4

In Windows, when adjusting ClearType text, following the option to turn on/off ClearType & ensuring the monitor is set to native resolution, one is supposed to follow 5 steps. I've already tried various combinations but none of them yielded the satisfying result. While the 3rd step makes the user choose between subpixel or grey-scale rendering (I think), I'm wondering what exactly other steps do?

5
  • @DavidPostill, I'm not having a problem with any fuzziness anymore, unlike the poster of the question you've marked mine as a duplicate of. I've already dealt with the blurriness having realised that the first step is responsible for sharpness of the font, & choosing the left option works fine - at least with me (& I'm yet to figure out why). I asked what the steps do (as one may've read in the title), one by one. As in, how does the tuner work exactly? The question is not a duplicate as it addresses a different issue.
    – inker
    Jun 21, 2015 at 16:19
  • 1
    The question marked duplicate does not address the specific question asked here, which is what the steps in the cleartype tuner do. That question is about not using native resolution or 1:1 device and display pixels. Oct 25, 2016 at 0:06
  • 4
    1: BGR RGB 2. gamma number 3. more subpixel rendering at lower values 4: stem darkening with subpixel rendering 5: stem darkening with grayscale
    – Kevin Yin
    Jan 18, 2021 at 8:14
  • 3
    In particular, use step 2 to select evenness: the weight of each stroke should be about the same. Do not use step 2 to select boldness (i.e. how dark you want text to be overall). Use steps 4 and 5 to select boldness.
    – Kevin Yin
    Jan 18, 2021 at 8:30
  • @KevinYin, you mean RGB, then BGR. Just to make it clear, the order of the options. Jun 23, 2022 at 10:56

1 Answer 1

3

The Microsoft ClearType registry settings are stored in the registry key below. Microsoft did not document each step of the process. You should be able to reverse engineer each step by comparing the differences in those registry values for each setting.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Avalon.Graphics\<displayName>

Source: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa970267(v=vs.100).aspx

Alternatively, for a more tedious approach, you could screen capture each page and compare pixel color values.

2
  • 1
    +1 After changing for RGB or BGR, everything in the MS tuner has only seemed to adjust one number (as they show in the link) Some of the 3rd party cleartype tuners would just show live while adjusting that one number, so much more simple. It makes the text get a bit more "bold", and any minor flaws the viewer percieves with the way the sub-pixel anti-aliasing can have a bit of color noticable on vertical lines, only shifts some. The steps are just one way to show you different "contrast" levels, the 3rd party method can be "better".
    – Psycogeek
    Jun 19, 2015 at 21:16
  • 1
    Not exactly what was asked in the question to which I'm guessing only the developers of the tuner know the answer, while everyone else can only reverse-engineer it by themselves. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
    – inker
    Jun 21, 2015 at 16:29

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .