paps Command in Linux
The paps command in Linux converts the UTF-8 to Postscript using Pango. Pango is a library designed to lay out and render text. It provides advanced text layout capabilities and is widely used in graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and text rendering systems, particularly in the Linux and Unix ecosystems.
The paps command processes a UTF-8 encoded file and produces a PostScript representation of its content, utilizing the Pango ft2 backend to generate outline curves for rendering.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the paps command −
- Installation paps Command
- Syntax of paps Command
- paps Command Options
- Examples of paps Command in Linux
Installation paps Command
The paps tool may not be available by default on Linux. To install it on Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS, Kali Linux, Debian, and Debian-based distributions, use the command given below −
sudo apt install paps
To install it on Arch Linux, use −
sudo pacman -S paps
To install it on CentOS, use the command given below −
sudo yum install paps
To install paps on Fedora, use the following command −
sudo dnf install paps
To verify the installation, check the path of the paps binary using the which command.
which paps
Syntax of paps Command
The syntax of the Linux paps command is as follows −
paps [options] [file]
The [options] field is used to specify options such as output document layout, margins, and help. The [file] field is used to specify the file that needs to be converted to Postscript.
paps Command Options
The options of the paps command are listed below −
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| --landscape | Landscape output (Default is portrait) |
| --columns=cl | Number of columns output (Default is 1) |
| --font=desc | Set the font description (Default is Monospace 12) |
| --rtl | Do rtl layout |
| --paper ps | Choose paper size (Known paper sizes are legal, letter, a4) (Default is A4) |
| --bottom-margin=bm | Set bottom margin in postscript points (1/72 inch) (Default is 36) |
| --top-margin=tm | Set top margin (Default is 36) |
| --left-margin=lm | Set left margin (Default is 36) |
| --right-margin=rm | Set right margin (Default is 36) |
| --help, -h | Showa summary of options |
| --header | Draw page header for each page |
| --markup | Interpret the text as Pango markup |
| --lpi | Set the lines per inch (This determines the line spacing) |
| --cpi | Set the characters per inch (This is an alternative method of specifying the font size) |
| --stretch-chars | Indicates that characters should be stretched in the y-direction to fill up their vertical space (This is similar to the texttops behavior) |
Examples of paps Command in Linux
In this section, the usage of the paps command in Linux will be discussed with examples −
Converting a UTF-8 File to PostScript
To convert a UTF-8 file to PostScript use the paps command in the following way −
paps file.txt
The above command converts the file.txt to PostScript and displays the script to standard output.
To check whether the file is UTF-8 encoded, use the file command −
file -i file.txt
Converting a UTF-8 File to PostScript and Saving to a Separate File
Use the redirection operator (>) to save the converted PostScript to a file. For example, to save the PostScript conversion of file.txt to file.ps, use the following command −
paps file.txt > file.ps
Converting a UTF-8 File to PostScript in Landscape Orientation
By default, the output of the paps command is portrait. To change the orientation to landscape, use the --landscape option −
paps --landscape file.txt
Specifying the Number of Columns
To specify the number of columns, use the --column option. For example, to change the number of columns to 2, use the command given below −
paps --columns=2 file.txt
Setting a Specific Font and Size
To set a specific font and size for the output PostScript file, use the --font option −
paps --font="Consolas Bold 14" file.txt
Setting Right to Left Layout
To render the text right to left for languages that are written right to left such as Arabic or Hebrew, use the -rtl option −
paps --rtl file.txt
Setting Margins
To set the margins, use the --right-margin, --left-margin, --top-margin, and --bottom-margin options −
paps --top-margin=30 --bottom-margin=30 --left-margin=10 --right-margin=10 file.txt
Changing Paper Size
To change the paper size, use the --paper option with the size.
paps --paper=letter file.txt
Note that the paper size is A4 by default. Other sizes that can be used are A3, A5, letter, legal, tabloid, and executive.
Adding Header
To add a header to each page, use the --header option −
paps --header file.txt
Adjusting Line Per Inch and Characters Per Inch
To adjust the vertical distance between lines, use the --lpi option −
paps --lpi=10 file.txt
Similarly, to change the characters per inch, use the --cpi option −
paps --cpi=10 file.txt
Displaying Help
To display help about the paps command, use the -h or --help option −
paps --help
Conclusion
The paps command in Linux is a handy tool for converting UTF-8 files to PostScript format using the Pango library. It provides various options for customization, such as changing orientation, font style, margins, and paper size.
The benefits of the paps command make it a useful utility for creating well-structured PostScript documents from text files.