Did you buy your desktop or laptop with Vista already installed? Do you want to switch to Ubuntu; but don’t want to lose the great looking Vista ClearType fonts (CTF)? If you’ve answered yes, then this “blurb” is for you.
Installing the fonts on your “Ubuntu Powered” system is not that difficult. Note: the following is only legal to do if you paid for your copy or OEM copy of Vista. If you did not pay for Vista, doing the following is illegal and you could get in trouble. Also, I have read rumours that these fonts are only allowed to be used on Vista, so again, if this is true then doing the following could be illegal and you may get in trouble – Can someone message me about this so I can follow up?
1) Make sure your repositories are available. You only need to add the Universe repository (if you’ve not already done so). You can read more about repositories here: ubuntulinuxhelp.com/the-best-ubuntu-linux-repository-list/
2) Run the following command to install cabextract (Microsoft uses cab files so we need to enable support for them).
sudo apt-get install cabextract
3) Download the Installer Script (by Aristotle Pagaltzis – plasmasturm.org) here: vistafontinstaller.gz
and extract the VistaFontInstaller.sh file to your home directory.
4) Make sure the script has executable rights via chmod like this (make sure you ‘cd’ to your home folder in a terminal first):
chmod a+x VistaFontInstaller.sh
5) Now (still in a terminal within your home directory), run the script by issuing this command:
./vista-fonts-installer.sh
6) Reload your fonts cache by:
sudo fc-cache -fv
You’re done!
If you’re happy with the the regular TrueType Fonts (TTF), here’s how to install them:
1) Open a terminal and enter the following command (again Universe repository should be enabled):
sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts
2) Reload your fonts cache by:
sudo fc-cache -fv
You’re done!
Looking for other methods of installing fonts in Ubuntu? Check out this thread: ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=275202
As expected, here’s a follow-up message I received…
“The EULA does not allow people to install Vista fonts on Ubuntu, so it’s probably better to install the msttcorefonts instead. Read this from the EULA:
Font Components
You may use the fonts that accompany the PowerPoint Viewer only to display and print content from a device running a Microsoft Windows operating system. Additionally, you may do the following:
Embed fonts in content as permitted by the embedding restrictions in the fonts
When printing content, temporarily download the fonts to a printer or other output device
You may not copy, install or use the fonts on other devices.”
Even more fonts…
Liberation Fonts on Ubuntu! http://www.data-drop.com/2007/11/19/liberation-fonts-on-ubuntu/
Just tried this is xubuntu 6.06 (Xfce Desktop) and it works there too.
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