• Thunderbird Text Size

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    Topic
    #2383267

    Credit and thanks to OscarCP for post #2382483 in the MacOS Forum concerning Thunderbird email program tiny text font sizes, and a fix to increase the size to a more comfortable reading level. I would like to add an additional item to consider for increasing the text size in Thunderbird. Using the Config Editor, (see 3 pictures below) which is like Firefox about:config, there is a Preference Name: font.size.systemFontScale that scales the overall size of text fonts. The default value is 100, and if Double-Clicked it can be modified to a larger value, I use 125 and everything is bigger and easier to read. Note that this preference change does not take effect until Tbird is closed and relaunched, unlike the fix OscarCP documents in his post, where changing the value is immediately noticed. This change may take some experimentation to find a comfortable value, do not go Too Big to start, because too large can ( and probably will ) cause problems. Try increasing 100 in steps of 10 to see what works for you, I like 125. Note that I use Thunderbird in Windows 10 version 21H1, both Thunderbird version 68.12.1 and version 78.12.0 – and both modified preferences seem to work OK in both versions. Possibly these about:config Preference Name modifications will work for others with no problems, but probably will require some experimentation depending on your screen resolution and display settings, try one or both, and remember to start small and work up to comfortable view. Also, maybe someone can please report if they work OK in MacOS and Linux distros, and what number values did you use, thank you. P.S. screenshot pictures are appreciated also, thanks.

    Tbird68-pixel-size

    Tbird68-Font-Size

    Tbird78-Font-Size

    • This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Lars220.
    • This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Lars220.
    4 users thanked author for this post.
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    Replies
    • #2383280

      Thanks @Lars220 (and @oscarcp) for this information.

      I’ve been using Thunderbird on my Linux system for 2-3 years now, and the font size issue is a recurrent source of annoyance and frustration. Nothing I do to maintain a decent type size seems to stick: it’s even happened that I set a line of type to the desired size, then with the cursor at the end of that line hit Enter–and the very next line goes back to tiny type.

      I don’t give a hoot what excuses or rationalizations TB developers might give for this behavior; all I can say is that this is one of the factors that has deterred me from making the switch to Linux full-time. Despite the decades spent on its development, Thunderbird is simply not ready for prime time. Instead of this “smaller/larger” or “tiny…medium…huge” crap for the size setting, why not simply do it in point size the way that serious software such as MS Office does it–and then have the setting stick?

      And for God’s sake, put the point size setting in the GUI, don’t leave it buried in the thickets of about:config.

       

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2383375

      That is not the only annoying problem I have discovered, as being new to TB myself, I am in the process of finding out how it does work — or it doesn’t. The one “doesn’t” I just found in TB (v78.13.0) is that it fails to find older emails that I know exist in, let’s say, the “Sent” folder, with a certain word in the body of the message or a certain email address they were sent to, even after trying several of the different ways this is supposed to be done. (Sometimes it may find a few emails, not all; sometimes it may find emails from a different folder than the one I am looking into; sometimes it may not find anything at all.)

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2383664
      
      /*
       * Edit this file and copy it as userChrome.css into your
       * profile-directory/chrome/
       */
      
      /*
       * This file can be used to customize the look of Mozilla's user interface
       * You should consider using !important on rules which you want to
       * override default settings.
       */
      
      /*
       * Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
       */
      @namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* set default namespace to XUL */
      
      /* Change Browser Fonts */
      { font-size: 4pt !important;
      font-family: Times New Roman !important; } 
      
      /* Change Message List Fonts   */
      #threadTree > treechildren {font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;}
      
      /* controls font size of contacts tree */
      #abResultsTree {
      font-size: 12pt !important;
      }
      
      /* Change Message List Fonts   */
      *#  threadTree  > treechildren:-moz-tree-row {  font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Calibri !important;    font-size: 22pt !important;}
      
      /*
       * Some possible accessibility enhancements:
       */
      /*
       * Make all the default font sizes 20 pt:
       *
       * * {
       *   font-size: 20pt !important
       * }
       */
      /*
       * Make menu items in particular 15 pt instead of the default size:
       *
       * menupopup > * {
       *   font-size: 15pt !important
       * }
       */
      /*
       * Give the Location (URL) Bar a fixed-width font
       *
       * #urlbar {
       *    font-family: monospace !important;
       * }
       */
      
      /*
       * Eliminate the throbber and its annoying movement:
       *
       * #throbber-box {
       *   display: none !important;
       * }
       */
      
       * For more examples see http://www.mozilla.org/unix/customizing.html
       */
      

      is my file from H:ThunderbirdProfilechrome (my profile dir)

      The stuff betwixt a set of /* and */ is ignored. for me the used part is:

      @namespace url(“http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul”); /* set default namespace to XUL */

      /* Change Browser Fonts */
      { font-size: 4pt !important;
      font-family: Times New Roman !important; }

      /* Change Message List Fonts */
      #threadTree > treechildren {font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;}`

      which gets the message list readable.

      and `/* controls font size of contacts tree */
      #abResultsTree {
      font-size: 12pt !important;
      }
      `

      does it for the contacts list. IIRC 😁

      Docs are hard (for me) to understand (treechildren ???not monkeys ??) .
      Most useful is more knowledgeable folks posts that had the same problem. I think I got this from the Mozilla forums or Knowledge Base.

      Back up your profile before fiddling with any of this. I set a pixel size using one of the previously mentioned methods that was SO BIG I couls see nothing ledge-able on my TB window.

      This is what my window looks like

      Capture-1

      🍻

      Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.
    • #2383670

      One can also use UserChrome.css. I do not pretend to understand much about this but this

      /*
      * Edit this file and copy it as userChrome.css into your
      * profile-directory/chrome/
      */
      
      /*
      * This file can be used to customize the look of Mozilla's user interface
      * You should consider using !important on rules which you want to
      * override default settings.
      */
      
      /*
      * Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
      */
      @namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* set default namespace to XUL */
      
      /* Change Browser Fonts */
      { font-size: 4pt !important;
      font-family: Times New Roman !important; }
      
      /* Change Message List Fonts */
      #threadTree > treechildren {font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;}
      
      `/* controls font size of contacts tree */
      #abResultsTree {
      font-size: 12pt !important;
      }
      
      /* Change Message List Fonts */
      *# threadTree > treechildren:-moz-tree-row { font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Calibri !important; font-size: 22pt !important;}
      
      /*
      * Some possible accessibility enhancements:
      */
      /*
      * Make all the default font sizes 20 pt:
      *
      * * {
      * font-size: 20pt !important
      * }
      */
      /*
      * Make menu items in particular 15 pt instead of the default size:
      *
      * menupopup > * {
      * font-size: 15pt !important
      * }
      */
      /*
      * Give the Location (URL) Bar a fixed-width font
      *
      * #urlbar {
      * font-family: monospace !important;
      * }
      */
      
      /*
      * Eliminate the throbber and its annoying movement:
      *
      * #throbber-box {
      * display: none !important;
      * }
      */
      
      * For more examples see http://www.mozilla.org/unix/customizing.html
      */
      

      is my file from H:ThunderbirdProfilechrome (my profile dir)

      The stuff betwixt a set of /* and */ is ignored. for me the used part is:
      /@namespace url(“http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul”); /* set default namespace to XUL */

      /* Change Browser Fonts */
      { font-size: 4pt !important;
      font-family: Times New Roman !important; }

      * Change Message List Fonts */
      #threadTree > treechildren {font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;}

      which gets the message list readable.

      and

      /* controls font size of contacts tree */
      #abResultsTree {
      font-size: 12pt !important;
      }

      does it for the contacts list. IIRC 😁

      Docs are hard (for me) to understand (treechildren ???not monkeys ??) .
      Most useful is more knowledgeable folks posts that had the same problem. I think I got this from the Mozilla forums or Knowledge Base.

      Back up your profile before fiddling with any of this. I set a pixel size using one of the previously mentioned methods that was SO BIG I couls see nothing ledge-able on my TB window.

      This is what my window looks like

      Capture-2

      PS Having trouble with “code” formatting

      [Moderator edit] fixed code formatting. You need to remove blank lines for it to work.

      🍻

      Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.
      • This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by wavy.
      • This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by wavy.
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