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Modify the OS X system font System
If you want to change the system font under 10.2.5, there is really no known way to do so. TinkerTools does change some applications' fonts, but not that of the system. Unless you use a font editor application. I have a program called FontLab, and have created some great fonts to use with my personal docs.

The other day, I was thinking about creating a Lucida Grande (the default system font) version for myself with FontLab, then I thought maybe the system would accept a newly edited Lucida Grande font. So I edited (a copy of) the font with FontLab. What I dislike the most in the X system font is the kerning pattern: when I think of the elegant Geneva and Chicago fonts we had under OS 9, i really feel Lucida Grande as hugly.
,br> To edit a .dfont file with FontLab, you have to choose "Open All" in the first dialog menu. Then once in FontLab, just proceed the way you want. In my case, I selected all characters, then I did a Tools -> Transform -> Contour -> Scale command, and scaled Lucida to a 80% horizontal scale.

To save your changes, you have to save the font as a dfont suitcase, so that the system can read it. To do so, use File -> Generate Mac suitcase, then select destination format "Macintosh truetype," and don't forget to check the "Write resources in data fork" button. You then get a new .dfont generated file, about 450 Kb.

Now you must replace the original Lucida Grande with your modified one. To do so, use your root account, and be sure to give the new font the sames privileges the old one has (system/wheel). Just replace the /System -> Fonts -> Lucida Grande.dfont with your modified version (keep the old one, just in case). You don't have to restart, just a logt out, log in, and here is your new system font! A new Finder, new Dock font, everything seems weird now, but you quickly get used to it. I have done this last Friday, and had no trouble so far, so i presume there is no potential problem doing this trick. Try it!

[robg adds: FontLab is an expensive application (over $500 US), but I'm not sure if there are other cheaper alternatives that may allow the same type of editing...]
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Modify the OS X system font | 5 comments | Create New Account
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Modify the OS X system font
Authored by: zadig on May 01, '03 11:18:28AM

If you have X11 installed (such as Apple's, of course), you can install and use pfaedit to create and edit fonts. It's very powerful and open source. See pfaedit's home page for details.

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Modify the OS X system font
Authored by: Wayne_S on May 01, '03 05:08:43PM
I wonder .... if you just copied another font and renamed it "Lucida Grande" and used IT as the system font, would you get the same result? (i.e., a different system font of your own choosing). The font itself would not have changed, only its name. If the system is looking for its own font by name, it should be fooled.

Anyway, I'm too busy/chicken/lazy to try this on my own machine. If anyone else tries it, I'd be interested in the results.

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Modify the OS X system font
Authored by: sgi_oh_too on May 04, '03 09:44:18PM

Nope, tried helvetica with partial success ... tried geneva with
absolutely no success

helvetica changed font for top bar, menus and apps ... but icon
text was absent entirely ... and menu extras had "issues"

geneva resulted in horrible absent text everywhere. also
rendered the dock unlaunchable. had to restart using key
commands i luckily remembered. booted into single user mode,
remounted filesystems as rw and restored the ugly ass lucida
typeface

i am exploring further to see if i can make my own system
compatible hevetica or chicago replacement dfont files



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Modify the OS X system font
Authored by: mdouma46 on May 05, '03 01:22:06AM
I wonder if the partial success might be related to which (if any) bitmap sizes are included in the font in question.

Say for example, Helvetica.dfont only has a 13 pt bitmap inside of the font suitcase while LucidaGrande has a 13 pt, 12 pt, 11, 10, 9 & 8 or something. At least in the past in OS 9, Apple's TrueType font suitcases, in addition to the TrueType font resource, often included several sizes of bitmap fonts which were used for display of menu items, dialogue boxes, etc.

I know that some of the .dfonts of OS X have bitmap sizes as well.

Also, there's no need for the "System Font" (or any other font in OS X for that matter) to be in the ".dfont" format; regular TrueType will work just fine.

Because the font manager I use, FontAgent Pro, can't make .dfonts available to the Classic environment, I've actually converted all of my .dfonts to regular Mac TrueType fonts. That way I have the exact same default system set (the fonts normally installed with X) available both in Classic as well as natively.

For more info on how I did this conversion, see my post over on Apple's Discussion's board.

Hope this helps....

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built-in font editor
Authored by: Krioni on May 06, '03 02:05:42PM
Hey. Just a note in case anyone sees this tip. Someone pointed out in this tip that Apple included a font editor built-in.

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