XSetFontPath(3) XLIB FUNCTIONS XSetFontPath(3)

# [NAME](#NAME)

XSetFontPath, XGetFontPath, XFreeFontPath - set, get, or free the font search path

# [SYNTAX](#SYNTAX)

int XSetFontPath(Display \**display*, char \*\**directories*, int *ndirs*);

char \*\*XGetFontPath(Display \**display*, int \**npaths\_return*);

int XFreeFontPath(char \*\**list*);

# [ARGUMENTS](#ARGUMENTS)

[*directories*](#directories)

Specifies the directory path used to look for a font. Setting the path to the empty list restores the default path defined for the X server.

[*display*](#display)

Specifies the connection to the X server.

[*list*](#list)

Specifies the array of strings you want to free.

[*ndirs*](#ndirs)

Specifies the number of directories in the path.

[*npaths\_return*](#npaths_return)

Returns the number of strings in the font path array.

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

The **XSetFontPath** function defines the directory search path for font lookup. There is only one search path per X server, not one per client. The encoding and interpretation of the strings are implementation-dependent, but typically they specify directories or font servers to be searched in the order listed. An X server is permitted to cache font information internally; for example, it might cache an entire font from a file and not check on subsequent opens of that font to see if the underlying font file has changed. However, when the font path is changed, the X server is guaranteed to flush all cached information about fonts for which there currently are no explicit resource IDs allocated. The meaning of an error from this request is implementation-dependent.

**XSetFontPath** can generate a **BadValue** error.

The **XGetFontPath** function allocates and returns an array of strings containing the search path. The contents of these strings are implementation-dependent and are not intended to be interpreted by client applications. When it is no longer needed, the data in the font path should be freed by using **XFreeFontPath**.

The **XFreeFontPath** function frees the data allocated by **XGetFontPath**.

# [DIAGNOSTICS](#DIAGNOSTICS)

[**BadValue**](#BadValue)

Some numeric value falls outside the range of values accepted by the request. Unless a specific range is specified for an argument, the full range defined by the argument's type is accepted. Any argument defined as a set of alternatives can generate this error.

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[**XListFont**(3)](/man/os/libx11/XListFont.3), [**XLoadFonts**(3)](/man/os/libx11/XLoadFonts.3)  
*Xlib - C Language X Interface*

libX11 1.8.14 X Version 11

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Document: XGetFontPath(3) from libx11 1.8.14-r2 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/lib/libx11.git