pdftops(1) General Commands Manual pdftops(1)
NAME
pdftops - Portable Document Format (PDF) to PostScript converter (version 2.01)
SYNOPSIS
pdftops [options] [PDF-file [PS-file]]
DESCRIPTION
Pdftops converts Portable Document Format (PDF) files to PostScript so they can be printed.
Pdftops reads the PDF file, PDF-file, and writes a PostScript file, PS-file. If PS-file is not specified, pdftops converts file.pdf to
file.ps (or file.eps with the -eps option). If PS-file is '-', the PostScript is sent to stdout.
CONFIGURATION FILE
Pdftops reads a configuration file at startup. It first tries to find the user's private config file, ~/.xpdfrc. If that doesn't exist,
it looks for a system-wide config file, typically /etc/xpdfrc (but this location can be changed when pdftops is built). See the xpdfrc(5)
man page for details.
OPTIONS
Many of the following options can be set with configuration file commands. These are listed in square brackets with the description of the
corresponding command line option.
-f number
Specifies the first page to print.
-l number
Specifies the last page to print.
-level1
Generate Level 1 PostScript. The resulting PostScript files will be significantly larger (if they contain images), but will print
on Level 1 printers. This also converts all images to black and white. No more than one of the PostScript level options (-level1,
-level1sep, -level2, -level2sep, -level3, -level3Sep) may be given. [config file: psLevel]
-level1sep
Generate Level 1 separable PostScript. All colors are converted to CMYK. Images are written with separate stream data for the four
components. [config file: psLevel]
-level2
Generate Level 2 PostScript. Level 2 supports color images and image compression. This is the default setting. [config file:
psLevel]
-level2sep
Generate Level 2 separable PostScript. All colors are converted to CMYK. The PostScript separation convention operators are used
to handle custom (spot) colors. [config file: psLevel]
-level3
Generate Level 3 PostScript. This enables all Level 2 features plus CID font embedding. [config file: psLevel]
-level3Sep
Generate Level 3 separable PostScript. The separation handling is the same as for -level2Sep. [config file: psLevel]
-eps Generate an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file. An EPS file contains a single image, so if you use this option with a multi-page
PDF file, you must use -f and -l to specify a single page. No more than one of the mode options (-eps, -form) may be given.
-form Generate a PostScript form which can be imported by software that understands forms. A form contains a single page, so if you use
this option with a multi-page PDF file, you must use -f and -l to specify a single page. The -level1 option cannot be used with
-form.
-opi Generate OPI comments for all images and forms which have OPI information. (This option is only available if pdftops was compiled
with OPI support.) [config file: psOPI]
-noembt1
By default, any Type 1 fonts which are embedded in the PDF file are copied into the PostScript file. This option causes pdftops to
substitute base fonts instead. Embedded fonts make PostScript files larger, but may be necessary for readable output. [config
file: psEmbedType1Fonts]
-noembtt
By default, any TrueType fonts which are embedded in the PDF file are copied into the PostScript file. This option causes pdftops
to substitute base fonts instead. Embedded fonts make PostScript files larger, but may be necessary for readable output. Also,
some PostScript interpreters do not have TrueType rasterizers. [config file: psEmbedTrueTypeFonts]
-noembcidps
By default, any CID PostScript fonts which are embedded in the PDF file are copied into the PostScript file. This option disables
that embedding. No attempt is made to substitute for non-embedded CID PostScript fonts. [config file: psEmbedCIDPostScriptFonts]
-noembcidtt
By default, any CID TrueType fonts which are embedded in the PDF file are copied into the PostScript file. This option disables
that embedding. No attempt is made to substitute for non-embedded CID TrueType fonts. [config file: psEmbedCIDTrueTypeFonts]
-paper size
Set the paper size to one of "letter", "legal", "A4", or "A3". [config file: psPaperSize]
-paperw size
Set the paper width, in points. [config file: psPaperSize]
-paperh size
Set the paper height, in points. [config file: psPaperSize]
-duplex
Set the Duplex pagedevice entry in the PostScript file. This tells duplex-capable printers to enable duplexing. [config file:
psDuplex]
-opw password
Specify the owner password for the PDF file. Providing this will bypass all security restrictions.
-upw password
Specify the user password for the PDF file.
-q Don't print any messages or errors. [config file: errQuiet]
-cfg config-file
Read config-file in place of ~/.xpdfrc or the system-wide config file.
-v Print copyright and version information.
-h Print usage information. (-help and --help are equivalent.)
EXIT CODES
The Xpdf tools use the following exit codes:
0 No error.
1 Error opening a PDF file.
2 Error opening an output file.
3 Error related to PDF permissions.
99 Other error.
AUTHOR
The pdftops software and documentation are copyright 1996-2002 Glyph & Cog, LLC.
SEE ALSO
xpdf(1), pdftotext(1), pdfinfo(1), pdffonts(1), pdftopbm(1), pdfimages(1), xpdfrc(5)
http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/
05 December 2002 pdftops(1)