     [file macros.texi not included]

This program makes PNG and/or GIF graphics from DVI files as obtained from TeX and its relatives.

If GIF support is enabled, GIF output is chosen by using the dvigif binary or with the --gif option.

It is intended to produce anti-aliased screen-resolution images as fast as is possible. The target audience is people who need to generate and regenerate many images again and again. The primary target is the previewlatex (X)Emacs package, a package to preview formulas from within (X)Emacs. Yes, you get to see your formulas in the (X)Emacs buffer, see http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/preview-latex.html.

It is also used in MediaWiki, the software behind Wikipedia and many other wikis out there. Dvipng is used to render mathematical formulae (in image mode) from version 1.8.0 of MediaWiki, see http://www.mediawiki.org.

Other applications may also benefit, like web applications as latex2html and WYSIWYG editors like LyX.

The benefits of dvipng/dvigif include

  * Speed. It is a very fast bitmap-rendering code for DVI files, which makes it suitable for generating large amounts of images on-the-fly, as needed in previewlatex, WeBWorK and others.

  * It does not read the postamble, so it can be started before TeX finishes. There is a --follow switch that makes dvipng wait at end-of-file for further output, unless it finds the POST marker that indicates the end of the DVI.

  * Interactive query of options. dvipng can read options interactively through stdin, and all options are usable. It is even possible to change the input file through this interface.

  * Supports PK, VF, PostScript Type1, and TrueType fonts, subfonts (i.e., as used in CJK-LaTeX), color specials, and inclusion of PostScript, PNG, JPEG or GIF images.

  * and more...