Tech: font size

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:58 PM

LOL

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:56 PM

But tV - if I spend too much time studying the books, I miss out on all the fun that's going on here.

I get withdrawal pains.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:45 PM

Come on John get on with it LOL :-)

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:39 PM

The Villan's instruction (08 Jan 08 - 02:09 PM) for selecting "Classic View" will get you to most of the desktop setup as I'm using it now on my Vista machine.

There is no "Tools" in my Word 2007 on the Vista machine, so I can't check out the instructions at 08 Jan 08 - 03:08 PM, but they were good in other versions.

If you have an LCD (flat panel) monitor, the resolution should be set at the default resolution specified for your monitor, unless you have a necessary specific reason for doing something else. The default usually is the maximum resolution the monitor can run without "approximating" what it's asked to do.

Options available for changing font and icon sizes may vary with which of the several "display modes" you choose. Most of the "most-advertised" choices will only run on computers with "more than usual" hardware capabilities, and are available only in "higher priced" Vista versions.

Regarding "which version?":

If you happen to have acquired "Windows Vista Home Basic" the consensus opinion of informed advisors (Microsoft is not necessarily included in this group) is that you should IMMEDIATELY look for an upgrade coupon or other upgrade path to move your installation to Vista Home Premium. (The second option suggested by some is that you should junk the computer with Vista Home Basic and get an iPod and a typewriter.)

The "next cheapest" (?) version appears to be "Windows Vista Business." This version depends on you being connected to what amounts to an "Enterprise Network" that can feed your computer all the network setup - and possibly some "program on demand" software from a server - needed for useful application of the computer. It generally IS NOT SUITABLE for home users, even if you happen to have a simple network setup with other computers capable of handling set up for a home network.

"Windows Vista Home Premium" is the only potentially useful version available for most users, and is the version that comes preinstalled on most computers being sold now, so far as I've seen anything advertised.

(I haven't seen any computers advertised with anything other than "Home Premium," but it may be possible to get one with Home Basic. Advice: DON'T get one with Home Basic if you see an offer, unless - perhaps - if the offer includes a "free upgrade" to Home Premium for which you can confirm the terms and conditions for the upgrade in advance.)

"Windows Vista Enterprise Edition" contains everything likely to be wanted by a large business setup with lots of computers. It is available only to businesses with a "Microsoft Software Assurance" or "Microsoft Enterprise Agreement," that none of us can afford. Either of these packages gives you a license to run the same version on multiple machines. The minimum number of machines you can license appears to be either 10 or 15, depending on which of a couple of conflicting Microsoft sites you look at. (It's not clear whether this version may also omit some "advanced Multimedia" capabilities available in some other versions.)

"Windows Vista Ultimate" theoretically contains "everything." We might have a very few people here who could be interested in a mix of features not available in one of the other versions, but it seems extremely unlikely.

There is a "Windows Vista Starter Edition" that will be available ONLY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. ("Emerging Markets" is another term used.) You should NOT see this version offered for sale anywhere mudcat members are very likely to be. It appears to offer pretty much just support for a "typewriter keypad with wireless connection," along the lines of the (in)famous "hundred dollar computer."

There are two separate versions, indicated by an "N" appended somewhere - available outside the US. These are "like versions above" but with some Multimedia features left out to satisfy EU "antimonopoly" restrictions. I don't have a description of which US versions correspond most closely with these, or even what the full names are; but it should be obvious if you're where one is offered. Most likely, Microsoft will market them under the same names as used in the US, but you'll automatically get the "N-appended" version where it's appropriate.

A "Windows Vista Multimedia" version was listed in some early Microsoft publicity; but appears to have disappeared. Knowledgeable sources don't mention it, and I haven't searched at Microsoft to see if it still exists.

It probably is safe to presume that anyone mentioning Vista here will be using the "Windows Vista Home Premium" package, with or without the "N" suffix for a European version. If anyone has a different version, it should be made clear in discussions.

Having found virtually no useful support at Microsoft or in Vista Help, I'm now pursuing research via a couple of O'Reilly books on Vista. I've generally found O'Reilly to be consistently useful, and have found quite a bit of "interesting" information, but I'm only on page 20. (It's slow because I do make notes.) Perhaps I'll be able to offer more help by the time I get through the other 900 pages.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 03:08 PM

Here is another one for you Jacqui

Open Word
Click on Tools, Customise
Click on the Options tab
Put ticks against
Show Standard & Formatting Toolbars on two rows
Always show full menu's
Large icons
List Font Names In their Fonts
Show Screen Tips on Toolbars
Show shortcut keys in Tooltips

Click on Close

If you haven't done that before, I hope it helps

Les

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: jacqui.c
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:51 PM

Better I find it than Kendall does! Trust me. :0)

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:42 PM

Jacqui
You be careful, you never know what you might find on there LOL
Les

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: jacqui.c
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:33 PM

Les - you're an angel - I just changed the start menu on Kendall's machine - that should make his life a lot easier.

I'm going to have to do some more exploring on his machine over the next few weeks.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:09 PM

Kendall
Its more a question of getting used to it.

Try this Kendall to set up your start menu like you are used to.

Click on the START button with your right mouse button
Using the left mouse button, click once on the Properties menu
Click on the Start Menu Tab
Click on the Classic start menu option
Click on OK

Now, click once on the Start button with you left mouse button.

Does it look like how you are used to seeing things?

It should do.

Cheers
Les

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: kendall
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 01:56 PM

Thanks Les, that did the trick. It seems to me that everytime they improve something it becomes harder to operate.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Grab
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 01:21 PM

In that case Barbara, is your LCD actually a 1024x768, maybe? The LCD will say on the packaging exactly what resolution it is. Or the "blurriness" could just be that it's such a high resolution that the teeny-tiny font is too small for any normal person's eyes - in which case head for the options John and I mentioned. Incidentally, the larger the difference between the screen resolution and LCD resolution, the better it'll look, because the worst results are always when there's only a small difference.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 12:00 PM

John I hardly use Vista but was been driven round the twist by it prompt at every move (which as far as I could see would only wind up with me blindly clicking OK).

Have a look at tweak uac and Elevate Power Toys

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Bee
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 10:12 AM

JohnIK, which version of Vista are you using? I'm using Home Premium, and am not having some of the issues you seem to be encountering - mind you, my usage is likely far more simplistic than yours, but for example, I have to be changing something pretty serious for the 'confirm or logon administrator action' box to appear.

Also, the Advanced box in my setup does not have the font size box locked out - it is available as soon as you select something to apply it to. I haven't experimented with it much, since the present font sizes work for me.

Perhaps because I am wary of having a bunch of boot-up password needing actions and was careful only to engage what Vista absolutely demanded - a password from startup after a complete shutdown, I've avoided some of this?

My impression with regard to the language used by Vista is that they hired a crew from the Mac crowd: the 'cuteness' and the 'you're simple, we'll make it blindingly easy' factor present in MacIntosh from the beginning really annoys me, and I never found macs particularly easier to use or more accomodating than a PC set up properly for whatever task I was doing.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 09:07 AM

Hey Grab, I find it completely blurry on my new LCD flat-screen when I increase the resolution. I'm still playing around with the settings for font size, resolution, etc and looking for suggestions, but at this point, 1024x768 works best for my eyes with normal size font...

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:53 AM

The WinXP and older versions primary setting for font size is in the Control Panel at Display. This is the same panel that you get by right clicking the desktop and clicking Properities.

In Vista, if you right click on a blank space on the desktop, you get a choice labelled "Personalize." This gets you a window that performs the same functions as the old Display, except that there are Seven separate "Choices" that have to be opened individually to change the settings that were all on one panel in older versions. Due to the sub-teen vocabulary used in Vista, you kind of have to "guess" which of these crippled screens might possibly have the function you want to change - but Font Size isn't one of them until you drill down through several layers in one.

There is an disguised button in a separate list on the left where you can "Change desktop icons" or "Adjust font size (DPI)". At this setting you CANNOT CHANGE THE FONT SIZE, but you can change the screen resolution to make the fonts look bigger or smaller. Of course that also makes EVERYTHING look bigger or smaller.

If you choose the "Window Color and Appearance" option, there may be an "Advanced" button where you would change the font size, if you could; but Vista has decided that you don't know what you want so the choice is locked out in the setup I have running.

So the big improvement in Vista is that you have 7 menus (13 if you count the "little buttons that aren't buttons") with stuff buried three layers deep in each of them, to do what WinXP did on ONE menu, and in Vista each click requires you to "confirm or log-on Administrator action" so you won't hurt yourself, and lots of the old choices that were helpful don't work or are disabled because MICROSOFT KNOWS WHAT YOU WANT.

IMMMMMMPRESSIVVVE. (If you're an idiot as Microsoft assumes you are.)

Note: I'm running¹ my Vista in "Classic View" to try to get rid of some of the more obnoxious "features." Choices probably will be different if you change to another "mode" but there is NO USEFUL information in Vista HELP to give any guidance.

¹ "running" is a euphemism for trying to make Vista operable. I have NOT SUCCEEDED in getting anything productive done with it.

Your browser should still have the ability to select a range of font sizes (View|Text Size) but of course that would be expected to affect only text in your browser. That's not "ironclad" though, since Internet Explorer is the "core" for Windows Explorer, and most Control Panel features show as Windows Explorer "views." I don't see an effect outside the browser, for changes in browser text size, but ... we are talking Vista so one can't assume anything.

Several generations of Windows versions have had enlarged text, sticky keys, and other aids for those who need them. A "magnifier" that may be what The Villan described, or at least is something similar, is one of the usual options. These have generally been found under a heading called "Accessibility."

Vista Start|Help, search on "Accessibility" gives you at least 30 "Vista Advertisements" for "things that Vista can do for you." I don't see one that's obviously related to font size setup or the magnifier, but it may be there. I've given up trying to guess what the "descriptions mean" since I'm not fluent in preadolescent speech conventions. My past experience with Vista is that at least one out of 11 of the advertisements may give you a clue, if you're clever, as to where to look to actually find out HOW TO DO WHAT'S ADVERTISED. The rest of them are just included to make you believe that Microsoft is takin' care of you (and you'll belive if you're a total idiot as Microsoft assumes you are).

Sorry I can't be of any real help here, but I'm still too busy being impressed by how Microsoft took care of me with Vista.... [do I have to tag sarcasm here?]

John

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:34 AM

In Win9x, in Control Panel, Display, Appearance, you can set the font size in various sections, such as icons, text, etc.

Dunno what MickeyCrap has done to that ...

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:19 AM

Vista
right click on desktop
select Personalize
Select Adjust font size
Select custom DPI and then select the size you want and apply.
You will need to restart for it to take effect

Whilst in the personalize dialogue box,you can select diplay settings and adjust the resolution

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Grab
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:15 AM

Barbara, changing the screen resolution is the worst way to achieve this if you're using an LCD monitor. On an old CRT monitor it'd be fine, but an LCD monitor will *always* make things blurry and hard-to-read if you don't have your screen resolution set to the same resolution as the monitor - unless it's an exact multiple anyway, so 800x600 would look OK on a 1600x1200 monitor, for example, but 1200x1024 would look terrible. Even this has the disadvantage though that everything will become more "jagged", so you're better using the highest screen resolution you can and changing how large the computer makes things on that screen.

I don't know how Vista handles things, but on WinXP you go to the Display settings in the Control Panel and change the font size option on the Appearance tab from "normal" to "large" or "extra large". If you're not just having problems seeing fonts but everything else as well, you could go to the General tab and change the DPI (dots per inch) setting to "large" instead, which will magnify everything.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: treewind
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:10 AM

I don't know about Vista, but on XP and earlier you can set the desktop font sizes by right clicking on the desktop, selecting "Appearance" tab and adjusting the contents of the "Font Size" box.

Also, under "settings" tab, click the "Advanced" button and you can change the DPI setting. This (if available) might be a better choice if every font is displaying too small (in all applications, not just the desktop).

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Bee
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 08:01 AM

I have Vista. On the upper right of your browser screen (IE) there is an icon labelled page. In that menu is a Text Size option, 'medium', 'large', etc. This, I find, works on Mudcat and some other websites, but is over-ridden by many websites.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Rasener
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 07:45 AM

I have a usb microsoft mouse that has a little button on the side and when I am struggling to read something comfortably, I just press it and I have a nice rectangular magnifier and can move it around the screen and do all the normal things with the mouse.
I press it again to turn the magnifier off.
Works great.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 07:29 AM

Don't know where it is in Vista, but you can try changing the display resolution to "less" which will spread everything out larger (with less resolution). In Windows XP, you can go to the desktop screen with all the icons, right click the mouse to get a drop down menu, click on "properties" then click on "settings" then slide the slider at bottom left where it says "screen resolution" to the left -less- side. Hit "apply" and it will change.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 06:19 AM

I've had all fonts on everything too small on Linux. Cure for me has been to set the display size for the monitor correctly.

Not sure if there is anything similar on Win.

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: kendall
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 06:02 AM

Fonts on everything. I hit View, then, largest and it made no difference at all.I can make them smaller, but that makes them unreadable. Damn the "progress".

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 01:53 AM

Not quite clear here. Are you talking about the font size in your browser or the fonts on the computer desktop icons, in email, or elsewhere?

The only thread I find - a little older than a year - is:

Dim Fonts.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: font size
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 01:43 AM

Don't know Vista, but a quick fix - depending on your browser, is to go into the 'Tools' or whatever it is called and look for something that allows you to change browser font size. Firefox has an entry under the View menu that allows you to change the font size for each individual page you are viewing.

Under the Control Panel setting (earlier version of Windoze) there is an entry for changing the default fonts sizes - don't know how you find it on your confuser, though, sorry.

You could try the Windoze help files - in earlier incarnations it WAS useful...

Robin

Subject: Tech: font size
From: kendall
Date: 07 Jan 08 - 10:14 PM

We just bought a new confuser, and the font size is just too damn small. I know this has been dealt with before, but a long time ago. Would someone please refresh the cure? It is the new Vista, and I hate it already.I went to view and put it on largest , but it made no difference at all.