4 ms·

I don't own any Apple devices, so i feel i need to ask a question that might have an obvious answer: Do people have the choice of font? From the sounds of it

I don't own any Apple devices, so i feel i need to ask a question that might have an obvious answer: Do people have the choice of font? From the sounds of it the newest OSX is squarely aimed at the future of paper-like displays, which is cool, but curses old devices with a badly readable font, regardless of what the user wishes. On Windows i can configure fonts and colors for a whole range of system gui components however i like. Does OSX offer the same, or are users really stuck with whatever a designer liked best that week? -- Earnestly asking: Why the downvote? I posted this because i'm genuinely curious.

chrisBob 12y ago
I am a long time mac user (since 10.0), and I have never actually looked at the appearance settings, so I checked just for you. In OS X 10.9 and 10.10 the only real appearance settings are two color options, and the size of the side bars (scroll bars). You can also change the location, size and hiding settings for the dock. If you really like XML files then you probably have the option of changing the font, but it isn't straight forward. Personally I have only ever changed the dock location (usually to the right side) and the desktop image.
- Mithaldu 12y ago
  Thanks for checking. I really wonder what the reasoning is to not include options for that.
mikestew 12y ago
I'm sure that there are possibly ways to hack at things from the command line, and maybe even apps developed for such a thing (there used to be, years ago, but I'm pretty sure those APIs got deprecated). But if one goes the common route, that being the Mac OS version of Windows Control Panel called "System Preferences", one has little control other than setting highlight color, overall color (blue or gray). No font options. I'm fine with that, I'm not one to spend time fiddling to get just that right shade of red in the title bar. As for down votes, you've got enough karma/imaginary Internet points to quit worrying about it. I've seen my own comments get down voted for asking the most innocuous questions couched as politely as I could. Usually involves Mac stuff, too. Which is ironic given the amount of Apple stuff in my house (read: it's all Apple), and I'm typing this on my work MacBook. Yeah, I'm a hater.
- Mithaldu 12y ago
  As for the fiddling, i get you. For me typically the only fiddling i do is set Win2k colors, narrow space wastes and set a font that's a little less wide than the default. Pure usability fixes. Maybe that's why they never had those options, because Jobs would've ripped off anyone's head who introduces usability issues. It's not that i'm worried about the downvotes. Occasionally i intentionally post things that i know will get downvoted, but go ahead anyhow because the reality that might be uncomfortable to some still deserves to be voiced. In this case though there is nothing obvious, so i am honestly curious what about my post someone disagreed with strong enough to click that button. I ask, if nothing else, because an earnest explanation of the downvote might be interesting in itself. :)
  - mikestew 12y ago
    > In this case though there is nothing obvious, so i am honestly curious what about my post someone disagreed with strong enough to click that button. Seriously, don't spend the CPU cycles on it. See this post? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8363269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8363269. Sure it has 10 points now, but someone down voted it minutes after I posted it. I have no idea why. Maybe a bad day at work, maybe the down voter is just an asshole taking advantage of their 500 karma and anonymity. But you'll rarely get an answer, so move on and let them seethe about it ("I'll show that asshole, with my might power of Down Arrow!") instead of you.
jsz0 12y ago
There are ways to change system fonts but it's a similar situation to Windows where your font choices may not fit properly in some spots and some apps may set their own fonts and override your choice. Otherwise it's up to apps to offer font options for things like list views / text views / etc. In general Apple's philosophy is not to offer options that are pretty much guaranteed not to work consistently or produce unexpected results
- Mithaldu 12y ago
  I'm talking about system GUI components, i.e. window titles, context menus, etc. Those scale appropiately. I have never seen fonts set with the windows controls that don't fit properly. Apps that override stuff look inconsistent no matter what.

chrisBob 12y ago

I am a long time mac user (since 10.0), and I have never actually looked at the appearance settings, so I checked just for you. In OS X 10.9 and 10.10 the only real appearance settings are two color options, and the size of the side bars (scroll bars). You can also change the location, size and hiding settings for the dock. If you really like XML files then you probably have the option of changing the font, but it isn't straight forward. Personally I have only ever changed the dock location (usually to the right side) and the desktop image.

Mithaldu 12y ago
Thanks for checking. I really wonder what the reasoning is to not include options for that.

mikestew 12y ago

I'm sure that there are possibly ways to hack at things from the command line, and maybe even apps developed for such a thing (there used to be, years ago, but I'm pretty sure those APIs got deprecated). But if one goes the common route, that being the Mac OS version of Windows Control Panel called "System Preferences", one has little control other than setting highlight color, overall color (blue or gray). No font options. I'm fine with that, I'm not one to spend time fiddling to get just that right shade of red in the title bar. As for down votes, you've got enough karma/imaginary Internet points to quit worrying about it. I've seen my own comments get down voted for asking the most innocuous questions couched as politely as I could. Usually involves Mac stuff, too. Which is ironic given the amount of Apple stuff in my house (read: it's all Apple), and I'm typing this on my work MacBook. Yeah, I'm a hater.

Mithaldu 12y ago
As for the fiddling, i get you. For me typically the only fiddling i do is set Win2k colors, narrow space wastes and set a font that's a little less wide than the default. Pure usability fixes. Maybe that's why they never had those options, because Jobs would've ripped off anyone's head who introduces usability issues. It's not that i'm worried about the downvotes. Occasionally i intentionally post things that i know will get downvoted, but go ahead anyhow because the reality that might be uncomfortable to some still deserves to be voiced. In this case though there is nothing obvious, so i am honestly curious what about my post someone disagreed with strong enough to click that button. I ask, if nothing else, because an earnest explanation of the downvote might be interesting in itself. :)
- mikestew 12y ago
  > In this case though there is nothing obvious, so i am honestly curious what about my post someone disagreed with strong enough to click that button. Seriously, don't spend the CPU cycles on it. See this post? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8363269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8363269. Sure it has 10 points now, but someone down voted it minutes after I posted it. I have no idea why. Maybe a bad day at work, maybe the down voter is just an asshole taking advantage of their 500 karma and anonymity. But you'll rarely get an answer, so move on and let them seethe about it ("I'll show that asshole, with my might power of Down Arrow!") instead of you.

jsz0 12y ago

There are ways to change system fonts but it's a similar situation to Windows where your font choices may not fit properly in some spots and some apps may set their own fonts and override your choice. Otherwise it's up to apps to offer font options for things like list views / text views / etc. In general Apple's philosophy is not to offer options that are pretty much guaranteed not to work consistently or produce unexpected results

Mithaldu 12y ago
I'm talking about system GUI components, i.e. window titles, context menus, etc. Those scale appropiately. I have never seen fonts set with the windows controls that don't fit properly. Apps that override stuff look inconsistent no matter what.