What happened with text font size in Thunderbird 115.3.0?

[nemmartins]

I've been using Thunderbird for years, but the latest update is terrible! The message list is almost unreadable, and there's no way to change the font, or at least increase the reading size of the list!. Space between lines is non existing, Font size is small, no zoom option... overall, your worst update ever! After this update, and if nothing changes very quickly, I definitely will opt for other email client than yours.

[misfyt]

I fully agree with @nemmartins , the message list is virtually unreadable. Please revert the UI to the previous version or give us the option to do that with a few mouse clicks on individual machines. If this isn't repaired in the next version, I'll quit using TB.

[Toad-Hall]

Thunderbird Supernova is the first design which actually offers the user alot of user friendly control over font size (and spacing - aka Density) both via the  'Menu Bar' toolbar (View > Font Size) which you would need to enable BUT also via the 'Menu app icon' (3 lines) which actually states the Font Size being used and you use the + and - icons to increase/decrease font size.

This 'Font Size' effects everything - Folder PAne, Thread Pane, Message Pane, Menu's etc.

The Message Pane which displays email content also has additional controls because some people like that part to be a larger font size and many people like to control the minimum font size.  So to set different controls for that area use:

The font specifically for the 'Message Pane' is controlled via:

• Settings > General
• scroll to 'Language & Appearance'
• click on 'Advanced'
• Select 'Fonts for:' and choose 'Latin'
• Set all Font Size a bit larger than you are using for the Folder Pane & Thread Pane eg: 16px
• Set the 'minimum size' a bit smaller, so it stops people from forcing tiny font eg: 12px
• Then select 'Font For:' and choose 'Other Writing Systems' (bottom of list)
• set identical font sizes as the 'Latin'.
• If you want more control over fonts then uncheck 'Allow messages to use other fonts'
• Click on OK

The above sets up settings for both western and unicode, so do make sure you set up for both 'Latin' and 'Other Writing Systems' and indeed any other language format you use eg: Cyrillic

[Stevan2020]

I am having the same issues. And after setting all of the font options to size 40 and minimum font also to 40, the font is NOT as tiny, but is still very small. I would guess that even at size 40, the font looks like size 8 or 9, which is still too small

[Toad-Hall]

When you say font still looks small - are you talking about the Folder Pane, Message List etc OR are you only talking about reading messages in Message Pane and creating message?

What size is shown when you click on Menu app icon (3 lines) and look at 'Font Size' ? I'm thinking that maybe you are using a computer screen resolution which uses 4K.

[macmuraca]

New workspace and layout is orrible and chaotic. Somewhere there is the option to adjust the fonts but it was much better before. It is full of bugs in email compositions. Don't paste the signature!!!!

[VictorK]

And::

Latest version curser disappears off the screen edge scrollbar too easily. Thank you.

[mthomas]

Just upgraded to v 15.3.1 and the home screen is now a huge font/display size I cannot alter. I estimate the font size is some 14. Awful. Looked into downgrading but that seems fraught with gotchas around the profile settings. Please fix this asap. 

[mthomas]

Correction on version text : Upgraded to "v115.3.1"

[Toad-Hall]

re: estimate font size

Menu app icon (3 lines) > Font Size - what does it say for ?px

That info tells you the font size used in Folder Pane, Thread Pane, Menus etc.

Why can't you alter it ?

What is preventing you from clicking on :

Menu app icon (3 lines) > Font Size > click on the - button to reduce the font size ?

Please check the following is set up to use the default setting as it can influence all settings and now there is more control of font size via a more user friendly method. Previously, this setting was used to control font in general, but it is no longer required and can cause all sorts of weirdness if not set to default.

• Settings > General
• scroll to bottom
• click on 'Config Editor'
• in search type : pixels
• look for: layout.css.devPixelsPerPx
• By default, it should say a negative number: -1.0
• If you see anything else click on the 'Reset' curved arrow located on the right'

Confirm this set to default -1.0

[wsmwk]

FWIW, this is documented at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-115-supernova-faq#w_why-are-the-fonts-still-too-lar...

[SKWebDev]

I found it (115.3.1 running on Mint Cinnamon):

Click the burger button which for me has moved to the top right, next to the window minimise, maximise buttons. You should see Density and Font Size controls.

[mthomas]

Hi SKWebDev,

Thank you so much for your responding to this.

Your good help fixed that and my home display is back to normal and workable. I am so pleased. Thank you so much!!!

I'm on linux mint 21.1 cinnamon.

[SKWebDev]

You're welcome.

[gregoireg]

Thunderbird 115 is HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. Revert back. How is this possible that such a release is done???

[DEWhite]

I totally agree.  How could you change the display font with no way for the user to adjust it!

Someone really messed up on this one!

[DEWhite]

This below seems to do it.  But how many users have been inconvenienced?

"Click the burger button which for me has moved to the top right, next to the window minimise, maximise buttons. You should see Density and Font Size controls."

[Xerkus]

Density setting affects more than just font spacing and while default density font is good the other aspects of interface become too large while compact makes font very hard to scan

[AussieStevK]

Changing the density also changes the whole layout of the page, making spaces between lines wider than they need to be. Even in the email list. The font can look better, but then the whole app takes up way too much space. This is just an ugly mess. Why change something that wasn't broken? They even moved the navigation menus around, which is even more of a pain! Are they TRYING to lose customers?

[GnomeSane]

Yeah, this is not a fix for me. Fundamentally the font, and in particular the bold I find very uncomfortable to parse 😕

[modemjunkie]

The View > Font size option stopped working for me last night.   I am trapped in tiny text on the menu bars and the file lists.   I was on the previous version, so I updated to 115.50.  That didn't change anything for me.   Still can't adjust the font sizes.  

[PCThoughts]

NO, THAT DOES NOT WORK!   AND WHEN YOU SHARE THAT, THEY CANNOT EVEN SEE IT!   TRYING AGAIN TO EXPLAIN, BUT.....

[PCThoughts]

THE FONT SIZE WILL NOT CHANGE TO ANYTHING READABLE!

[vanvan]

I agree, even with the change in density / font size. I believe the contrasts/color/fonts have been changed (To be more "smooth" ?) and after only half an hour, I have an headache trying to focus on the screen, which I have never had before !

[Steve-R]

---

@vanvan wrote:

I agree, even with the change in density / font size. I believe the contrasts/color/fonts have been changed (To be more "smooth" ?) and after only half an hour, I have an headache trying to focus on the screen, which I have never had before !

---

Are you using the default white background in TB ?
If so , change it to a darker theme , it helps with eye strain.

To change TB to a dark colour scheme , firstly install the Darko extension theme and then go to Settings ..... General Page , scroll down to Fonts And Colors and select the Colors button and then click on the Text Background Color and select either Black or Dark Grey for the text background and it will match the Darko theme or click on the checkbox for Use System Colors.

Having a dark colour scheme is a lot easier on the eyes.

[GnomeSane]

I've been using dark since before supernova, but I still find the bold (unread) white text glaring...

[iiklaver]

Indeed, 115.3.1 is even more terrible. The appearance has become disgusting, the top panel is full of empty space and cannot be reconfigured. Are the developers drunk or is Thunderbird nearing its death? why do such silly "experiments"? Extremely sad!

[Toad-Hall]

re :, the top panel is full of empty space and cannot be reconfigured. 

The 'top panel' is called  the 'Unified Toolbar' and it replaces the old 'Mail Toolbar', but it does more than the old Mail Toolbar.

Help Article for Unified Toolbar : https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/unified-toolbar

right click on 'Unified Toolbar' and elect 'Customise'.

I put the 'Get Messages', 'Write' and 'Tags' back onto the 'Unified Toolbar'. Then I able to get rid of the new Folder Pane Header -clickon 3 dot icon and select 'Hide Folder Pane Header'.

I also enabled the 'Menu Bar' and discovered it was auto set below the Unified Toolbar which is just not tolerable, so I used a 'userChrome.css' file to quickly solve the problem.

See info on Supernova 115* - How to move the 'Menu Bar' above the 'Unified toolbar':

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1422908

I also discovered I could not raise the splitter to reduce the number of emails displayed in list to a suitable level. Then I discovered this was due to the developers setting a minimum size which was too much, so I also inserted a useful bit of code intomu 'userChrome.css' file and all is fixed.

See info on Supernova 115* - How to increase the minimum height of 'Thread Pane', so you can raise the 'Message Pane' higher.

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1423733

Or maybe you find the new 'Message Header area is also using too much space then there is some code on this:

See if this info helps: Supernova 115* How to reduce the spacing in the Message Header area.

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1429674

The one thing I love about Thunderbird is if you don't like something then it's possible to alter stuff.

[bobthefarmer]

The font/layout of this version hurt my eyes.  Eye strain and headaches are not user friendly.  We need a way to change to other fonts.  This version is the worst I have ever used.

[SKWebDev]

Maybe check what theme its using. For me its using "System theme - auto" and its using my OS's default font.

[Martin666]

I'm usingThunderbird 115.3.1 on a Windows 10 computer. Go to "View -> Font Size -> Increase Font Size" to resolve this. Cheers.

[halex]

You are completely right. I hate it so much I can not explain it and I am using them for almost 15 years. I would lay off every designer (together with all project managers) that worked on this new update and would politely asked them before to write collectively excuse letter to every user personally.

[Topazgb]

I like it.  My laptop has a small screen and the new design allows all my email addies to be seen on the left without scrolling.

Just wish there was more control over the theme font.  I found the change in font size and density but I can't change the font.

[gb]

Through a combination of stuff I managed to get it back to almost normal. This fixed the folders and list:
View/density
View/font
Mozilla 'Light' theme

View/zoom fixed the readability of the message pane

[Toad-Hall]

re :View/zoom fixed the readability of the message pane

The readibility of the Message Pane - aka content of emails. Yes Zoom only effects the 'Message Pane, but if you are zooming frequently then it's much easier to set up what you do want to see via the Settings made available for this kind of adjustment.

Personally, I like this to be a little larger maybe 16px than used in the Folder Pane or Thread Pane where I don't mind 12px but 13px is just that bit better. I also want to stop the use of really small font size in emails by setting a minimum.

The font specifically for the 'Message Pane' is controlled via:

• Settings > General
• scroll to 'Language & Appearance'
• click on 'Advanced'
• Select 'Fonts for:' and choose 'Latin'
• Set all Font Size a bit larger than you are using for the Folder Pane & Thread Pane eg: 16px
• Set the 'minimum size' a bit smaller, so it stops people from forcing tiny font eg: 12px
• Then select 'Font For:' and choose 'Other Writing Systems' (bottom of list)
• set identical font sizes as the 'Latin'.
• If you want more control over fonts then uncheck 'Allow messages to use other fonts'
• Click on OK

The above sets up settings for both western and unicode, so do make sure you set up for both 'Latin' and 'Other Writing Systems' and indeed any other language format you use eg: Cyrillic

[nickada]

This has been horrible for me too. When I compose a message, the text is tiny. When people reply to my messages, the text in my original message is huge!

[Toad-Hall]

Sounds like you have a minimum font size messing up the Message Pane. Check your settings.

If you are using the default 12px for Font Size in Folder Pane and Thread Pane and want Message Pane the same then do the following, but whatever font size you set for 'proportional' and 'monospaced' - whether 12px or a larger 16px keep it the same and then set the minimum font size smaller.

The font specifically for the 'Message Pane' is controlled via:

• Settings > General
• scroll to 'Language & Appearance'
• click on 'Advanced'
• Select 'Fonts for:' and choose 'Latin'
• Set all Font Size as 12px
• Set the 'minimum size' a bit smaller, eg: 10px
• Then select 'Font For:' and choose 'Other Writing Systems' (bottom of list)
• set identical font sizes as the 'Latin'.
• If you want more control over fonts then uncheck 'Allow messages to use other fonts'
• Click on OK

[Blackaye]

This is a nightmare. Now, the text size (email content itself) seems unchangeable. What the heck has happened? 

[kentenor]

Same prob with 115.3.1 of Tb - but the fixes listed so far do not address the fact that the MESSAGE FILTERS edit screen obstinately stays LARGE FONT whatever you do - this means that the Save button at the bottom of that dialogue is not visible so you can't save anything.  I am not prepared to delete and re-install - too risky - I want a fix now.

[modemjunkie]

Thanks for pointing that out.  I thought it was only happening on my desktop.   I still can't get the list fonts to change from tiny and the Filters screen is humongous.    v. 115.50  (BTW: The about page is so big it won't fit on one monitor and I have to drag it around to close it. )