Author Topic: Internet Explorer Front End (Read 13094 times)

BearPup7 · « **on:** April 10, 2014, 07:16 AM »

Hello All,
I am partially visually impaired and the fonts that make up the IE browser are lightweight (i.e., not bold), and small in font size. In Firefox, there is a 'Theme and Font Size Changer' add-on that allows me to specify font, size and weight of the Firefox GUI. And in the Windows Seven Forum tutorials there is a way to change system fonts (which helps), but doesn't solve the problem.

I suppose I could revert to the XP look, but I have resisted that approach as the background photos are my own, and I don't want to move 'backwards' to a very out of date look. Frankly, I'd rather use a Firefox derivative such as Pale Moon as my browser than go backwards to the XP look. I've also tried the ZoomIt tool (Sysinternal) and what I find is that I lose the functionality of the mouse wheel when ZoomIt is activated. And I use the mouse wheel constantly in my work.

What I'm really looking for is an application / add-on for IE that functions like the Theme Font and Size Changer does in the Firefox and Thunderbird programs - it acts directly on the application's menus and theme to allow the 'standard' font to be changed to a different font and weight (bold),

So my question: is there some way to change either the font, or weight, or size of the fonts used in the IE interface?

Any help greatly appreciated.
Regards,
BearPup7

skwire · « **Reply #1 on:** April 10, 2014, 07:27 AM »

is there some way to change either the font, or weight, or size of the fonts used in the IE interface?
-BearPup7 (April 10, 2014, 07:16 AM)

If you hold down the control key and roll the mouse wheel, you should see the font size (zoom level) change in IE and most (all?) other browsers.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #2 on:** April 10, 2014, 07:31 AM »

If you can find a MaxThon Extension that does this then I suggest Maxhon. It uses the IE engine and had mutliple tab interface years before IE. I used it several years ago and found the user-written extensions to be the source of most of the fun. Since then I have not kept up with MaxThon but I think it is worth a look if IE compatibility is a requirement.

BearPup7 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2014, 08:22 AM »

@MilesAhead: Thank you for replying. I will definitely check it out, and yes IE compatibility is critical for Microsoft websites.

UPDATE: I tried every search term I could think of - bold, font, appearance, home page, modern, etc. - and the search result came back with zero results for each term I tried. So unless you're aware of something specific, it doesn't look like Maxthon will make a difference. And, again my thanks for replying.

BearPup7 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2014, 08:47 AM »

@Skwire: Thanks for replying. And yes, I'm aware of the scroll wheel magnification which is not really what I'm needing. I already set the magnification (zoom level) at 125%, zooming in any more than that leaves the page unreadable as text flies off the reading pane. What I'm looking for is the equivalent of the Firefox add-on that enhances the front end (the text that makes up the menus and the like) without running the page off the screen. Heck, I'd gladly settle for making the character weight 'bold' instead of 'normal'.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2014, 10:24 AM »

Take a look at MyStyle Plugin on this page:
http://addonsmx.maxthon.cn/en/post/607

Edit: It may only work on MaxThon 2. I gather from browsing MaxThon skin forum the new MaxThon doesn't allow user-written skins anymore. More "Cloud" bs.

tomos · « **Reply #6 on:** April 10, 2014, 10:36 AM »

What I'm looking for is the equivalent of the Firefox add-on that enhances the front end (the text that makes up the menus and the like) without running the page off the screen. Heck, I'd gladly settle for making the character weight 'bold' instead of 'normal'.
-BearPup7 (April 10, 2014, 08:47 AM)

To make the menus bold in Windows 7 (this for all programmes!)

Right-click desktop, click "Personalize" - your current theme will be selected.
To be on the safe side, right-click your current theme and save it.
Now, in the bottom of the same window, click on "Window color"
At the bottom of the next 'page', click "Advanced appearance settings"
-
a new dialugue window open - same as the one to modify the classic theme. Click on the text for menu etc. in the image, and change text to bold below, you can also modify text size, etc.

BearPup7 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 10, 2014, 10:44 AM »

@MilesAhead: I think from what I've read, that you have indeed found what I'm looking for. I am most appreciative. The other solution to the problem is to change the default Windows system font from Segoe to Trebuchet MS Bold (using the Windows 7 tutorial). This gives the bold weight I'm looking for. The trade-off is the loss of one program - Cyberlink's PhotoDirector (versions 4 & 5). Apparently the extra 'room' the Trebuchet font uses is too large for PhD and it therefore draws all the GUI boxes, but none of the required text to go into those boxes, i.e., instead of the various menu names on the GUI, there is a placeholder for the name but no text.

So far it is just that one program that has the problem, and since I have several other Photoshop-level programs (including Photoshop) it is not that big of a loss. The other trade-off, this time on the plus side, is that changing the default font to Trebuchet bold is that it cuts right across everything, e.g., the Taskbar text is bold weight, the Start Menu as well, context menus, and of course IE. I guess the question that now needs to be answered is what security risks are involved in using Maxthon 2 versus the (presumably) still under development Maxthon 3. Or perhaps conversely modifying the plug-in to be compatible with version 3 (in FF, changing 1 line of code fixes that problem on their browser).

Whichever approach I wind up using, thank you for giving me that option.
Regards,
BearPup

BearPup7 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 10, 2014, 10:58 AM »

@MilesAhead: I tried to install the Maxthon 2 browser (went fine), but when I tried to run it I was blocked with an error message saying I was blocked because the program (Maxthon) was violating the Group Policy Editor. ASs I'm running Home Premium, I don't have access to the GPE. Any ideas?

@tomos: Thank you for replying. I'm off to try out your suggestion.

BearPup7 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 10, 2014, 11:36 AM »

@tomos: Bulls-Eye! While it doesn't change everything, the taskbar font remains the same, but all menus, including context menus, are in bold weight. And that includes IE. I set all the font settings I could to Trebuchet MS, bold weight, 11 pt. and it makes programs like IE use bold weight fonts; and PhotoDirector 5 works just fine using your technique.

Sincere thanks and appreciation for solving a problem I've struggled with for months.

tomos · « **Reply #10 on:** April 10, 2014, 12:04 PM »

^Great, happy to hear that

MilesAhead · « **Reply #11 on:** April 10, 2014, 01:12 PM »

I'm not sure about Windows Seven but in older flavors if I changed the system font to larger than 9 it messed up the dialogs on Property Pages. To test, right click on a program shortcut, click Properties and try all the tabs. If everything seems OK then you should be golden.

btw Windows 8 is missing many customization settings, including this one. ( Either it's gone or they hid the setting someplace. )

Vurbal · « **Reply #12 on:** April 10, 2014, 01:25 PM »

@MilesAhead: I tried to install the Maxthon 2 browser (went fine), but when I tried to run it I was blocked with an error message saying I was blocked because the program (Maxthon) was violating the Group Policy Editor. ASs I'm running Home Premium, I don't have access to the GPE. Any ideas?
-BearPup7 (April 10, 2014, 10:58 AM)

It's possible, although perhaps legally questionable, to add the Group Policy Editor in home versions of Win7, and apparently Win8 / Win8.1.

http://www.askvg.com/how-to-enable-group-policy-editor-gpedit-msc-in-windows-7-home-premium-home-basic-and-starter-editions/

I've tested the procedure myself on Win7 and can verify it works. Having said that, I would also recommend not doing anything via Group Policy except as a last resort. And whatever you do, make sure to keep good notes on any changes you make. Group Policy is really just a frontend for a wide variety of Windows settings, many in the registry. Reversing policy settings typically isn't as simple as returning to the defaults.

Many of the defaults really equate to "change nothing." In many cases they are a sort of 3 way switch and the choices will be No Change, On, and Off. In those cases you can at least look at what you've set (either On or Off) and select the opposite to reverse it. I can't really provide any more specific advice since I'm not sure what policy is responsible here.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #13 on:** April 10, 2014, 01:49 PM »

I guess it would depend on why the policy is blocking it. It may be that the old MaxThon and the new IE use different ActiveX Controls? I don't know. I'm just guessing.

Here's Registry Settings for many of the Group Policy options:

http://gpsearch.azur...t/default.aspx?ref=1

40hz · « **Reply #14 on:** April 10, 2014, 01:53 PM »

@MilesAhead: I tried to install the Maxthon 2 browser (went fine), but when I tried to run it I was blocked with an error message saying I was blocked because the program (Maxthon) was violating the Group Policy Editor. ASs I'm running Home Premium, I don't have access to the GPE. Any ideas?

@tomos: Thank you for replying. I'm off to try out your suggestion.
-BearPup7 (April 10, 2014, 10:58 AM)

Any chance of providing us with the exact wording or a screenshot of the error message? That's a strange one. And before you go messing with GPOs it's a really good idea to determine what the actual problem is that's causing a message like that before you go changing anything.

I would also recommend not doing anything via Group Policy except as a last resort. And whatever you do, make sure to keep good notes on any changes you make. Group Policy is really just a frontend for a wide variety of Windows settings, many in the registry. Reversing policy settings typically isn't as simple as returning to the defaults.

Many of the defaults really equate to "change nothing." In many cases they are a sort of 3 way switch and the choices will be No Change, On, and Off. In those cases you can at least look at what you've set (either On or Off) and select the opposite to reverse it. I can't really provide any more specific advice since I'm not sure what policy is responsible here.
-Vurbal (April 10, 2014, 01:25 PM)

+1!

Words of wisdom.

BearPup7 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 10, 2014, 02:11 PM »

To All Who've Responded To The Group Policy Editor Error Message: Thank you all for responding. I'm basically going to play Chicken with this one. Since Group Policy Editor is not native to Home Premium, and since I've been steered to an alternative approach by tomos that works without risking anything, I'll take the safe way out and leave well enough alone. And, I sincerely appreciate that everyone was so eager to help me out with this one.

40hz · « **Reply #16 on:** April 10, 2014, 02:30 PM »

since I've been steered to an alternative approach by tomos that works without risking anything, I'll take the safe way out and leave well enough alone.
-BearPup7 (April 10, 2014, 02:11 PM)

That proves you're smarter than most people!

Good luck!

BearPup7 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 10, 2014, 02:42 PM »

Thanks 40hz. And my thanks (again) to all who've helped me solve the problem. I've posted this thread on a number of help forums over the past week, and you are the people who came up with The Answer - an answer I'm spreading to all the sites I've posted the question on, with full credit back here. Well deserved credit

!

Vurbal · « **Reply #18 on:** April 10, 2014, 07:57 PM »

+1! Words of wisdom.
-40hz (April 10, 2014, 01:53 PM)

And I only had to learn the hard way once. In my defense, I was teaching myself group policy while setting up my first Server 2003 AD domain on a tight deadline and as a 1 man IT shop. And this was in a test environment I setup to learn on. Thank God for O'Reilly books.

Also, my friend the Exchange Server guru.

40hz · « **Reply #19 on:** April 10, 2014, 09:47 PM »

+1! Words of wisdom.
-40hz (April 10, 2014, 01:53 PM)

And I only had to learn the hard way once. In my defense, I was teaching myself group policy while setting up my first Server 2003 AD domain on a tight deadline and as a 1 man IT shop. And this was in a test environment I setup to learn on. Thank God for O'Reilly books.

Also, my friend the Exchange Server guru.
-Vurbal (April 10, 2014, 07:57 PM)

Muy macho! I like!

No need to defend yourself. On the server/enterprise level you're expected to create and/or make changes to the default GPOs. And you're given the tools and docs to do so.

On the desktop level, unless you're messing with policies to block some annoying program from doing something - or curing some truly oddball thing from happening - it's generally best to leave the default GPOs alone. And the simple fact that Microsoft doesn't provide the necessary tools for messing with policies on the home version of Windows sends a pretty clear message you're better off leaving well enough alone in that environment.

Or so I think anyway.

----------------------------

And +1 on the O'Reilly books, along with most of the Microsoft Press Inside Out titles - and anything server that's written by Mark Minasi and his cohorts over at Sybex. When it comes to Microsoft technologies, these guys are champs.

For Linux it's a lot easier. Almost everything you'll ever need can be learned using only three books. This, this, and this.