[moneydance] fonts vs Java vs MD vs my configuration

[Andy Pastuszak]

In Java 1.6 beta the fonts look AWESOME on Windows.

One of things you may be noticing is a difference between Java apps 
written in Swing vs. SWT.

Mind you, I am NOT a Java developer, I am only regurgitating what I read...

It is my understanding that apps written with SWT look a little more 
like native apps, and in Windows, have access to ClearType font 
smoothing, while Swing apps do not (at least until 1.6 comes out).

Moneydance is a Swing app, and porting to SWT would probably be a HUGE 
undertaking.

Andy


Edward Reid wrote:
> When I first saw MD, my first reaction was ugh, what ugly fonts. Reaction 
> hasn't changed. I figured this was just a Java problem.
> 
> BUT -- a couple of days ago I realized that it's NOT a universal Java 
> problem. For example, the applet at 
> http://www.jpowered.com/help/fonts/index.htm is a demo that lets you type 
> in text and show it in a few fonts, sizes, and styles. I searched in the 
> JDK and found a few applications that can be used to demonstrate fonts, 
> including StylePad and Font2DTest. The displayed letters look MUCH better 
> in these applications than in MD. And I don't know why. I would think that 
> if it were a MD problem generally, I'd have heard a lot about it here. So 
> it must be some interaction, but I don't know what.
> 
> I have Font Size set to Default in the MD prefs. I also have Look and Feel 
> set to Windows, though AFAICT that doesn't affect the fonts used. The 
> capital M shows the problem well: the diagonal lines look good, but the 
> vertical lines are very thin. Many letters look like they have little 
> bulges in various places -- the way outline fonts looked on screen ten 
> years ago, before anti-aliasing and improved outline rendering became common.
> 
> Font2DTest is especially interesting in that it has a checkbox to turn 
> anti-aliasing on and off, and it makes a huge difference. It also allows 
> selection of any font installed on my system. I had assumed that Java was 
> limited to a few fonts for compatibility, but this does not seem to be the 
> case.
> 
> StylePad is more limited but can show real text, not just letters in a box 
> as Font2DTest does.
> 
> Now, I can't get either of these to quite match what MD looks like on my 
> screen. But their vastly better display makes me believe something is wrong 
> -- probably not with MD but an interaction between MD, Java, and my machine.
> 
> I'm running MD build 527, WinXP with latest updates, and Java 1.5.6. I 
> recently installed a new HD and reinstalled all software from scratch, in 
> particular including all these components.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Edward
> Art works by Melynda Reid: http://paleo.org
> 
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