mgrtopbm

Convert a MGR bitmap into a PBM file

$ mgrtopbm [path/to/image.mgr] > [path/to/output.pbm]

mgrtopbm [mgrfile]

(No specific options)
    The mgrtopbm command does not have any command-line options specific to its function. It processes input directly and writes to standard output. It adheres to the general Netpbm conventions for input and output.

mgrfile
    Specifies the input MGR bitmap file to be converted. If this argument is omitted, mgrtopbm reads the MGR bitmap data from standard input (stdin).

The mgrtopbm command is a specialized utility within the extensive Netpbm image manipulation toolkit. Its primary function is to convert image files from the proprietary MGR (Mike's Graphics Routines) bitmap format into the standard Netpbm Portable BitMap (PBM) format.

The MGR format, associated with the MGR window system popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was designed for monochrome graphical displays. mgrtopbm specifically handles these monochrome MGR bitmaps.

The PBM format, on the other hand, is a simple, plain-text or raw binary format representing a monochrome (black and white) image, where each pixel is either black or white. By converting MGR files to PBM, mgrtopbm enables users to integrate older MGR graphics into modern workflows, allowing further manipulation with other Netpbm tools or conversion to widely supported image formats.

The MGR format is largely obsolete, making mgrtopbm a niche tool primarily for dealing with legacy graphics.

mgrtopbm specifically handles monochrome MGR bitmaps. It does not support color MGR graphics, if such variations existed, as its output is always the monochrome PBM format.

As with many command-line tools, malformed or corrupted MGR input files may lead to unexpected behavior or errors.

By default, mgrtopbm reads the MGR bitmap data from standard input (stdin) and writes the resulting PBM image data to standard output (stdout). This allows for easy piping of data with other commands in a Unix-like environment, making it a flexible component in shell scripts.

The mgrtopbm command is a remnant of the MGR (Mike's Graphics Routines) window system era, which was developed in the late 1980s and was notable for its tiling window manager. As part of the Netpbm project, mgrtopbm facilitates interoperability between this older, proprietary graphics format and the highly portable and versatile Netpbm suite of image formats and tools. Its existence reflects Netpbm's long-standing commitment to universal image format conversion and compatibility, preserving access to historical graphics data.

pbm(5), anytopnm(1), netpbm(1), bmptopbm(1), xbmtopbm(1), pnm(5)