man > EXTRACTBB

EXTRACTBB(1)                                  DVIPDFMx                                  EXTRACTBB(1)

NAME
       extractbb, ebb - extract bounding box information from graphics files

SYNOPSIS
       extractbb [-v|-q] [-O] [-m|-x] file...

DESCRIPTION
       For  each  JPEG,  PNG, or PDF file given on the command line, extractbb extracts the bounding
       box information and writes it into a file with extension .xbb, together with some header  in‐
       formation.  These  files  can  then be used by dvipdfmx or other programs. For PDF files, the
       number of pages and the PDF version number are reported as well.  The input  filename  exten‐
       sion may be in upper or lower case.

       If called as ebb, the output is written in the ``bb'' format (and with extension .bb) as used
       by dvipdfm.  Xbb may be defined as a synomym for extractbb on your system.

OPTIONS
       -v        Be verbose.
       -q        Be quiet.
       -O        Write output to standard output.
       -m        Write output in dvipdfm's ``bb'' format.
       -x        Write output in dvipdfmx's ``xbb'' format (default), which is the same as that used
                 by pdfTeX.

OUTPUT FORMATS
       Here are more details about the bb and xbb formats:

       The  original  ebb (from dvipdfm) ignored density information in bitmap images, and generated
       bounding boxes with 100px = 72bp = 1in.  Unfortunately, screenshots (especially) tend to look
       bad with this approach.

       So, extractbb (from dvipdfmx) uses density information if present.  Otherwise,  it  generates
       bounding box with 100px = 100bp.  This is what pdfTeX does.

BUGS
       There  is  currently no way to specify which bounding box is taken for PDF files. It will al‐
       ways be the first one from the following list: ArtBox, TrimBox,  BleedBox,  MediaBox.  (Often
       only  MediaBox  is  defined.)  Moreover, the reported bounding box always refers to the first
       page in a PDF file.

AUTHOR
       extractbb was written by the DVIPDFMx project team <dvipdfmx AT ktug.kr>, based on  the  pro‐
       gram ebb by Mark A. Wicks.

       This  manual page was also written by the DVIPDFMx project team, based on a manual page Frank
       Küster <frank AT kuesterei.ch> wrote for the Debian GNU/Linux system.  It may be used, modified,
       and/or redistributed by others without contacting the authors.

20120420                                    20 April 2012                               EXTRACTBB(1)