How to Change the Font Display in a Browser

Webmasters pack their pages with useful information and create them out of exciting images and text so you'll enjoy browsing them. Browsers enhance the experience by ensuring consistent standards among fonts and layouts. Despite these efforts, you may still find the text unreadable, perhaps because the size is too small, the style too ornate or the color too garish. Contrary to popular belief, you are not stuck with the choices of the page designer. You can easily customize fonts to your taste in such browsers as Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Instructions

Internet Explorer

1. Choose the "Tools" menu and click "Internet Options" to show the Internet Options dialog box.

2. Pick the "General" tab and choose "Accessibility" near the bottom to display the Accessibility dialog box.

3. Put a check mark next to "Ignore font styles specified on web pages" so the browser displays your font choices rather than sticking to the ones defined for a page. If you plan on changing colors and sizes, put check marks next to "Ignore font styles" and "Ignore font sizes" as well. Click "OK" to accept your choices.

4. Choose "Fonts" to display the Fonts dialog box.

5. Select the Internet font you want to change by clicking on a font name in the "Webpage Font" box. (The "Times New Roman" font is the most common one used.)

6. Pick a replacement font by clicking on a font name in the "Plain Text Font" box. Click "OK" to close the dialog box and save your choices.

7. Replace text colors by clicking "Colors" to show the Colors dialog box. Then put a blank by "Use Windows Colors" to activate the buttons under "Colors."

8. Choose the button of the color you want to change. For example, to change general text colors, click the "Text" button to display a palette. Choose the replacement and then click "OK" so it appears in the "Text" button. Click "OK" to close the Colors dialog box and save your changes. Click "OK" again to close the Internet Options dialog box and save your changes.

9. Change font sizes by choosing the "View" menu and then "Text Sizes" and finally a size from "Smallest" to "Largest."

Firefox

1. Choose the "Tools" menu and click "Options" to show the Options dialog box.

2. Click the "Advanced" button to display the Fonts dialog box. Pick a replacement for a specific font and, if needed, a new size.

3. Put a blank next to "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above." Click "OK" to close the Fonts dialog box and save your options.

4. Click the "Colors" button in the Options dialog box to display the Colors dialog box.

5. Select the button of the color you want to change. For example, to change general text colors, pick the "Text" button to display a color palette. Click the replacement color to make it appear on the "Text" button.

6. Put a blank next to "Allow pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above." Click "OK" to close the Colors dialog box and save your changes.

7. Click "OK" to close the Options dialog box.

References

• Microsoft: Changing Fonts in Internet Explorer
• Mozilla: Changing Fonts in Firefox