If this is your first contact with Ghostscript, before continuing here you should read the documentation for new users, where you'll find

• what Ghostscript does (PostScript and PDF previewing, conversion, and printing);
• its licensing terms (free for ordinary use);
• what platforms it runs on (every platform you're likely to be interested in);
• where to find some useful programs that enhance Ghostscript (like user-friendly previewers for Unix, VMS, MS Windows, DOS, and Macintosh); and
• what to do if you need help.

The rest of this document is a roadmap to the Ghostscript documentation. After looking through it, if you want to install Ghostscript and not only use it, we recommend you read how to install Ghostscript, and how to compile Ghostscript from source code (which is necessary before installing it on Unix and VMS systems).

Table of contents

• Document roadmap by theme
  • What should I read if I'm a new user?
    • Aladdin Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript
    • Before building Ghostscript
  • What should I read if I'm not a new user?
  • What if I'm a developer?
  • What if I'm writing documentation?
• Presence on the World Wide Web
  • Ghostscript's home page
  • Aladdin's home page
  • Adobe PostScript and PDF reference documentation
  • Other material on the WWW
• Which document contains what?

  Bug-form.htm C-style.htm Commprod.htm Copying.htm Current.htm DLL.htm Devices.htm Drivers.htm Fonts.htm Helpers.htm

  Hershey.htm History*.htm Htmstyle.htm Humor.htm Install.htm Language.htm Lib.htm Make.htm New-user.htm News.htm

  Ps2pdf.htm Psfiles.htm Public.htm Readme.htm Release.htm Source.htm Tester.htm Unix-lpr.htm Use.htm Xfonts.htm

Document roadmap by theme

What should I read if I'm a new user?

A new user of Ghostscript should begin by reading the material specifically for new users, then as many of these documents as seem useful:

• how to install Ghostscript
• how to use Ghostscript; some of this information information also found in gs.1, the Unix "man" page for Ghostscript.
• the catalogs at the beginning of devs.mak and contrib.mak, which list all the devices for which Ghostscript is able to produce output (although if you got Ghostscript in binary form, it will only include some of these devices)
• detailed information about some specific devices that Ghostscript knows about
• more detailed information about how to use Ghostscript under Unix with lpr as a filter for non-PostScript printers
• a problem-reporting form -- but remember that Ghostscript comes with NO WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT

Aladdin Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript

Aladdin Ghostscript and GNU Ghostscript are different releases. If you have Aladdin Ghostscript, not the GNU Ghostscript releases distributed by the Free Software Foundation, you should read (or at least skim through):

• additional information about Aladdin Ghostscript releases that is not relevant to GNU Ghostscript releases.

If you run into any questions, or if you are going to be using Ghostscript extensively, you should at least skim, and probably eventually read:

• about the fonts distributed with Ghostscript, including how to add or replace fonts
• a description of the Ghostscript language, and its differences from the documented PostScript language
• about the .ps files distributed with Ghostscript (other than fonts)

Before building Ghostscript

If you are going to compile Ghostscript, rather than just use an executable you got from somewhere, you should read:

• how to build Ghostscript and install it

What should I read if I'm not a new user?

If you have already used Ghostscript, when you receive a new release you should begin by reading this file, then

• News.htm, for changes and new features in the current release;
• Current.htm, for known problems in the current release;
• if you wish, History#.htm (currently History6.htm), for changes in other releases.

What if I'm a developer?

If you are going to write a new driver for Ghostscript, you should read

• the guide to the Ghostscript source code
• the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers
• about the external font interface between Ghostscript and platform-supplied fonts (but read about drivers in general first)

If you are considering distributing Ghostscript (either Aladdin or GNU versions) in conjunction with a commercial product, you should read the license carefully, and you should also read

• additional clarification of the circumstances under which Ghostscript can be distributed with a commercial product

If you intend to use Ghostscript in the form of a dynamic link library (DLL) under OS/2 or Microsoft Windows, read

• documentation on Ghostscript as a DLL

If you want to use Ghostscript as part of another program -- as a callable PostScript language interpreter -- and not as a DLL or as a self-contained executable application, you should begin by reading

• the source file imain.h, the documented API for Ghostscript not as a DLL

or if you are going to use only the Ghostscript graphics library,

• about the structure of the Ghostscript library and its interfaces

What if I'm writing documentation?

If you are editing or adding to Ghostscript's existing documentation in HTML format, or writing a new document, you should read

• the coding and style guidelines for Ghostscript's HTML-based documentation.

Presence on the World Wide Web

Ghostscript's home page

Ghostscript has a home page on the World Wide Web with helpful information such as the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and a list of known problems and workarounds for the current Aladdin Ghostscript release (in the "Obtaining" file for that release):

http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/

Aladdin's home page

More material about Ghostscript can be found on Aladdin Enterprises' World Wide Web site at

http://www.ghostscript.com/

Adobe PostScript and PDF reference documentation

Adobe makes a wealth of relevant technical documentation available on its Web site, including the PostScript Language Reference Manual (Third Edition), the PDF 1.3 specification, and the pdfmark and distiller parameters documentation.

Other material on the WWW

Much other material about Ghostscript is available on the World Wide Web, both as web pages and as archived Usenet and mailing list discussions. Use the well-known search engines to find such material.

There is a good manual for Ghostscript available in PDF form, in English and German (and soon in Japanese), at:

http://www.pdflib.com/gsmanual

Which document contains what?

Here is the list in alphabetic order of Ghostscript documentation, with explanations of the contents.

Bug-form.htm

A form to fill out and send to Aladdin to report a bug in Aladdin Ghostscript -- but remember that Ghostscript comes with NO WARRANTY and NO SUPPORT. Please read the guidelines before reporting a bug.

C-style.htm

Aladdin's guidelines and style for C coding, which you should follow if, for example, you write a new driver or add or change something in Ghostscript. For developers.

Commprod.htm

The conditions under which Ghostscript may be distributed in a commercial context. See also the Aladdin Free Public License.

Copying.htm

A reminder that Aladdin Ghostscript is governed NOT by the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License but by the Aladdin Free Public License.

Current.htm

Information specifically about the current release of Ghostscript. See also the latest news of changes.

DLL.htm

On OS/2, MS Windows-16 and MS Windows-32 platforms, Ghostscript is compiled as a dynamic link library (DLL). This describes how to use it. For developers.

Devices.htm

Detailed information about some specific devices for which Ghostscript can produce output. Run "gs -h" to see which devices a particular version of Ghostscript is built to use.

Drivers.htm

Describes the interface between Ghostscript and device drivers. If you do this, you should also read and use the C style and coding guidelines. Necessary to develop a new driver. For developers.

Fonts.htm

All about fonts freely available for Ghostscript, and how to add and use new fonts. Also describes how to use Ghostscript fonts as X Windows fonts. For both users and developers.

Helpers.htm

A note of thanks to people who have helped in the development of Ghostscript.

Hershey.htm

Part 1 of the five-part original Usenet distribution of the free Hershey fonts, giving the terms of use and describing their encoding.

History*.htm

The history of changes in all Ghostscript releases:

History6.htm for Ghostscript versions 6.n
History5.htm for Ghostscript versions 5.n
History4.htm for Ghostscript versions 4.n
History3.htm for Ghostscript versions 3.n
History2.htm for Ghostscript versions 2.n
History1.htm for Ghostscript versions 1.n

Htmstyle.htm

The guidelines and style for HTML coding of Ghostscript's documentation, which you should follow if, for example, you change existing HTML documentation or write new documents. For writers and editors.

Humor.htm

Another Ghostscript interpreter.

Install.htm

How to install Ghostscript. See also how to build it.

Language.htm

The relationship between the Ghostscript interpreter and the PostScript language as defined by Adobe.

Lib.htm

A description of the Ghostscript library, a set of procedures to implement the graphics and filtering capabilities that are primitive operations in the PostScript language and in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). For developers.

Make.htm

How to build Ghostscript executables from the source code. See also how to install it. It's not necessary to be a highly experienced developer to build or install Ghostscript, but some experience is needed.

New-user.htm

Essential information for new users of Ghostscript.

News.htm

Changes in the latest releases of Ghostscript. Changes in older releases are described in the history files "History*.htm", which are usually installed in the documentation directory. Run "gs -h" to see where that is.

Ps2pdf.htm

Detailed information on how to use Ghostscript through ps2pdf to convert PostScript to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

Psfiles.htm

A description of the PostScript files (other than font files) distributed with Ghostscript, including initialization routines, utility programs, and sample printable files.

Public.htm

The Aladdin Free Public License, which states the conditions for using and redistributing Aladdin Ghostscript.

Readme.htm

This document.

Release.htm

A description of how to prepare and test a Ghostscript release. Of interest only to developers who want to create new Ghostscript versions for distribution.

Source.htm

A guide to the Ghostscript source code, for development and debugging.

Tester.htm

A short questionnaire to fill out if you would like to be notified of new tester / beta releases.

Unix-lpr.htm

How to set up Ghostscript as a Unix lpr filter.

Use.htm

Detailed instructions on how to use Ghostscript, including such matters as designating an output device; choosing a default paper size; how Ghostscript finds files, including font files; how it uses environment variables; notes on specific platforms, including the X Window System; and command-line options.

Xfonts.htm

Ghostscript's external font interface to a host platform's font-rendering mechanism, for developers.

Ghostscript version 6.0, 3 February 2000