.if n .ds / /
.if t .ds / /\h'-0.2m'
.TH paint
.SH NAME
\fIpaint\fR \- Description of hardcopy color output system for GRASS.
.SH INTRODUCTION
The \fBpaint\fR system allows the user to produce color hardcopy
maps of vector, raster, and sites file data at any scale.
For a discussion of the GRASS \fBpaint\fR functions, see the
manual entries for
\fIp.chart, p.colors, p.icons, p.labels, p.map, p.screen\fR,
and \fIp.select\fR.
.SH PAINT DEVICES
The GRASS paint system supports multiple color printers using a 
\fIdevice\fR driver concept.  The paint (p.) functions listed above
send graphics requests to device-dependent paint drivers.
These drivers translate the application requests into device-dependent
requests to produce hardcopy maps.
.SH INSTALLING A PAINT DRIVER
A number of paint drivers have been distributed with GRASS.
The installation of a driver is a 2 step process.
The first involves identifying the driver(s) which correspond
to printer(s) connected to your system and compiling those drivers.
The second involves telling each driver which i\*/o port it is to use.

.IP 1 3
The source code for the drivers lives in $GISBASE/../src/paint/Drivers
(The variable GISBASE refers to the directory in which GRASS is installed
on your system.)

The selection and compilation of the drivers is done when GRASS
is compiled as a whole.
.IP 2
The port configuration is handled using the UNIX
.I ln
command.

Each driver expects to send its output to /dev/\fIdriver\fR.
For example, the \fBtek4695\fR driver expects to find a
tektronix 4695 (or 4696) printer on /dev/tek4695.

Suppose the printer is actually on /dev/tty10.
Then, a link named /dev/tek4695 is made to /dev/tty10:

.ti 15
ln\ /dev/tty10\ /dev/tek4695
.SH NOTES
There are 2 drivers which do not use i\*/o ports.
One is the
.B preview
driver, which sends its output to the graphics screen instead of a hardcopy
printer.  This driver is very handy and should definitely
be compiled on your system.

The other is the
.B null
driver, which is used for debugging purposes and probably
should not be compiled on your system.

If you compile either of these drivers, you shouldn't create
a /dev file for them.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.I p.chart,
.I p.colors,
.I p.icons,
.I p.labels,
.I p.map,
.I p.screen,
and
.I p.select
.SH AUTHOR
Michael Shapiro, U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory
