man > mkfontdir(1)

MKFONTDIR(1)                           General Commands Manual                          MKFONTDIR(1)

NAME
       mkfontdir - create an index of X font files in a directory

SYNOPSIS
       mkfontdir  [-n]  [-x  suffix] [-r] [-p prefix] [-e encoding-directory-name] ...  [--] [direc‐
       tory-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 configuration 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,  fol‐
       lowed 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, and
       can be created with the mkfontscale(1) program.

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, look‐
       ing through each font directory in turn.  This means that the aliases need not mention  fonts
       in the same directory as the alias file.

       To  embed  white space in either name, simply enclose it in double-quote marks; to embed dou‐
       ble-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.

ENCODING FILES
       The  option  -e can be used to specify a directory with encoding files.  Every such directory
       is scanned for encoding files, the list of which is then written to an  "encodings.dir"  file
       in every font directory.  The "encodings.dir" file is used by the server to find encoding in‐
       formation.

       The "encodings.dir" file has the same format as "fonts.dir".  It maps encoding names (strings
       of the form CHARSET_REGISTRY-CHARSET_ENCODING ) to encoding file names.

OPTIONS
       The following options are supported:

       -e     Specify  a directory containing encoding files.  The -e option may be specified multi‐
              ple times, and all the specified directories will be read.  The order of  the  entries
              is  significant,  as  encodings  found  in earlier directories override those in later
              ones; encoding files in the same directory are discriminated by preferring  compressed
              versions.

       -n     do  not scan for fonts, do not write font directory files.  This option is useful when
              generating encoding directories only.

       -p     Specify a prefix that is prepended to the encoding file path names when they are writ‐
              ten to the "encodings.dir" file.  The prefix is prepended as-is.  If a `/' is required
              between the prefix and the path names, it must be supplied explicitly as part  of  the
              prefix.

       -r     Keep non-absolute encoding directories in their relative form when writing the "encod‐
              ings.dir"  file.   The default is to convert relative encoding directories to absolute
              directories by prepending the current directory.  The positioning of this  options  is
              significant, as this option only applies to subsequent -e options.

       -x suffix
              Ignore fonts files of type suffix.

       --     End options.

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.   Can be created with mkfontscale(1).

       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)).

       encodings.dir  List of known encodings and the files they are stored in.  Created by  mkfont‐
                      dir.   Read  by  the X server and font server each time a font with an unknown
                      charset is opened.

SEE ALSO
       X(7), Xserver(1), mkfontscale(1), xfs(1), xset(1)

X Version 11                               mkfontdir 1.0.7                              MKFONTDIR(1)