Adding Fonts to the BeOS

One of the many things that people notice about using the BeOS is how nice the fonts look on screen. This is the result of using only outline-based fonts for the system, and of performing anti-aliasing of text when it's drawn on screen.

Of course, once people notice that fonts look good, they want more fonts. The BeOS Preview Release (1 and 2) came with a limited number of fonts on the CD. Enough to handle the basics, but nothing terribly fancy or fun. Release 3 comes with quite a few more fonts, including some that are pretty exciting (well, if you like fonts a lot).

Of course, to be a true BeOS Power User, you still need more fonts (ask Baron, he knows). Lots more fonts. So that's what this Tip is all about.

First, to add more fonts to your system, you need to acquire more fonts. The BeOS uses TrueType fonts in the Windows format (most Windows TrueType fonts have a ".ttf" extension). You can find thousands of fonts in the correct format on the Internet (try an Alta Vista search for "free font"); here are a couple of sites to get you started. Our biggest Power Users especially like Chank:

Once you have downloaded the fonts, and possibly decompressed them, you need to install them. This is simplicity itself: just move the font files to the /home/config/fonts/ttfonts/ directory (you may have to create a "ttfonts" folder in the /home/config/fonts/ directory).

Now you have more fonts than you can shake a stick at. That makes you a BeOS Power User, too!