How do I install MS Core True Type Web Fonts?

[Wolven]

I just think Wolvix is fantastic.  The only thing I want to make Wolvix perfect is: how do I install the MS Core True Type Web Fonts?

[tomiro]

As root, put any fonts you want to use in the folder:
/usr/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/

Then run this in a terminal window:
"fc-cache /usr/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/" (without the quotes)

Then restart x (or you can just log out, or restart the computer).

[Wolven]

There's yet another broken symlink in 1.1.0 The directory /usr/lib/X11 should be a link to /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/ but the link is broken and it's a directory instead. Before installing new fonts this must be fixed. Here's how:

1. log out of X to the command line. If you got GUI login enabled this can be difficult, so open the Wolvix Control Panel, select the X-windows tab and click 'Run X at Start-Up' and choose 'Command line'. Then reboot the computer.

2. Log in as root, (Do not start Xfce or Fluxbox) and do this:

cd /usr/lib/

cp -a X11/fonts/TTF/*.ttf /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF

mv X11 X11.old

ln -sf /usr/X11R6/lib/X11 X11

cd X11/fonts/TTF

mkfontscale
mkfontdir
fc-cache -f -v
xset fp rehash

cd

Now you can start SLiM with the command: 'slim' and log in.
Open the WCP and enable GUI login again.

Then follow step 3 in this guide: HOWTO Install fonts on Slackware

I'll be releasing a maintenance release shortly, which will fix this broken link and some other bugs.

[tomiro]

Excellent information!

Thank you.

[jubei]

I just created .fonts folder in my home & copy msfonts there.
Both open office & firefox picked them up properly. However, I have not checked with other application though.
That suggestion was from ubuntu forum.

[tomiro]

I just created .fonts folder in my home & copy msfonts there. Both open office & firefox picked them up properly. However, I have not checked with other application though. That suggestion was from ubuntu forum.

 Not only did that work, but worked VERY well.  

I didn't even need to restart X, just the individual applications to get them to show up.  Thus far they work in everything I've tried, including Firefox, Thunderbird, Abiword, OpenOffice.org, KompoZer, InkScape, the GIMP, and ManDVD (added from another repos).  

I tested using the Larabie and Typodermic font collections (Made buy the guy who did the Official fonts for the last Winter Olympics).

Larabie Fonts
Typodermic Font Collection

Yes, I realize these arn't within everyone's budget to use, but they are way cool!

 

All of this lead to the creation of this "Installing Fonts in Linux " page.

[MasterGoodheart]

Yeah, that is a good way of doing it. The only thing that'd put me off is that they are only available for that one user. So I find it a bit easier to use the system-wide choice (/usr/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/ in Wolvix, /usr/share/fonts/truetype in Debian), since I only have to add them once.

The Typodermic fonts are very cool, I looked into them a while back. IIRC, the Larabie fonts are free to download, and Typodermic is the commercial end of them.

[goodsamaritan55]

Thank you for those tips in installing TTfonts.

I use Wolvix in my USB flash drive, it would be pretty cool if the those MS Web fonts were already there at boot up.

Will you make those MS Core True Type Web Fonts be installed by default in the future wolvix isos?

[Wolven]

Including the MS Core Fonts in the Wolvix ISO is close to impossible because of the licensing of the fonts, which requires that they're distributed in the same manner as from MS. The fonts come in .exe format and I'd have to distribute them as .exe files too.

An alternative is to include the Liberation Fonts from Red Hat. You can see a comparison of the Red Hat and MS fonts here.

[mjjzf]

I disagree with the idea of including the MS fonts. And as you point out, the licensing is also rather restrictive.
But would it be possible to include a Liberation font package and perhaps a Gentium package?
Also, a minor point but a great annoyance: Is it possible to create another default Abiword template for Wolvix, one that uses the included DejaVu fonts? I really like those, by the way.

[mjjzf]

I made an Abiword default template (normal.awt) using DejaVu fonts, so we don't have to look at the Times New Roman label every time we boot up.