Nicer fonts in KDE (Linux)

[proactive]

I've been using Linux for some time now and have come to the conclusion that KDE is quite nice on the desktop. Not out of the box, a lot of configuration has to be done to make it look (and feel) alright. The one thing that I've had most problems with is KDE's use of fonts. Most of the fonts that come with KDE are crap, the Helvetica font is useless and who on earth ever use the "decorative" fonts that are impossible to read?

On windows on the other hand the fonts look nice! So lets get rid of all the useless KDE fonts, and bring on Bill Gates' lovely expensive-looking true-type fonts! (I think the main reason the fonts are all crap in KDE is the cost of buying/licensing/creating real good fonts.)

Here's how to make KDE look good: (BTW, I run Mandrake 8.2 with KDE2. Some of the specifics may differ on other distros).

In my /usr/share/fonts/ttf directory there are two directories, western and decorative. Delete the decorative directory. Then cd into western and delete all the fonts. You've gotten rid of the crap!

Now, find a windows 2000 cd and install it on some computer (or find a friend's computer or something...) In the windows\fonts directory is were all to good stuff is located. Burn all the .ttf-files (true-type fonts) onto a cd, or copy to several disks. My windows\fonts directory is 16MB big.....

Next, copy all the .ttf files into the /usr/share/fonts/ttf/western directory in Linux. To enable the new fonts,
choose configure KDE->look & feel->fonts. Choose new fonts. The fonts I think look best are these: Verdana, Arial & Tahoma. Be sure to check the "anti-alias" box in the lower left corner! Now your desktop should look better than ever. The extra bonus is that Opera (you'r favourite browser) will look beautiful also!

[the_JinX]

Nice stuff..

I did this a while back only with a twist....

If you are useing a dual boot sytem, you can also state the location of the fonts /windows/c/windows/fonts in my case, in the XF86Config..

This way you won't even need to copy..

BTW. Opera runs on the QT libraries ( www.trolltech.com ) and so does KDE..

[wyverspur]

Excellent tut, I will be trying that one tonight after work

[var_x]

yay! now my white papers can look pritty :-D thx for the info proactive!