Slackware-13.1-Hacks-Font Improvements
Posted 02-16-2011 at 04:21 PM by arniekat
Font Improvements
Dugan Chen did a very good job of creating the SlackBuilds and providing the source for rebuilding the Slackware packages to get better fonts. I use the Ubuntu Font Improvements and am very happy with them. This is a condensed run-down of the information he provided along with my own information/settings.
From Dugan Chen's Website http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/
These SlackBuilds build for Ubuntu-style rendering by default. To get Cleartype-style rendering instead, enter export USE=cleartype before building your packages and unset USE when you're done. Or, you can change the line in the SlackBuild script
FROM
# ubuntu or cleartype
USE=${USE:-ubuntu}
TO
# ubuntu or cleartype
USE=${USE:-cleartype}
Erase your /etc/fonts directory.
# rm -rf /etc/fonts/*.*
Then rebuild/remove old package/install upgrade packages in this order:
Freetype-2.3.12
http://download.savannah.gnu.org/rel...2.3.12.tar.bz2
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...reetype.tar.xz
Fontconfig-2.8.0
http://fontconfig.org/release/fontconfig-2.8.0.tar.gz
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...tconfig.tar.xz
libXft-2.1.14
http://xorg.freedesktop.org/releases...2.1.14.tar.bz2
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar.../libXft.tar.xz
Cairo-1.8.8
http://cairographics.org/releases/cairo-1.8.8.tar.gz
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...s/cairo.tar.xz
Setting It Up
# fc-cache -f -v
fc-cache: succeeded
You can check the following website for settings for your monitor
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/subpixel.php
I have a flat screen TFT monitor, so your settings might be different.
KDE4 Font Settings
Go to KDE4 Menu--Settings--System Settings--Fonts
Use Anti-aliasing ENABLED
Click the Configure button
Use Sub-Pixel Rendering CHECK
Select RGB from the Drop-Down Box
Select Hinting Style SLIGHT
Force Fonts DPI: 96 DPI
GNOME 2.32.0 Font Settings
Go to System--Preferences--Appearances
Select the Fonts Tab.
Click the Details Button.
Select Smoothing (Sub-Pixel LCD's), Hinting (Slight) and Sub-Pixel Order (RGB)
Rebuilding Firefox (32-bit Slackware only)
32-Bit Firefox is statically linked against its own versions of these libraries, so it will not support subpixel rendering. Rebuilding 32-Bit Firefox to be dynamically linked against your system libraries will allow sub-pixel rendering.
If you're using 32-bit Slackware 13.1, the easiest way to get a dynamically linked Firefox is to use slackware64's mozilla-firefox SlackBuild. Download the entire slackware64-13.1/patches/source/mozilla-firefox/ directory, which is at version 3.6.13. You can rebuild the package since the script will autodetect between i486 and x86_64. Then just upgradepkg and you are good to go.
Dugan Chen did a very good job of creating the SlackBuilds and providing the source for rebuilding the Slackware packages to get better fonts. I use the Ubuntu Font Improvements and am very happy with them. This is a condensed run-down of the information he provided along with my own information/settings.
From Dugan Chen's Website http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/
These SlackBuilds build for Ubuntu-style rendering by default. To get Cleartype-style rendering instead, enter export USE=cleartype before building your packages and unset USE when you're done. Or, you can change the line in the SlackBuild script
FROM
# ubuntu or cleartype
USE=${USE:-ubuntu}
TO
# ubuntu or cleartype
USE=${USE:-cleartype}
Erase your /etc/fonts directory.
# rm -rf /etc/fonts/*.*
Then rebuild/remove old package/install upgrade packages in this order:
Freetype-2.3.12
http://download.savannah.gnu.org/rel...2.3.12.tar.bz2
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...reetype.tar.xz
Fontconfig-2.8.0
http://fontconfig.org/release/fontconfig-2.8.0.tar.gz
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...tconfig.tar.xz
libXft-2.1.14
http://xorg.freedesktop.org/releases...2.1.14.tar.bz2
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar.../libXft.tar.xz
Cairo-1.8.8
http://cairographics.org/releases/cairo-1.8.8.tar.gz
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~dugan/slackwar...s/cairo.tar.xz
Setting It Up
# fc-cache -f -v
fc-cache: succeeded
You can check the following website for settings for your monitor
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/subpixel.php
I have a flat screen TFT monitor, so your settings might be different.
KDE4 Font Settings
Go to KDE4 Menu--Settings--System Settings--Fonts
Use Anti-aliasing ENABLED
Click the Configure button
Use Sub-Pixel Rendering CHECK
Select RGB from the Drop-Down Box
Select Hinting Style SLIGHT
Force Fonts DPI: 96 DPI
GNOME 2.32.0 Font Settings
Go to System--Preferences--Appearances
Select the Fonts Tab.
Click the Details Button.
Select Smoothing (Sub-Pixel LCD's), Hinting (Slight) and Sub-Pixel Order (RGB)
Rebuilding Firefox (32-bit Slackware only)
32-Bit Firefox is statically linked against its own versions of these libraries, so it will not support subpixel rendering. Rebuilding 32-Bit Firefox to be dynamically linked against your system libraries will allow sub-pixel rendering.
If you're using 32-bit Slackware 13.1, the easiest way to get a dynamically linked Firefox is to use slackware64's mozilla-firefox SlackBuild. Download the entire slackware64-13.1/patches/source/mozilla-firefox/ directory, which is at version 3.6.13. You can rebuild the package since the script will autodetect between i486 and x86_64. Then just upgradepkg and you are good to go.
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