Can Yosemite system font be changed?

I truly agree. I'd like to ask the same. The system font ist to hard to read for old eyes, cause the letters are to close together.

Does Apple think everyone is endowed with 20/20 vision?!

I just completed the update, and once again Apple has blundered in its fixed fonts - or more to the point not allowing users to set their own system wide font size and contrast level.

People complained that the system wide "font is too small and there is no way to enlarge" issue back during the transition to OS X. I thought Apple would have addressed this in an update as sweeping and important (visually speaking) as Yosemite as it represented a major departure from Aqua and skeuomorphism. This has apparently fallen on deaf ears in Cupertino.

This is pretty unacceptable. My Windows system allows me to scale the system fonts. I am on a 15" non-Retina MBP and have good vision (mild case of nearsightedness; only need to wear glasses sometimes when trying to read a white board from the back of the lecture hall).

My glasses case often has a thin layer of dust on it, I wear them so infrequently.

Well, that won't be for long. I'm sitting maybe 24" from my screen and after this update, I keep finding myself squinting to read the typeface in the URL bar, browser tabs, and bookmarks. For instance, Safari, the tab names on inactive tabs is not only laser cut thin the contrast is poor. Thin dark charcoal letters on a light charcoal background; who thought this was good for legibility?

I haven't fully combed through the O/S yet but I presume this problem carries on throughout Yosemite. I bought my parents a MacMini this summer and jumped on the phone an hour ago to tell them not to update! Their vision is considerably poorer and I know they would struggle with this version of OS X even though I have it hooked up to a 24" HD display.

Apple released this as a pre-test Beta and I cannot believe people, especially those in the Art & Design community, didn't speak up about this issue. Helvetic Neue or not - I could care less. I'm largely ambivalent about the font style. I just want the ability to be able to enlarge the the font and contrast so I can read without strain and pain.

I hope there's a 3rd party fix or update soon.

* Apple if you're reading this - c'mon already! You learned in iOS7 that a number of people had trouble with the thin, fixed fonts and low contrast and offered a more scalable, thicker font option with a higher contrast color (deeper blue) option in one of the 7.X updates. Is it asking much to have the same options and flexibility in OS X?

Download TinkerTool. That will let you change the ugly font Apple decided to force on everyone. It's surprising the poor quality Apple has been putting out lately. How did something like this ever pass quality control? Maybe they were working on giant monitors.

http://www.bresink.com/osx/0TinkerTool/download.php

I use Tinker Tool, but unfortunately it doesn't address the problem of system wide font scalability or improving legibility.

Actually I have no clue what TT does anymore as it relates to its font settings.

I haven't seen it yield any results since the days of Snow Leopard.

Others are also commenting that it looks messy.

I've had to use Command+ to increase font size several times. Its tolerable, but it should not be necessary, and it only works in the browser page here, the sidebar text (where our bookmarks seem to have migrated to... whose bright idea was that???) remains small.

I couldn't agree more. The new font is so ugly and I no longer feel like I am using a MAC. This was such a misguided step to take. Apple is usually good about allowing users to customise their machines but not in this case. Also there is no Trebuchet in mail anymore, why? It would be nice to be able to turn off transparency in mail, I do not want my desktop bleeding through.

Finally, I cannot understand the logic of simplifying the iconography to kindergarten style just when they have introduced retina displays that can handle the most subtle shading and highlights.

Mavericks made everything slow down on my IMAC, now Yosemite makes it look awful. Very sorry to see MAC making such bad design decisions. I feel like I am using a PC now.

I have a 27" iMac, until Yosemite I never had to use the zooming lens, now I have to use it all the time because I can't read the ridiculously small system font. And the worst of all: Apple forces you to use it as it is, you can't increase the size or change font altogether. Yosemite has many nice new features I do like, but this is the worst Apple "update" ever. Helvetica Neue may look nice on a Retina display - if you are working on a 27" screen it's a nightmare. Less is more? Sometimes less is just less. - And the new "transparency look" is just a completely useless gimmick.

I'm working on a Mac since 1988 when I bought my first Mac SE, and every OS since was a big step forward. Until Yosemite came. Steve Jobs credo: 'Form follows function' made Apple great. That seems to be over.

Hi, I have not found a way to change the Helvetica Neue which I agree was a bad choice. It is just plain ugly and does not feel like a Mac, more like a PC.

However I did find a way to tone down the transparency. It would be nice if it could be completely turned off, perhaps that will come in an update? Meanwhile if you go to System Prefs/Accesibility/Displays there is an option to reduce transparency. This is an improvement especially with long drop down menus that become unreadable with the background showing through.

Please Mac give us the option to turn off transparency completely.

Try the automator script at https://github.com/schreiberstein/lucidagrandeyosemite

I have the same complaint. Not only is the system font too small - WAY too small on a 27" Mac - I am actually shocked at how ugly it is. Like really un-Apple ugly. I miss Lucida Grande, but am too nervous to try the automator script to change it. Anyone try this?

- BH

Anyone have any idea if switching system font in Yosemite to Lucida Grande will play nice with a 5K iMac?