HTML messages look blurry

[SteveK]

This is wierd one for me:

I have WindowsXP Pro, and Outlook 2002. I've recently noticed (I think
something changed because I've been using this setup for a few years without
noticing it) that HTML messages in a message window look blurry. Outlook
itself doesn't look blurry. All the text is crisp in the Folder list, the
message list and plain text messages look crisp. But HTML messages all have
a bit of blur - not bad and certainly readable. I do not see the problem in
my web browsers. Only in HTML email messages.

What could that be?

STeveK

 

[SteveK]

I typically use Firefox. I just opened the latest IE7 that showed up on my
machine through some automatic updating a few weeks ago and I notice that
the blurry look is also in the IE web browser. So it has something to do
with IE7. what could that be?

 

[Unsettled]

Maybe the display settings are set to use ClearType for the fonts?

 

[SteveK]

Interesting theory..... So I looked up where to make that general system
setting (Control Panel > Display > Appearance > Effects), and it is not set
to Clear Type. It is set to Standard. I should mention that I have a
dual monitor setup with my main monitor a CRT and the second monitor is a
LCD. I replaced my Matrox Parhelia graphics card a few months ago with an
Nvidia but I don't believe that I noticed the blurred monitor exactly at
that time. The really curious thing though is that the problem seems to
only be related to the IE7 browser - and Outlook HTML. Firefox looks fine
and no other apps look blurry.

 

[Unsettled]

Maybe try to download a live cd of linux -- knoppix or ubuntu to see if
the blurred effect shows up. That way, if it doesn't you could probably
rule out the graphics card affecting it.

 

[Chuck Davis]

SteveK

Try the Clear Type. Clear Type was developed by Microsoft for the LCD
monitors. It doesn't hurt CRTs. And, it can easily be reversed.

 

[SteveK]

I tried changing to Clear Type but it makes everything (not just the IE7
browser and Outlook) and look blurry on my CRT - dual monitor setup one CRT
and one LCD. ---- I am still using a CRT for my main monitors at home and
at work because I am one of those people who think a good CRT is still
sharper than all the LCDs I've seen so far, except for maybe the 200dpi
Viewsonic monitor I saw at a trade show a while back ---- So next I then
went to the nVidia site and downloaded the latest driver. but I still see
the same problem.

I think it has something to do with some setting that the recent IE7 made
deep somewhere.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I typically use Firefox. I just opened the latest IE7 that showed up
on my machine through some automatic updating a few weeks ago and I
notice that the blurry look is also in the IE web browser. So it has
something to do with IE7. what could that be?

Cleartype, probably.

 

[Guest]

Had the same blurry text problem in Outlook and IE 7 today as I had my work
laptop rebuilt and they had installed IE 7.

To get rid of the problem I uninstalled IE 7 and unchecked the 'smooth
edges' option in controlpanel > Display > Appearance > Effects.

Not sure which one of these actually did the trick but doing them both has
certainly resolved the issue - you'll probably need to restart.