\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo -*-
@c %**start of header
@setfilename epspdf.info
@settitle Epspdf and epspdftk User Guide 0.6

@dircategory TeX
@direntry
* EpsPDF: (epspdf). Portable GUI- and command-line EPS/PS/PDF conversion
@end direntry

@afourpaper
@c %**end of header

@c Actually, we do not produce html anymore
@ifhtml
@alias chapter = unnumbered
@alias section = unnumberedsec
@alias subsection = unnumberedsubsec
@end ifhtml

@tex
\input pstexi
@end tex

@iftex
@textfonts
@rm
@raggedbottom
@hyphenation{epspdf-tk epspdf}
@end iftex

@set version 0.6.5.2

@setchapternewpage off
@paragraphindent none

@copying
This manual is for epspdf and epspdftk, version @value{version}.

Copyright @copyright{} 2006-2025 Siep Kroonenberg.

@quotation
Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
without any warranty.
@end quotation
@end copying

@titlepage
@sp 1
@ifnotinfo
@center @image{images/logo,,.4in}
@end ifnotinfo
@sp 2
@center @titlefont {Epspdf and epspdftk User Manual}
@sp 1
@center A cross-platform GUI- and command-line converter for [e]ps and pdf
@sp 2
@center Siep Kroonenberg (@email{siepo at bitmuis dot nl})
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@insertcopying
@end titlepage

@contents

@ifnottex
@node Top, Usage, (dir), (dir)
@top Epspdf and epspdftk

@insertcopying
@end ifnottex

@menu
* Usage::
* Command-line usage::
* Notes on PostScript and pdf::
* Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex::
* Troubleshooting::
* Requirements::
* Change history::

@detailmenu
 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Usage

* Overview::
* Viewing::
* Conversion options::
* Converting::
* The configuration screen::

Command-line usage

* Option summary::

Notes on PostScript and pdf

* Bitmapped and vector::
* Font embedding::
* Eps preview headers::
* Bounding- and other boxes::
* Orientation::
* Exporting PostScript or pdf from Windows programs::

Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex

* Linux::
* Mac OS::
* Windows::

Troubleshooting

* No options for output format visible::
* Ghostscript stackunderflow error::
* Error message ``pdf_crop failed''::
* Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output)::
* Part of the graphic gets cut off::
* Fonts look ugly::
* The page has been converted to a bitmap::
* Temporary files are not removed::
* Resources for troubleshooting::

Change history

* Version 0.6.5.2::
* Version 0.6.5.1::
* Version 0.6.5::
* Version 0.6.4::
* Version 0.6::
* Version 0.5::
* Version 0.4::

@end detailmenu
@end menu

@node Usage, Command-line usage, Top, Top
@chapter Usage

@menu
* Overview::
* Viewing::
* Conversion options::
* Converting::
* The configuration screen::
@end menu

@node Overview, Viewing, Usage, Usage
@section Overview

Epspdftk is a GUI program that converts files between eps, pdf and
general PostScript in any direction.

It lets you interactively select a file, set conversion options, and
save in the same of another format. A configuration screen offers
some additional conversion options.

@ifnotinfo
@noindent @image{images/main_wx,,2.9in}
@iftex
@hfill
@end iftex
@image{images/cnv_linux,,2.9in}
@end ifnotinfo

@node Viewing, Conversion options, Overview, Usage
@section Viewing

The View button at the bottom of the screen invokes an
external viewer.

@i{Windows and Mac OS:} Epspdftk simply tries to use the default Open
command.

Under Linux the PostScript- and pdf viewers are
configurable; see @ref{The configuration screen}.

The View button is grayed if epspdf thinks that there is no
previewer for the current file.

@node Conversion options, Converting, Viewing, Usage
@section Conversion options

@itemize
@item
@anchor{gray}Grayscaling

@item
Compute tight boundingbox. This option is only available
if a single page is converted.

@item
Page selection. The only possibilities are selecting a single page
or selecting all pages. Converting to eps implies selecting a single
page.
@end itemize

@i{Note.} For general PostScript files, there is no quick way to
determine the number of pages, so the program may not check beforehand
whether you picked an existing page. If you don't like that, convert the
entire document to pdf first -- which will be done behind the scenes
anyway.

Specifying options such as grayscaling or page selection may require
a multistep conversion.

@node Converting, The configuration screen, Conversion options, Usage
@section Converting

The Convert and save@dots{} button calls up a file save dialog. After a
successful conversion, the result becomes the new current file, so you
can judge the result by pressing the View button again -- if epspdftk
thinks that there is a suitable viewer.

@node The configuration screen,  , Converting, Usage
@section The configuration screen

@ifnotinfo
@image{images/config_lnx,3in}
@end ifnotinfo

Epspdftk also has a configuration screen. The settings here are
preserved between sessions.

@subsection Configuring viewers

Under Unix, the preferred PostScript- and pdf viewers can be configured
in this screen. Epspdf looks for a number of PostScript- and pdf
viewers, from which you can select one, but you can also enter one
manually.

Some viewers require a plugin for eps and PostScript. The GUI
does not check whether such a plugin is actually installed.

For Windows and Mac OS there is no such configuration option. Epspdf
will use the program associated with the file type, which can be
configured outside of epspdf.

@subsection Options for converting to pdf
Double-check the setting ``Target use'' under ``Conversion to
pdf''. ``prepress'' is for pdfs which are going to be printed
commercially. The options prepress, printer and default will try to
embed all fonts. Often, printshops insist on this.

On the other hand, you may prefer ``screen'' if file size is a
concern. See also the Ghostscript documentation, in particular Use.htm
and VectorDevices.htm.

Specifying anything other than ``default'' may cause an additional
conversion step and possibly also loss of high-level structure.

As to pdf versions: this is a trade-off between more features for higher
versions and better compatibility for lower versions. Versions below 1.4
do not support transparency. Converting a page or graphic with
transparencies to version 1.3 will probably result in the whole page or
graphic getting rasterized. For prepress use, consult your printshop or
publisher. Otherwise leave the pdf version at ``default''.

@subsection Options for converting to PostScript
For conversion to plain or Encapsulated PostScript, pdftops sometimes
does a better job of preserving fonts than Ghostscript. Under Windows,
current versions of both MiKTeX and TeX Live include pdftops. Still, you
may opt @i{not} to use pdftops even if it is available, in which case
Ghostscript will be used instead.

@node Command-line usage, Notes on PostScript and pdf, Usage, Top
@chapter Command-line usage

epspdf.tlu is the backend of epspdftk, but it can also be used
standalone. It shares configuration settings with epspdftk.tcl.

The first parameter of the epspdftk GUI program is interpreted as
startup directory for the file browser. Epspdf itself has a more
elaborate command-line interface.

Below, we assume that there is a suitable wrapper or symlink for epspdf
on your searchpath. This is the case if you installed epspdf as a TeX
Live- or MiKTeX package.

Basic usage of epspdf itself:

@example
epspdf [@var{options}] @var{infile} [@var{outfile}]
@end example

@menu
* Option summary::
@end menu

@node Option summary,  , Command-line usage, Command-line usage
@section Option summary

Typing  @kbd{epspdf --help} gives you the following summary:
@example
$ epspdf --help
Epspdf version 0.6.5.1
Copyright (c) 2006-2023 Siep Kroonenberg

Convert between [e]ps and pdf formats
Usage: epspdf[.tlu] [options] infile [outfile]
Default for outfile is file.pdf if infile is file.eps or file.ps
Default for outfile is file.eps if infile is file.pdf

-p, --page, --pagenumber PNUM
            Page number; must be a positive integer
-g, --grey, --gray, -G, --GREY, --GRAY
            Convert to grayscale
-b, --bbox, --BoundingBox
            Compute tight boundingbox
-T, --target TARGET
            One of screen, ebook, printer, prepress or default
-N, --pdfversion VERSION
            One of 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 or default
-U          Use pdftops if available
-I          Reverses the above
-s, --save  Save some settings to configuration file
-i, --info  Info: display detected filetype and exit
-d          Debug: do not remove temp files
-v, --version
            Display version info and exit
-h, --help  Display this help message and exit
@end example

@node Notes on PostScript and pdf, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex, Command-line usage, Top
@chapter Notes on PostScript and pdf

@menu
* Bitmapped and vector::
* Font embedding::
* Eps preview headers::
* Bounding- and other boxes::
* Orientation::
* Exporting PostScript or pdf from Windows programs::
@end menu

@node Bitmapped and vector, Font embedding, Notes on PostScript and pdf, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Bitmapped and vector

Pictures can be described either in terms of pixels, or more abstractly,
in terms of geometric shapes, fonts and text.

Bitmapped or pixel-based graphics are appropriate for photographs and
screenshots, but less so for diagrams and spreadsheet-generated
graphics.

A file in PostScript- or pdf format can contain both types of graphic
data.

Vector graphics can be freely scaled without losing sharpness or
becoming pixellated.  If bitmapped graphics are enlarged too much,
individual pixels become apparent. With low-resolution bitmaps this
happens sooner than with high-resolution bitmaps, but high-resolution
bitmaps have (much) larger file sizes, and take longer to process.

So avoid converting vector to bitmap. However, converting from bitmap to
vector is also best avoided, since it is very hard to do well.

Epspdf usually avoids conversion from vector to bitmap and never
converts the other way. With the screen- and ebook ``Target use''
option, included bitmaps tend to be downsampled, i.e. reduced to a lower
resolution.

@node Font embedding, Eps preview headers, Bitmapped and vector, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Font embedding

When converting to pdf, Ghostscript handles font embedding differently
depending on the ``Target use'' option. According to the Ghostscript
documentation, it embeds all fonts without exception for all targets
except ``screen'', for which standard fonts such as Times may be
omitted.

@node Eps preview headers, Bounding- and other boxes, Font embedding, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Eps preview headers

Preview headers are quietly stripped from eps files. These preview
headers are used by e.g. desktop-publishing software to represent eps
files on screen without having to interpret the PostScript code
itself. Epspdf has no option to preserve or add them.

@node Bounding- and other boxes, Orientation, Eps preview headers, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Bounding- and other boxes

A PostScript file may have a page size and a boundingbox defined. A pdf
file may have a mediabox, a trimbox and various other boxes. Ghostscript
by itself normally converts the PostScript page -- which is anchored at
(0,0) -- to the pdf mediabox.

Conversion to pdf usually translates the bottom-left corner to the (0,0)
origin and sets the @dots{}box to the size of the
graphic. Anything outside the @dots{}box should be cut off.

@node Orientation, Exporting PostScript or pdf from Windows programs, Bounding- and other boxes, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Orientation

Ghostscript may not be able to determine the right orientation of a
PostScript- or pdf file. This may result in part of a graphic being cut
off after conversion or even everything falling outside the page /
mediabox / boundingbox.

@node Exporting PostScript or pdf from Windows programs,  , Orientation, Notes on PostScript and pdf
@section Exporting PostScript or pdf from Windows programs

Microsoft Office 2010 can now export to pdf, either the entire document
or a selection. This removes a major headache for Windows users. Windows
10 also includes a pdf printer.

As a last resort on earlier Windows versions, you can ``print'' to a
PostScript file. From some programs, you can print a selection. A
suitable driver which comes with Windows is Generic / MS Publisher Color
Printer. Pay attention to the printer properties: choose ``Outline'' for
font downloading and avoid the ``Optimize for speed'' setting for
PostScript Output Option. In my tests, ``Encapsulated PostScript'' did
not look very promising either. Try e.g. ``Archive'' instead. These
options can be found under the Advanced button.

@node Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex, Troubleshooting, Notes on PostScript and pdf, Top
@chapter Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex

pdflatex can use graphics in .png format (best for screenshots) and .jpg
format (best for photographs) directly. However, for @LaTeX{} you are
stuck with .eps format. Tips for converting to .eps:

@menu
* Linux::
* Mac OS::
* Windows::
@end menu

@node Linux, Mac OS, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex
@section Linux

@table @emph
@item sam2p
This command-line bitmap-to-PostScript/pdf conversion utility is
available from @url{http://code.google.com/p/sam2p/} and may already be
packaged for your distribution. It produces very small files:
@samp{sam2p image.png image.eps}
@item ImageMagick/convert
@command{convert} from the ImageMagick package is a command-line
utility: @samp{convert image.png image.eps}
@item The GIMP
This is the premier open source image editing program. It is often
pre-installed on Linux, and is also available for other platforms. The
GIMP can save in eps- and pdf format.
@end table

@node Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex
@section Mac OS

Mac OS's built-in Preview application can read most bitmapped formats
and save them as pdf or PostScript. In fact, in many cases it is an
excellent alternative to epspdf.

@node Windows,  , Mac OS, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex
@section Windows

I know of no built-in facility for converting bitmaps to eps or pdf,
apart from ``printing'' to PostScript or pdf. However, many image
editors can convert to eps or pdf. A couple of command-line utilities:
@example
sam2p image.png image.eps
@end example
or
@example
bmeps -c image.png image.eps
@end example
sam2p is distributed with TeX Live (Windows only), bmeps both with TeX
Live and with MikTeX. Without the @code{-c} option, bmeps produces a
grayscale image. It produces larger files than sam2p.

With TeX Live, you can convert to eps by right-clicking an image in
Windows Explorer and ``open'' with @emph{bitmap2eps}, which uses sam2p
or bmeps in the background.

@node Troubleshooting, Requirements, Bitmapped graphics for @LaTeX{} and pdflatex, Top
@chapter Troubleshooting

@menu
* No options for output format visible::
* Ghostscript stackunderflow error::
* Error message ``pdf_crop failed''::
* Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output)::
* Part of the graphic gets cut off::
* Fonts look ugly::
* The page has been converted to a bitmap::
* Temporary files are not removed::
* Resources for troubleshooting::
@end menu

@node No options for output format visible, Ghostscript stackunderflow error, Troubleshooting, Troubleshooting
@section No options for output format visible

Widen the window, to make the output format radio buttons visible.

@node Ghostscript stackunderflow error, Error message ``pdf_crop failed'', No options for output format visible, Troubleshooting
@section Ghostscript stackunderflow error

Some Ghostscript versions, @emph{e.g.} 9.10, have an error in color
handling when converting to pdf: selecting ``printer'' as target may
lead to an error @code{stackunderflow in .setdistillerparams}. If you
run into this, use the ``default'' or ``prepress'' target instead.

@node Error message ``pdf_crop failed'', Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output), Ghostscript stackunderflow error, Troubleshooting
@section Error message mentioning failure of pdf_crop

Problably, the luatex format has not been generated. Fix this with
TeX Live Manager or with the MiKTeX Console.

@node Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output), Part of the graphic gets cut off, Error message ``pdf_crop failed'', Troubleshooting
@section Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output)

This may be a bug in pdftops. Do not use pdftops (epspdftk: see
configuration screen; command-line epspdf: use the ``-I'' option)

@node Part of the graphic gets cut off, Fonts look ugly, Wrong boundingbox (.eps or .ps output), Troubleshooting
@section Part of the graphic gets cut off

If the PostScript file was generated with the old Windows PostScript
driver, experiment with the PostScript Output option. Don't choose
Optimize for Speed.

@node Fonts look ugly, The page has been converted to a bitmap, Part of the graphic gets cut off, Troubleshooting
@section Fonts look ugly

If Ghostscript has to do the conversion from pdf to ps then text may not
remain text, but may be replaced by bitmaps. Newer Ghostscript versions
tend to do better in this respect than older ones, but as to preserving
fonts, the pdftops utility may still handle more cases. It is part of the
xpdf suite and of the Poppler utilities.

@node The page has been converted to a bitmap, Temporary files are not removed, Fonts look ugly, Troubleshooting
@section The page has been converted to a bitmap

The usual cause is that the page contains features such as transparency which
are not supported by the target format.

Otherwise, set pdf target use and target version both to ``default'' to
avoid unnecessary conversions: @code{-T default -N default}

@node Temporary files are not removed, Resources for troubleshooting, The page has been converted to a bitmap, Troubleshooting
@section Temporary files are not removed

@itemize
@item
Command-line: make sure that you did not specify the option @code{-d}.
@item
Epspdftk GUI: make sure that `Remove temp files' is checked.
@item
Windows: this platform is notorious for excessive file locking. I
already inserted a Windows-specific delay before attempting to delete
the temporary files, but this is not always enough. However, you should
have no trouble removing temporary files manually.
@end itemize

@node Resources for troubleshooting,  , Temporary files are not removed, Troubleshooting
@section Resources for troubleshooting

@i{Logfile.} The GUI has a button for viewing log output. This same
output is also written to a file @file{epspdf.log}. For Linux/Unix/Mac
Mac OS this is in a subdirectory .epspdf of your home directory; for
Windows it is in a subdirectory epspdf of @file{%APPDATA%}. This APPDATA
directory may be @file{c:\Users\@var{your user
name}\AppData\Roaming}. Type
@example
echo %APPDATA%
@end example
in a Command Prompt window to find out which.

The logfile lists all epspdf calls and all Ghostscript- and pdftops
calls plus error information.

@i{Temporary files.} The temporary files may give clues as
well. Uncheck the button ``Remove temp files'', or for the
command-line version, give a -d parameter to keep the temporary
files. Check the log(file) as to which temporary files have been
created.

@anchor{Documentation}@i{Ghostscript- and pdftops documentation.} For
Ghostscript, the most important files are VectorDevices.htm and Use.htm. For
pdftops, type @kbd{pdftops -h}. For Unix, there is also a man page, and
for Windows there is a file pdftops.txt in the distribution zip. TeX
Live includes the man page in pdf format: pdftops.pdf.

@node Requirements, Change history, Troubleshooting, Top
@appendix Requirements

Epspdftk consists of a GUI front end and a command-line back end.

The command-line component, which can be used separately from the front
end, requires ghostscript and a not too old @TeX{} installation with
luatex. It may further benefit from the presence of pdftops. MiKTeX and
TeX Live for Windows meet these requirements out of the box.

The front end requires a Tcl/Tk installation, or at least a tclkit
runtime. TeX Live for Windows contains either a tclkit runtime or a
minimal Tcl/Tk installation since late 2018, and epspdftk as a TeX Live
package will make use of it. The minimum version is 8.5.

At the time of writing, this front end does not work under MiKTeX; I do
not know why not. The alternative epspdf-setup package for Windows with
an embedded Tcl/Tk runtime and an installer has been withdrawn, since it
was only useful on MiKTeX.

@node Change history,  , Requirements, Top
@appendix Change history

@menu
* Version 0.6.5.2::
* Version 0.6.5.1::
* Version 0.6.5::
* Version 0.6.4::
* Version 0.6::
* Version 0.5::
* Version 0.4::
@end menu

@node Version 0.6.5.2, Version 0.6.5.1, Change history, Change history
@section Version 0.6.5.2

Epspdftk: compatibility fix for Tcl/Tk 9.

@node Version 0.6.5.1, Version 0.6.5, Version 0.6.5.2, Change history
@section Version 0.6.5.1

Epspdf: An erroneous and unnecessary check for writability, with
possible security implications, has been removed. For MiKTeX, os.execute
replaces os.spawn invocations, since os.spawn gave trouble in my tests
on MiKTeX.

@node Version 0.6.5, Version 0.6.4, Version 0.6.5.1, Change history
@section Version 0.6.5

Epspdf: Compatibility change for ghostscript 9.50 and later.

Epspdftk: improvements to viewer selection; does not impact Windows or
MacOS.

A few updates to the manual, mostly for the troubleshooting section.

@node Version 0.6.4, Version 0.6, Version 0.6.5, Change history
@section Version 0.6.4

Compatibility changes for luatex 1.9 and later.

The location of pdftops is no longer configurable; it is only searched
for on the searchpath.

Some corner cases should be handled more successfully.

The GUI now requires Tcl/Tk version 8.5 or higher. On Windows,
epspdf.tlu is now invoked via a batchfile. This should prevent black
console windows popping up.

@node Version 0.6, Version 0.5, Version 0.6.4, Change history
@section Version 0.6

The command-line backend component has been rewritten in texlua and
therefore no longer needs an external scripting language.

Grayscaling is now done by Ghostscript's color options for pdf
output. This also works for bitmaps.

Croppping of pdfs is now accomplished by running luatex on a suitable
wrapper file (same method as Heiko Oberdiek's pdfcrop). Such a
conversion preserves advanced features which might otherwise get lost.

I no longer try to provide an AppleScript wrapper.

The current version has no provisions for custom Ghostscript- or pdftops
parameters. The corresponding command-line options are accepted but have
no effect.

@node Version 0.5, Version 0.4, Version 0.6, Change history
@section Version 0.5

The GUI has been rewritten in Tcl/Tk, removing the dependence on the
Ruby/Tk interface library.

The Windows installer now installs a small Ruby subset and the standard
epspdf distribution, but with epspdftk.tcl replaced with a starpack: a
single executable containing @file{epspdftk.tcl} and a Tcl/Tk
runtime. See @url{http://wiki.tcl.tk/52}.

Epspdf now uses its own subdirectory for both the logfile and the
configuration file. For Linux/Unix/Mac OS this is
@file{$HOME/.epspdf}, for Windows it is @file{%APPDATA%\epspdf}.
On all supported platforms, settings are stored in the file
@file{config} in this directory. Under Windows, the registry is no
longer used for this.

A button has been added to view log output.

There is a second new button ``Remove temp files'', which is normally
checked, causing temporary files to be deleted after each
conversion. Unchecking this button may be useful for troubleshooting. In
previous versions, temporary files were deleted at the end of the entire
epspdftk session but that has become less practical now that the GUI and
epspdf itself have become two separate programs.

The ``Open with@dots{}'' option for Windows has been dropped for technical
reasons.

The ``--version'' option now prints the version string instead of
setting the desired pdf version.

The ``--info'' option now also prints the number of pages for pdf
files.

@node Version 0.4,  , Version 0.5, Change history
@section Version 0.4

Hi-res boundingboxes are now supported. By default, conversion from eps
to pdf now uses the hires boundingbox as ``page'' to determine the page
dimensions of the pdf file. Other conversions preserve or generate a
hires boundingbox.

Under Windows, the new version looks for an installed @TeX{} and will
use its private Ghostscript if it cannot find a separately installed
Ghostscript. @TeX{} Live's pdftops, being on the searchpath, will be
used unless epspdf finds another copy first.

There is now a ``-v'' (lowercase) option to print the version string.

@ifhtml
@section @url{index.html,Main page}
@end ifhtml

@bye
