Public bug reported: After switching from 16.04 to 18.04 I noticed that fonts are now (in 18.04) rendered differently in GTK+ apps.
For example, there is a vertical bar charcter `│` [U+2502](https://unicode-table.com/en/2502), that is used extensively to create solid vertical lines using just text characters. You can see it in console apps such as `mc` or `pstree`. While it is rendered correctly in Terminal in both 16.04 and 18.04, when rendered inside GTK apps it has unexpected vertical gap in-between characters on 18.04 (16.04 renders it correctly). The issue can be seen in GTK apps such as gVIM, Geany, GEdit, but Qt apps seem to render it properly. I have attached a screenshot that clearly demonstrates the difference. It shows brand new Ubuntu 16.04 on a left side where you can see vertical line in GEdit is completely solid, as it should be. On a right side it shows Ubuntu 18.04 where you can see line now has gaps that should not be there. I built a small GTK2 test app that reproduces the problem (sources at https://pastebin.com/WCH1ds4P), and using it I found that the problem occurs when libfreetype 2.8+ is used. I tested FreeType 2.6, 2.7, 2.7.1 and all of them work fine. While 2.8 and above has this gap. I am not 100% sure if this is an Ubuntu font configuration issue, or bug in FreeType, or GTK or some other Ubuntu components, but I hope someone at least can point me at the right direction. Please also check my post on AskUbuntu which has additional detail and screenshots: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1054779/incorrect-font- glyphs-rendering-in-gtk-applications-in-ubuntu-18-04 ** Affects: ubuntu Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Attachment added: "Screenshot demonstrating the issue. Ubuntu 16.04 on a left, 18.04 on a right" https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1783452/+attachment/5167365/+files/demo.png -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1783452 Title: Some font glyphs are rendered incorrectly (with additional vertical spacing) in GTK applications To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1783452/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs