This is gnome-print fontmap generation tool


1. Quick usage (user)

Once your fontmaps are set up, you do not need to use much of the
complex arguments below. Old fontmaps are always scanned initially,
so if you want to add fonts, simply run:

  gnome-font-install --debug --recursive --user DIRS...

Where DIRS is list of directories with font files
If you delete font files, rerun

  gnome-font-install --debug --user

So fontmaps will be updated

Alternately, you can use even simpler --smart argument

  gnome-font-install --debug --smart

It creates appropriate fontmap depending on UID (root vs. user)
and scans recursively standard set of font directories.
It can be somewhat slow, as quite a lot of directories are scanned
recursively.


2. Quick usage (administrator)

  gnome-font-install --debug --recursive --dynamic DIRS...

If gnome-print 'make install' fontmap generation fails, and you
are really desperate, why, you can do:

  gnome-font-install --debug --recursive --dynamic /

And make some coffee. If there are usable Type1 fonts on your
system, chances are they will be found. If still nothing,
there probably are no valid fonts.



4. Font versioning

Of all font files (afm and pfb), gnome-font-install tries to build
fonts with highest version numbers, so that

  AFM_VERSION <= PFB_VERSION

SO if you are adding updated fonts (like cyrillic URW ones), make sure
that you version numbers are actually higher - or alternatively
delete original afm-s first.



5. Aliasing

.font files can specify font aliasing, mapping afm with different
name to certain pfb file. This is quite inflexible, and is mostly
meant for using URW fonts with standard PostScript name.



6. Full usage

Usage: gnome-font-install [OPTION...] [FILE/DIRECTORY...]
  -d, --debug          Print out debugging information
  -q, --smart          Tries to do everything automatically
  -r, --recursive      Search directories recursively for font files
  -c, --clean          Start from zero fontmap, instead of parsing old one
  -u, --user           Create $HOME/.gnome/fonts/gnome-print.fontmap
  -d, --dynamic        Create $SYSCONFDIR/gnome/fonts/gnome-print.fontmap
  -s, --static         Create $DATADIR/gnome/fonts/gnome-print.fontmap
  -t, --target=ARG     Write output fontmap to specified file (- for stdout)
  -a, --aliases=PATH   File describing known aliases

Help options
  -?, --help           Show this help message
  --usage              Display brief usage message


Comments

* Each file given in command line is tested, and if found to be valid
  font file used later for fontmap generation

* Directories are scanned for all files (regardless of name). If
  --recursive option is used, then the scan is recursive

* Usually previous fontmaps are read before scanning, so fonts
  already installed on specified level are omitted. Use --clean
  to ignore existing fontmap files

* There are 3 levels of fontmaps, found in directories:

  $HOME/.gnome/fonts      (user)
  $SYSCONFDIR/gnome/fonts (dynamic)
  $DATADIR/gnome/fonts    (static)

  Directories are parsed in following order. All files matching
  *.fontmap pattern are read in alphabetical order EXCEPT:

  gnome-print.fontmap is first file to read from any directory

  --user, --dynamic and --static flags may be used to specify
  desired output fontmap level. If --target is omitted, output
  will be gnome-print.fontmap in level directory. Default
  level is user.

  Rules for including fonts:
  - For user fontmap, ignore all fonts found either in user,
    dynamic or static fontmaps EXCEPT those in user-level
    gnome-print.fontmap (which will be overwritten by default anyways)
  - For dynamic fontmap, ignore fonts in dynamic and static
    fontmaps, EXCEPT those in dynamic-level gnome-print.fontmap
  - for static fontmap, ignore fonts in static maps, EXCEPT
    again static gnome-print fontmap

  The idea is, that static fontmaps should be installed by
  binary packages, and thus seldom change. And if they go away,
  chances are, that physical font files go with them.
  Dynamic maps should be managed by system administrators
  (make install generates dynamic map too), and also, if
  fontmap is removed, there is little reason to keep these
  fonts in user map.

* Target allows you to specify output fontmap name explicitly.
  If path to file does not exist, directories will be created
  on-the-fly

* Alias file allows to specify gnome-print <= 0.29 fontmap
  files, containing type1 alias entries. These are for entries,
  for which we have to use afm and pfb files from different
  fonts. The only useful one, is adobe-urw.font - which is
  initially in $srcdir/fonts, and after installation
  $datadir/fonts


Lauris Kaplinski <lauris@ximian.com>
28.09.2001