Small (unreadable) font in old legacy application

cherrycomp8088 · 13 Mar 2017

I've been going crazy trying to come up with a fix for this problem. It's a very old software package that only a few of out users are running (but, of course, it's essential)

It works fine on an older image of Win 7 32-bit that we use, but on the newest image of Win 7 64-bit, some of the tab fonts are barely readable and I can't adjust them.

I've tried so many different things and nothing seems to work. Changes resolution, changes scaling, updated video drivers (AMD), removed video drivers (went back to stock Windows display driver), compared/imported some of the font keys in the registry from the working PC to the test PC with the problem.

No luck.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Ranger4 · 13 Mar 2017

Hi cherrycomp8088, welcome to the Forum.

It would help if you could tell what the name of the software package is.

In some cases old programs that might have been written in 16 bit architecture will not work properly in 64 bit architecture. Have you checked to see if you can get a later version of it.

johnhoh · 14 Mar 2017

i wonder how it would look if you ran it within Win7 XP Mode

cherrycomp8088 · 15 Mar 2017

It's a program called KS600 / Best. I think it's used to track keys for buildings.

I have tried running it in compatibility mode and all the other options under Properties -> Options with no luck.

I'm not sure if a newer version is available, my supervisor tried contacting the publisher for support and got no response.

johnhoh · 15 Mar 2017

Windows XP Mode is different from compatibility mode and unfortunately its not as easy so maybe its a last resort for you. From microsoft:

"Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run many of your productivity programs that run on Windows XP directly from a computer that runs Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides a 32-bit virtual Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (SP3) environment. This download includes a virtual hard disk (.vhd file) with Windows XP SP3 preinstalled. Windows XP Mode is available free of charge to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate"

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...s.aspx?id=8002

cherrycomp8088 · 16 Mar 2017

johnhoh said:

Windows XP Mode is different from compatibility mode and unfortunately its not as easy so maybe its a last resort for you. From microsoft:

"Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run many of your productivity programs that run on Windows XP directly from a computer that runs Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides a 32-bit virtual Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (SP3) environment. This download includes a virtual hard disk (.vhd file) with Windows XP SP3 preinstalled. Windows XP Mode is available free of charge to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate"

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...s.aspx?id=8002

I've looked at that, but I was hoping there was an easier way to alter the fonts in the application since it works and the only issue is the tiny text.

I've fooled around with the system fonts a bit, but can't seem to find the font that this application is using.

Mellon Head · 19 Mar 2017

I had a thought, and this may not work, but since you've tried everything else...

Try going to the Command Prompt under Accessories, and instead of opening it, click on Properties. You'll find a Font tab where you can set the Command Font. The program might be using the Command System fonts, and if you set them larger, you may be able to see the fonts on the tabs in question. Programmers years ago did some funny tricks to get things to work.

It's worth a try, at least. Other than that, I think your best bet is XP Mode.

Callender · 19 Mar 2017

Maybe try this: Suddenly, wrong characters

cherrycomp8088 · 20 Mar 2017

Yes, I had tried the Command Prompt font change and that didn't work, and I just tried clearing the font cache (per Callender's tip) and that didn't work either.

Thanks for the suggestions though!

Nixaura · 11 May 2017

cherrycomp8088 said:

I've been going crazy trying to come up with a fix for this problem. It's a very old software package that only a few of out users are running (but, of course, it's essential)

It works fine on an older image of Win 7 32-bit that we use, but on the newest image of Win 7 64-bit, some of the tab fonts are barely readable and I can't adjust them.

I've tried so many different things and nothing seems to work. Changes resolution, changes scaling, updated video drivers (AMD), removed video drivers (went back to stock Windows display driver), compared/imported some of the font keys in the registry from the working PC to the test PC with the problem.

No luck.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Hi there, very small world! You're using Keystone for your key management system. I came across your post on Google, because I was having the same issue. I had an assumption that the application was defaulting to another font on the 64-bit operating systems. Sure enough, I compared the installation with a 32-bit OS and its 64-bit variant.

If you look on one of your 32-bit computers with Keystone installed, open the Windows Fonts folder.

You should see two fonts named: BL Sans Serif Regular and Small Regular.

Export each font by right clicking each one, click copy, and paste it to another location (i.e. flash drive or desktop).

Copy the two font files to the 64-bit OS and install them. Re-open Keystone and your font tabs and the detailed tabs at the bottom of the program should be easier to read!

Hope this helps!