How can I find which font is being used in my Display/Message Text?

In Win 98SE, clicking on Display Properties - Appearance - Items gives me the SIZE of all the various elements and icons. But the FONT box is always blank! How can you find out which font is in current use for the icon/message box texts without spending hours in trial-and-error?

Thanks...

 

Click on blank area of desktop and from the popup select "properties"
click on the appearence tab
With the mouse click on the area where it says "message text" or in the middle form field entitled "Item" use the dropdown arrow to scroll to "message Box "

The font should come up in the lower right hand corner. Are you saying you don't have this? Out of curiosity, click in the color box and select black or some other color besides white.(just a guess but it is possibleto have setr the font color to the same color as your background. It would appear to blank.)

For other customizing options the font is not always available if it is greyed, it can't be controled from a customized scheme.

 

That's the exact box I was referring to - when the cursor is positioned on "Message Box" the box for Font and Size are blank and not greyed out. Changing the color has no effect. Maybe it's a TrueType font and can't be system-generated??? Thanks...

 

If you have no choice this is not normal. I have a "font" and "font color" choice's, visible and changeable. There must be about 50 fonts in my list to choose from. Customizing the font is selectable in these categories:
Active titlebar, Icon, Inactive titlebar, Menu, Message Box, Pallete tile, Selected Item, Tool tip.

I know you have done this but I have to ask...just in case. Experience has taught me not to assume. : You did click on "message box" to make it active or used the dropdown arrow to manual select it. It should say Message Box in the "Item" field.

Does this stay the same no mater which scheme you choose? For instance change the theme to a default "windows standard" scheme and apply.

= =Scratching my head. I wonder if this is a font problem===

 

I don't think there's an issue here about the normalcy of the Appearances box.

The size of the current font for almost every item is shown as you move down the list, so you can make a note of it in case you change it and decide to revert back later.

But NOT the "message box" item! The font and size boxes at the foot of the Appearances box are blank and will accept any changes, but they do not display the current font and size being used, so you can't make a note of them to revert back in case you DO change them.

So my question in this topic is, how can you find out which font IS the current one?

Thanks...

 

I think what goddez1 was referring to is that the absence of font selection when you click on the Message Box item isn't normal. Both my XP and Win98 systems show the font drop-down list and allow other fonts to be selected when I click on the Message Box.

At any rate, on my Win98 system, which is running the default Windows settings, the font is MS Sans Serif (Western).

 

That's my point. At no point should these be blank. I'm having difficulty understanding why yours is "blank ". Particularly since you say it is the only listed "Item" that does this. The fields, "Item and Font ", will reflect the "font" "font color" and "size" before you change it and after you make a selection. (So long as you have not deliberated cleared the entry in between making your choice. If so a tap on the cancel will exit out and when reopened you'll be none the worse for wear. Or just change to another "Item" and return to the "Message Text" it will fill in again. The only gotchas that I am aware of have to do with:
*Using a Accesibility-High Visibilty scheme.
*Font color + bckground color are the same.
*Highlight color plus font color are the same.
*Font or icon size/spacing set to big.
(This is one of the reasons that I previously suggested chosing a "windows standard" theme just as a tester/experiment.

Work around would be making sure you have the current scheme saved before making changes. Perhaps name it with some shorthand form of the "Message Text Font" used.

The key is stored in the registry. It will tell what the current font is I saw no size indicator. This seems like a lot of trouble to go to find out what the current font is but if you want a peek:
HKEY_Current_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowsMetric and in the right hand pane is a key value named "MessageFont ". When double clicked on you can read the current font name.

This will change each time you change the font and apply the change.

*Don't do this with the reg open.
*I don't recommend doing this at all but use at your risk. I believe the message text is rarely seen anyway at least on my computer.

===???
I sure hope I'm not having one of those "Blonde Days" and am missing or misunderstanding the situation. I'm beginning to wonder if "I don't get it "!

 

Thanks for the registry link; the font says MS Sans Serif.

But I then saw that this font is not included in the drop-down list under Properties/Appearance/Item/Message Box/Font-click on down arrow for list. The first font listed is Andale mono (Baltic). Pressing Esc removes the list and the box is blank again. Without MS Sans serif in the list, I wonder how I would ever get it back again if the font accidentally got changed. I'm frustrated that you all have no problem seeing the current font in the Font box when Message Box is highlighted!

Also, I clicked on Windows Standard and the text in the examples changed to some light-looking unnamed font - so I hit Esc to avoid unfixable changes.

To sum up, after many repeated attempts, the Font and Size box are still always blank (and available for entry) before clicking on the down arrow to bring up the list.

The answer may be in one of your comments - since I have an 18" LCD monitor, I do have font sizes set to Large 125% under Properties/ Settings/Advanced.

Thanks..





.

 

Time to check your fonts perhaps? Have you checked your font options in the word processor of your choice such as msword?

How many fonts do you actually have?
When you open the fonts folder via control panel does it have the option of installing fonts from the toolbar menu? Is the folder properties set for "system" folder?

Got a bootlog.txt in c: root or have you booted up and allowed one to be created recently. This would relect any corrupted ormissing fonts. Ran sfc: only interested in files flagged as corrupt.

=========F.Y.I.=====
Windows Standard theme's "messages text" is defaulted to black Ms San Serif 8 pt.....

I dunno?????????I dunno

 

Hi goddez1. I also run 98SE and have the same results as AZ Bob.
No listing in the fonts box.

 

The bootlog file doesn't have any corrupt fonts, but there was one entry where my video card (SIS-515) had a problem of some sort. I wonder if this all depends on what kind of card is used?

The Control Panel/Fonts toolbar does have a selection for "Install New Fonts" but the list is the same as under Properties/Appearance (maybe 100 fonts in all) and it does not include the MS default -- the one I need!

I wish Bill Gates would let me take him to lunch!

 

Guess what? I think I stumbled on the root cause for the invisible font. While trying to refresh my memory on how to make *fon visible in the fonts folder, a light-bulb went off. (By the way ms sans serif is a *.fon and named sserife.fon and serife.fon)

While in the fonts folder (via the control panel) click on the Font folders toolbar, click button named "view ", click folder options, click on the "true Type" tab and uncheck the option to "show only true type etc ". apply and restart computer.

See if the invisible "message text" font is now visible.

 

YESSS! That was the missing link! Thanks Ann!!

The font is displayed in those boxes as MS Sans serif size 10.

But......... now that I've seen the fix, something in my distant memory says there was a reason why I had checked the "show only TT" box in the first place. I'm thinking some other app is going to go bonkers because of the un-check....and if that happens I'll post it.

 

Ah ha! So that was it all along! Another small thing causing such a big nuisance.

Yes, I to, have some foggy memory about this option but I think it was more an optimization option as long as your printer or plotter was willing to use and print with true type. I have never had this checked and have not had any program problems although I'm sure there are some out there that this setting would be required for. There are always fussy exceptions.

Perhaps someone peeking in on this, who'd care to comment can fill in the holes, in both our memories...