mkfontdir(1)

NAME

       mkfontdir - create an index of X font files in a directory

SYNOPSIS

       mkfontdir  [-n]  [-x  suffix]  [-r] [-p prefix] [-e encoding-directory-
       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 configuration
       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 direc-
       tory.   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.

       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  "encodings.dir" file is used by the server to find encoding infor-
       mation.

       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 directo-
              ries 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 discriminated  by
              preferring compressed versions.

       -n     do  not scan for fonts, do not write font directory files.  This
              option is useful when generating encoding directories only.

       -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 con-
              vert relative encoding directories to  absolute  directories  by
              prepending  the  current  directory.   The  positioning  of this
              options is significant, as this option only  applies  to  subse-
              quent -e options.

       -x suffix
              Ignore fonts files of type suffix.

       --     End options.

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 mkfontdir.

       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 ALSO

       X(7), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)

X Version 11                    mkfontdir 1.0.3                   MKFONTDIR(1)