Chapter 4 Configuring Fonts

This chapter describes how to configure fonts in the Java Desktop System.

Introduction to Configuring Fonts

The Java Desktop System uses the fontconfig font configuration and customization library. The fontconfig library can use all kinds of fonts, including PostScript Type 1 fonts and TrueType fonts.

The fontconfig library provides a list of all the fonts available on the Java Desktop System. To compile this list, fontconfig searches the directories listed in the /etc/fonts/fonts.conf file. To view all the fonts available on a system, access the fonts:/// location in the file manager on the system.

For more information about the fontconfig library, see the following URL:

http://freedesktop.org/software/fontconfig

Font Substitution

The fontconfig library performs font substitution when either entire fonts, or individual characters, are not present. If the system needs to display a font that is not available, fontconfig attempts to display another, similar font. For example, if a web page requests to display the Verdana font, and that font is not installed on the system, fontconfig displays a similar font, such as Helvetica. The list of similar fonts is defined in the /etc/fonts/fonts.conf file.

If the system needs to display a character that is not present in the selected font, fontconfig attempts to display the character in another, similar font. For example, you might select Bitstream Vera Sans as the font for the Text Editor application. The Bitstream Vera font family does not include Cyrillic characters. If you open a document which contains a Cyrillic character, Text Editor uses a similar font that includes Cyrillic characters to display the character.

The fontconfig library also defines aliases for fonts, for example, serif, sans-serif, and monospace. When you select one of the aliases for a font, the system attempts to use the first font that is defined for that alias in the /etc/fonts/fonts.conf file.

To Add a Font for All Users

To add a font for all users, perform the following steps:

1. Copy the font file to one of the directories in the /etc/fonts/fonts.conf file. Typically, additional fonts are stored in the /usr/share/fonts/ directory.

2. The fontconfig library updates the list of fonts automatically. If the list of fonts is not updated, execute the following command:

   # fc-cache

   Alternatively, to update only from a specific directory, execute the following command:

   # fc-cache directory-name

   Alternatively, to update only from the directories in /etc/fonts/fonts.conf, and to view a list of the updated directories, execute the following command:

   # fc-cache --system-only -v

To Add a Font for an Individual User

To add a font for an individual user, perform the following steps:

1. Copy the font file to the $HOME/.fonts directory of the user. If you drag the font file to the fonts:/// location in the file manager, the font file is copied to the $HOME/.fonts directory.

2. The fontconfig library updates the list of fonts automatically. If the list of fonts is not updated, execute the following command:

   # fc-cache directory-name

   For information about other options to use with the fc-cache command, see To Add a Font for All Users.