MKFONTDIR(1)	X Version 11 (Release 6.4)	  MKFONTDIR(1)



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

     SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]
	  mkfontdir [directory-name ...	]

     DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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	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    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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.




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     MKFONTDIR(1)	X Version 11 (Release 6.4)	  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    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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)).

     SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]
	  X(1),	Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)




























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