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MKFONTDIR(1)		    General Commands Manual		  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 para-
       meters, but typically include PCF (suffix ".pcf"), SNF (suffix  ".snf")
       and BDF (suffix ".bdf").	 If a font exists in multiple formats, mkfont-
       dir 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, and  can  be
       created with the	mkfontscale(1) program.

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  op-
	      tions  is	significant, as	this option only applies to subsequent
	      -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.	  Can be created  with
		      mkfontscale(1).

       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), mkfontscale(1), xfs(1), xset(1)

X Version 11		       mkfontscale 1.2.3		  MKFONTDIR(1)

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