infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

cfr · 2013-05-27 22:18:45

Thanks. I look forward to it. I wasn't suggesting you should produce a solution, by the way, but more wondering aloud.

It is a shame that the mupdf backend for Okular in AUR won't compile as that might make a difference. (And I think it is possible to switch between backends easily so it would still be possible to use the default when annotating pdfs, for example.)

EDIT: http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdeg … mance.html may be of interest. These options are not yet available in the version of Okular provided by Arch but I assume that they belong to a newer version which will make its way into the repos in due course. Sounds promising, at least.

Last edited by cfr (2013-05-28 01:23:21)

fijit · 2013-05-28 15:54:13

Thanks for the bundle, bohoomil!
I had a configuration question: unlike with regular infinality, Droid Sans Mono will not render in bold, but only as regular weight. I quite like having the bold version in the terminal, but could not see where in the configuration this decision is specified to change it.

bohoomil · 2013-05-28 17:28:14

@fijit, thank you very much for the feedback.

If it isn't a problem, please pull the new commit @ github (master branch), or better yet rebuild the git version of fontconfig-ultimate (2.10.93 will soon reach the bundle repo anyway). Overwriting the 88-forced-synthetic.conf file will do the job. BTW, there are a few minor fixes in infinality-settings.sh as well, so you may want to copy it to your /etc/profile.d/ and replace the one currently in use with it.

Last edited by bohoomil (2013-05-28 17:30:01)

bohoomil · 2013-05-28 18:24:53

freetype2-infinality-ultimate-2.4.12 and fontconfig-infinality-ultimate-2.10.93 are available for testing (as usual, waiting in the box).

I didn't believe it was going to happen that soon, but since everything seems to be working fine we can try crossing the river.

Things you may notice:

I managed to make fonts look slightly darker by default while preserving their natural weight, sharpness and clarity. It's probably the first time the correct balance between variants at all sizes within a family was achieved. I believe that the recent releases of both mainstream code and infinality patches have reached the quality that was previously more like a potential waiting to be fully disclosed. There are still two more variants of freetype2 settings available for those who prefer less or more darkness on their screens. However, the default settings should appeal to most.
Open Sans now looks perfect at all sizes. It is used as a ultimate's replacement for Helvetica Neue because it simply deserved a promotion.
Ubuntu family, as well as few others, should be free of little glitches present previously.
Fontconfig settings were revised and adjusted appropriately to be a good company for the new freetype2.

Pacman is going to display a notice that fontconfig will be downgraded. This is not true: it is just my mistake in applying separate version numbers for the git and official release. Once the upgrade is available in the bundle's repositories, the error should be gone. Sorry for the trouble.

If no major issues are reported, the packages will be made available for all in a few days.

Thank you.

fijit · 2013-05-28 18:51:24

bohoomil wrote:

@fijit, thank you very much for the feedback.
If it isn't a problem, please pull the new commit @ github (master branch), or better yet rebuild the git version of fontconfig-ultimate (2.10.93 will soon reach the bundle repo anyway). Overwriting the 88-forced-synthetic.conf file will do the job. BTW, there are a few minor fixes in infinality-settings.sh as well, so you may want to copy it to your /etc/profile.d/ and replace the one currently in use with it.

Using the latest versions from the dropbox, Droid mono bold works again (though perhaps not as heavy as with regular infinality). No other problems immediately obvious with the new versions. Thanks

nasedo · 2013-05-28 19:29:54

After upgrading to the latest testing packages Konsole's option to 'Draw intense colors in bold font' has stopped working (Other variants are still available in the font picker, but Konsole will use just the one chosen, same for all monospaced fonts).

Edit: The new fontconfig-infinality-ultimate 2.10.93-2 is at fault, after downgrading it to 1:2.10.92-12 Konsole looks fine.

Edit 2: Please compare the output of 'ls --color=auto'. With the option enabled, all text in color is also supposed to appear bold.

Edit 3: The issue disappears after disabling 88-forced-synthetic.conf.

Last edited by nasedo (2013-05-28 21:35:17)

bohoomil · 2013-05-28 20:02:08

@nasedo: check this post. (Sorry, this seems unrelated, I misread your post.)

xfce4-terminal works with bold / intense colour. Frankly, I have no idea why Konsole would behave differently after upgrade…

I have just installed Konsole to see what's happening, but it is working just fine: would you mind providing a bit more relevant information?

Last edited by bohoomil (2013-05-28 20:11:10)

bohoomil · 2013-05-28 21:45:31

OK, I got it.

Bad news: you are right. Good news: it's not about infinality settings, but the new fontconfig.

The problem becomes evident only with fonts that don't come with a separate bold variant. This would also explain why fijit couldn't see bold Droid Mono in his terminal emulator, even though the option in fontconfig infinality settings responsible for producing fake emboldening was turned on. In KDE, however, even instructing fontconfig directly to embolden a particular font won't have any effect (check in your font list if Droid Mono Bold is available at all). Looking up fontconfig bugs revealed that there has been reported issues with monospace bold fonts indeed (see here; on my part, I've observed one of the symptoms recently). It still may be the same thing, I believe…

As for the bundle: to avoid the issue (or any other related with the new fontconfig), we may use the new freetype with rebuilt fontconfig 2.10.92 (it still needs updated infinality settings). Please, let me know if you would like me to do so.

Thorsten Reinbold · 2013-05-29 16:12:40

bohoomil wrote:

freetype2-infinality-ultimate-2.4.12 and fontconfig-infinality-ultimate-2.10.93 are available for testing (as usual, waiting in the box).

This is looking significantly better than before. The fonts are sharper now, it's less blurry. Nice!

Unia · 2013-05-29 21:04:57

Just want to say thanks for this bundle. I never really cared much for my fonts, but after some update my XFT fonts in DWM and Urxvt started looking blurry. Your bundle was the easiest solution and I think the best, too!

bohoomil · 2013-05-29 23:27:39

Thank you, over and over again, for your feedback, testing, reporting, suggesting, pointing out drawbacks… All the crucial fixes and changes have originated in this thread, so your activity is much appreciated.

I have been testing and comparing freetype and fontconfig releases and this is what I have found out so far.

The issues reported by fijit and nasedo have common roots, as stated previously. I'm still not entirely sure which one, fontconfig or freetype2, is to blame. It's evident, however, that one can't deal with fonts that don't have a dedicated bold variant properly.

That's why Droid Sans Mono and the like, available only as a regular face, suddenly 'stopped working' when an application requested a bold one. So far this has been done automatically, with or without infinality patches, and often we didn't even realize that a particular font exists only in its very basic shape.

The natural remedy for that seemed to be artificially generated bold, which I decided to use hoping for the best and believing that it was going to work like it did before. And it did at first glance. However, in webkit web browsers (I used dwb and Midori for tests) I noticed that each and every monospace font that has a dedicated bold variant, suddenly started looking ugly when it was used. This shouldn't happen as far as I can tell since fontconfig infinality offers a set of rules that prevent freetype2 from messing with fonts that don't need any modification. Disabling instructions forcing synthetic emboldening solved the problem of ugly looking true bold, limiting at the same time the selection of bold faces to fonts that natively offer such a variant.

I will still need some time to determine whether freetype2 or fontconfig is to blame, leaving you with the choice of using either the recent testing versions with all the benefits they offer (and there are many of them), or sticking with releases still present in the bundle repository. Unless artificially generated bold weight is your highest priority, you should like the upgrade, though.

For those willing to test, please grab new freetype2 settings from the box (for version 2.4.12 only) which should further polish and refine the look of whatever you read.

Thank you.

LiamMcCalloway · 2013-05-29 23:51:11

A quick word to thank Bohoomil and the archers who've helped him out tune Infinality-bundle so well. Know that your work is deeply appreciated.

cfr · 2013-05-30 00:28:33

Personally, I would prefer the system *not* automatically generate fake bold, slanted etc. But perhaps I am too much of a typographical purist... (Certainly I know font developers who object strenuously to their fonts being treated in this way .) The same goes for faked small caps etc. I'm just saying that, from a typographer's point of view, you could probably claim it as a feature...

Last edited by cfr (2013-05-30 00:29:14)

doug piston · 2013-05-30 00:58:10

@bohoomill

I have always loved your font config yet always pushed it off as next weeks project. Thank you for making so simple and quick. Much appreciated!

bohoomil · 2013-05-30 01:44:44

@cfr, not really a feature. I always use a pretty basic and complete set of type faces when I deal with texts. (When I look at my desktop, I could state the same, though.) However, with all the computer stuff in mind, a font has exceeded the boundaries of text as comprehended in the pre-digital era (just like a computer screen is something different than a printed sheet of paper, even when we use a text processor as its virtual incarnation). People simply use fonts and hardly ever ask themselves whether the bold one they like comes in a separate file or not, or what a typographer would say about the correctness of their use. They use fonts in a way they want and like because they know it is possible. Typography became democratic with all the pains and limitations democracy can bring to a form of art and craft. That's why they expect certain features to be available for them and when they are not able to make use of them anymore, they will always consider it a serious defect in a 'product' they are offered. Believe me, once golden rules of typography, ergonomy, aesthetics or good taste are way less important than the possibility to make things look and behave in a way one likes. So the problem--for those who can see it as a problem--is just another symptom of social changes typical of our (post) modern times.

Personally, I don't care anymore. As long as I'm not forced to listen to pseudo music, read pseudo books and watch pseudo pictures prepared in one of many McMediaDonalds', I don't believe in forcing back things I consider the right ones. Instead, I'd rather talk and work for people who find it important, good or simply useful, and whenever I become aware of their presence, I never find this fact obvious. Let's drink for the correct kerning then and enjoy all the positive social effects it can produce, including those that have nothing to do with typography. Cheers!

(Sorry for a longer, non-technical passage: this is simply the other, non-technical side of fonts' lives. And our lives.)

Last edited by bohoomil (2013-05-30 01:47:28)

karol · 2013-05-30 22:10:14

bohoomil wrote:

Sorry for a longer, non-technical passage: this is simply the other, non-technical side of fonts' lives. And our lives.

Thank you for this post :-)
I was preparing to write something similar, but I first wanted to read the posts that were written in this thread yesterday, hoping I will find something I could relate to.

bohoomil wrote:

Let's drink for the correct kerning then and enjoy all the positive social effects it can produce, including those that have nothing to do with typography. Cheers!

I'll drink to this. Cheers!

cfr · 2013-05-30 22:26:02

@bohoomil,
I also really liked that post .

EDIT: Iechyd da!

Last edited by cfr (2013-05-30 22:27:30)

orschiro · 2013-06-01 07:34:23

Is it just me or is there a problem with the mirror?

error: failed retrieving file 'infinality-bundle.db' from bohoomil.cu.cc : Resolving timed out after 10000 milliseconds
error: failed to update infinality-bundle (download library error)
error: failed retrieving file 'infinality-bundle-multilib.db' from bohoomil.cu.cc : Could not resolve host: bohoomil.cu.cc
error: failed to update infinality-bundle-multilib (download library error)

bohoomil · 2013-06-01 09:24:40

The repo is available. Sometimes errors like this happen, but after a couple of minutes everything is back to normal.

orschiro · 2013-06-01 09:38:40

You are right. It is working again.

donniezazen · 2013-06-03 21:36:51

I have been getting these errors and latest example is when install ttf-indic-otf. I am wondering if it's related.

Updating font cache... Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 15: reading configurations from ~/.fonts.conf is deprecated.

bohoomil · 2013-06-03 21:52:38

You are getting this error because you still have a ~/.fonts.conf file in your home directory. Move it simply to the new location, i.e. ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf.

donniezazen · 2013-06-03 22:52:34

@bohoomil Thanks for the prompt reply. Did the trick.

Unia · 2013-06-08 11:08:22

I don't know how this would apply to Arch, but perhaps this is interesting for you too?

http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/install- … fixes.html

bohoomil · 2013-06-08 16:45:54

I know this fix. However, I have been using SUN's/Oracle's regular jre: building a custom openjdk takes ages and has been literally frying my laptop.

Arch Linux

#301 2013-05-27 22:18:45

Re: infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

#302 2013-05-28 15:54:13

Re: infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

#303 2013-05-28 17:28:14

Re: infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

#304 2013-05-28 18:24:53

Re: infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

#305 2013-05-28 18:51:24

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#306 2013-05-28 19:29:54

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#307 2013-05-28 20:02:08

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#308 2013-05-28 21:45:31

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#309 2013-05-29 16:12:40

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#310 2013-05-29 21:04:57

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#311 2013-05-29 23:27:39

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#312 2013-05-29 23:51:11

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#313 2013-05-30 00:28:33

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#314 2013-05-30 00:58:10

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#315 2013-05-30 01:44:44

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#316 2013-05-30 22:10:14

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#317 2013-05-30 22:26:02

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#318 2013-06-01 07:34:23

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#319 2013-06-01 09:24:40

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#320 2013-06-01 09:38:40

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#321 2013-06-03 21:36:51

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#322 2013-06-03 21:52:38

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#323 2013-06-03 22:52:34

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#324 2013-06-08 11:08:22

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#325 2013-06-08 16:45:54

Re: infinality-bundle: good looking fonts made (even) easier

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