matplotlib · mdboom · Nov 6, 2015 · Oct 8, 2015 · Oct 8, 2015 · Oct 13, 2015
diff --git a/doc/users/mathtext.rst b/doc/users/mathtext.rst
@@ -13,14 +13,13 @@ in Donald Knuth's TeX, so the quality is quite good (matplotlib also
 provides a ``usetex`` option for those who do want to call out to TeX
 to generate their text (see :ref:`usetex-tutorial`).
 
-Any text element can use math text.  You should use raw strings
-(precede the quotes with an ``'r'``), and surround the math text with
-dollar signs ($), as in TeX.  Regular text and mathtext can be
-interleaved within the same string.  Mathtext can use the Computer
-Modern fonts (from (La)TeX), `STIX <http://www.aip.org/stixfonts/>`_
-fonts (with are designed to blend well with Times) or a Unicode font
-that you provide.  The mathtext font can be selected with the
-customization variable ``mathtext.fontset`` (see
+Any text element can use math text.  You should use raw strings (precede the
+quotes with an ``'r'``), and surround the math text with dollar signs ($), as in
+TeX. Regular text and mathtext can be interleaved within the same string.
+Mathtext can use DejaVu Sans (default), DejaVu Serif, the Computer Modern fonts
+(from (La)TeX), `STIX <http://www.aip.org/stixfonts/>`_ fonts (with are designed
+to blend well with Times), or a Unicode font that you provide.  The mathtext
+font can be selected with the customization variable ``mathtext.fontset`` (see
 :ref:`customizing-matplotlib`)
 
 .. note::

diff --git a/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/Lfunction.py b/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/Lfunction.py
@@ -14,17 +14,6 @@
 
 
 mpl.rcParams.update({'font.size': 12})
-mpl.rcParams['font.sans-serif'] = ('Arev Sans, Bitstream Vera Sans, '
-                                   'Lucida Grande, Verdana, Geneva, Lucid, '
-                                   'Helvetica, Avant Garde, sans-serif')
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fontset'] = 'custom'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.cal'] = 'cursive'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.rm'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.tt'] = 'monospace'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.it'] = 'sans:italic'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.bf'] = 'sans:bold'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.sf'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fallback_to_cm'] = 'True'
 
 
 ### Red, original Albers plot

diff --git a/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/grayscale.py b/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/grayscale.py
@@ -16,17 +16,6 @@
 import matplotlib as mpl
 
 mpl.rcParams.update({'font.size': 14})
-mpl.rcParams['font.sans-serif'] = ('Arev Sans, Bitstream Vera Sans, '
-                                   'Lucida Grande, Verdana, Geneva, Lucid, '
-                                   'Helvetica, Avant Garde, sans-serif')
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fontset'] = 'custom'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.cal'] = 'cursive'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.rm'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.tt'] = 'monospace'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.it'] = 'sans:italic'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.bf'] = 'sans:bold'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.sf'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fallback_to_cm'] = 'True'
 
 
 # indices to step through colormap

diff --git a/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/lightness.py b/doc/users/plotting/colormaps/lightness.py
@@ -16,17 +16,6 @@
 import matplotlib as mpl
 
 mpl.rcParams.update({'font.size': 12})
-mpl.rcParams['font.sans-serif'] = ('Arev Sans, Bitstream Vera Sans, '
-                                   'Lucida Grande, Verdana, Geneva, Lucid, '
-                                   'Helvetica, Avant Garde, sans-serif')
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fontset'] = 'custom'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.cal'] = 'cursive'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.rm'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.tt'] = 'monospace'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.it'] = 'sans:italic'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.bf'] = 'sans:bold'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.sf'] = 'sans'
-mpl.rcParams['mathtext.fallback_to_cm'] = 'True'
 
 # indices to step through colormap
 x = np.linspace(0.0, 1.0, 100)

diff --git a/doc/users/screenshots.rst b/doc/users/screenshots.rst
@@ -253,8 +253,8 @@ Mathtext_examples
 Below is a sampling of the many TeX expressions now supported by matplotlib's
 internal mathtext engine.  The mathtext module provides TeX style mathematical
 expressions using `FreeType <http://www.freetype.org/>`_
-and the BaKoMa computer modern or `STIX <http://www.stixfonts.org>`_ fonts.
-See the :mod:`matplotlib.mathtext` module for additional details.
+and the DejaVu, BaKoMa computer modern, or `STIX <http://www.stixfonts.org>`_
+fonts.  See the :mod:`matplotlib.mathtext` module for additional details.
 
 .. plot:: mpl_examples/pylab_examples/mathtext_examples.py
 

diff --git a/doc/users/whats_new/new_default_font.rst b/doc/users/whats_new/new_default_font.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+Change in default font
+----------------------
+
+The default font used by matplotlib in text has been changed to DejaVu Sans and
+DejaVu Serif for the sans-serif and serif families, respectively. The DejaVu
+font family is based on the previous matplotlib default --Bitstream Vera-- but
+includes a much wider range of characters.
+
+The default mathtext font has been changed from Computer Modern to the DejaVu
+family to maintain consistency with regular text. Two new options for the
+``mathtext.fontset`` configuration parameter have been added: ``dejavusans``
+(default) and ``dejavuserif``. Both of these options use DejaVu glyphs whenever
+possible and fall back to STIX symbols when a glyph is not found in DejaVu. To
+return to the previous behavior, set the rcParam ``mathtext.fontset`` to ``cm``.
diff --git a/examples/api/font_family_rc.py b/examples/api/font_family_rc.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 and for the font.family you set a list of font styles to try to find
 in order::
 
-  rcParams['font.sans-serif'] = ['Tahoma', 'Bitstream Vera Sans',
+  rcParams['font.sans-serif'] = ['Tahoma', 'DejaVu Sans',
                                  'Lucida Grande', 'Verdana']
 
 """

diff --git a/examples/misc/font_indexing.py b/examples/misc/font_indexing.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 
 #fname = '/usr/share/fonts/sfd/FreeSans.ttf'
-fname = matplotlib.get_data_path() + '/fonts/ttf/Vera.ttf'
+fname = matplotlib.get_data_path() + '/fonts/ttf/DejaVuSans.ttf'
 font = FT2Font(fname)
 font.set_charmap(0)
 

diff --git a/examples/misc/ftface_props.py b/examples/misc/ftface_props.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 
 #fname = '/usr/local/share/matplotlib/VeraIt.ttf'
-fname = matplotlib.get_data_path() + '/fonts/ttf/VeraIt.ttf'
+fname = matplotlib.get_data_path() + '/fonts/ttf/DejaVuSans-Oblique.ttf'
 #fname = '/usr/local/share/matplotlib/cmr10.ttf'
 
 font = ft.FT2Font(fname)

diff --git a/examples/pylab_examples/font_table_ttf.py b/examples/pylab_examples/font_table_ttf.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
     fontname = sys.argv[1]
 else:
     fontname = os.path.join(matplotlib.get_data_path(),
-                            'fonts', 'ttf', 'Vera.ttf')
+                            'fonts', 'ttf', 'DejaVuSans.ttf')
 
 font = FT2Font(fontname)
 codes = list(font.get_charmap().items())

diff --git a/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py b/examples/pylab_examples/logo.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 ax = plt.subplot(111, axisbg='y')
 plt.plot(t, x)
 plt.text(0.5, 0.5, 'matplotlib', color='r',
-         fontsize=40, fontname=['Courier', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono'],
+         fontsize=40, fontname=['Courier', 'DejaVu Sans Mono'],
          horizontalalignment='center',
          verticalalignment='center',
          transform=ax.transAxes,

diff --git a/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py b/examples/pylab_examples/text_handles.py
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ def f(t):
 xtext = plt.xlabel('time (s)')
 
 plt.setp(ttext, size='large', color='r', style='italic')
-plt.setp(xtext, size='medium', name=['Courier', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono'],
+plt.setp(xtext, size='medium', name=['Courier', 'DejaVu Sans Mono'],
      weight='bold', color='g')
-plt.setp(ytext, size='medium', name=['Helvetica', 'Bitstream Vera Sans'],
+plt.setp(ytext, size='medium', name=['Helvetica', 'DejaVu Sans'],
      weight='light', color='b')
 plt.show()
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
@@ -1068,7 +1068,7 @@ def __init__(self, size=None, weight='normal'):
 
         self.ttffiles = findSystemFonts(paths) + findSystemFonts()
         self.defaultFamily = {
-            'ttf': 'Bitstream Vera Sans',
+            'ttf': 'DejaVu Sans',
             'afm': 'Helvetica'}
         self.defaultFont = {}
 
@@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@ def findfont(self, prop, fontext='ttf', directory=None,
         font is given a similarity score to the target font
         properties.  The first font with the highest score is
         returned.  If no matches below a certain threshold are found,
-        the default font (usually Vera Sans) is returned.
+        the default font (usually DejaVu Sans) is returned.
 
         `directory`, is specified, will only return fonts from the
         given directory (or subdirectory of that directory).
@@ -1260,7 +1260,7 @@ def findfont(self, prop, fontext='ttf', directory=None,
         perform the O(n) nearest neighbor search.
 
         If `fallback_to_default` is True, will fallback to the default
-        font family (usually "Bitstream Vera Sans" or "Helvetica") if
+        font family (usually "DejaVu Sans" or "Helvetica") if
         the first lookup hard-fails.
 
         See the `W3C Cascading Style Sheet, Level 1