The llf2pdf utility
is useful for generating a pdf file from the llf file created using the
multilingual editor. The converted file may be viewed under the Adobe Acrobat
reader or an equivalent viewer such as "xpdf" under Linux.
The utility is based on the
freely distributed c-pdf library, consisting of functions to create appropriate
representations conforming to the PDF specifications. The program
is written in C and will compile properly on a system with an ANSI C compiler.
The pdf document will have
all the required fonts embedded in the document itself thus obviating the
need for the fonts to be presented in the system where the text is to be
viewed. While this approach does increase the size of the document, one
has the advantage that absolute uniformity in rendering text is guaranteed
if a viewer conforming to pdf specifications is used to view the text.
The fonts are also rendered with anti-aliasing and the text is very clear
and sharp. Also, multilingual text in Indian languages can be viewed in
the same document along with English (Roman).
The utility embeds the IITM
designed fonts and used the corresponding font tables to generate the text
in the pdf document. The fonts are required to be in the PostScript format.
One may substitute one's own PostScript font for a script and the utility
will embed the same. however, the font table data for any new fonts will
have to be supplied by the user. The names of fonts and the .tab files
are specified in a configuration file which the utility reads before generating
the document.
Special provision is also
made to embed hypertext links in the document so that one may create simple
e-books in Indian languages. Information relating to this is provided in
a separate page on creating e-books
with the IITM software.
The llf2pdf utility is command
line based and can be used to create a pdf document on the fly and served
through a cgi script.
Though written for use under
Linux, the program can run under Microsoft Windows when compiled under
cygwin.
The llfr2pdf utility should
be used to create appropriate pdf files for text in Arabic, Urdu or Hebrew.
Right to left alignment is properly retained in the text and the required
font embedded as well.
