MKFONTDIR(1)MKFONTDIR(1)NAME
mkfontdir, fonts.dir, fonts.scale, fonts.alias, encod-
ings.dir - create an index of X font files in a directory
SYNOPSISmkfontdir [-x suffix] [-r] [-p prefix] [-e encoding-direc-
tory-name] ... [--] [directory-name ... ]
DESCRIPTION
For each directory argument, mkfontdir reads all of the
font files in the directory searching for properties named
"FONT", or (failing that) the name of the file stripped of
its suffix. These are converted to lower case and used as
font names, and, along with the name of the font file, are
written out to the file "fonts.dir" in the directory. The
X server and font server use "fonts.dir" to find font
files.
The kinds of font files read by mkfontdir depend on con-
figuration parameters, but typically include PCF (suffix
".pcf"), SNF (suffix ".snf") and BDF (suffix ".bdf"). If
a font exists in multiple formats, mkfontdir will first
choose PCF, then SNF and finally BDF.
The first line of fonts.dir gives the number of fonts in
the file. The remaining lines list the fonts themselves,
one per line, in two fields. First is the name of the
font file, followed by a space and the name of the font.
SCALABLE FONTS
Because scalable font files do not usually include the X
font name, the file "fonts.scale" can be used to name the
scalable fonts in the directory. The fonts listed in it
are copied to fonts.dir by mkfontdir. "fonts.scale" has
the same format as the "fonts.dir" file.
FONT NAME ALIASES
The file "fonts.alias", which can be put in any directory
of the font-path, is used to map new names to existing
fonts, and should be edited by hand. The format is two
white-space separated columns, the first containing
aliases and the second containing font-name patterns.
Lines beginning with "!" are comment lines and are
ignored.
If neither the alias nor the value specifies the size
fields of the font name, this is a scalable alias. A font
name of any size that matches this alias will be mapped to
the same size of the font that the alias resolves to.
When a font alias is used, the name it references is
searched for in the normal manner, looking through each
font directory in turn. This means that the aliases need
not mention fonts in the same directory as the alias file.
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MKFONTDIR(1)MKFONTDIR(1)
To embed white space in either name, simply enclose it in
double-quote marks; to embed double-quote marks (or any
other character), precede them with back-slash:
"magic-alias with spaces" "\"font name\" with quotes"
regular-alias fixed
If the string "FILE_NAMES_ALIASES" stands alone on a line,
each file-name in the directory (stripped of its suffix)
will be used as an alias for that font.
ENCODING FILES
The option -e can be used to specify a directory with
encoding files. Every such directory is scanned for
encoding files, the list of which is then written to an
"encodings.dir" file in every font directory. The "encod-
ings.dir" file is used by the server to find encoding
information.
The "encodings.dir" file has the same format as
"fonts.dir". It maps encoding names (strings of the form
CHARSET_REGISTRY-CHARSET_ENCODING ) to encoding file
names.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
-e Specify a directory containing encoding files. The
-e option may be specified multiple times, and all
the specified directories will be read. The order
of the entries is significant, as encodings found
in earlier directories override those in later
ones; encoding files in the same directory are dis-
criminated by preferring compressed versions.
-p Specify a prefix that is prepended to the encoding
file path names when they are written to the
"encodings.dir" file. The prefix is prepended as-
is. If a `/' is required between the prefix and
the path names, it must be supplied explicitly as
part of the prefix.
-r Keep non-absolute encoding directories in their
relative form when writing the "encodings.dir"
file. The default is to convert relative encoding
directories to absolute directories by prepending
the current directory. The positioning of this
options is significant, as this option only applies
to subsequent -e options.
-x suffix
Ignore fonts files of type suffix.
-- End options.
X Version 11 Release 6.4 2
MKFONTDIR(1)MKFONTDIR(1)FILES
fonts.dir List of fonts in the directory and the
files they are stored in. Created by
mkfontdir. Read by the X server and font
server each time the font path is set (see
xset(1)).
fonts.scale List of scalable fonts in the directory.
Contents are copied to fonts.dir by mkfont-
dir.
fonts.alias List of font name aliases. Read by the X
server and font server each time the font
path is set (see xset(1)).
encodings.dir List of known encodings and the files they
are stored in. Created by mkfontdir. Read
by the X server and font server each time a
font with an unknown charset is opened.
SEE ALSOX(1), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)X Version 11 Release 6.4 3
