1 gs
gs - AFPL Ghostscript interpreter/previewer
! $Id: gs-vms.hlp,v 1.37 2005/10/20 19:46:23 ray Exp $
! Ghostscript version 8.53, 20 October 2005
Usage:
$ gs [options] [file ...]
Ghostscript is an implementation of Adobe Systems' PostScript (tm)
and Portable Document Format (PDF) languages. Gs reads files in sequence
and executes them as Ghostscript programs. After doing this, it reads
further input from the standard input stream (normally the keyboard).
Each line is interpreted separately. To exit from the interpreter,
enter the `quit' command. The interpreter also exits gracefully if it
encounters end-of-file. Typing the interrupt character (e.g. Control-C)
is also safe.
2 Description
The interpreter recognizes several switches described below, which
may appear anywhere in the command line and apply to all files
thereafter.
You can get a help message by invoking Ghostscript with the -h
or -? option. This message also lists the available devices.
Ghostscript may be built with multiple output devices. Ghostscript
normally opens the first one and directs output to it. To use
device xyz as the initial output device, include the switch
"-sDEVICE=xyz"
in the command line. Note that this switch must precede the first
.ps file, and only its first invocation has any effect. For example,
for printer output in a normal configuration that includes an Epson
printer driver, you might use the command
gs "-sDEVICE=epson" myfile.ps
instead of just
gs myfile.ps
Alternatively, you can type
(epson) selectdevice
(myfile.ps) run
All output then goes to the printer instead of the display until
further notice. You can switch devices at any time by using the
selectdevice procedure, e.g.,
(vga) selectdevice
or
(epson) selectdevice
As yet a third alternative, you can define a logical name GS_DEVICE
as the desired default device name. The order of precedence for these
alternatives, highest to lowest, is:
selectdevice
(command line)
GS_DEVICE
(first device in build list)
To select the density on a printer, use
gs "-sDEVICE=<device>" -r<xres>x<yres>
For example, on a 9-pin Epson-compatible printer, you can get the
lowest-density (fastest) mode with
gs "-sDEVICE=epson" -r60x72
and the highest-density mode with
gs "-sDEVICE=epson" -r240x72.
If you select a printer as the output device, Ghostscript also
allows you to control where the device sends its output. Normally,
output goes directly to a scratch file on Unix and VMS systems. To
send the output to a series of files foo1.xyz, foo2.xyz, ..., use
the switch
"-sOutputFile=foo%d.xyz"
The %d is a printf format specification; you can use other formats
like %02d. Each file will receive one page of output. Alternatively,
to send the output to a single file foo.xyz, with all the pages con-
catenated, use the switch
"-sOutputFile=foo.xyz"
To find out what devices are available, type
devicenames ==
after starting up Ghostscript. Alternatively, you can use the -h or -?
switch in the command line; the help message also lists the available
devices.
To select a different paper size, use the command line switch
"-sPAPERSIZE=a_known_paper_size"
e.g.,
"-sPAPERSIZE=a4"
or
"-sPAPERSIZE=legal"
As of this printing, the known paper sizes, defined in gs_statd.ps, are:
PAPERSIZE X" Y" X cm Y cm
____________________________________________________
11x17 11" 17" 27.94 43.18
a0 33.0556" 46.7778" 83.9611 118.816
a10 1.02778" 1.45833" 2.61056 3.70417
a1 23.3889" 33.0556" 59.4078 83.9611
a2 16.5278" 23.3889" 41.9806 59.4078
a3 11.6944" 16.5278" 29.7039 41.9806
a4 8.26389" 11.6944" 20.9903 29.7039
a5 5.84722" 8.26389" 14.8519 20.9903
a6 4.125" 5.84722" 10.4775 14.8519
a7 2.91667" 4.125" 7.40833 10.4775
a8 2.05556" 2.91667" 5.22111 7.40833
a9 1.45833" 2.05556" 3.70417 5.22111
archA 9" 12" 22.86 30.48
archB 12" 18" 30.48 45.72
archC 18" 24" 45.72 60.96
archD 24" 36" 60.96 91.44
archE 36" 48" 91.44 121.92
b0 39.3889" 55.6667" 100.048 141.393
b1 27.8333" 39.3889" 70.6967 100.048
b2 19.6944" 27.8333" 50.0239 70.6967
b3 13.9167" 19.6944" 35.3483 50.0239
b4 9.84722" 13.9167" 25.0119 35.3483
b5 6.95833" 9.84722" 17.6742 25.0119
flsa 8.5" 13" 21.59 33.02
flse 8.5" 13" 21.59 33.02
halfletter 5.5" 8.5" 13.97 21.59
ledger 17" 11" 43.18 27.94
legal 8.5" 14" 21.59 35.56
letter 8.5" 11" 21.59 27.94
note 7.5" 10" 19.05 25.4
Note that the B paper sizes are ISO sizes: for information about using
JIS B sizes, see `Use.htm'.
2 Initialization_files
When looking for the initialization files (gs_*.ps), the files related
to fonts, or the file for the `run' operator, Ghostscript first tries
opening the file with the name as given (i.e., using the current
working directory if none is specified). If this fails, and the file
name doesn't specify an explicit directory or drive, Ghostscript will
try directories in the following order:
1. The directory/ies specified by the -I switch(es) in the command
line (see below), if any;
2. The directory/ies specified by the GS_LIB logical, if any;
3. The directory/ies specified by the GS_LIB_DEFAULT macro in the
Ghostscript makefile.
Each of these (GS_LIB_DEFAULT, GS_LIB, and -I parameter) may be either
a single directory, or a list of directories separated by a `:'.
2 X_resources
Ghostscript looks for the following resources under the program name
`Ghostscript':
borderWidth
The border width in pixels (default = 1).
borderColor
The name of the border color (default = black).
geometry
The window size and placement, WxH+X+Y (default is NULL).
xResolution
The number of x pixels per inch (default is computed from
WidthOfScreen and WidthMMOfScreen).
yResolution
The number of y pixels per inch (default is computed from
HeightOfScreen and HeightMMOfScreen).
useBackingPixmap
Determines whether backing store is to be used for saving display
window (default = true).
See the file `Use.htm' for a more complete list of resources.
To set these resources, put them in a file (such as
SYS$Login:ghostscript.dat) in the following form:
Ghostscript*geometry: 612x792-0+0
Ghostscript*xResolution: 72
Ghostscript*yResolution: 72
2 Options
Note that VMS will convert all command line arguments to lower case
if they are not within quotes. Therefore, if a certain command does
not work, try again but with quotes around it.
-- filename arg1 ...
Takes the next argument as a file name as usual, but takes all
remaining arguments (even if they have the syntactic form of switches)
and defines the name ARGUMENTS in userdict (not systemdict) as an
array of those strings, before running the file. When Ghostscript
finishes executing the file, it exits.
-Dname=token
-dname=token
Define a name in systemdict with the given definition. The token must
be exactly one token (as defined by the `token' operator) and must not
contain any whitespace.
-Dname
-dname
Define a name in systemdict with value=null.
-Sname=string
-sname=string
Define a name in systemdict with a given string as value. This is
different from -d. For example, -dname=35 is equivalent to the
program fragment
/name 35 def
whereas -sname=35 is equivalent to
/name (35) def
-q
Quiet startup - suppress normal startup messages, and also do the
equivalent of -dQUIET.
-gnumber1Xnumber2
Equivalent to -dDEVICEWIDTH=number1 and -dDEVICEHEIGHT=number2. This is
for the benefit of devices (such as X11 windows) that require (or allow)
width and height to be specified.
-rnumber
-rnumber1Xnumber2
Equivalent to -dDEVICEXRESOLUTION=number1 and -dDEVICEYRESOLUTION=number2
This is for the benefit of devices (such as printers) that support
multiple X and Y resolutions. (If only one number is given, it is used
for both X and Y resolutions.)
-Idirectories
Adds the designated list of directories at the head of the search path
for library files.
Note that gs_init.ps makes systemdict read-only, so the values of names
defined with -D/d/S/s cannot be changed (although, of course, they can
be superseded by definitions in userdict or other dictionaries.)
2 Special_names
-dDISKFONTS
Causes individual character outlines to be loaded from the disk the
first time they are encountered. (Normally Ghostscript loads all the
character outlines when it loads a font.) This may allow loading more
fonts into RAM, at the expense of slower rendering.
-dNOCACHE
Disables character caching. Only useful for debugging.
-dNOBIND
Disables the `bind' operator. Only useful for debugging.
-dNODISPLAY
Suppresses the normal initialization of the output device. This may be
useful when debugging.
-dNOPAUSE
Disables the prompt and pause at the end of each page. This may be
desirable for applications where another program is `driving'
Ghostscript.
-dNOPLATFONTS
Disables the use of fonts supplied by the underlying platform (e.g.
X Windows). This may be needed if the platform fonts look undesirably
different from the scalable fonts.
-dSAFER
Disables the deletefile and renamefile operators, and the ability to
open files in any mode other than read-only. This may be desirable
for spoolers or other sensitive environments.
-dWRITESYSTEMDICT
Leaves systemdict writable. This is necessary when running special
utility programs such as font2c and pcharstr, which must bypass normal
PostScript access protection.
-sDEVICE=device
Selects an alternate initial output device, as described above.
-sOutputFile=filename
Selects an alternate output file for the initial output device, as
described above.
2 Files
!!! Change
GS_Root:[Ghostscript.gs4_0]
Startup-files, utilities, and basic font definitions.
GS_Root:[Ghostscript.Fonts4_0]
Additional font definitions.
GS_Root:[Ghostscript.gs4_0.Examples]
Demo Ghostscript files.
GS_Root:[Ghostscript.gs4_0.Doc]
Assorted document files.
!!! Change
2 See_also
The various Ghostscript document files (above).
2 Bugs
See the network news group comp.lang.postscript.
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