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I've built a site for a company and i used a google webfont on some of the text. Problem is - Text looks sharp and good on both my computers (mac and pc). But when my customer is viewing the webpage on their computer its all grumpy and very hard to read... They run Internet explorer 8 - it shouldnt be any problem.

Any suggestions what could be wrong?

Screenshot from their computer

enter image description here

Fruxelot
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1 Answers1

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Looks like an issue with ClearType. What version of Windows do they have? I bet it's XP.

This article explains how to set up ClearType

http://www.jvfconsulting.com/blog/27/Mozilla_FireFox_Tips_Tricks_Activate_ClearType_Font.html

You can then use Microsoft's web tool to fine tune ClearType if it still looks a little wonky

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/step1.aspx

Edit

If you're worried about general users having the same issue, one possible solution is to detect if ClearType is enabled or not, and then change the font-family accordingly.

Look here for details: Can you detect if Cleartype is enabled on PC via javascript?

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OACDesigns
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  • Yea, I had the same problem myself with the first website I built. Unfortunately I didn't find any great solution for users who have a badly set up computer. Usually it seems to be enabled by default, so it might only be a few users who see the crappy text. Not a great answer I know, but you'll always get a small minority of users who will have javascript disabled, sometimes even images. They will always have a crappy experience of the internet as a whole. – OACDesigns Apr 04 '12 at 13:19
  • You can't force peoples computer to use clearfont via some css hack or something? – Fruxelot Apr 04 '12 at 13:36
  • from the research I did before, no. There's no way to force a client via a hack or anything. I think there were addons for firefox, but obviously the user would have to have these downloaded and enabled. ...I've just edited my answer with a suggestion. – OACDesigns Apr 04 '12 at 15:31