35.4. Fonts
Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses two subsystems to manage and display fonts under X: Fontconfig and
xfs
.
The newer Fontconfig font subsystem simplifies font management and provides advanced display features, such as anti-aliasing. This system is used automatically for applications programmed using the Qt 3 or GTK+ 2 graphical toolkit.
For compatibility, Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes the original font subsystem, called the core X font subsystem. This system, which is over 15 years old, is based around the X Font Server (xfs).
This section discusses how to configure fonts for X using both systems.
35.4.1. Fontconfig Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
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The Fontconfig font subsystem allows applications to directly access fonts on the system and use Xft or other rendering mechanisms to render Fontconfig fonts with advanced anti-aliasing. Graphical applications can use the Xft library with Fontconfig to draw text to the screen.
Over time, the Fontconfig/Xft font subsystem replaces the core X font subsystem.
Important
The Fontconfig font subsystem does not yet work for OpenOffice.org, which uses its own font rendering technology.
It is important to note that Fontconfig uses the
/etc/fonts/fonts.conf
configuration file, which should not be edited by hand.
Note
Due to the transition to the new font system, GTK+ 1.2 applications are not affected by any changes made via the Font Preferences dialog (accessed by selecting System (on the panel) > > ). For these applications, a font can be configured by adding the following lines to the file
~/.gtkrc.mine
:
style "user-font" { fontset = "<font-specification>" } widget_class "*" style "user-font"
style "user-font" {
fontset = "<font-specification>"
}
widget_class "*" style "user-font"
Replace <font-specification> with a font specification in the style used by traditional X applications, such as
-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*
. A full list of core fonts can be obtained by running xlsfonts
or created interactively using the xfontsel
command.
35.4.1.1. Adding Fonts to Fontconfig Copier lienLien copié sur presse-papiers!
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Adding new fonts to the Fontconfig subsystem is a straightforward process.
- To add fonts system-wide, copy the new fonts into the
/usr/share/fonts/
directory. It is a good idea to create a new subdirectory, such aslocal/
or similar, to help distinguish between user-installed and default fonts.To add fonts for an individual user, copy the new fonts into the.fonts/
directory in the user's home directory. - Use the
fc-cache
command to update the font information cache, as in the following example:fc-cache <path-to-font-directory>
fc-cache <path-to-font-directory>fc-cache <path-to-font-directory>
Copy to Clipboard Copied! Toggle word wrap Toggle overflow In this command, replace <path-to-font-directory> with the directory containing the new fonts (either/usr/share/fonts/local/
or/home/<user>/.fonts/
).
Note
Individual users may also install fonts graphically, by typing
fonts:///
into the Nautilus address bar, and dragging the new font files there.
Important
If the font file name ends with a
.gz
extension, it is compressed and cannot be used until uncompressed. To do this, use the gunzip
command or double-click the file and drag the font to a directory in Nautilus.