Advertisement Windows-based fonts don’t appear by default on Linux-based systems like Ubuntu. In most cases, this isn’t a huge problem, but if you want to improve compatibility between word processors, then it might be useful to have Microsoft fonts on your Ubuntu PC.

Gone are the days of editing your xorg.conf font path information. Installing fonts in Ubuntu. Once you have your handy collection of True Type fonts, you are going to want to create a directory to hold them. Installing the fonts system-wide will give all users access to them. First, create a font directory in /usr/share/fonts/truetype.

For instance, you might be a student, using a Windows PC at college, and your own Ubuntu device at home — or vice versa. You might have other versions for importing Microsoft fonts into Ubuntu, though. Perhaps you want the Verdana or Times New Roman fonts on your Ubuntu desktop. Or you might be working on some DTP or, and need some Microsoft-originated fonts. Either way, this is a straightforward change to make to your Ubuntu Linux computer. Microsoft TrueType Fonts Back in 1996, Microsoft released a package of fonts, called “TrueType core fonts for the web” with a licence giving any user permission to install them. Naturally, in true Microsoft style, the aim was for their fonts to become dominant.

Although cancelled six years later, the font pack is still available, and includes: • Andale Mono • Arial Black • Arial (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Comic Sans MS (Bold) • Courier New (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Georgia (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Impact • Times New Roman (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Trebuchet (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Verdana (Bold, Italic, Bold Italic) • Webdings You’ll probably recognize most of these; Times New Roman used to be the default text for Word (replaced by Calibri in 2007), while Impact is the sort of font that appears on posters around the word. And as for webdings. Of course, you might not require any of these fonts. After all, Ubuntu and other distributions already feature a wide selection of adequate substitute fonts thanks to the inclusion of the Red Hat “Liberation Fonts” package. They’re not completely identical, but these fonts do use the same widths as the Microsoft fonts they replace. Which is why you might want the real thing.

In short, if Microsoft fonts were installed in Linux, your Linux apps — anything ranging from LibreOffice Writer ( LibreOffice just released version 5.3, an exciting update with all sorts of new features and improvements. Here's how to install it on Ubuntu now with one command.) to GIMP — would present them as options. LibreOffice could benefit from it, especially if you’re struggling to transition from Microsoft Word.

Install Microsoft TrueType Fonts in Ubuntu In older versions of Ubuntu, it was possible to install these fonts using the Software Center, but this is no longer an option. Fortunately, you can just use the command line instead.

Launch the terminal, then use this command to install the ttf-mscorefonts-installer package. Sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer Unusually, you’ll be prompted to agree to a Microsoft EULA (here’s EULAs, or End-User License Agreements, are one of the evils of modern life. These are endlessly wordy agreements, usually written in tiny print. These are the things you blindly scroll down, looking for that darn.). Now, this is the bristly bit: you might have reservations about this.

Although these TrueType fonts have been made available for free, you’ll notice that they’re not open source. Also, the EULA has “Microsoft” pasted all over it. But, if you aren’t a pure open source user, carry on, scrolling through the EULA with the Page Up/Down keys. Use Tab or the arrow keys to select Yes and agree to the EULA with Enter.

Once downloaded into your system, the fonts will be configured so that they can be used in the usual apps. If you’re using a different Linux distribution, you may find that the ttf-mscorefonts-installer package isn’t available. However, an alternative should be open to you, under a slightly different name. A few minutes of research should turn this up. Running a Dual Boot Windows and Linux System?

If you have both Windows and Ubuntu operating systems installed on the same PC, you don’t even need to download the fonts, as you already have them installed in Windows. This means that you can copy the fonts into Ubuntu. More importantly, this is a great way to pull all manner of modern, cool fonts from Windows into Linux. ClearType fonts like Calibri can be added to your system this way. In Ubuntu, you should be able to easily browse the partition where Windows is installed, using your Is Thunar a better file manager than Gnome's default, Nautilus? Next, you’ll need to copy fonts from the directory in the Windows partition to your Linux fonts directory. Mkdir /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts Then copy the contents of the mounted Windows drive fonts directory into the WindowsFonts location: cp /Windowsdrive/Windows/Fonts/* /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts Change permissions for the directory and its contents: chmod 755 /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts/* Then regenerate the Linux fontconfig cache with fc-cache That’s all there is to it. Test Your Fonts As with anything, it’s worth checking that the fonts have been installed.

The easiest way to check is to open LibreOffice Writer, or find an art package and create a text box. If they don’t look right, you may need to enable smoothing. In Ubuntu, this is handled by default.

(On other Linux operating systems, you can fix it by checking the font settings (typically in the Preferences screen) and find the option to enable smoothing.) Once you’re happy with the fonts, you can even set your favorite as a default option in LibreOffice writer. With the word processor running, open Tools >Options >LibreOffice Writer >Basic Fonts (Western) and select your preferred font. Click OK to confirm; all future documents you create will use these defaults. For wider use of the new fonts, use Unity Tweak Tool (or There aren't exactly a bazillion different customization options for just about anything, as GNOME 3/Shell is still relatively new. If you're one of those people who can't stand GNOME 3 as long as you cannot., or whatever suits your From Gnome to KDE, from MATE to Unity, there's a lot of choice out there. Where should you start?

Start here.) to apply the new fonts. And if neither of the above methods worked for you, perhaps the slightly easier option of installing Your PC runs Linux. How on earth are you going to install Microsoft Office, and use it without running into problems? Might solve your missing Microsoft fonts problem? Have you installed Microsoft fonts on your Linux PC?

How easy was it, and did the results meet your expectations? Tell us in the comments. Image Credit: Sinart Creative via Shutterstock.com.

Have you ever needed the standard Microsoft fonts such as Times New Roman on your Ubuntu computer? Here’s how you can easily add the core Microsoft fonts to Ubuntu. Times New Roman, Arial, and other core Microsoft fonts are still some of the most commonly used fonts in documents and websites.

Times New Roman especially is often required for college essays, legal docs, and other critical documents that you may need to write or edit. Ubuntu includes the Liberation alternate fonts that include similar alternates to Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New, but these may not be accepted by professors and others when a certain font is required. But, don’t worry; it only takes a couple clicks to add these fonts to Ubuntu for free. Installing the Core Microsoft Fonts Microsoft has released their core fonts, including Times New Roman and Arial, for free, and you can easily download these from the Software Center. Open your Applications menu, and select Ubuntu Software Center. In the search box enter the following: ttf-mscorefonts Click Install on the “Installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts” directly in the search results. Enter your password when requested, and click Authenticate.

The fonts will then automatically download and install in a couple minutes depending on your internet connection speed. Once the install is finished, you can launch OpenOffice Writer to try out the new fonts.

Serial Roze Siah Farsi. Here’s a preview of all the fonts included in this pack. And, yes, this does included the infamous Comic Sans and Webdings fonts as well as the all-important Times New Roman.

Please Note: By default in Ubuntu, OpenOffice uses Liberation Serif as the default font, but after installing this font pack, the default font will switch to Times New Roman. Adding Other Fonts In addition to the Microsoft Core Fonts, the Ubuntu Software Center has hundreds of free fonts available. Click the Fonts link on the front page to explore these, and install the same as above. If you’ve downloaded another font individually, you can also install it easily in Ubuntu. Just double-click it, and then click Install in the preview window. Conclusion Although you may prefer the fonts that are included with Ubuntu, there are many reasons why having the Microsoft core fonts can be helpful. Thankfully it’s easy in Ubuntu to install them, so you’ll never have to worry about not having them when you need to edit an important document.