HOW TO alter default browser display fonts in Firefox 1.0.6 & 1.0.7

• Before dealing with permanent changes to your defaults, note that like a number of Web-browsers, Firefox also provides 'shortcut' keys that simply make the display font temporarily bigger or smaller, without affecting the default setting.  Hold down the [Ctrl] key, then tap [+] - the display will use a bigger display font.  Similarly, [Ctrl] and [-] will make it smaller.  This is especially useful because it may over-ride sizes set in the web-page, so might work even when changing your default font doesn't.  It is also useful because it is a temporary change.  It only applies to the webpage you currently have open!
  

• To alter the default display font:

  Don't worry that the following instructions look long and complicated - that is just because I've tried to give enough detail for complete beginners.  The process itself is quick and simple.

  1. Drop down the 'Edit' menu, by clicking on the top toolbar in the Firefox window.
     
     
  2. Select 'Preferences'  the preference-setting window will open.
     
     
  3. Select the icon (top left) for 'General'  The main part of the Options window will show your 'General' settings, with 5 boxes, one above the other.
     
     
  4. The second box down is labeled 'Fonts & Colors'  Select the [Fonts & Colors] action button at the right of this box.  A new window will open showing the current settings.
     
     
  5. You can ignore the top box labeled 'Fonts for:'  That relates to the language you use - and it will be correct for your language (if it wasn't, you would have had major problems in using Firefox before now!)
     
     
  6. The next box down allows you to choose between the Serif and Sans-serif families of fonts for your main display.  Serif fonts have those little bars on the end of the lines forming letters.  Sans-serif fonts do not have those lines.
     
     To the right of this box, there is another that allows you to set how big your default font will be.  If you press the little button next to the number (it is labeled with a V-shaped arrowhead, pointing down) a list will come up, showing the sizes you can choose.
     
     NB If you are used to setting sizes in 'points', note that this sets sizes in pixels.  The principle is the same, it's just the numbers that will be different.
     
     
  7. The next 3 lines allow you to make detailed selections:
     
     
     1. The first of these is labeled 'Serif:'  The drop down list lets you pick from the serif fonts installed on your machine. If you chose the 'Serif' family at the last step, the font you select here will be used as your default display font.
        
        
     2. The next box is labeled 'Sans-serif:'  The drop down list lets you pick from the sans-serif fonts installed on your machine.  If you chose the 'Sans-serif' family above, the font you select here will be used as your default display font.
        
        
     3. The third line is labeled, 'Monospace:"  Web pages sometimes use this family of fonts, for instance, to show programming code.  I've set this paragraph to appear in monospace so you can see how it looks.  This box will show you a list of the monospace fonts installed on your machine.  Like the main family selection box, this one has an extra box to let you choose how big to make it.  That is useful, since monospace fonts are often a significantly different size to the 'ordinary' serif and sans-serif fonts.
        
        
     4. At the bottom right corner of this area is a box labelled "Minimum font size"  Normally this has no effect, but some websites deliberately set some sections of their pages in very tiny type - sometimes to prevent you reading, or even noticing them.  This box allows you to over-ride that, to make sure that even the smallest type is large enough to read.  Our site doesn't try to hide anything, but we have chosen to put the legal notice at the bottom of every page in one of the smallest standard sizes.  If you want to read that, then you may find this setting helpful.
        
        
  8. You can ignore the other settings in the window.
     
     
  9. Click the [OK] button at the bottom right of the 'Fonts & Colors' window.  It will disappear, leaving you looking at the 'Options' window.
     
     
  10. Click the [OK] button at the bottom right of the 'Options' window.  It will disappear, leaving you looking at the Firefox browser window.  The display will have changed to show your new selection.
      
      Unless... the designer of the web-page you are looking at has put code into the page that over-rides your choice.  This Website does not do that, so is suitable for testing your personal settings.
      
      

To leave these instructions, use your browser's [Back] button.  One push will take you back to the instruction menu and the second push will take you back to the main site, on the page you were reading.

If you need to supply similar instructions for your website, please feel free to copy these pages, or to link to them.