• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Tutorials and fixes for smartphone, gadget, and computer problems

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iOS
    • MacOS
    • Office
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About Technipages
Linux Mint: How to Change the Default Fonts and Font Sizing

Linux Mint: How to Change the Default Fonts and Font Sizing

By Mel Hawthorne 2 Comments

Much of how we interact with computers is through text. To display text on the screen, fonts are used which define the appearance of the characters. Different fonts can be used for different purposes. Linux Mint defines five standard uses for fonts that can be configured independently.

To configure the fonts that Linux Mint uses you need to open the font selector tool. To do so, press the Super key, then type “Font Selection” and hit enter.

Tip: The “Super” key is the name that many Linux distributions give to the Windows key or Apple “Command” key to avoid any trademark issues.

The first of the five fonts “Default font” is used for most text across the operating system. “Desktop font” is used exclusively for the labels of desktop icons. “Document font” is intended to be used when displaying documents, however, most document viewers use their own font settings, so this doesn’t see much use. The “Monospace font” changes the font used by terminal applications. “Window title” font changes the font used for the window title at the top of each window.

Note: The font options only affect some applications. Apps that set their own fonts such as Libre Office Writer or Google Chrome will be unaffected.

Each of the five font categories affects a different portion of the operating system and apps that follow the system theme.

By clicking on the currently used font for any of the five font categories, you can select a new font, or configure the font size. In the “Pick a Font” window, you can use the top text box to search for a font by name. Additionally, the bottom text box is used to show how the resulting font and font size will look.

If you want to switch back to the default appearance, the default fonts are “Ubuntu Regular”, “Ubuntu Regular”, “Sans Regular”, “Monospace Regular” and “Ubuntu Medium” respectively. All fonts default to font size 10.

In the “Pick a Font” screen, you can select a new font, change the font size, and see a preview.

Font settings

The “Text scaling factor” adjusts the scaling of all affected fonts, with larger numbers scaling the fonts up. “Hinting” is a technique of adjusting how characters are displayed by aligning them horizontally and vertically with the physical pixels on the screen, in an attempt to minimise blurring around straight lines.

“Anti-aliasing” is a process of trying to smooth out jagged edges, especially noticeable on diagonal lines and curves by applying a subtle blurring effect to improve image quality. “RGBA” order is used to configure how the antialiasing effect is applied.

Tip: For anti-aliasing, “RGBA” refers to the type of colours that are applied to smooth edges, specifically: Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha. “Alpha” isn’t technically a colour, instead, it’s the term used to refer to transparency. As part of the smoothing process, some pixels have their colour adjusted by adding colour whereas others are made slightly more transparent.

You can apply an overall scaling factor to all fonts and configure some minor graphical settings that can improve the appearance of fonts.

You Might Also Like

  • Linux Mint: How to Configure Default Applications
    Linux Mint: How to Configure Default Applications
  • Linux Mint: How to Override Default System Sounds
    Linux Mint: How to Override Default System Sounds
  • Linux Mint: How to Change Your Password
    Linux Mint: How to Change Your Password
  • Linux Mint: How to Change Your Keyboard Layout
    Linux Mint: How to Change Your Keyboard Layout
  • Linux Mint: How to Change the Handed-Ness of a Mouse
    Linux Mint: How to Change the Handed-Ness of a Mouse
  • Linux: How to Configure the Default Password Aging Settings for New Accounts
    Linux: How to Configure the Default Password Aging Settings…
  • Linux Mint: How to Add New Applets
    Linux Mint: How to Add New Applets
  • Linux Mint: How to Add New Extensions
    Linux Mint: How to Add New Extensions
  • Linux Mint: How to Use “Hot Corners”
    Linux Mint: How to Use “Hot Corners”

Filed Under: Software

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Irritated says

    February 23, 2022 at 11:25 am

    And this is also useless on Mint Mate 20.3 desktop

  2. Don Shane says

    December 17, 2020 at 7:05 am

    “Font Selection” produces no search results on my Mint 19.3 Mate desktop.

Did this help? Let us know!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Windows 11: How to Fix Windows 11 Won’t Connect to a Network
  • What to Do When Firefox Won’t Load a Page
  • Chrome: How to Refresh Various Tabs Simultaneously
  • The Latest Foldable Phones – A Look At The Huawei Mate X2
  • Everything Announced at Google I/O 2022 That You Should Care About
  • How to Build the Best High-Spec PC for Your Budget
  • Google Shows Off Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch Ahead of Fall Launch
  • Windows 11: How to View Saved Passwords

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

You May Also Like

  • Postscript Font
  • Screen Font
  • Bitmapped Font
  • Printer Font
  • Linux

© Copyright 2022 Technipages · All Rights Reserved · Privacy