pdf2dsc Command in Linux
The pdf2dsc command in Linux generates a PostScript page list of a PDF document. This DSC (Document Structuring Convention) file describes the structure of the PDF in terms of PostScript. It is often used for processing PDFs in environments that rely on PostScript workflows, such as printing systems.
The pdf2dsc command uses Ghostscript to convert a PDF file into a PostScript DSC file. This DSC file instructs Ghostscript to display the PDF pages one at a time. It can be viewed using PostScript viewers like ghostview or GSview to browse PDF pages in any order. If no output file is specified, the output name is the input name with a .dsc extension.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the pdf2dsc command −
Syntax of pdf2dsc Command
The syntax of the Linux pdf2dsc command is as follows −
pdf2dsc [input.pdf] [output.dsc]
In the above syntax, the [input.pdf] field is used to specify the input PDF file and [output.dsc] field is used to specify the output file name.
Examples of pdf2dsc Command in Linux
In this section, the pdf2dsc command usage in Linux will be discussed with examples −
Converting a PDF to a DSC File
Before converting ensure that the GhostScript is installed on Linux. The pdf2dsc command is a part of the GhostScript package. To check whether the GhostScript is installed or not, use the following command −
which ghostscript
If the above command shows the GhostScript binary path that means it is installed on Linux.
To convert a PDF document to a DSC file, execute the following command −
pdf2dsc document.pdf output.dsc
The above command converts a document.pdf to a DSC file and saves it in the current working directory.
Note − This tool is commonly used in printing pipelines to enable processing systems to preview or handle individual pages from a PDF.
Converting a PDF to a DSC File without Specifying the Output Filename
If the output file name is used specified during execution the command automatically names the output by replacing the .pdf extension with .dsc.
pdf2dsc document.pdf
Viewing the DSC File
To view the DSC file, use the gs command with the DSC filename −
gs output.dsc
Note − Some DSC file viewers might not fully support browsing arbitrary pages unless the DSC is correctly interpreted.
Conclusion
The pdf2dsc command in Linux is a useful tool for generating a DSC file from a PDF document. This file, created using Ghostscript, describes the PDF structure in terms of PostScript, making it suitable for workflows like printing systems.
The command's syntax is simple, requiring an input PDF file and an optional output filename. If no output file is specified, the tool automatically assigns a .dsc extension to the input file name. The generated DSC file can be viewed using PostScript viewers like ghostview or GSview.
In this tutorial, we explained the pdf2dsc command, its syntax, and its usage in Linux with examples.