Getting Office 2007 fonts into Linux

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Jan. 30, 2008

The really big problem in document formats is what's going to become the next office document format: Microsoft's proprietary Open XML or OpenOffice's ODF (Open Document Format). A far more minor but nonetheless very annoying problem is what do you do about Microsoft's ClearType Collection typefaces: Calibri, Cambria, Candara, Consolas, Constantia and Corbel?

These were introduced in Office 2007 and Vista. Not only are they new and--need I say it?--proprietary, they aren't simply in addition to Microsoft existing proprietary fonts--Arial, Time New Roman, etc.--they replace them. That means not only are Linux and OpenOffice users stuck with semi-indecipherable text, so are users of older versions of Windows and Microsoft Office.

It's enough to make you think that Microsoft wants to force you to upgrade!

Fortunately, there is a way around the funny font problem. In a recent article in OpenOfficeNinja, a method is described to get these new fonts into Linux or older versions of Windows using Microsoft's free PowerPoint Viewer 2007.

If you'd rather not do that, it also describes how to replace these new fonts with their Bitstream font equivalents. The Bitstream fonts come with OpenOffice, so almost every Linux user already has these installed on their system. Another option, for dealing with Microsoft's older proprietary fonts, is to install Red Hat's Liberation Fonts.

In any case, though, you'll want to avoid using these fonts to create your own documents. There's no reason to give Microsoft any more encouragement for trapping users into using only their fonts and formats.

--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

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