How to improve display quality and readability in Windows XP

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You installed Windows XP or you've upgraded your Internet Explorer browser and you don't like how fonts and characters are being displayed ? I am going to show you how I fixed the problem with my display quality after I upgraded my Internet Explorer 6 version to Internet Explorer 7. I would like to specify that this article is being useful to people who runs Windows XP and it doesn't apply to Windows Vista users.

You need to turn on Windows XP ClearType if your text is being displayed like in the left side, check the image below:

The left part is how a windows xp looks without having installed cleartype and in the right side you can see how well the text is being displayed

Now, I will show you how to improve your display quality over traditional forms of font smoothing or anti-aliasing in Windows XP. First of all you will need to download ClearType, there is also an online version of ClearType but I believe that it's better to proceed in this way. After download finishes, let's start the installation process of ClearType.

This is the first window from ClearType installation process

Choose "Next" and let's move further with the installation process, in the next window make sure to check "I accept the terms in the license agreement" and hit the "Next" button.

Select "I accept..." option so that we can continue with the installation of ClearType

Now, select again the "Install" button and the installation of ClearType should begin and finish in a couple of seconds:

Installation of ClearType will begin if you choose the "Install" button

After the installation completes, you should see a window like in the next picture, make sure to check the "Launch the Program" box and click on "Finish" button and ClearType should open.

This is the window that you should see if the installation of ClearType is complete

If you see this window, you have successfully installed ClearType on your computer. Before moving on, make sure that you check the small box with "Turn On ClearType" and select the second tab called "Advanced" ( look up in the left side of this window, near "Introduction" tab ) and you should see something like in the next image :

This is how ClearType Advanced tab looks on my computer

Probably you're asking yourself if you should modify anything here. The answer is YES if you don't like how the text inside of this window is being displayed or if you don't like the ClearType Constrast Setting, you can choose a Darker or a Lighter contrast but make sure to remember the position ( as you can see by default it's position 1.8 ). Also look in the left side and choose from the "LCD Screen Striping" - I prefer the first one but it may be a better solution for you the second one. Those settings worked perfect for me and I decided to leave them as they are. Now turn back to previous window by accessing the "Introduction" tab and press on the button called "Start Wizard". A new window will appear like in this picture :

Select the text that is viewed better by you by clicking on it. Select the left text or the right text and then press "Next"

As you can see, I chosed to select the left window with text because it's obviously that the appearence is superior, you can choose the one that looks better for you and press "Next".

Take a good look at those six text windows and choose the best one by selecting it with a mouse click.

As you can see I chosed the text window highlighted with a blue color but you need to select your own text window. If you think that this is the best option for your display choose it, if not take a good look and select the one that is comfortable with your eyes. If you decided which text window is the best one for your eyes, press the "Next" button.

This is the last window and it means that the setup of ClearType has finished. It also shows you how text will be displayed on different fonts. If you want to change something, you can use the "Back" button and start over with the setup process.

If you don't see any text improvements you may be using a different Windows version, other one than Windows XP. Also if you're using Windows Vista, those settings should be present because Vista implements ClearType view by default. Any other problems should be related to your video card drivers or anything else. This article shows you how to improve readability on color LCD displays with a digital interface, such as those in notebooks and high-quality ( also known as HD ) flat panel displays. It could also help people that use CRT screens as they should see some readability improvements. You can always repeat the steps that we have presented in this article by reinstalling ClearType and repeating the setup wizard procedure.