  XFree86 Font Deuglification Mini HOWTO
  Doug Holland, meldroc@frii.com <mailto:meldroc@frii.com>
  v1.0, 23 November 1999

  How to fix ugly and unreadable X Window fonts.
  ______________________________________________________________________

  Table of Contents


  1. Introduction

     1.1 Change Log

  2. The XF86Config File

     2.1 Setting The FontPath

  3. X Server Command Line Options

  4. TrueType Fonts (One of the few things Windows is good for)

     4.1 xfstt
        4.1.1 Installation
        4.1.2 Adjusting the default font size
     4.2 xfs
        4.2.1 Installation

  5. KDE

     5.1 Applying KDE fonts & colors to non-KDE apps

  6. Adjusting fonts in specific applications

     6.1 Netscape Navigator/Communicator
     6.2 WordPerfect
     6.3 StarOffice

  7. Credits

  8. Legalities

  ______________________________________________________________________

  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 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, by adding new
  fonts, by installing the TrueType font server xfstt, 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 me at meldroc@frii.com <mailto:meldroc@frii.com>.

  1.1.  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.

  2.  The XF86Config File

  The first place to look when seeking to cure font problems is the
  XF86Config file.  (/usr/X11/lib/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/XF86Config
  are the usual locations.)  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.)

  2.1.  Setting The FontPath

  Use your favorite text editor and edit XF86Config.  Near the top of
  the file, 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/"

  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.

  The default FontPath typically puts 75dpi fonts before the 100dpi
  fonts.  If you have a high resolution display, this means very tiny
  fonts.  The first tweak you'll use is to switch the 75dpi & 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 notice that those fonts are pixelized.  This is very
  ugly and needs to be fixed.  So add :unscaled to the ends of the misc,
  100dpi & 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?

  3.  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 for graphical logins, you'll want to edit your
  /usr/X11/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers file, 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.

  4.  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.  Windows 95 and nearly every other
  variety of Windows comes with Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier New,
  which are roughly equivalant 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 of TrueType fonts.  Don't
  microwave your Windows CD yet, you'll want to get the fonts first.

  4.1.  xfstt

  Unfortunately, XFree86 does not come with built in TrueType support,
  so you'll have to add it yourself.  The easiest way of doing this is
  with xfstt, a free TrueType font server.
  4.1.1.  Installation

  xfstt is very easy to install.  First, you'll want to download the
  tarball from the web.  The most current version is at
  http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/Xfstt-0.9.10.tgz
  <http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/X11/fonts/Xfstt-0.9.10.tgz>

  Once you have the tarball, untar it.


  tar -zxvf Xfstt-0.9.10.tgz

  Then build it and install it.  Read the INSTALL file for quick
  instructions, but it's a no brainer.  make; make install is all you
  have to do.  Once that's done, copy the TrueType fonts you've managed
  to get from various sources to /usr/ttfonts, and you're ready to go.
  Start xfstt by typing


  xfstt --sync        # updates xfstt's font database
  xfstt &             # runs xfstt in the background.

  Then type


  xset +fp unix/:7100 # tells X about xfstt.

  or add


  FontPath "unix/:7100"

  to your XF86Config to tell X about the font service.

  4.1.2.  Adjusting the default font size

  If your TrueType fonts appear to be very tiny, the following commands
  help.

  Add the -dpi switch to your X server command line (see section 3 to do
  this.)

  Use the --res switch to tell xfstt to increase the default resolution.
  Use the following command line.


  xfstt --res 120

  4.2.  xfs

  xfs is an alternative font server that is now being included with
  RedHat based distributions. xfs is based on the FreeType Font library
  and provides similar functionality to xfstt. xfs is able to serve both
  TrueType and Type 1 fonts, as well as legacy X fonts.


  4.2.1.  Installation

  First step is to add TrueType Fonts to your linux filesystem. Su to
  root, and make a directory to hold the fonts:


  mkdir /usr/share/fonts/ttfonts

  Then, add fonts to this directory, either by copying them from your
  Windows system:


  cp /mnt/win/path_to_fonts/*ttf  /usr/share/fonts/ttfonts/

  or by downloading those available directly from Microsoft
  <http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fontpack/default.htm>.

  These fonts are in self-extracting zip archives. You can still install
  them though in linux


  unzip <TTFONT.EXE>

  Note that the font file names must be lower case. One quick and easy
  way to convert them is to copy them to a DOS (FAT16) filesystem and
  then copy them back. DOS doesn't do upper case. For a more linuxian
  way, go to the directory containing the fonts and type this:


  ls *TTF | while read f
  do
   [ -f "$f" ] && mv -f "$f" "`echo \"$f\" | tr A-Z a-z`"
  done

  You'll get the ">" prompt as you type each line, hit return at the end
  of each line above.  Note the punctuation -- those "backquotes" are
  important!  Once the TrueType fonts are properly installed, as root:


  ttmkfdir -o fonts.scale
  mkfontdir

  Rerun these commands anytime the contents of your font directory
  changes.  Next, edit the xfs font config file, /etc/X11/fs/config, to
  add your TrueType fonts to the server's font list:

  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/misc,
              /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1,
              /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo,
              /usr/share/fonts/default/Type1,
              /usr/share/fonts/ttfonts,
              /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi,
              /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi

  Alternately, you can use the 'chkfontpath --add <font>' command to add
  fonts. While you're at it, you may want to change the default point
  size too.


  default-point-size = 140

  This gives me 14 point, instead of the default 12. Some X apps use
  this, some won't.  Next, make sure the FontPath line in
  /etc/X11/XF86Config is:


  FontPath "unix/:-1"

  Note that "unix/:7100" may also do the trick, but did not work with
  the initial release. Comment out any existing FontPath with '#' since
  you no longer need it.  The xfs package itself should be installed
  already with the other XFree packages. 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.  Now restart X to force the
  new FontPath and start/restart xfs


  /etc/rc.d/init.d/xfs restart

  You should now have a functioning font server. You can check which
  fonts are being served:


  xlsfonts | less

  or check them out further with xfontsel, and even better, gfontsel!

  5.  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 & colors
  in your programs, including non-KDE applications consistent with KDE's
  current style.

  5.1.  Applying KDE fonts & colors to non-KDE apps

  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.

  6.  Adjusting fonts in specific applications

  6.1.  Netscape Navigator/Communicator

  Netscape Communicator is particularly susceptible to font problems.
  If you're using the default FontPath, your fonts will be very tiny and
  very ugly.  The first thing you'll want to do is fix your XF86Config
  FontPath (see section 2.) Using 100dpi fonts improves readability
  immensly.  You'll also want check your font settings under
  Edit/Preferences, under Appearance/Fonts.  To get rid of bitmap font
  pixelization, turn off the option "Allow Scaling" on the font
  selection.

  If you have xfstt or xfs, Netscape is perfectly capable of using
  TrueType fonts.  However, it doesn't handle xfstt's quirkiness very
  gracefully.  In Edit/Preferences, you can specify TrueType fonts as
  the variable and fixed width fonts, however Netscape will not remember
  the size you've picked after you closed it.  If you haven't used the
  -dpi switch when starting the X server or used the --res switch in
  xfstt, you'll get very tiny fonts.  Once I applied these two fixes,
  TrueType fonts work great.

  6.2.  WordPerfect

  Coming soon.

  6.3.  StarOffice

  Coming soon.

  7.  Credits

  Created by Doug Holland

  Email: meldroc@frii.com <mailto:meldroc@frii.com>

  WWW: http://www.frii.com/~meldroc/ <http://www.frii.com/~meldroc/>

  Additional contributions by:

  ·  Hal Burgiss <mailto:hburgess@bellsouth.net>

  Thanks go to:

  ·  The folks at comp.os.linux.x <news: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.


  8.  Legalities

  Copyright © 1999 by Doug Holland.

  Unless otherwise stated, Linux HOWTO documents are copyrighted by
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