Hi all.
I use C6.2 ABC.
My app uses MS Sans Serif. It looks a little old-fashioned.
I’m trying to experiment with Verdana, Verdana Pro, Inter, Roboto.
The biggest problem with all other fonts exepts Ms Sans Serif is that text in entry control is blurred…
What font do you use in your applications?
Regards,
Adam
Segoe UI
Regards
Victor M
So one of the joys I’d forgotten about with Clarion 6 is the way it mangles TrueType fonts on Entry fields.
That was fixed in Clarion 7 and later. That means that in Clarion 6 you’re best off using a non-TrueType font for entry fields (which means an ugly app.)
Nothing dates an app like an old font, so “keeping up” with the current Windows font is a good idea. It’s a lot of effort to change manually each time though, so I use AnyFont (https://www.capesoft.com/accessories/anyfontsp.htm) to do it at runtime.
The current “best font” to use is Segoe UI, 10 point. With modern monitors 8 point is too small - plus designing at 10 point means that on laptops with a really restricted height on the monitor, you can change to 8 point and everything still fits.
cheers
Bruce
Windows Segoe UI, 10 point
Report. Garamond 10 pt
Going against what seems like a consensus, my eyes prefer Tahoma.
Hi Doug,
Tahoma is a nice font, no doubt about that, but it was very much the font of the XP days. So again, unfortunately, while not as bad as Ms Sans Serif, it “dates” a program. I don’t mean in the sense that a user looks at the program and thinks “oh, that’s Tahoma, what an old font”, but rather they think “the program looks old” without necessarily being able to put a finger on why they think that. (Nothing dates a program like old icons of course )
Of course, like any kind of fashion, fonts come into, and go out of style. That doesn’t mean you can’t like listening to 80’s rock - but you can’t listen to 80’s rock and expect other people to think your music tastes are “modern”. (Which is fine for music, or clothes 
)
The problem with using “old fonts” on a software program is that users perceive the program to be old (even when it isn’t, or even when that doesn’t matter.) If we are viewing this from a business point of view (ie giving yourself the best possible chance to actually sell the program) then it makes sense to not put artificial barriers in the potential buyers way. Old fonts, and old icons are so trivial to fix, cost pretty much nothing to do, and easily pay for themselves in making apps look more “modern”.
All that said, I of course, give the users the option to set the font to whatever they prefer. Including the font size. So if you prefer Tahoma then run the app as Tahoma, no worries. By the same token of you prefer a 14 point font as being easier to read then do that too. That’s the perfect flexibility - default to the most “modern” font, but let the user go full Comic Sans if they feel the urge
cheers
Bruce
Hello Bruce,
Last day of the decade is probably not a bad day for a discussion of “dated.”
Coincidentally, just as I was reading your reference to 80’s rock, I was listening to a 2019 In Memoriam for musicians lost in the year. How could I not smile upon hearing Asimbonanga?
For me, the font is less important in defining the look of a program than icons, use of color, and the spacing/grouping of data. Following the current style in these elements only insures that a program looks dated in the shortest period of time. Given the development time required to alter all elements in every screen, I have had better results in staying with a more neutral look whereby all elements are coordinated and not highly customizable by the end user.
While I might agree in theory with your “let the user choose” philosophy, my experience with the Clarion window designer is that it is not practical. Allowing a change in font and especially font size for a program through a property assignment can have unintended consequences in the spacing of controls and makes it almost impossible to employ the use of subtle size changes for attention emphasis (for instance, I occasionally use a smaller font for text on a group control than for fields within that group).
Having opined all of this, I admit my development is not for the “real world” and only for a captive audience of users in my academic department. I also detest “updated” stainless kitchens and found Segoe UI to look weak and like uninspired crap next to flat black icons.
Best for the new year & decade.