dvipng
******

This program makes PNG graphics from DVI files as obtained from TeX and
its relatives.

   It is intended to produce anti-aliased screen-resolution images as
fast as is possible. The target audience is people who need to generate
and regenerate many images again and again. The primary target is the
preview-latex (X)Emacs package, a package to preview formulas from
within (X)Emacs. Yes, you get to see your formulas in the (X)Emacs
buffer, see `http://preview-latex.sf.net'.

   Another example is WeBWorK, an internet-based method for delivering
homework problems to students over the internet, giving students
instant feedback as to whether or not their answers are correct, see
`http://webwork.math.rochester.edu'.

   Other applications may also benefit, like web applications as
latex2html and WYSIWYG editors like LyX.

Benefits of dvipng
==================

   * Speed. It is the fastest bitmap-rendering code for DVI files that
     I know of. On my fairly low-end laptop, it takes less than a
     second to generate 150 one-formula images. This makes dvipng
     suitable for generating large amounts of images on-the-fly, as
     needed in preview-latex, WeBWorK and others.

   * It does not read the postamble, so it can be started before TeX
     finishes. There is a -follow switch that makes dvipng wait at EOF
     for further output, unless it finds the POST marker that indicates
     the end of the DVI.

   * Interactive query of options. dvipng can read options interactively
     through stdin, and all options are usable. It is even possible to
     change the input file through this interface.

   * Supports PK, VF and PostScript Type1 fonts, color specials and
     simple PostScript inclusion specials.

   * and more...

Installation
============

   Read `INSTALL', included in the distribution.

Usage
=====

   To use dvipng at its simplest, simply type

     dvipng foo

where `foo.dvi' is the output of TeX that you want to convert to PNG
format. If there are four pages in `foo.dvi', those pages will be
output as `foo1.png', `foo2.png', `foo3.png', and `foo4.png',
respectively.

   Many options are available (see the info manual).  For a brief
summary of available options, just type

     dvipng --help

Availability
============

   The dvipng package is available at SourceForge, at
`http://sourceforge.net/projects/preview-latex'. This is the project
page of preview-latex. Anonymous CVS is available as well.

Contacts
========

   Bug reports should be sent to
<preview-latex-bugs@lists.sourceforge.net>. This is still a sub-project
of preview-latex.

   Questions, suggestions for new features, pleas for help, and/or
praise should go to <preview-latex-devel@lists.sourceforge.net> (the
preview-latex send a message with just the word `help' as subject or
body to <preview-latex-devel-request@lists.sourceforge.net> or look at
`http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/preview-latex-devel'.

   Offers to support further development will be appreciated. For
developer access, ask on <preview-latex-devel@lists.sourceforge.net>.

Todo
====

   * TrueType fonts. The new Gd has a link to FreeType, so perhaps it's
     not too much work.

   * Non-integer shrinkfactors.

   * Further speed improvements, such as faster font scaling, and
     perhaps more efficient code overall.

   * Other output specials and source specials.

