imgui/misc/freetype/README.md

imgui_freetype

This is an attempt to replace stb_truetype (the default imgui's font rasterizer) with FreeType. Currently not optimal and probably has some limitations or bugs. By Vuhdo (Aleksei Skriabin). Improvements by @mikesart. Maintained by @ocornut.

Usage

1. Get latest FreeType binaries or build yourself.
2. Add imgui_freetype.h/cpp alongside your imgui sources.
3. Include imgui_freetype.h after imgui.h.
4. Call ImGuiFreeType::BuildFontAtlas() BEFORE calling ImFontAtlas::GetTexDataAsRGBA32() or ImFontAtlas::Build() (so normal Build() won't be called):

// See ImGuiFreeType::RasterizationFlags
unsigned int flags = ImGuiFreeType::NoHinting;
ImGuiFreeType::BuildFontAtlas(io.Fonts, flags);
io.Fonts->GetTexDataAsRGBA32(&pixels, &width, &height);

Gamma Correct Blending FreeType assumes blending in linear space rather than gamma space. See FreeType note for FT_Render_Glyph. For correct results you need to be using sRGB and convert to linear space in the pixel shader output. The default imgui styles will be impacted by this change (alpha values will need tweaking).

Test code Usage

#include "misc/freetype/imgui_freetype.h"
#include "misc/freetype/imgui_freetype.cpp"

// Load various small fonts
ImGuiIO& io = ImGui::GetIO();
io.Fonts->AddFontFromFileTTF("../../misc/fonts/Roboto-Medium.ttf", 13.0f);
io.Fonts->AddFontFromFileTTF("../../misc/fonts/Cousine-Regular.ttf", 13.0f);
io.Fonts->AddFontDefault();

FreeTypeTest freetype_test;

// Main Loop
while (true)
{
   if (freetype_test.UpdateRebuild())
   {
      // REUPLOAD FONT TEXTURE TO GPU
      // e.g ImGui_ImplGlfwGL3_InvalidateDeviceObjects() + ImGui_ImplGlfwGL3_CreateDeviceObjects()
   }
   ImGui::NewFrame();
   freetype_test.ShowFreetypeOptionsWindow();
   ...
   }
}

Test code

#include "misc/freetype/imgui_freetype.h"
#include "misc/freetype/imgui_freetype.cpp"

struct FreeTypeTest
{
    enum FontBuildMode
    {
        FontBuildMode_FreeType,
        FontBuildMode_Stb,
    };

    FontBuildMode BuildMode;
    bool          WantRebuild;
    float         FontsMultiply;
    unsigned int  FontsFlags;

    FreeTypeTest()
    {
        BuildMode = FontBuildMode_FreeType;
        WantRebuild = true;
        FontsMultiply = 1.0f;
        FontsFlags = 0;
    }

    // Call _BEFORE_ NewFrame()
    bool UpdateRebuild()
    {
        if (!WantRebuild)
            return false;
        ImGuiIO& io = ImGui::GetIO();
        for (int n = 0; n < io.Fonts->Fonts.Size; n++)
        {
            io.Fonts->Fonts[n]->ConfigData->RasterizerMultiply = FontsMultiply;
            io.Fonts->Fonts[n]->ConfigData->RasterizerFlags = (BuildMode == FontBuildMode_FreeType) ? FontsFlags : 0x00;
        }
        if (BuildMode == FontBuildMode_FreeType)
            ImGuiFreeType::BuildFontAtlas(io.Fonts, FontsFlags);
        else if (BuildMode == FontBuildMode_Stb)
            io.Fonts->Build();
        WantRebuild = false;
        return true;
    }

    // Call to draw interface
    void ShowFreetypeOptionsWindow()
    {
        ImGui::Begin("FreeType Options");
        ImGui::ShowFontSelector("Fonts");
        WantRebuild |= ImGui::RadioButton("FreeType", (int*)&BuildMode, FontBuildMode_FreeType);
        ImGui::SameLine();
        WantRebuild |= ImGui::RadioButton("Stb (Default)", (int*)&BuildMode, FontBuildMode_Stb);
        WantRebuild |= ImGui::DragFloat("Multiply", &FontsMultiply, 0.001f, 0.0f, 2.0f);
        if (BuildMode == FontBuildMode_FreeType)
        {
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("NoHinting",     &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::NoHinting);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("NoAutoHint",    &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::NoAutoHint);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("ForceAutoHint", &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::ForceAutoHint);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("LightHinting",  &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::LightHinting);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("MonoHinting",   &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::MonoHinting);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("Bold",          &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::Bold);
            WantRebuild |= ImGui::CheckboxFlags("Oblique",       &FontsFlags, ImGuiFreeType::Oblique);
        }
        ImGui::End();
    }
};

Known issues

• Output texture has excessive resolution (lots of vertical waste).
• FreeType's memory allocator is not overridden.
• cfg.OversampleH, OversampleV are ignored (but perhaps not so necessary with this rasterizer).

Obligatory comparison screenshots

Using Windows built-in segoeui.ttf font. Open in new browser tabs, view at 1080p+.