
	   POTRACE - transform bitmaps into vector graphics
			
				* * *
	   
DESCRIPTION

 Potrace is a utility for tracing a bitmap, which means, transforming
 a bitmap into a smooth, scalable image.  The input is a bitmap (PBM,
 PGM, PPM, or BMP), and the default output is one of several vector
 file formats.  A typical use is to create EPS files from scanned
 data, such as company or university logos, handwritten notes, etc.
 The resulting image is not "jaggy" like a bitmap, but smooth. It can
 then be rendered at any resolution.

 Potrace can currently produce the following output formats: EPS,
 PostScript, SVG (scalable vector graphics), PGM (for easy
 antialiasing of pixel-based images), and XFig. An experimental
 Gimppath backend is also provided. Additional backends might be added
 in the future.

 A separate program, mkbitmap, is also provided. This program can act
 as a pre-processor for potrace, applying scaling and various filters
 to an image before converting it to a bitmap. This is useful for
 potracing greyscale and color images.

DEPENDENCIES

 Potrace relies on the zlib library for PostScript level 3
 compression. This library is pre-installed on most modern systems. 
 If not present, it can be obtained from http://www.gzip.org/zlib/.

COMPILATION

 For generic compilation instructions, see the file INSTALL.  In
 addition, the following compile time options (options to ./configure)
 are supported:

 --disable-zlib:      disable PostScript level 3 compression
 --enable-metric:     use metric units (centimeters) as default
 --enable-a4:	      use a4 as the default papersize

INSTALLING

 If you are installing from sources, just do "make install" as root.
 If you are installing from a binary distribution, just copy the
 "potrace" and "mkbitmap" binaries to a place where the operating
 system expects them, such as /usr/local/bin. Also copy the files
 "potrace.1" and "mkbitmap.1" to a directory where the operating
 system looks for man pages, such as /usr/local/man/man1. For
 instructions on installing potrace under Windows, see the file
 README.win.

USAGE

 For more detailed usage information, see the man page.

Usage: potrace [options] [file...]
General options:
 -h, --help                 - print this help message and exit
 -v, --version              - print version info and exit
 -l, --license              - print license info and exit
 -V, --show-defaults        - print compiled-in defaults and exit
Input/output options:
 -o, --output <file>        - output to file
Backend selection:
 -e, --eps                  - EPS backend (encapsulated postscript) (default)
 -p, --postscript           - Postscript backend
 -s, --svg                  - SVG backend (scalable vector graphics)
 -g, --pgm                  - PGM backend (portable greymap)
 -b, --backend <name>       - select backend by name
Algorithm options:
 -z, --turnpolicy <policy>  - how to resolve ambiguities in path decomposition
 -t, --turdsize <n>         - suppress speckles of up to this size (default 2)
 -a, --alphamax <n>         - corner threshold parameter (default 1)
 -n, --longcurve            - turn off curve optimization
 -O, --opttolerance <n>     - curve optimization tolerance (default 0.2)
 -u, --unit <n>             - quantize output to 1/unit pixels (default 10)
 -d, --debug <n>            - produce debugging output of type n (n=1,2,3)
Scaling and placement options:
 -W, --width <dim>          - width of output image
 -H, --height <dim>         - height of output image
 -r, --resolution <n>[x<n>] - resolution (in dpi)
 -x, --scale <n>[x<n>]      - scaling factor (pgm backend)
 -S, --stretch <n>          - yresolution/xresolution
 -A, --rotate <angle>       - rotate counterclockwise by angle
 -M, --margin <dim>         - margin
 -L, --leftmargin <dim>     - left margin
 -R, --rightmargin <dim>    - right margin
 -T, --topmargin <dim>      - top margin
 -B, --bottommargin <dim>   - bottom margin
Output options, supported by some backends:
 -C, --color #rrggbb        - set line color (default black)
 --fillcolor #rrggbb        - set fill color (default transparent)
 --opaque                   - make white shapes opaque
 --group                    - group related paths together
Postscript/EPS options:
 -P, --pagesize <format>    - page size (default is letter)
 -c, --cleartext            - do not compress the output
 -2, --level2               - use postscript level 2 compression (default)
 -3, --level3               - use postscript level 3 compression
 -q, --longcoding           - do not optimize for file size
PGM options:
 -G, --gamma <n>            - gamma value for anti-aliasing (default 2.2)
Frontend options:
 -k, --blacklevel <n>       - black/white cutoff in input file (default 0.5)
 -i, --invert               - invert bitmap

Dimensions can have optional units, e.g. 6.5in, 15cm, 100pt.
Default is inches (or pixels for pgm and gimppath backends).
Possible input file formats are: pnm (pbm, pgm, ppm), bmp.
Backends are: eps, postscript, ps, svg, pgm, gimppath, xfig.

DOCUMENTATION

 The man page contains detailed usage information:
 http://potrace.sourceforge.net/potrace.html

 Many common questions are answered in the FAQ:
 http://potrace.sourceforge.net/faq.html

 Some examples are given on the following web pages:
 http://potrace.sourceforge.net/samples.html
 http://potrace.sourceforge.net/mkbitmap.html

 The following document describes in detail how potrace works:
 http://potrace.sourceforge.net/potrace.pdf

COPYRIGHT

 Copyright (C) 2001-2004 Peter Selinger

 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
 your option) any later version.

 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 General Public License for more details.

 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
 Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307,
 USA. See also http://www.gnu.org/.

 See the file COPYING for details.

GPG KEY

 The key fingerprint of Peter Selinger's GPG key is:
 12A2 4B3C 3790 B688 E484  7A98 A68B CC37 CA31 696A
 This may be useful for authenticating future versions of potrace.
