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NAME
mf, inimf, virmf - Metafont, a language for font and logo
design
SYNOPSIS
mf [options] [commands]
DESCRIPTION
This manual page is not meant to be exhaustive. The com-
plete documentation for this version of TeX can be found in
the info file or manual Web2C: A TeX implementation.
Metafont reads the program in the specified files and out-
puts 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 pro-
gram 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 semi-
colons 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 charac-
ter 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 particu-
lar 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 over-
rides 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 com-
mand
setenv MFEDIT "/usr/ucb/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.
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.
--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.
--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.
--progname name
Pretend to be program name. This affects both the for-
mat used and the search paths.
--translate-file tcxname
Use the tcxname translation table.
--version
Print version information and exit.
ENVIRONMENT
See the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specif-
ications' node) for the details of how the environment vari-
ables 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 and openin 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 sup-
port 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 sup-
port 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
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 Comput-
ers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-
13438-1.
Donald E. Knuth, Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Com-
puters 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 think-
ing 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), pltotf(1),
tftopl(1).
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.
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 Illi-
nois at Urbana-Champaign. This page was mostly written by
Pierre MacKay.
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