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Scribus => Text and Typography => Topic started by: Buch on March 24, 2025, 08:05:02 PM

Title: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: Buch on March 24, 2025, 08:05:02 PM
I have a Linux laptop I want to work with, along with my main Windows desktop computer. However, I've noticed that the tracking of typographies (the space between letters) is shorter in the Linux version.

Before the visual example, I'm working with 1.6.0 in both systems (and don't want to upgrade as I'm in the middle of production). Also, I've experienced it with any font and made sure I installed the same.

Examples of Windows, Linux, and a comparison (Linux in blue):

(https://i.postimg.cc/mkG1XG0t/scribus-win.png)

(https://i.postimg.cc/ydRSyNpM/scribus-linux.png)

(https://i.postimg.cc/wBZmNN25/scribus-comparison.png)

Is this a known issue on how Scribus or Linux handles the fonts? Is there an option to avoid this discrepancy?

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: MrB on March 24, 2025, 09:43:40 PM
It's most likely due to library dependency differences, harfbuzz, icu, etc. The Windows/Mac versions are released with what is available at the time of release. The Linux ones will use whatever the distribution has when the application runs.
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: a.l.e on March 24, 2025, 09:46:09 PM
it's probably due to a difference in the version of the library in charge of placing the glyphs.

if i recall correctly, it's about harfbuzz.


if it's the case, it's a know issue and there is no solution yet, except trying to get the same version of harbuzz on windows (you don't have a choice there: it's in the scribus installer you downloaded) and on linux (finding a distribution / version with the same version of harbuzz as in windows; or compiling the same version and compiling scribus with that)
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: MrB on March 24, 2025, 10:06:05 PM
Go to the About Scribus Window and you should see the versions active with the build, per the below. What do the different versions say?
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: Buch on March 25, 2025, 10:10:54 AM
Quote from: MrB on March 24, 2025, 10:06:05 PMGo to the About Scribus Window and you should see the versions active with the build, per the below. What do the different versions say?

Never heard about Harfbuzz before. As you can see attached, Windows' build Harfbuzz version is 8.3.0, and Linux's 2.6.4. So a huge disparity between the two. That's the issue, then?

Is there any other solution apart from compiling?
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: a.l.e on March 25, 2025, 05:40:51 PM
i think that the only thing that scribus can do, is to provide release appimages that are compiled with the same versions of the relevant libraries as in windows and os x.

@MrB would that be possible?
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: AdmFubar on March 25, 2025, 06:21:23 PM
In the two images, are these screen captures? or from pdfs? Would like to compare the win and linux pdfs to see if there is a difference.
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: Buch on March 25, 2025, 06:41:19 PM
Quote from: AdmFubar on March 25, 2025, 06:21:23 PMIn the two images, are these screen captures? or from pdfs? Would like to compare the win and linux pdfs to see if there is a difference.
They're screen captures from the PDFs. You can see that effect opening the PDFs with the same PDF viewer wether in Linux or Windows.

UPDATE: I've checked the v1.7.0 appimage in Linux, and the Harfbuzz version is 8.3.0, the same as Windows' 1.6.0. I've tested exporting the PDF, and there are no discrepancies between Win 1.6 and Linux 1.7.

How stable is 1.7? Should I upgrade if I want to work cross-platform?
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: AdmFubar on March 26, 2025, 07:12:58 PM
Ok it could be an issue with how your system handles drawing the screen. You could be seeing a difference between the high resolution print and how your system squeezes this down to a lower res screen.

Have you printed this page to check? If not, check the printed versions and see if this persists.


Note to developers, Is the color space model the only change in the pdf export, or is there a resolution change as well?
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: MrB on March 26, 2025, 07:55:54 PM
Quote from: Buch on March 25, 2025, 06:41:19 PMHow stable is 1.7? Should I upgrade if I want to work cross-platform?


1.7.0 is quite stable. It's more about functionality stability than crashes etc. You should not use 1.7.1.svn.
However, 1.7.0 is not going to solve this issue if all the base dependencies are the same. Better to stay with 1.6.3 for production and experiment with 1.7.0. Interface is quite different.
Title: Re: Typography tracking not matching between Windows & Linux
Post by: a.l.e on March 26, 2025, 08:18:54 PM
@MrB would it be possible to produce a 1.6.x Appimage with the same versions of the libraries as for the 1.6.x on Windows?