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gs(1)





NAME

       gs  -  Ghostscript  (PostScript  and  PDF language interpreter and pre-
       viewer)


SYNOPSIS

       gs [ options ] [ files ] ... (Unix, VMS)
       gswin32 [ options ] [ files ] ... (MS Windows)
       gswin32c [ options ] [ files ] ... (MS Windows)
       gs386 [ options ] [ files ] ... (DOS for PC)
       gsos2 [ options ] [ files ] ... (OS/2)


DESCRIPTION

       The gs (gswin32, gswin32c, gs386, gsos2) command  invokes  Ghostscript,
       an  interpreter  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),  interpreting  each
       line  separately.   The interpreter quits gracefully when it encounters
       the "quit" command (either in a file or from the keyboard), at  end-of-
       file, or at an interrupt signal (such as Control-C at the keyboard).

       The  interpreter recognizes several switches described below, which may
       appear anywhere in the command line and apply to all files  thereafter.
       Invoking  Ghostscript with the -h or -? switch produces a message which
       shows several useful switches, all  the  devices  known  to  that  exe-
       cutable, and the search path for fonts; on Unix it also shows the loca-
       tion of detailed documentation.

       Ghostscript may be built able to use many different output devices.  To
       see  which  devices  your  executable can use, run "gs -h".  Unless you
       specify a particular device, Ghostscript normally opens the  first  one
       of  those  and directs output to it, so if the first one in the list is
       the one you want to use, just issue the command

            gs myfile.ps

       You  can  also  check  the  set  of  available  devices   from   within
       Ghostscript: invoke Ghostscript and type

            devicenames ==

       but  the  first  device  on  the  resulting list may not be the default
       device you determine with "gs -h".  To specify "AbcXyz" as the  initial
       output device, include the switch

            -sDEVICE=AbcXyz

       For example, for output to an Epson printer you might use the command

            gs -sDEVICE=epson myfile.ps

       The  "-sDEVICE="  switch  must  precede  the first mention of a file to
       print, and only the switch's first use has any effect.   Alternatively,
       in Ghostscript you can type

            (epson) selectdevice
            (myfile.ps) run

       All  output  then  goes  to the printer until you select another device
       with the "selectdevice" procedure in the PostScript program stream, for
       example

            (vga) selectdevice
       or
            (x11) selectdevice

       Finally,  you  can specify a default device in the environment variable
       GS_DEVICE.  The order of precedence for these alternatives from highest
       to lowest (Ghostscript uses the device defined highest in the list) is:

            selectdevice
            (command line)
            GS_DEVICE
            (first device in build list)

       Some printers can print at different resolutions (densities).  To spec-
       ify the resolution on such a printer, use the "-r" switch:

            gs -sDEVICE=<device> -r<xres>x<yres>

       For  example,  on a 9-pin Epson-compatible printer, you get the lowest-
       density (fastest) mode with

            gs -sDEVICE=epson -r60x72

       and the highest-density (best output quality) mode with

            gs -sDEVICE=epson -r240x72.

       If you select a printer as the output device, Ghostscript  also  allows
       you  to  choose  where Ghostscript sends the output -- on Unix systems,
       usually to a temporary file.  To send the output to a  file  "foo.xyz",
       use the switch

            -sOutputFile=foo.xyz

       You  might  want  to  print each page separately.  To do this, send the
       output to a series of files "foo1.xyz, foo2.xyz, ..." using the "-sOut-
       putFile=" switch with "%d" in a filename template:

            -sOutputFile=foo%d.xyz

       Each resulting file receives one page of output, and the files are num-
       bered in sequence.  "%d" is a printf format specification; you can also
       use a variant like "%02d".

       On  Unix  systems  you can also send output to a pipe.  For example, to
       pipe output to the "lpr" command (which, on many Unix systems,  directs
       it to a printer), use the switch

            -sOutputFile=\|lpr

       You can also send output to standard output for piping with the switch

            -sOutputFile=-

       In  this  case  you must also use the -q switch, to prevent Ghostscript
       from writing messages to standard output.

       To select a specific paper size, use the command line switch

            -sPAPERSIZE=a_known_paper_size

       for instance

            -sPAPERSIZE=a4
       or
            -sPAPERSIZE=legal

       At this time, the known paper sizes, defined in the initialization file
       "gs_statd.ps", are:

       PAPERSIZE    X inches   Y inches   X cm      Y cm
       -----------------------------------------------------
       a0           33.0556    46.7778    83.9611   118.816
       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
       a10          1.02778    1.45833    2.61056   3.70417
       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
       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
       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
       note         7.5        10         19.05     25.4
       letter       8.5        11         21.59     27.94
       legal        8.5        14         21.59     35.56
       11x17        11         17         27.94     43.18
       ledger       17         11         43.18     27.94

       Note  that the B paper sizes are ISO sizes: for information about using
       JIS B sizes, see Use.htm.

       Ghostscript can do many things other than print or view PostScript  and
       PDF  files.   For  example,  if  you want to know the bounding box of a
       PostScript (or EPS) file, Ghostscript provides a special "device"  that
       just prints out this information:

                 gs -sDEVICE=bbox myfile.ps

       For   example,   using  one  of  the  example  files  distributed  with
       Ghostscript,

                 gs -sDEVICE=bbox golfer.ps

       prints out

                 %%BoundingBox: 0 25 583 732
                 %%HiResBoundingBox: 0.808497 25.009496 582.994503 731.809445


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
       to open the file with the name as  given,  using  the  current  working
       directory  if  no  directory is specified.  If this fails, and the file
       name doesn't specify an explicit  directory  or  drive  (for  instance,
       doesn't contain "/" on Unix systems or "\" on DOS systems), Ghostscript
       tries directories in this order:

       1.  the directories specified by the -I switches in  the  command  line
           (see below), if any;

       2.  the  directories  specified  by the GS_LIB environment variable, if
           any;

       3.  the directories  specified  by  the  GS_LIB_DEFAULT  macro  in  the
           Ghostscript  makefile  when  the  executable was built.  When gs is
           built      on      Unix,      GS_LIB_DEFAULT       is       usually
           "/usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##:/usr/local/share/ghostscript/fonts"
           where "#.##" represents the Ghostscript version number.

       Each of these (GS_LIB_DEFAULT, GS_LIB, and -I parameter) may be  either
       a single directory or a list of directories separated by ":".


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  dis-
              play window (default = true).

       See  the  usage document for a more complete list of resources.  To set
       these resources on Unix, put them in a file such as "~/.Xresources"  in
       the following form:

                 Ghostscript*geometry:  612x792-0+0
                 Ghostscript*xResolution: 72
                 Ghostscript*yResolution: 72

       Then merge these resources into the X server's resource database:

                 % xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources


SWITCHES

       -- 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
              back to the shell.

       -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" oper-
              ator) and may contain no 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 -dDEVICEYRESOLU-
              TION=number2.  This is for the benefit of devices such as print-
              ers that support multiple X and Y resolutions.  If only one num-
              ber 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.

       -      This  is  not really a switch, but indicates to Ghostscript that
              standard input is coming from a file or a pipe and not  interac-
              tively  from  the command line.  Ghostscript reads from standard
              input until it reaches end-of-file, executing it like any  other
              file, and then continues with processing the command line.  When
              the command line has been entirely processed, Ghostscript  exits
              rather than going into its interactive mode.

       Note  that  the  normal initialization file "gs_init.ps" makes "system-
       dict" read-only, so the values of names defined with -D, -d, -S, or  -s
       cannot be changed (although, of course, they can be superseded by defi-
       nitions in "userdict" or other dictionaries.)


SPECIAL NAMES

       -dSAFER
              Disables the "deletefile" and  "renamefile"  operators  and  the
              ability  to open files in any mode other than read-only. This is
              desirable for spoolers or any other environments where  a  mali-
              cious or badly written PostScript program must be prevented from
              changing important files.

       -dBATCH
              Causes Ghostscript to exit after processing all files  named  on
              the  command  line, rather than prompting for further PostScript
              commands.

       -dNOPAUSE
              Disables the prompt and pause at the end of each page. This  may
              be  desirable  in converting documents or for applications where
              another program is driving Ghostscript.

       -sDEVICE=device
              Selects an alternate initial output device, as described  above.

       -sOutputFile=filename
              Selects  an alternate output file (or pipe) for the initial out-
              put device, as described above.

       -dNODISPLAY
              Suppresses the normal initialization of the output device.  This
              may be useful when debugging.

       -dNOCACHE
              Disables character caching. Useful only for debugging.

       -dNOBIND
              Disables the "bind" operator. Useful only for debugging.

       -dNOPLATFONTS
              Disables  the  use  of fonts supplied by the underlying platform
              (for instance X Windows). This may be  needed  if  the  platform
              fonts look undesirably different from the scalable fonts.

       -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.

       -dWRITESYSTEMDICT
              Leaves  "systemdict"  writable.  This  is necessary when running
              special utility programs such as font2c and pcharstr, which must
              bypass normal PostScript access protection.


FILES

       The  locations of many Ghostscript run-time files are compiled into the
       executable when it is built.  On Unix  these  are  typically  based  in
       /usr/local,  but  this may be different on your system.  Under DOS they
       are typically based in C:\GS, but may be elsewhere, especially  if  you
       install  Ghostscript  with GSview.  Run "gs -h" to find the location of
       Ghostscript documentation on your system, from which you can  get  more
       details.

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/*
              Startup files, utilities, and basic font definitions

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/fonts/*
              More font definitions

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/examples/*
              Ghostscript demonstration files

       /usr/local/share/ghostscript/#.##/doc/*
              Diverse document files


ENVIRONMENT

       GS_OPTIONS
              String  of  options  to  be  processed  before  the command line
              options

       GS_DEVICE
              Used to specify an output device

       GS_FONTPATH
              Path names used to search for fonts

       GS_LIB Path names for initialization files and fonts

       TEMP   Where temporary files are made


SEE ALSO

       The various Ghostscript document files (above), especially Use.htm.


BUGS

       See the Usenet news group comp.lang.postscript.


VERSION

       This document was last revised for Ghostscript version 7.07.


AUTHOR

       L.  Peter  Deutsch  <ghost@aladdin.com>  is  the  principal  author  of
       Ghostscript.   Russell  J. Lang <rjl@aladdin.com> is the author of most
       of the MS Windows code in Ghostscript.

7.05                             22 April 2002                           GS(1)

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