Font for mac osx that is as readable and compact as the default xterm (X11) font

Question

The font used in xterms is extremely compact yet readable. What font is that? The closest I\'ve found that I can use in other other applications is DejaVu Sans Mono or Bit

Answer 1

Try andale mono without anti-aliasing... it looks good on my mac pro 15in

Answer 2

Just use one of these:

• http://henrik.synth.no/fonts/6x12.dfont
• http://henrik.synth.no/fonts/6x13.dfont
• http://henrik.synth.no/fonts/7x13.dfont
• http://henrik.synth.no/fonts/7x14.dfont

You might want to adjust the line height to 0.85 when you select the font.

(Thanks to Marty Vona for the guide)

Answer 3

I have successfully gotten Emacs.App to use the beloved misc-fixed 7x14 font. And it looks GOOD.

1) download ucs-fonts.tar.gz from http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs-fonts.html

2) extract the file 7x14.bdf

3) install FontForge (fontforge.sourceforge.net)

4) open 7x14.bdf in fontforge

5) in fontforge do File->Generate Fonts with "No Outline Font" and "Apple bitmap only sfont (dfont)"

6) save as /Library/Fonts/FixedMedium7x14.dfont

7) in your .emacs (setq default-font "-apple-Fixed-medium-normal-normal--14----m-0-iso10646-1")

8) WIN

Answer 4

The font used in xterms is extremely compact yet readable. What font is that?

The font you are referring to is known as "fixed" or "6x13".

I started (but gave up) a "6x13 redux" which was meant to be one of those TrueType fonts that only looks good at one size but was usable in Terminal.app. I gave up because creating a font with UNICODE glyphs is a HUGE undertaking. Just look at this glyph table for 6x13. BTW, that "6x13 Redux" font I created only seems to work in Terminal.app on Tiger, not on Leopard.

The closest I've come to 6x13 is ProggySquare at 11pt.

Answer 5

I've been using Bitstream Vera Mono later DeJaVu Sans Mono (for more unicode characters) for quite a long time but I've switched a few months ago to the font used by Android, Google's OS for mobile phones, called Droid Sans Mono. It is really more readable for me. For Terminal.app, I do shrink it a bit horizontally though.

Answer 6

I've really taken a liking to Inconsolata:
http://www.levien.com/type/myfonts/inconsolata.html
But it's not really appropriate for an xterm. Better as a programming font.

I'd strongly suggest Monaco 9pt, not anti-aliased:

Never seen anything as readable and space-efficient. Note that it's the same number of pixels wide as Monaco 10, but slightly shorter.