Oh hey windows folks who want a zip
I noticed the installer installs the Lato font that Surge requires on your system
What would you expect a zip to do in that regard?
Vember Audio Surge is now open-source
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- KVRAF
- 2802 posts since 31 Aug, 2011
It doesnt really 'require' it, Surge will simply use Arial if Lato is not there, which i personally like much better too.baconpaul wrote: Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:29 pm I noticed the installer installs the Lato font that Surge requires on your system
And i agree that a simple archive is the best solution for the portable, at least if the font doesnt matter. I realized that after finishing my CreateInstall project, because all it ultimately does is putting the Surge folder in the specified location and the font in Windows\Fonts. And thats something i can easily do myself, i.e. i dont need an installer to do it for me.
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- KVRist
- 247 posts since 1 Oct, 2015
Ok, I do not know what to tell you in this case, because I do not know what consequences it may bring to you in the Surge distribution without installer.
Installing fonts in Windows is easy, but it can be a problem for some people who don't know how to do it.
According to Wikipedia, Lato is free (SIL Open Font License) and "is the third most served font on Google Fonts". It is free to be downloaded from Google Fonts (and apparently even from other websites that provide free fonts). On YouTube there are videos where they explain how to install fonts in Windows and it is very simple.
The option that could be feasible is to distribute the Surge-without-installer but adding a text file named with something striking such as "IMPORTANT TO READ BEFORE INSTALLING" and explaining that for Surge to work it is essential to install the Lato font in Windows (which is a free font) and that you, The Suge Team, do not offer support to do so. In case the person who wants to do the manual installation of Surge does not know how to install the Lato font, it is recommended to download the Surge installer that automatically installs the font.
I must say that I installed the version of Surge in Linux and at some point a message appeared requesting the installation of a font (which must be Lato too). For this I opened Synaptic and installed it without problems. Installing fonts on Windows, Mac and Linux is very simple.
If you see that doing this brings you a problem, the best thing to do is stop distributing Surge without an installer.
What do you think?
Installing fonts in Windows is easy, but it can be a problem for some people who don't know how to do it.
According to Wikipedia, Lato is free (SIL Open Font License) and "is the third most served font on Google Fonts". It is free to be downloaded from Google Fonts (and apparently even from other websites that provide free fonts). On YouTube there are videos where they explain how to install fonts in Windows and it is very simple.
The option that could be feasible is to distribute the Surge-without-installer but adding a text file named with something striking such as "IMPORTANT TO READ BEFORE INSTALLING" and explaining that for Surge to work it is essential to install the Lato font in Windows (which is a free font) and that you, The Suge Team, do not offer support to do so. In case the person who wants to do the manual installation of Surge does not know how to install the Lato font, it is recommended to download the Surge installer that automatically installs the font.
I must say that I installed the version of Surge in Linux and at some point a message appeared requesting the installation of a font (which must be Lato too). For this I opened Synaptic and installed it without problems. Installing fonts on Windows, Mac and Linux is very simple.
If you see that doing this brings you a problem, the best thing to do is stop distributing Surge without an installer.
What do you think?
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- KVRian
- 1213 posts since 25 Dec, 2018
Yeah fine. So put the font in the zip file and have a README. And if you screw it up, you screw it up. That’s fine.
So the zip file would be something like
<pre>
SURGE_ZIP
+- README
+— SurgeSynthTeam
+- SurgeData
+- Surge.vst3
+- SurgeEffectsBank.vst3
+— Fonts
+- Lato.ttf
</pre>
And then the README says basically “copy SST into your path for your VST3s somewhere. Install the font in the Fonts directory. If this is too complicated for you, perhaps you should have grabbed the installer”. Just more politely.
OK cool I can bang that together before 1.7.2 and have it in the nightlies also.
So the zip file would be something like
<pre>
SURGE_ZIP
+- README
+— SurgeSynthTeam
+- SurgeData
+- Surge.vst3
+- SurgeEffectsBank.vst3
+— Fonts
+- Lato.ttf
</pre>
And then the README says basically “copy SST into your path for your VST3s somewhere. Install the font in the Fonts directory. If this is too complicated for you, perhaps you should have grabbed the installer”. Just more politely.
OK cool I can bang that together before 1.7.2 and have it in the nightlies also.
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- KVRist
- 247 posts since 1 Oct, 2015
Everything looks good to me. Thank you very much baconpaul for attending this request. I assure you that this option will have a great reception among many users of Surge.baconpaul wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:47 am
OK cool I can bang that together before 1.7.2 and have it in the nightlies also.
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- Banned
- 9081 posts since 15 Oct, 2017 from U.S.
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- KVRAF
- 24411 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Croatia
Lato is so much better than Arial.
There I said it.
There I said it.
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- KVRian
- 1213 posts since 25 Dec, 2018
https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/surge/issues/2442
Before 172 I'll get the zip together. If you want to be informed when it is in the nightly follow that issue.
Before 172 I'll get the zip together. If you want to be informed when it is in the nightly follow that issue.
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- KVRAF
- 3154 posts since 10 Jan, 2005
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- KVRist
- 55 posts since 30 Aug, 2008
Great! Easier to test nightly builds, simple to revert if needed.baconpaul wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:43 pm https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/surge/issues/2442
Before 172 I'll get the zip together. If you want to be informed when it is in the nightly follow that issue.
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- KVRist
- 247 posts since 1 Oct, 2015
Ok, thank you!baconpaul wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:43 pm
Before 172 I'll get the zip together. If you want to be informed when it is in the nightly follow that issue.
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- KVRAF
- 2802 posts since 31 Aug, 2011
From a quality point of view its not factually true though.EvilDragon wrote: Lato is so much better than Arial.
There I said it.
View the image below fullsize (in case it isnt) and compare, its no contest.
Speaking of fonts; it would be cool if those were user selectable. For example in the GIF below i have substituted Lato with Ubuntu-R from the Ubuntu set, which is one of the most high quality sets of fonts i have personally seen. (Even the Light variant looks amazing.) View fullsize and watch as it alternates between Lato and Ubuntu. (Lato is the taller one.)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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- KVRAF
- 24411 posts since 7 Jan, 2009 from Croatia
Dunno Arial is just so damn boring to me
That Ubuntu-R font seems quite nice, though!
That Ubuntu-R font seems quite nice, though!
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- KVRAF
- 2802 posts since 31 Aug, 2011
It is!EvilDragon wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:27 pm Dunno Arial is just so damn boring to me
That Ubuntu-R font seems quite nice, though!
Check out the set, it contains 10 variants, (Regular, Bold, Condensed, etc.) plus 4 extra Mono versions.