10.2.5. Install SoundFont Files
Qsynth automatically installs a SoundFont for use with FluidSynth, but if you did not install Qsynth, or if you want to add additional SoundFont files with additional programs, you will need to install them separately. The Fedora package repositories offer a small selection of SoundFont files, which you can find by searching for "soundfont" with PackageKit, Apper, or yum. These files will automatically be installed correctly. If you wish to install additional SoundFont files, it is recommended that you install them in the same location—and with the same security settings—as the ones available from the Fedora repositories. If you do this, then you enable all users of the computer system to access the files, you will not "lose" them if you forget where they are stored, and you help to minimize the potential security risk of using software downloaded from the internet.
The following steps move a SoundFont file called myFont.sf2 to the default folder (/usr/share/soundfonts), and correctly set the security settings. Note that you will need the system administrator's password (belonging to the "root" account) to complete this operation. If you do not have this password, it is best to ask the system administrator to install the files for you. Alternately, you may simply use the SoundFont file from your a sub-folder in your home folder.
Start a shell or terminal and navigate to the folder where the SoundFont file is currently stored.
Run su -c 'cp myFont.sf2 /usr/share/soundfonts'
Modify the command as necessary to copy your SoundFont file, rather than myFont.sf2.
You will be asked for the password to the root account.
Run cd /usr/share/soundfonts to change to the directory of the SoundFont
Run su -c 'chmod 644 myFont.sf2'
Modify the command as necessary to refer to your SoundFont file, rather than myFont.sf2.
This will set the file-system permissions to "read-write" for the owner (the "root" user, in this case), and "read-only" for all other users. This way, only the system administrator should be able to change the file, but all users will be able to use it.
Run ll myFont.sf2 to verify that the permissions were set correctly.
Modify the command as necessary to refer to your SoundFont file, rather than myFont.sf2.
The output should resemble this:
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 9 2010-06-23 02:28 myFont.sf2
but with a different date, time, and filename.
Highly-observant users may notice that the SELinux context of the new file is different from that of any Fedora-installed SoundFont file. As long as the type is usr_t, which it should be by default, then there is no practical difference (no difference in enforcement) between this and a Fedora-installed SoundFont file. If you don't know what this means, or if you hadn't noticed it, then it means that this additional SoundFont file should not create a new potential security problem.
