How to view terminal color codes as color in ps or pdf conversions?

Question

Is there a simple way to generate a colored postscript file out of a text file with embedded terminal color codes?

I have a few text files with embedded xterm color code sequences like the following:

ESC[1;95m Zn n. 8 ESC[0m

and I would like to print those files with their colors as they appear on a xterm. I tried a2ps but without success. Of course, I could write a script, but I am afraid that taking care of all the possible colors could be not simple.

Possible duplicate of [Is it worth encrypting email addresses in the database?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/70450/is-it-worth-encrypting-email-addresses-in-the-database) — Thomas Dickey, Jun 18 '19 at 23:19
@ThomasDickey: What does the duplicate you linked have to do with this question? — Ken White, Jun 19 '19 at 00:13
@ThomasDickey I do not see any relation between the question or the answers in the link with my question. Wrong link? — GiorgioP-DoomsdayClockIsAt-90, Jun 19 '19 at 05:10

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 19 '19 at 00:55

This is doable but it's a nontrivial amount of work in PostScript IMO. Probably a simpler approach would be to use awk or something to transform the color codes to something with more available tools, like html tags or markdown or something.

If you insist on doing it in PostScript, definitely read the Green Book, and Thinking in PostScript, both by Glenn Reid. The prototype line printer emulator used in both of these books would be a good starting point.

How to view terminal color codes as color in ps or pdf conversions?

1 Answers1