--- name: "gsftopk" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "texlive-doc" version: "2026.1-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/gsftopk" --- # gsftopk(1) render a ghostscript font in TeX pk form ## NAME gsftopk - render a ghostscript font in TeX pk form ## SYNOPSIS **gsftopk** \[-i *path*\] \[-q\] \[-t\] \[--debug=*n*\] \[--dosnames\] \[--interpreter=*path*\] \[--mapline=*line*\] \[--mapfile=*file*\] \[--quiet\] \[--test\] \[--help\] \[--version\] *font* *dpi* ## ARGUMENTS - *font* Name of the font to be created. - *dpi* Desired resolution of the font to be created, in dots per inch. This may be a real number. ## DESCRIPTION **gsftopk** is a program which calls up the ghostscript program [**gs**(1)](/gs/1.md) to render a given font at a given resolution. It packs the resulting characters into the **pk** file format and writes them to a file whose name is formed from the font name and the resolution (rounded to the nearest integer). The font may be in any format acceptable to Ghostscript, including .*pfa*, .*pfb*, .*gsf*, and .*ttf* files. This program should normally be called by a script, such as **mktexpk**, to create fonts on demand. **gsftopk** obtains the character widths from the .*tfm* file, which must exist in the standard search path. It also must be able to find the font in a map file (such as **psfonts.map**), formatted as in [**dvips**(1)](/dvips/1.md)), unless the **--mapline** option is used. The set of map files is given by the **--mapfile** option, or in the files **config.ps**, **$HOME/.dvipsrc**, and **config.gsftopk** (as would be used by **dvips -Pgsftopk**). The following **pk** "specials" are added at the end of the output file, to provide an internal check on the contents of the file: "**jobname=***font*", "**mag=1**", "**mode=modeless**", and "**pixels\_per\_inch=***dpi*". This is in accordance with the TeX Directory Standard (TDS). ## OPTIONS - **--debug=*n*** Set the **Kpathsea** debug flags according to the integer *n*. - **--dosnames** Use a name of the form *font***.pk** instead of *font***.***dpi***pk.** - **-h, --help** Print a brief help synopsis and exit. - **-i *path*, --interpreter=*path*** Use *path* as the Ghostscript interpreter. - **--mapfile=*file*** Use *file* to look for the map information for *font*. This should be the full name of the file (in other words, no path searching algorithms are applied). - **--mapline=*line*** Use *line* instead of looking for an entry in a map file. The first word of *line* must match *font*. - **-q, --quiet** Operate quietly; i.e., without writing any messages to the standard output. - **-t, --test** Test run: return zero status if the font can be found in the map file(s), and nonzero status if it cannot. If this option is specified, then the *dpi* argument is optional (since the font will not be generated). - **-v, --version** Print the version number and exit. ## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES - **DVIPSRC** Name of file to read instead of **$HOME/.dvipsrc**. This should be the full name of the file (in other words, no path searching algorithms are applied). - **GSFTOPKFONTS** See **TFMFONTS.** - **GSFTOPKHEADERS** See **TEXPSHEADERS.** - **PSHEADERS** See **TEXPSHEADERS.** - **TEXCONFIG** Colon-separated list of paths to search for map files. An extra colon in the list will include the compiled-in default paths at that point. A double slash will enable recursive subdirectory searching at that point in the path. - **TFMFONTS** Colon-separated list of paths to search for the .*tfm* file associated with the font. Double slashes and extra colons behave as with **TEXCONFIG.** This information may also be supplied by using the environment variables **TFMFONTS** or **GSFTOPKFONTS.** These environment variables are checked in the order **GSFTOPKFONTS,** **TFMFONTS,** **TFMFONTS;** the first one (if any) having a value is used. - **TEXPSHEADERS** Colon-separated list of paths to search for the Ghostscript driver file **render.ps** and for any PostScript header or font files (.*enc*, .*pfa*, .*pfb*, .*gsf*, or .*ttf* files). Double slashes and extra colons behave as with **TEXCONFIG.** This information may also be supplied by using the environment variables **PSHEADERS** or **GSFTOPKHEADERS.** These environment variables are checked in the order **GSFTOPKHEADERS,** **TEXPSHEADERS,** **PSHEADERS;** the first one (if any) having a value is used. - **TFMFONTS** See **TFMFONTS.** ## CONFIGURATION In order to determine the set of map files to be used and the path for finding PostScript files, **gsftopk** reads, in order, the files **config.ps**, **.dvipsrc**, and **config.gsftopk**. The files **config.ps** and **config.gsftopk** are searched for using the environment variable **TEXCONFIG,** the **Kpathsea** configuration file, or the compiled-in default paths. The file **.dvipsrc** is searched for in the user's home directory. These files are in the same format as for **dvips** (as well as being in the same locations). The entries used by **gsftopk** are as follows. - H *path* Indicates that the Ghostscript driver file **render.ps** and the PostScript header and font files are to be searched for using *path*. - p *file* Indicates that the list of map files is to be erased and replaced by *file*. - p +*file* Indicates that *file* is to be added to the list of map files. All other entries are ignored. This is similar to the handling of these options when running **dvips -Pgsftopk**. For more details, see the **Kpathsea** manual. ## BUGS **gsftopk** sometimes has trouble with fonts with very complicated characters (such as the Seal of the University of California). This is because **gsftopk** uses the **charpath** operator to determine the bounding box of each character. If the character is too complicated, then old versions of Ghostscript fail, causing **gsftopk** to terminate with an error message - **Call to gs stopped by signal 10** (The number may vary from system to system; it corresponds to a bus error or a segmentation fault.) The best way to fix this bug is to install a current version of ghostscript. As an alternative, **gsftopk** can be instructed to use the bounding box provided with the font (if one exists) instead of finding a bounding box for each character. To do this, include the string - **/usefontbbox true def** in the font map file; *e.g.*, - **ucseal "/usefontbbox true def"** This will not affect use of the font by **dvips**. ## SEE ALSO [**gs**(1)](/gs/1.md), [**gftopk**(1)](/gftopk/1.md), [**tex**(1)](/tex/1.md), [**xdvi**(1)](/xdvi/1.md), [**dvips**(1)](/dvips/1.md) ## AUTHOR Written by Paul Vojta. This program was inspired by Karl Berry's **gsrenderfont**. ## MODIFICATIONS Modified by Yves Arrouye to use Karl Berry's **Kpathsea** library.