How do I increase the font size in Mac OS? Not resolution change.

Question

Level 1

5 points

How do I increase the font size in Mac OS? Not resolution change.

Basically I'm looking for the Mac OS equivalent of the simple setting in Windows to set the system font size to 'Large', that adjustment where you specify a higher DPI by clicking a radio button for "Small", "Medium", or "Large", or changing the DPI with a slider.

I'm not looking to set the LCD to the wrong resolution.

I tried using the third party application TinkerTool suggested elsewhere and furthermore adjusted font sizes in various areas of the OS, but this doesn't fix the underlying issue that the fonts are still too small in the majority of the OS.

More or less the person that bought this has written me an email, verbatim, that states, "I am quite disillusioned right now but will sleep on it. Can't believe Mac could make such an inferior product." I suggested to hold on and perhaps someone on the official forums will have some advice.

Thanks in advance!

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Jan 26, 2015 5:13 PM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,346 points

Jan 26, 2015 6:37 PM in response to mugglewump

Have you attempted to use Command + to increase the size?

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Answer 2

MichelPM

Level 10

80,958 points

Jan 26, 2015 6:56 PM in response to mugglewump

For starters, there is no such thing as " wrong resolution."

The native resolution, I find, is too small for my aging eyes, so I bumped it down one notch to the next available resolution which was 1920 X1080.

The use of the IMac is NOT tied to using it at its default native resolution.

It looks fine and not distorted in any way, at all.

I am not sure what resolutions are available, but the only way to make the main top menu text larger is to change the IMac's resolution.

Does the iMac in question have 1920 X 1080 or something close to this available?

You can easily change the size of the OS X Dock as well in OS X Dock Preferences and the text size of other elements of the Finder like desktop text and icon sizes in OS X Finder preferences.

Other than than the suggestions, I have made there is no other ways to change this.

If your friend is unhappy with this fact and have had this IMac less than 14 days, he or she can return the IMac for a full refund and use it to purchase that Windows computer.

Best of luck!

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Answer 3

mugglewump Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 26, 2015 6:52 PM in response to rkaufmann87

rkaufmann87 wrote:

Have you attempted to use Command + to increase the size?

As per above, I'm looking to change the system font size or DPI similar to what can easily be done in Windows, not occasional per-application increases which does not resolve the fundamental issue. Thanks anyhow.

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Answer 4

mugglewump Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 26, 2015 7:07 PM in response to MichelPM

MichelPM wrote:

For starters, there is no such thing as " wrong resolution."

That's technically incorrect and incorrect as it pertains to people like myself that can perceive the wrong resolution compared to the resolution the display was designed for, but I understand what you're trying to communicate. The person in question is working with photography and wants to work with the native resolution, and wants all font sizes larger to minimize eye strain. I believe the iMac they're upgrading from had a similar sized screen but lower resolution so the fonts were literally larger and it seemed to look good to them.

It's unfortunate there's no way to change this setting and I almost suggested they go with a larger screen but then I discovered this issue also exists with the 27" displays as well. However my maths not good enough to calculate if the larger size and higher resolution will improve the ratio even slightly...

Another alternative is that I suggest they get a Mac mini and an LG 24" display with 1080p, those extra inches could compensate and they'd get the same quality LCD panel.

I'm still quite stunned that this isn't a configurable option. I see many, many threads on this topic but so far there seems to be no resolution for this glaring oversight.

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Answer 5

MichelPM

Level 10

80,958 points

Jan 26, 2015 7:58 PM in response to mugglewump

Well,

I am a well seasoned Photoshop, Painter and Aperture user (going on 20 years, now) and working with a monitor with a different the native monitor resolution does NOT effect the ACTUAL resolution data in digital images.

A 300 DPI image is a 300 DPI image independent of the actual monitor resolution.

I am mostly a digital painter and use both Photoshop, Painter and Illustrator to do my work (which can get pretty technical) and do all my image creation and editing at a lower monitor resolution than the native.

It's is really NOT a hinderance, at all. Most Macs and Mac monitors, that I have used over the years, I have never liked the native resolution and have always adjusted this.

Doing this has NOT affected the quality or clarity of my work.

And if working with images destined to be commercially printed, the highest a professional/commercial printer can achieve, currently, is 350 DPI for the printed output.

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Answer 6

jndupuis1

Level 2

462 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:14 PM in response to MichelPM

Easy, Easy everybody! mugglewump asked a simple question! KISS Theory applies here.

mugglewump.

From the Desktop Task Bar, Pull down "View" select "Show View Options" and Baam!! Have fun changing Font size and Icon size and Grid spacing. Easy stuff! Hope this is the answer to your question. Take care.

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Answer 7

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:27 PM in response to mugglewump

Another fact to consider is that the native resolution for a 27" iMac is 2560 x 1440. That means that there are 2560 very small pixels horizontally. A 12 pixel font will therefore also look very small. Taking down the resolution will increase the size of each pixel and therefore the fonts as well.

I've never owned any Windows machine - what is the native resolution on a comparable size computer? Googling found this among others; 27" widescreen, but only 1920 pixels across so the fonts will appear larger (and, apparently, is the exact resolution MichelPM is using on his).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1014527&Q=&is=REG&A=detai ls

Unfortunately for you, Macs are not Windows machines and do not have the same features; except for changing the resolution, there is no system wide fix.

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Answer 8

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:31 PM in response to jndupuis1

That does not change the menubar (you referred to it as the "task bar") font size and other system font sizes.

And no, it was not a simple question to answer because there is no system wide fix.

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Answer 9

mugglewump Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:38 PM in response to babowa

babowa wrote:

I've never owned any Windows machine - what is the native resolution on a comparable size computer? Googling found this among others; 27" widescreen, but only 1920 pixels across so the fonts will appear larger (and, apparently, is the exact resolution MichelPM is using on his).

Well, I'd say the common standard is typically 22 - 24" at 1080p but the question is mostly irrelevant since it's common practice to adjust the system DPI if the fonts are too small since it really is a couple mouse clicks. My Windows system' center monitor is a 2560 x 1440 resolution and I immediately defaulted to 'large' DPI (150% from default) simply because it looks great and the fonts would be too small otherwise. The clarity of the images stays intact, the quality of the font stays intact (or arguably increases in quality) and the resolution stays the same.

I think I'll go for round 2 in trying to coerce the user to try a decreased resolution as some people, as evidenced above, don't notice the imperfections. I could always try decreasing the resolution and say, "hey, look, I fixed it!" They do have older eyes than I have so it's possible it's a mindset rather than an observable issue on their end.

It's looking like the topic is pretty much case closed unless there's a system hack to fundamentally fix this issue system-wide.

Thanks for the contributions folks!

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Answer 10

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:46 PM in response to mugglewump

You're welcome; FWIW, this question has come up quite a few times before and the best you could do is to send feedback to Apple - they will not answer, but they do read them:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

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Answer 11

Caseyn

Level 1

4 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:49 PM in response to mugglewump

Settings
General
Accesibility

Large text option, will send you to a page where you can use a slider to increase as much as allowed!

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Answer 12

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Jan 26, 2015 8:58 PM in response to Caseyn

Which Pane in System Preferences are you referring to? In Yosemite, you can increase the cursor size under Displays (in the Accessibility Pane), but not the font size. Are you referring to iOS?

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Answer 13

Caseyn

Level 1

4 points

Jan 26, 2015 9:07 PM in response to babowa

No not ios, do you not see increase font size or increase text size? If not use finder an type larger font size, it takes you to the option as well

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Answer 14

babowa

Level 9

78,097 points

Jan 26, 2015 9:18 PM in response to Caseyn

Here is the Accessibility Pane in System Preferences:

As you can see, there is a reference to changing the resolution, but no font sizing options.

No clue what you are referring to - please post a screenshot.

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Answer 15

mugglewump Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 27, 2015 5:49 AM in response to Caseyn

Caseyn wrote:

Settings

General

Accesibility

Large text option, will send you to a page where you can use a slider to increase as much as allowed!

Unfortunately this falls under the category above concerning, "this doesn't fix the underlying issue that the fonts are still too small in the majority of the OS."

I've increased this setting, I used TinkerToy to increase the fonts by at least 6 points and increased font size within every application that allows it, but even all of those doesn't come close to adjusting it system-wide. You can have gigantic fonts in the focused window of an application but the menu and other aspects of the application will still be miniscule.

I'll be heading there this afternoon to try the resolution adjustment to see if that works for them.

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