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General Purpose PostScript Generating Utility

General Purpose PostScript Generating Utility

GNU a2ps is a filter which generates PostScript from various formats, with pretty-printing features, strong support for many alphabets, and customizable layout.

This is Edition 4.13 of the a2ps documentation, updated 6 February 2000.

1. Introduction		Foreword
2. User's Guide		Beginner should start here
3. Invoking a2ps		The command line options
4. Configuration Files		Tuning your a2ps
5. Library Files		Dynamic extension of a2ps
6. Encodings		Supporting various charsets
7. Pretty Printing		Support for source files
8. PostScript		PostScript specific informations
9. Contributions		Tools around a2ps
10. Frequently asked questions		Frequently Answered Questions
A. Glossary		Small Dictionary
B. Genesis		History of a2ps
C. Copying		Your rights and ours
Concept Index		Most words used in here

Introduction

1.1 Description		What a2ps is
1.2 Reporting Bugs		What to do when you face problems
1.3 a2ps Mailing List		Getting news about a2ps
1.4 Helping the Development		How to contribute

User's Guide

2.1 Purpose		What a2ps is made for
2.2 How to print		The basis
2.3 Important parameters		What needs to be set
2.4 Localizing		How to have a2ps speaking your language
2.5 Interfacing with Other Programs		Using a2ps from common programs

How to print

2.2.1 Basics for Printing		Printing text files
2.2.2 Special Printers		Some useful fake printers
2.2.3 Using Delegations		Printing special files (PS, DVI etc.)
2.2.4 Printing Duplex		Doing Fancy Things
2.2.5 Checking the Defaults		Is it set the way you want?

Interfacing with Other Programs

2.5.1 Interfacing With a Mailer		Printing Mails or News
2.5.2 Netscape		Interfacing with Netscape

Invoking a2ps

3.1 Command line options
3.2 Escapes		Strings ready to use in the headers

Command line options

3.1.1 Tasks Options		Exclusive options
3.1.2 Global Options		Settings involving the whole process
3.1.3 Sheet Options		Specify the layout on the sheet
3.1.4 Page Options		Specify the virtual pages
3.1.5 Headings Options		Specify the headers you want
3.1.6 Input Options		How to process the input files
3.1.7 Pretty Printing Options		Source files support
3.1.8 Output Options		What should be done of the output
3.1.9 PostScript Options		PostScript specific options

Escapes

3.2.1 Use of Escapes		Where they are used
3.2.2 General Structure of the Escapes		Their syntax
3.2.3 Available Escapes		Detailed list

Configuration Files

4.1 Including Configuration Files		Isolating site specific values
4.2 Your Library Path		Setting the files search path
4.3 Your Default Options		Default state of a2ps
4.4 Your Media		Sheets dimensions
4.5 Your Printers		How to access the printers
4.6 Your Shortcuts		Your very own command line options
4.7 Your PostScript magic number		Handling very old printers
4.8 Your Page Labels		Page names as in Ghostview
4.9 Your Variables		Short cut for long sequences
4.10 Your Delegations		Delegating some files to other filters
4.11 Your Internal Details		Details you might want to tune

Your Variables

4.9.1 Defining Variables		Syntax and conventions
4.9.2 Predefined Variables		Builtin variables

Your Delegations

4.10.1 Defining a Delegation		Syntax of the definitions of the delegations
4.10.2 Guide Line for Delegations		What should be respected
4.10.3 Predefined Delegations		Making the best use of these delegations

Library Files

5.1 Documentation Format		Special tags to write a documentation
5.2 Map Files		Their general shape and rationale
5.3 Font Files		Using other fonts
5.4 Style Sheet Files		Defining pretty printing rules

Font Files

5.3.1 Fonts Map File		Mapping a font name to a file name
5.3.2 Fonts Description Files		Needed files to use a Font
5.3.3 Adding More Font Support		Using even more Fonts

Encodings

6.1 What is an Encoding		The concept of encoding explained
6.2 Encoding Files		How a2ps handles the encodings

Encoding Files

6.2.1 Encoding Map File		Mapping an encoding name to a file name
6.2.2 Encoding Description Files		Specifying an encoding
6.2.3 Some Encodings		Classical or standard encodings

Pretty Printing

7.1 Syntactic limits		What can't be done
7.2 Known Style Sheets		Some supported languages
7.3 Type Setting Style Sheets		a2ps as a tiny word processor
7.4 Faces		Encoding the look of pieces of text
7.5 Style Sheets Semantics		What is to be defined
7.6 Style Sheets Implementation		How they should be defined
7.7 A Tutorial on Style Sheets		Step by step example

Type Setting Style Sheets

7.3.1 Symbol		Access to the glyphs of the Symbol font
7.3.2 PreScript		Typesetting in an a2ps like syntax
7.3.3 PreTeX		Typesetting in a LaTeX like syntax
7.3.4 TeXScript		Typesetting in a mixture of both

PreScript

7.3.2.1 Syntax		Lexical specifications
7.3.2.2 PreScript Commands
7.3.2.3 Examples

PreTeX

7.3.3.1 Special characters
7.3.3.2 PreTeX Commands
7.3.3.3 Differences with LaTeX

Style Sheets Semantics

7.5.1 Name and key		Both names of a style sheet
7.5.2 Comments		Author name, version etc.
7.5.3 Alphabets		What words are legal
7.5.4 Case sensitivity		Is BEGIN different of begin
7.5.5 P-Rules		Pretty Printing Rules
7.5.6 Sequences		Strings, comments etc.
7.5.7 Optional entries		Second level of pretty printing

Style Sheets Implementation

7.6.1 A Bit of Syntax		Lexical rules of the ssh language
7.6.2 Style Sheet Header		Declaration of a style
7.6.3 Syntax of the Words		Classes of the Characters
7.6.4 Inheriting from Other Style Sheets		Extending existing style sheets
7.6.5 Syntax for the P-Rules		Atomic Pretty Printing rules
7.6.6 Declaring the keywords and the operators		Special Classes of Identifiers
7.6.7 Declaring the sequences		Bordered Lexical Entities
7.6.8 Checking a Style Sheet		Ask a2ps to Check the Sheet

A Tutorial on Style Sheets

7.7.1 Example and syntax		ChangeLog files
7.7.2 Implementation		Implementation of chlog.ssh
7.7.3 The Entry in `sheets.map'		Getting automatic style selection
7.7.4 More Sophisticated Rules		Complex regular expressions
7.7.5 Guide Line for Distributed Style Sheets		Additional Constraints

PostScript

8.1 Foreword: Good and Bad PostScript		How to lose, how to win
8.2 Page Device Options		Accessing some printers' features
8.3 Statusdict Options		Some other features
8.4 Colors in PostScript		Specifying a color or a gray
8.5 a2ps PostScript Files		Convention for PostScript library files
8.6 Designing PostScript Prologues		Make it look like what you want

Designing PostScript Prologues

8.6.1 Definition of the faces		What goes in a characters style
8.6.2 Prologue File Format		Including documentation
8.6.3 A step by step example

Contributions

9.1 card		Printing Reference Cards
9.2 fixps		Fixing Some Ill Designed PostScript Files
9.3 fixnt		Fixing Microsoft NT PostScript Files
9.4 pdiff		Produce Pretty Comparison of Files
9.5 psmandup		Printing Duplex on Simplex Printers
9.6 psset		Inserting calls to setpagedevice

card

9.1.1 Invoking card		Command Line Interface
9.1.2 Caution when Using card		card runs commands

fixps

9.2.1 Invoking fixps

Command Line Interface

fixnt

9.3.1 Invoking fixnt

Command Line Interface

pdiff

9.4.1 Invoking pdiff

Command Line Interface

psmandup

9.5.1 Invoking psmandup

Command Line Interface

psset

9.6.1 Invoking psset

Command Line Interface

Frequently asked questions

10.1 Why Does...?		Questions on Error
10.2 How Can I ...?		a2ps' How-To
10.3 Please tell me...		Existential Questions on a2ps

Why Does...?

10.1.1 Why Does it Print Nothing?		The printer issues nothing
10.1.2 Why Does it Print in Simplex?		While I asked for Duplex
10.1.3 Why Does it Print in Duplex?		While I asked for Simplex
10.1.4 Why Does it Not Fit on the Paper?		Some parts are missing
10.1.5 Why Does it Print Junk?		Random characters
10.1.6 Why Does it Say my File is Binary?		And refuses to print it
10.1.7 Why Does it Refuse to Change the Font Size

How Can I ...?

10.2.1 How Can I Leave Room for Binding?		Specifying Margins
10.2.2 How Can I Print stdin?		Using a2ps in a pipe chain
10.2.3 How Can I Change the Fonts?		Tired of Courier?
10.2.4 How Can I Simulate the Old Option `-b'?		Printing in Bold
10.2.5 How Can I Pass Options to `lpr'		Disable the banner
10.2.6 How Can I Print on Non PostScript Printers?		Using GhostScript
10.2.7 How Can I Print Man Pages with Underlines		Now it Prints With Italics

Please tell me...

10.3.1 Is a2ps Y2K compliant?		Printing dates in short format
10.3.2 Why Have the Options Changed?		Respect The Users
10.3.3 Why not having used yacc and such		Why Using Style Sheets

Genesis

B.1 History		Where does it come from
B.2 Thanks		People who really helped
B.3 Translators		People who brought support of your tongue