12/7/2015

How to get gorgeous looking fonts on Linux Mint

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How to get gorgeous looking fonts on Linux Mint

Linux Mint

By Silver Moon

On Jun 12, 2014

15 Comments

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In this post I am going to show you how to optimize font rendering on Linux Mint to get the best looking
fonts. Linux Mint uses the Sans font by default on the desktop, that do not look that very nice on lcd
monitors.
So we shall do some tweaks to get great looking fonts on the desktop. The tweaks involve the following
changes
1. Use Droid fonts on desktop
2. Use Noto fonts as default for web browsers. This is done by mapping the generic sans and serif families
to Noto Sans and Noto Serif respectively.

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3. Tweak antialiasing settings for individual fonts via the .fonts.conf file to make them look as good as
possible. Most of these tweaks are for fonts that appear on webpage.

Other interesting stuff

We did the same thing to Ubuntu earlier in a previous post

How to get gorgeous looking fonts on ubuntu linux
So lets do it.

1. Install Droid and Noto fonts

The first step is to install the Droid and Noto fonts. Both of them a super excellent fonts that render very

Typecatcher preview/download
google webfonts on ubuntu

Install the Gnome Flashback

classical desktop on Ubuntu
14.10/Linux Mint 17

well even on low dpi displays when applied with proper antialiasing settings.
$ sudo apt-get install fonts-droid fonts-noto

2. Configure fonts for desktop

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Linux Mint 17 Qiana Cinnamon

Open View MS Access mdb files in

Ubuntu Linux

Now configure Linux Mint to use the Droid fonts for desktop environment. Go to System Settings > Fonts
and select Droid Sans and Droid Sans Mono fonts along with size 9. If you prefer large sized fonts then
select size 10.

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After the desktop the browsers need to be configured to use different fonts.

3. Configure Google Chrome/Chromium

Google Chrome has to be configured to use Noto Sans + Noto Serif + Droid Sans Mono fonts for the
families Sans + Serif + Monospace respectively. Configuration is pretty simple. Go to Settings, search
fonts and click Customize fonts.

http://www.binarytides.com/optimize-fonts-linux-mint/

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12/7/2015

How to get gorgeous looking fonts on Linux Mint

Firefox does not need a separate configuration since it uses the Sans+Serif fonts which would be mapped
to Noto sans and Noto serif via the .fonts.conf file as shown in the next step.

4. Tweak X font configuration file

There is a file called .fonts.conf that allows you to specify various kind of settings related to font rendering.
It can be used to specify antialiasing settings for individual fonts.
Not all font give their best appearance with the same settings. Some fonts look better with BCI hinting and
some look better with autohinting. There is a deep science behind it which has been covered in a previous
post - How to get gorgeous looking fonts on ubuntu linux
For now just do the following to get it all.
# open this file
$ gedit ~/.fonts.conf
# or open this file
$ gedit ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf

And paste the xml contents from this page

https://gist.github.com/silv3rm00n/5599072
Logout and Login back. Now the fonts should look a lot better than before. But again this is much of a user
preference and you might dislike the new looks.
In case you want to go back, do the following 1. Remove the ~/.fonts.conf file.
2. Change Mint font settings back to Sans.
3. Configure Google Chrome to use Sans and Sans Serif fonts.
4. Logout and Login back.
Last Updated On : 12th June 2014

linux fonts

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About Silver Moon

Php developer, blogger and Linux enthusiast. He can be reached at
admin@binarytides.com. Or find him on Google+

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12/7/2015

How to get gorgeous looking fonts on Linux Mint

Jointhediscussion
MarcosWeht ayearago

Hasanyonenoticedthatthe"!"(exclamationsymbol)hasthedotandthelineveryclosetoeachotherandit
lookslikealowercase"L"?
3

Reply Share

WesternSudan ayearago

ThanksssssssssssssssssssssmanThanksssssssssss
1

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GaryGreene ayearago

RegardingDanSt.Andr'sboatloadoffontsthatdistro'sburdenuswith,someareunavoidable...Cinnamon
requiresDroidforinstance,butmostcanbeeditedoffyourfontmenuusinganappnamed"FontManager"
appropriatelyenough.FontManagerisfoundinLinuxMint'srepositoriesandItendtousetheSynaptic
packagemanagertoinstallthings,butuseyourfavoritemeanstogetandinstallit.
AfterstartingFontManageryou'llseeanappwindowwithtwocolumnsofpanes.Therighthandpanelists
yourinstalledfontfamiliesandtotherightofthatisasmallredbuttonwithawhiteXonit.Simplyselectthe
thefont(s)youwanttoturnoffandclicktheredbutton.Done!Notethatthisdoesnotuninstallorremove
them,justhidesthemfromyourapps.Clickthereturnbuttonabovetheredbuttontoreturntheirvisibility.
TheonlytwofontsIhavenotbeenabletoremovefrommyapplication'sfontmenusareDroidandutkal.
SinceourfriendSilverMoonlikesDroid,I'msureall'srightinhisworld.:>
Ifyouwanttodeleteafontfromfromyourpersonalfontdatabase,atthebottomleftoftheFontManager
windowisarowofbuttonsfollowedthewordFamilies:withthetotalnumberoffontfamiliesinstalledlocally
andsystemwide.Thethirdbuttonoverispreferences.ClicktheprefsbuttonandthenclicktheDatabasetab.
Youcanclickanddeleteanyfontfamilytheretoremoveitfromyourpersonalfontdatabaseassociatedwith
yourloginaccount.Again,thisdoesnotuninstallthefont.
1

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Chris 9monthsago

Noneofthefonts.conffilesexistinthoselocationsonLinuxMint17....

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gible 10monthsago

~/.fonts.confisorwillbedeprecated(dependsonyourOSversions)~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.confisthe
futureproofpath.

Reply Share

j@q 10monthsago

Incredible,thankyou.

Reply Share

Rafael 10monthsago

Thanksalotsir,youjustsavedmylife!

Reply Share

HenryOtero 10monthsago

InsteadofNoto,forweb,useArimo(LiberationSans),Tinos(LiberationSerif),andCousine(Liberation
Mono).

Reply Share

David ayearago

Workslikeacharm,howeverIwantedtorevertthechanges.Apparently,simplyremovingthe.fonts.conf
doesn'tdothetrick.IdidnotchangeanyfontsettingsintheMintfontsettingsandmybrowsersfontsettings.
Doyouhaveanyidea,howtorevertthechangesappliedbythe.fonts.conf?
IamusingMint17Cinnamon.

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amikkwe ayearago

Ihaveaquestion.Ifollowedthistutorialandtheresultswereamazing.Thankyou.HoweverearliertodayI
addedseveralttffontstomysystemandafterthatIamnowhavingseveralthingsinsideofmygoogle
chromebrowsershowingthehelveticafontinsteadofmyserifandsansfonts,eventhoughchromestillshows
themasmychosenfontsinthesettings.Ijustcheckedsamethinginfirefoxaswell.Idonothavehelvetica
choseninanyofthesettingsyousaidtochange,followeditexactly.TheywereallcorrectbeforeIaddedthe
newttffontstomysystemfontfolder.Doyouhaveanyideawhythiswouldhappenorhowtofixit?

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unyk ayearago

Thatxmlfilemakesallthedifference..Thanks

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JavierG.Valdivia ayearago

Theimprovementinfontrenderingisplaintosee,Thanks!

Reply Share

Jawaad ayearago

Nicelookingfonts.withLinuxMint17Cinnamon.
Itworks..Thanks

Reply Share

DanSt.Andr ayearago

Thanksfortheclearlywrittenarticle.Itnicetohavemyworkstationscreensanddisplayseasytoreadand
goodlookingtoo.
http://www.binarytides.com/optimize-fonts-linux-mint/

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12/7/2015

How to get gorgeous looking fonts on Linux Mint

I'dwelcomeafollowuparticlethatdiscussesthe"default"waythatfontsareprocessedbywebbrowsersand
emailorRSSreaders.Itseemsthingsaretypicallytoosmallinspiteofmyattemptstoaltersettings.Isuspect
thatIsimplydon'tknowhowtomatchmyexpectationswiththesettings.
Inaddition,everydistroseemstoinstallaloadoffonts.Oninspection,manyseemtolookthesame[toomy
oldeyes].OthersseemtobeforlanguagesthatIdonotcareabout.
I'dliketoknowhowtomanageallofmyinstalledfontswithouttakingonanewfontasticcareer.
~~~0Dan

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GaryGreene>DanSt.Andr ayearago

Well,Imadeabooboomakingareplytoyourquestionandentereditafterratherthaninreply.Sorry.
Hopeyouseeitnow.

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