
	   POTRACE - transform bitmaps into vector graphics

			  README for Windows
  _________________________________________________________________

This file contains instructions specific to the pre-compiled Windows
distribution of Potrace. Please see the general README file and the
man page for general information on usage, how to compile Potrace,
etc.


INSTALLATION for Windows 95/98/2000/NT/XP/whatever:
===================================================

Download the file potrace-XXX.win32-i386.zip, and unpack it with your
favorite unzipping utility, such as unzip, 7-Zip, WinZip, etc.

If you have "tar" and "gunzip" installed, you may also get the file
potrace-XXX.win32-i386.tar.gz instead of the zip file.

The distribution includes executable programs potrace.exe and
mkbitmap.exe. You need to move these files to a place where Windows
looks for programs, for example C:\WINDOWS. Alternatively, you can
amend your PATH environment variable, by adding something like the
following line to C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT:

        PATH=%PATH%;C:\DIRECTORY\WHERE\FILES\ARE

Note: as of version 1.6, the Potrace Windows distribution uses MinGW,
and not Cygwin, as its compatibility layer. It is no longer necessary
to install a separate DLL file with Potrace.


RUNNING:
========

For non-Windows specific usage information, see the file README.

Potrace on Windows runs in much the same way as under Linux and other
Unix-like operating systems. You must run Potrace from the command
line (also known as the MSDOS Prompt). File names can be given in Unix
style or Windows style, thus the following will both work:

 potrace h:/data/file.txt
 potrace h:\data\file.txt

Wildcards can also be used, as in:

 potrace h:\data\*.*
 potrace h:/data/*.*

Earlier versions of Potrace had some problems when wildcards and
backslashes were mixed; these problems seem to have been solved by the
switch from Cygwin to MinGW.

Another problem that some users have reported is that the generated
".ps" and ".eps" were not executable under Windows (i.e., one could
not simply display these files by typing their name on the MSDOS
Prompt, as should normally be the case if a default application for
PostScript files has been configured). I was never able to replicate
this problem, but I believe that it has also been solved by the switch
to MinGW.

