The gftodvi program converts a generic font (gf) file output by, for example, mf(1), to a device independent (DVI) file (that can then be typeset using the same software that has already been written for TeX). The characters in the gf file will appear one per page, with labels, titles, and annotations as specified in Appendix H (Hardcopy Proofs) of The Metafontbook.
gftodvi uses other fonts in addition to the main gf file. A `gray' font is used to typeset the pixels that actually make up the character. (We wouldn't want all the pixels to be simply black, since then labels, key points, and other information would be lost.) A `title' font is used for the information at the top of the page. A `label' font is used for the labels on key points of the figure. A `slant' font is used to typeset diagonal lines, which otherwise have to be simulated using horizontal and vertical rules. The default gray, title, and label fonts are gray, cmr8, and cmtt10, respectively; there is no default slant font.
To change the default fonts, you can give
special
commands in your
Metafont source file, or you can change the fonts online. An online dialog
ensues if you end the
gf_file_name
with a `/'. For example,
gftodvi cmr10.300gf/
Special font substitution: grayfont black
OK; any more? grayfontarea /home/art/don/
OK; any more? slantfont /home/fonts/slantimagen6
OK; any more? <RET>
will use
/home/art/don/black
as the `gray' font and
/home/fonts/slantimagen6
as the `slant' font (this name indicates
a font for lines with slope 1/6 at the resolution of an Imagen printer).
The gf_file_name on the command line must be complete. (The program prompts you for it if you don't give it.) Because the resolution is part of the extension, it would not make sense to append a default extension as is done with TeX or DVI-reading software. The output file name uses the same root as the gf file, with the dvi extension added. For example, the input file cmr10.2602gf would become cmr10.dvi.
Without the -verbose option, gftodvi operates silently. With it, a banner and progress report are printed on stdout.
See tex(1) for the details of the searching.