MKFONTDIR(1)       X Version 11 (Release 6.6)        MKFONTDIR(1)


     NAME
          mkfontdir, fonts.dir, fonts.scale, fonts.alias - create an
          index of X font files in a directory

     SYNOPSIS
          mkfontdir [directory-name ... ]

     DESCRIPTION
          For each directory argument, mkfontdir reads all of the font
          files in the directory searching for properties named
          "FONT", or (failing that) the name of the file stripped of
          its suffix.  These are converted to lower case and used as
          font names, and, along with the name of the font file, are
          written out to the file "fonts.dir" in the directory.  The X
          server and font server use "fonts.dir" to find font files.

          The kinds of font files read by mkfontdir depend on
          configuration parameters, but typically include PCF (suffix
          ".pcf"), SNF (suffix ".snf") and BDF (suffix ".bdf").  If a
          font exists in multiple formats, mkfontdir will first choose
          PCF, then SNF and finally BDF.

          The first line of fonts.dir gives the number of fonts in the
          file.  The remaining lines list the fonts themselves, one
          per line, in two fields.  First is the name of the font
          file, followed by a space and the name of the font.

     SCALABLE FONTS
          Because scalable font files do not usually include the X
          font name, the file "fonts.scale" can be used to name the
          scalable fonts in the directory.  The fonts listed in it are
          copied to fonts.dir by mkfontdir.  "fonts.scale" has the
          same format as the "fonts.dir" file.

     FONT NAME ALIASES
          The file "fonts.alias", which can be put in any directory of
          the font-path, is used to map new names to existing fonts,
          and should be edited by hand.  The format is two white-space
          separated columns, the first containing aliases and the
          second containing font-name patterns.  Lines beginning with
          "!" are comment lines and are ignored.

          If neither the alias nor the value specifies the size fields
          of the font name, this is a scalable alias.  A font name of
          any size that matches this alias will be mapped to the same
          size of the font that the alias resolves to.

          When a font alias is used, the name it references is
          searched for in the normal manner, looking through each font
          directory in turn.  This means that the aliases need not
          mention fonts in the same directory as the alias file.


          To embed white space in either name, simply enclose it in
          double-quote marks; to embed double-quote marks (or any
          other character), precede them with back-slash:

          "magic-alias with spaces"     "\"font name\" with quotes"
          regular-alias            fixed

          If the string "FILE_NAMES_ALIASES" stands alone on a line,
          each file-name in the directory (stripped of its suffix)
          will be used as an alias for that font.

     FILES
          fonts.dir      List of fonts in the directory and the files
                         they are stored in.  Created by mkfontdir.
                         Read by the X server and font server each
                         time the font path is set (see xset(1)).

          fonts.scale    List of scalable fonts in the directory.
                         Contents are copied to fonts.dir by
                         mkfontdir.

          fonts.alias    List of font name aliases.  Read by the X
                         server and font server each time the font
                         path is set (see xset(1)).

     SEE ALSO
          X(1), Xserver(1), xfs(1), xset(1)


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