New HOWTO: XFree86 Font Deuglification Mini HOWTO
By: Linux HOWTOs
Friday, March 23, 2001 02:07:09 PM EST
URL: http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/3163/1/
Table of Contents, Section 1
XFree86 Font Deuglification Mini HOWTO
Maintained by: Hal Burgiss
hal@foobox.net
Original Author: Doug Holland
meldroc@frii.com
v1.60e, 21 March 2001
How to improve ugly and unreadable X Window fonts. Various tips for improving
font handling for XFree86, including sections on fonts servers, TrueType
fonts, Netscape, and related topics.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Conventions
1.2. Change Log
1.3. New Versions
1.4. Copyright
1.5. Credits
1.6. Translations
2. X Server Configuration
2.1. Setting The FontPath
2.2. X Server Command Line Options
3. TrueType Fonts (One of the few things Windows is good for)
3.1. Making TrueType Fonts Available
3.2. Font Servers
3.2.1. xfstt
3.2.1.1. Installation
3.2.1.2. Adjusting the Default Font Size
3.2.2. Redhat's xfs
3.2.2.1. Setting the xfs FontPath
3.2.2.2. Getting the Fonts Ready
3.3. xfsft
3.4. The fonts.alias File
4. XFree86 4.x
4.1. Redhat 7.0 Differences
5. Adjusting Fonts in Specific Applications
5.1. KDE
5.1.1. Applying KDE Fonts and Colors to non-KDE Applications
5.2. Netscape
6. Odds and Ends
6.1. Notes
6.2. Links
1. Introduction
One of the most annoying sets of problems I have had to deal with is the
abysmal default fonts and font settings of X (I'm talking specifically about
[http://www.xfree.org] XFree86, other versions of X may be better.) Many
programs use fixed width default fonts when a variable width font would be
more appropriate. Other programs use fonts that are ridiculously tiny and
unreadable. The fonts that are bundled with XFree86 are barely adequate for
the job. It does come with a halfway decent courier font, but its Times and
Helvetica fonts are simple bitmap fonts that pixelize when they are scaled.
Yuck!
This HOWTO attempts to show how to adjust various font settings, install new
fonts, and do other things that will greatly improve the appearance and
readability of fonts on the X Window Desktop. This is done by adjusting the
FontPath in the XF86Config file, by adding switches to X server command line
in startx or xdm (and variants), by adding new fonts, by installing a
TrueType font server and fonts, and by using a feature in the K Desktop
Environment 1.1 that automagically adjusts font settings in many
applications, including non-KDE apps to set their fonts and colors to match
KDE's style settings.
Comments, corrections, additions and critiques are always welcome. You can
reach the authors at , or
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1. Conventions
* Where examples of commands are used, a "#" character is used to denote
where typically the command would be run as the root user. A "$" is used
where typically a non-root user would be executing the command.
* The examples use /usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts as our TrueType font
directory. There is no magic to this location, and could conceivably just
as well be in any number of other locations.
* References to "xfs" are to the xfs as packaged by Redhat for versions 6.x
and later. This differs significantly in some respects from the stock
XFree86 xfs.
* References to "Netscape" are to the entire suite of programs from
Netscape: Communicator, Navigator, Messenger, etc. For all intents and
purposes, font configuration in Mozilla is the same.
* 'XF86Config' is the X configuration file. For Redhat based distros, as of
Redhat 7.0, this is now 'XF86Config-4' for XFree86 4.x. For the most
part, we'll just use 'XF86Config' here.
Also, while some aspects of XFree86 4.x configuration are the same as
3.3.x, there are some significant differences. We'll only highlight the
differences. So unless noted otherwise, any comments or examples will
apply to both 3.x and 4.x versions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2. Change Log
* 0.1: Feb. 21, 1999: First release.
* 0.11: Feb. 27, 1999: Added copyright info to protect my butt.
* 0.12: Jun. 10, 1999: Added A Plea for Help.
* 0.20: Sep. 14, 1999: Added section on xfs for Redhatters. Many thanks to
Hal Burgiss for his contribution.
* 1.0: Nov. 23, 1999: Converted document to SGML, for submission to the
Linux Documentation Project. Removed Plea for Help.
* 1.5: July 25, 2000: New sections added on fonts.alias, XFree86 4.x, and
xfsft. Miscellaneous other changes and additions.
* 1.55: Oct 11, 2000: Additional info on XFree86 4.x, especially Redhat's
changes for RH7.0. A few other minor updates and additions.
* 1.60e: March 21, 2001: A few very minor changes. Most notable news is
anti-aliasing support now in XFree 4.02 (referenced in the Notes section
only). Chinese translation URL added.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3. New Versions
Version 1.60x, is a pre-release version of this document. Nothing
substantially new. Anti-aliasing support in XFree86 4.02 is the biggest news.
I haven't had a chance to dig into this yet.
Version 1.55 adds additional information relating to XFree86 4.x, and in
particular what is new with Redhat 7.0. Also adding a neglected credit to
Kristin Aanestad for his insight into much of what this document is all
about.
Version 1.5 includes new sections on xfsft, fonts.alias and XFree86 4.x.
Also, includes new Links and Notes sections, as well as a rewrite of the xfs
sections. Various other changes and additions.
The latest version of this document can be found at [http://feenix.dyndns.org
/ldp/fdu/index.html] http://feenix.dyndns.org/ldp/fdu/index.html.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4. Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by Doug Holland.
Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are copyrighted by their
respective authors. Linux HOWTO documents may be reproduced and distributed
in whole or in part, in any medium physical or electronic, as long as this
copyright notice is retained on all copies. Commercial redistribution is
allowed and encouraged; however, the author would like to be notified of any
such distributions.
All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating any
Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this copyright notice. That is,
you may not produce a derivative work from a HOWTO and impose additional
restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules may be granted
under certain conditions; please contact the Linux HOWTO coordinator for more
information.
In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through as
many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright on the
HOWTO documents, and would very much like to be notified of any plans to
redistribute the HOWTOs, this one in particular! Web page authors are free to
link to this HOWTO without restriction, though the author would appreciate an
email informing him of this, just so he can boost his ego by knowing who else
reads and links to this document.
Many of the terms mentioned in this document are trade names. Unless
otherwise stated, all trademarks are property of their respective owners.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5. Credits
Created by Doug Holland.
Email: [mailto:meldroc@frii.com] meldroc@frii.com
WWW: [http://www.frii.com/~meldroc/] http://www.frii.com/~meldroc/
Updated by Hal Burgiss.
Email: [mailto:hal@foobox.net] hal@foobox.net
WWW: [http://feenix.dyndns.org/ldp/fdu] http://feenix.dyndns.org/
Special thanks go to:
* The developers of the [http://www.xfree86.org] XFree86 Project, for all
the hard work and time they have given. Also, Juliusz Chroboczek for his
work with xfsft, and XFree86 4.x to help bring TrueType to the masses.
* Font wizard Kristin Aanestad, whose legwork and insight on much of the
xfs, TrueType, Netscape, and especially, the fonts.alias sections are
much appreciated. More from Kristin at [http://home.c2i.net/dark/
linux.html] Some Linux for Beginners on a wide range of topics.
* The folks at [news:comp.os.linux.x] comp.os.linux.x who gave me a hand in
figuring all of this out in the first place.
* The Linux community in general who made all of this possible in the first
place.
* Microsoft and Apple: for providing the fonts that adorn my desktop.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6. Translations
Chinese: [http://www.linux.org.tw/CLDP/mini/FDU.html] http://
www.linux.org.tw/CLDP/mini/FDU.html by Yu-Chia Chang.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 2: X Server Configuration
2. X Server Configuration
There are a few easy steps that can be taken that will help X do its job
better.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1. Setting The FontPath
The first place to look for curing font problems is the XF86Config file. /usr
/X11/lib/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/XF86Config are the common locations.
(This may be XF86Config-4 for X 4.x.) If you haven't guessed already, the
most important part of this file relating to fonts is the FontPath. Before we
get into that, this would be a good time to check the other parts of your X
configuration. Bad monitor settings can be even more of a headache than bad
fonts, so make sure your refresh rate is as high as your monitor can handle
(85 Hz is great, 75 Hz is OK, 60 Hz is painful.)
Use your favorite text editor and edit XF86Config. Near the top of the file
in the "Files" section, you should see something like this:
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
This much should be the same, or at least similar, for both XFree86 3.x and
4.x. The FontPath tells X where to find the fonts it uses to render text on
your display. Order is important -- when an X application asks X to render
some text, the X server usually has some leeway to choose the font that is
used. The X server then goes through the FontPath and grabs the first font it
sees that matches the X client's criteria, and then renders. Note that
Redhat's xfs for versions 6.x and later has a different way of setting the
FontPath. See the Section 3.2.2 below for more on xfs.
If the 100dpi fonts are not listed, they probably did not get installed for
whatever reason, so you may want install them now. Default installations
typically put 75dpi fonts before the 100dpi fonts. If you have a high
resolution display, this means very tiny fonts. If this is the case, the
first tweak you'll use is to switch the 75dpi and 100dpi FontPath lines:
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
Next, specify that you prefer to use unscaled bitmap fonts. If you've ever
used Netscape or any other program that displays titles using big fonts,
you'll likely notice that those fonts are pixelized. This is ugly and needs
to be fixed. So add :unscaled to the ends of the misc, 100dpi and 75dpi
fonts. You can even use both unscaled and scaled fonts if you want, just put
the unscaled FontPath lines first to tell X you prefer unscaled fonts if
possible:
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
After making these changes, restart X. Doesn't the desktop look better
already?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2. X Server Command Line Options
The next thing you need to do is adjust the command line options for the X
server. You'll want to use the -dpi switch which specifies the display
resolution in dots per inch. As a lot of systems use high resolution displays
these days, chances are they'll be working at 100 dpi.
If you start X from the console command prompt, type:
$ startx -dpi 100
If you use xdm (or friends such as gdm) for graphical logins, you'll want to
edit your /usr/X11/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers file (or possibly /etc/X11/xdm/
Xservers) which will have the command line for the Xserver in it. Mine has
the line:
:0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X -dpi 100 -gamma 1.6
More information is in the X and Xserver man pages.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 3: TrueType Fonts
3. TrueType Fonts (One of the few things Windows is good for) Because the boys at Redmond are very concerned with the appearance of their software (as opposed to the internal workings ;) they built TrueType font support into Windows. And of course, they got the idea from MacOS which is where TrueType originated. Windows 9x and nearly every other flavor of Windows comes with Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier New, which are roughly equivalent to Helvetica, Times and Courier. TrueType fonts are scalable, so they look good in large sizes, and they are well hinted, so they are readable at small sizes. Many windows applications come with dozens more TrueType fonts. Don't microwave your Windows CD yet, you'll want to get those fonts first! Unfortunately, XFree86 3.x does not come with built in TrueType support, so you'll have to add it yourself. XFree86 4.x does have built in support however (see Section 4). This will mean installing a font server that does support TrueType and, of course, installing the fonts themselves. You won't find decent TrueType fonts included with any distribution. The likely reason is that there are not any quality TrueType fonts available under a suitable license at this time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.1. Making TrueType Fonts Available Let's start with the fonts first. Any TrueType font included with the various MS Windows incarnations should work. Don't forget word processors and other apps that may include their own fonts too. MacOS fonts will not work. There are also some 'free' TrueType fonts available for download if you have already nuked that CD (see Links in Section 6.2). In order to use TrueType, the fonts will have to be always accessible to the font server. This means they will have to be on a filesystem that is always mounted. This can conceivably be a Windows partition on a dual boot system. Alternately, the fonts can be copied to Linux. First su to root: # su - # mkdir -p /usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts Now, change to the new font directory: # cd /usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts Then, add the fonts to this directory, either by copying them from your Windows system: # cp /mnt//*ttf . or by downloading those available directly from [http://www.microsoft.com/ typography/fontpack/default.htm] Microsoft. These fonts are in self-extracting zip archives. You will need to get the ones labeled for use with 'Windows 3.1' if you need to extract them under Linux. You can indeed unpack these in Linux with the Linux zip utility: # ls *exe | xargs -n 1 unzip -L The '-L' option will convert to lower case font names (this may be necessary for some versions of xfsft and Redhat's xfs). Note that the current Linux zip utility does not work with the 32 bit Win9x font archives. (It also looks like Microsoft no longer has the 16 bit Arial, Courier and Times-Roman on this site.) Or you can get an RPM of WebFonts that contains some of the MS TrueTypes [http://rpmfind.net/linux/RPM/contrib/noarch/noarch/ webfonts-1-3.noarch.html] here. This has enough fonts to keep Netscape and other web browsers happy. You will also have to include the new TrueType directory(s) in the X server's fontpath. So with your text editor of choice add the line(s) as appropriate: FontPath "/usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2. Font Servers There are several font servers available that will do the job: xfstt, xfsft, and Redhat's patched version of xfs based on xfsft. While these names are all too similar, these are different packages. One, or more, of these should be included with any recent Linux distribution, and you may have one installed already. Historically, font servers were used to serve fonts over a network. Font resources could then reside on one host, and clients could access them as needed. But, the developers have enhanced these to include features such as the ability to render TrueType fonts. (XFree86 4.x has this ability included already, and thus an additional font server is not really needed just solely for the purpose of having TrueType support.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.1. xfstt One such font server is xfstt. xfstt was designed specifically with TrueType fonts in mind. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.1.1. Installation xfstt is very easy to install and configure. If it isn't already installed, you'll want to download the tarball, or check your CD. The most current version can be found at [http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/] http:// metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/ Once you have the tarball, unpack it: $ tar -zxvf xfstt-*tgz Then build and install it. Read the INSTALL file for quick instructions, but it's a no brainer. From the xfstt directory is all you have to do. # make # make install Then start xfstt with: # xfstt --sync # updates xfstt's font database # xfstt & # runs xfstt in the background. xfstt should be started before the X server starts. Once you have this working correctly, you can add the above lines to /etc/rc.d/rc.local, or other suitable start up file. Then type: $ xset +fp unix/:7101 # tells X about xfstt, and where to look for fonts. or add: FontPath "unix/:7101" to your XF86Config to tell X about the font server. Rerun xfstt --sync any time the FontPath, or contents, change. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.1.2. Adjusting the Default Font Size If your TrueType fonts appear to be very tiny, the following commands may help. Add the -dpi switch to your X server command line (see section 3 above to do this.) Use the --res switch to tell xfstt to increase the default resolution. Use the following command line. # xfstt --res 120 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.2. Redhat's xfs As of Redhat Linux 6.0, Redhat based distributions (Mandrake, etc) have included a specially patched version of xfs, the XFree86 Font Server, and patched X servers as well. Redhat's xfs includes the xfsft patch set which in turn is built upon the FreeType Font library. Redhat's xfs provides similar functionality to xfstt. xfs is able to serve both TrueType and Type 1 fonts, as well as legacy X fonts. If you are using a Redhat based distro, you should have xfs installed already. If not, it is in the XFree86-xfs*rpm. To make sure it runs as one of the default services, either use ntsysv or: # chkconfig --add xfs Now xfs will start every time you boot. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.2.1. Setting the xfs FontPath The default Redhat installation of xfs serves fonts via a Unix Domain Socket. We'll need to tell the X server where to look for xfs, and thus fonts. The FontPath in /etc/X11/XF86Config must include for Redhat 6.x: FontPath "unix/:-1" This is changed for Redhat 7.x to: FontPath "unix/:7100" At least for a default configurations. This is a reference to the socket where xfs is listening. You may include additional FontPaths, but these will be handled by the X server, and not xfs. A clean install of Redhat 6/7 should have this already set up, but if you are upgrading from an older version, you may have to change this yourself! xfs then has its own, separate FontPath stored in /etc/X11/fs/config. This is where it will look to find fonts. This is over and above the X server's FontPath in XF86Config. You can either add the new path(s) with a text editor, or use the chkfontpath command: # chkfontpath --add /new/font/path The FontPath must exist before running chkfontpath. The relevant section of / etc/X11/fs/config should now look something like this: catalogue = /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi, /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi, /new/font/path When adding a new FontPath for TrueType fonts, you will want to do this step after installing and preparing the fonts. See the next section. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.2.2. Getting the Fonts Ready We still have a bit of work to do before we can actually use any TrueType fonts. xfs requires a few things to be in order. First, all font files must have lower case names for xfs. Secondly, they shouldn't have embedded spaces. And then, we will need to create a couple of files to make things go. Su to root, and change to the directory where the TrueType fonts are. # su - # cd /usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts If there are any upper case font names, you can use the following script to convert all names to lower case: #!/bin/sh # ## -------- convert upper to lower case --------- ls * | while read f do if [ -f $f ]; then if [ "$f" != "`echo \"$f\" | tr A-Z a-z`" ]; then #Note that 'This' will overwrite 'this'! mv -iv "$f" "`echo \"$f\" | tr A-Z a-z`" fi fi done ## eof Note the punctuation -- the backquotes are important! Remove any spaces from font names too. Once the TrueType fonts are properly installed, you must create both fonts.dir and fonts.scale files. The following commands do this: # ttmkfdir -o fonts.scale # mkfontdir You should now have fonts.dir and fonts.scale files in your TrueType font directory. ttmkfdir is in the Freetype RPM, and must be run before mkfontdir. With Debian based distros, there is a similar utility called mkttfdir, and is in the fttools Deb package. Though this apparently does not generate as many encodings as ttmkfdir. These commands may not always report errors, so verify that they were created and are not empty files: $ ls -l fonts.* -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 11657 Aug 17 10:31 fonts.dir -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 11657 Aug 17 10:31 fonts.scale If you encounter any problems, try ttmkfdir with the - m switch. This will discard bad characters from the font file. Specify a number such as 50 or l00 (ttmkfdir -m 50). The files themselves are text files. Have a look: $ less fonts.dir 114 webdings.ttf -microsoft-Webdings-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-microsoft-symbol verdanaz.ttf -microsoft-Verdana-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-ascii-0 verdanaz.ttf -microsoft-Verdana-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-fcd8859-15 verdanaz.ttf -microsoft-Verdana-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-15 verdanaz.ttf -microsoft-Verdana-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-9 verdanaz.ttf -microsoft-Verdana-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 [...] Next, update the FontPath and xfs: # chkfontpath --add /usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts # /etc/rc.d/init.d/xfs restart You should now be in business. You can check which fonts are available to X: $ xlsfonts | less or check them out further with xfontsel, or gfontsel. If they are visible to xlsfonts, then they are available to X and vice versa. If they are not there, try restarting X with Ctrl-Alt-BS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3. xfsft [http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jec/programs/xfsft/] xfsft is a TrueType solution from Juliusz Chroboczek. xfsft is based on the FreeType font library as developed by Mark Leisher and others. It is essentially is a patch for XFree86's xfs and related libraries -- xfs + ft. Redhat's xfs is essentially xfsft with a few minor modifications. Also, XFree86 4.x includes the freetype font module which is also the result of Juliusz's work, and is one of the TrueType solutions available for XFree86 4.x. Building xfsft requires having at least some of the XFree86 source available, in addition to xfsft itself, so this is not for the faint of heart. Instructions for building and configuring xfsft are in the tarball, so I won't go into details here. They are pretty straight forward. There are links to binaries available at the xfsft home page (see above). Note that you must also create fonts.scale and fonts.dir files for xfsft. fonts.scale can be created manually (ugh!), or with the ttmkfdir utility. This is not included with xfsft but you can get it here: [http:// www.joerg-pommnitz.de/TrueType/ttmkfdir.tar.gz] http://www.joerg-pommnitz.de/ TrueType/ttmkfdir.tar.gz, or probably on many Linux archives sites too. Redhat has this as part of the Freetype RPM. And for Debian it is called mkttfdir and is in the fttools package. You will also need a configuration file. Here is a sample: ----------------------------------------------------- clone-self = off use-syslog = off client-limit = 20 catalogue = /usr/local/share/font/ttfonts error-file = /home/jec/fonts/xfs.errors # in decipoints default-point-size = 120 # x,y default-resolutions = 100,100,75,75 ----------------------------------------------------- You can then run start xfsft: # xfs -port 7100 -config /path/to/your/config/file & You can then add xfsft to the X server's FontPath: $ xset +fp tcp/localhost:7100 If all goes well, you could then add this FontPath to XF86Config. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.4. The fonts.alias File fonts.alias is yet another font configuration file that can be used to tweak how fonts are handled. Like fonts.scale and fonts.dir, fonts.alias must be in the same directory as the fonts you are aliasing. It is not mandatory however, but does solve certain potential problems.Here is an example from the first line of/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/fonts.alias on a Redhat system: fixed -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1 fixed is the 'alias' here. Any time this is requested, we actually get the font definition from the second column. Font too small? Just change the definition. (Warning: this is a critical file, at least on Redhat.) The same principle applies to all fonts, including TrueType. In fact, if you don't have TrueType, you could conceivably use this trick to have a comparable Type 1, or other, font aliased as a TrueType. fonts.alias is important for some applications that don't handle the data provided by fonts.scale well. Most notably here is Netscape. Without a fonts.alias you will find that Netscape will only show point sizes of 0 and 12 available. fonts.alias fixes this. You might also find that if you a specify another size with the scalable font option under Preferences, Netscape will not remember this setting. Annoying! This is also fixed. So we really need this file. Sample excerpt from a fonts.scale: arial.ttf -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-ascii-0 arial.ttf -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-fcd8859-15 arial.ttf -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-15 arial.ttf -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 These are scalable so we don't get any predefined point sizes. We will need to create our fonts.alias something like this excerpt for Arial: -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--6-60-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--9-90-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--7-70-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--9-90-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--8-80-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--10-100-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--9-90-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--11-110-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--10-100-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--11-110-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--12-120-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--12-120-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--13-130-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--13-130-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--14-140-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--14-140-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--15-150-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--15-150-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--18-180-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--18-180-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--24-240-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1 \ -monotype-Arial-medium-r-normal--24-240-75-75-p-0-iso8859-1 (Please note that I have split each line for readability. There should be two columns all on one line, without the "\", and separated by at least one space.) This will keep Netscape happy. Also, if font names should have embedded spaces, then you should enclose the filename in quotes. You might also note the pointsize discrepancy between the first and second columns of the first few rows. The first column of the first entry has a '6', whereas this is aliased to a '9' in the second column, and thus '9' point. This is by design and is an excellent way to overcome the Netscape 'damn tiny fonts' syndrome. Adjust to suit your tastes, resolution, and eyesight. This file can be created manually with a text editor, or conceivably with some fancy sed or awk scripting. There is an excellent discussion of this file, and other font related topics at Kristin Aanestad's site at [http:// home.c2i.net/dark/linux.html#ttf] http://home.c2i.net/dark/linux.html. There is also a link to a python script which can reportedly automatically generate a fonts.alias file at this same site. Thanks to Kristin whose work and insight was the inspiration for this section! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 4: XFree86 4.x
4. XFree86 4.x
[http://www.xfree86.org/4.0/] XFree86 4.0 introduced native support for
TrueType fonts, along with other new features. The enhanced font support is
based on xfsft from Juliusz Chroboczek, which in turn is based on the
FreeType font library originally from Mark Leisher, so the configuration is
similar to xfsft and Redhat's patched xfs.
The FontPath is still in XF86Config, as always. For Redhat 6/7 using a stock
XFree86 4.x (i.e. NOT the Redhat 7.x supplied version), this will mean moving
the Redhat xfs FontPath from /etc/X11/fs/config back to XF86Config. A
separate font server is no longer needed just for TrueType support. You may
disable it, unless it is needed to serve fonts to other clients in a network
environment. See the section below for Redhat 7.x specific configuration
issues.
Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/default/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/local/share/fonts/ttfonts"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi"
EndSection
In order to use TrueType, you must also specify which font module the X
server should be using in the "Module" section:
Section "Module"
Load "freetype"
Load "speedo"
Load "type1"
EndSection
Note that there can be only one 'Module' section, so include any other
modules here as well.
You also must to create fonts.scale and fonts.dir file for each TrueType font
directory, just like for xfsft and Redhat's xfs. [http://
www.joerg-pommnitz.de/TrueType/ttmkfdir.tar.gz] ttmkfdir will come in handy
for fonts.scale. See the xfs Section 3.2.2 above for more details and
examples.
xtt is another available TrueType module that is best known for supporting
ideographic (Oriental) type fonts. You can use either, but only one at a
time.
X server commandline options are still the same as previous versions of X:
$ startx -dpi 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1. Redhat 7.0 Differences
Redhat 7.0 introduces some changes to X configuration over previous Redhat
versions. It is also different from the stock XFree86 configuration as
addressed above. Notable differences:
* Both XFree86 3.3.6 and 4.01 are included. If upgrading you may wind up
with 3.3.6. The X configuration file is XF86Config for 3.3.6 and
XF86Config-4 for 4.x. Of course, you'll need to know which is which for
editing and configuration purposes.
* xfs is still handling all font duties. A default Redhat 7.x installation
does not use the 'modules' section of XF86Config. Instead it relies on
xfs. This is different from a stock installation of XFree86 4.x where the
X server does all the font work -- including TrueType.
* The socket for xfs is "unix/:7100" with RH 7.x, as opposed to "unix/:-1"
in previous versions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 5: Adjusting Fonts in Specific Applications
5. Adjusting Fonts in Specific Applications
5.1. KDE
KDE is one of the best things that have happened to Linux and X in a long
time. It provides a consistent user interface that goes a long way towards
making Linux accessable to the average non-geek. More information about KDE
can be found at [http://www.kde.org/] http://www.kde.org/. So why am I
singing it's praises here? This is because KDE 1.1 has a new feature that
will make the fonts and colors in your programs, including non-KDE
applications consistent with KDE's current style.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1.1. Applying KDE Fonts and Colors to non-KDE Applications
This is very easy. Simply start up the KDE Control Center, go to Desktop, and
go to Style inside Desktop. In there, there will be a toggle switch labled
"Apply fonts and colors to non-KDE apps". Turn it on, click OK, and your
done! The next time you start up many X applications, they will use the same
colors and fonts that your KDE applications do. Some people may like this
feature better than others, but if you don't like it you can always turn it
off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2. Netscape
Let's face it, Netscape is an important application in Linux. We all use it,
and we all need it, so let's look at it specifically for a minute. An out of
the box Netscape installation is prone to the font problems we've discussed
-- large fonts that get pixelized, splotchy looking fonts, fonts so small
they are unreadable. In short, ugly. Maybe this is why you are here?
Hopefully, at this point you have followed the above suggestions. These steps
can help greatly. TrueType font availability is almost a necessity, and you
need a TrueType font server for this. Many web pages specify font families --
like Arial -- that are not typically available to Linux users. This is bad
design, but having some of the basic TrueType fonts available will help
greatly in overcoming the short-sightedness of some designers. Microsoft --
can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
Assuming you have TrueType working, from the Netscape menu select Edit ->
Preferences -> Fonts. Open the Variable Width Font droplist on the right side
of the window. Your TrueTypes should be there along with other fonts. Choose
which ever one suits your fancy as the default. Check the Allow Scaling
checkbox too. If the available point sizes are 0 and 12, you can go down and,
and enter your desired point size in the box to the right and click on the OK
button. The downside to this is that Netscape will not remember these
settings, and you will have to do this each time you start Netscape. Unless
-- you have fonts.alias set up already. Then this will solve these problems.
See Section 3.4 for more on fonts.alias.
You might consider experimenting with some ~/.Xdefaults (or perhaps it's~
/.Xresources on your system) settings too:
Netscape*DocumentFonts.sizeIncrement: 10
Netscape*documentFonts.xResolution*iso-8859-1: 120
Netscape*documentFonts.yResolution*iso-8859-1: 120
The 'sizeIncrement' controls how much of a jump Netscape makes when different
'basefont' sizes are specified ala:
Section 6: Odds and Ends
6. Odds and Ends
6.1. Notes
* Unfortunately there is no unified font handling system for Linux. You
will have to configure each individual program so you can use TrueType,
Type 1 or fonts that pique your fancy. And each program may well have its
own way of doing this so you will have to RTFM.
* Most GUI apps should be able to use TrueType, and Type 1 fonts too.
Wordperfect for Linux, however, cannot use TrueType. (See the links
section below for more on Wordperfect.) Text editors, terminal programs
and the like need fixed width fonts, and do not play well with TrueType
or other scalable fonts.
* Though not discussed here, Type 1 fonts provide many of the same benefits
as TrueType. You likely have many of these installed already.
Unfortunately however, Type 1 are not a web standard like TrueType. But
they are suitable for many other purposes. They are where it's at for
printing. See [http://www.ghostscript.com/] ghostscriptfor more on this.
* Anti-aliasing is only supported by XFree86 4.02. This is something hot
out of the oven. See [http://www.xfree86.org/~keithp/render] http://
www.xfree86.org/~keithp/render for details. This is a very recent
development, and great news!
* While it is possible to specify a default point size for the xfs font
server, very few applications will actually use this value.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2. Links
* The Video Timings HOWTO, the ins and outs of getting the most from your
monitor.
* [http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Font-HOWTO.html] Font HOWTO Many good tips
for installing fonts and for applications such as StarOffice, Applixware,
Wordperfect, Ghostscript, TeX/LaTeX.
* [http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jec/programs/xfsft/] xfsft Homepage,
TrueType font support for X. This is the origin of the "freetype" font
module for XFree86 4.x, and Redhat's xfs. Good site, and good links to
other information related to fonts and TrueType.
* [http://home.c2i.net/dark/linux.html] Some Linux for Beginners. Great
font site, and other Linux topics. Covers many of the topics discussed
here in more detail.
* [http://X-TT.dsl.gr.jp/] X-TrueType Homepage, and yet another TrueType
Font server, especially good for Japanese, Chinese and Korean character
sets.
* Tips on font size problems from [http://help.netscape.com/kb/consumer/
19960513-54.html] Netscape.
* Wordperfect for Linux -- Fonts and Printers by Rod Smith, the author of
Using Corel Wordperfect 8 for Linux from Que. Excellent information on
Wordperfect and where TrueType fits in.
* [http://www.xfree86.org] XFree86 Project, the guys and gals who do an
incredible amount of work to give us a killer GUI environment. Some info
on fonts in [http://www.xfree86.org/4.0/fonts.html] XFree86 4.x.
* Microsoft Web Fonts direct from the Lion's den -- and they are free! If
you don't have access to a win32 system to unpack these, then get the
ones labeled for Win3.1. These can be unpacked in Linux (see above).
* [http://rpmfind.net/linux/RPM/contrib/noarch/noarch/
webfonts-1-3.noarch.html] Web Fonts RPM package, contains a few of the MS
web browser fonts.
* HP FontSmart TrueType Fontsfrom Hewlett Packard -- Garamond, Bodoni, Dark
Courier, Euro Sign and Ozzie Black. Can be unzipped in Linux with the
unzip utility.
* Freeware Connection -- Free Fonts Sites lots of links to lots of sites.
* Bitstream's Geometric Slabserif TrueType Font.
* I also maintain a help and troubleshooting page on Redhat's xfs. There is
also an RPM there with the MS TrueType fonts, and working fonts.scale and
fonts.dir in the package.