blurred display

users
#1

Good evening
After Windows XP all Windows versions, AND all the Linux versions I have
tried too, are obsessed with making the display of screen fonts
as blurred and ugly as possible. Dozen of hours searching the net,
asking the technical support of my computers, asking computer specialist ...
led to the conclusion: there is NO way to fix this.

Here one "question" related to Calc.
I use Calc regularly. But I also use on my old computers Lotus123.
(I know, it is very old and "discontinued". That does not prevent it
from being VERY helpful and good.
In some ways much better than Calc, Excel or any other spreadsheet
application I know of.)

On a Windows XP machine:
Lotus123 line graph -> individual data points represented as squares
(the computers choice, not mine);
* these little squares in Lotus 123 have clear, distinct vertical and
horizontal borders.
A similar graph, with similar squares in Calc has "shadows" around 2 of
the four sides = disappearance/display is blurred.
Since the display is made of little squares anyway, what exactly is the
advantage of having the display blurred???
If Lotus123 CAN display these squares like they would look when printed
in a book,
why can't Calc do that???
Computer, monitor, OS etc. ... everything else is the same, I presume
nobody can blame my monitor, graphic card or whatever.

Is there any way of telling Calc (preferably LibreOffice in general!) of
displaying clear, distinct images (graphics, characters .. everything)?

Thank you.
Thomas

#2

Blurred screen fonts?
Somewhere there should be a section in the Control Panel for choosing
the best looking "display style" for fonts on you version of Windows. If
memory is correct, you usually get 4 choices for your best viewing.

To be honest, I have had no "blurred fonts" with all my different
systems, over the years, using Vista through Windows 10. Of course, if I
could not install Win7 on a Win XP system, it got a distro of Linux,
usually a Ubuntu based one, installed to help keep its OS "more modern".
I tend to use Linux Mint and Ubuntu - both with MATE for its desktop
environment.

Just for a check-see, why don't you download and run the live CD/DVD of
Ubuntu or Linux Mint. See of the live testing, which will not install
the OS on your system unless you ask it to within the test cycle. Since
you seem to indicate you have tried this method, and you still not
getting results.

IF your display[s] are still blurred after testing live CD/DVD version
of Linux on your hardware, then you may need to look into either
hardware issues, monitor issues, or even have your eyes checked. I had
to get trifocals, instead of keeping bifocals, the last time I got
glasses so it would be much easier to read/see my monitors.

SO, if you are getting quote " of displaying clear, distinct images
(graphics, characters .. everything) ", you really need to think more
about either you systems' hardware or your eyes. My eyes were the
problem a few years ago, and went away with my new glasses.

On a different note . . .

To be honest, the Live CD/DVD testing of the package is what help me
decide which distro to use on my first "proper" laptop. Only Ubuntu 9.3
would would with my laptop's sound "chip" during the live disc testing.
The rest did not allow the sound to work at all. Since then, I have had
at least one Linux system running nearly 24/7 and since version
9.10/10.3, it has been my default OS. Actually I have in my place a
Linux system, of various distros, since 2004 or 2005. I just did not use
it often.

#3

Is your page-style set for "shadows"?

#4

Hi :slight_smile:
I was wondering if it was a "drivers issue" but i'm fairly sure that is the
first thing most of the experts would have considered. Similarly with
trying a different monitor.

Another unlikely tangent ....
Of course many fonts appear quite differently if they were downloaded from
different sources. It sounds a little odd that the default ones would be
so horrible but maybe downloading "Ariel" etc from a couple of different
places might find one that doesn't misbehave so badly.

The reason i think that is unlikely is because Tim @ Kracked Press didn't
mention it. Trying a different type of OS on the same machine could be
quite informative but it doesn't seem to be so easy to test-drive a "Live
Cd" from Win 8 and onwards.

So i think Jim's answer might be the best one to try. It's quite obscure
and yet simple enough that other experts might have over-looked it. I have
no idea where to find that setting in any version of Windows since Xp.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#5

Hi :slight_smile:
Errr when i say "I think" i'm saying it as a non-expert. I know a few
tricks but my main reason for being on this mailing list is to learn. So
i'm always curious how each problem gets solved in the end.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Good evening
After Windows XP all Windows versions, AND all the Linux versions I have
tried too, are obsessed with making the display of screen fonts
as blurred and ugly as possible. Dozen of hours searching the net,
asking the technical support of my computers, asking computer specialist ...
led to the conclusion: there is NO way to fix this.

Here one "question" related to Calc.
I use Calc regularly. But I also use on my old computers Lotus123.
(I know, it is very old and "discontinued". That does not prevent it
from being VERY helpful and good.
In some ways much better than Calc, Excel or any other spreadsheet
application I know of.)

On a Windows XP machine:
Lotus123 line graph -> individual data points represented as squares
(the computers choice, not mine);
* these little squares in Lotus 123 have clear, distinct vertical and
horizontal borders.
A similar graph, with similar squares in Calc has "shadows" around 2 of
the four sides = disappearance/display is blurred.
Since the display is made of little squares anyway, what exactly is the
advantage of having the display blurred???
If Lotus123 CAN display these squares like they would look when printed
in a book,
why can't Calc do that???
Computer, monitor, OS etc. ... everything else is the same, I presume
nobody can blame my monitor, graphic card or whatever.

Is there any way of telling Calc (preferably LibreOffice in general!) of
displaying clear, distinct images (graphics, characters .. everything)?

Thank you.
Thomas

[Solved] Fuzzy / blurry appearance on Windows 8.1

#7

No. It is set to "no shadows".

#8

Thank sounds interesting. Trying this on new computer running LibreOffice 4.4.3. under Windows 10, however, does not produce any change I can discern.
I will try the XP machine tomorrow (it is in my office).

#9

Well, I try to make it quick
1) My eyes - after decades of staring at stupid computer screens - are bad, but NOT! the issue here.
         I could provide pictures (not screenshots) of the blurred display. That is not something I imagine.
         In the example I described first: why does a square have to have a shadow around its edge???
2) My hardware is fine (I use expensive monitors); Lotus123 producing clear images proves that.
3) I do use/have 3 different Windows versions AND 4 different Linux (ubuntu based) flavors installed.
         The latter are only marginally better.
4) Windows settings: I spent dozens of hours searching the net for solutions and tried just about EVERYTHING that can be found.
         Even editing the registry to change the system font!
         The technical support staff of the computer maker and other computer specialists I have asked have NO ANSWERS.

20 years ago EVERY computer on the planet produced clear images, although a little ragged around the edges.
If that was possible decades ago, I fail to see why should be impossible today.

#10

Is there any chance you could give me a hint as to how to do that?

#11

See Tools | Options... | LibreOffice | View | User Interface | Screen font anti-aliasing and Tools | Options... | LibreOffice | View | Graphics output | Use Anti-Aliasing (if these exist for your system).

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker