Subj : Re: Font for LCD monitors? To : comp.os.linux From : rodsmith Date : Mon Aug 02 2004 02:39 pm In article , LJ writes: > > Windows XP has an option for TrueType Fonts as the system font which makes > it a hell of a lot easier to read a LCD monitor. Is there a similar > solution for Linux? I'm not sure what the WinXP option is to which you refer or what it does, but several possibilities come to mind, with Linux equivalents: 1) If the option is to use TrueType rather than bitmapped fonts because bitmapped fonts would be scaled and look ugly, Linux can be used exclusively with scaleable (TrueType and/or Type 1) fonts by omitting bitmapped font directories from your font path (the FontPath lines in /etc/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/xorg.conf, or the catalogue line in /etc/X11/fs/config). Depending on the system's needs and available fonts, though, this could cause X to fail to start. In XF86Config and xorg.conf, you can refer to the bitmapped font directories with ":unscaled" added to the end of the font directory; that'll force X to not scale the fonts. 2) If the option is to use TrueType rather than bitmapped fonts because TrueType fonts can be "smoothed" and bitmapped fonts can't be and you prefer smoothed fonts, then you need to change the fonts used in individual applications to TrueType fonts rendered by Xft rather than by the X core fonts system. Precisely how you do this depends on the application, and for some applications such a change can't be made. 3) If the option is to use a special type of font smoothing for LCD monitors, the equivalent option is available for Linux's Xft font rendering subsystem. It's called "subpixel smoothing." Some applications enable you to enable it in a GUI, like the gnome-font-properties tool for programs associated with GNOME. (Click the "subpixel smoothing (LCDs)" button. You can enable it globally in /etc/fonts/local.conf by moving the "-->" line from after the "" line to just after the "Enable sub-pixel rendering" line. Note that only programs that use Xft will be affected by this change, however you make it. 4) If the option changes the screen resolution when in text mode so that it better matches your LCD monitor's resolution, there are several Linux options. One is to use SVGATextMode (http://freshmeat.net/projects/svgatextmode/) to set the resolution. Another option is to pass options to your kernel when you boot or to your framebuffer device driver when you load it so as to change the resolution. Precisely how you do this depends on your video hardware, what framebuffer driver you're using, and whether it's compiled into the kernel or as a module. Post again with these details for more advice. If this information doesn't help, please post again and provide more information on the WinXP option to which you're referring -- precisely where it's located in the WinXP GUI, and a description of its effect. -- Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com http://www.rodsbooks.com Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking .