[SOLVED with thanks] Uninstalling fonts

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timbow
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[SOLVED with thanks] Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

xenopeek wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:25 pm [...]. It adds it to the hidden fonts directory in your home directory so if needed you can easily remove it again and it doesn't affect other user accounts on the same system.
So to uninstall a font you can just delete the file? Okay.
Where are these font files? I don't have a hidden .fonts directory in Home. I can't find any directory called .fonts and if I search for a specific font name say 'jamrul' that I would delete I don't find that either.
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Moem
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by Moem »

Mod note:
Split this off from an existing topic. Please do not add your own questions to existing topics; start a new one instead. Thanks!
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If your issue is solved, kindly indicate that by editing the first post in the topic, and adding [SOLVED] to the title. Thanks!
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by catweazel »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:25 am So to uninstall a font you can just delete the file? Okay.
Yes, if you want to bork your system. I assume you're using Cinnamon. See this: viewtopic.php?t=259109
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

catweazel wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:51 am Yes, if you want to bork your system... See this: viewtopic.php?t=259109
Ha Ha! Yes, I already borked my laptop trying to sort out fonts with a font manager app so I was questioning the unlikely advice given in a thread we seem to have been detached from. Thanks for that topic link, I had read that along with a few others. As with everything round here there is a lot of unreliable and out of date advice but I will take that as recommended.

I just spent 5 mins going through software manager removing fonts. doesn't seem to have made much difference. Synaptic shows loads more so I will go through them next. After that I will try the copy-paste into the terminal of commands I don't fully understand, but I hate doing that.
Last edited by timbow on Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by AZgl1800 »

when I asked that question,
I got a very good answer and it works

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=275502#p1511388
LM21.3 Cinnamon ASUS FX705GM | Donate to Mint https://www.patreon.com/linux_mint
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timbow
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

I can report that using Software Manager and Synaptic to uninstall fonts is not as reliable as you might expect. I went through both applications removing all the indian, thai, burmese, arabic etc fonts then tested Libre Office Draw and Inkscape after a reboot and the massive list of unwanted international fonts is still there in the drop-down font selector in both programs. The fonts themselves seem to be gone - if you choose the font you get a generic substituted sans serif.

I'll try the command line next.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

My dropdown font selector in LOffice and inkscape is still full of international fonts. I think some have gone. I wonder if the package managers failed to purge the configs for the fonts they deleted.

This is not a trivial problem. If you don't have a reasonably handy way of viewing, installing and deleting fonts your computer is useless for simple graphic design tasks. What does the rest of the world do?
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by catweazel »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:06 am This is not a trivial problem. If you don't have a reasonably handy way of viewing, installing and deleting fonts your computer is useless for simple graphic design tasks. What does the rest of the world do?
@AZgl1500 gave you a link directly to the instructions to follow.

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get -y --purge autoremove fonts-beng fonts-beng-extra fonts-deva fonts-droid fonts-gubbi fonts-gujr fonts-gujr-extra fonts-guru fonts-guru-extra fonts-kacst fonts-kacst-one fonts-kalapi fonts-khmeros-core fonts-knda fonts-lao fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-lohit-beng-assamese fonts-lohit-beng-bengali fonts-lohit-deva fonts-lohit-gujr fonts-lohit-guru fonts-lohit-knda fonts-lohit-mlym fonts-lohit-orya fonts-lohit-taml fonts-lohit-taml-classical fonts-lohit-telu fonts-nakula fonts-nanum fonts-navilu fonts-noto-unhinted fonts-orya-extra fonts-pagul fonts-sahadeva fonts-samyak-deva fonts-samyak-gujr fonts-samyak-mlym fonts-samyak-taml fonts-sarai fonts-smc fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-sil-padauk fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-taml fonts-telu fonts-telu-extra fonts-thai-tlwg fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-tlwg-garuda-ttf fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-tlwg-kinnari-ttf fonts-tlwg-laksaman fonts-tlwg-laksaman-ttf fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-tlwg-loma-ttf fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-tlwg-mono-ttf fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-tlwg-norasi-ttf fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-tlwg-purisa-ttf fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-sawasdee-ttf fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-tlwg-typewriter-ttf fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-tlwg-typist-ttf fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-tlwg-typo-ttf fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-tlwg-umpush-ttf fonts-tlwg-waree fonts-tlwg-waree-ttf fonts-wqy-microhei fonts-wqy-zenhei ttf-indic-fonts-core ttf-punjabi-fonts ttf-wqy-microhei

sudo apt-get --purge autoremove fonts-kacst fonts-kacst-one fonts-khmeros-core fonts-lao fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-nanum fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-sil-padauk fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-tlwg-waree ttf-indic-fonts-core ttf-punjabi-fonts ttf-wqy-microhei
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

Yes thanks, I had done that in the terminal.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by Hoser Rob »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:11 am
catweazel wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:51 am Yes, if you want to bork your system... See this: viewtopic.php?t=259109
Ha Ha! Yes, I already borked my laptop trying to sort out fonts with a font manager app ...
If you install incompatible 3rd paty fonts ... which is an issue Linux newbies should be aware of ... and then use a 3rd party font manager which is quite possibly also incompatible, you're going to run into trouble.

Beginners often seem to have heard that with Linux you can anything you want. That is ONLY true in that the OS will happily let you do anything if you have the right permissions. It doesn't mean that it will work, it may completelyt break the OS. Linux assumes that if you have a sudo or (esp.) root password that you know exactly what you're doing. In some ways Linux in more restrictive than WIndows.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by Moem »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:30 am Yes thanks, I had done that in the terminal.
Did that fix the issue?
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If your issue is solved, kindly indicate that by editing the first post in the topic, and adding [SOLVED] to the title. Thanks!
gm10

Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by gm10 »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:06 am My dropdown font selector in LOffice and inkscape is still full of international fonts. I think some have gone. I wonder if the package managers failed to purge the configs for the fonts they deleted.
If it helps, this is my postinstall script for removing fonts I don't need on LM19. Definitely nothing I don't want left in LibreOffice after this:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
if [ $EUID != 0 ]
  then echo 'sudo me!'
  exit
fi

echo Purging unnecessary font packages...
apt purge fonts-indic fonts-deva fonts-orya fonts-knda fonts-taml fonts-telu fonts-guru fonts-mlym fonts-beng fonts-tlwg-laksaman fonts-lao fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-thai-tlwg fonts-gubbi ttf-ancient-fonts-symbola fonts-beng-extra fonts-tlwg-purisa-ttf fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-guru-extra fonts-tlwg-typewriter-ttf fonts-samyak-deva fonts-telu-extra fonts-smc fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-deva-extra fonts-smc-karumbi fonts-tlwg-norasi-ttf fonts-kalapi fonts-wqy-microhei fonts-noto-cjk fonts-navilu fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-smc-chilanka fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-pagul fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-kacst-one fonts-smc-meera fonts-smc-raghumalayalamsans fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-sahadeva fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-smc-keraleeyam fonts-lohit-deva fonts-smc-suruma fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-tlwg-kinnari-ttf fonts-samyak-taml fonts-tlwg-waree fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-lohit-orya fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-lohit-knda fonts-smc-rachana fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-smc-manjari fonts-gujr fonts-smc-uroob fonts-samyak-gujr fonts-tlwg-waree-ttf fonts-nakula fonts-lohit-beng-bengali fonts-tlwg-garuda-ttf fonts-orya-extra fonts-tlwg-sawasdee-ttf fonts-lohit-taml fonts-tlwg-typo-ttf fonts-samyak-mlym fonts-tlwg-loma-ttf fonts-khmeros-core fonts-smc-dyuthi fonts-lohit-telu fonts-tlwg-mono-ttf fonts-kacst fonts-gujr-extra fonts-tlwg-typist-ttf fonts-sil-padauk fonts-smc-anjalioldlipi fonts-lohit-beng-assamese fonts-lohit-gujr fonts-lohit-guru fonts-tlwg-umpush-ttf fonts-tlwg-laksaman-ttf fonts-lohit-mlym fonts-lohit-taml-classical

echo Removing unnecessary Noto fonts...
cd /usr/share/fonts/truetype/noto
mv NotoColorEmoji.ttf NotoSans-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSans-Bold.ttf NotoSansDisplay-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Bold.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Italic.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Regular.ttf NotoSans-Italic.ttf NotoSans-Regular.ttf NotoSansSymbols2-Regular.ttf NotoSansSymbols-Bold.ttf NotoSansSymbols-Regular.ttf NotoSerif-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSerif-Bold.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Bold.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Italic.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Regular.ttf NotoSerif-Italic.ttf NotoSerif-Regular.ttf ..
rm *
mv ../Noto* .

echo Recreating the font cache...
fc-cache -r
fc-cache -fv
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

Hoser Rob wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:29 am If you install incompatible 3rd paty fonts ... which is an issue Linux newbies should be aware of ... and then use a 3rd party font manager which is quite possibly also incompatible, you're going to run into trouble.

Beginners often seem to have heard that with Linux you can anything you want. That is ONLY true in that the OS will happily let you do anything if you have the right permissions. It doesn't mean that it will work, it may completelyt break the OS. Linux assumes that if you have a sudo or (esp.) root password that you know exactly what you're doing. In some ways Linux in more restrictive than WIndows.
No 3rd party fonts. I was trying to remove the international fonts that mint install by default
The 3rd party font manager, yes but it came from mint Software Manager. I thought that meant something
I understand the danger of using the terminal and I hate pasting stuff into the terminal when I am not confident that I understand it. that's why I used the font manager. That's why I am here trying to sort through all the different recommended actions.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

Moem wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:32 am Did that fix the issue?
No
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by timbow »

gm10 wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:38 am
timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:06 am My dropdown font selector in LOffice and inkscape is still full of international fonts. I think some have gone. I wonder if the package managers failed to purge the configs for the fonts they deleted.
If it helps, this is my postinstall script for removing fonts I don't need on LM19. Definitely nothing I don't want left in LibreOffice after this:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
if [ $EUID != 0 ]
  then echo 'sudo me!'
  exit
fi

echo Purging unnecessary font packages...
apt purge fonts-indic fonts-deva fonts-orya fonts-knda fonts-taml fonts-telu fonts-guru fonts-mlym fonts-beng fonts-tlwg-laksaman fonts-lao fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-thai-tlwg fonts-gubbi ttf-ancient-fonts-symbola fonts-beng-extra fonts-tlwg-purisa-ttf fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-guru-extra fonts-tlwg-typewriter-ttf fonts-samyak-deva fonts-telu-extra fonts-smc fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-deva-extra fonts-smc-karumbi fonts-tlwg-norasi-ttf fonts-kalapi fonts-wqy-microhei fonts-noto-cjk fonts-navilu fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-smc-chilanka fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-pagul fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-kacst-one fonts-smc-meera fonts-smc-raghumalayalamsans fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-sahadeva fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-smc-keraleeyam fonts-lohit-deva fonts-smc-suruma fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-tlwg-kinnari-ttf fonts-samyak-taml fonts-tlwg-waree fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-lohit-orya fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-lohit-knda fonts-smc-rachana fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-smc-manjari fonts-gujr fonts-smc-uroob fonts-samyak-gujr fonts-tlwg-waree-ttf fonts-nakula fonts-lohit-beng-bengali fonts-tlwg-garuda-ttf fonts-orya-extra fonts-tlwg-sawasdee-ttf fonts-lohit-taml fonts-tlwg-typo-ttf fonts-samyak-mlym fonts-tlwg-loma-ttf fonts-khmeros-core fonts-smc-dyuthi fonts-lohit-telu fonts-tlwg-mono-ttf fonts-kacst fonts-gujr-extra fonts-tlwg-typist-ttf fonts-sil-padauk fonts-smc-anjalioldlipi fonts-lohit-beng-assamese fonts-lohit-gujr fonts-lohit-guru fonts-tlwg-umpush-ttf fonts-tlwg-laksaman-ttf fonts-lohit-mlym fonts-lohit-taml-classical

echo Removing unnecessary Noto fonts...
cd /usr/share/fonts/truetype/noto
mv NotoColorEmoji.ttf NotoSans-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSans-Bold.ttf NotoSansDisplay-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Bold.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Italic.ttf NotoSansDisplay-Regular.ttf NotoSans-Italic.ttf NotoSans-Regular.ttf NotoSansSymbols2-Regular.ttf NotoSansSymbols-Bold.ttf NotoSansSymbols-Regular.ttf NotoSerif-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSerif-Bold.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-BoldItalic.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Bold.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Italic.ttf NotoSerifDisplay-Regular.ttf NotoSerif-Italic.ttf NotoSerif-Regular.ttf ..
rm *
mv ../Noto* .

echo Recreating the font cache...
fc-cache -r
fc-cache -fv
Excellent! All sorted now.
Thanks gm10 your script succeeded where all else failed.
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Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by Flemur »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:25 amSo to uninstall a font you can just delete the file? Okay.
Where are these font files?
You can delete the files and then run

Code: Select all

sudo fc-cache -fv 
but a better way is to uninstall them. You can also install fonts by doing the opposite; copying the .ttf files to one of the many proper locations, and running fc-cache again.

FWIW, I have only these TTF fonts (bobco=symbols you won't need):

Code: Select all

$ ls /usr/share/fonts/truetype
bobco	freefont    mscore	ttf-bitstream-vera
dejavu	liberation  openoffice	ubuntu-font-family
I don't have a hidden .fonts directory in Home. I can't find any directory called .fonts and if I search for a specific font name say 'jamrul' that I would delete I don't find that either.
Font software is from "freedesktop.org" and they really like to make things complicated with dozens or hundreds of files where a sensible person would expect one or two config files (there are hundreds of files under /etc/fonts ....I deleted them all without any consequences except it fixed the "some-font wasn't anti-aliased" problem that one or more of those files caused).

Then there are at least all these files in your home directory :

Code: Select all

$ find $HOME -iname "*font*"
./.fonts.conf
./.config/fontgroups.xml
./.config/font-manager
./.config/fontconfig
./.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf
./.cache/fontconfig
./.local/share/font-manager
./.fonts
I've deleted all those files and directories without bad effects. As far as I can tell only

Code: Select all

.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf
has useful information, and it control the font rendering.

Note: I DO NOT advise you delete any of those files, even though it can be a lot of fun to do so!
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
gm10

Re: Uninstalling fonts

Post by gm10 »

timbow wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:24 am Excellent! All sorted now.
Thanks gm10 your script succeeded where all else failed.
Happy to help. I don't like the font clutter, either, and don't agree with them all getting pre-installed no matter your locale, so unfortunately we have to do these cleanup steps ourselves. :)
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Re: [SOLVED with thanks] Uninstalling fonts

Post by Matera »

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh, So good. I'm tucking that script somewhere it won't get lost/forgotten, I hope. This time. Every install/upgrade it's the same thing -- "What did I do last time...where did I put that...." and the fonts are driving me dingbats in GIMP. Thanks all.
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