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METAFONT Instructions
- Set your terminal to METAFONT:
set terminal mf
- Select an output-file, e.g.:
set output "myfigures.mf"
- Create your pictures. Each picture will generate a separate character. Its
default size will be 5*3 inches. You can change the size by saying set size
0.5,0.5 or whatever fraction of the default size you want to have.
- Quit gnuplot.
- Generate a TFM and GF file by running METAFONT on the output of gnuplot.
Since the picture is quite large (5*3 in), you will have to use a version of
METAFONT that has a value of at least 150000 for memmax. On Unix systems
these are conventionally installed under the name bigmf. For the following
assume that the command virmf stands for a big version of METAFONT. For
example:
- Invoke METAFONT:
virmf '&plain'
- Select the output device: At the METAFONT prompt ('*') type:
\mode:=CanonCX; % or whatever printer you use
- Optionally select a magnification:
mag:=1; % or whatever you wish
- Input the gnuplot-file:
input myfigures.mf
On a typical Unix machine there will usually be a script called "mf" that
executes virmf '&plain', so you probably can substitute mf for virmf &plain.
This will generate two files: mfput.tfm and mfput.$$$gf (where $$$ indicates
the resolution of your device). The above can be conveniently achieved by
typing everything on the command line, e.g.:
virmf '&plain' '3#3mode:=CanonCX; mag:=1; input myfigures.mf'
In this case the output files will be named myfigures.tfm and
myfigures.300gf.
- Generate a PK file from the GF file using gftopk:
gftopk myfigures.300gf myfigures.300pk
The name of the output file for gftopk depends on the DVI driver you use.
Ask your local TeX administrator about the naming conventions. Next, either
install the TFM and PK files in the appropriate directories, or set your
environment variables properly. Usually this involves setting TEXFONTS to
include the current directory and doing the same thing for the environment
variable that your DVI driver uses (no standard name here...). This step is
necessary so that TeX will find the font metric file and your DVI driver will
find the PK file.
- To include your pictures in your document you have to tell TeX the font:
\font\gnufigs=myfigures
Each picture you made is stored in a single character. The first picture is
character 0, the second is character 1, and so on... After doing the above
step, you can use the pictures just like any other characters. Therefore, to
place pictures 1 and 2 centered in your document, all you have to do is:
\centerline{\gnufigs\char0}
\centerline{\gnufigs\char1}
in plain TeX. For LaTeX you can, of course, use the picture environment and
place the picture wherever you wish by using the 3#3makebox and 3#3put macros.
This conversion saves you a lot of time once you have generated the font;
TeX handles the pictures as characters and uses minimal time to place them,
and the documents you make change more often than the pictures do. It also
saves a lot of TeX memory. One last advantage of using the METAFONT driver
is that the DVI file really remains device independent, because no 3#3special
commands are used as in the eepic and tpic drivers.
Next: Mgr
Up: Mf
Previous: Mf
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Ethan Merritt
2007-03-03