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)