Fonts in a 2007 Office program may not appear as clear as expected

When you run a 2007 Microsoft Office program, fonts may not appear as clear as expected.

Note Fonts in a 2007 Office program affect how the following types of text appear:

• Document text
• Menu text
• Ribbon text
• Toolbar text

This issue may occur on some computer monitors that do not automatically show ClearType fonts as clear as expected. For example, this issue may occur more frequently on a computer that has a CRT-based display.

Note ClearType fonts are optimized to appear clearer on LCD displays and flat-panel displays, but may vary based on user experience. Therefore, some fine-tuning of the ClearType fonts may be necessary for you to view the ClearType fonts as clear as expected.

To work around this issue, use one or more of the following methods.

Method 1: Run the ClearType Tuning tool

The ClearType Tuning tool is a Microsoft Windows PowerToy that lets you turn on ClearType settings and adjust the settings by using Control Panel.

To download the ClearType Tuning tool, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Method 2: Turn off ClearType fonts

Note We do not recommend that you turn off ClearType fonts.

The 2007 Office programs have been optimized to use ClearType fonts. This is especially true in Microsoft Office Word 2007. ClearType fonts are always used in Reading Layout view.

If you turn off ClearType fonts in one of the 2007 Office programs, ClearType fonts are turned off in all the 2007 Office programs. If you run the 2007 Office programs on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, text in the 2007 Office programs is rendered by using ClearType fonts regardless of the system setting. If you do not want to use ClearType fonts, you can turn them off, and the 2007 Office programs will follow the system setting. If you are running Windows Vista, the 2007 Office programs will always follow the system setting.

Note ClearType fonts make text easier to read. If you change this setting, you must restart the 2007 Office program for the change to take effect.

To turn off ClearType fonts in a 2007 Office program, use one of the following methods:

• Microsoft Office Access 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, or Microsoft Office Word 2007

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click program Options.
  2. Click Popular.
  3. Under Top options in working with program, click to clear the Always use ClearType check box.
  4. Click OK to close the program Options dialog box.
  5. Restart the 2007 Office program.

• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Mail Format tab, and then click Editor Options.
  3. Under Working with Outlook and other Microsoft Office programs, click to clear the Always use ClearType check box.
  4. Click OK to close the Editor Options dialog box.
  5. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
  6. Restart Outlook 2007.

Method 3: Change the system setting

To change the system setting, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Display.
2. Click the Appearance tab, and then click Effects.
3. In the Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts box, click Standard.
4. Click OK to close the Effects dialog box.
5. Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box.

For more information about ClearType fonts, visit the following Microsoft Web site: