mf — METAFONT, a language for font and logo design
mf
[option
...] [[command
...] | [file
]]
METAFONT reads the program in the specified files and outputs font rasters (in GF format) and font metrics (in TFM format). The METAFONT language is described in The METAFONTbook.
Like TeX, METAFONT is normally used with a large body of
precompiled macros, and font generation in particular requires the
support of several macro files. METAFONT looks at its command line
to see what name it was called under. Both inimf and virmf are
linked to the mf executable. When called as inimf (or when the
--initialize
option is given) it can be used to
precompile macros into a .base
file. When called
as virmf it will use the plain base. When called under any other
name, METAFONT will use that name as the name of the base to use.
For example, when called as mf the mf base is used, which is
identical to the plain base. Other bases than plain are rarely
used.
The commands given on the command line to the METAFONT program
are passed to it as the first input line. (But it is often easier to
type extended arguments as the first input line, since shells tend to
gobble up or misinterpret METAFONT's favorite symbols, like
semicolons, unless you quote them.) As described in The
METAFONTbook, that first line should begin with a
filename, a \controlsequence, or a
&
.basename
The normal usage is to say
mf \mode=printengine
; inputfont
to start processing
. (Or you can
just say mf and give the other stuff on the next line.) Other
control sequences, such as font
.mfbatchmode
(for
silent operation) can also appear. The name
font
will be the “job name”,
and is used in forming output file names. If METAFONT doesn't get a
file name in the first line, the job name is
mfput
. The default extension,
.mf
, can be overridden by specifying an extension
explicitly.
A log of error messages goes into the file
. The output
files are font
.log
and
font
.tfm
,
where font
.number
gfnumber
depends on the resolution and
magnification of the font. The mode in this example is shown
generically as printengine
, a symbolic term
for which the name of an actual device or, most commonly, the name
localfont
must be substituted. If the mode is
not specified or is not valid, METAFONT will default to proof mode
which produces large character images for use in font design and
refinement. Proof mode can be recognized by the suffix
.2602gf
after the job name. Examples of proof
mode output can be found in Computer Modern
Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and
Typesetting). The system of magsteps is
identical to the system used by TeX, with values generally in the
range 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0.
Magnification can also be specified not as a magstep but as an arbitrary value, such as 1.315, to create special character sizes.
Before font production can begin, it is necessary to set up the
appropriate base files. The minimum set of components for font
production for a given printengine is the
plain.mf
macro file and the local mode_def file. The macros in
plain.mf
can be studied in an appendix to
The METAFONTbook; they were developed by
Donald E. Knuth, and this file should never be altered. Each
mode_def specification helps adapt
fonts to a particular printengine. The local ones in use on this
computer should be in modes.mf
.
The e
response to METAFONT's error
prompt causes the default editor to start up at the current line of
the current file. The configuration value Editor
can be used to change the editor
used. It may contain a string with %f
indicating
where the filename goes and %l
indicating where the
decimal line number (if any) goes.
A convenient file is null.mf
, containing
nothing. When METAFONT can't find the file it thinks you want to
input, it keeps asking you for another file name; responding
null
gets you out of the loop if you don't want
to input anything.
You can see METAFONTs output without printing. Chapter 23 of
The METAFONTbook describes what you can do.
You enable screen ouput by giving --screen
on the
command-line.
--alias=app
Pretend to be app
, i.e.,
set program (and memory dump) name to app
.
This may affect the search paths and other values used. Using this
option is equivalent to copying the executable file to
and invoking
app
.exe
.app
.exe
--aux-directory=dir
Set the directory dir
to which
auxiliary files are written. Also look for input files in dir
first, before along the normal search path.
--bistack-size=n
--buf-size=n
Set the the maximum number of characters simultaneously present in current lines of open files and in control sequences between \csname and \endcsname. TeX uses the buffer to contain input lines, but macro expansion works by writing material into the buffer and reparsing the line. As a consequence, certain constructs require the buffer to be very large, even though most documents can be handled with a small value.
--c-style-errors
Change the way, error messages are printed. The alternate style looks like error messages from many compilers and is easier to parse for some editors. This option implies \scrollmode.
--disable-installer
Disable automatic installation of missing packages. Specifying this option overwrites the global configuration setting in MiKTeX Options (see the section called “Automatic Package Installation”).
--disable-pipes
--dont-parse-first-line
Disable checking whether the first line of the main input file starts with %&.
--enable-installer
Enable automatic installation of missing packages. Specifying this option overwrites the global configuration setting in MiKTeX Options (see the section called “Automatic Package Installation”).
--enable-pipes
--error-line=n
--half-error-line=n
Set the width of first lines of contexts in terminal error messages.
--halt-on-error
--help
Give help and exit.
--hhelp
This option is only available on Windows systems: show the manual page in an HTML Help window and exit when the window is closed.
--include-directory=dir
--initialize
--interaction=mode
Set the interaction mode.
Must be one of batchmode
,
nonstopmode
,
scrollmode
and
errorstopmode
.
The meaning of these modes is the same as
the corresponding commands.
--job-name=name
Set the name of the job (\jobname. This has an affect on the output file names.
--job-time=file
Set the time-stamp of all output files equal to
file
's time-stamp.
--lig-table-size=n
Set the maximum number of ligature/kern steps. Must be at least 255 and at most 32510.
--main-memory=n
Change the total size (in memory words) of the main memory array. Relevant only while creating memory dump files.
--max-print-line=n
Set the
width of longest text lines output; should be at least
60
.
--max-strings=n
--max-wiggle=n
--move-size=n
--no-c-style-errors
--output-directory=dir
Create output files in dir
.
This implies --include-directory=
.dir
--param-size=n
Set the the maximum number of simultaneous macro parameters.
--parse-first-line
Check whether the first line of the main input file starts with %&, and parse if it does. This can be used to specify extra command-line options.
--path-size=n
Set the the maximum number of knots between breakpoints of a path.
--pool-size=n
Set the maximum number of characters in strings, including all error messages and help texts, and the names of all fonts and control sequences.
--quiet
Suppress all output, except errors.
--record-package-usages=file
--recorder
Enable the file name recorder.
This leaves a trace of the files opened for input and output in a file
with the extension .fls
.
--screen
Enable screen output.
--stack-size=n
--string-vacancies=n
Set the minimum
number of characters that should be available for the
user's control sequences and font names, after the
compiler's own error messages are stored.
Must be at least
25000 less than pool_size
,
but doesn't need to be nearly that large.
--tcx=name
Process the TCX table
name
.
--time-statistics
--trace[=tracestreams
]
Enable trace messages.
The tracestreams
argument, if speciefied, is a
comma-separated list of trace
stream names (Chapter 9, Trace Streams).
--undump=name
Use name
as the name of the format to
be used, instead of the name by which the program was called or a
%&
line.
--version
Show version information and exit.