How to change your fonts in Windows Vista

Step 1: Open the 'Advanced Appearance' window

Open the 'Ease of Access Center' window by pressing the Windows key + U or clicking the 'Start' button, followed by 'Control Panel', then 'Ease of Access', then 'Ease of Access Center'.

Under the 'Explore all settings' header, click on 'Make the computer easier to see' (Fig 1) or press Tab until it is highlighted and then press Enter.

Fig 1

Under the 'Make things on the screen easier to see' header (Fig 2), click on 'Fine tune display effects', or press Alt + C.

Fig 2

This will open the 'Appearance Settings' window shown in Fig 3. Click on the 'Advanced' button or press Alt + D to open the 'Advanced Appearance' window shown in Fig 4.

Fig 3

Step 2: Change your fonts

In the 'Advanced Appearance' window (Fig 4), click on the drop-down button under the 'Item' header or press Alt + I, then use the mouse or arrow keys to scroll through the list of items that can be changed.

Fig 4

If it is possible to change the font for a particular 'Item', the second row of buttons (below the 'Font' header) will become active. For example, if 'Menu' is selected in the list. You can change the fonts for the following 'Items'.

• Active titlebar
• Icon
• Inactive titlebar
• Menu
• Message box
• Palette title
• Selected items
• Tooltip

To change the font used for 'Menu' (as the example in Fig 4 shows), click on the drop-down button under the 'Font' header or press Alt + F, then use the mouse or arrow keys to scroll through the list of fonts to choose the one you want.

To change the size of the font you have chosen, click the drop-down button below the 'Size' header or press Alt + E, then use the mouse or arrow keys to scroll through the list of font sizes.

When you've made all your changes, click the 'OK' button or press Enter to return to the 'Appearance Settings' window (Fig 3). Click the 'Apply' button or press Alt + A to see how the changes look. If you are satisfied, click the 'OK' button or press Enter to finish.

Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings cannot be changed due to local IT policies - contact your local IT support for further help.