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2. Installation

Installing dvipng should be simple: merely ./configure, make, and make install.


2.1 Prerequisites


2.2 Configure

The first step is to configure the source code, telling it where various files will be. To do so, run

 
./configure options

(Note: if you have fetched dvipng from CVS rather than a regular release, you will have to first generate `./configure' by running autoconf 2.53 or later.)

On many machines, you will not need to specify any options, but if configure cannot determine something on its own, you'll need to help it out. For a list of the options type

 
./configure --help

On some machines, the libraries will be installed in directories that are not in the linker's search path. This will generate an error when running `./configure', indicating that it cannot find libgd or libkpathsea (most likely). You then need to specify the path to the respective library's object files. They are typically called e.g., `libgd.a' or `libgd.so'. If they are located in e.g., `/sw/local/lib', do

 
./configure LDFLAGS=-L/sw/local/lib

If the library is available as a shared object file (`.so'), the runtime linker may also need to be told where to find the library, then use

 
./configure LDFLAGS='-L/sw/local/lib -R/sw/local/lib'

When either of these is necessary, it is likely that the C header files are also installed in directories that are not in the C preprocessor's search path. This will also generate an error when running `./configure', indicating that it cannot find e.g., `gd.h' or `kpathsea.h' (most likely). You then need to specify the path to the respective library's C header files. If they are located in e.g., `/sw/local/include', do

 
./configure CPPFLAGS=-I/sw/local/include

On my SUN Solaris workstation, I had to combine this into

 
./configure CPPFLAGS='-I/sw/local/include -I/sw/tex/teTeX/1.0/include'\
    LDFLAGS='-L/sw/local/lib -R/sw/local/lib -L/sw/tex/teTeX/1.0/lib/'

where the backslash denotes a continuation of the line.


2.3 Build/install

Once `configure' has been run, simply enter

 
make

at the prompt to compile the C code, and build the documentation files. To install the files into the locations chosen earlier, type

 
make install

You may need special privileges to install, e.g., if you are installing into system directories.


2.4 Installation outside the texmf tree

In some cases, a dvipng binary installed outside the texmf tree will not be able to find virtual fonts, or the PostScript font maps (normally used by dvips). This may be because only $SELFAUTOLOC, $SELFAUTODIR, and $SELFAUTOPARENT are used in the texmf tree configuration file `texmf.cnf'. If so, give the switch `--enable-selfauto-set' to `./configure'. This will make dvipng adjust these three internally so that kpathsea thinks that dvipng is installed in the texmf tree.


2.5 Installation for non-privileged users

Often people without system administration privileges want to install software for their private use. In that case you need to specify more options to the `configure' script, usually this is done by using the `--prefix' option to the `configure' script, and let it point to the personal home directory. In that way, resulting binaries will be installed under the `bin' subdirectory of your home directory, manual pages under `man' and so on. That way, it is reasonably easy to maintain a bunch of additional packages, since the prefix argument is supported by most `configure' scripts.

You'll have to add something like `/home/myself/bin' to your PATH shell variable, if it isn't there already, and similarly set the INFOPATH and MANPATH variables to be able to access the documentation.


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