New font is much harder to read, especially on mobile devices

[LearnedHand]

I get that they are more modern fonts, but both the forum heading fonts and the individual discussion fonts are harder to read. Doubly true for mobile devices. Any chance for the option to use the old fonts?

Nota bene: Please don't say "users just don't like change." Digital reading is hard enough as it is.

[EarlG]

1. This might help

Try clicking the My Stuff button, then Account Settings.

Scroll down to “Visual appearance” and select “Skinner Mode”, then click “Save all settings.”

That will give you DU4, but with a DU3 “skin”.

[TygrBright]

2. EarlG, can we use dark mode with Skinner Mode?

Because yes, the new font is a little more difficult to read (although I'm doing okay with it on my desktop browser as I can use the browser zoom to increase font size - which messes up page layout somewhat but does increase readability) and although I don't often read anywhere other than my desktop, my vision isn't getting any more acute with the passing years...

hopefully,
Bright

[EarlG]

4. Not yet

I won't rule it out. But it's hard to explain how much work has to go into those different layouts. A dark version of Skinner Mode would be a whole separate project. It's doable, but it would take a long time and it's not something I can work on at the moment.

BTW did you spot the new search icon we included? It doesn't show up on mobile but on other devices it should show up in the navigation area at the top of the page. Give it a click and see what happens

[TygrBright]

8. Oh, you sweeties! I LOVE IT.... one click and there's my search.

Thank you!

appreciatively,
Bright

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. That's a bit better but it's still not as easy to read as DU3

I am liking some of the other features, though, like My Notes and easier way to hyperlink in a post.

[EarlG]

10. Can I ask what it is that's not as easy to read?

Skinner Mode uses the same fonts, sizes, and spacing as DU3. It is not quite but almost identical to the DU3 layout, certainly when you're reading things like the Latest page or individual threads. A few other pages, like the home page, have changed a little.

Is there a specific page where you're having trouble? If so please let me know -- the more information I have about an issue, the easier it is to look into.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. Looking at DU3 and 4 side by side and at the same magnification, the text in 4 seems less "crisp."

Like it's somewhere between normal and bold so the letters seem a little clumped together.
I'm looking at it on a medium size monitor in Windows with the Opera browser, just for reference. I'll give it a look with some other platforms later.
(It's nit picky, I know. I've been through these website upgrades myself in a past life-- keep your chin up.)

[EarlG]

16. Could you try a non-DU related fix?

Check out this page and scroll down to the section Disable Hardware Acceleration in Opera

https://techwiser.com/how-to-disable-hardware-acceleration-on-popular-browsers/

It's three short steps -- give it a try and let me know if you see any difference (assuming you had hardware acceleration turned on in the first place, that is -- if it was already off, let me know).

[LearnedHand]

20. Agree they are "fuzzy"! And the font is more compressed

It's likely not an issue on the desktop, but I read almost exclusively on my mobile device.

[LearnedHand]

19. Yup did that

The fonts were way better but the graphical elements were all over the place. I'll try to grab a screenshot and post ii.

[dweller]

3. I have to agree with the font problem on my phone

In DU on my phone, font is larger in landscape mode compared to portrait mode .
By this I mean the orientation of my phone , portrait or landscape.
In portrait it’s maybe 1/2 the size of landscape font size

In DU4 it’s the same size either way, and way too small to read on my phone.
☹️



✌🏻

[EarlG]

11. Can you send me a screenshot?

If possible, capture the screen of your phone on a page where the fonts are too small and email it to me at [e-mail]

I've been getting a number of reports of font sizes being too small but it's tough to diagnose without seeing the problem. On my phone it looks normal.

[dweller]

13. Until I can figure out how to get screenshot

I can’t .

But first let me ask you, are you using the mobile option under Preferred format for mobile devices in acct settings on DU ?

That’s how I get larger font in DU
There is no ‘mobile ‘ option in DU4 , perhaps that’s it ?

[EarlG]

14. The DU3 "preferred format" settings do not apply to DU4

The DU4 layout is fluid, so it adapts to whatever device the site is being displayed on (well, in theory). If you're on a desktop computer you'll see the desktop layout, and if you're on a phone you'll get the mobile layout. If you hold the phone vertically or horizontally, you should get slightly different layouts that adapt to the orientation (for example, the navigation bar becomes much narrower on a horizontally-held phone).

Are you able to send emails from your phone? If so, please tell me what kind of phone you're using and I should be able to help you get a screenshot.

[dweller]

15. 2 pics sent

It’s an iPhone 6

Thanks


✌🏻

[EarlG]

17. Got them, thanks

Now I see what you're saying. Interestingly, this seems to be caused by the fact that DU3 is so old, it has weird rendering issues on modern devices. Essentially, you're getting a larger font than you should with the combination of DU3 and a horizonally-held phone -- by accident

The DU4 font is the "correct" size -- it's just smaller than you're used to. The DU3 font is too big by mistake.

But this is just more evidence that a "larger fonts" option is going to be needed on DU4 -- an option in Account Settings that increases font sizes site-wide if you choose to turn it on, for people who prefer that.

That's something I should be able to start working on very soon.

[dweller]

18. Thanks

I have another question that isn’t font size, so will start another thread for it

✌🏻

[LearnedHand]

21. That's a lovely option EarlG!

Thank you.

[piddyprints]

22. I like that idea.

I was looking for a thread about font sizes. On my iPad, Safari browser, I’m getting a headache just looking at the font and trying to read it. DU3 font was so much better. But even in Skinner mode, with the DU3 font, it’s smaller than it was. (Maybe that’s an iPad mistake?)

[vanlassie]

5. This is something that is a pet peeve. It always makes me wonder if the testing took into consideration the audience, which in this case, is increasingly long in the tooth.

I’ll try the Skinner technique now.

[EarlG]

7. The problem is that

it's impossible for me to test it on everyone's devices and browsers.

DU4 was actually designed to have larger, more readable fonts. Since we opened it up to testing for everyone, I've had people tell me the fonts are too small and also that they're too big, and that they're less readable and also more readable.

This obviously makes it tricky to figure out what's going on.

I can say that there's a very strong chance that we'll at least have a larger fonts option available at some point before full launch.

[FakeNoose]

6. Desktop user here - and I love the new darkface screen and font

This is far more legible for me and sometimes I'm on DU for several hours at a time.

For the most part I love all these new features. Thanks guys!