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dvipng
******
This program makes PNG and/or GIF graphics from DVI files as obtained
from TeX and its relatives.
If GIF support is enabled, GIF output is chosen by using the 'dvigif'
binary or with the '--gif' option.
It is intended to produce anti-aliased screen-resolution images as
fast as is possible. The target audience is people who need to generate
and regenerate many images again and again. The primary target is the
preview-latex (X)Emacs package, a package to preview formulas from
within (X)Emacs. Yes, you get to see your formulas in the (X)Emacs
buffer, see <http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/preview-latex.html>.
Another example is WeBWorK, an internet-based method for delivering
homework problems to students over the internet, giving students instant
feedback as to whether or not their answers are correct, see
<http://webwork.math.rochester.edu>.
A more recent addition to the dvipng-using applications out there is
MediaWiki, the software behind Wikipedia and many other wikis out there.
Dvipng is used to render mathematical formulae from version 1.8.0 of
MediaWiki, see <http://www.mediawiki.org>.
Other applications may also benefit, like web applications as
latex2html and WYSIWYG editors like LyX.
Benefits of dvipng
==================
The benefits of 'dvipng'/'dvigif' include
* Speed. It is a very fast bitmap-rendering code for DVI files,
which makes it suitable for generating large amounts of images
on-the-fly, as needed in preview-latex, WeBWorK and others.
* It does not read the postamble, so it can be started before TeX
finishes. There is a '--follow' switch that makes dvipng wait at
end-of-file for further output, unless it finds the POST marker
that indicates the end of the DVI.
* Interactive query of options. dvipng can read options
interactively through stdin, and all options are usable. It is
even possible to change the input file through this interface.
* Supports PK, VF, PostScript Type1, and TrueType fonts, subfonts
(i.e., as used in CJK-LaTeX), color specials, and inclusion of
PostScript, PNG, JPEG or GIF images.
* and more...
Installation
============
Read 'INSTALL', included in the distribution.
Usage
=====
To use dvipng at its simplest, simply type
dvipng foo
where 'foo.dvi' is the output of TeX that you want to convert to PNG
format. If there are four pages in 'foo.dvi', those pages will be
output as 'foo1.png', 'foo2.png', 'foo3.png', and 'foo4.png',
respectively.
Many options are available (see the info manual). For a brief
summary of available options, just type
dvipng --help
Availability
============
The dvipng package is available at Savannah, the GNU project site.
Since dvipng is not part of the GNU project, although released under the
GNU GPL, the web address is
<http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/dvipng>. Instructions for
anonymous CVS access can be found at
<http://savannah.nongnu.org/cvs/?group=dvipng>.
Contacts
========
Bug reports should be sent to <dvipng@nongnu.org>.
Questions, suggestions for new features, pleas for help, and/or
praise should go to <dvipng@nongnu.org>. For more information on this
mailing list, send a message with just the word 'help' as subject or
body to <dvipng-request@nongnu.org> or look at
<http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/dvipng>.
Offers to support further development will be appreciated. For
developer access, ask on <dvipng@nongnu.org>.
Copying
=======
This program is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License
version 3, see the COPYING file in the dvipng distribution or
<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
Copyright (C) 2002-2014 Jan-AAke Larsson
Todo
====
* Use gs interpreter library for speed and possibly for
functionality.
* Add more color models for xcolor compatibility
* Enable a named pipe as DVI
* Further speed improvements.
* Other output specials and source specials.
* Clean internal structures. Overhaul file handling.
* Fix the SELFAUTO stuff at runtime rather than at build time
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