ZoomText - Change in font smoothing in Edge/Chrome/Firefox
Problem
A ZoomText user who used to operate Internet Explorer who then migrates to Edge/Chrome/Firedox browsers notices a change/loss of font smoothing whilst browising the web.
Applies to
- ZoomText
- Fusion
Note
This article discusses ongoing issues with ZoomText font smoothing. Freedom Scientific propose to improve support in on an application by application basis to restore xFont support. This is in active development and may be made available via software update.
Resolution
- Historically ZoomText had xFont support in Internet Explorer which was retired by Microsoft.
- In Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox the nature of font smoothing is changed due to the technicaL security of thewse browsers which prevents the use of xFont smoothing.
- Freedom Scientific are aware of the limitation and are engaged in restoring xFont to modern browsers. However as each browser works so differently a unique solution for each browser has to be developed.
ZoomText 2022 and earlier
The xFont feature was disabled part way through the 2022 cycle with Internet Explorer which has now since been retired. This decision was made due to their being fewer places where xFont successfully operated. This also applies to Microsoft Office 2013 and above also. Users are advised xFon is restored in ZoomText 2024 with the most recent versions of Microsoft Office. Work to restore xFont elsewhere is still ongoing.
Why has this happened
Since the development of Internet Explorer and other older applications developers have been forced by OS vendors and software frameworks to adopt more secure ways of operating to harden themselves against exterenal attack. This has caused software like ZoomText to fail to replace fonts with these applications and remain stable. A technical solution must be co-developed by Freedom Scientific and the app developer to allow xFont style font smoothing to be available once more in such applications. Each browser developer works in a different way which forces Freedom Scientific to create a bespoke solutin for each applicastion.
Related Articles
ZoomText - Font Smoothing problems and development road map
Problem ZoomText/Fusion customers may face problems with the quality of font smoothing in ZoomText. These may still present with older versions of Microsoft Office and with the current main web browsers. Detailed below is the position with respect to ...ZoomText – New font smoothing support in 2024 with Microsoft Office
Problem A customer has a question regarding the newly introduced xFont smoothing support and compatibility Microsoft office versions. Affected products ZoomText Fusion Resolution Freedom Scientific have advised Office Version 2307 (Build 16626.20170) ...JAWS - Internet web browsing hotkey shortcuts
Problem A new JAWS customer may wish to know hotkeys that can be used for navigating web pages intelligently and efficiently rather than using the ARROW keys only. Detail JAWS has a rich set of hotkeys for browsing the web. In the main these hotkeys ...General – Change web browser start up page (Windows & Mac)
Problem A customer wishes to change the page that opens when their browser is first starts in the Microsoft Windows or Mac operating systems. Resolution Below are instructions for changing the start up page for the most common web browsers supported ...ZoomText/Fusion – Enable the new xFont smoothing in version 2024
Problem A ZoomText/Fusion 2024 customer experiences poor font smoothing in Microsoft Office applications. Resolution From version 2024.2312 ZoomText/Fusion has newly refactored magnification engine that supports better font smoothing, to enable this ...