Inkscape: Unable to change or select any font

[Lixin Chin]

Selecting any font in inkscape fails silently. Although the new font appears to be selected in the font drop-down list, the actual text never changes.

To replicate:
1) Start a new document in inkscape
2) Use the Text tool and type something.
3) Select the text that was just typed.
4) In the font drop-down box, change the font to something else.
5) Observe that the name in the font drop-down box has changed, but that the actual font used in the text has not.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: inkscape 0.48.4-0.1ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-27.40-generic 3.8.13.4
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-27-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu8.1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Aug 1 16:03:59 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2010-04-09 (1209 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
MarkForUpload: True
SourcePackage: inkscape
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to raring on 2013-04-29 (94 days ago)

[Lixin Chin (wstfgl)]

Just tested the same version of Inkscape, 0.48.4, for windows using the
same Inkscape .svgz file and everything is working perfectly.

I'd surmise its a bug with the way Inkscape's font selection interacts
with Ubuntu.

To replicate:

1) Create an inkscape document with text.
2) Set the text to a font that's available under both windows and
Ubuntu, (I used Arial)
3) Observe that the font is successfully changed under Windows, but
fails under Ubuntu.

Attached a minimal test file, and the same file exported to PDF under
Ubuntu and Windows.

On 01/08/13 16:18, Lixin Chin wrote:
> Public bug reported:
>
> Selecting any font in inkscape fails silently. Although the new font
> appears to be selected in the font drop-down list, the actual text never
> changes.
>
> To replicate:
> 1) Start a new document in inkscape
> 2) Use the Text tool and type something.
> 3) Select the text that was just typed.
> 4) In the font drop-down box, change the font to something else.
> 5) Observe that the name in the font drop-down box has changed, but that the actual font used in the text has not.
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
> Package: inkscape 0.48.4-0.1ubuntu2
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-27.40-generic 3.8.13.4
> Uname: Linux 3.8.0-27-generic x86_64
> ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu8.1
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Thu Aug 1 16:03:59 2013
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2010-04-09 (1209 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
> MarkForUpload: True
> SourcePackage: inkscape
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to raring on 2013-04-29 (94 days ago)
>
> ** Affects: inkscape (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided
> Status: New
>
>
> ** Tags: amd64 apport-bug raring third-party-packages
>
> ** Attachment added: "Attempted to select 3 different fonts which I have installed on my system"
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1207217/+attachment/3756753/+files/Inkscape_FontBug.png
>

[Lixin Chin (wstfgl)]

Just tested with the latest Inkscape ubuntu PPA (https://launchpad.net/~inkscape.dev/+archive/trunk, 2013-08-13) and the bug is still present.

[Lixin Chin (wstfgl)]

Bug is still present in Ubuntu 13.10.

[Lixin Chin (wstfgl)]

Completely reinstalled Kubuntu 13.10 from scratch, and the bug seems to have disappeared.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Likely same issue as reported in bug #667091 (see also bug #728086). If the font defined as 'default' font (in Inkscape's preferences) is no longer installed on the current system (e.g. after a system update), it is not possible with current stable Inkscape 0.48 to change the font via dropdown menu on the text tool controls bar.

Proposing to link as duplicate to bug #667091.