[bd-users] Fonts in the OS X version

[DM Smith]

On Oct 6, 2009, at 12:44 AM, John Bell wrote:

> I've noticed a little oddity when using the OS X version of Bible  
> Desktop. Whenever I launch, the fonts are nice and smooth OS X  
> versions of the font I've selected, but once I do anything, the  
> fonts become unsmoothed. I have font smoothing selected in the  
> preferences.
>
> There will be selected words and phrases that are still smooth, with  
> no seeming rhyme or reason. This sometimes does and does not apply  
> to the books section on the right.
>
> Any idea what's up with this?
>
> Thanks,
> John

John,
I'm not seeing that now but I had seen it before.

Which version of OSX are you running? And what is your default version  
of Java? You can get the default version at Applications -> Utilities - 
 > Java Preferences. If should be the latest and greatest, highest  
numbered. If you are running Tiger, it should be Java 5 (aka Java  
1.5). On Leopard, it should be Java 6 if you have a Core 2 Duo,  
otherwise it should be Java 5. On Snow Leopard, you can use either the  
64 bit or the 32 bit. I'm using the 64-bit. If you are running  
Panther, you don't have a lot of choice (use Java 1.4.x) and it will  
not look as good as under more recent OSX.

On the Mac in general you can change the settings for Font smoothing  
at System Preferences -> Appearance (I think this location is the same  
on all OSX from Panther onward). There is a checkbox for LCD font  
smoothing and a minimum size. Remember your settings, but try playing  
with it to see if it helps.

In BibleDesktop there are a couple of things to try. In Preferences ->  
Bible Display try the Font Smoothing settings. Try both ways and see  
if it makes any differences. This is a "hint" and it may not make a  
difference.

The other thing you can do is change the font for display. There are  
several types of fonts and each font comes in several native sizes. If  
a size is chosen that is not the native, OSX will scale it and  
sometimes the results are not pretty. You can try a different font and/ 
or a different font size.
This is done in several locations.
Preferences -> Bible Display -> Select Font
	This affects the display of the display of Bibles, Commentaries and  
Dictionaries.

Preferences -> Application -> General Font
	This affects the display of the entire application. Setting it to  
Dialog/12, the default will restore the application to it's original  
state. I don't suggest changing this setting. It is there for the  
Persian translation of Bible Desktop as the default font is unreadable  
and too small.

You can also set the font on a per book or per language basis. (This  
is not documented in the manual) This is especially useful for non- 
European scripts such as Hebrew and Greek.
	Tools -> Books -> Installed Books
	Select a book or a language and click on Font.

Hopefully one of these will help. Let me know.

In Him,
	DM