I start X using the startx command, not KDM or anything.

When I just type startx it loads KDE with the normal nice looking fonts.

When I load any other windowmanager using startx pekwm for instance the defualt font is an ugly one and much smaller than normal. Also the file names in konqueror are all underlined, I can't find a way to change this!!

I use Mandrake 9.1 (I'm upgrading to slack in a few days but this'll still be useful to know) and I would like to know how to change the default font to one that's more pleasing to the eye.

Another thing is that when I turn on antialiasing on in blackbox the menu and titlebar text goes huge, how can I have antialiased test at a normal size?

NB By the default font I mean the one used for all the 'file' 'edit' tabs at the top of windows and used in all the text inside the windows.

i THINK that every window manager and desktop environment will have it's own style configuration... i don't think you get to edit the styles on all of them at once...

to learn how to change and save the styles of a specific window manager that's a thread in itself... here you mention two or three window managers.

Every WM I use, apart from the startx default KDE, has exactly the same font's which leads me to think that it's a more of a global thing that's set in the xinitrc or something.

Any more help anyone?

Edit:: With a bit more googing I've found out that global font is set with ~/.Xresources and ~/.Xdefaults. Can't find any more info though.

I'm just spitballing here because I don't know much about this particular area, but could this have anything to do with the X Font Server?

i'm not 100% sure what your question is... are you asking how to change the default font that all the window managers will use (besides your blackbox anti-aliasing problem)?

I want to know how to change the font used in all window managers in the window's buttons and widgets and such.

I don't know much about the X font server. I though X was one self contained server, I didn't realise it has seperate components.

by the way i use icewm and to change it's style (including the fonts for window buttons and stuff) i use icepref...

I don't like iceWM.

Right I have more info for you.

The Xfontserver thing is irrelivent because according to some Mandrake documentation I found mandrake uses it's own font server.

KDE uses different/larget fonts because just running startx executed everything in the /etc/X11/xsessions file, this thing is FULL of stuff put there my the nice people at Mandrake. I can't find a line in it that's to do with font though! When I replace the last few lines (the ones that look for and start KDE) with '/usr/local/bin/ pekwm' then run startx I get pek with nice good looking antialiased fonts.

I'll post my xsessions file if you want so some one can point out the line that's changing the font.


Thanks for the help so far.

Which documentation did you see that Mandrake runs its own server? I find that interesting (I tried googling and browsing the drake site but as yet have found nothing) since I always thought it was plain xfs.

In my list of services loaded (service --status-all) I see xfs. But I'd love to read up on how its different...

Sorry I've been little help on your other problem tho...

I'm not on my Linux box right now so I can't give you exact details but it was in one of the config files in /etc/X11

It read something like 'We don't use the x font server so we don't have to [something]'.

I could of course be completely wrong but this comment DID appear in one of the config files.

Quoting /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 (about 4 lines down):

'By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of the X server to render fonts.

FontPath "unix/:-1"'