Wednesday, January 12 2005 @ 04:33 PM EST Contributed by: glosser
On December 29th we brought you news of the update to the font HOWTO. Today, we bring you this tutorial from the NewsForge on the same topic...FONTS.
There's nothing like a new set of typefaces for starting off the new year. Like snowflakes, no two are alike -- and also like snowflakes, they have to be handled just right. After you've found the fonts you want to spend the next 12 months with, here's how you can install them correctly and easily on your Linux system by getting your package management program to do it for you.
Chances are that the fonts you've downloaded are of TrueType format. Most free fonts are made with the Macromedia Fontographer application, in which this is the default. With TrueType fonts, the only file that matters is the one with the .ttf extension; this is the actual font data.
It is common for freeware font download sites to compress their offerings in a .zip archive even if it contains only the .ttf file; if you need to, go ahead and extract it. Individual font designers may also provide their fonts in .zip archives, often including extra files like READMEs, changelogs, or shareware licenses. If you are a stickler for detail, you can find somewhere on your system to install this information, but I think it is happiest remaining in its .zip file until called upon.
