GIMP uses the FreeType 2 font engine to render fonts, and a system called Fontconfig to manage them. FreeType 2 supports many common font file formats.
Any font in Fontconfig's font path is available in GIMP. In addition, any font which is located in GIMP's Font Folders is available in GIMP. Font Folders are set on the Fonts page in the Folders preferences.
By default, there are two Font Folders: The system
GIMP fonts folder (which you should not alter), and a
fonts
folder inside your personal GIMP directory.
You can also add additional font folders if wanted.
Linux
There are several ways to install a font:
Use an application like GNOME Fonts or KFontView to install the font.
Place the font file in the directory
~/.local/share/fonts/
. This will make the font
available to you only.
If you have administrator rights, place the font file in the
directory /usr/local/share/fonts/
.
This will make the font available to all users.
In all cases, the font will become available to all programs that use Fontconfig.
Microsoft Windows
There are several ways to install a font system-wide:
Drag the font file into the Fonts directory
C:\Windows\Fonts
.
Install the font via the Settings app. In Windows, go to Settings, select Personalization, then from there go to Fonts.
macOS
Install the font via the Font Book application.
The installed fonts will show up the next time you start GIMP. If you
want to use it in an already running GIMP instance, press the
Refresh
button in the Fonts dialog.
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Note |
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If for some reason you run into problems trying to install a font
system-wide, try to install the font in the |
In most cases, problems with fonts are caused by malformed font files
or outdated font formats.
If you experience crashes at start-up when GIMP scans your
font directories, as a quick workaround you can start GIMP
with the --no-fonts
command line
argument, but then you will not be able to use the text tool.