xref: /potrace-1.14/README-WIN (revision 189777a2)
1*189777a2SCristian Pallares
2*189777a2SCristian Pallares	   POTRACE - transform bitmaps into vector graphics
3*189777a2SCristian Pallares
4*189777a2SCristian Pallares			  README for Windows
5*189777a2SCristian Pallares  _________________________________________________________________
6*189777a2SCristian Pallares
7*189777a2SCristian PallaresThis file contains instructions specific to the pre-compiled Windows
8*189777a2SCristian Pallaresdistribution of Potrace. Please see the general README file and the
9*189777a2SCristian Pallaresman page for general information on usage, how to compile Potrace,
10*189777a2SCristian Pallaresetc.
11*189777a2SCristian Pallares
12*189777a2SCristian Pallares
13*189777a2SCristian PallaresINSTALLATION for Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP/Vista/7/whatever:
14*189777a2SCristian Pallares===========================================================
15*189777a2SCristian Pallares
16*189777a2SCristian PallaresDownload the file potrace-XXX.win32.zip (or potrace-XXX.win64.zip if
17*189777a2SCristian Pallaresyou want the 64-bit version).  Unpack it with your favorite unzipping
18*189777a2SCristian Pallarestool, such as unzip, 7-Zip, WinZip, or just right-clicking on the
19*189777a2SCristian Pallaresfile.
20*189777a2SCristian Pallares
21*189777a2SCristian PallaresIf you have "tar" and "gunzip" installed, you may also get the tar.gz
22*189777a2SCristian Pallaresfile instead of the zip file.
23*189777a2SCristian Pallares
24*189777a2SCristian PallaresThe distribution includes the executable programs potrace.exe and
25*189777a2SCristian Pallaresmkbitmap.exe. You need to move these files to a place where Windows
26*189777a2SCristian Pallareslooks for programs, for example C:\WINDOWS. Alternatively, you can
27*189777a2SCristian Pallaresamend your PATH environment variable, by adding something like the
28*189777a2SCristian Pallaresfollowing line to C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT:
29*189777a2SCristian Pallares
30*189777a2SCristian Pallares        PATH=%PATH%;C:\DIRECTORY\WHERE\FILES\ARE
31*189777a2SCristian Pallares
32*189777a2SCristian PallaresNote: as of version 1.6, the Potrace Windows distribution is built
33*189777a2SCristian Pallaresusing MinGW and not Cygwin. It is no longer necessary to install a
34*189777a2SCristian Pallaresseparate DLL file with Potrace.
35*189777a2SCristian Pallares
36*189777a2SCristian Pallares
37*189777a2SCristian PallaresRUNNING:
38*189777a2SCristian Pallares========
39*189777a2SCristian Pallares
40*189777a2SCristian PallaresFor non-Windows specific usage information, see the file README.
41*189777a2SCristian Pallares
42*189777a2SCristian PallaresPotrace on Windows runs in much the same way as under Linux and other
43*189777a2SCristian PallaresUnix-like operating systems. You must run Potrace from the command
44*189777a2SCristian Pallaresline (also known as the MSDOS Prompt). File names can be given in Unix
45*189777a2SCristian Pallaresstyle or Windows style, thus the following will both work:
46*189777a2SCristian Pallares
47*189777a2SCristian Pallares potrace h:/data/file.txt
48*189777a2SCristian Pallares potrace h:\data\file.txt
49*189777a2SCristian Pallares
50*189777a2SCristian PallaresWildcards can also be used, as in:
51*189777a2SCristian Pallares
52*189777a2SCristian Pallares potrace h:\data\*.*
53*189777a2SCristian Pallares potrace h:/data/*.*
54*189777a2SCristian Pallares
55*189777a2SCristian PallaresEarlier versions of Potrace had some problems when wildcards and
56*189777a2SCristian Pallaresbackslashes were mixed; these problems seem to have been solved by the
57*189777a2SCristian Pallaresswitch from Cygwin to MinGW.
58*189777a2SCristian Pallares
59*189777a2SCristian PallaresAnother problem that some users have reported is that the generated
60*189777a2SCristian Pallares".ps" and ".eps" were not executable under Windows (i.e., one could
61*189777a2SCristian Pallaresnot simply display these files by typing their name on the MSDOS
62*189777a2SCristian PallaresPrompt, as should normally be the case if a default application for
63*189777a2SCristian PallaresPostScript files has been configured). I was never able to replicate
64*189777a2SCristian Pallaresthis problem, but I believe that it has also been solved by the switch
65*189777a2SCristian Pallaresto MinGW.
66