mfware

Provides essential utilities and tools for processing and working with Metafont output files.

Overview

Offers specialized tools for handling and manipulating the output generated by Metafont, the font creation system commonly used with TeX. The package serves as a critical bridge between Metafont's raw output and practical font usage.

Includes utilities for converting and processing Metafont-generated files
Helps manage and optimize font-related workflows in TeX systems
Particularly useful for users working with custom fonts or requiring specific font processing capabilities
Primarily used by font designers, package developers, and advanced TeX users who work directly with Metafont

Getting Started

The mfware package is a collection of utility programs for processing Metafont output, not a LaTeX package that you include directly in your documents. These tools are typically part of your TeX distribution and are used from the command line.

The collection includes programs like:

gftopk: Converts GF (generic font) files to PK (packed) format
gftodvi: Creates DVI proofs from GF files
mft: Pretty-prints Metafont source files

These utilities are used when working with Metafont fonts, but don't require any special setup in your LaTeX documents themselves.

Examples

Using gftopk to convert a GF file to PK format for use with TeX.

% Note: mfware is a collection of command-line utilities for Metafont
% This example shows how to use gftopk in a LaTeX document comment
% These tools are typically used outside of LaTeX documents

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
The mfware package provides command-line utilities for processing Metafont output.

For example, to convert a GF file to PK format, you would use the gftopk utility:

\texttt{gftopk cmr10.600gf cmr10.600pk}

This converts the GF file (cmr10.600gf) to the more compact PK format (cmr10.600pk)
that can be used by TeX engines and DVI drivers.
\end{document}