In Unix, what are the up, 2up, 4up, 8up, and 16up utilities, and how do I use them to manipulate PostScript files?

In Unix, the up utility takes a PostScript file as input, scales it, rotates it, and transforms it, so that you can print more than one page on a single sheet of paper. Commonly included with up are 2up, 4up, 8up, and 16up, which are actually symbolic links to up that specify a layout.

For example, to use up to print a file in landscape mode, with two pages side-by-side on each piece of paper, at the Unix prompt, enter: 2up filename | printcommand

Replace filename with the name of the PostScript file and replace printcommand with the print command you want to use (i.e., lpr for BSD-compatible systems and lp in System V).

Note: The destination printer must be able to handle PostScript files.

To create printed output that displays in portrait mode and fits four pages per printed sheet, you would use 4up. 8up and 16up are similar, but they fit more pages per printed page.

Alternately, you can call specific layouts using up with the -n option. For example, an equivalent to the 2up command would be: up -n 2up filename | printcommand

You can also design your own layouts by creating a .uprc file. For more information, read the up and uprc man pages. To do so, at the Unix prompt, enter one of the following: man up man uprc

Also see:

• In Unix, what is a symbolic link, and how do I create one?
• In Unix, how do I print files and list or remove print jobs?
• In Unix, how do I print side-by-side pages in landscape mode?