======================
Powerline font patcher
======================
:Author: Kim Silkebækken (kim.silkebaekken+vim@gmail.com)
Description
-----------
This font patcher creates dividers and symbols for use with Powerline. The
script requires Python 2 and FontForge compiled with Python bindings.
Patched fonts are renamed by default (" for Powerline" is added to the font
name) so they don't conflict with existing fonts. Use the ``--no-rename``
option to disable font renaming.
Glyph table
-----------
All the glyphs are stored in the ``U+2B60``-``U+2BFF`` range ("Misc symbols
and arrows").
+------------+-------------------+
| Code point | Description |
+============+===================+
| ``U+2B60`` | Branch symbol |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B61`` | LN (line) symbol |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B62`` | FT symbol, part 1 |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B63`` | FT symbol, part 2 |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B64`` | Padlock (closed) |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B80`` | Hard right arrow |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B81`` | Soft right arrow |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B82`` | Hard left arrow |
+------------+-------------------+
| ``U+2B83`` | Soft left arrow |
+------------+-------------------+
===================
Font patching guide
===================
There's a `GitHub wiki page`_ dedicated to community-contributed patched
fonts. You may download one of the fonts on that page if you don't want to
patch the fonts yourself.
If you do patch a font that's not included in the wiki (and you have
permission to distribute it), please include it on the wiki page.
**Note:** The fonts in the wiki may be outdated, and may have different
glyphs than the ones provided in the latest version of Powerline. It's
recommended that you always patch your fonts yourself if you have the
required software.
.. _`GitHub wiki page`: https://github.com/Lokaltog/vim-powerline/wiki/Patched-fonts
Linux
-----
1. Install fontforge with Python bindings. For Ubuntu users the required
package is ``python-fontforge``, for Arch Linux users the required
package is ``fontforge``. It should be something similar for other
distros.
2. Run the font patcher::
$ /path/to/fontpatcher MyFontFile.ttf
3. Copy the font file into ``~/.fonts`` (or another X font directory)::
$ cp MyFontFile-Powerline.otf ~/.fonts
**Note:** If the font is a pure bitmap font (e.g. a PCF font) it will be
stored in the BDF format. This is usually not a problem, and you may
convert the font back to the PCF format using ``bdftopcf`` if you want
to. All other fonts will be stored in the OTF format regardless of the
original format.
4. Update your font cache::
$ sudo fc-cache -vf
**Note:** If you use vim in rxvt-unicode in the client/daemon mode, you
may need to close all running terminals as well for the font to be
updated.
5. **For gvim users:** Update the GUI font in your ``vimrc`` file::
set guifont=MyFont\ for\ Powerline
**For terminal users:** Update your terminal configuration to use the
patched font.
6. Update your ``vimrc`` configuration to use the new symbols::
let g:Powerline_symbols = 'fancy'
7. Make sure that the cache file is deleted::
$ rm /tmp/Powerline.cache
8. Start vim and enjoy your new statusline!
OS X
----
1. Check if you have a FontForge version with Python support by running
``fontforge -version``. You should see something like this::
$ fontforge -version
Copyright (c) 2000-2011 by George Williams.
Executable based on sources from 13:48 GMT 22-Feb-2011-D.
Library based on sources from 13:48 GMT 22-Feb-2011.
fontforge 20110222
libfontforge 20110222
Make sure that the executable version number doesn't have ``NoPython`` in
it. If everything looks OK, skip ahead to step 4.
2. If you have FontForge but with ``NoPython`` in the version number, please
try to update to a later version::
$ brew uninstall fontforge
$ brew update
$ brew install --use-gcc fontforge
**Note:** You may have to use ``--use-clang`` instead of ``--use-gcc``
when compiling FontForge.
3. If you don't have FontForge, install it with Homebrew::
$ brew update
$ brew install --use-gcc fontforge
4. Patch your fonts by passing the ``fontpatcher`` script as a parameter to
FontForge::
$ fontforge -script /path/to/fontpatcher MyFontFile.ttf
5. Install the font by double-clicking the font file in Finder and click
"Install this font" from the preview window.
6. **For gvim users:** Update the GUI font in your ``vimrc`` file::
set guifont=MyFont\ for\ Powerline
**For terminal users:** Update your terminal configuration to use the
patched font.
7. Update your ``vimrc`` configuration to use the new symbols::
let g:Powerline_symbols = 'fancy'
8. Make sure that the cache file is deleted::
$ rm /tmp/Powerline.cache
9. Start vim and enjoy your new statusline!
0087ef8f9b