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mf(1)                       General Commands Manual                      mf(1)


NAME

       mf, inimf, mf-nowin - Metafont, a language for font and logo design


SYNOPSIS

       mf [options] [commands]


DESCRIPTION

       Metafont reads the program in the specified files and outputs font
       rasters (in gf format) and font metrics (in tfm format).  The Metafont
       language is described in The Metafontbook.

       Like TeX, Metafont is normally used with a large body of precompiled
       macros, and font generation in particular requires the support of
       several macro files.  This version of Metafont looks at its command
       line to see what name it was called under.  Both inimf and virmf are
       symlinks to the mf executable.  When called as inimf (or when the -ini
       option is given) it can be used to precompile macros into a .base file.
       When called as virmf it will use the plain base.  When called under any
       other name, Metafont will use that name as the name of the base to use.
       For example, when called as mf the mf base is used, which is identical
       to the plain base.  Other bases than plain are rarely used.

       The commands given on the command line to the Metafont program are
       passed to it as the first input line.  (But it is often easier to type
       extended arguments as the first input line, since UNIX shells tend to
       gobble up or misinterpret Metafont's favorite symbols, like semicolons,
       unless you quote them.)  As described in The Metafontbook, that first
       line should begin with a filename, a \controlsequence, or a &basename.

       The normal usage is to say

              mf  '\mode=<printengine>; [mag=magstep(n);]' input  font

       to start processing font.mf.  The single quotes are the best way of
       keeping the Unix shell from misinterpreting the semicolons and from
       removing the \ character, which is needed here to keep Metafont from
       thinking that you want to produce a font called mode.  (Or you can just
       say mf and give the other stuff on the next line, without quotes.)
       Other control sequences, such as batchmode (for silent operation) can
       also appear.  The name font will be the ``jobname'', and is used in
       forming output file names.  If Metafont doesn't get a file name in the
       first line, the jobname is mfput.  The default extension, .mf, can be
       overridden by specifying an extension explicitly.

       A log of error messages goes into the file jobname.log.  The output
       files are jobname.tfm and jobname.<number>gf, where <number> depends on
       the resolution and magnification of the font.  The mode in this example
       is shown generically as <printengine>, a symbolic term for which the
       name of an actual device or, most commonly, the name localfont (see
       below) must be substituted.  If the mode is not specified or is not
       valid for your site, Metafont will default to proof mode which produces
       large character images for use in font design and refinement.  Proof
       mode can be recognized by the suffix .2602gf after the jobname.
       Examples of proof mode output can be found in Computer Modern Typefaces
       (Volume E of Computers and Typesetting).  The system of magsteps is
       identical to the system used by TeX, with values generally in the range
       0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0.  A listing of gf numbers for 118-dpi,
       240-dpi and 300-dpi fonts is shown below.

           MAGSTEP        118 dpi   240 dpi   300 dpi
       mag=magstep(0)     118       240       300
       mag=magstep(0.5)   129       263       329
       mag=magstep(1)     142       288       360
       mag=magstep(2)     170       346       432
       mag=magstep(3)     204       415       518
       mag=magstep(4)     245       498       622
       mag=magstep(5)     294       597       746

       Magnification can also be specified not as a magstep but as an
       arbitrary value, such as 1.315, to create special character sizes.

       Before font production can begin, it is necessary to set up the
       appropriate base files.  The minimum set of components for font
       production for a given print-engine is the plain.mf macro file and the
       local mode_def file.  The macros in plain.mf can be studied in an
       appendix to the Metafontbook; they were developed by Donald E. Knuth,
       and this file should never be altered except when it is officially
       upgraded.  Each mode_def specification helps adapt fonts to a
       particular print-engine.  There is a regular discussion of mode_defs in
       TUGboat, the journal of the TeX Users Group.  The local ones in use on
       this computer should be in modes.mf.

       The e response to Metafont's error-recovery mode invokes the system
       default editor at the erroneous line of the source file.  There is an
       environment variable, MFEDIT, that overrides the default editor.  It
       should contain a string with "%s" indicating where the filename goes
       and "%d" indicating where the decimal linenumber (if any) goes.  For
       example, an MFEDIT string for the vi editor can be set with the csh
       command
              setenv MFEDIT "vi +%d %s"

       A convenient file in the library is null.mf, containing nothing.  When
       mf can't find the file it thinks you want to input, it keeps asking you
       for another file name; responding `null' gets you out of the loop if
       you don't want to input anything.


ONLINE GRAPHICS OUTPUT

       Metafont can use most modern displays, so you can see its output
       without printing.  Chapter 23 of The Metafontbook describes what you
       can do.  This implementation of Metafont uses environment variables to
       determine which display device you want to use.  First it looks for a
       variable MFTERM, and then for TERM.  If it can't find either, you get
       no online output.  Otherwise, the value of the variable determines the
       device to use: hp2627, sun (for old SunView), tek, uniterm (for an
       Atari ST Tek 4014 emulator), xterm (for either X10 or X11).  Some of
       these devices may not be supported in all Metafont executables; the
       choice is made at compilation time.

       On some systems, there are two Metafont binaries, mf and mf-nowin.  On
       those systems the mf binary supports graphics, while the mf-nowin
       binary does not.  The mf-nowin binary is used by scripts like mktexpk
       where graphics support is a nuisance rather than something helpful.


OPTIONS

       This version of Metafont understands the following command line
       options.

       -base base
              Use base as the name of the base to be used, instead of the name
              by which Metafont was called or a %& line.

       -cnf-line string
              Parse string as a texmf.cnf configuration line.  See the
              Kpathsea manual.

       -file-line-error
              Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is
              similar to the way many compilers format them.

       -no-file-line-error
              Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style.

       -file-line-error-style
              This is the old name of the -file-line-error option.

       -halt-on-error
              Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during
              processing.

       -help  Print help message and exit.

       -ini   Be inimf, for dumping bases; this is implicitly true if the
              program is called as inimf.

       -interaction mode
              Sets the interaction mode.  The mode can be one of batchmode,
              nonstopmode, scrollmode, and errorstopmode.  The meaning of
              these modes is the same as that of the corresponding commands.

       -jobname name
              Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name
              of the input file.

       -kpathsea-debug bitmask
              Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask.
              See the Kpathsea manual for details.

       -maketex fmt
              Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.

       -no-maketex fmt
              Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.

       -output-directory directory
              Write output files in directory instead of the current
              directory.  Look up input files in directory first, then along
              the normal search path.

       -parse-first-line
              If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it
              to look for a dump name or a -translate-file option.

       -no-parse-first-line
              Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file.

       -progname name
              Pretend to be program name.  This affects both the format used
              and the search paths.

       -recorder
              Enable the filename recorder.  This leaves a trace of the files
              opened for input and output in a file with extension .fls.

       -translate-file tcxname
              Use the tcxname translation table.

       -version
              Print version information and exit.


ENVIRONMENT

       See the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specifications'
       node) for the details of how the environment variables are use when
       searching.  The kpsewhich utility can be used to query the values of
       the variables.

       If the environment variable TEXMFOUTPUT is set, Metafont attempts to
       put its output files in it, if they cannot be put in the current
       directory.  Again, see tex(1).

       MFINPUTS
              Search path for input files.

       MFEDIT Command template for switching to editor.

       MFTERM Determines the online graphics display.  If MFTERM is not set,
              and DISPLAY is set, the Metafont window support for X is used.
              (DISPLAY must be set to a valid X server specification, as
              usual.)  If neither MFTERM nor DISPLAY is set, TERM is used to
              guess the window support to use.


FONT UTILITIES

       A number of utility programs are available.  The following is a partial
       list of available utilities and their purpose.  Consult your local
       Metafont guru for details.

       gftopk Takes a gf file and produces a more tightly packed pk font file.

       gftodvi
              Produces proof sheets for fonts.

       gftype Displays the contents of a gf file in mnemonics and/or images.

       pktype Mnemonically displays the contents of a pk file.

       mft    Formats a source file as shown in Computer Modern Typefaces.


FILES

       mf.pool
              Encoded text of Metafont's messages.

       *.base Predigested Metafont base files.

       $TEXMFMAIN/metafont/base/plain.mf
              The standard base.

       $TEXMFMAIN/metafont/misc/modes.mf
              The file of mode_defs for your site's various printers


NOTES

       This manual page is not meant to be exhaustive.  The complete
       documentation for this version of Metafont can be found in the info
       manual Web2C: A TeX implementation.


BUGS

       On January 4, 1986 the ``final'' bug in Metafont was discovered and
       removed.  If an error still lurks in the code, Donald E. Knuth promises
       to pay a finder's fee which doubles every year to the first person who
       finds it.  Happy hunting.


SUGGESTED READING

       Donald E. Knuth, The Metafontbook (Volume C of Computers and
       Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13445-4.
       Donald E. Knuth, Metafont: The Program (Volume D of Computers and
       Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13438-1.
       Donald E. Knuth, Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and
       Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13446-2.
       TUGboat (the journal of the TeX Users Group).


COMMENTS

       Warning: ``Type design can be hazardous to your other interests.  Once
       you get hooked, you will develop intense feelings about letterforms;
       the medium will intrude on the messages that you read.  And you will
       perpetually be thinking of improvements to the fonts that you see
       everywhere, especially those of your own design.''


SEE ALSO

       gftopk(1), gftodvi(1), gftype(1), mft(1), mpost(1), pltotf(1),
       tftopl(1).


AUTHORS

       Metafont was designed by Donald E. Knuth, who implemented it using his
       Web system for Pascal programs.  It was originally ported to Unix by
       Paul Richards at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  This
       page was mostly written by Pierre MacKay.

Web2C 2024                      24 August 2023                           mf(1)

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