<para>This chapter describes how to configure fonts in the GNOME
Desktop.</para>
</highlights>
<sect1 id="fontconfig-1">
<title>Introduction to Configuring Fonts</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>configuring fonts</primary>
<see>fonts</see>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>fontconfig</primary>
<see>fonts</see>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>fonts</primary>
<secondary>introduction</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>GNOME Desktop uses the <literal>fontconfig</literal> font configuration and
customization library. The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library can use all
kinds of fonts, including PostScript Type 1 fonts and TrueType fonts.</para>
<para>The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library provides a list of all the
fonts available on a GNOME Desktop system. To compile this list, <literal>fontconfig</literal> searches the directories listed in the <filename>/etc/fonts/fonts.conf</filename> file. To view all the fonts available on a system, access the <literal>fonts:///</literal> location in the file manager on the system.</para>
<para>For more information about the <literal>fontconfig</literal> library,
<para>The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library performs font substitution
when either entire fonts, or individual characters, are not present. If the
system needs to display a font that is not available, <literal>fontconfig</literal> attempts to display another, similar font. For example, if a web
page requests to display the Verdana font, and that font is not installed
on the system, <literal>fontconfig</literal> displays a similar font, such
as Helvetica. The list of similar fonts is defined in the <filename>/etc/fonts/fonts.conf</filename> file. </para>
<para>If the system needs to display a character that is not present in the
selected font, <literal>fontconfig</literal> attempts to display the character
in another, similar font. For example, you might select Bitstream Vera Sans
as the font for the Text Editor application. The Bitstream Vera font family
does not include Cyrillic characters. If you open a document which contains
a Cyrillic character, Text Editor uses a similar font that includes Cyrillic
characters to display the character.</para>
<para>The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library also defines aliases for fonts,
for example, <literal>serif</literal>, <literal>sans-serif</literal>, and <literal>monospace</literal>. When you select one of the aliases for a font, the system
uses the first font that is defined for that alias in the <filename>/etc/fonts/fonts.conf</filename>. </para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="fontconfig-2">
<title>To Add a Font for All Users</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>fonts</primary>
<secondary>adding for all users</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To add a font for all users, perform the following steps:</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Copy the font file to one of the directories in the <filename>/etc/fonts/fonts.conf</filename> file. Typically, fonts are stored in the <filename>/usr/share/fonts/</filename> directory.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library updates the list
of fonts automatically. If the list of fonts is not updated, run the following
<title>To Add a Font for an Individual User</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>fonts</primary>
<secondary>adding for individual users</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>To add a font for an individual users, perform
the following steps:</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Copy the font file to the <filename>$HOME/.fonts</filename>
directory of the user. If you drag the font file to the <literal>fonts:///</literal> location in the file manager, the font file is copied to the <filename>$HOME/.fonts</filename> directory.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The <literal>fontconfig</literal> library updates the list
of fonts automatically. If the list of fonts is not updated, run the following
