[whispersystems] Small text on Signal Desktop

Discussion:

#359

2015-12-25 05:17:54 UTC

I am using Signal Desktop since it was opened for beta testing and it
works great. The only real complaint that I have is that the text is
very small on my screen and I can't make it larger. Ctrl+scroll to
enlarge it would solve everything for me. I am using it on 13* Ubuntu
laptop with HD display and my eyes are not as they used to be...

Ability to delete only one message at the time would also be great but
now I'm already picky. ;)

Merry xmas, everyone!

- jure

Natanji

2015-12-25 13:02:43 UTC

Permalink

This is a problem for me as well. I have high DPI set on my device
(Windows) and the text is about half as large as in other windows. Maybe
you could open an issue on GitHub for this?

Post by #359
I am using Signal Desktop since it was opened for beta testing and it
works great. The only real complaint that I have is that the text is
very small on my screen and I can't make it larger. Ctrl+scroll to
enlarge it would solve everything for me. I am using it on 13* Ubuntu
laptop with HD display and my eyes are not as they used to be...
Ability to delete only one message at the time would also be great but
now I'm already picky. ;)
Merry xmas, everyone!
- jure

#359

2015-12-25 19:08:47 UTC

Permalink

github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see
that well...

- jure

Post by Natanji
This is a problem for me as well. I have high DPI set on my device
(Windows) and the text is about half as large as in other windows. Maybe
you could open an issue on GitHub for this?

Adam S. Crane

2015-12-25 19:19:42 UTC

Permalink

Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me.

Post by #359
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see
that well...
- jure

Sam Lanning

2015-12-25 19:55:09 UTC

Permalink

github issues can also be feature requests / usability problems.
Signal-Android have used issues for that for ages.

Text being too small for some people to use is certainly a usability
problem worthy of a GitHub issue. =)

Post by Adam S. Crane
Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me.

Post by #359
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see
that well...
- jure

Alexander Kayumov

2015-12-26 08:56:53 UTC

Permalink

<html><head><title>Re[2]: [whispersystems] Small text on Signal Desktop</title>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
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Well, devs don't seem to care AT ALL about the same issue on Signal-Android, so I wouldn't be on the edge of my chair about them fixing it on Signal-Desktop any time soon. Unless, of course, they are more interested in expanding to other ecosystems before ironing out all the issues with their existing apps... 
 
Alexander 
 
 
You wrote on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at 12:55:09 AM: 
 
<table>
<tr>
<td width=2 bgcolor= #0000ff> 
</td>
<td width=1150>github issues can also be feature requests / usability problems. Signal-Android have used issues for that for ages. 
Text being too small for some people to use is certainly a usability problem worthy of a GitHub issue. =) 
On 25 Dec 2015 7:20 p.m., "Adam S. Crane" <<a style=" font-family:'courier new'; font-size: 10pt;" href="mailto:***@gmail.com">***@gmail.com</a>> wrote: 
Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me. 
On Dec 25, 2015 2:09 PM, "#359" <<a style=" font-family:'courier new'; font-size: 10pt;" href="mailto:***@osmocudo.net">***@osmocudo.net</a>> wrote: 
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs 
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see 
that well... 
 
 
- jure 
 
 
On Fri, Dec 25, 2015, at 14:02, Natanji wrote: 
> This is a problem for me as well. I have high DPI set on my device 
> (Windows) and the text is about half as large as in other windows. Maybe 
> you could open an issue on GitHub for this? 
> 
> Am 25.12.2015 um 06:17 schrieb #359: 
> > I am using Signal Desktop since it was opened for beta testing and it 
> > works great. The only real complaint that I have is that the text is 
> > very small on my screen and I can't make it larger. Ctrl+scroll to 
> > enlarge it would solve everything for me. I am using it on 13* Ubuntu 
> > laptop with HD display and my eyes are not as they used to be... 
> > 
> > Ability to delete only one message at the time would also be great but 
> > now I'm already picky. ;) 
> > 
> > Merry xmas, everyone! 
> > 
> > - jure</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body></html>

#359

2015-12-26 09:06:36 UTC

Permalink

Don't know about that, but Android have it's own way to do it system-
wide - in the Accsessibility menu - and it works for all apps. Chrome
browser has it too but it doesn't work for Signal Desktop.

Also, I am sure devs read this if I post it here, caring/fixing or
not is beyond my power and it wont do any better if I double post
this on GitHub.

- jure

Post by Alexander Kayumov
Well, devs don't seem to care AT ALL about the same issue on Signal-
Android, so I wouldn't be on the edge of my chair about them fixing it
on Signal-Desktop any time soon. Unless, of course, they are more
interested in expanding to other ecosystems before ironing out all the
issues with their existing apps...

Alexander

Post by Alexander Kayumov
github issues can also be feature requests / usability problems. Signal-
Android have used issues for that for ages.

Text being too small for some people to use is certainly a usability
problem worthy of a GitHub issue. =)
On 25 Dec 2015 7:20 p.m., "Adam S. Crane" <***@gmail.com> wrote:
Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me.
On Dec 25, 2015 2:09 PM, "#359" <***@osmocudo.net> wrote:
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see
that well...
- jure

Post by Alexander Kayumov
This is a problem for me as well. I have high DPI set on my device
(Windows) and the text is about half as large as in other
windows. Maybe
you could open an issue on GitHub for this?

Post by #359
I am using Signal Desktop since it was opened for beta testing and it
works great. The only real complaint that I have is that the text is
very small on my screen and I can't make it larger. Ctrl+scroll to
enlarge it would solve everything for me. I am using it on 13* Ubuntu
laptop with HD display and my eyes are not as they used to be...
Ability to delete only one message at the time would also be
great but
now I'm already picky. ;)
Merry xmas, everyone!
- jure

Alexander Kayumov

2015-12-26 10:39:47 UTC

Permalink

<html><head><title>Re[2]: [whispersystems] Small text on Signal Desktop</title>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body>
On the one hand, you are right: there indeed are accessibility features on Android. On the other hand, I think it's somewhat beside the point: it's an EXTERNAL mechanism for changing font size (and it can only make text larger, not smaller, at that). It's like saying, "Oh, the text on the screen doesn't seem to be the right size for you? Try sitting closer to or farther away from the screen." :) 
 
I believe any application whose primary purpose is working with text (such as messaging apps) should have an option allowing users to select font size. This preference is purely individual, depending on one's eyesight, screen size, screen DPI, how far one usually holds the phone from one's face, etc. For instance, my father is in his 60s, his eyesight is poor, and he has a phone with a 4" screen, so he would choose the largest possible font size; I am in my 30s and have a phone with a 6" screen, so I would prefer a smaller-than-normal font size than would enable me to see more messages on the conversation screen. Most stock sms clients, WhatsApp, Telegram and probably numerous other apps do provide this option. 
 
The exact same logic applies to the desktop client. In short, I think this is a must BOTH for mobile and desktop versions of Signal. 
 
 
Regarding GitHub requests. Creating one might be beneficial in that they are labelled, tracked, etc, while these here are just messages on a plaintext mailing list that end up in one's inbox. 
 
Alexander. 
 
 
You wrote on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at 2:06:36 PM: 
 
<a name="sig18978605"></a>
<table>
<tr>
<td width=2 bgcolor= #0000ff> 
</td>
<td width=1168>Don't know about that, but Android have it's own way to do it system-wide - in the Accessibility menu - and it works for all apps. Chrome browser has it too but it doesn't work for Signal Desktop. 
  
Also, I am sure devs read this if I post it here, caring/fixing or not is beyond my power and it wont do any better if I double post this on GitHub. 
  
 - jure 
   
  
On Sat, Dec 26, 2015, at 09:56, Alexander Kayumov wrote: 
Well, devs don't seem to care AT ALL about the same issue on Signal-Android, so I wouldn't be on the edge of my chair about them fixing it on Signal-Desktop any time soon. Unless, of course, they are more interested in expanding to other ecosystems before ironing out all the issues with their existing apps... 
 
Alexander 
 
 
You wrote on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at 12:55:09 AM: 
 
<table>
<tr>
<td width=2 bgcolor= #0000ff> 
</td>
<td width=1150>github issues can also be feature requests / usability problems. Signal-Android have used issues for that for ages. 
Text being too small for some people to use is certainly a usability problem worthy of a GitHub issue. =) 
On 25 Dec 2015 7:20 p.m., "Adam S. Crane" <<a style=" font-family:'courier new'; font-size: 10pt;" href="mailto:***@gmail.com">***@gmail.com</a>> wrote: 
Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me. 
On Dec 25, 2015 2:09 PM, "#359" <<a style=" font-family:'courier new'; font-size: 10pt;" href="mailto:***@osmocudo.net">***@osmocudo.net</a>> wrote: 
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs 
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see 
that well... 
 
- jure 
 
 
On Fri, Dec 25, 2015, at 14:02, Natanji wrote: 
> This is a problem for me as well. I have high DPI set on my device 
> (Windows) and the text is about half as large as in other windows. Maybe 
> you could open an issue on GitHub for this? 
> 
> Am 25.12.2015 um 06:17 schrieb #359: 
> > I am using Signal Desktop since it was opened for beta testing and it 
> > works great. The only real complaint that I have is that the text is 
> > very small on my screen and I can't make it larger. Ctrl+scroll to 
> > enlarge it would solve everything for me. I am using it on 13* Ubuntu 
> > laptop with HD display and my eyes are not as they used to be... 
> > 
> > Ability to delete only one message at the time would also be great but 
> > now I'm already picky. ;) 
> > 
> > Merry xmas, everyone! 
> > 
> > - jure</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body></html>

Jeff R

2015-12-28 10:46:58 UTC

Permalink

For the Chrome plugin specifically, HTML5/CSS3 have more graceful ways of
dealing with font size than hard-coding a certain point value. I'm a fan of
the device width/height based factors (vw, vh, etc) as described here:
https://css-tricks.com/viewport-sized-typography/

An option to control the size may still help, but I suspect this kind of
thing would be a superior solution because it can handle auto-resize when
the device rotates, etc. The standards groups have been thinking about this
problem, and provided some tools for it.

A cursory glance through the Signal-Desktop code reveals that the CSS
propery "font-size" gets set about 5 different ways. This might make a nice
beginner's issue for someone wanting to get involved with the projecct and
contribute the kind of code cleanup that will take this project from beta
to production.

(I also want to be clear I'm not criticizing the way the current developers
have written code. Every project has code cleanup in the beta phase. I'm
very impressed with the capabilities of Signal-Desktop! Keep up the good
work.)

Regards,
Jeff

On Sat, Dec 26, 2015 at 4:09 PM, Alexander Kayumov <

Post by Alexander Kayumov
On the one hand, you are right: there indeed are accessibility features on
Android. On the other hand, I think it's somewhat beside the point: it's an
EXTERNAL mechanism for changing font size (and it can only make text
larger, not smaller, at that). It's like saying, "Oh, the text on the
screen doesn't seem to be the right size for you? Try sitting closer to or
farther away from the screen." :)
I believe any application whose primary purpose is working with text (such
as messaging apps) should have an option allowing users to select font
size. This preference is purely individual, depending on one's eyesight,
screen size, screen DPI, how far one usually holds the phone from one's
face, etc. For instance, my father is in his 60s, his eyesight is poor, and
he has a phone with a 4" screen, so he would choose the largest possible
font size; I am in my 30s and have a phone with a 6" screen, so I would
prefer a smaller-than-normal font size than would enable me to see more
messages on the conversation screen. Most stock sms clients, WhatsApp,
Telegram and probably numerous other apps do provide this option.
The exact same logic applies to the desktop client. In short, I think this
is a must BOTH for mobile and desktop versions of Signal.
Regarding GitHub requests. Creating one might be beneficial in that they
are labelled, tracked, etc, while these here are just messages on a
plaintext mailing list that end up in one's inbox.
Alexander.
Don't know about that, but Android have it's own way to do it system-wide
- in the Accessibility menu - and it works for all apps. Chrome browser has
it too but it doesn't work for Signal Desktop.
Also, I am sure devs read this if I post it here, caring/fixing or not is
beyond my power and it wont do any better if I double post this on GitHub.
- jure
Well, devs don't seem to care AT ALL about the same issue on
Signal-Android, so I wouldn't be on the edge of my chair about them fixing
it on Signal-Desktop any time soon. Unless, of course, they are more
interested in expanding to other ecosystems before ironing out all the
issues with their existing apps...
Alexander
github issues can also be feature requests / usability problems.
Signal-Android have used issues for that for ages.
Text being too small for some people to use is certainly a usability
problem worthy of a GitHub issue. =)
Text not scaling certainly sounds like a bug to me.
github issues are for bugs. this is not a typical bug. don't worry, devs
are monitoring this list and there are many people around that don't see
that well...
- jure