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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 parame-
     ters, 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 re-
     maining 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 directory.
     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  "en-
     codings.dir" file is used by the server to find encoding information.

     The  "encodings.dir"  file has the same format as "fonts.dir".  It maps en-
     coding 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 directories 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 op-
	    tion 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  convert  rela-
	    tive  encoding directories to absolute directories by prepending the
	    current directory.	The positioning of this options 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 mk-
		    fontscale(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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