Installing Roboto Font on Ubuntu Linux

Research Links

• GAI: gimp image editor how to make a single pixel transparent – I used eraser tool in swordy image that had transparent background. 
• GAI: linux how to install roboto font on gimp

To install the Roboto font for use in GIMP on Linux, you need to install it on your system and then ensure GIMP recognizes the newly installed font. 

Step 1: Download the Roboto Font

1. Go to the Google Fonts Roboto page.
2. Click the Download family button, usually found in the top-right corner.
3. The font files will download as a ZIP archive (e.g., roboto.zip).
4. Navigate to your Downloads folder and extract the ZIP file's contents to a new folder (e.g., Roboto). The extracted folder will contain several font files, typically with a .ttf or .otf extension. 

Step 2: Install the Font on Linux System 

You have two main options to install the font system-wide or for a single user. Installing it system-wide makes it available to all applications, including GIMP. 

• For a single user (recommended):

   

   

   

  1. Open your file manager (e.g., Nautilus, Thunar) and navigate to your Home folder.
  2. Enable viewing hidden files by pressing Ctrl + H or selecting "Show Hidden Files" from the view menu.
  3. Look for a folder named .fonts. If it doesn't exist, create it.
  4. Copy the extracted font files (.ttf or .otf) into the ~/.fonts/ directory.
• Using a Font Manager application:

   

   

   

  1. In most modern Linux distributions (like Ubuntu/GNOME), you can simply double-click a font file (.ttf or .otf) to open it in the Font Viewer application.
  2. Click the Install button within the font viewer to install it to your system.

Step 3: Refresh Fonts in GIMP 

After installing the font on your system:

1. If GIMP was running during the installation, you need to restart GIMP for the font to appear in the font list.
2. Alternatively, within GIMP, you can open the Fonts dialog (Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Fonts or Edit > Preferences > Folders > Fonts) and click the Refresh button (usually a small refresh icon). 

The Roboto font should now be available in GIMP's text tool options.