[RESOLVED/workaround] TKinter GUI awful fonts on Ubuntu Linux with Anaconda

[dracid]

This is an issue RESOLVED with a workaround mentioned below. Perhaps can be migrated to the FAQ Wiki document of this wonderful tool.

If you're using Anaconda Python on Ubuntu, then the GUI fonts look awful. Like this:

In Windows (I checked), the GUI looks normal.

After investigating, seems like this is Anaconda on Linux issue as described here.

The issue as @gboffi pointed out is that Conda's build of the Tk library doesn't include support for the Freetype library, which is a library used for rendering fonts, resulting in the poor font rendering issue you're experiencing.
They hold that they can't include Freetype support due to the circular dependencies it would introduce in their build process. Their recommended solution is to move away from tk and use more modern GUI libraries instead.

After some searching, same thread gives an answer that I have modified for my system:

1. Install Anaconda for Ubuntu
2. Install Python3 TK system library:
   sudo apt install python3-tk
3. Save the backup version of Conda :

cd ~/anaconda3/lib/
mv libtk8.6.so libtk8.6.so.bak

4. Create a SymLink for the TK library inside of Anaconda:
   sudo ln /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtk8.6.so ~/anaconda3/lib/libtk8.6.so

Now, when you run SignalIntegrity app, it looks excellent: