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Changing the Default Font in Kodi to Display Unicode Characters - Printable Version

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Changing the Default Font in Kodi to Display Unicode Characters - linesma - 2024-02-12

One thing I really like about using Kodi to display content from my Jellyfin Server is that it is available in multiple languages. The interface and many of the official add-ons have been translated by the community into languages other than English. While displaying Kodi in your native language is great, the problem comes when you try to mix languages. This is especially evident when you try to mix languages that do not use the same style of alphabet, such as English and Japanese. Kodi will display the non-Latin characters of the Japanese language as either boxes or gibberish. Since I live in a multi-language household, Thai and English, tweaking Kodi to display non-Latin characters, whether in media titles or subtitles, is a must.

The reason why Kodi will not display languages such as English and Chinese together properly is due to fonts. The default font that ships with Kodi does not allow for the display of a mixture of character styles. Here is an example of what the default font will display in Kodi when you mix Thai with English.

[Image: i3FhsQw.png]  [Image: yCi9mph.png]

As you can see, the Thai text is displayed as boxes whereas the English text is displayed normally. This can be fixed by adding a unicode font that is capable of displaying multiple styles of writing to Kodi and configuring Kodi to use that font. Since adding the font to Kodi is a little different depending on the Operating System you are using, I will first discuss how to add the necessary font to Kodi in Linux, Windows, and Android.


Getting a Compatible Font

Before you do anything, you will need to get a hold of a font that can display multiple types of characters. I suggest using a Unicode style font as it is compatible with most languages. The steps are the same no matter what Operating System you are using.


1. Download a Unicode type font. I personally use the font ARIALUNI.TTF. I will be using this font as an example throughout the rest of this guide.
2. Rename "ARIALUNI.TTF" to "arial.ttf".

Important: Notice I renamed the file using all lower case letters. If you do not do this step, Kodi will not recognize the font.

Now that you have the required font, skip to the section for your Operating System.


Linux 

These instructions are based on you having the font to your Downloads directory. If it is in a different directory, replace "Downloads" with the directory it is in.

1. Open the terminal.

2. Copy and paste each line one at a time into the terminal. NOTE: If you choose to type the lines into terminal, Linux is case sensitive. Make sure you capitalize what I have capitalized below. If you do not capitalize the name of the “Fonts” directory, Kodi will not recognize it.

Code:
sudo mkdir ~/.kodi/media/Fonts
mv ~/Downloads/arial.ttf ~/.kodi/media/Fonts

3. Now you can go to the "Kodi" section.


Windows

1. Open File Explorer and type %APPDATA%\kodi\media in the address bar and hit enter.

2.Create a new folder named "Fonts"

Note: Make sure to spell "Fonts" with a uppercase "F".

3. Copy and paste the "arial.ttf" file from your "Downloads" folder into this new folder.


4. Now you can go to the "Kodi" section.


Android (External File Manager Instructions)

With many of the Android TV boxes on the market, you can use any file manager you choose. However, the Nvidia Shield TV requires that you use a file explorer that can read the Android 11 file system properly. For my Nvidia Shield TV, I use Solid Explorer as my file explorer. It is available on the Google Play store. These instructions will focus on Android TV devices and the Nvidia Shield TV.

1. On another computer, copy the "arial.ttf" file to an SD card. If your Android TV is attached to a network, you could put the file onto a network drive.

2. On your Android TV, open a file explorer. I prefer Solid Explorer.

4. In the settings of the file explorer you need to tell it to "Show Hidden Files" This will allow you to see the directory that we are copying the font into.

5. In the file explorer, navigate to /storage/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/media

6. Create a new folder and name it "Fonts"

Note: Make sure to spell "Fonts" with a uppercase "F".

7. Copy "arial.ttf" to the "Fonts" folder.

8. Now you can go to the "Kodi" section.


Android (Using Kodi’s internal file manager)

1. Run Kodi and go to “Settings”.

2. Click on “File Manager”.

3. On the left side, click on “Add Source”

4. In the dialogue box, click on <none>.

5. Type:
Code:
special://home
in the dialogue box and click OK.

6. Leave the name of the source “home” and Click OK.

7. On the left side, navigate to where you have the font file stored.

8. On the right side, navigate to home/media.

9. In the media directory, create a folder named “Fonts”, and enter the newly created folder.

Note: Make sure to spell "Fonts" with a uppercase "F".

10. Copy the font file into the “Fonts” folder.

11. Exit the File Manager and Settings.

12. Go to the “Kodi” section.

(Thank you to tmsrxzar for this method)

Kodi

1. Run Kodi and go to "Settings".

[Image: h3kNL6V.png]

2. Click on "Interface settings".

[Image: 8nfd36U.png]

3. In the "Skin" section, click on "Fonts".

[Image: SVIVZrX.png]

4. In dialogue box, select "Arial based".

[Image: jEy5S4X.png]

5. I always restart Kodi at this point. It is entirely optional.

Kodi will now display not only English properly, but Thai, Chinese, and Japanese and other non-Western characters properly.

[Image: 9qbeN0B.png]  [Image: BEnEVxA.png]


Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Note: I originally posted this on my blog, Mark’s Expeditions, in 2017. I have updated it to remove out-dated steps and ensure accuracy.

RE: Changing the Default Font in Kodi to Display Unicode Characters - tmsrxzar - 2024-02-12

awesome write up, very well detailed

i do have to correct you on one point and expand your guide a bit

on Android, you do not have to be rooted nor do you have to use an external file manager

using the Kodi file manager from settings, click add source, click the line marked "<None>", enter "special://home"
in kodi special://home translates to /storage/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/

since Kodi owns this location it itself can write files here so then you can copy from the sdcard to Fonts

references

kodi wiki for the file manager https://kodi.wiki/view/File_manager
kodi wiki for the special protocol https://kodi.wiki/view/Special_protocol

RE: Changing the Default Font in Kodi to Display Unicode Characters - linesma - 2024-02-12

(2024-02-12, 04:04 PM)tmsrxzar Wrote: awesome write up, very well detailed

i do have to correct you on one point and expand your guide a bit

on Android, you do not have to be rooted nor do you have to use an external file manager

using the Kodi file manager from settings, click add source, click the line marked "<None>", enter "specialConfused-face/home"
in kodi specialConfused-face/home translates to /storage/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/

since Kodi owns this location it itself can write files here so then you can copy from the sdcard to Fonts

references

kodi wiki for the file manager https://kodi.wiki/view/File_manager
kodi wiki for the special protocol https://kodi.wiki/view/Special_protocol


Thank you for the correction. I appreciate it. I have never done it that way. I will make the needed changes.

NOTE: Changes made to the original post. I updated the original Android section and Added a new section using the method you described. Thank you again for the information. It is greatly appreciated.

RE: Changing the Default Font in Kodi to Display Unicode Characters - tmsrxzar - 2024-02-12

you're very welcome, glad i was able to add something

and thank you for the great write up on the unicode fonts 👍