Mailing List Archive: Bespoke terminal font

Bespoke terminal font

Jun 5, 2023, 8:35 AM

Post #1 of 18 (311 views)

Hello list,

I'm still trying to find a terminal font (not an X font) to suit my
deteriorating sight. Every terminal font I've found includes either a dot in
the centre of the /zero/ character or a diagonal bar across it. Either of
these makes a zero resemble an eight: 0, 8. I often need a magnifying glass to
see which it is. I suppose it's meant to distinguish a zero from a capital o:
0, O, but this can be handled better in moderate to large font sizes such as I
use, by sloping the shoulders of the zero to resemble those used in the
publishing trade.

I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much easier to
Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font like it. Or is there a
tool I can use to adjust the Terminus Font I use in my VTs? All the font
editors I've seen are for GUI use.

There was a half-suitable utility years ago, whose name I've forgotten, which
might well be suitable if it could handle two-byte characters.

Is there either a console font like what I've described, or a font editor that
would allow me to make my own?

--
Regards,
Peter.

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

grant.b.edwards at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 8:51 AM

Post #2 of 18 (311 views)

On 2023-06-05, Peter Humphrey <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

> I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much
> easier to Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font
> like it.

This package claims to be able to generate console fonts (.psfu) from
TrueType fonts (.ttf) such as DejaVu mono:

https://slackware.uk/~urchlay/repos/ttf-console-fonts/about/

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

markknecht at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 8:54 AM

Post #3 of 18 (311 views)

On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 8:36?AM Peter Humphrey <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hello list,
>
> I'm still trying to find a terminal font (not an X font) to suit my
> deteriorating sight. Every terminal font I've found includes either a dot
in
> the centre of the /zero/ character or a diagonal bar across it. Either of
> these makes a zero resemble an eight: 0, 8. I often need a magnifying
glass to
> see which it is. I suppose it's meant to distinguish a zero from a
capital o:
> 0, O, but this can be handled better in moderate to large font sizes such
as I
> use, by sloping the shoulders of the zero to resemble those used in the
> publishing trade.
>
> I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much
easier to
> Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font like it. Or is
there a
> tool I can use to adjust the Terminus Font I use in my VTs? All the font
> editors I've seen are for GUI use.
>
> There was a half-suitable utility years ago, whose name I've forgotten,
which
> might well be suitable if it could handle two-byte characters.
>
> Is there either a console font like what I've described, or a font editor
that
> would allow me to make my own?
>
> --
> Regards,
> Peter.
>

There's a terminal font called 'hack' that doesn't have anything inside the
zero.

No idea whether it addresses any other issues.

Sorry about the eyesight issues. I'm starting to deal with a bit of that
myself.

Good luck,
Mark

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

matt at connell

Jun 5, 2023, 9:42 AM

Post #4 of 18 (311 views)

On Mon, 2023-06-05 at 08:54 -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
> There's a terminal font called 'hack' that doesn't have anything
> inside the zero.

Is this the right one?

https://github.com/source-foundry/Hack

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

markknecht at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 10:31 AM

Post #5 of 18 (311 views)

On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 9:43?AM Matt Connell <matt@connell.tech> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 2023-06-05 at 08:54 -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
> > There's a terminal font called 'hack' that doesn't have anything
> > inside the zero.
>
> Is this the right one?
>
> https://github.com/source-foundry/Hack

Bummer. Looks like he might have changed it.

I'm starting to have old-person type eye problems and
found this article:

https://itsfoss.com/fonts-linux-terminal/

which from the example has nothing inside the zero,
but the picture on the github page looks like it does.

Mark

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

markknecht at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 10:36 AM

Post #6 of 18 (311 views)

On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 10:31?AM Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 9:43?AM Matt Connell <matt@connell.tech> wrote:
> >
> > On Mon, 2023-06-05 at 08:54 -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
> > > There's a terminal font called 'hack' that doesn't have anything
> > > inside the zero.
> >
> > Is this the right one?
> >
> > https://github.com/source-foundry/Hack
>
> Bummer. Looks like he might have changed it.
>
> I'm starting to have old-person type eye problems and
> found this article:
>
> https://itsfoss.com/fonts-linux-terminal/
>
> which from the example has nothing inside the zero,
> but the picture on the github page looks like it does.
>
> Mark

As for other fonts to explore AI suggests:

Droid Sans Mono
Inconsolata
Liberation Mono

I see some example pages that look ok but
I don't have time to explore and test.

HTH,
Mark
Source Code Pro

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

futurehypoon at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 10:53 AM

Post #7 of 18 (311 views)

I use either Droid Sans Mono or Inconsolata (one is a fallback for
unsupported glyphs in the other, but I forget which one's which), and I
have nothing inside my zeros. Zero is distinguished by having flattened /
vertical sides, while the capital letter 'O' is rounded.

On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 1:37?PM Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 10:31?AM Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 9:43?AM Matt Connell <matt@connell.tech> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Mon, 2023-06-05 at 08:54 -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
> > > > There's a terminal font called 'hack' that doesn't have anything
> > > > inside the zero.
> > >
> > > Is this the right one?
> > >
> > > https://github.com/source-foundry/Hack
> >
> > Bummer. Looks like he might have changed it.
> >
> > I'm starting to have old-person type eye problems and
> > found this article:
> >
> > https://itsfoss.com/fonts-linux-terminal/
> >
> > which from the example has nothing inside the zero,
> > but the picture on the github page looks like it does.
> >
> > Mark
>
>
> As for other fonts to explore AI suggests:
>
> Droid Sans Mono
> Inconsolata
> Liberation Mono
>
> I see some example pages that look ok but
> I don't have time to explore and test.
>
> HTH,
> Mark
> Source Code Pro
>

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

matt at connell

Jun 5, 2023, 12:18 PM

Post #8 of 18 (311 views)

On Mon, 2023-06-05 at 10:31 -0700, Mark Knecht wrote:
> Bummer. Looks like he might have changed it.

Unfortunately I'm no further help in that case. Visually I live and
die by the slashed zero, using Terminus, which itself is a replacement
for the very old-fashioned ProFont.

Re: Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

Jun 5, 2023, 5:19 PM

Post #9 of 18 (311 views)

On Monday, 5 June 2023 16:51:51 BST Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2023-06-05, Peter Humphrey <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
> > I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much
> > easier to Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font
> > like it.
>
> This package claims to be able to generate console fonts (.psfu) from
> TrueType fonts (.ttf) such as DejaVu mono:
>
> https://slackware.uk/~urchlay/repos/ttf-console-fonts/about/

Thanks Grant; that looks interesting. I'll have a look at it in the morning.

--
Regards,
Peter.

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

rosenbaumd181 at gmail

Jun 5, 2023, 8:59 PM

Post #10 of 18 (301 views)

Thank u

Dave

On Mon, Jun 5, 2023, 11:36 AM Peter Humphrey <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

> Hello list,
>
> I'm still trying to find a terminal font (not an X font) to suit my
> deteriorating sight. Every terminal font I've found includes either a dot
> in
> the centre of the /zero/ character or a diagonal bar across it. Either of
> these makes a zero resemble an eight: 0, 8. I often need a magnifying
> glass to
> see which it is. I suppose it's meant to distinguish a zero from a capital
> o:
> 0, O, but this can be handled better in moderate to large font sizes such
> as I
> use, by sloping the shoulders of the zero to resemble those used in the
> publishing trade.
>
> I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much easier
> to
> Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font like it. Or is
> there a
> tool I can use to adjust the Terminus Font I use in my VTs? All the font
> editors I've seen are for GUI use.
>
> There was a half-suitable utility years ago, whose name I've forgotten,
> which
> might well be suitable if it could handle two-byte characters.
>
> Is there either a console font like what I've described, or a font editor
> that
> would allow me to make my own?
>
> --
> Regards,
> Peter.
>
>
>
>
>

Re: Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

rainer.woitok at gmail

Jun 6, 2023, 7:02 AM

Post #11 of 18 (290 views)

Grant,

On Monday, 5 June 2023 16:51:51 BST you wrote:

> ...
> This package claims to be able to generate console fonts (.psfu) from
> TrueType fonts (.ttf) such as DejaVu mono:
>
> https://slackware.uk/~urchlay/repos/ttf-console-fonts/about/

This URL mentions three requirements:

- bdf2psf
- otf2bdf
- psftools

from which only the first (app-text/bdf2psf) seems to be available in
the Gentoo mirror :-(

Sincerely,
Rainer

Re: Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

matt at connell

Jun 6, 2023, 7:31 AM

Post #12 of 18 (290 views)

On Tue, 2023-06-06 at 16:02 +0200, Dr Rainer Woitok wrote:
> This URL mentions three requirements:
>
> - bdf2psf
> - otf2bdf
> - psftools
>
> from which only the first (app-text/bdf2psf) seems to be available in
> the Gentoo mirror :-(

dev-util/otf2bdf is available in the 4nykey repository.

media-gfx/psftools is in the gentoo repository as far as I can see.

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

grant.b.edwards at gmail

Jun 6, 2023, 7:31 AM

Post #13 of 18 (290 views)

On 2023-06-06, Dr Rainer Woitok <rainer.woitok@gmail.com> wrote:
>> ...
>> This package claims to be able to generate console fonts (.psfu) from
>> TrueType fonts (.ttf) such as DejaVu mono:
>>
>> https://slackware.uk/~urchlay/repos/ttf-console-fonts/about/
>
> This URL mentions three requirements:
>
> - bdf2psf
> - otf2bdf
> - psftools
>
> from which only the first (app-text/bdf2psf) seems to be available in
> the Gentoo mirror :-(

https://packages.gentoo.org/packages/media-gfx/psftools

https://gpo.zugaina.org/dev-util/otf2bdf

Re: Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

Jun 7, 2023, 7:14 AM

Post #14 of 18 (289 views)

On Monday, 5 June 2023 16:51:51 BST Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2023-06-05, Peter Humphrey <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
> > I use DejaVu mono in KDE Plasma, which does not do this and is much
> > easier to Read with the plain 0. I'd like to find a terminal font
> > like it.
>
> This package claims to be able to generate console fonts (.psfu) from
> TrueType fonts (.ttf) such as DejaVu mono:
>
> https://slackware.uk/~urchlay/repos/ttf-console-fonts/about/

That's exactly what I needed - thank you Grant. At least, I think it is.

Now, having created a deja.psf.gz from DejaVuSansMono, and put it in /usr/
local/share, I've set the font to /usr/local/share/deja and restarted
consolefont. I get an error: "setfont.c:58 do_loadfont: Bad character height
37".

Changing the point size specified to otf2bdf (and rerunning bdf2psf) makes no
difference.

Next, I tried doing the same thing to Liberation.Mono-Regular, but bdf2psf
complained "the width is not integer number." I had taken care to copy the
previous bdf2psf command, which appeared to have succeeded, simply
substituting the font name.

Has anyone another clue for me? I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

--
Regards,
Peter.

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

Jun 7, 2023, 7:15 AM

Post #15 of 18 (289 views)

On Monday, 5 June 2023 18:53:22 BST Mitch D. wrote:

> > As for other fonts to explore AI suggests:
> >
> > Droid Sans Mono
> > Inconsolata
> > Liberation Mono

Those first two have the problem I find troublesome. See my other post for the
third.

Thanks anyway.

--
Regards,
Peter.

Re: Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

rainer.woitok at gmail

Jun 7, 2023, 8:52 AM

Post #16 of 18 (289 views)

Matt,

On Tuesday, 2023-06-06 10:31:01 -0400, you wrote:

> ...
> dev-util/otf2bdf is available in the 4nykey repository.

Thanks for the pointer. And also thanks to Grant for providing another
pointer.

> media-gfx/psftools is in the gentoo repository as far as I can see.

You are perfectly right -- I just managed to mistype "psftools" in my
query :-/

Sincerely,
Rainer

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

waltdnes at waltdnes

Jun 8, 2023, 7:22 AM

Post #17 of 18 (289 views)

On Mon, Jun 05, 2023 at 04:35:41PM +0100, Peter Humphrey wrote
> Hello list,
>
> I'm still trying to find a terminal font (not an X font) to suit my
> deteriorating sight. Every terminal font I've found includes either
> a dot in the centre of the /zero/ character or a diagonal bar across
> it. Either of these makes a zero resemble an eight: 0, 8. I often
> need a magnifying glass to see which it is. I suppose it's meant to
> distinguish a zero from a capital o: 0, O, but this can be handled
> better in moderate to large font sizes such as I use, by sloping the
> shoulders of the zero to resemble those used in the publishing trade.

Set...

consolefont="solar24x32"

...in /etc/conf.d/consolefont

It is Y-U-U-U-G-E, coming in at 80 columns by 33 rows on my 1920x1080
text console. And no dot in the centre. But you may have problems
distinguishing zero from O and o. <G>

--
I've seen things, you people wouldn't believe; Gopher, Netscape with
frames, the first Browser Wars. Searching for pages with AltaVista,
pop-up windows self-replicating, trying to uninstall RealPlayer. All
those moments, will be lost in time like tears in rain... time to die.

Re: Bespoke terminal font [ In reply to ]

Jun 8, 2023, 9:11 AM

Post #18 of 18 (289 views)

On Thursday, 8 June 2023 15:22:40 BST Walter Dnes wrote:

> Set...
>
> consolefont="solar24x32"
>
> ...in /etc/conf.d/consolefont
>
> It is Y-U-U-U-G-E, coming in at 80 columns by 33 rows on my 1920x1080
> text console. And no dot in the centre. But you may have problems
> distinguishing zero from O and o. <G>

:) That's a bit too big even for me!

That pointed me to media-fonts/solarize-0_pre20140818. See that date! I
thought I'd give it a go though.

--
Regards,
Peter.