HOME
TOPICS
ABOUT ME
MAIL

 
This is true for both the Windows and Mac versions of IE.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Easy ways to make Internet Explorer look gorgeous


March 6, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   I like Microsoft's Internet Explorer for three reasons. You probably can guess the first two:
   1. Internet Explorer displays Web pages quickly and accurately. No other browser does such a good job in this respect, called "rendering."
   2. IE is designed for common-sense folks like you and me. Internet Explorer does just about everything in an easy-to-figure-out way.
   My third big reason:
   3. I like Internet Explorer because you can make it easy on your eyes. You can make it look the way you want it to without needing a degree in browserology.
   This is true for both the Windows and Mac versions of IE. (Windows users might not realize that Microsoft makes an outstanding version of Internet Explorer for the Mac. It makes two of them, in fact -- one version for the so-called "classic" Macintosh and one for the vastly improved Mac operating system, OS X (pronounced "oh ess ten").
   You might already know that you can change the size of the letters and numbers (the font size, in other words) in Internet Explorer. Click the View menu, then click "Text Size" and choose from the five possible sizes. (The middle size is the default.) Do this from the keyboard by pressing Alt-V, then X, then one of the underlined letters shown in each of the sizes.
   (On the Mac, open the View menu and choose "Text Zoom" and pick the percentage. Or, from the keyboard, press the Apple key and either the plus key or the minus key.)
   If you still can't get the look you want, try changing the style of IE's letters and numbers. Do that by changing the fonts themselves instead of merely the font sizes. Under Windows, click the Tools menu, then "Internet Options" and then "Fonts." (On a Mac, open the Preferences menu and choose "Language/Fonts.")
   Before you change any font assignments, write down the font names currently used so you can return to them after trying out all the others.
   Windows and Mac OS X users have another treat, called font smoothing. Apple's OS X uses it by default, as does Microsoft's Windows XP. But you'll have to turn it on separately if you are using a Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me PC.
   Font smoothing makes the shapes of letters and numbers seem less "jaggy" by mixing contrasting colors along the edges of each tiny character. The difference is amazing in some cases. Try it and see what you think.
   Windows users should be able to find the font-smoothing option in the Display Properties box. Right click on the desktop and click "Properties," then click "Display Properties." You should see a font-smoothing option in most versions of Windows.
   If you don't see one, search Windows help for the location of the font-smoothing control in your version of Windows. If you have Windows 95 or an early version of Windows 98, you'll probably have to install font smoothing. It's free. Go to www.microsoft.com/typography/free.htm for the program.