macOS Monterey Menu Bar and Most Default Fonts Too Small

[mac57]

Hi, I'm sorry if this has been asked a hundred times, but as a new Monterey user, I am finding that the default font used for just about EVERYTHING that I have not managed to override is just too small. Ditto for the Menu Bar font. Is there a way to make this default font larger? I want to run my displays at their native resolution, so scaling the display is not the answer - what I really want to do is change the default font. Thanks!

 

[Rod]

Go to Apple Menu > System preferences > Displays (or just start typing resolution in the search bar) > then as in the screen shot below you will see there are 5 settings for Larger Text to More Space. Ensure "Scaled" is ticked and experiment with the various sizes. As you can see, mine is set one larger than the Default which is probably what you have.



Sadly this is your only option. There is to my knowledge no way to change the default font or Pt value but one size larger works fine for me on a 14" M1 MBP.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Also check out Sys Prefs->Accessibility->Display and menu bar to Larger and see if that works for you. There aren't any other controls to change font sizes..

 

[Rod]

Great point Ashwin I totally forgot that one, I have had menu bar size set to Large for ages.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

TinkerTool is one app that will let you change the font type and size used across various elements of the UI. See if that helps.

TinkerTool: Download

Download page for TinkerTool

www.bresink.com

 

[mac57]

Thanks Lifeisabeach. I dug up TinkerTool and quickly checked. Sure enough, it looks like it will adjust a whole slew of different system fonts. I really don't want to scale my display, which I assume means running it at less than its native resolution, so TinkerTool is looking like a great alternative. I will let you know when I have given it a whirl.

 

[Slydude]

Great point Ashwin I totally forgot that one, I have had menu bar size set to Large for ages.

I didn't have mine set to large but I do now. I've used other settings in that pane but had never tried that one.

 

[pm-r]

@ mac57

Thanks Lifeisabeach. I dug up TinkerTool and quickly checked. Sure enough, it looks like it will adjust a whole slew of different system fonts. I really don't want to scale my display, which I assume means running it at less than its native resolution, so TinkerTool is looking like a great alternative. I will let you know when I have given it a whirl.

I don't know your reasoning for not wanting to scale your display to a non-native resolution, but I have had to do so for some years now due to age and failing eyesight, and I would be very hard-pressed to tell you what if any difference there is except for the fact that I can read things much easier now.

It does not produce what some might refer to as an "inferior" image, at least none that I can discern.


- Patrick
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[Lifeisabeach]

@ mac57


I don't know your reasoning for not wanting to scale your display to a non-native resolution, but I have had to do so for some years now due to age and failing eyesight, and I would be very hard-pressed to tell you what if any difference there is except for the fact that I can read things much easier now.

It does not produce what some might refer to as an "inferior" image, at least none that I can discern.

It depends on the display. On typical 1080p desktop monitors like those we have at work, I can definitely see a significant degradation of all the UI elements. Now on my MacBook Air and iMac with Retina displays, I don't see any such degradation with the lowered resolutions I use. So it all very much depends on what the OP is using. And one's own eyesight. I know my own isn't what it used to be.

 

[toMACsh]

Go to Apple Menu > System preferences > Displays (or just start typing resolution in the search bar) > then as in the screen shot below you will see there are 5 settings for Larger Text to More Space. Ensure "Scaled" is ticked and experiment with the various sizes. As you can see, mine is set one larger than the Default which is probably what you have.

Well, when I go there, I don't have as many options as your screen shot shows. I'm really not seeing that yours is set to a larger font. Maybe I need to wake up, but it's getting close to lunchtime already...

 

[pm-r]

Now on my MacBook Air and iMac with Retina displays, I don't see any such degradation with the lowered resolutions I use. So it all very much depends on what the OP is using. And one's own eyesight. I know my own isn't what it used to be.

Thanks very much for your feedback and information, it's nice to know how things may work on someone else's computer.

Personally I use whatever works to make it easy to see what my monitor displays. Luckily I don't see much if any degraduation, with fonts or images, running my 2011 27-inch iMac at a "non-native" resolution which is certainly not an Apple Retina display I believe.

I guess a lot can depend on the setting and the display one is using as mentioned several times here:

Does Scaling change resolution Mac? - Google Search

If I remember correctly, I used to use SwitchRes X with my 2007 24" iMac to improve the clarity when using non-native resolutions that I believe worked quite well, as long as one didn't choose a resolution that the iMac could not do and end up with a black screen that was hard to fix.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

Well, when I go there, I don't have as many options as your screen shot shows. I'm really not seeing that yours is set to a larger font. Maybe I need to wake up, but it's getting close to lunchtime already...

Ah, well they're the preferences for macOS Monterey. Mine is the one with the blue highlight in the middle. Then there are two either side of that, a total of 5 settings but I seem to recall there were only 3 settings once but I can't remember when that changed.

 

[toMACsh]

Ah, well they're the preferences for macOS Monterey.

Yes, I have Monterey also. Below the two "radio buttons" I only have Color Profile and Rotation. Then at the bottom, two buttons: Universal Control… and Night Shift… It's very plain looking compared to yours.

It's different that the size of the font choices are not given, but I suppose the visual representation is more of an "at a glance" assessment of which size you want.

 

[Rod]

Ah, I get it, what you see is this window?

Click on "Scaled" instead of "Default for Display" then you should see what I see in Post #2. Note that I've only increased the native display by one increment from Default but that makes a big difference for me without noticeably degrading the acuity of the display.

 

[toMACsh]

Nope. Mine is not like yours. Clicking on Scaled only brings up a box listing different resolutions and adds a check box for Show all resolutions.

I have 12.5.1 and have not downloaded 12.6 yet.

Perhaps the difference is that I do not have an Apple monitor.

 

[pm-r]

Nope. Mine is not like yours. Clicking on Scaled only brings up a box listing different resolutions and adds a check box for Show all resolutions.

I have 12.5.1 and have not downloaded 12.6 yet.

Is this similar to what you get that I see in my Mavericks 10.9.5 27" 2011 iMac:



I was sure my Display preference pane options had the box to show additional optional resolutions as you also mentioned, but it seems to have disappeared...

I recall clicking on one resolution the iMac did not like and I ended up with a completely black screen. But I might have been using SwitchRes X.app at the time.


- Patrick
=======

 

[ferrarr]

Also check out Sys Prefs->Accessibility->Display and menu bar to Larger and see if that works for you. There aren't any other controls to change font sizes..

Another thanks from me @Raz0rEdge for this tip.

 

[Rod]

Yes, I was hopeful but that may be the case.

 

[toMACsh]

@PMR
Yes, that's similar. But I am on Monterey, so I think the "old style" must be due to the fact that I'm not using an Apple monitor.

 

[pm-r]

@PMR
Yes, that's similar. But I am on Monterey, so I think the "old style" must be due to the fact that I'm not using an Apple monitor.

Interesting, and I am assuming the resolutions would be accurate and quite a feat to accomplish considering all the non-apple monitors out there with their various supported resolutions.



- Patrick
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