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2. The XF86Config File The first place to look when seeking to cure font problems is the XF86Config file. (/usr/X11/lib/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/XF86Config are the usual locations.) If you haven't guessed already, the most important part of this file relating to fonts is the FontPath. Before we get into that, this would be a good time to check the other parts of your X configuration. Bad monitor settings can be even more of a headache than bad fonts, so make sure your refresh rate is as high as your monitor can handle (85 Hz is great, 75 Hz is OK, 60 Hz is painful.) 2.1 Setting The FontPath Use your favorite text editor and edit XF86Config. Near the top of the file, you should see something like this: FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/" The FontPath tells X where to find the fonts it uses to render text on your display. Order is important -- when an X application asks X to render some text, the X server usually has some leeway to choose the font that is used. The X server then goes through the FontPath and grabs the first font it sees that matches the X client's criteria, and then renders. The default FontPath typically puts 75dpi fonts before the 100dpi fonts. If you have a high resolution display, this means very tiny fonts. The first tweak you'll use is to switch the 75dpi & 100dpi FontPath lines. FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/" Next, specify that you prefer to use unscaled bitmap fonts. If you've ever used Netscape or any other program that displays titles using big fonts, you'll notice that those fonts are pixelized. This is very ugly and needs to be fixed. So add :unscaled to the ends of the misc, 100dpi & 75dpi fonts. You can even use both unscaled and scaled fonts if you want, just put the unscaled FontPath lines first to tell X you prefer unscaled fonts if possible. FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi" After making these changes, restart X. Doesn't the desktop look better already?

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