fonts,menus,window buttons etc.

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Hi, new to my Macbook Air 2017. I bought it to replace my 12 year old Toshiba. I want to do a dual boot with Ubuntu so the 2017 was a better choice for me than the
2018 and the price and I like the old ports set up and I didnt want T2 chip. Anyway its a nice small rig....getting used to it...I installed Firefox and I think its better than Safari. I look forward to any info I get on this forum. Thanks in advance. I will install Ubuntu later..I know it works on this model.
The main thing so far is the fonts...they are terrible on a Mac. SO TINY you can barely see stuff.On Ubuntu we had Tweak Tool and that handled all the screen
display settings nicely. I want the menu bars to be fatter and the font bigger. I also want the window sizing and close buttons bigger.They are absurdly small. Does Apple really think people want a close button(red) that is the size of a pencil lead????
Please tell me how to make my screen better by enlarging almost all the components. Menus,fonts,bookmark bars etc.
Thanks
 

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Welcome to our forums.

The small fonts and menu items are due to the resolution of the display. Very likely your MBA is set to its default resolution and since the screen is small (13") the high resolution setting results in more objects being able to be displayed. That, however, results in everything being small. Other than attaching an external large monitor to your MBA you can try to set your display to "scaled". You do that from System Settings, Displays, Scaled.

Be aware that if you use a scaled setting and/or shift the resolution lower, that might result in distortion or blurred fonts. Do some testing first but be sure you can get back to the default setting if things don't work out.
 
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456


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can you see how someone would think that not being able to adjust these things is lame??I mean this is the much hyped MAc and you cant even make your menus bigger??
Thats pathetic.
Anyway when I put Ubuntu in I assume I will have the options for changing these things like did on my Toshiba.Its screen resolution couldnt have been more than this rig. It was a 2006 model.
What do you know about that?
 
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But you CAN adjust. That's what Scale is all about. And I just tried it and the fonts do not get fuzzy or blurred. Give it a try.

You are apparently new to the Mac environment but if you just approach it with an open mind I think you'll find that the native OS is really pretty good. Not sure why you want to run Ubuntu, but the native macOS is very versatile. I have an instance of Ubuntu that I run in Parallels, but haven't booted in months. No need.
 
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Thats pathetic.


Hmmm...??? Just curious, But why did you buy a Mac instead of another Windows machine or another Toshiba?? I doubt the price was off any advantage.

Anyway, have a look at the Accessibility pref pane in System Preferences for some of the options that you can set up to help with viewing etc.

If that's not enough, I believe there are some third-party utilities that might be able to do what you want.

But you might want to have a look at SwitchResX.app that might do what you want a little bit better.
http://www.madrau.com/

It has a free trial, and you can even use it forever that way but you won't be able to save any Options until paid for.

It's also great if you happen to be using multi-monitors and well worth the money in my experience.





- Patrick
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Reading glasses?
 
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Reading glasses?



LOL.

But all jokes aside, I was checking on a similar thing not long ago, but specifically for also filtering any nasty spectrums that can tire and harm the eyes. And yes, some are generated even with LED displays.

The main point in most suggestions was not to use normal "reading glasses" and their magnification, but to use one specifically for working with the computer, and the power would be determined by the distance one usually sits from the computer screen which is usually greater than one reads a book.

And yes you can get them with specific spectrum filters built into the lenses. Amazingly, some that do can actually appear clear.

Just thought I would mention the fact of recommended reading glasses that are used for computer use...





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I have "computer glasses" in the sense that the lenses for both eyes are set for between 24 and 30 inches which allows me to set at a comfortable distance from my 27 inch iMac and view the screen without moving in or turning my head.

Ian
 
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I have "computer glasses" in the sense that the lenses for both eyes are set for between 24 and 30 inches which allows me to set at a comfortable distance from my 27 inch iMac and view the screen without moving in or turning my head.

Ian



thumbup2.gif





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I have "computer glasses" in the sense that the lenses for both eyes are set for between 24 and 30 inches which allows me to set at a comfortable distance from my 27 inch iMac and view the screen without moving in or turning my head. Ian

Same here. My glasses focus the same as those of Ian. I could use another pair and actually would like them with a slight tint to cut down on the glare that my 27" Retina screen gives off.
 
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Same here. My glasses focus the same as those of Ian. I could use another pair and actually would like them with a slight tint to cut down on the glare that my 27" Retina screen gives off.

You could try using a pair of the yellow lens driving or construction glasses if the Mac's brightness controll doesn't do enough, or give the free f.lux.app a try and adjust the settings to manual as I've been doing.

It works quite well and gives a more soothing light:
https://justgetflux.com/

Not for use when doing any ad color proofing if you do any of that sort of stuff. :Smirk: ;D





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If you have Mojave, and maybe HS, you don't need f.lux. Just use System Preferences/Display/Night Shift and set the time and temperature you want.
 
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I have "computer glasses" in the sense that the lenses for both eyes are set for between 24 and 30 inches which allows me to set at a comfortable distance from my 27 inch iMac and view the screen without moving in or turning my head.
Me too. That allows me to sit back farther with a keyboard tray instead of typing like a squirrel. :giggle
 
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Me too. That allows me to sit back farther with a keyboard tray instead of typing like a squirrel.


LOL.. That's a great description and I'd never heard it before. :app

But does this mean you're not using the Mac's Dictation??? :Smirk:





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LOL.. That's a great description and I'd never heard it before. :app

But does this mean you're not using the Mac's Dictation??? :Smirk:





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On my 2012 that I have Mojave on I thought about using dictation but last time I enabled it on a machine with not a lot of RAM it really seemed to drag the system down. I might try it on this machine and see what happens as when I am laying down it's a pain to try and type! :D
 

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If you have Mojave, and maybe HS, you don't need f.lux. Just use System Preferences/Display/Night Shift and set the time and temperature you want.

Jake, I tried that but it seems on these newer retina models (especially the 27" retina) the display will not shift enough to the warmer side even with an extreme setting. I suppose it could be some sort of limitation set into the display. I find that if I set the brightness level low and keep auto brightness off, that it does cut down on the glare quite a bit. The only problem with that is I have to keep resetting it every once in awhile. Just an annoyance that I can live with. :sd
 
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Well, Charlie, I have a mid-2015 rMBP 15" and it makes the main screen decidedly pink, even in the "mid" setting. And the second monitor, a 27" Thunderbolt Display, gets pink, too. I'm surprised it doesn't work on a 27" iMac.
 
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Jake, I tried that but it seems on these newer retina models (especially the 27" retina) the display will not shift enough to the warmer side even with an extreme setting.


Sorry if I missed it Charlie, but did you give f.lux a try???

I find it can make my 2011 27" iMac much softer with a yellow cast, sort of like wearing faint yellow lens driving glasses.

Lot's of reserve left on my manual slider so I would have thought it would've worked OK on your brighter retina display.





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chscag

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I took a look at f.lux and it really does the same thing that's already built in to my iMac. I guess I could try it to see if it works any better. Since it's free, I can always delete it if it's not to my liking.
 
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