[Webkit-unassigned] [Bug 18001] point text too small at high system DPI

Thu Jul 21 10:37:59 PDT 2011

https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18001

Gérard Talbot <browserbugs at gtalbot.org> changed:

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--- Comment #14 from Gérard Talbot <browserbugs at gtalbot.org>  2011-07-21 10:37:59 PST ---
(In reply to comment #0)
> On a 144 DPI system, the system menu text (CSS font-family: menu) used for the app menus is 17px for apps like Firefox. Safari is arbitrarily assuming 96 DPI, which makes its menu text only 13px. That's a net size (size is area, not height) difference of (17^2 - 13^2) / 17^2 = (289 - 169) / 289  = -41.52% for Safari UI text compared to other apps' UI text. The same impact applies on web pages that size text in pt.

Felix,

I agree with your analysis. If I could vote for this bug, I would but it is not possible at bugs.webkit.org

I always wondered why the text of menu bar and of other toolbars in Safari was so tiny and has been tiny for so long with no one apparently complaining about this or noticing this.

2 other points with regards to the menu bar and other toolbars in Safari 5.1.

1-
The text is black on mid-dark grey. Compared to Firefox in your attachment 19950, the grey used by Firefox is lighter. This too makes it objectively harder, more difficult to read. There are known standards for sufficient color contrast/color brightness (for web content legibility though but even there...) and I believe Safari would fail here (one can use the The Juicy Studio CSS analyzer on this) .

Effective Color Contrast by Lighthouse International
http://www.lighthouse.org/accessibility/design/accessible-print-design/effective-color-contrast

Techniques For Accessibility Evaluation And Repair Tools from W3C
http://www.w3.org/TR/AERT#color-contrast 

2- Even the system command buttons for the window are smaller too: just compare them in your attachment 19950 . That too contributes to makes the interface more difficult to use: it requires more mouse control (motricity) precision.

> Safari should at least via option if not by default use the same "menu" text as other apps for its menus and dialogs.

I think it should be by default, not via option.

regards, Gérard Talbot

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