how to install font in ubuntu

Install Fonts in Ubuntu


There has been much confusion about installing fonts in Ubuntu. I have a procedure laid out to install your fonts. Lets get down to work.

First thing first I recommend you install the Microsoft TrueType core fonts. To install them type the following at a terminal:

sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

This will install fonts like Arial, Times New Roman and other Microsoft proprietary fonts. It will not however install Tahoma. Sometimes this server is really busy or down so be patient.

Also there are some Java fonts like Lucida that you can install. This requires the 1.5 JRE to be installed. To install them type the following in a terminal.

sudo apt-get install sun-java5-fonts

Now lets say you have soem custom fonts you wish to install. No problem as I can help you with this as well.

All the fonts you will use in Ubuntu are stored in two places.

1. /usr/share/fonts
2. ~/.fonts

I recommend you install them in the #1 loaction. Reason being is that if you install them to your /home directory they will not be accessible form another account on the computer. Lets begin, shall we.

First make a folder to hold your custom fonts.

sudo mkdir /usr/share/fonts/truetype/customttf I am using customttf as an example.

Next open a terminal in the folder where you have a bunch of custom fonts and type the following:

sudo cp ./*.ttf /usr/share/fonts/truetype/customttf This will copy the truetype fonts to that folder.

Now that we have the fonts in the proper folder we need to install them in Ubuntu. That is what the fc-cache command is for.

Open a terminal in your customttf folder and type the following:

sudo fc-cache -f -v

This will install the fonts so that your applications like OpenOffice and others can use them.

I hope this helps.