Ubuntu Manpage: mp - POSTSCRIPT pretty printer

NAME

       mp - POSTSCRIPT pretty printer

SYNOPSIS

       mp  [  -a4  ]  [  -addhdr type ] [ -alias name ] [ -allhdrs ] [ -article ] [ -bottom # ] [
       -bsdprint ] [ -chars # ] [ -columns # ] [ -config name ] [ -content ]  [  -copies  #  ]  [
       -digest ] [ -elm ] [ -flip ] [ -folder ] [ -forcepage ] [ -from ] [ -help ] [ -landscape ]
       [ -left # ] [ -linelength # ] [ -modtime ] [ -name appname ] [ -newpage ] [ -nobanners ] [
       -noburstpage ] [ -number ] [ -onesided ] [ -organiser type ] [ -pagelength # ] [ -portrait
       ] [ -postscript ] [ -printer name ] [ -prologue name ] [ -remhdr type ] [  -right  #  ]  [
       -subject  text  ]  [  -tab  #  ]  [ -text ] [ -top # ] [ -tumble ] [ -twosided ] [ -us ] [
       -version ] [ -words # ] [ -wrap ] [ filename ...  ]

       The version of mp installed at your site might also support the command line options  from
       the previous version. These are:

       mp  [  -A4  ] [ -F ] [ -PS ] [ -US ] [ -a ] [ -d ] [ -e ] [ -f ] [ -l ] [ -m ] [ -o ] [ -p
       prologue ] [ -s subject ] [ -tm ] [ -ts ] [ -v ] [ -?  ] [ filename ...  ]

       Use the -help command line option to determine if these options are supported.

DESCRIPTION

       The mp program reads each filename in sequence and generates a prettified version  of  the
       contents  in  POSTSCRIPT  format. By default the output is sent to standard output. If you
       use one of the different names, output is sent direct to the printer.

       The program will use the PRINTER  or  LPDEST  environment  variables  to  determine  which
       printer the output is sent to.

       If  no  filename argument is provided, mp reads the standard input.  If the standard input
       is a terminal, input is terminated by an EOF signal, usually Ctrl-D.

       Mail items, news articles, ordinary ASCII files, complete mail folders,  and  digests  are
       all  acceptable  input  formats  for  mp.   The  output format includes grayscale lozenges
       containing banner information at the top and bottom of every page.

       The  program  is  conveniently  used  in  conjunction  with  the  print  button   of   the
       SunView/xnews(1)  mailtool(1)  programs, or the pipe command provided by mail(1).  Add the
       following two lines to your .mailrc file:
                 set printmail='mp -printer'
                 set cmd="mp -printer &"

       Source the .mailrc file, and you are ready to use mp.  For printing ordinary ASCII  files,
       the following alias (to be placed in your .cshrc file) may also prove useful:
                 alias print 'mp -text -printer -subject "\!*" <\!*'

OPTIONS

-a4 Use A4 paper size (8.5 x 11.4 inches). The default paper size is none, in which
case mp will try to fill the paper.

-addhdr type
Add type to the list of mail or news headers to be printed.

-alias name
The user name alias that should be printed out in the mp banner heading, to show
who the output is for. This will override the NAME environment variable and the
users entry in the password file.

-allhdrs
If set, then print out all mail or news headers.

-article
Format the file as a news article. The top banner contains the text: "Article from
newsgroup ", where newsgroup is the first news group found on the Newsgroups: line.
By default, the input files are assumed to be mail messages.

-bottom #
The size (in points) for the bottom margin on each page. There are approximately 72
points per inch. The default value is 8 points.

-bsdprint
If set, then assume this is a BSD system, and use the appropriate print command,
and command line options. The default value for this option is false.

-chars #
The maximum number of characters to extract from the gecos field of the users
/etc/passwd entry. The default is 40.

-columns #
Number of columns of output per page. This value will override the default value in
the prologue file.

-config name
The name of an alternate X resource configuration file, which will be read by mp at
startup time. The default name is $HOME/.mpdefaults

-content
Instead of using "\nFrom" to denote the start of new mail messages, mp will look
for (and use) the value of the Content-Length: mail header. If the Content-Length
doesn't take you to the next "\nFrom", then it's wrong, and mp falls back to
looking for the next "\nFrom" in the mail folder.

-copies #
Number of copies of each file to output. This option only works when the filenames
to print are given on the command line. The default number of copies is 1.

-digest
Format the file as a digest.

-elm Assume the ELM mail frontend intermediate file format. Used when printing messages
from within ELM (using the "p" command), especially for printing tagged messages.
This option must be specified in your ELM option setup.

-flip Flip the top and bottom banners on the output. By default, the banners are not
flipped.

-folder
Format the file as a mail folder, printing multiple messages. By default, this
option is not set.

-forcepage
Always start a new page (rather than a new column) when in landscape or multi-page
personal organiser mode.

-from Instead of printing who the mail article is for, the top header will contain who
the mail article is from. A useful option for people with their own personal
printer.

-help Print the usage message for mp

-landscape
Format output in landscape mode. Two pages of text will be printed per sheet of
paper. By default, output will be in portrait mode.

-left #
The size (in points) for the left margin on each page. There are approximately 72
points per inch. The default value is 8 points.

-linelength #
Maximum number of characters on each line of output. This value will override the
default value in the prologue file.

-modtime
Use the files last modification time (rather than the current time) in the mp
banner. Note that this only works when the files are supplied on the command line
(as opposed to standard input).

-name appname
Use this name, when looking for X resources for this application.

-newpage
Always start a new sheet of paper for each new file when printing in duplex mode.

-nobanners
Don't print a header and a footer banner on each page. By default, banners will be
printed.

-noburstpage
If the output is destined for a printer, than the printing of the burst page is
disabled. Most of the information that typically appears on the burst page sheet is
output in the mp banners. By default, a burst page will be printed.

-number
Print the line number on each line output. This option is not set by default.

-onesided
Print the output in simplex (one-sided) mode. The default is to print in duplex
(two-sided) mode.

-organiser type
Format the file for use with the given organiser type. Valid organiser types are
filofax, franklin, proplan, timeman, tsintl and tspartner

-pagelength #
Maximum number of lines on each page of output. This value will override the
default value in the prologue file.

-portrait
Format output in portait mode. One page of text will be printed per sheet of
paper. This is the default value.

-printer name
Send output to the named printer. Otherwise send output to the printer named in the
PRINTER or LPDEST environment variables.

-ps If the mail or digest message just has PostScript as the text of the message, then
this is normally just passed straight through. Specifying this option, causes
PostScript to be printed as text.

-prologue name
Employ the file name as the POSTSCRIPT prologue file, overriding any previously
defined file names.

-remhdr type
Add type to the list of mail or news headers which will not be printed.

-right #
The size (in points) for the right margin on each page. There are approximately 72
points per inch. The default value is 8 points.

-subject text
Use text as the new subject for the printout. If you are printing ordinary ASCII
files which have been specified on the command line, the subject will default to
the name of each of these files. Note that as mp automatically assumes the default
input file format is a mail file, you will have to include the -text command line
option to make this happen.

-tab # The number of spaces to output when encountering a tab character. The default value
is 8.

-text Format the file as an ordinary ASCII text file. By default, the file is assumed to
be a mail message.

-top # The size (in points) for the top margin on each page. There are approximately 72
points per inch. The default value is 8 points.

-tumble
If printing in duplex mode, adjust the alignment of the reverse page. By default,
the reverse page is not tumbled.

-twosided
Print the output in duplex (two-sided) mode. This is the default. This obviously
only works if the printer is capable of printing on both sides of the paper.

-us Use US paper size (8.5 x 11 inches). The default paper size is none, in which case
mp will try to fill the paper.

-version
Print the version number of this release of mp.

-words #
The maximum number of words to extract from the gecos field of the users
/etc/passwd entry. The default is 3.

-wrap Wrap words onto the next line of output. By default, this option is not set.

RESOURCES

On startup, mp will use the following X resources which by default are stored in
$HOME/.mpdefaults. Note these resource names will be prepended with the running
application name (mp, newsp, mailp ...). This means that you can have different sets of
resources for each type of program.

Resource: addHeaders
Values: Headers to add (string)
Description A comma separated list of the extra headers that mp should print out.

Resource: aliasName
Values: Text string (NULL).
Description The user name alias that should be printed out in the mp banner heading, to
show who the output is for. This will override the NAME environment
variable and the users entry in the password file.

Resource: allHeaders
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, then all mail or news headers are printed out.

Resource: bottomMargin
Values: positive integer (8)
Description The size (in points) for the bottom margin on each page. There are
approximately 72 points per inch.

Resource: bsdPrinter
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, then it is assumed that this is a BSD system, and the
appropriate printer command and command line options are used.

Resource: copies
Values: positive integer (1)
Description The number of copies to be printed for each file.

Resource: doubleSided
Values: True, False (True)
Description Determines whether the output will be printed on one side of the paper or
two. Obviously for two-sided output to work, the printer has to support it.

Resource: elmMail
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, assumes the ELM mail frontend intermediate file format.

Resource: fileType
Values: Mail, News, Postscript or Text (Mail)
Description Describes the type of the input file to be processed. Either mail messages,
news articles, pure PostScript or plain text files.

Resource: flipBanners
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, flips the top and bottom banners on the output.

Resource: forcePage
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, always starts a new page (rather than a new column) when in
landscape or multi-page personal organiser mode.

Resource: leftMargin
Values: positive integer (8)
Description The size (in points) for the left margin on each page. There are
approximately 72 points per inch.

Resource: lineLength
Values: positive integer (80)
Description The maximum number of characters printed on each line.

Resource: mailDigest
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true then mp assumes the input is in the form of a mail digest.

Resource: mailFolder
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true then mp assumes the input is a file containing more then one
mail message, and processes (and prints) each in turn.

Resource: nameChars
Values: 1-255 (40)
Description The maximum number of characters to extract from the gecos field of the
users /etc/passwd entry.

Resource: nameWords
Values: 1-255 (3)
Description The maximum number of words to extract from the gecos field of the users
/etc/passwd entry.

Resource: newPage
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, and printing duplex (two-sided), then printing of each new
file is started on a new sheet of paper.

Resource: numberColumns
Values: positive integer (1)
Description The number of columns of output per page. This value will override the
default value in the prologue file.

Resource: numberLines
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true then mp will number each line of output.

Resource: organiserType
Values: Filofax, Franklin, Proplan, Timeman, Tsintl or Tspartner
Description Describes the personal organiser output format.

Resource: outputType
Values: Portrait, Landscape or Organiser (Portrait)
Description Describes the printed output format. Either portrait, landscape or one of
the special personal organiser formats.

Resource: pageLength
Values: positive integer (66)
Description The maximum number of lines printed on each page.

Resource: paperSize
Values: None, A4 or US (None)
Description Describes the size of the paper the the output will be printed on.

Resource: printHeaderPage
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true then a burst banner page will be printed at the beginning of
the mp output.

Resource: printerName
Values: Text string (NULL)
Description The name of the printer to send output to. If no name is supplied, then mp
will use the default printer.

Resource: prologueName
Values: UNIX pathname (NULL)
Description Use this as the prologue filename overriding any previously defined file
names.

Resource: removeHeaders
Values: Headers to remove (string)
Description A comma separated list of the standard headers that mp should not print
out.

Resource: rightMargin
Values: positive integer (8)
Description The size (in points) for the right margin on each page. There are
approximately 72 points per inch.

Resource: subject
Values: Text string (NULL)
Description The subject that will be printed out in the banner for each file printed.

Resource: tabSize
Values: positive integer (8)
Description The number of spaces to output when encountering a tab character.

Resource: topMargin
Values: positive integer (8)
Description The size (in points) for the top margin on each page. There are
approximately 72 points per inch.

Resource: tumble
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true and printing in duplex mode, adjust the alignment of the
reverse page.

Resource: useContent
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, instead of using "\nFrom" to denote the start of new mail
messages, mp will look for (and use) the value of the Content-Length: mail
header. If the Content-Length doesn't take you to the next "\nFrom", then
it's wrong, and mp falls back to looking for the next "\nFrom" in the mail
folder.

Resource: useFrom
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, instead of printing who the mail article is for, the top
header will contain who the mail article is from. A useful option for
people with their own personal printer.

Resource: useModTime
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, use the files last modification time (rather than the
current time) in the mp banner.

Resource: wrapWords
Values: True, False (False)
Description If set to true, wrap words onto the next line of output.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       The  default  output  printer is determined by looking at the PRINTER environment variable
       for BSD systems or the LPDEST environment variable for System V systems.
       An alternative file containing the mp  X  resources  can  be  given  with  the  MPDEFAULTS
       environment variable.
       The  mp  prologue  file  is  determined  by  first  looking  for  the environment variable
       MP_PROLOGUE, which specifies the directory where mp prologue files are to  be  found.   If
       MP_PROLOGUE is not found, then the default directory is assumed (LIBDIR/mp.pro.ps).

SUPPLIED PROLOGUE FILES

       The following prologue files are provided:
              mp.pro.ps
                     Used by default
              mp.pro.l.ps
                     Used by the -landscape landscape mode option
              mp.pro.ff.ps
                     Used if the -filofax option is in effect
              mp.pro.fp.ps
                     Used if the -franklin option is in effect
              mp.pro.pp.ps
                     Used if the -proplan option is in effect
              mp.pro.tm.ps
                     Used if the -timeman option is in effect
              mp.pro.tsi.ps
                     Used if the -tsintl option is in effect
              mp.pro.tsp.ps
                     Used if the -tspartner option is in effect
              mp.pro.alt.ps
                     An  alternative  modification of the default prologue file which outputs the
                     page number in the right corner of the bottom banner.
              mp.pro.altl.ps
                     An alternative landscape option mode prologue file.

FILES

       .cshrc initialization file for csh(1)
       .mailrc
              initialization file for mail(1)
       $HOME/.mpdefaults
              X resource initialisation file.
       BINDIR/mp
              executable
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for mail printing
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.l.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for landscape format
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.alt.ps
              alternative "default" POSTSCRIPT prologue, inserts page numbers in the bottom right
              corner of each page
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.altl.ps
              alternative "landscape" POSTSCRIPT prologue.
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.ff.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for Filofax format
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.fp.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for Franklin Planner format.
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.tm.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for Time Manager format
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.tsi.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for Time/System (International) format
       LIBDIR/mp.pro.tsp.ps
              POSTSCRIPT prologue for Time/System (Partner) format

AUTHORS

       Original version by Steve Holden.
       Converted to C then C++, modified and maintained by Rich Burridge, Sun Microsystems Inc.
       Original  modified  to  handle  net  news  articles  and  MH mail by Bruno Pillard, Chorus
       Systemes, France.
       Handling of mail digests added by Dave Glowacki of  Public  Works  Computer  Services,  St
       Paul, MN.
       Original manual page revised by Rick Rodgers, UCSF School of Pharmacy, San Francicso.
       Support  for Personal Organiser printing style added by Douglas Buchanan, Sun Microsystems
       Europe.
       Substantial modifications to header parsing by Jeremy Webber, Computer Science Department,
       University of Adelaide, Australia.
       Support  for  printing  multiple  files and subject line filename print for ordinary ASCII
       files added by Sam Manoharan, Edinburgh University.
       Support for landscape mode written by Michael Tuchiarone.
       Revision of the POSTSCRIPT structuring and the way that the prologue files are handled was
       included by Johan Vromans.
       New style POSTSCRIPT prologue files by John Macdonald.
       Support for the ISO8859 character set by Bertrand DeCouty.
       Rich Burridge.  MAIL: Rich.Burridge@Sun.Com

                                          12 April 2002                                     MP(1)