Text rendering in Slimjet

Slimjet bug reports
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BAW30s##
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 11:13 am

Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by BAW30s## »

Hi,
The problem I would like to discuss relates to the way text is appearing in my version of Slimjet.
My system is Windows XP, so the version is 10.0.13.0; my display is 1024 X 768 pixels (please don't laugh!).
All text in Slimjet, including the menus and on tabs, as well as on websites, looks so broken-up that it is almost unreadable.
Turning off clear type tuning or font smoothing in the system settings makes it look much more normal, but at the cost of much poorer rendering on every other program (including browsers such as Pale Moon) which I use.
After consulting other sites, I have tried toggling enabling and disabling of Direct Write and Antialiasing in slimjet://flags and also the Font Rendering Enhancer Chrome extension, but they haven't helped.
This is not a subtle problem: see https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiszTwYpDDptjinj_Ed5QaAmiXtm.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
BAW30s

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oftentired
Posts: 1691
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:14 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by oftentired »

Try the Deluminate extension. See what happens then.
For those of you who wear aluminum foil hats, the voices lie, don't believe them!

32 Bit SJ on Win 11

BAW30s##
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 11:13 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by BAW30s## »

Interesting: it does make reading text on some websites a bit easier, although it still looks pretty awful. Naturally, it has no effect on the equally poor text on tabs, toolbars, settings, etc.
I seem to have the same problem with all Chromium-based browsers; I have just tried UC and it's the same, regardless of the DirectWrite setting. It also affects one or two video conversion programs I have tried, but everything else is OK.
Recently due to other problems I used TweakingWindows to restore all my system settings to default, but this had no effect on the text rendering issue.

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oftentired
Posts: 1691
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:14 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by oftentired »

Instead of at the program level try dealing with the problem at the system level, read down the page a little at this link, the section starting with, "Sharpen Blurry Text"
For those of you who wear aluminum foil hats, the voices lie, don't believe them!

32 Bit SJ on Win 11

BAW30s##
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 11:13 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by BAW30s## »

Yes, spot on! Chromium-based browsers are simply incompatible with clear-type tuning, at least on my system. The text looks normal with standard or no font smoothing. All things considered, I think clear-type tuning looks a little better elsewhere, but to be able to switch it on and off fairly easily through display properties is a helpful workaround, and I also found a small program, ClearType Switch, which gives direct access to the setting through a desktop icon. The ideal solution would be a setting in Slimjet which would switch it off solely in the program, but as mentioned toggling Direct Write and Antialiasing in slimjet://flags doesn't help.
Interestingly, switching on clear-type tuning while Slimjet is open doesn't affect it, so Slimjet must take its cue from the setting when it is started.
Also, since apparently clear-type tuning became the norm after XP, later systems must interact with these browsers differently, or there would be complaints all over the web. I have found the same problem, though, when I installed Slimjet on another XP computer.
Thank you for the advice and the link to that interesting website.

LordBane
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2018 5:39 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by LordBane »

I also had the same issue though I'm on Win10 1680x1050. To correct it I had to turn off Hardware acceleration. I've used other chrome based browsers and not experienced this issue with any of them Opera, Chrome etc.

Though maybe my issue was a bit different as things would display fine for a bit, then if something change in one area then text and sometimes images would get blurry. An I would have to move the mouse over it or scroll the page for the text to correct itself again. I'm using V19.0.7.0 of Slimjet.

CrockPot
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:26 am

Re: Text rendering in Slimjet

Post by CrockPot »

Try disabling "Accelerated 2D canvas" in chrome://flags instead of the whole Hardware acceleration.With me,prior disabling it the text always looked blurry,now it's how it's suppose to be.Try it,might help.

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