ARCHIVED: What is a DVI file?

This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.

DVI (DeVice Independent) files are the printable output of TeX, LaTeX, and similar text formatting programs. They are binary files, compiled by the TeX program from the ASCII source files on which most of the actual editing is done. DVI files are highly portable and as long as DVI output drivers are available, can be sent to most printers.

In many cases, however, it is better to convert the DVI file to PostScript for transportation and printing. PostScript provides support for even more viewers and printers than the DVI format. The Unix command to convert DVI to PostScript is:

  dvips -o filename.ps filename.dvi

Note: DVI (short for Digital Video Interactive) is also the name of a hardware-only compression/decompression algorithm for the storage and display of TV-style video. It forms the basis for Intel's Indeo software-only codec.

This is document aeqv in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 12:23:05.