13 Best Free and Open Source Font Viewers

Linux users may not have a plethora of fonts, but there are many lovely and usable fonts. Different Linux fonts are supplied with different Linux distros.

A computer font is implemented as a digital data file containing a set of graphically related glyphs. A computer font is designed and created using a font editor.

Most computer fonts are in either bitmap or outline data formats. Bitmap fonts consist of a matrix of dots or pixels representing the image of each glyph in each face and size. Outline or vector fonts use Bézier curves, drawing instructions and mathematical formulae to describe each glyph, which make the character outlines scalable to any size.

This roundup highlights useful tools to view your fonts.

Here’s our verdict captured in a LinuxLinks-style chart. We only feature free and open source software in this article.

Let’s explore the font viewers. For each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, a screenshot, together with links to relevant resources.

This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.

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