Accessibility - LCD Display Fonts Too Small

[Denis Abercrombie]

1) Why are none of the messages I see in this newsgroup
related to accessibility issues?

2) My problem - Have NEC/Mitsuibishi Multisync LCD 2110
monitor. The characters look terrible (choppy, faded,
etc) if resolution is set less than NEC recommended 1600
x 1200 pixels. However, at that resolution XP's dialogs
and standard font sizes that show up in applications
relying on XP for fonts (such as Lotus Notes) are
minuscule - even after setting Font Size at Large or
Extra Large in the XP Display Properties. All that
setting seems to do is increase the dialog titles, menu
fonts and some dialog text. But basis application text
remains small. I increased the DPI setting to 120 DPI
(under Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button,
General tab). This helps substantially, but then I have
web driven applications (such as Crystal Reports web
interface display) that can't handle the 120 DPI
resulting in lines in screen reports running on top of
each other, making them illegible. Summary - I don't
even have a vision problem and cannot find a way to set
this display up in XP that allows comfortable size fonts
to display and also avoid having Crystal screens be
legible. Any ideas anyone?

 

[Sharon F]

1) Why are none of the messages I see in this newsgroup
related to accessibility issues?

a) Probably because "Accessibility" means different things to different
people: access to files, logon access, etc.

b) Long time Windows users understand that "Accessibility" has a special
meaning within Windows. Newer users do not.

c) It is the first newsgroup in the windowsxp.* list and some people are
"not inspired" to go further down the list to find a more appropriate group
topic.

d) First newsgroup on the list also makes it an easy target for first time
newsgroup users to ... errrm, access the newsgroups.

 

[Sharon F]

2) My problem - Have NEC/Mitsuibishi Multisync LCD 2110
monitor. The characters look terrible (choppy, faded,
etc) if resolution is set less than NEC recommended 1600
x 1200 pixels. However, at that resolution XP's dialogs
and standard font sizes that show up in applications
relying on XP for fonts (such as Lotus Notes) are
minuscule - even after setting Font Size at Large or
Extra Large in the XP Display Properties. All that
setting seems to do is increase the dialog titles, menu
fonts and some dialog text. But basis application text
remains small. I increased the DPI setting to 120 DPI
(under Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button,
General tab). This helps substantially, but then I have
web driven applications (such as Crystal Reports web
interface display) that can't handle the 120 DPI
resulting in lines in screen reports running on top of
each other, making them illegible. Summary - I don't
even have a vision problem and cannot find a way to set
this display up in XP that allows comfortable size fonts
to display and also avoid having Crystal screens be
legible. Any ideas anyone?

Dennis, I bought a TFT flat panel and it has a slightly different dot ratio
than my 2nd CRT monitor. If I use Windows to adjust the display on the flat
panel, I end up with weird results. Instead, I use a button on the monitor
that automatically adjusts the screen. In Display > Settings those
adjustments show up as 1280x960 with 96DPI (100%).

If I repeat those settings on my CRT monitor sitting right next to it, the
results are *not* the same - not even close. Setting the CRT at 1024x768
makes it close (just a little larger than the TFT) but not exact.

May want to check your new monitor for a similar button. Or check the
manufacturer's website for an INF file that will keep Windows better
informed about the specifics for your monitor.

PS: I also find ClearType to be a big help on the monitor. Without it my
display is a bit choppy and faded too. I used the online ClearType tuner to
get this tweaked to my preferences:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/