# Recent issues involving fonts



## grahamperrin@ (Mar 11, 2022)

Compare the two Firefox windows on the screen to the left, with the same windows (a different Firefox profile) on the screen to the right:




What might be wrong?

My Firefox font preferences (below) are not unusual.




Coincidental but maybe non-related: the Bookmarks menu of KCharSelect repeatedly loses the ability to display some of my bookmarked characters.

A shot from 7th March:



When I prefer a different font, there's an almost immediate fix. After quitting then reopening KCharSelect: where previously there were blank/empty spaces, the characters appear.

Unfortunately, the fix is not long-lasting. Sooner or later (maybe with the next Plasma session), KCharSelect has the same Bookmarks menu misbehaviour with the font that previously seemed to provide a fix.

Very shortly after a switch to *Noto Sans* 9 pt:



– OK so far … OK following a log out … OK following a stop of the computer. 

Maybe there's an intermittent problem (not immediately apparent) with fonts such as *Noto Mono Medium*.


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## Geezer (Mar 11, 2022)

Dunno ...



This is my firefox, with the same google translate, in xfce4 under freebsd, and it is definitely better looking than yours.

So it can be done.

Give me a bit of time, and I will go through the settings and see if I can find a few things that my be of use.


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## jmos (Mar 11, 2022)

One screen shows external fonts enabled, one disabled. Adblocker?


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## Geezer (Mar 11, 2022)

You could try messing with these settings.








Have you tried it outside of kde?


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## bensnowball (Mar 12, 2022)

I can get exactly the same issue as your problem with FF, but only when I'm using the "NoScript" plugin. This stops it from loading things like Javascript and similar extra files, unless I manually allow it to do so, in which case it works fine. So assuming you're not using that plugin, its probably something to do with not loading scripts or something similar. Sorry I'm not sure what to do from here, but I don't think it has anything to do with the font settings.


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## grahamperrin@ (Mar 12, 2022)

jmos said:


> … Adblocker? …



Malwarebytes Browser Guard is enabled. No visible difference at <https://freebsdfoundation.org/> when I pause all features of the extension. No improvement when I temporarily disable the extension.

At the Firefox level: enhanced tracking protection is strict. No visible difference when I switch off ETP for the site.



bensnowball said:


> … NoScript …



Installed, but rarely enabled. Not currently enabled.

Enabled: Disable JavaScript. It's not set to disable JavaScript at the site. No improvement when I temporarily disable the extension.



Geezer said:


> … these settings. …



If I recall correctly, those preferences were the first where I experimented with changes:



grahamperrin said:


> My Firefox font preferences (below) are not unusual.



– *not* allowing pages to choose their own fonts, at the time.



jmos said:


> … external fonts …



Enabled: Enforce Browser Fonts. Clustered amongst buttons with which I often, or sometimes, alter the appearance of a page:



I'm certain that previously, there was no visible difference when I toggled the switch at an affected page.

In retrospect, I might have been rushing – when the computer is busy, it can take more than one second for all changes to take effect. In some situations, there's a change in appearance of the button _before_ the change in appearance of the page. It's subtle, but it might have been enough for me to overlook things.

Problem solved:







Geezer said:


> outside of kde?



Good thinking, however the Firefox puzzle seems to be solved, touch wood.


I took the shots below whilst drafting this post, before realising the (simple) cause of the problem. I might as well leave them, for reference only.



using NotoSans; NotoSans Regular
various CSP warnings, no CSP errors


various CSS alerts, some font-related.


Thanks, people.


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## grahamperrin@ (Mar 13, 2022)

KCharSelect: Bookmarks



grahamperrin said:


> … the Bookmarks menu of KCharSelect repeatedly loses the ability to display some of my bookmarked characters. …



Not yet conclusive, results of further tests suggest that the bug bites only if a monospace font is preferred:

preferring a different monospace font quickly works around the problem
the problem recurs, with the font that provided a workaround, after logging out then back in.
I'll take advice in chat before deciding where, if anywhere, to report the bug.


In response to a private question about the screen recording above:

LASER CAT




assisted with corrections to appearance of the FreeBSD Foundation donations page
is release engineered
meets Mozilla's standards for security and performance
is certified for use by gin-sipping bored housewives, des hommes fraîchement divorcés, tequila-swigging open source font porters and non-professionals with a sense of humour
is further certified to perform merges from CURRENT without oversight
obliterates frustrations and stress
spent a brief period of recuperation in the 1938 house after parting company with two well-known hosts.


Meow.


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