[snap] symlink ~/.fonts by default to $SNAP_USER_DATA

[Olivier Tilloy]

(initially reported here: https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/call-for-testing-libreoffice-5-3-4-snap/1205/2)

The libreoffice snap doesn't seem to find custom fonts installed by the user under $HOME/.fonts/. It does find them after copying/linking them under $SNAP_USER_DATA/.fonts/ though, so ideally that link would happen automatically.

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

$ snap info --verbose libreoffice core
name: libreoffice
summary: "LibreOffice is a powerful office suite including word processing and creation of spreadsheets, slideshows and databases"
publisher: canonical
contact: http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/community-support/
description: |
  LibreOffice is a powerful office suite – its clean interface and
  feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your
  productivity. LibreOffice includes several applications that make it the most
  powerful Free and Open Source office suite on the market: Writer (word
  processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector
  graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and Math (formula editing).
commands:
  - libreoffice.base
  - libreoffice.calc
  - libreoffice.draw
  - libreoffice.impress
  - libreoffice
  - libreoffice.math
  - libreoffice.writer
notes:
  private: false
  confinement: strict
  devmode: false
  jailmode: false
  trymode: false
  enabled: true
  broken: false
tracking: beta
installed: 5.3.4.2 (21) 368MB
refreshed: 2017-07-01 19:14:41 +0200 CEST
channels:
  stable: 5.3.4.2 (21) 368MB -
  candidate: 5.3.2.2 (19) 375MB -
  beta: 5.3.4.2 (21) 368MB -
  edge: 5.3.2.2 (19) 375MB -
---
name: core
summary: "snapd runtime environment"
publisher: canonical
contact: <email address hidden>
description: |
  The core runtime environment for snapd
type: core
notes:
  private: false
  confinement: strict
  devmode: false
  jailmode: false
  trymode: false
  enabled: true
  broken: false
tracking: candidate
installed: 16-2.26.8 (2329) 84MB
refreshed: 2017-07-05 14:46:19 +0200 CEST
channels:
  stable: 16-2 (2312) 83MB -
  candidate: 16-2.26.8 (2329) 84MB -
  beta: 16-2.26.8 (2329) 84MB -
  edge: 16-2.26.9 (2371) 84MB -

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Should be fixed in core 2.29 with the new desktop interface according to https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/desktop-allow-access-to-host-system-fonts/1796

[Ads20000 (ads20000)]

Tested 2.29~rc1 and `edge` (currently 2.28.5+git445.496e635 (3314)) and can't see the system fonts from LibreOffice, guessing the desktop interface needs to be connected? What command should I use to do that?

[Ads20000 (ads20000)]

Actually sorry that may have been a complete red herring, I'm talking about system fonts rather than fonts in ~/.fonts ...

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

I think ~/.fonts should also be exposed when using the new desktop interface. You will need a more recent libreoffice snap than the one currently in the candidate channel, as I recently added the desktop interface and didn't publish anything yet. I'm working on an update that I hope will go to the candidate channel later this week, so keep an eye out for it, and test again when the call for testing is out.

[Frederik Elwert (frederik-elwert)]

I think there’s a second issue: Now the LibreOffice snap does see the fonts installed in ~/.fonts, but it does not see system fonts installed in /usr/share/fonts (e.g., as a deb package). Should I open another bug for that issue?

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

The desktop interface includes <abstractions/fonts>, which allows reading /usr/share/fonts.

Is the desktop interface connected (it should be unless you manually disconnected it)? Please share the output of `snap interfaces libreoffice`.

What's your host OS?

Which fonts are installed in /usr/share/fonts that the libreoffice snap can't see?