How To Install xfonts-unifont on Ubuntu 18.04

In this tutorial we learn how to install xfonts-unifont on Ubuntu 18.04. xfonts-unifont is PCF (bitmap) version of GNU Unifont

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install xfonts-unifont on Ubuntu 18.04.

What is xfonts-unifont

xfonts-unifont is:

This contains three fonts: “Unifont” (unifont.pcf.gz), “Unifont CSUR” (unifont_csur.pcf.gz), and “Unifont Sample” (unifont_sample.pcf.gz).

This is a bitmap version of Unifont in a standard X11 format. The fonts provide a glyph for each visible code point (character) in the Unicode Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP, or Plane 0). The BMP contains most of the world’s modern writing scripts. These fonts look best at 12pt.

unifont.pcf.gz contains Unicode Plane 0 glyphs. This is the main font.

unifont_sample.pcf.gz contains combining circles for combining characters. Thus it is suited for illustrating individual Unicode glyphs, whereas Unifont is intended for general-purpose writing.

unifont_csur.pcf.gz contains some scripts in the Plane 0 ConScript Unicode Registry (CSUR). These scripts are not part of the Unicode Standard, but are a popular use for the Private Use Area (PUA).

Complex fonts (such as Indic or Semitic scripts, where letters change shape depending on their position in a word, or such as Mongolian, which can be written vertically) will not render perfectly. The philosophy behind this font, though, is that anything meaningful is better than an empty box for an unknown glyph.

Consider using the TrueType version instead (ttf-unifont), because that version is scalable to any point size and has proper combining character support.

There are three methods to install xfonts-unifont on Ubuntu 18.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install xfonts-unifont Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install xfonts-unifont using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install xfonts-unifont

Install xfonts-unifont Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install xfonts-unifont using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install xfonts-unifont

Install xfonts-unifont Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install xfonts-unifont using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install xfonts-unifont

How To Uninstall xfonts-unifont on Ubuntu 18.04

To uninstall only the xfonts-unifont package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove xfonts-unifont

Uninstall xfonts-unifont And Its Dependencies

To uninstall xfonts-unifont and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 18.04, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove xfonts-unifont

Remove xfonts-unifont Configurations and Data

To remove xfonts-unifont configuration and data from Ubuntu 18.04 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge xfonts-unifont

Remove xfonts-unifont configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove xfonts-unifont configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge xfonts-unifont

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install xfonts-unifont package on Ubuntu 18.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.