X3Photo Gallery Forums

Edit 12. Sept 2023: Since X3.32.0, the below fix is no longer required. Google fonts are now replaced by fonts.bunny.net for improved privacy and to avoid issues with GDPR. See bunny.net About and FAQ.

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There has been reports (see topic) about legal challenges when loading Google fonts from websites in Germany. Below is a HOTFIX that allows you to host the Google fonts on your own server, effectively avoiding any legal concerns.

* This fix is specifically for X3.31.1. In next release, I will include an easier solution.

1. Open the file app/templates/bb/f8/4e8334aa77fc3e030e582b6b9bca6aa66114b7201078c756af50f9885fea.php in any text editor.

2. Go to line 278 (or search "fonts.googleapis.com"), you will find something like this:


3. Remove all the code between the {brackets}. It should look like this:


4. Go to your panel Settings > Style > Font and see which font(s) you are using:

It's easiest if you have only one font, but often you will have two fonts. In the example above, there are two fonts "PT Sans" and "PT Sans Narrow".

5. Go to https://google-webfonts-helper.herokuapp.com/fonts/, search for the font you are using. Click the font, and select the font-weight styles your font requires (when weight is unspecified, it means 400 "normal").


6. Scroll down to "Copy CSS", click "modern browsers", scroll down to "Customize folder prefix" and change it from "../fonts/" to "/fonts/"


7. Copy the provided font-CSS into X3 Settings > Custom > Custom CSS.


8. Back on google-webfonts-helper website, click to download the fonts in ZIP format. Unzip the font files, and upload into new directory /fonts/ inside your own X3 dir.


* If you are using TWO fonts, which is highly likely, you will need to repeat 5-8.

Working example:
https://lightshades.de/

I'll create a built-in option for this in next release. I'm just working through another task right now before I can start this update.

Falcon wrote:May there is a similar hotfix for "Font Awesome" too?

Font awesome is part of the X3 plugins, and can therefore be served locally by disabling Settings > Advanced > "Use CDN".

Falcon wrote:(same legal challenge)

Is it though? One of the factors of the single ruling against Google fonts in Germany, is that loading a font is not strictly required for the website to function. Loading icons is, because without them, buttons and navigation looses it's meaning ... The website can't function properly without loading icons. A small difference, but legally, a big difference. The CDN version is hosted at JSDelivr, and they wrote about this:
https://www.jsdelivr.com/blog/how-the-g ... fe-to-use/

Falcon wrote:However, the key point in German law seems that if you are using CDN (meaning i.e. the transmission of IP by a company outside the EU using an online service) you have to inform the visitor of your website and obtain consent

Are you sure this isn't some website's interpretation? I haven't seen this before in any legal text. If you load a website outside of EU, you are transmitting your IP to the server outside EU, but this itself doesn't require any consent.

ed_f wrote:It doesn't require consent, but these poor lawyers or their machines are suing us for exactly that and ask money from thousands meanwhile.

Not when you load a website that uses absolutely no cookies, no external files and stores nothing. My point was, the client is always sending it's IP to the visited website. That's how the internet works. Anyway, this is off-topic.

ed_f wrote:is your hotfix from #1 still the way we must go today? and when your next release including an easier solution is to be expected?

Right now yes. Next version will include an easier solution yes, in a couple of months.

ed_f wrote: www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/abzocke-wege ... 71191.html

Great news! :heart_eyes: