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apt-get upgrade grows fonts

Graphical Environments, Managers, Multimedia & Desktop questions.
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EMD
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apt-get upgrade grows fonts

#1 Post by EMD »

On my Lenny system, I just ran an apt-get dist-upgrade, which upgraded xserver-xorg. After restarting X, all of my fonts were 20 percent larger (on both KDE and IceWM).

Reconfiguring all of my fonts was a PITA, but it's for the best. (The Etch fonts were too small).

Does anyone know why the font sizes change?
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roseway
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#2 Post by roseway »

It's not the fonts which have changed, but the DPI value of the screen. If you type

xdpyinfo | grep resol

you will see what the current DPI value is. For most people 96 x 96 is the optimum value for font quality.
Eric

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EMD
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#3 Post by EMD »

Thanks!

Is there an easy way to change that?

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jackass
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#4 Post by jackass »

Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc (as root) and scroll down until you see: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp

Change to: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp -dpi 96

Then reboot.
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EMD
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#5 Post by EMD »

Thanks. I suspect that the xserver-xorg upgrade changed my resolution to 96 x 96, but I'd like to reduce the size of the fonts, so what would be a good value to pick? 80 x 80?

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#6 Post by IsaacKuo »

Another standard dpi would be 72dpi (used on Macs since the original).
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#7 Post by EMD »

IsaacKuo wrote:Another standard dpi would be 72dpi (used on Macs since the original).
I've been playing around and I just set it at 72 dpi! I love it!

EDIT: Is there any particular reason for choosing multiples of 12? (i.e. 12*6=72 and 12*8=96)

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#8 Post by sleepyEDB »

I (and my eyes) thank you for the tip! :)


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#9 Post by Bulkley »

jackass wrote:Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc (as root) and scroll down until you see: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp

Change to: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp -dpi 96

Then reboot.
For those of us without kde, where else would we do that?

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#10 Post by jackass »

Bulkley wrote:
jackass wrote:Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc (as root) and scroll down until you see: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp

Change to: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp -dpi 96

Then reboot.
For those of us without kde, where else would we do that?
I don't know the answer for Gnome or the other WMs. Sorry.
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#11 Post by Bulkley »

I found this site http://www.mikeyp.com/weblog/linux. Scroll down to Improving Debian/Ubuntu Fonts. I've been playing with his instructions but I'm not sure it's changing anything.

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#12 Post by IsaacKuo »

One method of adjusting the dpi which doesn't depend on the desktop environment is xorg.conf.

In the Monitor section of xorg.conf, you can specify the display size in millimeters. For example:

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Nokia 445Xi"
Option "DPMS"
HorizSync 28-99
VertRefresh 59-60
DisplaySize 400 300
...

So, what if you want 72dpi? Then, you take your screen resolution in pixels, and multiply it by 25.4/72. This gives you the screen size in millimeters.

For example, with a resolution of 1024x768, you'd have

1024*25.4/72 = 361.24
768*25.4/72 = 270.93

The numbers don't have to be exact, so the corresponding line could be:

DisplaySize 360 270
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#13 Post by Bulkley »

When I do xdpyinfo | grep resol the result is 85 x85. Nothing I do changes this. So, what is setting it? Where do I look?

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#14 Post by Skytramp »

Bulkley wrote:
jackass wrote:Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc (as root) and scroll down until you see: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp

Change to: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp -dpi 96

Then reboot.
For those of us without kde, where else would we do that?
On Etch+Gnome: Desktop>Preferences>Font>Details>Resolution:...dots per inch

On Lenny+Gnome: System>Preferences>Appearance>Fonts>Details>Resolution:...dots per inch

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#15 Post by hafilip84 »

Skytramp wrote:
Bulkley wrote:
jackass wrote:Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc (as root) and scroll down until you see: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp

Change to: ServerArgsLocal=-nolisten tcp -dpi 96

Then reboot.
For those of us without kde, where else would we do that?
On Etch+Gnome: Desktop>Preferences>Font>Details>Resolution:...dots per inch

On Lenny+Gnome: System>Preferences>Appearance>Fonts>Details>Resolution:...dots per inch
Hmmm... But where are config files?
I'm sorry for my language mistakes. I'm not a native speaker at all...

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#16 Post by Telemachus »

My solution for openbox: Edit /etc/X11/xinit/xserverrc so that the first line reads:
exec /usr/bin/X11/X -dpi 84 -nolisten tcp
(The only part you should have to change is that you add "-dpi" and your number of choice.)

For people without heavier window managers, this may be the simplest answer. Obviously, you can choose your own preferred value. The industry recommended number seems to be 96, but I find that way too big.

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#17 Post by Lou »

I put this line at the end of my .bashrc:

alias startx='startx -- -dpi 85'

play with the dpi number so you get what you want, this works for all my window managers.

PS: to enable it, either get out of the X and get back in, or reboot, or close the terminal and launch it again, i can't remember, but it's one of those, or all. I'm showing my age :)
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#18 Post by Bulkley »

Okay, here's a puzzle for you all to think about. When I do xdpyinfo | grep -B1 dot the result is

Code: Select all

dimensions:    1024x768 pixels (306x230 millimeters)
  resolution:    85x85 dots per inch
Nothing that I do changes that.

So, as an experiment I removed xorg.conf! Yes, my machine is running without xorg.conf. Yet, it is behaving exactly as it did with xorg.conf. It is as if the important parts are stored somewhere else. The machine has to be reading the instructions somewhere. Does anyone know how it does this? :?: :?: :?:

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#19 Post by Lou »

I don't know, is this AFTER you rebooted?
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#20 Post by Bulkley »

Lou wrote:I don't know, is this AFTER you rebooted?
Yes. I really don't have an xorg.conf, at least not by that name, yet the machine is behaving like it did before I removed it. Very strange. BTW, I'm running Lenny.

Lou, try removing xorg.conf (save a backup first) just to see if it works on yours. My machine can't be the only one.

Do you think that Xorg has changed its requirements?

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