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How to Get Perfect Retina Text in MSFT Word on rMBP

N

notyourattorney

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 10, 2007
29
0
1. Set resolution to native 2880x1440 (I use SetRes.app, a simple apple script application)

2. Open Word.

3. Set Word's zoom function to 200%.

4. Enjoy perfect retina text.

This should work on any word processor with a Zoom function.

Yes, the UI is tiny, and if you are switching between apps frequently, it is annoying (although this can be partially remedied in apps with proper zoom features, like Preview/Acrobat and Safari). But, if your need is primarily to sit at your computer at craft written prose, this gets the job done. If I'm doing something that does require jumping around a lot, I just pop back to a more reasonable resolution for that time.

And to all the haters who are gearing up to comment "U r idiot if u buy $3k laptop to use text, this is pro machine douche!!!!!!!" you are entitled to your ignorance, but I stare at text on a monitor for 8+ hours a day, this screen benefits me more than any computer tech advance since wi-fi. I honestly think Apple is missing a marketing opportunity not pushing this more to those who write for a living.
 
This fix-around is obvious, but it isn't really a solution for getting retina text in Office at the Apple-supported resolutions for the UI....I still can't figure this out, and doubt it will be possible until Microsoft updates the office suite for the Retina display.

I'm also running into issues with Adobe CS6 and Lightroom 4 in this regard, it renders all the images at 1440x900, thus looking very pixellated and not taking advantage of the 2880x1800 retina display graphics. You are essentially getting only 1/4 the full image display resolution in Photoshop right now, and it is grainy as hell. It's so bad that it's not worth even using. Same goes for all the other Adobe apps, including text in Dreamweaver, which doesn't use Retina rendering.

There is a work-around for Apple Pages (uncheck the "Open in Low Resolution" box in "Get Info"), and Aperture, iPhoto, iMovie, and FinalCut are all optimized for Retina right now and work great. Logic Pro is not optimized yet.
 
That will give you useable text in word but then switching between apps is a terrible pain. Having to deal with such small menus will not work for most people. I did like the look of 2800x1800 although it was harder to use.

I opted for a much better solution that makes using several apps at the same time as word actually workable.

I got LibreOffice. Looks great at any of the retina's resolutions. The price point on it is fantastic! Plus I no longer have to deal with Microsoft's horrible anti-piracy crap. No more Word for me.
 
Greg M said:
I opted for a much better solution that makes using several apps at the same time as word actually workable.

I got LibreOffice. Looks great at any of the retina's resolutions. The price point on it is fantastic! Plus I no longer have to deal with Microsoft's horrible anti-piracy crap. No more Word for me.
Click to expand...

That, and other alternatives, should work great for many people. Indeed, I just use TextEdit for quick writing tasks, and ByWord when I want to get all Zen with my bad self. But in the main, collaborative work with others standardized on Word, combined with the use of extensive formatting in my documents, takes alternative options like that away for many of us. I've found the native res solution with Word to work pretty well, YMMV.
 
TheRdungeon said:
What's Logic like to use? If that's worse than normal then that alone is enough to make me want to wait
Click to expand...

Logic's UI elements haven't been optimized for Retina display, the text and UI elements are pixellated, rendered at 1440x900 and not 2880x1800, much as seen with the current Adobe CS6 Suite. Apple should have an update in the works.
 
notyourattorney said:
That, and other alternatives, should work great for many people. Indeed, I just use TextEdit for quick writing tasks, and ByWord when I want to get all Zen with my bad self. But in the main, collaborative work with others standardized on Word, combined with the use of extensive formatting in my documents, takes alternative options like that away for many of us. I've found the native res solution with Word to work pretty well, YMMV.
Click to expand...

Fortunately I don't have that kind of attachment to Word. I'm sure I'll run across the occasional problem but when that happens I'll just have to work around it or borrow my wife's MBA.

I've got a feeling that it's going to be a while before Microsoft fixes the issue.
 
Do you have that gfx status app too? I'm interested to know if the system is turning on the discrete GPU when you set it to 2880x1800.
 
WardC said:
Logic's UI elements haven't been optimized for Retina display, the text and UI elements are pixellated, rendered at 1440x900 and not 2880x1800, much as seen with the current Adobe CS6 Suite. Apple should have an update in the works.
Click to expand...

Hope so eh, could see them being like "Here's Logic X, with Retina Icons!"
 
Greg M said:
I've got a feeling that it's going to be a while before Microsoft fixes the issue.
Click to expand...

That's funny, I have a similar feeling. Although I've always wondered about the internal politics there. The people making and selling Mac products presumably want their products to be the best, but I can't see Ballmer getting too upset if it takes a few months, or longer, for Word to look pretty on the newest Apple tech. They haven't exactly rushed out iOS Office, after all.

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ryane67 said:
Do you have that gfx status app too? I'm interested to know if the system is turning on the discrete GPU when you set it to 2880x1800.
Click to expand...

Res doesn't appear to affect the choice of card, just applications. Once an application that wants the discrete card starts up, it switches. Some are odd. Sparrow, for example, basically doesn't work without the discrete card enabled.
 
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