dvipdf

dvipdf [options] dvi_file [pdf_file]

-o pdf_file
    Specify the output PDF file name. If not specified, the PDF file will have the same base name as the DVI file, but with the '.pdf' extension.

-q
    Quiet mode; suppress most informational messages.

-s paper_size
    Specify the paper size to use for the PDF output. Example: -s letter, -s a4.

-p page_range
    Specify a page range to include in the PDF file. Example: -p 1-10, -p 5.

-V
    Display version information and exit.

-h
    Display help message.

The dvipdf command is a utility used in Unix-like operating systems to convert Device Independent (DVI) files, typically generated by TeX typesetting systems, into Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It acts as a front-end script that facilitates the DVI to PDF conversion process, often by calling other tools such as dvips (to convert DVI to PostScript) followed by ps2pdf (to convert PostScript to PDF). The script intelligently handles details like font embedding, image inclusion, and output optimization, making it easier for users to produce high-quality PDF documents from their TeX source files. Users benefit from a streamlined conversion process as it automates the steps needed to create PDF documents from DVI files which can be useful when the direct pdfTeX compilation to PDF produces unwanted output.

dvipdf commonly works by first converting the DVI to PostScript using dvips, and then converting the resulting PostScript file to PDF using ps2pdf. The intermediate PostScript file may or may not be kept, depending on the specific implementation and options used.

dvips(1), ps2pdf(1), pdftex(1)