Commands Reference, Volume 1

bdftopcf Command

Purpose

Converts fonts from Bitmap Distribution Format (bdf) to Portable Compiled Format (pcf).

Syntax

bdftopcf [ -i | -t ] [ -p Number ] [ -u Number ] [ -l | -m ] [ -L | -M ] [ -o PcfFile ] font-file.bdf

Description

The bdftopcf command is the font compiler which converts fonts from Bitmap Distribution Format to Portable Compiled Format. Fonts in Portable Compiled Format can be read by any architecture, although the file is structured to allow one particular architecture to read them directly without reformatting. This feature allows fast reading on the appropriate machine. In addition, the files remain portable to other machines, although they are read more slowly.

Flags

-p Number	Sets the font glyph padding. Each glyph in the font has each scanline padded into a multiple of bytes specified by the Number variable, where Number is the value of 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes.
-u Number	Sets the font scanline unit. When the font bit order is different from the font byte order, the Number variable describes what units of data (in bytes) are to be swapped. The Number variable can be the value of 1, 2, or 4 bytes.
-m	Sets the font bit order to MSB (most significant bit) first. Bits for each glyph are placed in this order. Thus, the left-most bit on the screen is the highest valued bit in each unit.
-l	(lowercase L) Sets the font bit order to LSB (least significant bit) first. The left-most bit on the screen is the lowest valued bit in each unit.
-M	Sets the font byte order to MSB (most significant byte) first. All multibyte data in the file, including metrics and bitmaps, are written most significant byte first.
-L	Sets the font byte order to LSB (least significant byte) first. All multibyte data in the file, including metrics and bitmaps, are written least significant byte first.
-t	Converts fonts into terminal fonts whenever possible. A terminal font has each glyph image padded to the same size. The Xserver can usually render these font types more quickly.
-i	Inhibits the normal computation of ink metrics. When a font has glyph images that do not fill the bitmap image because the ``on'' pixels do not extend to the edges of the metrics, the bdftopcf command computes the actual ink metrics and places them in the .pcf file. Note: The -t option inhibits the behavior of this flag.
-o PcfFile	Specifies the name of an output file. By default, the bdftopcf command writes the pcf file to standard output.

Examples

To convert fonts into terminal fonts whenever possible, enter:
```
bdftocpf -t font-file.bdf
```
To set the glyph padding to a multiple of 4 bytes, enter:
```
bdftocpf -p 4 font-file.bdf
```