When installing VNC, a configuration file is created:

/etc/vnc/config

In this file there is a line specifying a font registry:

-fp "catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d,builtins"

This is based on the font settings at VNC install time.

These settings can be overridden in a file:

/etc/vnc/config.custom

If you create such a file and add the line:

-fp "catalogue:/nonexisting/path.d,builtins"

and start a new VNC server, you will only have a few fonts (the builtin ones.)

You no have one VNC session with a large set of fonts, and another with a much smaller set of fonts available. This means that even though the basic installation has all the fonts installed it is possible that the VNC session does not.

Possible solutions:

1. A local solution which will enable fonts on the local VNC session currently running:

xset +fp /usr/share/X11/fonts/misc

xset +fp /usr/share/X11/fonts/75dpi

xset fp rehash

   or...

xset +fp catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d

xset fp rehash

2. A persistent solution:

Create the file: /etc/vnc/config.custom

Add the following line (if /etc/X11/fontpath.d is a directory containing symbolic links to existing font directories):

-fp "catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d,builtins"

Then, restart the VNC server(s).

Check that fonts are loaded in the VNC session by running xlsfonts.

If (2) does not work correctly, you can add a comma-separated list of paths to directories containing fonts.dir files.

Note that the xset commands do not necessarily have to be performed as root user. By doing it as an ordinary user, the font settings will be valid for the user.