GIMP does not see Windows fonts

17

4

I have downloaded some fonts and installed them by double-clicking to open them, then clicking "Install font". Word and other Windows programs can see them, but GIMP does not list them in the text tool. Why is this?

These are TrueType fonts (packaged in .ttf files). I'm using Gimp 2.8.2

Yamikuronue

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 399

Answers

15

After checking a few similar posts elsewhere, it is usually fixed by clearing the font cache of GIMP. Although for some people even that does not work, and the case remains unsolved.

To clear the cache, browse to:
- XP and older:
Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Temp\fontconfig\cache
- Vista and newer:
Users\[username]\AppData\Local\fontconfig\cache

And delete the files there.

http://www.gimptalk.com/index.php?/topic/29683-font-loaded-not-showing-in-gimp-windows/
http://www.gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6615
http://gimper.net/viewtopic.php?t=644

Juha Untinen

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 664

Instead of pointing the different paths in different versions of Windows, just go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\fontconfig\cache and you will find the right folder. – Diego Queiroz – 2018-04-14T04:05:24.150

2On Windows 10 Enterprise 1709 64-bit, the cache was in %UserProfile%\.cache\fontconfig. Deleted it, restarted gimp and it reappeared as soon as gimp loaded. Had a .cache-7 extension. – EchoLynx – 2019-07-22T21:20:32.743

The path to the cache seems to be set in %ProgramFiles%\GIMP 2\etc\fonts\fonts.conf under <!-- Font cache directory list --> – EchoLynx – 2019-07-23T14:39:39.170

I can't go to that folder, it says access denied. Google reveals that "C:\Users[username]\AppData\Local\Temp" should be the same, but I don't see a fontconfig folder there. – Yamikuronue – 2013-08-28T12:07:18.720

You probably need to login as admin – Juha Untinen – 2013-08-28T12:08:05.750

2I found a "C:\Users[username]\AppData\Local\fontconfig\cache"? Is that the same? – Yamikuronue – 2013-08-28T12:11:47.877

Apparently it is, since deleting the files there worked. So yay. – Yamikuronue – 2013-08-28T12:14:50.717

Documents and Settings was renamed to Users in Windows Vista and Windows 7. @Yamikuronue. (Actually, apparently it was split out into two folders: Users and ProgramData.) – TRiG – 2013-08-28T12:47:59.187

23

I am also using Win10, and here's a better solution.

In Gimp 2.8.22:

  1. Go to EDIT --> PREFERENCES --> FOLDERS (expand this) --> FONTS
  2. Click on FONTS
  3. On the right side of the window it will display FONT FOLDERS
  4. Add your C:\Windows\FONTS folder using the ADD button (icon on the left that looks like a page), and select the folder (open folder icon on the right)
  5. Press OK, etc. until all the windows are closed
  6. Exit out of GIMP and restart the application (this is what I did)

Now, you need to add all these FONTS to your toolbox.

  1. Click on the Tool options triangle at the upper right
  2. ADD TAB (expand)
  3. Select FONTS

Check out an image of these menus expanded HERE.

Now all your system fonts should be visible and available for use.

RichieMN

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 331

15Windows lets you install fonts on a per-user basis. This is the default if you click on "Install" in the font viewer, and fonts installed this way aren't stored in the main Windows font folder.

To have Gimp use these fonts, also add the "C:\Users{username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts" folder in step 4.

To install a font for all users, right-click the font file and select "Install for all users". – GatesDA – 2019-01-22T19:43:37.627

One of two additional things were required for me after clearing cache folder: delete one folder listed in Gimp Font Folder page that didn't exist (marked red circle) or copy the fonts from Windows font folder to /Users/[username]/.gimp-2.8/fonts/ folder. I did both then it worked finally. – Steve Seeger – 2019-03-26T19:00:45.497

1@GatesDA This was the only solution that actually worked. It deserves its own answer. Shame the question was locked. – user1132363 – 2019-03-27T08:28:02.510

Thanks for letting me know, and glad that it helped! – RichieMN – 2019-03-27T19:28:10.413

1For me gimp errored when loading some of the windows fonts, unfortunately the font I needed was after the error, so I moved my fonts from the windows folder to the gimp roaming folder and it worked – Max Carroll – 2019-09-14T11:45:16.370

@GatesDA of course! I feel like such a dummy right now. Though would it be too much to expect GIMP to look there by default? – Bob says reinstate Monica – 2020-01-16T18:05:32.423

7

On Windows 10 I had to copy TTF file in C:\Program Files\GIMP 2\share\gimp\2.0\fonts

Vladimir Pekez

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 81

Thanks - that was what I needed. I was going nuts as to why it wouldn't see thew new font! On the old version it worked by just adding to the overall windows fonts. – Andrew Newby – 2019-04-29T06:44:10.607

2

I'm using GIMP 2.8 on Windows 10, and I tried the currently accepted answer from Juha. While GIMP did rebuild its font cache when I reloaded the program, the fonts I wanted were still not available.

In the end, I had to copy the .ttf files to C:\Users\[username]\.gimp-2.8\fonts

HorusKol

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 248

-2

You need to add all font locations. For instance, if you downloaded a font, and it's in the download section, simply installing it through windows will not be sufficient. You also need to add the folder the .tff file is located in. Hence why some people are just moving fonts to gimp\2.0\fonts instead.

The Hyper Sloth

Posted 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Reputation: 1

Asked: 2013-08-28T11:47:27.307

Viewed: 42 624 times

Active: 2019-01-22T03:09:31.487