Need to Increase Font Size..

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Level 1

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Need to Increase Font Size..

Poor Eyesight. (Diabetes) I need a way to INCREASE the Font size and change Type of ALL DESKTOP Headers, dropdown menues and informational text WITHIN OSX.

Just like the "APPEARENCE TAB" in "WINDOWS DISPLAY PROPERTIES"

Is there any hope for ME? Third Party Add-on? Can't find anything in OSX that really helps. Even Fonts set to 16 don't do much.

Can I change to "Areil Bold?" ANY Suggestions welcome. Thanks...:)

MacMini/ MacBook Pro/ 11" MacAir, Mac OS X (10.6.4), Boot Camp Win XP

Posted on Nov 4, 2010 2:12 PM

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Answer 1

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baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Nov 4, 2010 6:26 PM in response to agj333

Lower the resolution. TinkerTool, a freeware app, can do some stuff, but most menu items follow the resolution setting in System Preferences->Displays.

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Answer 2

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Nov 4, 2010 6:34 PM in response to agj333

I did exactly what baltwo is suggesting - that helped tremendously; additionally, I then also increased the font sizes in Finder. Using both methods will hopefully result in a size you can see more easily.

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Answer 3

agj333 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 5, 2010 8:25 PM in response to agj333

Thank you for all your input. Including #3 which has been removed, obviously for dissing Steve's operating system. Sorry to see that kind of censorship.

At any rate, I find lowering the resolution from "Native" only makes things more "FUZZY" than really larger, which I understand is normal with flat screens, but not CRT's wich can refocus..

I downloaded "TINKER TOOLS" but there doesn't seem to be much there besides some tweeks for iTunes 10.

I need some way to alter the DESKTOP not just programs or Apps. If anyone has any ideas, I would really appreciate hearing it.

In advance, Thank You.

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Answer 4

NA Smith

Level 2

345 points

Nov 5, 2010 9:10 PM in response to agj333

This is a sad topic. Just this week I scoured the internet seeking an invention to change OSX toolbar font size (as well as Safari Bookmarks font size) and the news is not good. It turns out that those fonts especially are hardwired and cannot be changed. There is a discussion that goes all the way back to Panther about this, and every year people hope for a fix (Resolution Independence it's called).

Right here in Apple discussions a gentleman put a hack in via Terminal. It is specifically for the 27" displays. I tried it on my 13" and yes the font changes to the larger - but then other display items disappear to make room. It is like folds or pleats appear to make up the difference, and some stuff got lost in the "wrinkles". The guy with the 27" machine was happy with his choice, and said he just "lives with" the accompanying flaws. I feel that on the high-res 27" machines there must be a lot less of the aforementioned "side effects" to deal with. See here -

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12127254&#12127254

Try at your own risk, since Terminal operations are highly technical. I performed a clean install of OSX after I rejected the results of my own experiment. Bottom line is that more than a few people have sold or returned their Macs over this issue not because of sour grapes, but because they simply cannot read the toolbar, whereas on their PCs they always had a remedy. The issue is actually so fundamental that no one suspects a problem until they start using their new machine for the first time and cannot locate an adjusting app.

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Answer 5

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Nov 5, 2010 9:15 PM in response to agj333

Unfortunately, none of the suggestions have been to your liking; there are no other options that I know of - lowering the resolution a notch and increasing the Finder (desktop) font size work quite well for me. Of course, there is a very small increase in fuzziness, but there is no way to avoid that. When you increase the pixel size, the result will be less crisp and a bit fuzzy - I decided I could easily live with it rather than tire and possibly damage my eyes by having to squint and strain. At this time, the fact is that there is no way to keep the fonts as crisp while making them larger. So, you might want to give the suggestions a try for about a week to see if you can live with the settings.

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Answer 6

NA Smith

Level 2

345 points

Nov 5, 2010 9:47 PM in response to NA Smith

I was curious to see if there are any aftermarket remedies and while there are a lot of screen adapters for desktop displays, laptop addons are rare. Here is the only notebook magnifier I could find - I have no idea if it's any good:
http://www.maxiaids.com/store/ProdList.asp?idCategory=102&idstore=6&category=Scr een_Magnifiers&gclid=CJr-jLmwi6UCFSBugwodPzemNw

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Answer 7

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Nov 5, 2010 11:13 PM in response to agj333

Sorry that you find nothing to your liking. My mate inherited my 24" iMac and reset the resolution to one size smaller than the maximum (1920x1200) and I see no fuzziness. Likewise on my 27" iMac, I have it set to the max 2560x1440 resolution, have icons set to 20x20, and text size set to 11. In both cases, my 70-year old, 20/20, peepers have no issue reading anything on the screen. Bright, clear, and sharp. As for TinkerTool, under Fonts and Font smoothing, there are many settings that are changeable and none relate to iTunes, which is a separate category.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,512 points

Nov 6, 2010 7:23 AM in response to NA Smith

I piddled with Quartz Debug tool and it seems to work well on my 15" MacBook Pro. You have to restart the Finder (or any open apps after you make the changes). I didn't spend a lot of time with it, though.

You have to install the Developer Tools, which is on the install DVD. It is installed in the Developer>Applications>Performance Tools folder.

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Answer 9

agj333 Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 6, 2010 10:19 AM in response to agj333

Thank you all again for your input. The news obviously is not good.

I find that to be amazingly disconcerting, especially with the sophistication of APPLE.

Windows does it amazingly well, by comparision there really is no argument.

Just to be clear to you all, I am losing my eysight to Diabetes and it is a progressive loss.

I have to wear FOUR different sets of eye glasses depending on the focal distance I am trying to see.

1. CLOSE FOCUS, as for cutting my nails, etc.
2. READING, for anything hand held.
3. COMPUTER, to focus on a screen 2-3 ft away.
4. DISTANCE, for driving 100- to infinity.

I know I am not alone with such vision problems, and with the greying of America and the ever increasing switch to MAC OSX, obviously SOMETHING needs to be done.

Sign me very dissappointed with APPLE for such a short sighted approach.

If WINDOWS can do it, so can APPLE.

If anybody KNOWS the disability of disease, it's GOT to be Steve Jobs.
Every breath he takes is a pure gift.

I would not be writing this without the understanding and discovery of INSULIN. Eight shots a day.

Message was edited by: agj333

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Answer 10

Nov 6, 2010 10:30 AM in response to Barney-15E

A couple years ago I played with the Quartz Debug tool also. Back then I found it a bit glitchy. I also sent Apple feedback asking them to make it an option in System Preferences (http://www.apple.com/feedback/). I would hope that if enough people sent feedback that they would include the change.

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Answer 11

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,512 points

Nov 6, 2010 11:42 AM in response to Martin Pace

There is another similar thread and that has been mentioned, but someone else noted that they use it without many problems.

Apple doesn't tend to make major changes like that until they think they've got it right, or at least that's what I perceive. There has been discussion about resolution independence for a while now, but nothing really has sprouted out of it. Maybe the iOS/Mac OS symbiosis may make it appear in Lion. But, I think we may be treading too heavily on speculation, at this point.

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Answer 12

Skyler9

Level 1

1 points

Feb 1, 2011 7:04 PM in response to agj333

This thread is very disconcerting. After owning three IBM Thinkpads, I purchased a Macbook Pro for a nice price. I have not used the computer for the last three months because of my frustration with this very issue - inability to adjust the toolbar font to a usable size. I will probably give this MacBook to my daughter and go back to what has heretofore worked for me. I am hoping Lion provides a fix to this obvious problem.

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Answer 13

gsammy

Level 1

0 points

Dec 7, 2011 9:05 PM in response to Skyler9

I hope Apple reads these threads. I have been using Mac's since they first came out in 1984, and this is the first time I have been really disappointed.

I just bought a shiny new iMac 27 incher - it sure looks nice in the store, but when I got it home, I realized that the menu font at the top of the screen - and the top of the windows - is TOO SMALL, so I set about to changed it. Never tried before, because I never needed to before. But now I do. But it can't be done!

Unbelievable that Apple makes an OS with such rediculously tiny font size when they also put out a high res screen such as on the 27 inch iMac.

I may have to return this computer. Yes, if Windoze can do it, why can't the Mac???? Are you listening, Apple? We like the computer, please stop making it really difficult to use if you don't have 20/10 eyesight!

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Answer 14

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,512 points

Dec 8, 2011 4:18 AM in response to gsammy

Are you listening, Apple?

They haven't been listening for over 20 years. Apple does what it wants and people buy their products. See my post above on Resolution Independence. It ain't gonna happen until it happens. Apple hasn't allowed changing much in the way of UI since its inception, so don't go holding your breath on us.

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Answer 15

Jan 22, 2012 10:03 AM in response to Barney-15E

Amazing thread knowing all of the font and display size options in Windows.

Increasing the os font sizes sometimes creates problems with text overlapping or not fitting in windows, but those problems are worth the cost for us with aging eyes.

Assuming there is no os fix, if you need vision assistance, consider investing in any of the Microsoft mice that have additional programmable buttons.

Intellimouse software is available for the mac, and, once installed, an easily controllable magnifier is instantly available with the click of the programmed button.

(Note that the software will only function with a microsoft mouse)

I'm now totally dependent on it, especially for situations such as capcha and fine print.

Beverly Howard

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