TrueType Fonts in Linux Distributions?

Kypeli asks: "I just got the TrueType fonts working on my X (finally!!). Now that I can use these wonderful TrueType fonts, I have been wondering why can't TrueType fonts be included as default in the Linux distributions? At least in my opinion Postscript fonts suck deeply." A large number of TrueType fonts are not free, but I'm sure there are some out there. Why /aren't/ TrueType fonts included in distributions these days, especially now that Linux has support for them?

Maybe a Mini-HOWTO?

[Daniel Serodio]

You really got TrueType fonts working? Maybe you could write a mini-HOWTO or something, I still haven't got it to work.

TTFonts and Linux Mandrake

[smeat]

The True Type Fonts in Mandrake 6.0 work great. Set up by default and everything.

If you can get a copy I highly recomend it.

Bret

cos they suck.

[Zurk]

truetype fonts have worse quality than postscript fonts when printing at high res. theyre only good for display.

Re:cos they suck.

[Einsturz]

Isn't everything about display these days? I don't know about you but I use a printer maybe once every 6 months.

Re:Maybe a Mini-HOWTO?

[Pudding Yeti]

If you're talking Linux, and I guess it's silly of me to assume anyone on Slashdot would be running anything else*, it sort of depends on your distro.

If you're running Red Hat 6.0 or 5.2, this page gives instructions [kegel.com] on how to use the truetype support that was rolled into the X font server in 6.0, or using Herbert Duerr's xfstt [freshmeat.net] for Red Hat 5.2.

Debian 2.1, which I run, comes with xfstt, as well, and is available as a .deb on their site.

I understand that the other implementations of truetype support are better, but I've been using xfstt for well over a year now with little trouble. I think earlier memory problems have been handled. It is very easy to use and set up, and I can't imagine why any of the current distros wouldn't work with it.

Finally, if you are curious about the alternatives I skipped, there's already a HOWTO available at http://pobox.com/~brion/linux/Tru eType-HOWTO.html [pobox.com].


*sarcasm, it's only sarcasm.
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[e-mail]

Microsoft TrueType Fonts

[Tsu]

Agreed. I would gladly trade off beautiful printing and ugly displays for fonts that I could look at for more than a few hours without getting fed up.

I predict that when XFree86 4 is released, TrueType fonts will completely take over.

Actually, if you want free TrueType fonts that are semi-standard, I'd reccomend a visit to the microsoft font-pack site [microsoft.com]. They even come with a fairly `free' licence (I don't see any reason why a Linux or *BSD distributor couldn't include these fonts in a distribution.)

Still waiting patiently for XFree86 4. ]=)

Re:cos they suck.

[IntlHarvester]

So, is there an equivalant of "Adobe Type Manager" for XFree ? I've got a gazillion PS fonts on an old Mac (which would need to be converted to Windows/Unix format somehow, I guess.)

(I mean, besides Ghostscript..)
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Re:Microsoft TrueType Fonts

[IntlHarvester]

Yes, MS wisely designed certain fonts (Verdana, Anadale Mono) primarily for display. Wise move, because most TT/PS fonts don't look very good at low point resolutions, and are really designed for the printer.

Also, is there a way to convert Macintosh bitmap fonts for display on XFree? Chicago, Geneva, New York may be old skool, but they do look very good for display only purposes (webpages).
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converting Mac bitmap fonts

[rillian]

Also, is there a way to convert Macintosh bitmap fonts for display on XFree?

Cut and paste from a screenshot?

I don't know of any tools, but it should be fairly simple to write a converter. The font format is described in Inside Macintosh: Text [apple.com], specifically here [apple.com].

There are also so free tools available at fonts.apple.com [apple.com].

Re:cos they suck.

[Zurk]

xfree can display ps fonts by default. no equivalent of atm needed. Xfree does it directly.

Solution?

[fireproof]

If TrueType fonts display better than postscript, and postscript fonts print better than TrueType, then why could one not implement a system where in a situation where both a TrueType and postscript version of a given font were available, the TrueType would be displayed by default while the postscript would be used for printing?

Re:Solution?

[Ramses0]

You've got to be really careful about the differences between displaying a font and printing a font- for some applications (like desktop publishing/advertising) designers want to what shows up on the screen to be *EXACTLY* what appears on the printed page.

This doesn't mean "look good" or "anti-aliased", but rather "oh, I hope that the last word of the second sentence in the third paragraph really *does* show up where it is on the screen and not on the next line"

Silly stuff, but hey- if you write source code, you can appreciate the concern if you've ever used "helpful translators." ;^)=

http://www.larabiefonts.com/

[Naikrovek]

free fonts, that are free for distrobution:
http://www.larabiefonts.com/ [larabiefonts.com]