pbmtomgr

Convert a PBM image into a MGR bitmap

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

pbmtomgr [pbmfile]

pbmfile
    Specifies the input PBM image file. If omitted, pbmtomgr reads the PBM image data from standard input (stdin).

The pbmtomgr command is a utility from the Netpbm suite, designed to convert Portable Bitmap (PBM) format image files into the MGR (Mouse Gesture Recognition) graphics file format. PBM is a monochrome image format, representing images as a grid of black and white pixels. The MGR format is associated with the mgr window system, an older graphical environment primarily used on Unix-like systems. pbmtomgr reads a PBM image from standard input by default, or from a specified PBM file, and outputs the converted MGR data to standard output. This allows for piping operations with other Netpbm tools or directing the output to a file compatible with MGR-aware applications. It's a fundamental tool for handling monochrome graphics within the Netpbm ecosystem, specifically for compatibility with MGR systems.

pbmtomgr is an integral part of the extensive Netpbm package, a collection of graphics programs and libraries for converting, manipulating, and displaying various image formats. The Netpbm project has a long history, tracing its roots back to the early days of Unix, and has been continuously developed to support a wide range of image operations. The inclusion of specialized tools like pbmtomgr reflects the historical need to support diverse graphics formats, including those used by specific, sometimes niche, windowing systems like mgr, which was more prominent in earlier computing environments.

pbm(5), mgr(5), mgrtopbm(1), pbmtoalias(1), netpbm(1)