This is a follow-up to Jason’s article on using default fonts, specifically concentrating on Firefox on applying them to all web pages you visit in a friendly way.

One of the most underrated features of a web browser is the ability to view web pages using any font you want while still retaining the site’s style. It’s one thing to change a font, but it’s another to do it in a way that is compatible with the site’s theme.

In Firefox, when you go to Tools, Options and then select Content, you’ll see this:

Click on the Advanced button.

Here’s an example setup and how awesome Firefox handles it:

These are the items that were modified:

Proportional was changed to Sans Serif so the browser always uses the Sans-serif font I have selected (mentioned in the next point).

Sans-serif font was changed to Verdana. This is a font which is physically wider than Arial and easier to read.

Minimum font size was changed to 13. Bear in mind Firefox sizes fonts using pixels and not points. The general rule of thumb for points-to-pixels in the Windows environment is that 12pt is 16px, 10pt is 13px and 8pt is 11px. The minimum size selected is 13px which is the equivalent of 10pt.

It’s important to note that this setting does not affect fonts over the minimum size. All it means is that the smallest possible font will not go below the minimum size you set. In other words, this setting does not mean “all fonts shown will be X size”. Rather it means, “no font displayed will go below X size”.

You’ll understand what this means more clearly in a moment.

Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above was unchecked. This means that every font shown in the browser (with the exception of Flash and image text) will always use the selected sans-serif font, which in this case is Verdana.

Here’s how PCMech looks using the above settings:

All text shown is using Verdana, does not go below the minimum size set, and that fonts set to be larger stay larger, such as article title text.

If I switched to the Serif font, which I left as Times New Roman, here’s how that looks:

If I changed the Serif font to Georgia, a larger and more readable serif font, this is what that would look like:

This may look similar to Times New Roman, but Georgia has more spacing and thickness to it, making it easier to read. It’s not as readable as the sans-serif font Verdana, but if you like the serif look, Georgia is the way to go.

Final notes

Remember, setting your Firefox this way applies to all HTML fonts on all web pages.

Once you uncheck the Allow pages to choose their own fonts box, what you choose is what will be shown no matter what web page you visit. On PCMech, in your webmail, on Facebook and everywhere else.

Want just a minimum size instead of changing all the fonts?

Maybe what you want is just for fonts not to go below a minimum size (such as 13) but do want web sites to keep their font styling. No problem. Check the Allow pages to choose their own fonts box, and set Minimum font size to 13 or higher. Tiny fonts on web pages will all be gone!

Is there a “Reset” for this in case I screw up the font choices?

Not unless you reset your entire Firefox profile – and just to reset fonts you definitely don’t want to do that.

The default settings in Windows (in the USA) for Firefox (again, in the USA) are as follows just in case you screw up:

On a final note, the other place where the look of a site is adjusted is here:

If you choose View, Page Style, No Style, the look of whatever site you’re viewing will look like something straight out of 1997, like this:

If you hit that option by mistake, it’s fixed easily by click View, Page Style, Basic Page Style.

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