non-standard font size changes in XP?

[GeoNOregon]

Does anyone know of a way to change the size of fonts not adjustable thru the 'Appearance' applet {in Windows XP, SP2, (added immediately after posting, GeoD)}?

I'm not interested in the 'large font' option of MS's as that plays hell with a lot of things as I remember.

I'm looking for a way to change specific font display groups individually so I can get a more readable display in some apps & in the OS.


A backdoor method via the registry is OK & I might take a look at an application if it comes with some positive recommendations.

I'm stuck in big monitor, small font hell. Please help. Oh, I tried doing a search but I can't come up with parameters specific enough to eliminate the millions of posts about the 'Appearance' applet.

Thanks...

[borntoslow]

The font location i believe is in "ms shell dlg"
The registry you are looking for is

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes


Have fun

[GeoNOregon]

hey,

thanks. I took a look at that key. As I remember, (which is always a dicey proposition with my damaged dome), that has to do with font type, but not size. It rings a bell with Postscript printing & Pagemaker and when the OS can't find a font.

A lot of the fonts on the left side of the key are Postscript fonts. So it's a TrueType for Postscript swap reference. I didn't see a way to use this immediately, but now that I'm thinking further about it, if I substitute a font that is normally larger than the default at the same point size, I might trick it into being larger.

I did run across a key just above the Fonts Substitute key called FontDPI. It has a value named LogPixels with data of 6a/106, (hex/dec). I was in the midst of trying another suggestion of changing the display DPI when I looked at this key.

Someone else suggested the DPI change. I set it to 110% of default & noticed some change in the areas I'm trying to effect. But it's not consistent.

To see what I mean open task manager and then open Display Props/Settings/Advanced and change the DPI to something larger. WHen you leave apply it and then compare the results in Display & in Task Mgr.

It makes no sense to me - a global DPI change should effect EVERYTHING. Unless there is a setting that overrides it somewhere.

BTW, I looked at the DPI setting again just now & the 110% of default is 106 DPI, so that's where the 106 in the LogPixels comes from.

Oh well, on to more investigating.


Thanks for the help.

geo

[borntoslow]

ok i think i understand what you want, maybe.

If you are wanting to change the font size within display properties, apperance tab, try...

[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager]

There is 3 ranges...

NormalSize
LargeFonts
ExtraLargeFonts.

If you want to change them using DPI then try this amigo :)

Set to large (120 DPI)
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\FontDPI\LogPixels - 0x78
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\HardwareProfiles\Current\Software\Fonts\Pixels - 0x78
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\HardwareProfiles\Current\Software\Fonts\LogPixels - 0x78
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\FontDPI\LogPixels - 0x78

Not sure how that is going to look after post as its all smooshed on my screen. Post area is not big enough. There is also huge DPI which is 192 DPI. You can also go smaller, but i think you want big?

[GeoNOregon]

I thought I should come back and explain what I have discovered in my pursuit of readable fonts.

The suggestion I got to increase the DPI is correct. BUT, there's a couple things I discovered about this along the way. AS I posted, after I changed the DPI, I was baffled why some fonts changed and others, that SHOULD have, didn't. To accomplish that fete, one must use the common 'advanced' technique for getting Windows to do something: reboot it several times.

Re-boot the thing enough times and all the fonts will change. UNLESS, (don't you love the word?), you make a resolution change AFTER you change the DPI. I haven't tested this to see if it happens on other systems, but when I make a rez change, the DPI goes back to default. BUT, (didn't see THAT one coming, did ya?), it doesn't show up in the appropriate field in the settings. It looks for all the world like you still have a custom setting, but it's actually back at default.

I discovered this while fighting with a vid card driver vs In-CD conflict. (WHY is that still a problem? When I quit working on computers 4-5 years ago, In-CD was a problem.) I had been messing around with the font size issue and had set the DPI to 150% when the In-CD problem came up. I didn't reset it as the system was sporatically hard freezing and was a nightmare.

Before the driver-In-CD problem I had some of the fonts large, but not all of them. I was comparing Task Mgr to Display Properties to the application I needed the larger fonts in. I was amazed to discover as I re-booted numerous times while removing/uninstalling applications, etc that suddenly I had larger fonts where I didn't before.

By the time I had tracked down In-CD, un-installed it and solved the freeze problem I had LARGE fonts where I'd been trying to get them. I got to thinking about this, and realized it must be the multiple re-boots.

I still needed to final adjust the rez. I did and the large fonts disappeared. I went to look at the setting and found it still said 'custom'. I'd already decided 150% was a bit too large, so I changed it to 140%. The next thing blew my mind: The screen fonts on the 3D buttons, on property tabs, in the windows system dialogue were all small, (~8-9pt), MS San Serif font. I REDUCED the DPI setting from 150% to 140% and then re-booted. Those previously noted system fonts got larger. How's that for anti-logic.

Oh, it took two re-boots to get the larger font in Task Mgr, the Display Prop window and the app. It happened immediately in Task Mgr after I hit 'Apply'. The first reboot changed the Display Prop window fonts and the next reboot got the app fonts to change.

Just so I could rant about it for a while, I re-produced this goofiness for my wife. (I can now add this to another Windows 'mystery': why does the explorer title bar setting of full path or folder name change when there's a severe driver or application crash? Oh, and your explorer location settings and your file view definitions... but that's another rant.)

I realized while changing the DPI that last time, that the re-boot thing must have something to do with 'building' the fonts. The OS tells you it has to do that after you change the DPI.

later,

GeoD


(this thread can be closed after a week or two, that'll give people enough chance to opine on the mystery)


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It was said once that "it takes a village to raise a child'. I contend 'it will take a nation to save our country'.