Macbook Pro 17" Text size issue with High Resolution screen.
Just got a Macbook Pro 17 that I love except for one thing - text size on many programs. I understand the reason for it and I did not want a 15 inch as I tend to work with multiple programs at once. I am not tied to an office so that rules out buying an external screen, So I have been trying to find solutions that makes working with in different programs less of a strain on my eyes. Here are some of the workarounds I have found to programs I use and programs that I have had no luck with. Please add if you have further suggestions. And please it is not a problem with eyesight as this seems to be a common problem for many owners. I like to sit well back from my screen not 2 inches away!
Address Book Set the font size to large in preferences
Mail. This is the big one. It is easy to set the default font to a larger size and that helps with incoming mail. Or you can add a small/larger button with the customize toolbar option but there is no fix for outgoing mail. I write a lot of mail so by the end of the day I am squinting and I do not want to send all my mail in jumbo text. Here is the only fix that I found that I like.
In terminal (in utilities) put in the following
defaults write com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor 1.25
to undo
defaults delete com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor
The header on the mail program looks a little strange, but I love that my mail program is normal size again.
Calender. This is a hard one to change. I found two options The first was to do the above and swap the com.apple.mail with com.apple.iCal. But you cannot zoom larger than 1.1 The second option and the one I choose is to change calender programs and I am now using Busy Cal which allows you to choose the font size.
Safari. Easy. Just pinch zoom or Apple +. I prefer this over resetting the default font as everything becomes bigger rather than just the font. My YouTube videos are no longer tiny.
Filemake Pro. The only thing I could do here is Zoom my programs to 150%. There is no inbetween zoom function unfortunately. When i rewrite my programs next I will resize them for this screen.
Quicken. Another program that is important to me. Enlarging in terminal gives the program a fuzzy look. The other option is to use Universal Access and the zoom function there. The trick is to set the options so that the zoom amount is very small. But the program is not so crisp. So no good solution found. The identifier if you want to try terminal is: com.intuit.quicken
Microsoft Work and Excel Easy again as just use the zoom function and I have found a perfect size for all of my spreadsheets. The other menus are large enough
Adobe Illustrator. Easy to zoom the page you are working on, but not the palettes or menus
Aperture I have an older version of Aperture and there seems to be no way to adjust it. Am not sure if the new Aperture allows adjustment, but it is one of my favourite programs.
Final Cut Pro Cannot adjust the menus. You can choose to label your sequences with a larger font in preferences
Vectorworks Again easy to zoom and the menus are large enough to read.
Those are all my main programs. By the way when I first got the 17 it seemed huge. But now after a couple of weeks it just seems normal and I am glad I went bigger.
Just got a Macbook Pro 17 that I love except for one thing - text size on many programs. I understand the reason for it and I did not want a 15 inch as I tend to work with multiple programs at once. I am not tied to an office so that rules out buying an external screen, So I have been trying to find solutions that makes working with in different programs less of a strain on my eyes. Here are some of the workarounds I have found to programs I use and programs that I have had no luck with. Please add if you have further suggestions. And please it is not a problem with eyesight as this seems to be a common problem for many owners. I like to sit well back from my screen not 2 inches away!
Address Book Set the font size to large in preferences
Mail. This is the big one. It is easy to set the default font to a larger size and that helps with incoming mail. Or you can add a small/larger button with the customize toolbar option but there is no fix for outgoing mail. I write a lot of mail so by the end of the day I am squinting and I do not want to send all my mail in jumbo text. Here is the only fix that I found that I like.
In terminal (in utilities) put in the following
defaults write com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor 1.25
to undo
defaults delete com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor
The header on the mail program looks a little strange, but I love that my mail program is normal size again.
Calender. This is a hard one to change. I found two options The first was to do the above and swap the com.apple.mail with com.apple.iCal. But you cannot zoom larger than 1.1 The second option and the one I choose is to change calender programs and I am now using Busy Cal which allows you to choose the font size.
Safari. Easy. Just pinch zoom or Apple +. I prefer this over resetting the default font as everything becomes bigger rather than just the font. My YouTube videos are no longer tiny.
Filemake Pro. The only thing I could do here is Zoom my programs to 150%. There is no inbetween zoom function unfortunately. When i rewrite my programs next I will resize them for this screen.
Quicken. Another program that is important to me. Enlarging in terminal gives the program a fuzzy look. The other option is to use Universal Access and the zoom function there. The trick is to set the options so that the zoom amount is very small. But the program is not so crisp. So no good solution found. The identifier if you want to try terminal is: com.intuit.quicken
Microsoft Work and Excel Easy again as just use the zoom function and I have found a perfect size for all of my spreadsheets. The other menus are large enough
Adobe Illustrator. Easy to zoom the page you are working on, but not the palettes or menus
Aperture I have an older version of Aperture and there seems to be no way to adjust it. Am not sure if the new Aperture allows adjustment, but it is one of my favourite programs.
Final Cut Pro Cannot adjust the menus. You can choose to label your sequences with a larger font in preferences
Vectorworks Again easy to zoom and the menus are large enough to read.
Those are all my main programs. By the way when I first got the 17 it seemed huge. But now after a couple of weeks it just seems normal and I am glad I went bigger.
