https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1513579
Bug ID: 1513579 Summary: Fonts inside Console Applications look much smaller and worse compared to F26 Product: Fedora Version: 27 Component: freetype Assignee: mkasik@redhat.com Reporter: mwoodson@redhat.com QA Contact: extras-qa@fedoraproject.org CC: ajax@redhat.com, alexl@redhat.com, caillon+fedoraproject@gmail.com, fonts-bugs@lists.fedoraproject.org, gnome-sig@lists.fedoraproject.org, john.j5live@gmail.com, kevin@tigcc.ticalc.org, mbarnes@fastmail.com, mclasen@redhat.com, mkasik@redhat.com, rhughes@redhat.com, rstrode@redhat.com, sandmann@redhat.com
Description of problem:
I know that this is a subjective bug. But I want to bring it up nonetheless.
In Fedora 26 I spent a lot of time adjusting my fonts. I ended up with, what I thought, very nice looking fonts in my GUI console apps (Terminator is my choice, but I could do it in gnome-terminal, konsole, etc...) I spend about 80% of my day inside of these apps, so this is kinda important to me.
I have applied the hinting as suggested all over. I was really happy. I am using freetype-freeworld, and I am using these settings:
======================================= $ xrdb -query | grep Xft Xft.antialias: 1 Xft.dpi: 96 Xft.hinting: 1 Xft.hintstyle: hintslight Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault Xft.rgba: rgb =======================================
I did the system upgrade from F26 -> F27. The fonts inside of my console apps are now uglier. They feel smaller, and more squished together, blockier.
I have read a lot, and apparently freetype has changed the default renderer in 2.7. It also seems a new default is coming in 2.8.1, but that doesn't seem to have landed in Fedora yet. It's now using a v40 as opposed to v35. This changed seemed to happen last year, so I'm not sure if F26 had v35 or v40. This is talked about here.
https://www.freetype.org/freetype2/docs/subpixel-hinting.html
It also has a suggestion of reverting to the "old" style of 35, by adding this to your profile:
"FREETYPE_PROPERTIES=truetype:interpreter-version=35"
I have tried this, but it didn't seem to do anything different.
I am looking for suggestions on how to make this look better. I feel the fonts regressed.
Again, I understand this is subjective, and maybe after a few weeks I will just get used to it, but I wanted to bring it up. In IRC they suggested I file a bug, so here it is.