fuzzy fonts in gtk2

Rick

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Mar 2, 2003, 8:55:27 PM3/2/03

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The fonts in my gtk2 apps look like they were printed on an old ink-jet
(onscreen. They are just the slightest bit fuzzy. The fonts in gtk apps
seem sharper. Is there anything I can do?

Any and all help appreciated.

--
Rick

Rod Smith

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Mar 3, 2003, 9:24:01 AM3/3/03

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In article <pan.2003.03.03....@nomail.com>,

"Rick" <no...@nomail.com> writes:
>
> The fonts in my gtk2 apps look like they were printed on an old ink-jet
> (onscreen. They are just the slightest bit fuzzy. The fonts in gtk apps
> seem sharper. Is there anything I can do?

It sounds like you're seeing the effects of "font smoothing" (aka
"anti-aliasing"). To disable it, type "gnome-font-properties" (without the
quotes) in an xterm. This will bring up a Font Preferences window. Click
the Details button, which brings up a dialog box called Font Rendering
Details. Click None in the Smoothing area, then click Close, then click
Close in the Font Preferences window. This will disable font smoothing for
GTK2 apps, or at least for those associated with GNOME (I'm fuzzy on
precisely what the gnome-font-properties tool changes). Fonts still may
not look identical, though, because they may be rendered by different
systems -- the new Xft vs. the original core fonts system. See
http://xfree86.org/current/fonts.html for more information on XFree86
fonts, including the new Xft system.

--
Rod Smith, rods...@rodsbooks.com
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux, networking, & multi-OS configuration

Rick

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Mar 6, 2003, 6:54:21 AM3/6/03

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On Mon, 03 Mar 2003 14:24:01 +0000, Rod Smith wrote:

> In article <pan.2003.03.03....@nomail.com>,
> "Rick" <no...@nomail.com> writes:
>>
>> The fonts in my gtk2 apps look like they were printed on an old ink-jet
>> (onscreen. They are just the slightest bit fuzzy. The fonts in gtk apps
>> seem sharper. Is there anything I can do?
>
> It sounds like you're seeing the effects of "font smoothing" (aka
> "anti-aliasing"). To disable it, type "gnome-font-properties" (without the
> quotes) in an xterm. This will bring up a Font Preferences window. Click
> the Details button, which brings up a dialog box called Font Rendering
> Details. Click None in the Smoothing area, then click Close, then click
> Close in the Font Preferences window. This will disable font smoothing for
> GTK2 apps, or at least for those associated with GNOME (I'm fuzzy on
> precisely what the gnome-font-properties tool changes). Fonts still may
> not look identical, though, because they may be rendered by different
> systems -- the new Xft vs. the original core fonts system. See
> http://xfree86.org/current/fonts.html for more information on XFree86
> fonts, including the new Xft system.

I put <export GDK_USE_XFT=0> in my .xinitrc file. While this didn't fix
the gtk2 fuzziness, it does give me non-fuzzy gtk fonts. I suppose this
will do until I get broadband and DL Gnome 2.2

----
Rick

Rod Smith

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Mar 6, 2003, 9:54:02 AM3/6/03

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In article <pan.2003.03.06....@nomail.com>,

"Rick" <no...@nomail.com> writes:
>
> I put <export GDK_USE_XFT=0> in my .xinitrc file. While this didn't fix
> the gtk2 fuzziness, it does give me non-fuzzy gtk fonts. I suppose this
> will do until I get broadband and DL Gnome 2.2

If you're using Xft 2.0, try adding the following lines to your
/etc/fonts.conf file:

<match target="font">
<edit name="antialias" mode="assign">
<bool>false</bool>
</edit>
</match>

I'm not sure exactly where this should go, but I'd try just before the
ending </fontconfig> statement. If you don't have an
/etc/fonts/fonts.conf file, chances are you're using Xft 1.0 or 1.1,
which uses an entirely different configuration method. I don't know how
to disable anti-aliasing with Xft 1.0 or 1.1, or even if it's possible.