pfbtopfa Command in Linux
The pfbtopfa command in Linux converts the type1 PFB file into PFA using GhostScript. PFB and PFA files are both font file formats used to store PostScript fonts, but they differ in encoding and intended usage.
A PFB file is a compact, binary-encoded Type 1 font format used primarily on Windows, while a PFA file is a plain-text ASCII version of the same font, used mainly on Unix-like systems.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the pfbtopfa command in Linux −
- Syntax of pfbtopfa Command
- Using pfbtopfa Command in Linux
- Alternative Tool to Convert a PFB File to PFA
Syntax of pfbtopfa Command
The syntax of the pfbtopfa command in Linux is as follows −
pfbtopfa [input.pfb] [output.pfa]
The [input.pfb] field is used to specify the PFB file that needs to be converted to PFA format. The [output.pfa] field is used to specify the output file name. If it is not specified the PFA file will be saved with the input file name with .pfa extension in the current working directory.
Using pfbtopfa Command in Linux
This section demonstrates the usage of the pfbtopfa command in Linux with examples.
Note that the pfbtopfa command is part of GhostScript. So, before using the pfbtopfa, verify whether the GhostScript is installed or not −
gs --version
If it is not installed, install it on Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Raspberry Pi OS, Debian and Debian-based distributions, use the following command −
sudo apt install ghostscript
To install GhostScript on Fedora, use −
sudo dnf install ghostscript-tools-fonts
To install GhostScript on CentOS, use the following command −
sudo yum install ghostscript
To verify the pfbtopfa command installation, check its binary file path using the which command −
which pfbtopfa
Converting a PFB File to PFA
To convert a PFB file to PFA, use the following command −
pfbtopfa myfont.pfb
The above command saves the myfont.pfb file as myfont.pfa file in the current working directory as shown in the following image −
Converting a PFB File to PFA with a Different Name
By default, the output PFA file is saved as the original file name. To save it with a different name, use the following command −
pfbtopfa myfont.pfb output.pfa
The PFA file will be saved as output.pfa in the current working directory.
Alternative Tool to Convert a PFB File to PFA
Alternatively, the pfb2pfa tool can also be used to convert a PFB file to PFA. It is a standalone utility that does not depend upon GhostScript. To install it on Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Debian, and other Debian-based distributions, use the following command −
sudo apt install texlive-binaries
To install it on Fedora, use the following command −
sudo dnf install texlive-ps2pk-bin-6
To convert a PFB file to PFA, execute the pfb2pfa command in the following way −
pfb2pfa myfont.pfb
Conclusion
The pfbtopfa command in Linux is used to convert a Type 1 PFB font file into a PFA format using GhostScript. While both PFB and PFA store the same PostScript font, PFB is a binary format mainly used on Windows, while PFA is a plain-text format preferred on Unix-like systems.
GhostScript must be installed for this command to work, and the PFB file can be converted either with the same name or a different one. An alternative tool, pfb2pfa, can also perform the conversion without relying on GhostScript.
In this tutorial, we explained the pfbtopfa command, its syntax, usage in Linux with examples, and an alternative tool to convert a PFB file to PFA.