## Fontconfig

Fontconfig is a library for configuring and customizing font access. 


### About Fontconfig

Fontconfig can: 

                     * discover new fonts when installed automatically, removing a common source of configuration problems. 
                     * perform font name substitution, so that appropriate alternative fonts can be selected if fonts are missing. 
                     * identify the set of fonts required to completely cover a set of languages. 
                     * have GUI configuration tools built as it uses an XML-based configuration file (though with autodiscovery, we believe this need is minimized). 
                     * efficiently and quickly find the fonts you need among the set of fonts you have installed, even if you have installed thousands of fonts, while minimzing memory usage. 
                     * be used in concert with the X Render Extension and [[FreeType|FreeType]] to implement high quality, anti-aliased and subpixel rendered text on a display. 
Fontconfig does not: 

                     * render the fonts themselves (this is left to [[FreeType|FreeType]] or other rendering mechanisms) 
                     * depend on the X Window System in any fashion, so that printer only applications do not have such dependencies 

### Releases

                     * The current stable series is 2.10.0.  All releases are available in the [[release|http://fontconfig.org/release]] directory. 

### Documentation

                     * [[FontConfig User Documentation|http://fontconfig.org/fontconfig-user.html]] 
                     * [[FontConfig Developer Documentation|http://fontconfig.org/fontconfig-devel/]] 
                     * [[About Fontconfig|Software/fontconfig/About]] 
                     * [[Fontconfig To Do List|Software/fontconfig/ToDo]] 

### Git Access

The fontconfig [[git repository|http://cgit.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/]] is hosted at freedesktop.org. 


### Mailing Lists

The [[Fontconfig mailing list|http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/fontconfig]] is used for all fontconfig related mail. 


### Web fonts

Microsoft has made the [[common web fonts|http://fontconfig.org/webfonts]] available free of charge; please read the license before downloading them.  

Redhat has made [[free fonts|https://www.redhat.com/promo/fonts/]] (GPL+exception)  available: _Sans_ (a substitute for Arial, Albany, Helvetica, Nimbus Sans L, and Bitstream Vera Sans), _Serif_ (a substitute for Times New Roman, Thorndale, Nimbus Roman, and Bitstream Vera Serif) and _Mono_ (a substitute for Courier New, Cumberland, Courier, Nimbus Mono L, and Bitstream Vera Sans Mono).