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.
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