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Fontology

 
All articles:
Using Type Tools:
  • Tab Leaders
  • Style-linked fonts
  • Spacing and Kerning, Part 2
  • Spacing and Kerning, Part 1
  • Small Caps in InDesign CS3 and QuarkXPress 7
  • Scaling Logos
  • Optical Margin Alignment in InDesign
  • OpenType Pro
  • OpenType Numerals
  • Making Fractions in OpenType
  • OpenType Features
  • Nonbreaking Hyphens
  • Missing Font Mysteries- Solved At Last!
  • From metal to digital: Bridging the gap, Optimizing digital font readability (Part 2)
  • From metal to digital: Understanding the underlying differences (Part 1)
  • Kerning in QuarkXPress and InDesign
  • InDesign Shortcuts: Special Characters
  • Importing Text
  • Hanging Characters in QuarkXPress® 8
  • Go Wild With OpenType
  • Glyph Palettes
  • Fonts on the Web: Web-safe Fonts
  • Smooth Your Fonts
  • FontExplorer X Pro and Server
  • ESQ Fonts - The Best Solution for the Screen
  • ESQ Fonts
  • A Brief History of Digital Type
  • Converting Text to Outline
  • Change those defaults!
  • Baseline Shift
  • Automatic Page Numbering
  • Auto Leading
  • + More...
Font Info:
Situational Typography:
Typographic Reference:
Glyphs & Characters:
Fine Typography:
Fontology

Smooth Your Fonts

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Using the “smoothing” (anti-aliasing) feature on your computer is one of the easiest ways to make text look better on your machine. It’s easier than you might think. Read below for instructions for your Windows or Macintosh machine.

For Windows:

Apply smoothing to your onscreen type in Win98, Win2000 and WinMe.

  1. Go to START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL > DISPLAY (or right-click your desktop).
  2. Click the EFFECTS tab.
  3. Check “Smooth edges of screen fonts.” (see image below)
  4. Click “OK” to close window and apply settings.
  5. Enjoy!
Winsmoothing

For Macintosh:

Apply smoothing to your onscreen type in MacOS 8.x - 9.x.

  1. Go to APPLE MENU > CONTROL PANELS > APPEARANCE (or control-click your desktop and choose CHANGE DESKTOP BACKGROUND).
  2. Click the FONTS tab.
  3. Check “Smooth all fonts on screen.” (see image below)
  4. Choose a point size for the smallest type to apply smoothing to (12 pt. is the smallest allowed).
  5. Close the window to apply settings.
  6. Enjoy!
Macsmoothing

Apply smoothing to your onscreen type in MacOS 10.x

  1. Open your SYSTEM PREFERENCES.
  2. Go to the PERSONAL Area and choose APPEARANCE.
  3. In the “Font smoothing style” area, choose from the drop down list the setting that best matches your environment.
  4. Choose a point size for the smallest type to apply smoothing to (8 pt. is a good size to select).
  5. Close the window to apply settings.
  6. Enjoy!
OSX Smoothing
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