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<TITLE> mkfontdir, fonts.dir, fonts.scale, fonts.alias - create an index of X font files in a directory </TITLE>
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MKFONTDIR(1)					     MKFONTDIR(1)


NAME
       mkfontdir, fonts.dir, fonts.scale, fonts.alias - create an
       index of X font files in a directory

SYNOPSIS
       mkfontdir [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 con
       figuration parameters, 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 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 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.




X Version 11		   Release 6.1				1





MKFONTDIR(1)					     MKFONTDIR(1)


       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.

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 mkfont_
		      dir.

       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)).

SEE ALSO
       X(1), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)





























X Version 11		   Release 6.1				2


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