Fonts look blurry

This article is no longer maintained, so its content might be out of date.

If you are using Windows Vista or 7, text in Firefox may appear blurry or pixelated. This is usually due to Windows ClearType not being turned on. This article will explain how to enable it.

Note: This article only applies to Windows systems.

Fix blurry fonts by turning on ClearType

  1. In Windows, click Small Vista Logo and type cleartype in the search box.
  2. Click Adjust ClearType text to open the ClearType control panel. Blurry Fonts 2
  3. Check Turn on ClearType and then Next to fine tune your settings.Blurry Fonts 3
  4. After you fine tune the ClearType settings, click Finish to accept them.

The text in Firefox should now look good.

Blurry Fonts 1

Improve your computer's performance with ClearType turned on

Some computers run slower with ClearType turned on. If you are using Windows 7, you may be able to improve your computer's performance by installing the following updates from Microsoft.com:

These recommended updates can be installed using Windows Update. If you need help with Windows Update, see Microsoft's article Install Windows updates in Windows 7 .

Note: These updates may already be installed on your computer, depending on your Windows Update settings and whether you have also installed Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Internet Explorer 9.


I'm still having problems, what else can I do?

It's possible that you are also experiencing issues related to outdated graphics card drivers. See Upgrade your graphics drivers to use hardware acceleration and WebGL for more information, including how to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox as a possible workaround.

 

These fine people helped write this article:

AliceWyman, Underpass, Michael Verdi, scoobidiver, Swarnava Sengupta
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