[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 91886] Make font installation optional

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91886

--- Comment #8 from João Paulo <joaopauloag-freedesktop at yahoo.com.br> ---
I remember there was a discussion if certain fonts should be removed from the
main .MSI package and put on a ancillary .MSI package (just like the offline
help files are packaged), so the main .MSI file could be reduced in size by
removing "obsolete" fonts.  The consensus at the time was that if a font is
packaged, it should be always packaged because the user may have used it on its
documents, removing the font would break the documents and the user could blame
LibreOffice for showing "ugly" documents.

I agree with that, but I propose the following, which may please everyone
(except maybe the people who make the .MSI packages):

* Each font family shipped should appear as a feature that could be disabled by
the user and not installed (just like the interface languages, the dictionaries
and other features can be disabled from installing);

* Each font family should have on its description text when installing a
warning to the user that the font family is used on some templates that will
not appear as they should and also could have been used on previous documents
that will not appear as they should, unless the user installs the font family
(of course the user can install the font family without help from LibreOffice
.MSI package).  This description text is the one that appears on the right when
the user chooses to do the custom install instead of the default install;

* If possible, a new message window warning the user when disabling the font
installation should appear, so the user could select the "Ok" button or the
"Cancel" button.  This message window should not be shown if the disabled font
is deprecated;

* Now the .MSI packaged can be built to only install templates if the fonts
they need are installed.  I prefer that LibreOffice installs the templates even
if the fonts are not installed because the user can always get and install the
needed font without help from LibreOffice.  I myself like to keep fonts
installed to a minimum and only install them on the user account and not system
wide (Windows 10 version 1909, maybe 1903, allows the user to install fonts
this way, they go to the "%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts" folder),
because the more fonts installed on Windows, more slowly Windows starts and
more system resources are needlessly used;

* If possible, the .MSI can be built so the list of the packaged fonts which
are installed (or the list of deactivated fonts) are sent to the developers
(with user consent, of course, but enabled by default on silent installs and
with a package property to switch it off).  This way, LibreOffice developers
can track which fonts are installed or not to decide if the font should be
packaged, deprecated (disabled by default on new installations, but when
upgrading keeping the installed fonts -- just as LibreOffice .MSI packages
already does for the other features), and finally not packaged anymore;

* The removed fonts from the main .MSI package could still be packaged on an
ancillary .MSI package to be downloaded just like the offline help files are,
if the .MSI package builders think it would be good.

Resuming, fonts would be installed by default, the user could choose to not
install, when upgrading his/her choice would be preserved, and if there is
telemetry of packaged fonts which are installed or not then LibreOffice could
have a smaller .MSI package.

I myself prefer to manage the fonts outside of the LibreOffice installer
package.  The task of updating fonts should not be a burden for LibreOffice
developers, it should be made by the operating system's package manager (as is
on NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, various Linux distros, some Android distros,
Haiku, OpenIndiana, etc.).  Even if Windows don't have a package manager
outside of Microsoft Store (which has a Fonts section with freeware and paid
fonts), LibreOffice installer could still give the user the option to use
external font managers, such as SkyFonts that allow to use and automatically
update Google Fonts (check https://www.fonts.com/web-fonts/google).

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