GIMP stuck on “Loading Data Files: Fonts” after XQuartz and Inkscape install

Question

I have a Mac running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6. I have used GIMP without any trouble despite having lots of fonts downloaded. However, I was trying to open a vector graphic and in the process downloaded Inkscape and XQuartz on my computer without knowing much about what they are. I couldn't get those to work so I deleted the programs, and now when I go to log in to GIMP I get the "Loading Fonts" forever and the program won't open. I use GIMP all the time to make advertising for my business so I am really panicking! Thanks in advance for any advice you might have.

Answer 1

That long delay was usually caused by fontconfig - one of the libraries used by GIMP for font handling - building a cache with metadata about the fonts (style, weight, included scripts) for every font on your system.

This should happen much less frequently or even be entirely gone in current versions, for two reasons:

• this cache tended to become corrupt, causing it to be rebuilt on every start of GIMP
• current 2.10.x versions of GIMP start even when the cache is still building, and places where this is required show corresponding messages, for example the font lists and the text tool

Answer 2

You can disable loading fonts on startup using the -f or --no-fonts like this: open /Applications/GIMP-2.10.app --args -f