Hi All,

I would like to know how i could install more linux fonts to be used on gvim, have been trying it for a long time now but unsuccessfully.. Anyone help please

--Deepak

I'm not certain whether I can answer your question. Could you be a little more specific? Is the problem that you don't know how to install fonts at all on your system? What is your system? What distro are you using? What window manager? Gnome, KDE, one of the others? If your question is about how to install a font, then the answer will depend on the kind of system you are trying to install it on. If you have tried to install a font "unsuccessfully" was the lack of success due to some error in the install process? If so, was there an error message? What? Or could you just not figure out where to look for an installation procedure? An answer to that will depend on your system.

Alternatively, is the problem that you know how to install a font, but don't happen to like any of the fonts you have found? If so, perhaps you could say something about what you are looking for in a font and why the ones you have found don't meet your criteria. The more specific you are about that, the better too. I may be able to help you find the kind of font you are looking for. (I used to have a fairly high-profile informational site on monospaced fonts -- the kind you would normally expect to use for programming or plain-text editing.) The picture of what is available has changed somewhat in the past couple of years, and I can't really keep up with it anymore, but the basics are still pretty similar.

In any case, I don't think anyone can really answer you without knowing a little more about your problem. But take heart. This is a good place to ask. We (for some value of "we") can help.

Best Regards,
Paul

Hello,

I should have provided more info...

I have been using RHEL3-u8 x86 paltform with KDE window manager. My problem here is I use gvim as my editor and there are very less fonts to choose from wanted to know how I could increase the number of fonts in that, there is absolutly no err msg or any problem with the gvim or linux, just that I want more fonts on my machine and have failed to increase the number..

In fact I really dont know how to install any fonts on linux. Yes my fault in the first place I should have provied more info on my problem. Thanks for your advice will keep this in mind for my next queries..

--Deepak

Hi Deepakna,

OK, I think I understand a little better now. Let's see: You want more fonts, but don't have either the fonts or the knowledge of how to install them. Right?

Fortunately both of these can be fixed.

As far as I can see, then, your problem is not specifically related to gvim, it's just that gvim is where your lack of fonts bothers you the most.

RHEL3 is beginning to get a little old, but that still shouldn't be a problem. The main thing is that you are most likely using uptodate as your package manager and RH probably doesn't have a lot of font packages on their site. That still should not be a problem.

I have several systems currently running Fedora, which is closely related to RHEL, but just different enough that a couple of the answers I direct you to might turn out to be incorrect for you. I'll give it a try anyway and you can let us know where I lead you astray.

First, there is an entry on fonts in the "Unofficial Fedora FAQ" at http://www.fedorafaq.org/
For the most part, you should be able to use any True-Type fonts. The pointers at the Fedora FAQ to the "Windows Core Fonts" may or may not work directly for you. If they do, that's great -- if not, you should still be OK. You can also find the fonts in rpm form. A site Optimal Use of Fonts on Linux has links to a number of font packages for several systems and much more information than I am going to try to put into this posting.

You didn't say anything about specific features you are looking for in a font (I'm guessing from the fact that you are talking about gvim that you are especially interested in "monospaced" or "fixed-width" fonts) or about what you find unsatisfactory in whatever fonts you are currently using in gvim. If it's a Courier derivative, I can sympathize.

For a free, open-source, unencumbered font family, I might point you toward DejaVu (also discussed in the site linked above). DejaVu Sans Mono is, IMHO, a huge improvement over Courier, especially for programming purposes. There are lots of other good monospaced fonts too, but they may be a little harder to find. If you have a better idea of what you are looking for in the way of style or features, just ask and I'll try to point you to something suitable.

As for installing regular (non-rpm) true-type fonts in KDE, this should actually be comparatively painless. This link should help once you have a ttf downloaded. You may have to log out and back in again after installing to have the newly installed fonts show up in your font list, at least I have had to.

I hope this helps. Keep asking questions if it doesn't get you where you want to be. And remember: Google is your friend!

Best Regards,
Paul