asciitopgm(1)                                       asciitopgm(1)

NAME
       asciitopgm  -  convert  ASCII  graphics  into  a  portable
       graymap

SYNOPSIS
       asciitopgm [-d divisor] height width [asciifile]

DESCRIPTION
       Reads ASCII data as input.  Produces  a  portable  graymap
       with  pixel  values  which  are  an  approximation  of the
       "brightness" of the ASCII characters,  assuming  black-on-
       white printing.  In other words, a capital M is very dark,
       a period is ver light, and a space is white.  Input  lines
       which  are  fewer  than width characters are automatically
       padded with spaces.

       The divisor argument is a floating-point number  by  which
       the  output  pixels are divided; the default value is 1.0.
       This can be used to adjust the brightness of the  graymap:
       for  example, if the image is too dim, reduce the divisor.

       In keeping with (I believe) Fortran  line-printer  conven-
       tions, input lines beginning with a + (plus) character are
       assumed to "overstrike"  the  previous  line,  allowing  a
       larger range of gray values.

       This  tool  contradicts the message in the pbmtoascii man-
       ual: "Note that there is no asciitopbm tool - this  trans-
       formation is one-way."

BUGS
       The  table of ASCII-to-grey values is subject to interpre-
       tation, and, of course, depends on the  typeface  intended
       for the input.

SEE ALSO
       pbmtoascii(1), pgm(5)

AUTHOR
       Wilson H. Bent. Jr. (whb@usc.edu)

                         26 December 1994                       1