POSTSCRIPT Language
This FAQ has 11 sections. It is available by anonymous ftp to
wilma.cs.brown.edu:pub/comp.lang.postscript/FAQ.txt in ASCII, and
there are also LaTeX, DVI, and PostScript formats.
1 General Questions
1.1 What is PostScript?
1.2 How can I tell how many pages my document will have?
1.3 How can I print just one page or a few pages from a big
1.4 How can I print more than one page per sheet of paper?
1.5 How can I edit a PostScript picture?
1.6 How can I print PostScript on a non-PostScript printer?
1.7 What other graphics languages are there?
2 Printers
2.1 How can I get my printer to talk back to me?
2.2 Should I leave my printer on?
2.3 How do I suppress the power-on start page?
2.4 How do I make a downloaded font ``persistent''?
2.5 How do I remove a persistent (``permanent'') downloaded font?
2.6 How do I reset the printer without power-cycling?
2.7 About saving files
2.8 What's the control-D business?
2.9 Why does the printer say ``still busy'' when my document is
2.10 How should I set up my spoolers?
2.11 What are PPD files?
2.12 What's a timeout error?
3 Formats and Conversions
3.1 How can I convert PostScript to some other graphics format?
3.2 How can I convert DVI to PostScript?
3.3 How can I convert HP Laserjet language (PCL) to PostScript?
3.4 How can I convert TeX PK format font to PostScript?
3.5 How do I embed PostScript into troff?
3.6 How do I embed PostScript into LaTeX or TeX?
3.7 How can I convert an image to PostScript?
3.8 How can I convert ASCII text to PostScript?
3.9 How can I convert PostScript to ASCII?
3.10 How do I convert between PFB, PFA, Mac, PFM, and AFM?
4 Fonts
4.1 What are .PFB and .PFA files?
4.2 How can I convert a PostScript font to TeX's PK format?
4.3 Why are Adobe fonts hidden?
4.4 How do I get bitmap representations of Adobe fonts?
4.5 What are some good ftp sites for fonts?
4.6 How can I re-encode a font?
4.7 What's the difference between a Type 1 and a Type 3 font?
4.8 What vendors sell fonts for PostScript printers?
4.9 What are ATM fonts?
4.10 What are Multiple Master Fonts?
4.11 Do I need a Level Two printer to use Multiple Master Fonts?
4.12 What are Type 4 fonts?
4.13 What are Type 5 fonts?
4.14 Is there an editor for Type 1 Fonts?
5 Books
5.1 Books
5.2 Publishers
6 About Adobe
6.1 How do I get in touch with Adobe?
6.2 What can Adobe do for me?
7 Programming in PostScript
7.1 What is PostScript level 2?
7.2 Should I learn level 2 PostScript?
7.3 Where can I find examples of PostScript code?
7.4 How do I get the physical size of a page?
7.5 Why can't I do a pathforall after a charpath ?
7.6 How do I center a string of text around a point?
7.7 How can I concatenate two strings together?
7.8 What do I do when I get stack overflow/underflow?
7.9 How can I print in landscape mode?
8 Computer-specific PostScript
8.1 Sun Workstations
8.2 IBM PC
8.3 Apple Macintosh
9 Encapsulated PostScript
9.1 What is Encapsulated PostScript?
9.2 What are EPSI and EPSF?
9.3 How do I convert PostScript to EPS?
9.4 How do I get the bounding box of a PostScript picture?
10 About The Comp.Lang.PostScript FAQ (and Usenet Guide to
10.1 The PostScript FAQ: What is it?
10.2 How to get the FAQ files
10.3 How to write a FAQ answer
10.4 The FAQ can contain LaTeX and PostScript inserts
10.5 Revising the FAQ
10.6 How to submit new information
10.7 How to add a program description to the FAQ index
10.8 How to add a book description to the FAQ
10.9 Questions that need answers
11 About PostScript 2
11.1 What printers support Level 2 PostScript?
11.2 What is PostScript Level 2?
11.3 [ Color Extensions ]
11.4 [ Composite Font Extensions ]
11.5 [ Display PostScript Extensions ]
11.6 [ Overview of Level 2 Features ]
11.7 Filters
11.8 Binary Encoding
11.9 Optimized graphics operators
11.10 Optimized text operators
11.11 Forms
11.12 Patterns
11.13 Images
11.14 Composite Fonts
11.15 New Color Spaces
11.16 New screening/halftoning technology
11.17 Improved printer support features
11.18 Interpreter parameters
11.19 Resources
11.20 Dictionaries
11.21 When did Level 2 products come available?
11.22 Are Level 1 and Level 2 implementations compatible?