In my system applications, using Xaw3d (not Xaw3dXft), athena, motif or other toolkits, relying on core x fonts, have xresource files in "/usr/share/X11/app-defaults", which set helvetica font everywhere. However, this font seems to be not allowed for distribution (unless you are mac or win), and for free linux - need to be bought at www.linotype.com. Possible solutions: - either encorage their maintainers to move to any other sans-based fonts (there is enough wide choice, like droid, which is available as X11 core font). - enable global emerge post-inst hook (also using /etc/portage/bashrc), which will check "/usr/share/X11/app-defaults" for regexp, matching to some helvetica font selection string, and replace to e.g., droid, which is at least available to simply install, if not preinstalled. Of course, this, using gentoo/arch, typically would configure that in user level, but preparing default config would be also great. For me it tries to use very big Comic Sans font, what imho, is just ugly, unless it gets antialiasing. For now i have this (i greped from higher level, to see all afected X11 configs): $ grep -nRF -H -e helvetica /usr/share/X11 | cut -d':' -f1 | sort | uniq /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/DClock /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/Mwm /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XDvi /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-common /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-greek /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-jisx6002 /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-jisx6004 /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-korean /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-slovene /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XVkbd-turkish /usr/share/X11/xkb/geometry/macintosh /usr/share/X11/xkb/geometry/sgi_vndr/indigo /usr/share/X11/xkb/geometry/sgi_vndr/indy /usr/share/X11/xkb/geometry/sgi_vndr/O2
Oh, i'm not sure, that any sans-based font is good. Since core font system doesn't have antialiasing, it would be better to have bitmaped or any those, designed for use without antialiasing. I remember old time of X11R6 and old apps, which did not have antialiasing... probably, fixed/terminus would be good for core fonts (unless there are some non-fixed bitmap fonts)
(In reply to Nikita Zlobin from comment #0) > However, this font seems to be not allowed for distribution (unless you > are mac or win), and for free linux - need to be bought at www.linotype.com. This is not true. media-fonts/font-adobe-* are distributed under an MIT-like license. "Adobe Systems, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation have jointly donated 5 families of fonts (Courier, Times, Helvetica, New Century Schoolbook, and Symbol) in a variety of sizes, styles and weights." [1] https://www.x.org/wiki/X11R3/
Thanks, i did not know, that it is in gentoo portage tree. I got adobe-font, while searched for and installed any other x11 bitmap fonts, which could work better for where core fonts are still used. I have xterm, which is such utility (too lazy to correctly configure tmux with simpleterm, yet it allowes to disable embedded line graphics, what i used to get rounded corners, using edited font with rounded corners, copied in place of square.
