CrunchBang Linux

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

OK, I know many of you like Ubuntu-style font rendering, and I think that's just dandy.  Obviously there are enough of you for Philip to go to the trouble of setting up Waldorf to have similar font rendering out-of-the-box.

My question is, what's the easiest way to go back to Debian's harsher, razor-sharp rendering in Waldorf?  I've tried swimming against the stream using Black Ivan's guide, opting to zig where Ivan tells us to zag, but it doesn't quite get to the crispness I'm used to in Statler.

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el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

I think you just need to set the hint style to full in .fonts.conf. Alternatively, install libxft and libcairo2 from Wheezy instead fro Waldorf.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Thanks, El_K!  I'll keep this bookmarked for when I finally get a more "bulletproof" wifi adapter.  (Long story, but it looks like I'll soon be able to get a new black ink pen for my balance sheet, and that wifi adapter isn't far behind the black pen on my shopping list.)

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el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

You should be able to try .fonts.conf right away.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

El_K, I do appreciate the suggestions; I'll actually try to give both of them a shot tomorrow morning on a separate partition; needing a wired connection (at least I have the cable; just don't want roommate tripping over it) has no bearing on font rendering.

I think I might need to turn off subpixel rendering in .fonts.conf as well...

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iamnutz

#! Member

Registered: 2012-07-27

Posts: 55

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

oddly, after that last upgrade the fonts went back to Debian style here and I have to agree, I prefer the sharper style also. There is a thread on here with 2 font.conf commands to make the smooth fonts, I'm sure it can be undone with a cmd switch....gonna search for it

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

^ Actually, there are a couple threads, one started by IvanovNegro (our fonts task force leader) and one started by Corenominal (our benevolent despot).

If the fonts go back to Debian sharpness after a dist-upgrade, that suggests libxft and/or libcairo2 (thanks again to el_koraco for the suggestion) may be getting replaced by an updated version in the Debian repo.

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FreewheelinFrank

#! Member

Registered: 2012-02-24

Posts: 72

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Switching between Debian Wheezy and Crunchbang testing, I have to say I prefer the Debian fonts. Downloading the new Crunchbang testing image now, so I'll see how that looks, but it would be good to have a simply "how to" for removing the Umbongo fonts.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Umbongo

Believe me, I was sorely tempted to type something similar when I started this thread.  However, we're trying to be a "kinder, gentler" CrunchBang Linux forum, and as a moderator myself, I feel compelled to discourage bashing of other distros.

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FreewheelinFrank

#! Member

Registered: 2012-02-24

Posts: 72

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Umbongo

Believe me, I was sorely tempted to type something similar when I started this thread.  However, we're trying to be a "kinder, gentler" CrunchBang Linux forum, and as a moderator myself, I feel compelled to discourage bashing of other distros.

OK. I shall refrain- although it was more a swipe with a feather duster than bashing. Even in places far less kind and gentle (cough, Debian User Forums, cough) I don't go in for Ubuntu bashing.

el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Believe me, I was sorely tempted to type something similar when I started this thread.  However, we're trying to be a "kinder, gentler" CrunchBang Linux forum, and as a moderator myself, I feel compelled to discourage bashing of other distros.

Yeah, but Umbongo is an awesome name.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Yeah, but you understand I gotta play the diplomat - "tell you where to go, and make you happy to be on your way."  I just don't want to see another thread - especially one where I'm the OP - go down in flames because somebody takes offense to what is intended as a light-hearted comment.

Installing the latest Waldorf image on an external HD later this morning to try out the suggestions provided in this thread.

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EnochRoot

#! Junkie

From: London, UK

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 253

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Not sure if this was a UK thing or was wider than that, but couldn't resist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYj5o4kQsXs

johnraff

#!Drunkard

From: Nagoya, Japan

Registered: 2009-01-07

Posts: 2,462

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Never heard of that stuff till today. (Left UK in 1973.)

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EnochRoot

#! Junkie

From: London, UK

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 253

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

I guess it was a little bit after that, and didn't last more than five or ten years fron what I recall.

FreewheelinFrank

#! Member

Registered: 2012-02-24

Posts: 72

Website

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

I think you just need to set the hint style to full in .fonts.conf. Alternatively, install libxft and libcairo2 from Wheezy instead fro Waldorf.

There are two versions of libxft in Synaptic: the default from Crunchbang and another from Debian, the installation of which can be forced. I tried it on a live CD, but it looks like it might take a fresh log in to take effect, and I couldn't work out how to do this. There isn't this option for libcairo2.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Not sure if this was a UK thing or was wider than that, but couldn't resist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYj5o4kQsXs

We do have Libby's drinks in the US, but I haven't seen that commercial before, and in four years of stocking grocery shelves I haven't heard of Um Bongo, so...possibly just a UK label.

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el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

There isn't this option for libcairo2.

My bad, I haven't used Crunchbang in a while. FreeType's upstream libxft renders fonts with slight hinting better than Ubuntu's anyway, provided you use the free fonts. Since I don't even have Arial on my machine, this is enough for me.

iamnutz

#! Member

Registered: 2012-07-27

Posts: 55

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

I did this:

dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig-config

chose autohint,always,no the 1st time, then native,always,no the second time after:

dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig

each time of course plus a re-boot,but didnt see a huge difference even after el_koraco's suggesting setting <hintstyle> to full.... returned to 1st choice, however dont do like me and change hintstyle to hintfull or you will be working in the dark, it lowered my lcd brightness below spec..... yet, I thought it was funny

@ el_koraco... just curious what distro u work with now?

xaos52

The Good Doctor

From: Planet of the @s

Registered: 2011-06-24

Posts: 4,285

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

lemme guess... arch

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el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Debian Squeeze.

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

I did this:

dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig-config

chose autohint,always,no the 1st time, then native,always,no the second time after:

dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig

each time of course plus a re-boot,but didnt see a huge difference even after el_koraco's suggesting setting <hintstyle> to full.... returned to 1st choice, however dont do like me and change hintstyle to hintfull or you will be working in the dark, it lowered my lcd brightness below spec..... yet, I thought it was funny

@ el_koraco... just curious what distro u work with now?

Native, never, yes got me really close; hintfull changed the kerning a bit, but didn't affect the individual character rendering much.  A forced reinstall of libxft2 from Wheezy got me most of the rest of the way there.

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iamnutz

#! Member

Registered: 2012-07-27

Posts: 55

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Native, never, yes got me really close; hintfull changed the kerning a bit, but didn't affect the individual character rendering much.  A forced reinstall of libxft2 from Wheezy got me most of the rest of the way there.

I tried

apt-get --reinstall libxft2/testing

with no result, however I think it's what is running now
here's a status:

dug@4winds:~$ sudo dpkg -s libxft2
Package: libxft2
Status: install ok installed
Priority: optional
Section: libs
Installed-Size: 134
Maintainer: Debian X Strike Force <debian-x@lists.debian.org>
Architecture: amd64
Multi-Arch: same
Source: xft
Version: 2.2.0-3crunchbang1
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.3), libfontconfig1 (>= 2.9.0), libfreetype6 (>= 2.3.5), libx11-6, libxrender1
Pre-Depends: multiarch-support
Description: FreeType-based font drawing library for X
 Xft provides a client-side font API for X applications, making the FreeType
 font rasterizer available to X clients.  Fontconfig is used for font
 specification resolution.  Where available, the RENDER extension handles
 glyph drawing; otherwise, the core X protocol is used.

all libs look to be greater or current versions, think a deselect and install from another source would make a difference?

pvsage

Internal Affairs

From: North Carolina

Registered: 2009-10-18

Posts: 9,003

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Version: 2.2.0-3crunchbang1

You have the CrunchBang version.  Try this to get the one from Testing:

sudo apt-get install -t testing libxft2 --reinstall

Worked for me.

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el_koraco

#!/loony/bun

From: inside Ed

Registered: 2011-07-25

Posts: 4,644

Re: Debian-style font rendering in Waldorf?

Or just open Synaptic, find libxft2, click it, and you should find the option to force a certain version somewhere in the menu (I haven't used Synaptic in a while).