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pythonmatplotlibfonts

How to use a (random) *.otf or *.ttf font in matplotlib?

How can I use any type of font in my font library on my computer (e.g. *otf or *ttf) in all my matplotlib figures?

Solution

  • See the example here: http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/examples/api/font_file.html

    In general, you'd do something like this if you're wanting to use a specific .ttf file. (Keep in mind that pointing to a specific font file is usually a bad idea!)

    import matplotlib.font_manager as fm
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.plot(range(10))

prop = fm.FontProperties(fname='/usr/share/fonts/truetype/groovygh.ttf')
ax.set_title('This is some random font', fontproperties=prop, size=32)

plt.show()

    enter image description here

    Usually, you'd just point to the name of the font, and let matplotlib worry about finding the specific file. E.g.

    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot(range(10))
plt.title('This is some random font', family='GroovyGhosties', size=32)

plt.show()

    If you want to have matplotlib always use a particular font, then customize your .matplotlibrc file. (font.family is what you'd want to set. Note that you should specify the name of the font, not the path to a specific .ttf file.)

    As an example of doing this dynamically (i.e. without setting up a specific .matplotlibrc file):

    import matplotlib as mpl
mpl.rcParams['font.family'] = 'GroovyGhosties'

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot(range(10))
plt.title('Everything is crazy!!!', size=32)
plt.show()

    enter image description here