Problem with MeFi displaying really large text.

September 25, 2002 5:30 PM

In Windows XP version 2002, using either Mozilla 1.1 or IE6, renders Metafilter with really big letters that make reading the site difficult. Anyone got any solutions?
posted by moz to Bugs at 5:30 PM (16 comments total)

for example.
posted by moz at 5:33 PM on September 25, 2002

View / Text Size / Smaller?
posted by crunchland at 5:37 PM on September 25, 2002

View / Text Size / Smaller?

i tried that, but i do like to visit websites besides metafilter. it's a pain in the neck to have to change text size (or rather, text zoom) every time i visit and leave mefi.
posted by moz at 5:42 PM on September 25, 2002

Ok. How about on the main Metafilter page, you click Customize, up there on the top, and try entering in some different numbers for "Body Text Size" and "Smaller Text Size?" Or choosing a different font?
posted by crunchland at 6:04 PM on September 25, 2002

Ok. How about on the main Metafilter page, you click Customize, up there on the top, and try entering in some different numbers for "Body Text Size" and "Smaller Text Size?" Or choosing a different font?

i read metafilter from many different computers. not all of them run XP, but some do. i suppose i could change the font size to some piddly number in my preferences, and then make sure i don't delete the cookies at my other computers (or re-modify the font size when i do), but that seems like an ugly hack to me.

thanks for the lesson in how to go to my preferences page. i almost forgot.
posted by moz at 6:24 PM on September 25, 2002

Play with the typeface and size. There are some sizes that windows renders weird. Stick with even numbers.
posted by birdherder at 6:25 PM on September 25, 2002

I meant to close with having 10pt vs. 11pt might make the type render correctly on all of your machines.

It is a Windows thing with how type is handled.
posted by birdherder at 6:28 PM on September 25, 2002

I don't have that problem on any of the four XP/IE6/Mozilla1.1 computers on which I regularly read MeFi. Odd.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:27 PM on September 25, 2002

FWIW, the text on MetaFilter has always looked huge on my Mac whenever I'm not logged in, which appears to be the case in your screenshot.
posted by jjg at 8:28 PM on September 25, 2002

your OS has its entire font settings set to large, by looking at your window's information bars.

right click your desktop, choose properties, then go to the appearance tab. Under Font Size, switch it to Normal.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:56 PM on September 25, 2002

the four XP/IE6/Mozilla1.1 computers on which I regularly read MeFi.
stavros, you read mefi on 4 computers?
[derisive snort]
it only takes me three.

posted by quonsar at 8:58 PM on September 25, 2002

*smacks self on forehead*

Of course...I didn't even notice the fact that moz wasn't logged in. Politely explained, jjg.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:58 PM on September 25, 2002

...Or what Matt said, too, maybe.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:59 PM on September 25, 2002

We should all pay attention to Matt's instructions.
posted by anathema at 9:03 PM on September 25, 2002

thanks, guys. that should do it.
posted by moz at 8:11 AM on September 26, 2002

matt:

your OS has its entire font settings set to large, by looking at your window's information bars.

right click your desktop, choose properties, then go to the appearance tab. Under Font Size, switch it to Normal.

now that i'm back at the computer, i can see how to fix the problem. actually, the font size was normal. what i discovered, though, was that the DPI for the computer was set to 125% of the normal value (which is 96 dots). changing it back to 96 did the trick.
posted by moz at 5:09 PM on October 2, 2002