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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.

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.

     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			   Release 6.6			    MKFONTDIR(1)
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