PRN2PS(1)

💅 NAME 💅

prn2ps — the PostScript Conversion Utility, bestie. she takes your Windows PostScript and makes it Unix PostScript. it's giving translator, it's giving glow-up. ✨

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🎀 PURPOSE 🎀

okay so listen. prn2ps converts Windows PostScript into Unix PostScript. no cap.

the input to this program is typically generated by printing to a PostScript printer connected to the FILE: logical device. that's the whole vibe. 🖨️

and then — and this is the iconic part — the output can be converted to Encapsulated PostScript using GhostScript's p2epsi program. so it's a little pipeline moment. she ate. 🦋

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✨ USAGE ✨

here's the whole shape of it, verbatim, no edits:

 usage  : prn2ps [-h[help]] [-o[out_ext]]
         [-l[log_ext]] [-O[out_dir]] prn_file ...
 purpose: convert Windows PostScript to Unix PostScript
 version: 2.000    (SDF 2.001)

the options are, and I am listing every single one because we do not skip:

• -h — display help on options
• -o — output file extension
• -l — log file extension
• -O — output to input file's (or explicit) directory

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

the help one 🌈

the -h option provides help. if you specify it without a parameter, a brief description of each option is displayed. and if you want the attributes for one specific option? just specify the option letter as a parameter. one option, all the deets. main character energy fr fr.

where the output goes 💖

by default, generated output goes to standard output. like, it just spills out into your terminal, unbothered.

but if you want output directed to a file per input file, use the -o option to specify an extension for output files. and — important — if the -o option is specified without a parameter, an extension of out is assumed. so it just does it for you. 🫶

where the errors go 😭

likewise, error messages go to standard error by default. the messiness has to go somewhere.

use the -l option to create a log file per input file. and if the -l option is specified without a parameter, an extension of log is assumed. she's consistent, she's reliable, she's that girl. 💅

where the files land 📁

by default, generated output and log files are created in the current directory. obviously.

use the -O option to specify an explicit output directory. and if the -O option is specified without a parameter, the input file's directory is used instead. cute, right?

the actual transformation 🔥

for each input file, the output is generated by:

• deleting the PageSize information
• deleting the control-D at the end of the file.

that's it. that's the whole surgery. two little snips and she's done. ✂️

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🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

to generate an Encapsulated PostScript file from Windows PostScript:

prn2ps -ops myfig.prn
ps2epsi myfig.ps

two lines. that's the whole ritual. go off. 👑

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💀 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 💀

ngl, this is the part where we keep it real.

if ps2epsi doesn't like the output, you may need to use another printer driver to generate the input. it's not you, it's the driver. 🙈

and on Windows NT 4.0, the Canon PS-IPU Color Laser Copier v52.3 driver works most of the time. most of the time. not all of the time. we said what we said. 😭

lowkey a mood that the fix is "use this one specific driver and pray", but that's the documentation, and I'm not changing a single word of it. ✨

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okay that's the whole page bestie!! this one is from perl v5.36.0, dated 2023-08-02 — user contributed Perl documentation, PRN2PS(1), and yes the version is 2.000 built on SDF 2.001. stay converting, stay slaying 💖🦋✨