GNOME.org

Fonts and Text

Even to a user with normal vision, textual output provides the majority of the information and feedback in most applications. It is therefore critical to choose and position text carefully on the screen, and leave the choice of font and size to the user, to ensure that people with vision impairments can also use your application effectively.

  • Don't hard-code font styles and sizes. The user should be able to adjust all sizes and typefaces. If for some reason you cannot make this functionality available, never hardcode any font sizes smaller than 10 points.
  • Provide options to turn off any graphical backdrops or "watermarks" behind text. Such images interfere with the contrast between the text and its background, which can cause difficulty for users with visual impairments.
  • Label objects with names that make sense when taken out of context. Users relying on screen readers or similar assistive technologies will not necessarily be able to immediately understand the relationship between a control and those surrounding it.
  • Don't use the same label more than once in the same window. If you use the same label in different windows, it will help if it means the same thing in both windows. Also, don't use labels that are spelled differently but sound the same, e.g. "Read" and "Red", as this could be confusing for users relying on screen-readers.
  • Position labels consistently throughout your application. This normally means immediately below large icons, immediately to the right of small icons, and immediately above or to the left of other controls. See Fonts and Text Examples.
  • When you use static text to label a control, end the label with a colon. For example, Username: to label a text field into which the user should type their username. This helps identify it as a control's label rather than an independent item of text.
  • When you use static text to label a control, ensure that the label immediately precedes that control in the Tab order. This will ensure that the mnemonic (underlined character) you assign to the label will move focus to or activate the correct control when pressed.
  • Provide alternatives to WYSIWYG. Some users may need to print text in a small font but edit in a larger screen font, for example. Possible alternatives include displaying all text in the same font and size (both of which are chosen by the user); a "wrap-to-window" option that allows you to read all the text in a window without scrolling horizontally; a single column view that shows the window's contents in a single column even if they will be printed in multiple columns; and a text-only view, where graphics are shown as placeholders or text descriptions. If the application has panels with child controls, consider allowing the panels to resize along with the parent window.
Fonts and Text Examples

About