It's easy to have sharp fonts in Linux and Unix:
So...Which one is better?
Yes, one of them is better. We see many flamebaits on blogs and forums whether polished or sharp fonts are better. The right answer is that the best is the one you prefer. Simple as that :)
Great! I love the sharp-fonts one, what's next?
You just have to download the free Microsoft webcore fonts, the fontconfig files and follow the instructions. If you prefer the polished fonts, you probably don't have anything to do, as they come standard in most distros.
Before going further, make sure you have the following dependencies installed:
- fontconfig (standard on most modern distros)
- freetype2 compiled with BCI support
Fedora, Centos and RedHat don't have freetype2 with BCI support so you need to compile it manually. Most other distros have freetype2 with BCI support though.
Microsoft released free fonts for the web a few years ago, they are redistributable as long as you keep them "as is" and that you don't repack them. Please read the EULA. If you agree, you can download and save them on your computer:
- andale32.exe
- arial32.exe
- arialb32.exe
- comic32.exe
- courie32.exe
- georgi32.exe
- impact32.exe
- tahoma32.exe
- times32.exe
- trebuc32.exe
- verdan32.exe
- webdin32.exe
They are compressed and have a .exe extension; you can extract them with cabextract, so make sure you have cabextract on your computer or install it first.
Then, create as root a directory for your fonts:
#mkdir -p /usr/share/fonts/truetype/
(if you use *BSD, create this directory instead: /usr/X11R6/etc/fonts/truetype)
Extract your fonts using cabextract as root:
#cabextract -d /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ andale32.exe arial32.exe arialb32.exe comic32.exe courie32.exe georgi32.exe impact32.exe tahoma32.exe times32.exe trebuc32.exe verdan32.exe webdin32.exe
(if you use *BSD, extract the fonts into: /usr/X11R6/etc/fonts/truetype/ instead)
You now have the Microsoft fonts installed. Let's configure your system now.
Download the xml files and extract the configuration files into /etc/fonts/ as root:
#tar xvjpf fontconfig.tbz -C /etc/fonts/
(if you use *BSD, extract into /usr/X11R6/etc/fonts/ instead)
Log out from your desktop and log back in. Enjoy :)
1. Why using Microsoft fonts if we have better fonts in Linux/Unix?
It's really a matter of taste. Those who like sharp fonts don't look at who released them, be it Microsoft or some other company. Many people who like sharp fonts like them because they are easier to read. Those who dislike them, dislike them because they are not polished. We can't discuss tastes and colors. Live and let live. Liking these fonts doesn't mean we're against free software :)
2. How do I revert to my original configuration?
Under /etc/fonts/ you can rename local.conf to local.backup.conf. If you didn't have any Microsoft font earlier, you can open /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ and remove them also. Log out and log back in.
3. What application will parse these configuration files?
The application is called fontconfig. It has many options to tweak the way your fonts look like, have a look when you have time.
4. Can I include these files in my distro? Can I sell them?
You can include the fontconfig.tbz file and its content in your distro, you can sell it. PC-BSD is one distro that ships with these files already. This file is released under the BSD license, and the Microsoft fonts are released under the terms of Microsoft's EULA.
5. My fonts look horrible, what happened?
If your fonts look really bad, make sure you have freetype2 compiled with BCI support. Fedora, Centos and RedHat don't have freetype2 with BCI support so you need to compile it manually.
6. My fonts are still antialiased in OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org uses its own font-rendering engine, so you have to go through the menu "Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > View" and set "Screen font antialiasing" to "12px".
7. Can I suggest improvements or report bugs?
Yes, this is highly recommended, just drop me a line.
You can get in touch with me using this form: