Font Sizes

[bayswater]

When people say they're having a hard time seeing or reading something, believe it. Telling them that if they only knew the app better is ridiculous. And telling them that you don't have a problem with it is even more ridiculous.

The small, unresizable font size in DP is an issue for many of us and it's something MOTU has been told about many times. Their decision has been to not do anything about it. Well, that's not fair or true either because they have made some improvements in readability over the years and versions.

I do believe Dan. I can't see the column headers in the TO or SB Window. But you can't make them bigger, so the question is how to deal with the problem. Decreasing screen res is one way. People with severe visual disabilities learn where things are spatially so they don't have to see them in detail. That works too.

It's not a dismissal of the problem -- it's a description of how some of us work around it.

[stubbsonic]

The one place where I've struggled with tiny DP elements is when I'm editing Tempo events in the Conductor graphic window. These are little T symbols that are not so easy to click on.

Yes, there are work-arounds, thankfully.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

You know, we could go into deep doo doo here and (as in other recent threads) assume the issue is DP and small fonts. Yeah, they're damn small, but my 60 year old eyes see them fine on a 23" monitor.

So here's a question or three: Do you wear glasses? Is your vision otherwise good? What is the lighting you use in your work environment?

My answers: No, only for distance sometimes but rarely. If I am in a "high contrast" environment (dark surroundings and computer screen in front of my, as in a theater setting) it is harder to see small items (not just text).

I agree, some fonts are very small and user resizing would be a nice trick. OTOH, I use DP all day and can see every item reasonably well. If I were programming or testing for MOTU, it would be a very low priority to make the fonts bigger. As the song says: I can see clearly now....

[stubbsonic]

I don't really have so much of a problem seeing them. Though I do have to "lean in" in an ergonomically problematic way. My glasses are fine, and I've got the laptop set at a good angle for my prog lenses.

As for the aforementioned tiny T problem, the issue is having to click on it. It's only a handful of pixels. (hmmm, good song name?)

[Dan Worley]

Well, put me down as one who would like to see MOTU improve on the readability, useability and aesthetics of DP. It's a fine app now (no question), partly because users have helped make it that way through their feedback, but it can always be improved.

Don't fall into this trap:

Customer on phone to mechanic: My car wouldn't start this morning.

Mechanic: Funny, mine did. (hangs up)

[Shooshie]

And then there is this:

Large Size Tracks Overview:

• 

Normal Size (for me, anyway) Tracks Overview:

• 

Small Size Tracks Overview:

• 

(Use the +/- buttons at the lower right in the vertical scroll bar)

Shooshie

[mikehalloran]

When people say they're having a hard time seeing or reading something, believe it. Telling them that if they only knew the app better is ridiculous. And telling them that you don't have a problem with it is even more ridiculous.

The small, unresizable font size in DP is an issue for many of us and it's something MOTU has been told about many times. Their decision has been to not do anything about it. Well, that's not fair or true either because they have made some improvements in readability over the years and versions.

I do believe Dan. I can't see the column headers in the TO or SB Window. But you can't make them bigger, so the question is how to deal with the problem. Decreasing screen res is one way. People with severe visual disabilities learn where things are spatially so they don't have to see them in detail. That works too.

It's not a dismissal of the problem -- it's a description of how some of us work around it.

Exactly.

When I say that I can't read them on my iMac, it's because I chose to include enough of the GUI that the fonts are too small to read. I can make things bigger anytime I want. And so can you.

Since it is possible to zoom in, change the resolution and use +/- to change things, I just don't have a problem with font size. Using those tools, neither should anyone else. The GUI tells you most things anyway and, once used to it, the issue goes away for most of us.

I have pretty good eyesight for being 60. Since I sit in front of this machine 8-12 hours a day, I decided to invest in computer glasses that let me see the screen perfectly at 2'.

Telling them that if they only knew the app better is ridiculous. And telling them that you don't have a problem with it is even more ridiculous.

I don't think so.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Computer glasses? What the ------ are those?

[bayswater]

Computer glasses? What the ------ are those?

A prescription that gives you a focal length equal to the distance you sit from your monitor. They're useless for other distances.

[mikehalloran]

Computer glasses? What the ------ are those?

When you get your eye exam (bifocals, in my case), ask the eye doc about them. Know your normal distance from the screen and have a single focus pair of lenses made for the use. Since they don't have to be coated, variable or stylish, it doesn't cost that much.

If your distance from the piano's music rack is the same as your screen, then they can serve both functions. A number of organists I know have bifocals - the upper half to read the music and the lower half to read the keybed.

Many eye plans claim that you can get a pair of glasses but, when all the costs are tallied up, it works out to be a $100 or so credit against the bill. Well, these can be those "free" glasses. My doctor showed me about ten frames from that list and I chose a very sturdy one with the largest lense for my computer glasses.

[Dan Worley]

If you have pretty good vision and you're doing a bunch of extra steps in order to see things comfortably in DP, then that should tell you that something can be improved in the design of the app.

Listen, we're not insulting anyone's mother by saying this is an area that needs improvement. I really don't understand the defensive attitude some of you take about this DAW. Just because you're not having a problem with certain things in DP doesn't mean that other people aren't.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Wait! You're saying I have to learn to read music to use them? LOL

[billf]

Computer glasses? What the ------ are those?