Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.


Environment variables

The behavior of plotfont is affected by several environment variables, which are the same as those that affect graph, plot, and tek2plot. For convenience, we list them here.

We have already mentioned the environment variables BITMAPSIZE, PAGESIZE, and BG_COLOR. They serve as backups for the options `--bitmap-size', `--page-size', and `--bg-color'. The remaining environment variables are specific to individual output formats.

plotfont -T X, which pops up a window on an X Window System display and draws a character map in it, checks the DISPLAY environment variable. The value of this variable determines the display on which the window will be popped up.

plotfont -T pnm, which produces output in Portable Anymap (PBM/PGM/PPM) format, is affected by the PNM_PORTABLE environment variable. If its value is "yes", the output file will be in the portable (human readable) version of PBM, PGM, or PPM format, rather than the default (binary) version.

plotfont -T gif, which produces output in pseudo-GIF format, is affected by two environment variables. If the value of the INTERLACE variable is "yes", the pseudo-GIF output file will be in interlaced format. Also, if the value of the TRANSPARENT_COLOR environment variable is the name of a color that appears in the output file, that color will be treated as transparent by most applications that read GIF files. For information on what color names are recognized, see section Specifying Colors by Name.

plotfont -T pcl, which produces PCL 5 output for Hewlett--Packard printers and plotters, is affected by several environment variables. The position of the graphics display on the page can be adjusted by setting the PCL_XOFFSET and PCL_YOFFSET environment variables, which may be specified in centimeters, millimeters, or inches. For example, an offset could be specified as "2cm" or "1.2in". Also, the display can be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise on the page by setting the PCL_ROTATE environment variable to "yes". This is not the same as the rotation obtained with the --rotation option, which sets the rotation angle of the character map within the display. Besides "no" and "yes", recognized values for the PCL_ROTATE variable are "0", "90", "180", and "270". "no" and "yes" are equivalent to "0" and "90", respectively.

The variable PCL_ASSIGN_COLORS is also recognized. It should be set to "yes" when producing PCL 5 output for a color printer or other color device. This will ensure accurate color reproduction by giving the output device complete freedom in assigning colors, internally, to its "logical pens". If it is "no" then the device will use a fixed set of colored pens, and will emulate other colors by shading. The default is "no" because monochrome PCL 5 devices, which are much more common than colored ones, must use shading to emulate color.

plotfont -T hpgl, which produces Hewlett--Packard Graphics Language output, is also affected by several environment variables. The most important is HPGL_VERSION, which may be set to "1", "1.5", or "2" (the default). "1" means that the output should be generic HP-GL, "1.5" means that the output should be suitable for the HP7550A graphics plotter and the HP758x, HP7595A and HP7596A drafting plotters (HP-GL with some HP-GL/2 extensions), and "2" means that the output should be modern HP-GL/2. If the version is "1" or "1.5" then the only available fonts will be vector fonts.

The position of the plotfont -T hpgl graphics display on the page can be adjusted by setting the HPGL_XOFFSET and HPGL_YOFFSET environment variables, which may be specified in centimeters, millimeters, or inches. For example, an offset could be specified as "2cm" or "1.2in". Also, the display can be rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise on the page by setting the HPGL_ROTATE environment variable to "yes". This is not the same as the rotation obtained with the --rotation option, which sets the rotation angle of the character map within the display. Besides "no" and "yes", recognized values for the HPGL_ROTATE variable are "0", "90", "180", and "270". "no" and "yes" are equivalent to "0" and "90", respectively. "180" and "270" are supported only if HPGL_VERSION is "2" (the default).

By default, plotfont -T hpgl will draw with a fixed set of pens. Which pens are present may be specified by setting the HPGL_PENS environment variable. If HPGL_VERSION is "1", the default value of HPGL_PENS is "1=black"; if HPGL_VERSION is "1.5" or "2", the default value of HPGL_PENS is "1=black:2=red:3=green:4=yellow:5=blue:6=magenta:7=cyan". The format should be self-explanatory. By setting HPGL_PENS, you may specify a color for any pen in the range #1...#31. For information on what color names are recognized, see section Specifying Colors by Name. Pen #1 must always be present, though it need not be black. Any other pen in the range #1...#31 may be omitted.

If HPGL_VERSION is "2" then plotfont -T hpgl will also be affected by the environment variable HPGL_ASSIGN_COLORS. If the value of this variable is "yes", then plotfont -T hpgl will not be restricted to the palette specified in HPGL_PENS: it will assign colors to "logical pens" in the range #1...#31, as needed. The default value is "no" because other than color LaserJet printers and DesignJet plotters, not many HP-GL/2 devices allow the assignment of colors to logical pens.

plotfont -T tek, which produces output for a Tektronix terminal or emulator, checks the TERM environment variable. If the value of TERM is "xterm", "xterms", or "kterm", it is taken as a sign that the current application is running in an X Window System VT100 terminal emulator: an xterm. Before drawing graphics, plotfont -T tek will emit an escape sequence that causes the terminal emulator's auxiliary Tektronix window, which is normally hidden, to pop up. After the graphics are drawn, an escape sequence that returns control to the original VT100 window will be emitted. The Tektronix window will remain on the screen.

If the value of TERM is "kermit", "ansi.sys", "ansissys", "ansi.sysk", or "ansisysk", it is taken as a sign that the current application is running in the VT100 terminal emulator provided by the MS-DOS version of kermit. Before drawing graphics, plotfont -T tek will emit an escape sequence that switches the terminal emulator to Tektronix mode. Also, some of the Tektronix control codes emitted by plotfont -T tek will be kermit-specific. There will be a limited amount of color support, which is not normally the case (the 16 ansi.sys colors will be supported). After drawing graphics, plotfont -T tek will emit an escape sequence that returns the emulator to VT100 mode. The key sequence `ALT minus' can be employed manually within kermit to switch between the two modes.


Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.