Native Font Managers -- Is This Difficult to Answer?

Development Discussion
#1

I have placed my post in this discussion area; it appears that no one has an answer or idea to this problem, even though quite a few people have read this post since the middle of August. I hope this area will produce a better response:

I would like to offer a suggestion to all of the developers working on all releases of Ubuntu: Please incorporate a native font manager into the OS; this would simplify the steps needed to add, remove, and locate font files, and allow non-technical users (including me) the pain of dealing with system issues that may arise from compromised or improper software to manage font libraries. I ask that you consider this in upcoming releases of Ubuntu.

The reason why I am asking is: 1. The font managers available on Synaptic have not worked well on my machine, which is 32-bit. I have used Caja to remove a few “unnecessary” files, such as the majority of fonts in the Noto family. I would like to see LibreOffice offer a built-in font manager, if the developers decide against including a native manager with the OS. I have also run into compatibility issues: maybe the font managers are not compatible with 32-bit processors. 2. Where do I find the folders containing fonts that I have installed in my system? I have tried “/usr/local/share/fonts,” but the files are not listed there. In 2007, I could easily find my installed fonts, but it’s not as easy in 2018. Please help me understand more. Thank you.

#2

Hi,

Not even “word” has a font manager…

I think “nautilus” can help you, just drag and drop fonts into /usr/share/fonts

#3

My deepest apologies for my delayed reply...thank you! One more question: I am going to remove several Noto fonts. Am I correct in saying that I must leave the Noto Mono Regular, Regular Sans / Sans Bold, and Regular Serif / Serif Bold fonts alone? This is a wonderful thing to know!

Maybe I am asking more than I should, but could it be a reality for GNU / Linux developers to finally incorporate a native font manager, as is present in both Windows and Apple? Going into Nautilus or the file system is no problem, but it would be nice to have the availability (my thoughts on this). I am not mathematically inclined beyond the basic operations (a few operations in algebra, but no further), and not a geek. I am a seasoned ordinary Linux user of 12 years, with previous experience in Windows between 1993 and 2015 (and even here not a geek!). I did have the pleasure to use Apple on my friends' and fellow employees' computers a few isolated times in the early 2000's. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am among a large number of Linux users who are not math experts or technical users. A font manager would help make things easier for others who may not want to go into a file manager to access data. By the way, I love Linux in all of its flavors. But I believe that there are possibly millions of other users (think China and India, for example) who do not have the skills or desire to edit files technically. Thank you again for sharing!

#4

May I add one more thing without being "off topic"? One of the reasons why I embrace Linux is the freedom of use and the developers' "awareness" of the individual user. Again, thank you.

#5

I have fonts in a variety of locations. Bottom line — so long fc-cache can find it, you can use it.

This also means you can better arrange fonts by provider, publisher, modified by end-user etc. simply by having different directories for each.

#6

Thank you; again, tiox, I'm an ordinary user, so what is "fc-cache"?

#7

It is a command you can execute. See man fc-cache.

Normally paired with argument -f or if necessary -r.

#8

I would recommend retaining those.
I recently cleaned out a lot of installed fonts myself like this:

sudo apt remove fonts-navilu fonts-nakula fonts-mlym fonts-lohit* fonts-knda \
        fonts-lao fonts-lato fonts-kacst* fonts-guru* fonts-tlwg* fonts-sil* \
        fonts-thai* fonts-tibetan* fonts-orya* fonts-samyak* fonts-sarai \
        fonts-beng-* fonts-gubbi* fonts-gargi* fonts-kalapi* fonts-khmeros* \
        fonts-deva-* fonts-gujr* fonts-lklug* fonts-pagul* fonts-smc* fonts-telu-* \
        fonts-sahadeva* fonts-tiresias* fonts-noto-unhinted
1 Like
#9

Thank you for that very valuable tip! I have cleared nearly 50 megs from my hard drive! Which now gives me some room to install a few space-intensive ones, even though I will have ample space to install quite a few more.... I have also saved your command in a safe location. Have a good week!