Gorgeous SMOOTH fonts on Surface Pro and Desktop

[mitchellvii]

For some this may be old hat but for others new and useful information. This applies not only to Surface and Surface Pro but also to your Desktop or Laptop.

Face it, font rendering in Windows is crap. Once you see how well this aftermarket rendering algorithm works you will be even more pissed at MS than usual. How is it possible MS cannot do this out of the box? If anything, font smoothing has gotten WORSE not better in Windows 8. Office 2013 is a joke of badly rendered fonts. Scary bad.

Anyway, here is a solution. This won't work in Modern UI nor in Modern IE, but will work in Desktop and especially Firefox (where it makes fonts look amazing). Desktop IE works well but not quite as well as Firefox. Just download this file:

gdipp_x64_0.9.1.msi - gdipp - gdipp 0.9.1 Beta for 64-bit Windows - Customizable Windows text renderers - Google Project Hosting

and install it. No need to change options, just click click click and install. The render should start immediately without a reboot. If it doesn't reboot. Here is the page to describe how it works:

gdipp - Customizable Windows text renderers - Google Project Hosting

** In Firefox you MUST disable "Hardware Acceleration" in Options > Advanced > Browsing for this to work.

ONE OTHER CAVEAT:
If you are designing queries or coding in Access, this can cause some weird font offset issues. If this is the case I recommend the earlier version:

http://code.google.com/p/gdipp/downloads/detail?name=gdipp_x64_0.7.6.msi

Still some issues but better. When I am writing large SQL's I simply paste them into Word, make changes and paste them back into the query builder. A pain? Yes, but worth it IMHO.

 

[machistmo]

M7, your OCD pills... take them...

 

[mitchellvii]

M7, your OCD pills... take them...

One man's OCD is another man's meticulous attention to detail

 

[Jglnaz372]

One man's OCD is another man's meticulous attention to detail

Amen Brother! ; )

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

 

[ScottyS]

I tried this, and I can't tell a difference. Now I rebooted and as soon as I went to Desktop I saw the rectangular notification in the upper right corner saying Windows Defender has detected malware (and presume, removed it). Does Windows Defender see gdipp as malware?

 

[mitchellvii]

I tried this, and I can't tell a difference. Now I rebooted and as soon as I went to Desktop I saw the rectangular notification in the upper right corner saying Windows Defender has detected malware (and presume, removed it). Does Windows Defender see gdipp as malware?

Shouldn't. My Defender saw no problems at all. Have been running this for months on all my computers without a hitch. Uninstall and re-install 0.7.6 version.

Again, this won't make a difference in Modern UI, only desktop. For it to work in Firefox you need to change settings as described in the OP.

 

[ScottyS]

I uninstalled 0.9.1 and installed 0.7.6. Can't say I see a difference, but I'm looking at text on a 27" 2560x1440 monitor; have to leave judgment until I see on the Surface's screen. I like that I could choose how it should start, and as a service I can turn it on or off without a reboot.
I agree about "meticulous attention to detail".

 

[machistmo]

I love the fancy names we give our OCD. Meticulous attention to detail, the cry of the guy with handwipes and bottles of hand sanitizer on every surface of his home. Patato / PatAto.. OCD / Meticulous attention to detail. Or just someone with too much time on their hands.

When I am writing large SQL's I simply paste them into Word, make changes and paste them back into the query builder. A pain? Yes, but worth it IMHO. <-- that my firends is OCD, plain and simple. :LOL:

 

[benjaminries]

I love the fancy names we give our OCD. Meticulous attention to detail, the cry of the guy with handwipes and bottles of hand sanitizer on every surface of his home. Patato / PatAto.. OCD / Meticulous attention to detail. Or just someone with too much time on their hands.

When I am writing large SQL's I simply paste them into Word, make changes and paste them back into the query builder. A pain? Yes, but worth it IMHO. <-- that my firends is OCD, plain and simple. :LOL:

And I love how you're either diagnosing the OP with a mental illness based on his use of software, or (alternatively) using the term "OCD" in a derogatory fashion. The D stands for disorder, it exists, and you're approaching it with all the maturity of a 7 year old playground bully.

How is this thread any skin off your back, dude? I installed the software and I agree that it makes some desktop & legacy apps logo better - not as pixilated with the Windows DPI scaling that most of us use to make a 1080P screen usable with touch. If you don't notice a difference, uninstalling is just as easy.

 

[machistmo]

And I love how you're either diagnosing the OP with a mental illness based on his use of software, or (alternatively) using the term "OCD" in a derogatory fashion. The D stands for disorder, it exists, and you're approaching it with all the maturity of a 7 year old playground bully.

How is this thread any skin off your back, dude? I installed the software and I agree that it makes some desktop & legacy apps logo better - not as pixilated with the Windows DPI scaling that most of us use to make a 1080P screen usable with touch. If you don't notice a difference, uninstalling is just as easy.

I lol'd at this one. LOL. Its OCD, he knows, I know it, you know it, we all know it. Its M7 - its what he does... Why you are all bent out of shape I dunno, but I am sorry if I appeared to be insulting your BFF?! It is still OCD though... I am insulted that you said 7 year old, I was clearly acting 5 maybe 6 tops! Sheesh. Hugs, Kisses Cupcakes and Ponies k?

./backing away slowly towards the bullet proof exit door...

 

[Codevine]

Thanks! I've actually used this on my desktop a few years ago and it looked pretty good. It does look better on my desktop now, but it looks absolutely awesome on the Surface Pro. Looks like the fonts on a Nokia Lumia 920 (So smooth!).

 

[mitchellvii]

My only mental illness is being dangerously sexy, lol