{ "mode": "man", "parameter": "mf", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mf/1/json", "generated": "2026-10-10T02:01:39Z", "synopsis": "mf [options] [commands]", "sections": { "NAME": { "content": "mf, inimf, mf-nowin - Metafont, a language for font and logo design\n", "subsections": [] }, "SYNOPSIS": { "content": "mf [options] [commands]\n", "subsections": [] }, "DESCRIPTION": { "content": "Metafont reads the program in the specified files and outputs font rasters (in gf format) and\nfont metrics (in tfm format). The Metafont language is described in The Metafontbook.\n\nLike TeX, Metafont is normally used with a large body of precompiled macros, and font genera‐\ntion in particular requires the support of several macro files. This version of Metafont\nlooks at its command line to see what name it was called under. Both inimf and virmf are\nsymlinks to the mf executable. When called as inimf (or when the -ini option is given) it\ncan be used to precompile macros into a .base file. When called as virmf it will use the\nplain base. When called under any other name, Metafont will use that name as the name of the\nbase to use. For example, when called as mf the mf base is used, which is identical to the\nplain base. Other bases than plain are rarely used.\n\nThe commands given on the command line to the Metafont program are passed to it as the first\ninput line. (But it is often easier to type extended arguments as the first input line,\nsince UNIX shells tend to gobble up or misinterpret Metafont's favorite symbols, like semi‐\ncolons, unless you quote them.) As described in The Metafontbook, that first line should be‐\ngin with a filename, a \\controlsequence, or a &basename.\n\nThe normal usage is to say\n\nmf '\\mode=; [mag=magstep(n);]' input font\n\nto start processing font.mf. The single quotes are the best way of keeping the Unix shell\nfrom misinterpreting the semicolons and from removing the \\ character, which is needed here\nto keep Metafont from thinking that you want to produce a font called mode. (Or you can just\nsay mf and give the other stuff on the next line, without quotes.) Other control sequences,\nsuch as batchmode (for silent operation) can also appear. The name font will be the ``job‐\nname'', and is used in forming output file names. If Metafont doesn't get a file name in the\nfirst line, the jobname is mfput. The default extension, .mf, can be overridden by specify‐\ning an extension explicitly.\n\nA log of error messages goes into the file jobname.log. The output files are jobname.tfm and\njobname.gf, where depends on the resolution and magnification of the font.\nThe mode in this example is shown generically as , a symbolic term for which the\nname of an actual device or, most commonly, the name localfont (see below) must be substi‐\ntuted. If the mode is not specified or is not valid for your site, Metafont will default to\nproof mode which produces large character images for use in font design and refinement.\nProof mode can be recognized by the suffix .2602gf after the jobname. Examples of proof mode\noutput can be found in Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and Typesetting).\nThe system of magsteps is identical to the system used by TeX, with values generally in the\nrange 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. A listing of gf numbers for 118-dpi, 240-dpi and\n300-dpi fonts is shown below.\nMAGSTEP 118 dpi 240 dpi 300 dpi\nmag=magstep(0) 118 240 300\nmag=magstep(0.5) 129 263 329\nmag=magstep(1) 142 288 360\nmag=magstep(2) 170 346 432\nmag=magstep(3) 204 415 518\nmag=magstep(4) 245 498 622\nmag=magstep(5) 294 597 746\n\nMagnification can also be specified not as a magstep but as an arbitrary value, such as\n1.315, to create special character sizes.\n\nBefore font production can begin, it is necessary to set up the appropriate base files. The\nminimum set of components for font production for a given print-engine is the plain.mf macro\nfile and the local modedef file. The macros in plain.mf can be studied in an appendix to\nthe Metafontbook; they were developed by Donald E. Knuth, and this file should never be al‐\ntered except when it is officially upgraded. Each modedef specification helps adapt fonts\nto a particular print-engine. There is a regular discussion of modedefs in TUGboat, the\njournal of the TeX Users Group. The local ones in use on this computer should be in\nmodes.mf.\n\nThe e response to Metafont's error-recovery mode invokes the system default editor at the er‐\nroneous line of the source file. There is an environment variable, MFEDIT, that overrides\nthe default editor. It should contain a string with \"%s\" indicating where the filename goes\nand \"%d\" indicating where the decimal linenumber (if any) goes. For example, an MFEDIT\nstring for the vi editor can be set with the csh command\nsetenv MFEDIT \"vi +%d %s\"\n\nA convenient file in the library is null.mf, containing nothing. When mf can't find the file\nit thinks you want to input, it keeps asking you for another file name; responding `null'\ngets you out of the loop if you don't want to input anything.\n", "subsections": [] }, "ONLINE GRAPHICS OUTPUT": { "content": "Metafont can use most modern displays, so you can see its output without printing. Chapter\n23 of The Metafontbook describes what you can do. This implementation of Metafont uses envi‐\nronment variables to determine which display device you want to use. First it looks for a\nvariable MFTERM, and then for TERM. If it can't find either, you get no online output. Oth‐\nerwise, the value of the variable determines the device to use: hp2627, sun (for old Sun‐\nView), tek, uniterm (for an Atari ST Tek 4014 emulator), xterm (for either X10 or X11). Some\nof these devices may not be supported in all Metafont executables; the choice is made at com‐\npilation time.\n\nOn some systems, there are two Metafont binaries, mf and mf-nowin. On those systems the mf\nbinary supports graphics, while the mf-nowin binary does not. The mf-nowin binary is used by\nscripts like mktexpk where graphics support is a nuisance rather than something helpful.\n", "subsections": [] }, "OPTIONS": { "content": "This version of Metafont understands the following command line options.\n", "subsections": [ { "name": "-base _", "content": "Use base as the name of the base to be used, instead of the name by which Metafont was\ncalled or a %& line.\n" }, { "name": "-cnf-line _", "content": "Parse string as a texmf.cnf configuration line. See the Kpathsea manual.\n" }, { "name": "-file-line-error", "content": "Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is similar to the way many com‐\npilers format them.\n" }, { "name": "-no-file-line-error", "content": "Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style.\n" }, { "name": "-file-line-error-style", "content": "This is the old name of the -file-line-error option.\n" }, { "name": "-halt-on-error", "content": "Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during processing.\n" }, { "name": "-help", "content": "" }, { "name": "-ini", "content": "imf.\n" }, { "name": "-interaction _", "content": "Sets the interaction mode. The mode can be one of batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode,\nand errorstopmode. The meaning of these modes is the same as that of the correspond‐\ning commands.\n" }, { "name": "-jobname _", "content": "Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file.\n" }, { "name": "-kpathsea-debug _", "content": "Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask. See the Kpathsea manual\nfor details.\n" }, { "name": "-maketex _", "content": "Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.\n" }, { "name": "-no-maketex _", "content": "Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.\n" }, { "name": "-output-directory _", "content": "Write output files in directory instead of the current directory. Look up input files\nin directory first, the along the normal search path.\n" }, { "name": "-parse-first-line", "content": "If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump\nname or a -translate-file option.\n" }, { "name": "-no-parse-first-line", "content": "Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file.\n" }, { "name": "-progname _", "content": "Pretend to be program name. This affects both the format used and the search paths.\n" }, { "name": "-recorder", "content": "Enable the filename recorder. This leaves a trace of the files opened for input and\noutput in a file with extension .fls.\n" }, { "name": "-translate-file _", "content": "Use the tcxname translation table.\n" }, { "name": "-version", "content": "Print version information and exit.\n" } ] }, "ENVIRONMENT": { "content": "See the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specifications' node) for the details of\nhow the environment variables are use when searching. The kpsewhich utility can be used to\nquery the values of the variables.\n\nIf the environment variable TEXMFOUTPUT is set, Metafont attempts to put its output files in\nit, if they cannot be put in the current directory. Again, see tex(1).\n\nMFINPUTS\nSearch path for input files.\n\nMFEDIT Command template for switching to editor.\n\nMFTERM Determines the online graphics display. If MFTERM is not set, and DISPLAY is set, the\nMetafont window support for X is used. (DISPLAY must be set to a valid X server spec‐\nification, as usual.) If neither MFTERM nor DISPLAY is set, TERM is used to guess the\nwindow support to use.\n", "subsections": [] }, "FONT UTILITIES": { "content": "A number of utility programs are available. The following is a partial list of available\nutilities and their purpose. Consult your local Metafont guru for details.\n\ngftopk Takes a gf file and produces a more tightly packed pk font file.\n\ngftodvi Produces proof sheets for fonts.\n\ngftype Displays the contents of a gf file in mnemonics and/or images.\n\npktype Mnemonically displays the contents of a pk file.\n\nmft Formats a source file as shown in Computer Modern Typefaces.\n", "subsections": [] }, "FILES": { "content": "mf.pool\nEncoded text of Metafont's messages.\n\n*.base Predigested Metafont base files.\n\n$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/base/plain.mf\nThe standard base.\n\n$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/misc/modes.mf\nThe file of modedefs for your site's various printers\n", "subsections": [] }, "NOTES": { "content": "This manual page is not meant to be exhaustive. The complete documentation for this version\nof Metafont can be found in the info manual Web2C: A TeX implementation.\n", "subsections": [] }, "BUGS": { "content": "On January 4, 1986 the ``final'' bug in Metafont was discovered and removed. If an error\nstill lurks in the code, Donald E. Knuth promises to pay a finder's fee which doubles every\nyear to the first person who finds it. Happy hunting.\n", "subsections": [] }, "SUGGESTED READING": { "content": "Donald E. Knuth, The Metafontbook (Volume C of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley,\n1986, ISBN 0-201-13445-4.\nDonald E. Knuth, Metafont: The Program (Volume D of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wes‐\nley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13438-1.\nDonald E. Knuth, Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-\nWesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13446-2.\nTUGboat (the journal of the TeX Users Group).\n", "subsections": [] }, "COMMENTS": { "content": "Warning: ``Type design can be hazardous to your other interests. Once you get hooked, you\nwill develop intense feelings about letterforms; the medium will intrude on the messages that\nyou read. And you will perpetually be thinking of improvements to the fonts that you see\neverywhere, especially those of your own design.''\n", "subsections": [] }, "SEE ALSO": { "content": "gftopk(1), gftodvi(1), gftype(1), mft(1), mpost(1), pltotf(1), tftopl(1).\n", "subsections": [] }, "AUTHORS": { "content": "Metafont was designed by Donald E. Knuth, who implemented it using his Web system for Pascal\nprograms. It was originally ported to Unix by Paul Richards at the University of Illinois at\nUrbana-Champaign. This page was mostly written by Pierre MacKay.\n\nWeb2C 2023 6 August 2019 MF(1)", "subsections": [] } }, "summary": "mf, inimf, mf-nowin - Metafont, a language for font and logo design", "flags": [ { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Use base as the name of the base to be used, instead of the name by which Metafont was called or a %& line." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Parse string as a texmf.cnf configuration line. See the Kpathsea manual." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is similar to the way many com‐ pilers format them." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "This is the old name of the -file-line-error option." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during processing." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "" }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "imf." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Sets the interaction mode. The mode can be one of batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode, and errorstopmode. The meaning of these modes is the same as that of the correspond‐ ing commands." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask. See the Kpathsea manual for details." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Write output files in directory instead of the current directory. Look up input files in directory first, the along the normal search path." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump name or a -translate-file option." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Pretend to be program name. This affects both the format used and the search paths." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Enable the filename recorder. This leaves a trace of the files opened for input and output in a file with extension .fls." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Use the tcxname translation table." }, { "flag": "", "long": null, "arg": null, "description": "Print version information and exit." } ], "examples": [], "see_also": [ { "name": "gftopk", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gftopk/1/json" }, { "name": "gftodvi", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gftodvi/1/json" }, { "name": "gftype", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/gftype/1/json" }, { "name": "mft", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mft/1/json" }, { "name": "mpost", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mpost/1/json" }, { "name": "pltotf", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pltotf/1/json" }, { "name": "tftopl", "section": "1", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tftopl/1/json" } ] }