pdftex.cfg 5 &PACKAGE_NAME; &miktexrev; File Formats
pdftex.cfg configuration settings for &MiKTeXpdfTeX;

## Description

&MiKTeXpdfTeX; configurations settings are read from the file `pdftex.cfg` when a format file is being created by &MiKTeXpdfTeX;.

Do not edit this file directly. Run `initexmf --edit-config-file pdftex.cfg` to edit configuration settings for &MiKTeXpdfTeX;.

## Instructions

A typical `pdftex.cfg` file looks like this, setting up output for A4 paper size and the standard &TeX; offset of 1 inch:

    compress_level 9
    decimal_digits 3
    horigin 1 true in
    vorigin 1 true in
    image_resolution 300
    move_chars 1
    output_format 1
    page_width 210 true mm
    page_height 297 true mm
    pdf_minorversion 4
    pk_resolution 600

The configuration file sets default values for these parameters, and they all can be overridden in the &TeX; source file. Dimensions can be specified as `true`, which makes them immune for magnification (when set).

compress_level

  This integer parameter specifies the level of text and in||line graphics compression. &MiKTeXpdfTeX; uses Zip compression. A value of 0 means no compression, 1 means fastest, 9 means best, 2..8 means something in between. Just set this value to 9, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise; 0 is great for testing macros that use \pdfliteral.

decimal_digits

  This integer specifies the preciseness of real numbers in &PDF; page descriptions. It gives the maximal number of decimal digits after the decimal point of real numbers. Valid values are in range 0..5. A higher value means more precise output, but also results in a much larger file size and more time to display or print. In most cases the optimal value is 2. This parameter does not influence the precision of numbers used in raw &PDF; code, like that used in \pdfliteral and annotation action specifications.

horigin & vorigin

  These dimension parameters can be used to set the offset of the &TeX; output box from the top left corner of the paper.

image_resolution

  When &MiKTeXpdfTeX; is not able to determine the natural dimensions of an image, it assumes a resolution of type 72 dots per inch. Use this variable to change this default value.

move_chars

  Although &PDF; output is claimed to be portable, especially when all font information is included in the file, problems with printing and viewing have a persistent nature. Moving the characters in range 0–31 sometimes helps a lot. When set to 1, characters are only moved when a font has less than 128 glyphs, when set to 2 higher slots are used too.

output_format

  This integer parameter specifies whether the output format should be &DVI; or &PDF;. A positive value means &PDF; output, otherwise we get &DVI; output.

page_width & page_height

  These two dimension parameters specify the output medium dimensions (the paper, screen or whatever the page is put on). If they are not specified, these values are calculated.

  paper size changing
pdf_minorversion

  Sets the &PDF; version of the generated file and the latest allowed &PDF; version of included &PDF;s. The value 3 tells &MiKTeXpdfTeX; to set the &PDF; version to 1.3 and allows only included &PDF;s with versions less than 1.3. A suitable default value is 4.

pk_resolution

  One can use this entry to specify the resolution for bitmap fonts. Nowadays most printers are capable to print at least 600 dots per inch, so this is a reasonable default.