Non-code font looks thin, hard to read

[coolguy420]

I’m running Sublime Text 3 on Debian 9.3.

I recently installed a bunch of packages and ran apt-get update.

Now Sublime Text’s window fonts look weird. Here: http://i.imgur.com/xYCWNzv.png.

Any idea how I fix this?

[deathaxe]

Looks like font antialiase is disabled.

Maybe you have set "font_options": ["no_antialias"] or "theme_font_options": ["no_antialias"] or something like that?

You could try to explicitly enable antialias by "theme_font_options": ["gray_antialias"]

[kingkeith]

seems more likely that the Sans (default) font is dodgy on your system:

Adaptive Theme Command Palette Font?

The default font used for theme elements is "system". This works out to be: Windows: Segoe UI or MS Sans Serif Linux: Sans Mac: San Francisco, Helvetica or Lucida Grande (depending on the release)

any related messages in the ST console?

what does running fc-match Sans in a shell give you?

[coolguy420]

I believe it’s a system font problem. Here’s what I see in terminal when I run fc-match Sans.

Fontconfig warning: line 5: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: line 6: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: line 6: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: line 6: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: line 7: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: line 7: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: line 9: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-hinting-slight.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/10-scale-bitmap-fonts.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/11-lcdfilter-default.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/20-unhint-small-vera.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/30-metric-aliases.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/40-nonlatin.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-generic.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/45-latin.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/49-sansserif.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/50-user.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/51-local.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-generic.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/60-latin.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 34: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 35: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 35: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 35: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 36: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-fonts-persian.conf", line 36: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/65-nonlatin.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/69-unifont.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/70-no-bitmaps.conf", line 8: unknown element "description"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/80-delicious.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 4: unknown element "its:rules"
Fontconfig warning: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 5: unknown element "its:translateRule"
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'translate'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 5: invalid attribute 'selector'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'xmlns:its'
Fontconfig error: "/etc/fonts/conf.d/90-synthetic.conf", line 6: invalid attribute 'version'
Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file
Lato-Medium.ttf: "Lato" "Medium"

[coolguy420]

Any idea what the problem is?

[coolguy420]

I’ve put a bounty on this question at Unix Stackexchange is anyone has a solution: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/446559/system-font-looks-tiny-hard-to-read