expense of	slower
	      rendering.

       -dNOCACHE
	      Disables character caching.  Useful only for debugging.

       -dNOBIND
	      Disables the "bind" operator.  Useful only for debugging.

       -dNODISPLAY
	      Suppresses the normal initialization of the output device.  This
	      may be useful when debugging.

       -dNOPAUSE
	      Disables the prompt and pause at the end of each page.  This may
	      be  desirable  for applications where another program is driving
	      Ghostscript.

       -dNOPLATFONTS
	      Disables the use of fonts supplied by  the  underlying  platform
	      (for  instance  X	 Windows).  This may be needed if the platform
	      fonts look undesirably different from the scalable fonts.

       -dSAFER
	      Disables the "deletefile" and  "renamefile"  operators  and  the
	      ability  to  open	 files in any mode other than read-only.  This
	      may be desirable for spoolers or	other  sensitive  environments
	      where  a	badly  written or malicious PostScript program must be
	      prevented from changing important files.

       -dWRITESYSTEMDICT
	      Leaves "systemdict" writable.  This is  necessary	 when  running
	      special utility programs such as font2c and pcharstr, which must
	      bypass normal PostScript access protection.

       -sDEVICE=device
	      Selects an alternate initial output device, as described above.

       -sOutputFile=filename
	      Selects an alternate output file (or pipe) for the initial  out‐
	      put device, as described above.

FILES
       The  locations of many Ghostscript run-time files are compiled into the
       executable when it is built.  On Unix  these  are  typically  based  in
       /usr/local,  but	 this may be different on your system.	Under DOS they
       are typically based in C:\GS, but may be elsewhere, especially  if  you
       install	Ghostscript  with GSview.  Run "gs -h" to find the location of
       Ghostscript documentation on your system, from which you can  get  more
       details.

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/*
	      Startup files, utilities, and basic font definitions

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/fonts/*
	      More font definitions

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/examples/*
	      Ghostscript demonstration files

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/doc/*
	      Diverse document files

ENVIRONMENT
       GS_OPTIONS
	      String  of  options  to  be  processed  before  the command line
	      options

       GS_DEVICE
	      Used to specify an output device

       GS_FONTPATH
	      Path names used to search for fonts

       GS_LIB Path names for initialization files and fonts

       TEMP   Where temporary files are made

SEE ALSO
       The various Ghostscript document files (above), especially Use.htm.

BUGS
       See the Usenet news group comp.lang.postscript.

VERSION
       This document was last revised for Ghostscript version 6.50.

AUTHOR
       L. Peter Deutsch <ghost@aladdin.com> is the principal author of	Ghost‐
       script.	Russell J. Lang <rjl@aladdin.com> is the author of most of the
       MS Windows code in Ghostscript.

6.50				2 December 2000				 GS(1)
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