PMW(1) General Commands Manual PMW(1)
NAME
pmw - a program for typesetting music
SYNOPSIS
pmw [options] [input file]
DESCRIPTION
PMW (Philip's Music Writer) is a program for typesetting music. It is not an interactive program; instead, it reads a description of the
music from a textual input file, which can be prepared by any text editor. The output from PMW is a PostScript file of page images of type-
set music. This output uses the PMW-Music PostScript font, which must therefore be available for viewing or printing. A secondary output in
the form of a MIDI file can be requested.
A full description of PMW and its markup language is given in the reference manual. This man page just summarizes the command line options.
OPTIONS
-a4ona3 The pages are A4-sized; print them 2-up, assuming A3 paper.
-a5ona4 The pages are A5-sized; print them 2-up, assuming A4 paper.
-a4sideways
The paper is A4, but the printer feeds it sideways, so rotate the page images before printing.
-c <number>
Print <number> copies.
-debug Write general debugging information to stderr (not currently very comprehensive). This option is of use only to the program main-
tainer.
-drawbarlines
Instead of using characters from the font to print bar lines, generate PostScript drawing instructions. Some PostScript inter-
preters do not display the font bar line characters correctly on the screen when several of them are used to generate a long ver-
tical line; drawing them instead may give a better result. -dbl is an abbreviation for -drawbarlines.
-drawstavelines
Instead of using characters from the font to print stave lines, generate PostScript drawing instructions. Some PostScript inter-
preters do not display the font stave characters correctly on the screen; drawing them instead may give a better result. -dsl is
an abbreviation for -drawstavelines.
-dsb [[<movement>,]<stave>,]<bar>
Write debugging data for the bar to stderr. This option is of use only to the program maintainer.
-dtp <bar>
Write debugging positioning data for the bar to stderr. If there is more than one movement (not likely while debugging at this
level), the data is output for every bar with the given number. If the number is -1, data is output for all bars. This option is
of use only to the program maintainer.
-duplex This option sets the PostScript option for duplex printing (see also -tumble).
-eps Write the output as encapsulated PostScript (useful if this is an illustration that is going to be included in some other docu-
ment).
-F <directory>
Search the given directory for fontmetrics files, before searching the default directory that was set up when PMW was built.
-f <name> Specifies a format name, used when the input file is set up to output in several different formats.
-H <file> Use the given file as the PostScript header file, instead of the default that was set up when PMW was built.
-help Output a list of options, then stop. No file is read.
-includefont
This option causes PMW to include the music font within the PostScript output that it generates. (If the PMW-Alpha font is used,
that is also included.) If you use this option, there is no need to install the font(s) for GhostScript (or any other display
program) to find.
-MF <directory>
Search the given directory for music fonts, before searching the default directory that was set up when PMW was built.
-MP <file>
Use the given file as the MIDIperc file, instead of the default that was set up when PMW was built. This file translates between
names and "pitches" for untuned percussion voices.
-MV <file>
Use the given file as the MIDIvoices file, instead of the default that was set up when PMW was built. This file translates voice
names to MIDI voice numbers.
-manualfeed
Set the `manualfeed' option in the generated PostScript. Most PostScript printers interpret this to mean that the paper should be
taken from an alternate input tray or slot. Some also require the user to push a button before each page is printed.
-midi <file>
Write MIDI output to the given file (in addition to the normal PostScript output). The stave selection (see -s below) also
applies to MIDI output.
-midibars <range>
If -midi is given, write only the given bars to the MIDI output. The range can be two numbers separated by a hyphen or a single
number for just one bar. A single number followed by a hyphen plays from that bar to the end of the movement. -mb is an abbrevia-
tion for -midibars.
-midimovement <number>
For a multi-movement input file, this specifies the movement that is to be output as MIDI when -midi is given. The default is the
first movement. -mm is an abbreviation for -midimovement.
-norc Do not read the caller's .pmwrc file. This must be the first option given.
-norepeats
When generating a MIDI output file, do not repeat repeated sections of the music. -nr is an abbreviation for -norepeats.
-nowidechars
This option stops PMW from using the 100-point wide stave characters when printing staves. Instead, staves are constructed
entirely from the 10-point wide characters. This option is provided because it seems that some PostScript interpreters cannot
deal correctly with the very wide characters. -nw is an abbreviation for -nowidechars.
-o <file> Send the output to the given file, or, if "-" is given, to stdout. The default file name is the input file with the extension
".ps" replacing any existing extension, or being added if there is no extension. If there is no input file (input from stdin) the
default output is to stdout.
-p <list> Output only the specified pages. These can be individual page numbers, or pairs of numbers separated by a hyphen, to specify a
range. Use commas to separate items in the list.
-pamphlet Output pages in pamphlet order. This is usually used in conjunction with -a5ona4 or -a4ona3.
-printadjust <x> <y>
Move the image on the page by (x,y) points.
-printgutter <x>
This option specifies a distance by which righthand (recto) page images are moved to the right, and lefthand (verso) page images
are moved to the left, thus creating a "gutter" for binding when the images are printed doublesided. The -printgutter setting
applies only when pages are being printed 1-up. It is ignored for any of the 2-up printing styles.
-printscale <n>
Scale the output image by <n>.
-printside <n>
Output only odd or only even pages; <n> must either be 1 or 2.
-reverse Output the pages in reverse order.
-s <list> Output only the specified staves. These can be individual stave numbers, or pair of numbers separated by a hyphen, to specify a
range. Use commas to separate items in the list.
-t <number>
Specify a transposition, in semitones.
-tumble When -duplex is set, -tumble causes the PostScript option for "tumbled" duplex printing.
-V Output the PMW version number to stdout, then stop. No file is read.
-v Output verification information about the typesetting to stderr.
EXAMPLES
pmw myscore
pmw -format A5 -a5ona4 -pamphlet myscore
pmw -s 3 -o quartet.ps-viola quartet.pmw
AUTHOR
Philip Hazel
Email local part: ph10
Email domain: cam.ac.uk
Last updated: 22 January 2012
Copyright (c) 2012 Philip Hazel
PMW(1)