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NAME
mf, inimf, mf-nowin - Metafont, a language for font and logo design
SYNOPSIS
mf [options] [commands]
DESCRIPTION
Metafont reads the program in the specified files and outputs font rasters (in gf format) and font
metrics (in tfm format). The Metafont language is described in The Metafontbook.
Like TeX, Metafont is normally used with a large body of precompiled macros, and font generation in
particular requires the support of several macro files. This version of Metafont looks at its command
line to see what name it was called under. Both inimf and virmf are symlinks to the mf executable. When
called as inimf (or when the -ini option is given) it can be used to precompile macros into a .base file.
When called as virmf it will use the plain base. When called under any other name, Metafont will use
that name as the name of the base to use. For example, when called as mf the mf base is used, which is
identical to the plain base. Other bases than plain are rarely used.
The commands given on the command line to the Metafont program are passed to it as the first input line.
(But it is often easier to type extended arguments as the first input line, since UNIX shells tend to
gobble up or misinterpret Metafont's favorite symbols, like semicolons, unless you quote them.) As
described in The Metafontbook, that first line should begin with a filename, a \controlsequence, or a
&basename.
The normal usage is to say
mf '\mode=<printengine>; [mag=magstep(n);]' input font
to start processing font.mf. The single quotes are the best way of keeping the Unix shell from
misinterpreting the semicolons and from removing the \ character, which is needed here to keep Metafont
from thinking that you want to produce a font called mode. (Or you can just say mf and give the other
stuff on the next line, without quotes.) Other control sequences, such as batchmode (for silent
operation) can also appear. The name font will be the ``jobname'', and is used in forming output file
names. If Metafont doesn't get a file name in the first line, the jobname is mfput. The default
extension, .mf, can be overridden by specifying an extension explicitly.
A log of error messages goes into the file jobname.log. The output files are jobname.tfm and
jobname.<number>gf, where <number> depends on the resolution and magnification of the font. The mode in
this example is shown generically as <printengine>, a symbolic term for which the name of an actual
device or, most commonly, the name localfont (see below) must be substituted. If the mode is not
specified or is not valid for your site, Metafont will default to proof mode which produces large
character images for use in font design and refinement. Proof mode can be recognized by the suffix
.2602gf after the jobname. Examples of proof mode output can be found in Computer Modern Typefaces
(Volume E of Computers and Typesetting). The system of magsteps is identical to the system used by TeX,
with values generally in the range 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. A listing of gf numbers for 118-dpi,
240-dpi and 300-dpi fonts is shown below.
MAGSTEP 118 dpi 240 dpi 300 dpi
mag=magstep(0) 118 240 300
mag=magstep(0.5) 129 263 329
mag=magstep(1) 142 288 360
mag=magstep(2) 170 346 432
mag=magstep(3) 204 415 518
mag=magstep(4) 245 498 622
mag=magstep(5) 294 597 746
Magnification can also be specified not as a magstep but as an arbitrary value, such as 1.315, to create
special character sizes.
Before font production can begin, it is necessary to set up the appropriate base files. The minimum set
of components for font production for a given print-engine is the plain.mf macro file and the local
mode_def file. The macros in plain.mf can be studied in an appendix to the Metafontbook; they were
developed by Donald E. Knuth, and this file should never be altered except when it is officially
upgraded. Each mode_def specification helps adapt fonts to a particular print-engine. There is a
regular discussion of mode_defs in TUGboat, the journal of the TeX Users Group. The local ones in use on
this computer should be in modes.mf.
The e response to Metafont's error-recovery mode invokes the system default editor at the erroneous line
of the source file. There is an environment variable, MFEDIT, that overrides the default editor. It
should contain a string with "%s" indicating where the filename goes and "%d" indicating where the
decimal linenumber (if any) goes. For example, an MFEDIT string for the vi editor can be set with the
csh command
setenv MFEDIT "vi +%d %s"
A convenient file in the library is null.mf, containing nothing. When mf can't find the file it thinks
you want to input, it keeps asking you for another file name; responding `null' gets you out of the loop
if you don't want to input anything.
ONLINE GRAPHICS OUTPUT
Metafont can use most modern displays, so you can see its output without printing. Chapter 23 of The
Metafontbook describes what you can do. This implementation of Metafont uses environment variables to
determine which display device you want to use. First it looks for a variable MFTERM, and then for TERM.
If it can't find either, you get no online output. Otherwise, the value of the variable determines the
device to use: hp2627, sun (for old SunView), tek, uniterm (for an Atari ST Tek 4014 emulator), xterm
(for either X10 or X11). Some of these devices may not be supported in all Metafont executables; the
choice is made at compilation time.
On some systems, there are two Metafont binaries, mf and mf-nowin. On those systems the mf binary
supports graphics, while the mf-nowin binary does not. The mf-nowin binary is used by scripts like
mktexpk where graphics support is a nuisance rather than something helpful.
OPTIONS
This version of Metafont understands the following command line options.
-base base
Use base as the name of the base to be used, instead of the name by which Metafont was called or a
%& line.
-cnf-line string
Parse string as a texmf.cnf configuration line. See the Kpathsea manual.
-file-line-error
Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is similar to the way many compilers format
them.
-no-file-line-error
Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style.
-file-line-error-style
This is the old name of the -file-line-error option.
-halt-on-error
Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during processing.
-help Print help message and exit.
-ini Be inimf, for dumping bases; this is implicitly true if the program is called as inimf.
-interaction mode
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 corresponding commands.
-jobname name
Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file.
-kpathsea-debug bitmask
Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask. See the Kpathsea manual for
details.
-maketex fmt
Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.
-no-maketex fmt
Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf.
-output-directory directory
Write output files in directory instead of the current directory. Look up input files in
directory first, then along the normal search path.
-parse-first-line
If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump name or a
-translate-file option.
-no-parse-first-line
Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file.
-progname name
Pretend to be program name. This affects both the format used and the search paths.
-recorder
Enable the filename recorder. This leaves a trace of the files opened for input and output in a
file with extension .fls.
-translate-file tcxname
Use the tcxname translation table.
-version
Print version information and exit.
ENVIRONMENT
See the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specifications' node) for the details of how the
environment variables are use when searching. The kpsewhich utility can be used to query the values of
the variables.
If the environment variable TEXMFOUTPUT is set, Metafont attempts to put its output files in it, if they
cannot be put in the current directory. Again, see tex(1).
MFINPUTS
Search path for input files.
MFEDIT Command template for switching to editor.
MFTERM Determines the online graphics display. If MFTERM is not set, and DISPLAY is set, the Metafont
window support for X is used. (DISPLAY must be set to a valid X server specification, as usual.)
If neither MFTERM nor DISPLAY is set, TERM is used to guess the window support to use.
FONT UTILITIES
A number of utility programs are available. The following is a partial list of available utilities and
their purpose. Consult your local Metafont guru for details.
gftopk Takes a gf file and produces a more tightly packed pk font file.
gftodvi Produces proof sheets for fonts.
gftype Displays the contents of a gf file in mnemonics and/or images.
pktype Mnemonically displays the contents of a pk file.
mft Formats a source file as shown in Computer Modern Typefaces.
FILES
mf.pool
Encoded text of Metafont's messages.
*.base Predigested Metafont base files.
$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/base/plain.mf
The standard base.
$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/misc/modes.mf
The file of mode_defs for your site's various printers
NOTES
This manual page is not meant to be exhaustive. The complete documentation for this version of Metafont
can be found in the info manual Web2C: A TeX implementation.
BUGS
On January 4, 1986 the ``final'' bug in Metafont was discovered and removed. If an error still lurks in
the code, Donald E. Knuth promises to pay a finder's fee which doubles every year to the first person who
finds it. Happy hunting.
SUGGESTED READING
Donald E. Knuth, The Metafontbook (Volume C of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN
0-201-13445-4.
Donald E. Knuth, Metafont: The Program (Volume D of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986,
ISBN 0-201-13438-1.
Donald E. Knuth, Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986,
ISBN 0-201-13446-2.
TUGboat (the journal of the TeX Users Group).
COMMENTS
Warning: ``Type design can be hazardous to your other interests. Once you get hooked, you will develop
intense feelings about letterforms; the medium will intrude on the messages that you read. And you will
perpetually be thinking of improvements to the fonts that you see everywhere, especially those of your
own design.''
SEE ALSO
gftopk(1), gftodvi(1), gftype(1), mft(1), mpost(1), pltotf(1), tftopl(1).
AUTHORS
Metafont was designed by Donald E. Knuth, who implemented it using his Web system for Pascal programs.
It was originally ported to Unix by Paul Richards at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
This page was mostly written by Pierre MacKay.
Web2C 2025/dev 24 August 2023 MF(1)