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Fonts

The Preference application Fonts lets you set the system fonts and the size of the font caches. There are three types of system fonts: Plain, bold and fixed-spaced. Individual fonts have additional pop-ups that let you choose among style options available for that font. You can set the size, from 9 to 12 points, with the Size popup.

You can change the default fonts for practical purposes, such as making text on buttons easier to read, or for purely aesthetic reasons such as giving your desktop more character.

Zeta comes with many different fonts, and each individual font is comprised of different characteristics and such as size and style. The size of a font is measured in points. For most applications, a font size of 12 points is large enough for normal viewing while a size of 8 points and under is too small. If you have a high-resolution display, for example, 1280x1024 pixels, you may want to increase the size of the fonts to make them easier to read on the display.

If you after making a change to the fonts, want to revert to the default fonts that Zeta had when it was first installed, click the Defaults button in the Fonts preferences.

Click the Cache tab to set the size of your font caches:


Screen font cache size: Determines how much RAM is allocated to hold font bitmaps. A large cache means faster screen redraws, and less RAM available for applications.

Printing font cache size: Determines how much RAM is allocated to printer fonts. A large cache means faster printing, but less RAM available for applications. You need a Printer Font Cache only if you print to HP LaserJet-compatible printers.


Adding Fonts

Zeta includes a TrueType font renderer, which displays TrueType fonts in almost any size. The standard set of TrueType fonts included with Zeta is stored in /boot/beos/etc/fonts/ttfonts. These are the default system fonts; you should not change them.

You can purchase or download additional TrueType fonts in Windows (not Machintosh) format and add tem to Zeta:


Place the fonts in the /boot/home/config/fonts/ttfonts folder.


To tell Zeta to look at your new fonts, click the Rescan button in the Fonts window. Or just reboot; the fonts are automatically rescanned when you start up Zeta.

To add PostScript fonts, make a new psfonts folder in /boot/home/config/fonts, and put your fonts there. Rescan or reboot, as you would for TrueType fonts.

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