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] ...  [--] [directory-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, followed 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.

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 pat-
       terns.  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, looking 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 double-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
       information.

       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 multiple 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 written 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 "encodings.dir" file.  The default is to convert rel-
	      ative encoding directories to absolute directories by prepending the current directory.  The positioning of this options is signifi-
	      cant, 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.

       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 mkfontdir.  Read by the X server and font server each
		      time a font with an unknown charset is opened.

SEE ALSO

       X(7), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)

XFree86 							   Version 4.7.0						      MKFONTDIR(1)