How To Install Fonts on Wine

In this article, we will be discussing how to install fonts on Wine. Wine is a free and open-source compatibility layer that aims to allow computer programs developed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. One of the many features that Wine offers is the ability to install and use fonts just like in Windows. This guide will provide step-by-step instructions on how to install fonts on Wine.

Understanding Wine’s Font Sources

Wine retrieves its fonts from four primary locations:

1. System Fonts – The standard system fonts are located at /usr/share/fonts. Fonts can be added here by installing font packages from the Software Center. However, it is generally recommended to avoid manually copying files to this location.
2. Wine’s Private Fonts – These are found in Wine’s private /usr/share/wine/fonts folder. You should not add fonts here, but if you see a font in Wine and not in the system, it is likely from here.
3. Home Directory Fonts – The ~/.fonts folder in your Home directory is where you should manually copy self-installed fonts. These could be fonts downloaded from the Internet or copied from a Windows installation.
4. Wine Prefix Fonts – The equivalent of the C:\Windows\Fonts folder within the current Wine prefix, which can be found at ~/.wine/drive_c/Windows/fonts. Fonts installed here will be specific to the Wine prefix.

Installing Fonts on Wine

Step 1: Copying the Font Files

Firstly, you need to copy the font files (.ttf or .otf) to the ~/.fonts directory in your Home folder. If the folder does not exist, you can create it using the mkdir command:

mkdir ~/.fonts

Then, copy the font files to this directory. For example:

cp ~/Downloads/MyFont.ttf ~/.fonts

In this command, cp stands for copy, ~/Downloads/MyFont.ttf is the source file (replace this with your actual file path), and ~/.fonts is the destination.

Step 2: Updating the Font Cache

After copying the font files, you need to update the font cache so that the system and Wine can recognize the newly installed fonts. This can be done using the fc-cache command:

sudo fc-cache -fv

In this command, sudo is used to run the command with root permissions. fc-cache is the command to build font information cache files. The -f option stands for force, which forces the command to re-build the cache files, and -v stands for verbose, which enables the display of status information on the terminal.

Step 3: Verifying the Installation

To verify if the fonts have been installed correctly, you can use the fc-list command to list all the fonts recognized by the system:

fc-list | grep 'MyFont'

In this command, fc-list lists the fonts, and grep 'MyFont' filters the output to show only lines that contain ‘MyFont’ (replace ‘MyFont’ with the name of your font).

Installing Fonts for Specific Applications with PlayOnLinux

If you’re using PlayOnLinux, a frontend for Wine, you can install fonts specifically for a program by placing them in the ~/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/YOURPROGRAM/drive_c/windows/Fonts directory. Replace ‘YOURPROGRAM’ with the name of your program. After placing the fonts, restart the application to see if the fonts are working correctly.

Conclusion

Installing fonts on Wine can seem complicated at first, but once you understand the process, it becomes straightforward. By following the steps in this guide, you should be able to install any font you want on Wine. Remember to restart your Wine programs or even your system if the new fonts are not showing up immediately. Happy font installing!