PostScript Printing Assistance

Two utilities allow you to print Ethiopic postscript files.  The first, "m2ps"
is created at the same to you compile Mule.  However, to use m2ps you will
have to have done two other things : 

  1. "ethiob10d300.bdf" is the default bdf file for ASCII, and
     "etl24-latin1.bdf" is the default for Ethiopic.
     You must install them in some directory on your system, lets call this
     dirctory FONT_DIR for now.

  2. Build, or rebuild, Mule using the configuration option --bdf-path=DIR.
     Doing so, when m2ps is remade, it will know where to find the two fonts
     required in (1).  Use the "configure" command this time like so :

     configure [MyMachine] .... --bdf-path=FONT_DIR

     and then "make", or remake, Mule. 





any2ps -- Converter from any code to PostScript


   A program called `any2ps' is bound to Mule.  any2ps works as a filter.
It converts Mule's internal code to PostScript.  "Any" Mule encoding type
except SERA at the moment, but it should be available in a patch soon. 
Until then, you will need to save your Ethiopic files WITH OUT the file
name extension "xxx.sera" -which forces a SERA conversion upon saving.
The file will be saved in Junet encoding otherwise and you may use `any2ps'
in the $MULE/lib-src directory as follows :


     `% any2ps < text_file > ps_file'
or
     `% any2ps < text_file | lp'


PostScript printing with Mule resources (but with out Mule) is possible
with the sera2ps package that also allows the user to compose in simple
SERA.


You May Print Ethiopic Directly From Your `File' Menu
 
Add to your ~/.emacs file (or create one if you don't have it) the
lines:

(defun any2ps-buffer nil
  "Call any2ps via shell-command-on-region."
  (interactive)
  (shell-command-on-region (point-min) (point-max) "any2ps | lpr"))

(substitute-key-definition 'print-buffer 'any2ps-buffer menu-bar-file-menu)

These lines will automatically perform the line commands given above.
The directory with `any2ps' must be in your session PATH.  If not you
may add the path in the "shell" line above, also the `any2ps' script
will require the same edits for `coco' and `m2ps' which it calls.

To Print With Other Ethiopic Fonts

At the moment only "ethiob10d300.bdf" is offered for Ethiopic printing. EthioSystems which has provided this high quality font has a tentative schedule to release more fonts, of even greater beauty, in late December of '94 or early January of '95. When available you will be able to find the font here, in the Mule archives and at : 

     ftp.ethiopic.org/pub/fonts/
You may print with your screen font as well if you wish. To print with any Ethiopic font other than the default font, you will need to edit the appropriate line(s) in $MULE/etc/CHARSETS ($MULE is the directory you have the Mule files in) . If you don't have write permission for this file, copy it to your home directory, modify it, then specify the modified CHARSETS filename with the -cs option:

% any2ps -cs /home/myaccount/myCHARSETS < tmpfile | lpr

You may specify an alternate font directory at the command line by:

% any2ps -fp /usr/local/lib/fonts/bdf < tmpfile | lpr

If you want to specify more than 1 directory, separate them by a comma:

% any2ps -fp /usr/local/lib/fonts/bdf,/home/ntakahas/bdf < tmpfile | lpr

The directory names must be in full pathname, i.e., they must begin with a "/". Of course you can specify -fp and -cs together.