'PStill', 'pstill' and 'GPStill' - what is the difference?
'PStill' is the name for the general software and engine, 'pstill' is the name of the command line converter module, while 'GPStill' is the name of the GUI PStill version available currently for Windows systems. This document handles the use of 'pstill', the command line program. For GPStill see 'PStill_Guide.pdf' as part of the PStill/Win distribution.
The Windows GUI version GPStill has a nice feature - it displays the list options for the command line version in its log for each run. You can save this log by double clicking into the log area. This allows to play with the settings using the GUI and then take over the options for the command line run.
Is there a difference in usage of 'pstill' on Windows, Linux and other *NIX OS?
No, all versions accept the very same set of options.
How can I get a list of options?
Run pstill -H, since the option list may be long you can also pipe it into a file, e.g. pstill -H | more or pstill -H > options.txt and open this file with an editor of your choice.
Are there limitations for unlicensed versions?
Since the Linux and *NIX versions are free (as free beer) for personal and edu use no restrictions except a one second pause and a console message upon startup applies for them. The Windows command line version however needs licensing, otherwise it will place a visual mark on its output and a long pause of 15 seconds is in effect before a conversion is started.
Can I run several pstill processes in parallel on the same machine?
Yes, as long you give each PStill a unique temporary directory using option -T path, otherwise the processes may interfere. Also keep in mind that PStill is licensed by running 'instance', so you may need more licenses or a special 'parallel' license for this kind of use in a commercial environment.
Looking for usage examples?
There is a 'meta' option that sets everything to reasonable defaults:
pstill -M defaultall -o outputfile.pdf input
You can combine it will other options as you need.
This information is given in the hope to be useful but without any warranties. Trademarks are used only for identification purposes. 'PStill' is a registered trademark of Frank Siegert. Please send questions or fixes to my email address (See contact info on the main page)