mfpic-doc.pdf.

4.12 FOR ADVANCED USERS. 77
separator (because that is usually the way METAPOST names its output), but this can be redefined
if the METAPOST output undergoes further processing or conversion to another format in which the
name is changed. Any redefinition of \setfilename must come before \opengraphsfile because
that command tests for the existence of the first figure. After any redefinition, \setfilename must
be a macro with two arguments that creates the actual filename from the above two parts. It should
also be completely expandable. See the appendices, subsection 5.6.3 for further dicussion.
\setfilenametemplate{〈template〉}
With the metapost option, when you write \opengraphsfile{figs}, a file figs.mp is created.
By default, running METAPOST on it results in files named figs.1, figs.2, etc. Recent META-
POST allows the output filenames to be modified. As of MFPIC version 1.00, you can do this to some
extent from your .tex file. One needs to define a template that tells METAPOST how to construct the
output file name from the ‘jobname’ and the figure number. This is done with the above command.
In 〈template〉 you can put any plain characters, plus the two special tokens: \_ and \#. Each figure’s
filename is constructed by replacing these tokens with the METAPOST jobname and the figure
number, respectively. For example, with the jobname figs,
\setfilenametemplate{my\_-\#.mps}
will cause the figure files to have names myfigs-1.mps, myfigs-2.mps, etc., instead of the defaults.
MFPIC adjusts the definition of \setfilename accordingly, so that the correct filenames are
used.
Do not use this command unless you know your version of METAPOST is recent enough to have
this capability. Under the metafont option, this command is simply ignored, but MFPIC has no way
of checking the METAPOST version on its own.
If you are using LATEX, the \includegraphics command requires that the included figure file
be recognized as METAPOST output. In practice, this usually means its extension must be .mps. As
an exception, it may also be the current figure number (the default if \setfilenametemplate is
not used), because MFPIC has always arranged for that to be recognized. The user may also issue a
\DeclareGraphicsRule command to get other extensions recognized. See the documentation of
the GRAPHICS package.
\preparemfpicgraphic{〈filename〉}
This command is automatically invoked before \setmfpicgraphic to make any preparations
needed. The default definition is to do nothing except when the GRAPHICS package is used. That
package provides no clean way to determine the bounding box of the graphic after it is included.
Since MFPIC needs this information, this command redefines an internal command of the GRAPHICS
package to make the data available. If \setmfpicgraphic is redefined then this may also have to
be redefined.
\getmfpicoffset{〈filename〉}
This command is automatically invoked after \setmfpicgraphic to store the offset of the lower
left corner of the figure in the macros \mfpicllx and \mfpiclly. If \setmfpicgraphic is redefined
then this may also have to be redefined.
\ifmfpmpost
Users wishing to write code that adjusts its behavior to the graph file processor can use this
to test which option is in effect. The macro \usemetapost sets it true and \usemetafont sets it
false. There are no commands \mfpmposttrue nor \mfpmpostfalse, since the user should not be