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 . Questions, suggestions for new features, pleas for help, and/or praise should go to . For more information on this mailing list, send a message with just the word `help' as subject or body to or look at `http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/dvipng'. Offers to support further development will be appreciated. For developer access, ask on . 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) 2002-2009 Jan-AAke Larsson Todo ==== * Use gs interpreter library for speed and possibly for functionality. * Add more color models for xcolor compatibility * Fix T1lib and PK rendering so it is on par with Freetype. * 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