Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Hawkmoon on April 03, 2024, 02:13:40 AM

Title: FONT INVASION!
Post by: Hawkmoon on April 03, 2024, 02:13:40 AM
Good grief!

Although I still use Microsoft Office (2019, not Microsoft 365), for a number of years I have also maintained the open source LibreOffice suite on my computers. Over the weekend I realized that there was an update to LibreOffice, so I downloaded it and installed it.

And on Tuesday evening I was working on a document in Word, needed a different front, and went scrolling down my font list to find it. And scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling ...

For some bizarre reason, LibreOffice took it upon itself to install the ENTIRE Noto Sans and Noto Serif font families (something like 150 fonts). That's just insane. If I didn't need those fonts last week, I don't need them this week.

I really REALLY don't like it when software installs other stuff without asking. (Or asks, but in a sneaky, passive-aggressive, opt-out rather than opt-in way. Like every time I upgrade CCleaner I have to remember to tell it NOT to install Google's Chrome browser.)
Title: Re: FONT INVASION!
Post by: Opportunity on April 03, 2024, 08:44:44 AM
I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft said "this was provided for your convenience" and then will prompt you to buy a subscription to "not adding fonts" )))
Title: Re: FONT INVASION!
Post by: RocketMan on April 03, 2024, 04:49:36 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft said "this was provided for your convenience" and then will prompt you to buy a subscription to "not adding fonts" )))

Don't say that out loud.  You'll give Microsoft ideas.
Title: Re: FONT INVASION!
Post by: JTHunter on April 04, 2024, 03:17:29 PM
Hawkmoon - over the last 25-30 years, I have downloaded numerous fonts.  I just checked and the folder that has them lists 455 fonts.  Just note that a "bold" or "italics" font is its own file so many of those fonts come in threes.
Some are Star Trek fonts, some are Klingon, or Romulan.  Some are various pictographic fonts like WingDings and others are types of "runes" from various sources.
As for the programs, I'm still using Office 2000 on a Win. 7 computer.
  =D

ETA: here are two of 3 links where I have gotten some in the past.  The third link has apparently "died" 'cuz it had a small banner that the domain might be for sale.
http://www.fontfreak.com/
http://www.identifont.com/find-pi.html
Title: Re: FONT INVASION!
Post by: 230RN on April 04, 2024, 06:03:17 PM
Good grief!

Although I still use Microsoft Office (2019, not Microsoft 365), for a number of years I have also maintained the open source LibreOffice suite on my computers. Over the weekend I realized that there was an update to LibreOffice, so I downloaded it and installed it.

And on Tuesday evening I was working on a document in Word, needed a different front, and went scrolling down my font list to find it. And scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling ...

For some bizarre reason, LibreOffice took it upon itself to install the ENTIRE Noto Sans and Noto Serif font families (something like 150 fonts). That's just insane. If I didn't need those fonts last week, I don't need them this week.

I really REALLY don't like it when software installs other stuff without asking. (Or asks, but in a sneaky, passive-aggressive, opt-out rather than opt-in way. Like every time I upgrade CCleaner I have to remember to tell it NOT to install Google's Chrome browser.)

Ditto:
\https://armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=69375.msg1432112#msg1432112

That's why every Sunday I "System Restore" last week's version of Windows 7.  I have it set for no updates, but somehow they still sneak crap in.  I wish they had a "No updates. This means you." selection.

I know, I know, "Win 7," but it does everything I want or need and I'm "fluent" in it and I don't want "features" I don't want or need.
Title: Re: FONT INVASION!
Post by: Hawkmoon on April 04, 2024, 06:05:01 PM
God knows, I don't need any more fonts.

Yes, I'm aware that for any given font name, there should be at least four separate files: regular, italic, bold, and bold italic. That said, each version of Windows includes an assortment of fonts, each version of Microsoft Office includes other fonts, and I've carried forward fonts from as far back as Windows 95 and Microsoft Office 98. On top of that, I have fonts from collections I purchased decades ago, and not too long ago I bought a collection of 7,500 fonts that are all licensed for commercial use.

But I don't have them all installed in Windows 10. Most of them reside in a Fonts directory on my external storage drive. If I need one, I can install it. But keeping too many fonts installed under Windows slows down the system, and it makes scrolling through the font list in Word too cumbersome. That's why I was rather displeased to find that LibreOffice had installed 150 fonts that I'll never have any use for (because they are all open source clones of fonts that I already have).