Windows 7 - ClearType Text Tuner

**Brink**

How to Open and Use ClearType Text Tuner in Windows 7

Information

This will show you how to turn on or off the ClearType Text Tuner and how to use it to help make the text on your screen sharp and clear to make it easier to read. ClearType is turned on by default in Windows 7.

Note

ClearType font technology makes the text on your screen almost as sharp and clear as text that is printed on paper.

Tip

To get the full benefit of ClearType, you'll need a high-quality, flat-panel monitor, such as LCD or plasma. Even on a CRT monitor, you might get some improvement in readability with ClearType.

Here's How:

1. Open the Start menu.

2. In the Start menu search line, type cttune.exe and press Enter.
NOTE: The ClearType Text Tuner exe file is located at C:\Windows\System32\cttune.exe.

3. To Turn On ClearType -
A) Check the Turn on ClearType box and click on Next. (See screenshot below step 4)

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Turn Off ClearType -
A) Uncheck the Turn on ClearType box and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

5. If you have multiple monitors, select to tune one or all of them and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

6. If your monitor native screen resolution is not correct, then correct it and click on Next. (See left screenshot below)
NOTE: If the native resolution is correct, then just click on Next. (See right screenshot below)

7. Click on the text that looks best to you and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

8. Click on the text that looks best to you and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

9. Click on the text that looks best to you and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

10. Click on the text that looks best to you and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

11. Click on Finish. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you selected to tune all monitors (step 5), then you will click on Next instead and repeat steps 6 to 11 again for the next monitor.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

**Jenn F** · 05-05-2009

I followed your instructions, and ClearType seems to be disabled for the most part, but it keeps showing up on certain headers or menus. Why is this?

**Brink** · 05-05-2009

Hello Jenn, and welcome to Seven Forums.

What headers and menus does it still appear to be turned on with? I'll see if I can see the same on my system.

Shawn

CloneWarrior · 05-06-2009

I can confirm this behaviour. it seems the cleartype option for menus (like "file" and "edit") and some other stuff is inverted. whenever you turn off cleartype it will get turned on for those but turned off for everything else. and verse visa.

but it is not for every menu.
you can see it for firefox menus and toolbar buttons.
you can also see it for IE tab titles.

just look at those while switching cleartype on and off multiple times.

cheers.

**Brink** · 05-06-2009

Hi CloneWarrior,

I checked the areas you mentioned. In IE8, the tab titles do have ClearType turned off for them to, but it is very subtle there. You really have to look to notice it. Everything else was real obvious when ClearType was turned off though.

ON:

OFF:

CloneWarrior · 05-07-2009

Here is how it looks on my machine with firefox:

ON:

OFF:

Here are the direct links. you see the difference better, when you download them and switch between them in an image-viewer or have them in different browser-tabs:
ON: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/796/cleartypeon.png
OFF: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4945/cleartypeoff.png

You see, that the menu and the addressbar is exactly turned around. with cleartype on the letters look like cleartype is off. firefox is not the only example. i have the same results with other menus, for example the popup-menu that appears, when i right-click on the desktop.

for me it is distracting. might be, because cleartype isn't configured correctly, but anyway, this shouldn't happen. off still means off

so there seems to be something wrong somewhere.

thanks and cheers!

**Brink** · 05-07-2009

I'm sorry CloneWarrior, but the ON image looks sharper and clearer to me than the OFF one in all areas of the image. What type of monitor are you using?

If LCD, then you might turn ClearType back on and see if adjusting the settings in ClearType Tuner may help any.

CloneWarrior · 05-07-2009

you can also see it in another way: if you look at the menu in the off-image (so on for menus), you see that the shortkeys (strg+n, etc.) are not aligned.

anyway, these are images. they should look the same on every monitor. except colours of course. maybe i get distracted easier then you, because of being a perfectionist.

but you could test it yourself. change your cleartype settings in a way, that they DON'T look good. then turn cleartype on and off multiple times to see that different GUI-items seem to invert the settings.

anyway. my goal is not to make it look good on my machine, but to report the initial problem, namely cleartype not being turned on or off completely. there is probably just a boolean-bug somewhere in the code, that inverts the settings. just a quick guess

thanks

**Brink** · 05-07-2009

CloneWarrior,

My guess is that it may be some glitch between the video drivers and settings somewhere for you.

**chrysalis** · 12-11-2009

I want to turn cleartype fully off, right now i have 2d performance issues. cleartype is still on in my taskbar.