MKFONTDIR(1)             USER COMMANDS               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  confi-
     guration  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         Last change: Release 6                     1






MKFONTDIR(1)             USER COMMANDS               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
                    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
     X(1), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)




























X Version 11         Last change: Release 6                     2