Getting Started With Metapost And Metafont: An Introduction
What is Metapost and Metafont?
Metapost and Metafont are software systems for producing digital typography and vector graphics. Developed by Donald Knuth in the 1970s and 80s, they play a key role in automating the process of typesetting and drafting geometric images as part of document preparation.
The Metafont system provides tools for designing vector font formats. It outputs font files that can be used by digital typesetting systems. Metapost builds on Metafont by adding capabilities for drawing more general graphics and illustrations in a similar vector format.
Together, Metapost and Metafont provide an integrated solution for high-quality and reusable digital typography and drawings. The output can be included directly in electronic documents, Sent to professional printing devices, and integrated into workflows involving TeX and LaTeX typesetting.
Unlike bitmap graphics and proprietary font technologies, Vector images and fonts from Metapost and Metafont provide excellent scaling, rotation, and fidelity when printed from different devices at any resolution. The systems focus on robustness and flexibility rather than simple WYSIWYG editing.
Installing Metapost and Metafont
Metapost and Metafont are available free of charge and included in major TeX/LaTeX distributions like TeX Live. To install them, you will need to download and run the installer for your operating system.
Linux
Most Linux package managers have available packages for a full TexLive distribution containing Metapost and Metafont. On Debian/Ubuntu systems, run:
sudo apt install texlive-full
This will download texlive and all associated packages, including Metapost and Metafont. The full installation requires several gigabytes of disk space.
Windows
Go to the TexLive website and Download the TexLive installer for Windows. Run the installer and select "Install TexLive" to install the complete distribution, including all packages.
The process may require 10-15 minutes to download and install all the components.
Mac OS
Like Windows, go to the TexLive site and use the MacTeX distribution which contains TexLive bundled for MacOS. Download the installer DMG file and run it to install MacTex.
Alternatively, if you have Homebrew package Manager installed, you can use:
brew install mactex
To automatically download and install MacTex.
Verifying the Installation
To confirm Metapost and Metafont are correctly installed and in your path, open a command prompt/terminal and check the versions:
metapost -version mf -\version
This should output the version information if they are successfully installed.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you have trouble running Metapost commands after installing TexLive packages, you may need to update system paths to add the binary directories.
On Linux/Mac, ensure /usr/local/texlive/YYYY/bin/arch is in your PATH. On Windows add the path to \texlive\YYYY\bin\win32 instead.
YYYY refers to the TexLive release year, usually the current year. Arch and win32 refer to system architecture.
Anatomy of a Metapost Document
The structure of a basic Metapost graphics file has a few key components:
Preamble
Start by importing any packages/modules needed with input statements. Then set up variables, external files, and settings:
input colorbrewer;
input graphs;
numeric x_step; x_step = 10;
numeric y_step; y_step = 15;
verbatimtex
\documentclass{article}
etex;
Drawing Commands
Use Metapost primitives like box, circle, fill, draw to construct geometric objects. Specify coordinates, dimensions, colors, etc.
draw (.5x_step, 2y_step) -- (3x_step, 1cm); fill fullcircle scaled 30; boxit.top(btex this is text etex) enlarged 5pt;
Output
At the end, output graphics in desired format like PDF, encapsulated PostScript.
outputtemplate := "%j-%c.mps"; beginfig(1); ... drawing commands here endfig; end.
Drawing Shapes and Paths
Metapost includes a set of primitive graphics operations for compositing vector shapes, as well as many predefined shapes.
Lines and Polylines
The -- operator draws a straight line between two coordinates:
draw (0,0) -- (100, 100);
Combine -- with .. controls to create Bezier curves:
draw (0,0) .. controls (50, 200) and (200, 50) .. (300, 300);
Rectangles, Ovals and Circles
Metapost provides shortcuts for common shapes:
draw unitsquare xscaled 100 yscaled 50; % rectangle fill fullcircle scaled 20; % filled circle draw halfcircle scaled 20; % half/semicircle fill buildcycle(ellipse scaled 200, 100); % ellipse
Transforms
Use operators like rotated, slanted, scaled to transform graphics:
fill fullcircle xscaled 30 yscaled 20 rotated 30;
Combining Paths
Set operations like intersection and union merge paths:
path circle; circle = fullcircle scaled 20; path box; box = unitsquare scaled 50; fill circle intersectionbox box; % intersected section draw circle union box; % outline of merged paths
Adding Text Labels
Text handling in Metapost builds on TeX typography. The btex/etex operators Set inline text formatting and alignment.
Text Formatting
Apply text styles and typeface:
label(btex \bf\it This is Bold-Italic text etex, (0,0)); label(btex \font\times=ptmr8t at 10pt Hello etex, (0,0));
Positioning Text
Many methods to position text relative to graphics:
label(btex (50,100) etex, (50,100)); % explicit point label(btex This is centered etex, center fullcircle scaled 100); boxit.top(btex top-aligned etex) withcolor red; boxit.lft(btex left-aligned etex) withcolor blue;
Aligning Text
Align text interactively using boxit macro:
boxit(btex this is top-left etex) withcolor red; boxit.top(btex this is top-right etex) withcolor green;
Producing Output
When your Metapost graphics code is complete, produce final output in PostScript, PDF format for inclusion in documents.
Formats
Set output file template and generate graphics:
outputtemplate := "%j-%c.pdf"; beginfig(1); % drawing commands endfig;
For EPS encapsulated PostScript, change template to .eps extension.
Inclusion in LaTeX
Use epsfig package to embed:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{epsfig}
\begin{document}
\includegraphics{fig1-1}
\end{document}
Print and Production
Vector EPS and PDF graphics scale to high resolutions without pixelation making them ideal for production use.
For professional publishing, follow industry best practices for color spaces and bleed allowances.
Next Steps with Metapost
Learning More
Metapost documentation tends towards the technical side but many additional examples and tutorials exist:
- The Metafont Book - Knuth's definitive manual
- Making TeX Work - contains Metapost tutorial
- Metapost Wikibooks page
Integration
Consider integrating Metapost graphics into wider publishing workflows:
- TeX, LaTeX, ConTeX - typesetting engines
- Math typesetting - equations, functions, etc
- TIKZ, PGF - alternate graphics languages
Their data and parameterization abilities enable large-scale automated document generation.
Complex Graphics
Many extensions available for advanced graphics features:
- OzMP graphics engine
- MetaUML for diagrams
- MetaPost Bezier Library
Significant practice is needed to leverage Metapost's power and flexibility for production tasks.
