Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

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johnfound

Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Tweaking my system today, I noticed that all GTK applications in my Linux Mint 17 smooths the fonts only in grayscale. Checked the setting in Settings|Appearance|Fonts and "Sub-pixel order" is set to "RGB". Checked all .conf files local and global and they all have the proper settings for sub-pixel smoothing.

The Qt based applications have proper sub-pixel font smoothing - I tested with pcmanfm-qt and vlc. My own test programs that use directly freetype library have also proper sub-pixel smoothing.

Also, I installed "Infinality" package with a hope to fix the problem, but regardless of that it really improved the font shape rendering, the smoothing is still only grayscale.

What I am missing?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Here is the returned result of "xrdb -query":

Code: Select all

johnfound ~
$xrdb -query
*customization:      -color
Xcursor.theme:      DMZ-White
Xft.autohint:      0
Xft.hinting:      1
Xft.antialias:      1
Xft.hintstyle:      hintslight
Xft.rgba:      rgb
Xft.lcdfilter:      lcddefault
Xcursor.theme_core:      1
And zoomed image of the rendering from Thunar file manager:
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

BTW, is it possible that something (what?) is compiled with wrong options in XFCE/GTK? How to check it?
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Installed XFCE 4.12 - No change. So, the cause for the problem is not in the XFCE itself. On the other hand, on the XFCE site there are screenshots demonstrating subpixel antialiasing. :x :evil:
DrHu

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by DrHu »

I don't believe that any Linux OS file manager uses vector fonts, which would give nice scaled text, like a PDF file would..
https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread. ... 12-1-GNOME
--you can try playing around with the options or pick alternative fonts (freetype-freeworld..)

http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/better-f ... -with.html
--you've already tried the infinality program

Ubuntu fonts available..
http://font.ubuntu.com/about/

http://www.webupd8.org/2013/06/better-f ... -with.html
--you've already tried the infinality program

Arch info on fonts..
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.psp/Font_configuration
  • Disable bitmap fonts
    To disable bitmap fonts (which are sometimes used as fallbacks for missing fonts, causing text to be rendered pixelated), use 70-no-bitmaps.conf (which is not placed by fontconfig by default):
    ...
    Applications without fontconfig support
    Some applications like URxvt will ignore fontconfig settings. This is very apparent when using the infinality patches which are heavily reliant on proper configuration. You can work around this by using ~/.Xresources, but it is not nearly as flexible as fontconfig. Example (see #Fontconfig configuration for explanations of the options):
--you would have to check if that is useful or detrimental to you..
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

@DrHu, the problem is that Linux Mint always ignores the sub-pixel antialiasing settings and renders in grayscale. That is the problem, not the fonts or infinality (they are installed and work great).
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Happy Victory Day 9-th of may!
Image


P.S. Unfortunately, I still didn't overcome the grayscale smoothing problem. (See the first post). :(
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Is it possible, that GTK in Linux Mint 17 is compiled without sub-pixel support? How to check it?
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

Lyrics about my problem:
Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone,
Help!
:lol:
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

To be or not to be? That is the question!
johnfound

Re: Linux Mint 17 XFCE has only grayscale font smoothing.

Post by johnfound »

It is a great forum, great community, where I got invaluable help in solving problems and tuning Linux Mint. :idea:
I will cry sadly and snivel when I leave this hospitable place. :cry: :cry: :cry:
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