DPOST(1) User Commands DPOST(1)

NAME

dpost - troff postprocessor for PostScript printers

SYNOPSIS

dpost [-c num] [-e num] [-m num] [-n num] [-o list]
[-w num] [-x num] [-y num] [-F dir] [-H dir]
[-L file] [-O] [-T name] [file]...


/usr/lib/lp/postscript/dpost

DESCRIPTION

dpost translates files created by troff(1) into PostScript and writes the
results on the standard output. If no files are specified, or if - is one
of the input files, the standard input is read.


The files should be prepared by troff. The default font files in
/usr/lib/font/devpost produce the best and most efficient output. They
assume a resolution of 720 dpi, and can be used to format files by adding
the -Tpost option to the troff call. Older versions of the eqn and pic
preprocessors need to know the resolution that troff will be using to
format the files. If those are the versions installed on your system, use
the -r720 option with eqn and -T720 with pic.


dpost makes no assumptions about resolutions. The first x res command
sets the resolution used to translate the input files, the DESC.out file,
usually /usr/lib/font/devpost/DESC.out, defines the resolution used in
the binary font files, and the PostScript prologue is responsible for
setting up an appropriate user coordinate system.

OPTIONS

-c num
Print num copies of each page. By default only one copy is
printed.


-e num
Sets the text encoding level to num. The recognized choices
are 0, 1, and 2. The size of the output file and print time
should decrease as num increases. Level 2 encoding will
typically be about 20 percent faster than level 0, which is
the default and produces output essentially identical to
previous versions of dpost.


-m num
Magnify each logical page by the factor num. Pages are scaled
uniformly about the origin, which is located near the upper
left corner of each page. The default magnification is 1.0.


-n num
Print num logical pages on each piece of paper, where num can
be any positive integer. By default, num is set to 1.


-o list
Print those pages for which numbers are given in the comma-
separated list. The list contains single numbers N and ranges
N1-N2. A missing N1 means the lowest numbered page, a missing
N2 means the highest. The page range is an expression of
logical pages rather than physical sheets of paper. For
example, if you are printing two logical pages to a sheet, and
you specified a range of 4, then two sheets of paper would
print, containing four page layouts. If you specified a page
range of 3-4, when requesting two logical pages to a sheet;
then only page 3 and page 4 layouts would print, and they
would appear on one physical sheet of paper.


-p mode
Print files in either portrait or landscape mode. Only the
first character of mode is significant. The default mode is
portrait.


-w num
Set the line width used to implement troff graphics commands
to num points, where a point is approximately 1/72 of an inch.
By default, num is set to 0.3 points.


-x num
Translate the origin num inches along the positive x axis. The
default coordinate system has the origin fixed near the upper
left corner of the page, with positive x to the right and
positive y down the page. Positive num moves everything right.
The default offset is 0 inches.


-y num
Translate the origin num inches along the positive y axis.
Positive num moves text up the page. The default offset is 0.


-F dir
Use dir as the font directory. The default dir is
/usr/lib/font, and dpost reads binary font files from
directory /usr/lib/font/devpost.


-H dir
Use dir as the host resident font directory. Files in this
directory should be complete PostScript font descriptions, and
must be assigned a name that corresponds to the appropriate
two-character troff font name. Each font file is copied to the
output file only when needed and at most once during each job.
There is no default directory.


-L file
Use file as the PostScript prologue which, by default, is
/usr/lib/lp/postscript/dpost.ps.


-O
Disables PostScript picture inclusion. A recommended option
when dpost is run by a spooler in a networked environment.


-T name
Use font files for device name as the best description of
available PostScript fonts. By default, name is set to post
and dpost reads binary files from /usr/lib/font/devpost.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Examples of the dpost command.

If the old versions of eqn and pic are installed on your system, you can
obtain the best possible looking output by issuing a command line such as
the following:


example% pic -T720 file | tbl | eqn -r720 | troff -mm -Tpost | dpost


Otherwise,


example% pic file | tbl | eqn | troff -mm -Tpost | dpost


should give the best results.

EXIT STATUS

The following exit values are returned:

0
Successful completion.


non-zero
An error occurred.

FILES

/usr/lib/font/devpost/*.out


/usr/lib/font/devpost/charlib/*


/usr/lib/lp/postscript/color.ps


/usr/lib/lp/postscript/draw.ps


/usr/lib/lp/postscript/forms.ps


/usr/lib/lp/postscript/ps.requests

SEE ALSO

download(1), postio(1), postprint(1), postreverse(1), troff(1),
attributes(7)

NOTES

Output files often do not conform to Adobe's file structuring
conventions. Piping the output of dpost(1) through postreverse(1) should
produce a minimally conforming PostScript file.


Although dpost can handle files formatted for any device, emulation is
expensive and can easily double the print time and the size of the output
file. No attempt has been made to implement the character sets or fonts
available on all devices supported by troff. Missing characters will be
replaced by white space, and unrecognized fonts will usually default to
one of the Times fonts (that is, R, I, B, or BI).


An x res command must precede the first x init command, and all the input
files should have been prepared for the same output device.


Use of the -T option is not encouraged. Its only purpose is to enable the
use of other PostScript font and device description files, that perhaps
use different resolutions, character sets, or fonts.


Although level 0 encoding is the only scheme that has been thoroughly
tested, level 2 is fast and may be worth a try.


May 13, 2017 DPOST(1)