pstops(1)

1PSTOPS(1)                        User Commands                       PSTOPS(1)
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NAME

6       pstops - rearrange pages of a PostScript document
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SYNOPSIS

9       pstops [OPTION...] [INFILE [OUTFILE]]
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DESCRIPTION

12       Rearrange pages of a PostScript document.
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14       The  input PostScript file should follow the Adobe Document Structuring
15       Conventions.
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17       Pstops can be used to perform arbitrary re-arrangements  of  documents.
18       For many tasks, it is simpler to use the other utilities in the PSUtils
19       suite: see psutils(1).
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21       -S, --specs=SPECS
22              page specifications (see below)
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24       -R, --pages=PAGES
25              select the given page ranges
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27       -e, --even
28              select even-numbered output pages
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30       -o, --odd
31              select odd-numbered output pages
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33       -r, --reverse
34              reverse the order of the output pages
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36       -p, --paper=PAPER
37              output paper name or dimensions (WIDTHxHEIGHT)
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39       -P, --inpaper=PAPER
40              input paper name or dimensions (WIDTHxHEIGHT)
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42       -d, --draw[=DIMENSION]
43              draw a line of given width (relative to  original  page)  around
44              each page [argument defaults to 1; default is 0]
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46       -b, --nobind
47              disable  PostScript  bind operators in prolog; may be needed for
48              complex page rearrangements
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50       -q, --quiet
51              don't show page numbers being output
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53       --help display this help and exit
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55       -v, --version
56              display version information and exit
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58       PAGES is a comma-separated list of pages and page ranges.
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60       Each may be a page number, or a page range of the form first-last.   If
61       first  is  omitted,  the first page is assumed, and if last is omitted,
62       the last page is assumed.  The prefix character ‘_’ indicates that  the
63       page number is relative to the end of the document, counting backwards.
64       If just this character with no page number is used, a blank  page  will
65       be  inserted.   Page  numbers  refer  to the pages as they occur in the
66       file, starting at one.  The actual page number in the document  may  be
67       different.
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69       SPECS  is  a list of page specifications [default is "0", which selects
70       each page in its normal order].
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72       Pagespecs have the following syntax:
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74              pagespecs   = [modulo:]specs
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76              specs       = spec[+specs|,specs]
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78              spec        = [-]pageno[turns][@scale][(xoff,yoff)]
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80              turns       = turn[turns]
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82              turn        = L|R|U|H|V
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84       modulo is the number of pages in  each  block.   The  value  of  modulo
85       should be greater than 0; the default value is 1.
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87       specs  are  the  page  specifications for the pages in each block.  The
88       value of the pageno in each spec should be between  0  (for  the  first
89       page  in  the block) and modulo-1 (for the last page in each block) in‐
90       clusive.  If there is only one page specification, the pageno  (0)  may
91       be omitted.
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93       The  optional  dimensions xoff and yoff shift the page by the specified
94       amount.  xoff and yoff may either be lengths (see psutils(1))  or  fol‐
95       lowed  by  w  or  h to indicate a multiple of the output paper width or
96       height.
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98       The optional parameters L, R, U, H, and V rotate the page left,  right,
99       or  upside-down,  and flip (mirror) the page horizontally or vertically
100       respectively.  The optional scale parameter  scales  the  page  by  the
101       fraction  specified.  If the optional minus sign is specified, the page
102       number is relative to the end of the document, instead of the start.
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104       Pages whose specs are separated by + will be merged into a single page;
105       otherwise, they will remain as separate pages.
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107       The  shift,  rotation, and scaling are applied to the PostScript trans‐
108       formation matrix in that order, regardless of the order in  which  they
109       appear on the command line.
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111       Paper  size names are converted to dimensions using paper(1).  The out‐
112       put paper size, if set, is used (after scaling)  to  set  the  clipping
113       path for each page.
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115   Exit status:
116       0      if OK,
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118       1      if  arguments  or  options are incorrect, or there is some other
119              problem starting up,
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121       2      if there is some problem during processing, typically  an  error
122              reading or writing an input or output file.
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EXAMPLES

125       To put two pages on one sheet of A4 paper, the pagespec to use is:
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127                         2:0L@.7(21cm,0)+1L@.7(21cm,14.85cm)
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129       To select all of the odd pages in reverse order, use:
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131                                        2:-0
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133       To re-arrange pages for printing 2-up booklets, use
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135                        4:-3L@.7(21cm,0)+0L@.7(21cm,14.85cm)
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137       for the front sides, and
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139                        4:1L@.7(21cm,0)+-2L@.7(21cm,14.85cm)
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141       for the reverse sides (or join them with a comma for duplex printing).
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AUTHOR

144       Written by Angus J. C. Duggan and Reuben Thomas.
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BUGS

147       pstops does not accept all DSC comments.
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COPYRIGHT

150       Copyright © Reuben Thomas 2017-2023.  Released under the GPL version 3,
151       or (at your option) any later version.
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TRADEMARKS

154       PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
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