asciitopgm – convert ASCII graphics into a portable graymap
asciitopgm [-d divisor] height width [asciifile]
Reads ASCII data as input. Produces a portable graymap with pixel val‐
ues which are an approximation of the “brightness” of the ASCII charac‐
ters, assuming black-on-white printing. In other words, a capital M is
very dark, a period is ver light, and a space is white. Input lines
which are fewer than width characters are automatically padded with
The divisor argument is a floating-point number by which the output
pixels are divided; the default value is 1.0. This can be used to
adjust the brightness of the graymap: for example, if the image is too
dim, reduce the divisor.
In keeping with (I believe) Fortran line-printer conventions, input
lines beginning with a + (plus) character are assumed to “overstrike”
the previous line, allowing a larger range of gray values.
This tool contradicts the message in the pbmtoascii manual: “Note that
there is no asciitopbm tool – this transformation is one-way.”
The table of ASCII-to-grey values is subject to interpretation, and, of
course, depends on the typeface intended for the input.
Wilson H. Bent. Jr. (email@example.com)
26 December 1994 asciitopgm