NAME

       asciitopgm - convert ASCII graphics into a portable graymap

SYNOPSIS

       asciitopgm [-d divisor] height width [asciifile]

DESCRIPTION

       Reads  ASCII  data  as  input.  Produces a portable graymap with pixel values which are an
       approximation of  the  "brightness"  of  the  ASCII  characters,  assuming  black-on-white
       printing.  In other words, a capital M is very dark, a period is ver light, and a space is
       white.  Input lines which are fewer than width characters are  automatically  padded  with
       spaces.

       The  divisor  argument  is a floating-point number by which the output pixels are divided;
       the default value is 1.0.  This can be used to adjust the brightness of the  graymap:  for
       example, if the image is too dim, reduce the divisor.

       In keeping with (I believe) Fortran line-printer conventions, input lines beginning with a
       + (plus) character are assumed to "overstrike" the previous line, allowing a larger  range
       of gray values.

       This  tool  contradicts  the  message  in  the  pbmtoascii  manual: "Note that there is no
       asciitopbm tool - this transformation is one-way."

BUGS

       The table of ASCII-to-grey values is subject to interpretation, and, of course, depends on
       the typeface intended for the input.

SEE ALSO

       pbmtoascii(1), pgm(5)

AUTHOR

       Wilson H. Bent. Jr. (whb@usc.edu)

                                         26 December 1994                           asciitopgm(1)