DP Sans Mono
DP Sans Mono is a custom font optimized for proofreading. It is designed to help users distinguish between similar looking characters. The font is based off of DejaVu Sans Mono.
DP Sans Mono is the spiritual successor to DPCustomMono2 and replaced DPCustomMono2 for the site on 2020-07-06. Unlike DPCustomMono2, DP Sans Mono supports a range of Unicode characters making it a better font for proofreading after the site conversion to Unicode.
If you wish to download or update a version of this font, please visit the DP Sans Mono - New Release Announcements forum topic.
FAQs
What is DP Sans Mono?
DP Sans Mono is a new font (think of it as a "spiritual successor" to DPCustomMono 2 rather than the latest iteration of the DPCustomMono fonts) designed specifically for Distributed Proofreaders. It was made using FontForge by lvl, based on DejaVu Sans Mono, and was tested by various volunteers (the full list is in the credits section). Among other changes, DP Sans Mono now supports more characters because of the Unicode Rollout and will also be constantly updated as more characters are added to the Unicode Character Suites. It also has more noticeable differences between similar characters.
Where can I see a sample?
The Font Sample page shows comparisons between your browser default font, DP Sans Mono, and DejaVu Sans Mono.
Why a new name? Why not just call it DPCustomMono3?
DP Sans Mono is a new font. It's not based on DPCustomMono (DPCM), it's based on DejaVu Sans Mono. It also has more support for Unicode characters, unlike the older DPCustomMono fonts which mostly supported Latin-1 characters.
Why base it on DejaVu Sans Mono?
DejaVu Sans Mono was originally going to be the "fallback" for characters DPCustomMono didn't support. However, it had different widths compared to DPCM2 and there was concern that DP'ers in the rounds would be confused. Since DejaVu Sans Mono supported more characters than DPCM2, it was decided to modify a copy of the font (which is permitted under the license) and give it a new name.
How can I switch?
You can switch to DP Sans Mono from your Proofreading Preferences. Click on the "Proofreading" tab, and under "Font Face", select "DP Sans Mono". If you were using DPCustomMono2 your preferences have been updated automatically to the new font.
Why should I use DP Sans Mono?
Like DPCM2, DP Sans Mono is designed by DP'ers for DP. It's a tailor-made font just for proofreading. If you haven't had a try yet, DP Sans Mono (and its spiritual predecessors) have more noticeable differences between similar characters (like O and 0) and hence will help you spot scannos easily. Punctuation like apostrophes, full stops, and commas are also easier to differentiate from each other. DP Sans Mono makes for a more efficient and easier proofreading experience because scannos can be spotted easily and quickly. For a comparison between DP Sans Mono and other fonts, please see here.
Why does it look so ugly, though?
DP Sans Mono and its predecessors aren't meant to look pretty - their main purpose is to facilitate accurate proofreading and enable the quicker discovery of errors and scannos. That's why characters and punctuation marks stand out from each other. If you really don't like DP Sans Mono though, feel free to switch to another font; however be warned that due to the nature of other fonts (they were designed to look nice and consistent for reading and display purposes, not for proofreading), you may end up missing a couple of scannos and find it much harder to find errors in the text you are proofreading.
Can I download it to use on my computer?
Sure! The font comes in a True Font (.ttf) file and can be downloaded from the DP Sans Mono Release Announcements Thread. You should also subscribe to that forum thread so you will be notified of updates and improvements to the font.
I'm using DP Sans Mono on DP. How do I get the latest updates to the font?
Don't fret, since you're using the web font, you will automatically be updated to the latest version of the font as updates to the font are released!
Where can I suggest something or file a bug report for the new font?
Check out this forum thread - you will be able to see DP'ers discussing changes to the fonts as well as try and help out with the development of the new font. If you have any feature requests or bug reports, post them in the thread and we should get to you ASAP.
Credits
Special thanks to:
- Bitstream Inc. (now owned by MonoType Imaging) for creating the original Bitstream Vera fonts, as well as permitting the modification of the font through the font license.
- The DejaVu Font Project for providing a wider range of supported characters.
- lvl for the creation of the font. This is a particularly amazing achievement as he had no prior knowledge of fonts beforehand!
- srjfoo for helping to compare the two fonts and suggesting changes to make the font more consistent with its predecessors.
- jjz & rfrank for testing and viewing the font during development.
- rpajares, wfarrell, BookBuff, Tony Browne, harrylame, RobertMouris, Stephen Rowland, bunny-crunch, deaurider for suggesting changes to the font.
License
Fonts are (c) Bitstream (see below). Changes made by DejaVu and by
Distributed Proofreaders are in public domain.
Bitstream Vera Fonts Copyright
-------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2003 by Bitstream, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bitstream
Vera is a trademark of Bitstream, Inc.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
copy of the fonts accompanying this license ("Fonts") and associated
documentation files (the "Font Software"), to reproduce and distribute
the Font Software, including without limitation the rights to use, copy,
merge, publish, distribute, and/or sell copies of the Font Software, and
to permit persons to whom the Font Software is furnished to do so,
subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright and trademark notices and this permission notice
shall be included in all copies of one or more of the Font Software
typefaces.
The Font Software may be modified, altered, or added to, and in
particular the designs of glyphs or characters in the Fonts may be
modified and additional glyphs or characters may be added to the
Fonts, only if the fonts are renamed to names not containing either the
words "Bitstream" or the word "Vera".
This License becomes null and void to the extent applicable to Fonts or
Font Software that has been modified and is distributed under the
"Bitstream Vera" names.
The Font Software may be sold as part of a larger software package but
no copy of one or more of the Font Software typefaces may be sold by
itself.
THE FONT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF
COPYRIGHT, PATENT, TRADEMARK, OR OTHER RIGHT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
BITSTREAM OR THE GNOME FOUNDATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
OTHER LIABILITY, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR
OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE FONT
SOFTWARE OR FROM OTHER DEALINGS IN THE FONT SOFTWARE.
Except as contained in this notice, the names of Gnome, the Gnome
Foundation, and Bitstream Inc., shall not be used in advertising or
otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Font
Software without prior written authorization from the Gnome Foundation
or Bitstream Inc., respectively. For further information, contact: fonts
at gnome dot org.