Online Metafont graphics

The Web2c implementation of Metafont can do online graphics with a number of devices. (See the Metafont manual for more information about how to draw on your screen.) By default, no graphics support is enabled.

Metafont examines the MFTERM environment variable or config file value at runtime, or the TERM environment variable if MFTERM is not set, to determine the device support to use. Naturally, only the devices for which support has been compiled in can be selected.

Here is a table of the possibilities, showing the MFTERM value and the corresponding configure option(s) in parentheses.

hp2627

(`--with-hp2627win') HP2627a color graphics terminals.

mftalk

(`--with-mftalkwin') Generic window server (see `web2c/window/mftalk.c').

next

(`--with-next') NeXT window system. This requires a separate program, called DrawingServant, available separately. See the `web2c/window/next.c'.

regis

(`--with-regiswin') Regis terminals.

sun

(`--with-suntoolswin') The old Suntools (not any flavor of X) window system. (You can get the even older SunWindows gfx system by using `sun-gfx.c'.)

tek

(`--with-tektronixwin') Tektronix terminals.

uniterm

(`--with-unitermwin') Uniterm, Simon Poole's emulator of a smart Tektronix 4014 terminal. This may work with regular Tektronix terminals as well; it's faster than the driver `--with-tek' selects.

xterm

(`--with-x11win', `--with-x', `--with-x11') The X window system (version 11). There are two variants of the X11 support, one that works with the Xt toolkit, and another that works directly with Xlib. The Xt support is more efficient and has more functionality, so it is the default. If you must use the Xlib support, use `configure --with-x --with-x-toolkit=no'. You cannot specify any of the usual X options (e.g., `-geometry') on the Metafont command line, but you can specify X resources in your `~/.Xdefaults' or `~/.Xresources' file. The class name is Metafont. If you're using the Xt support, all the usual X toolkit resources are supported. If you're using the Xlib support, only the geometry resource is supported. You specify the X display to which Metafont connects in the DISPLAY environment variable, as usual.

Writing support for a new device is straightforward. Aside from defining the basic drawing routines that Metafont uses (see `mf.web'), you only have to add another entry to the tables on the last page of `web2c/lib/texmfmp.c'. Or you can write an independent program and use MFtalk (see `web2c/window/mftalk.c').

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