FW 5.3.x - 5.7.x Fonts Hack

[NiLuJe]

@richy1989: Huh. Good to know it works, I thought I'd tried (and failed) to squish Caecilia Condensed from my Touch's Aa menu .

[NiLuJe]

Released 0.4.N.

Besides the usual binaries update, it now handles USE_ALT_FONTS itself and in a slightly smarter way, to avoid potential fun issues after full official updates.

For that reason alone, this is a strongly recommended update.

And to anyone using USE_ALT_FONTS: Disable it before doing an official update!

(And no, that's not just a hint to avoid potential issue, I did manage to lock up my PW after the 5.3.8 update. Fortunately, it stalled on the third boot (who knows why it worked the first two times...), so I already had SSH up & running).

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the FT update might bring significant rendering changes for anything using the autohinter (mainly the autohint & light FT overrides).

[NiLuJe]

... And 0.5.N .

Which properly tackles the 'official full updates' thing by using our own dedicated fonts directory. The doc has been updated appropriately.

There's also a fresh FreeType update, which fixes the clipping of synthetically emboldened fonts, which is nice for those using a custom font mising its bold style(s) .

So, again, a recommended update, and I'd also recommend everyone to run the Fonts -> Fonts Hack Behavior > * Migrate your fonts directory * KUAL button after the update to migrate to the dedicated fonts directory .

[hfpop]

NiLuJe, are you certain that everything is all right with version 0.5.N? As I understand, after the migration, the folder /mnt/us/font will be removed (indeed, it is), and there will be no need for the file /mnt/us/USE_ALT_FONTS. I removed the file, and rebooted the Kindle. Afterwards, the file is still there. Is this intended? I ask, because my feeling was that user fonts are dealt by linkfonts internally.

Thank you for clarifying all these.

[NiLuJe]

@hfpop: There are two different aspects:

* v0.4.N handle USE_ALT_FONTS in a "smart" way: it's created at boot, and removed at shutdown/update, so that you don't end up with an USE_ALT_FONTS file after an official update. (It used to be created by the install process).

* v0.5.N added the migration of the fonts folder to linkfonts/fonts (which has been a valid & supported folder since v0.1.N, FWIW). And the doc recommends using this folder, so you don't end up with X choking on the cache regen at boot after an official update leaves you without a decent FreeType library . [Since the folder is hack-specific, and after a full update, we lose our custom fontconfig bit asking the system to take it into account, whereas fonts would still be parsed]

In any case, we still need the USE_ALT_FONTS file to ask the framework to make the new fonts easily accessible in the Aa menu .


TL;DR: Yep, what you're describing is the expected behavior .

[hfpop]

NiLuJe, thank you for these explanatory details.

[NiLuJe]

Monthly updates .

Fonts v0.6.N:
* Updated binaries.

[dereker]

Can I use this font hack on a pw2? Is it safe?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by dereker

Can I use this font hack on a pw2? Is it safe?

No, because we still don't know if this particular hack is safe.

NiLuJe needs a device to test it and give us his go. He has ordered a PW2 which should arrive this week so we will know soon.

[Yolina]

I think now is probably a good time for the devs to post again the links for donations that should actually be in a sticky IMHO. Not only do they spend a fair amount of time making things work, it's also much easier when they have the actual devices to test on.

[NiLuJe]

Currently experimenting with this on the PW2.

So far, appears not to blow up horribly, so that's that, at least. Getting anything to show up in the Aa menu is possibly doable, but potentially way more trouble than I'm willing to go through.

On the good news front, font overrides work, and since Caecilia Condensed is useless with a custom FreeType, that's the perfect target for such a thing.

I'll update the snapshots in a while, but the doc updates will have to wait, so the strong warning still applies, and I'll urge anyone even remotely looking to try this to *thoroughly* read the first post, be fairly proficient in Kindle twiddling, absolutely have an SSH shell open at all times during setup, be very wary of reboots, and, as a bonus, be familiar with the specifics of this Hack on a safer device (ideally, a Touch, barring that, a PW1).

TL;DR: Here be dragons.

----

As I said, I'm not terribly inclined in digging further into the whole Aa menu thing (and I'm a bit short on time, which doesn't help), so if anyone has any insights into that, I'm all ears .

[levante]

Uff, before your last post I installed the hack (kindle-linkss-0.15.N-r10182.tar.xz), restart several times with no problems... and no results.

Desinstalled and awaiting.

[NiLuJe]

@levante: Won't change much. Currently, the only way to actually use different fonts is via the Fonts Override feature (found in the relevant KUAL menu).

If you're expecting shiny bloated Aa menus, then you're SOL .

[NiLuJe]

There we go. Updated snapshots .

Obligatory screenshots of Crimson replacing Caecilia Condensed ^^.

[mabelsound]

Thanks for working on this!