3.3.2 Common options

Certain options are available in all or most of the programs. Rather than writing identical descriptions in the chapters for each of the programs, they are described here.

This first table lists common options which do not convey anything about the input. They merely direct the program to print additional output.

`-help'

Prints a usage message listing all available options on standard error. The program exits after doing so.

`-log'

Write information about everything the program is doing to the file `foo.log', where foo is the root part of the main input file.

`-verbose'

Prints brief status reports as the program runs, typically the character code of each character as it is processed. This usually goes to standard output; but if the program is outputting other information there, it goes to standard error.

`-version'

Prints the version number of the program on standard output. If a main input file is supplied, processing continues; otherwise, the program exits normally.

This second table lists common options which change the program's behavior in more substantive ways.

`-dpi dpi'

Look for the main input font at a resolution of dpi pixels per inch. The default is to infer the information from the main input filename (see section 3.3.1 The main input file).

`-output-file fname'

Write the main output of the program to fname. If fname has a suffix, it is used unchanged; otherwise, it is extended with some standard suffix, such as `resolutiongf'. Unless fname is an absolute or explicitly relative pathname, the file is written in the current directory.

`-range start-end'

Only look at the characters between the character codes start and end, inclusive. The default is to look at all characters in the font. See section 3.3.3 Specifying character codes, for the precise syntax of character codes.