Potrace |
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Potrace(TM) is a utility for tracing a bitmap, which means,
transforming a bitmap into a smooth, scalable image. The input is a
bitmap (PBM, PGM, PPM, or BMP format), and the default output is an
encapsulated PostScript file (EPS). A typical use is to create EPS
files from scanned data, such as company or university logos,
handwritten notes, etc. The resulting image is not "jaggy" like a
bitmap, but smooth. It can then be rendered at any resolution.
Potrace can currently produce the following output formats: EPS, PostScript, PDF, SVG (scalable vector graphics), Xfig, Gimppath, and PGM (for easy antialiasing). Additional backends might be added in the future. Mkbitmap is a program distributed with Potrace which can be used to pre-process the input for better tracing behavior on greyscale and color images. See the mkbitmap examples page. |
| More examples... |
| Trouble using Potrace? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions. |
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For changes prior to version 1.6, see the file NEWS.
For a more detailed list of changes, see the ChangeLog.
May 22, 2007: Updated XFig backend. The following patch to Potrace 1.8 improves the XFig output by adding a depth setting to the spline components. This prevents them from floating to the background when editing. Thanks to Rafael Laboissiere for suggesting this. April 9, 2007: Release 1.8. This release contains minor bugfixes and portability improvements. Rotation is now implemented in the PDF backend. March 6, 2005: Release 1.7. This is a bugfix release. A bug in the progress bar code, which caused arithmetic exceptions on some 64-bit architectures, has been fixed. February 27, 2005: Release 1.6. This release contains an algorithm improvement that leads to a speedup of 20-60% over previous versions of Potrace. A new PDF backend was added, courtesy of Tor Andersson. An option --progress was added for displaying a progress bar. The Windows version of Potrace now uses MinGW instead of Cygwin, eliminating the need to install a special DLL alongside the executable programs, and solving some problems with wildcards and executable PostScript files. Some spurious "premature end of file" messages were eliminated. The core functionality of Potrace was separated into a library with a documented API, making it easier for developers to incorporate Potrace into other GPL-licensed software.
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Potrace is built from sources using the standard configure/make
commands. Please see the file INSTALL for generic
installation instructions, and the file README for
compile time configuration options specific to Potrace. Some
pre-compiled binary distributions are also available. See the file README for instructions on how to install Potrace from
a binary distribution. Additional instructions for Windows users are
contained in the file README-WIN. If you would
like to ensure the accuracy of the downloaded files, you can
double-check their SHA1 sums.
AROS archives for sources and updates. (2) Debian i386 Package maintained by Bartosz Fenski <fenio at debian.org>. Debian has a centralized package management and users may run "apt-get install potrace" as root to install. (3) Redhat x86_64 Packages provided by Manuel Joriatti <manu-schwalbe at wanadoo.fr>. (4) SuSE RPMs provided by Stanislav Brabec <sbrabec at suse.cz>. Potrace appears in the official SuSE distribution. Updates sometimes appear in the SuSE supplementary program. (5) Solaris-i386 Packages provided by Apostolos Syropoulos <asyropoulos at gmail.com>. (6) Amiga Package provided by Alfred Faust <alfred.j.faust at gmx.de>. See the OS4 Depot for updates. (7) ArchLinux package maintained by Damir Perisa <damir at archlinux.org>. ArchLinux has a centralized package management and users need to run "pacman -S potrace" as root to install. (8) FreeBSD Packages maintained by Piotr Smyrak <smyru at heron.pl>. (9) Fink package maintained by Daniel Macks <dmacks at netspace.org>. Fink has a centralized package management and users need to run "fink install potrace" as root to install. (10) Macports has a centralized package management and users need to run "port install potrace" as root to install. |
Potrace 1.8. Transforms bitmaps into vector graphics. Usage: potrace [options] [file...] General options: -h, --help - print this help message and exit -v, --version - print version info and exit -l, --license - print license info and exit -V, --show-defaults - print compiled-in defaults and exit --progress - show progress bar Input/output options: -o, --output file - output to file Backend selection: -e, --eps - EPS backend (encapsulated postscript) (default) -p, --postscript - Postscript backend -s, --svg - SVG backend (scalable vector graphics) -g, --pgm - PGM backend (portable greymap) -b, --backend name - select backend by name Algorithm options: -z, --turnpolicy policy - how to resolve ambiguities in path decomposition -t, --turdsize n - suppress speckles of up to this size (default 2) -a, --alphamax n - corner threshold parameter (default 1) -n, --longcurve - turn off curve optimization -O, --opttolerance n - curve optimization tolerance (default 0.2) -u, --unit n - quantize output to 1/unit pixels (default 10) -d, --debug n - produce debugging output of type n (n=1,2,3) Scaling and placement options: -W, --width dim - width of output image -H, --height dim - height of output image -r, --resolution n[xn] - resolution (in dpi) -x, --scale n[xn] - scaling factor (pgm backend) -S, --stretch n - yresolution/xresolution -A, --rotate angle - rotate counterclockwise by angle -M, --margin dim - margin -L, --leftmargin dim - left margin -R, --rightmargin dim - right margin -T, --topmargin dim - top margin -B, --bottommargin dim - bottom margin Output options, supported by some backends: -C, --color #rrggbb - set line color (default black) --fillcolor #rrggbb - set fill color (default transparent) --opaque - make white shapes opaque --group - group related paths together Postscript/EPS options: -P, --pagesize format - page size (default is letter) -c, --cleartext - do not compress the output -2, --level2 - use postscript level 2 compression (default) -3, --level3 - use postscript level 3 compression -q, --longcoding - do not optimize for file size PGM options: -G, --gamma n - gamma value for anti-aliasing (default 2.2) Frontend options: -k, --blacklevel n - black/white cutoff in input file (default 0.5) -i, --invert - invert bitmap Dimensions can have optional units, e.g. 6.5in, 15cm, 100pt. Default is inches (or pixels for pgm and gimppath backends). Possible input file formats are: pnm (pbm, pgm, ppm), bmp. Backends are: eps, postscript, ps, pdf, svg, pgm, gimppath, xfig. For detailed usage information, see the potrace(1) man page. |
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| Potrace has a project page on SourceForge. There, you will find facilities for reporting bugs, submitting patches, asking for support, asking for features, or discussing Potrace in general. You are encouraged to use these facilities. You can also send email to the author. Please also check the Frequently Asked Questions. |
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A non-GPL version of Potrace, called Potrace Professional(TM), is
available for integration into proprietary software. Licenses are
available from my company, |
Commercial software:
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Here are some web articles, listings, and web logs that cover Potrace
and its applications. I particularly recommend the article by C. Scott
Ananian on how to make stained glass windows from color scans using
open source software. It is an amazing, step-by-step description of
the process used, with beautiful screen shots. Similar techniques
might also be applicable for vectorizing color cartoons.
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| 1.8 |
| Copyright © 2001-2007 Peter Selinger. |
| The Potrace logo and mascot was designed by Karol Krenski. Copyright © 2003 Karol Krenski and Peter Selinger. The logo is licensed under GPL. |
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This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
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| "Potrace" is a trademark of Peter Selinger. "Potrace Professional" and "Icosasoft" are trademarks of Icosasoft Software Inc. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. |
