Adjust Cygwin's BASH console to new large montior

Wow... I've just taken delivery of a fantastic 43" 4k monitor... i.e. resolution 3840 x 2160. This monitor is not big... it is COLOSSAL.

I'm in the process of taming and upgrading various apps and finding the right "graphics magnification", etc.

But the Cygwin BASH console is proving a difficult customer: the font for the whole window (including system menus, etc.) is FAR too large. Obviously I can adjust the size of the console text, but even at its lowest setting (8) the font is huge.

Does anyone know where Cygwin is getting this font size from and how I can adjust things?

mike rodent

Posted 2017-02-25T19:59:13.563

Reputation: 367

mintty terminal, also know as cygwin terminal, has its own font size setting. The menu is on the upper left corner of the window. – matzeri – 2017-02-25T20:20:37.720

You're talking about the "Options" dialog, right (right-click the "terminal" icon in the upper left)? As I say, I can adjust the *size of the text in the console* this way, but not the system menu font (or for that matter the title font). I explained this in my post: the lowest setting (8) for the console font is huge. I'm trying to find (sigh) where it gets its *system font* from. – mike rodent – 2017-02-25T20:36:59.130

see https://github.com/mintty/mintty/pull/588, you can add your case as additional inmput

– matzeri – 2017-02-26T06:52:26.730

Answers

Anyone encountering this problem:

After looking around for a long time for possible ways to alter system fonts in W10 (particularly in the registry), I finally came across a silly solution which worked:

Switch the scaling (i.e. Display Settings --> Change the size of text, apps...) back to 100% and reboot ... then apply your chosen scaling again. In my case 125%.

I can only assume that by fiddling around with the scaling a bit too much I had confused poor, sensitive little Windows 10 and its extremely, er, professionally designed configuration mechanism. Diddums.

mike rodent

Posted 2017-02-25T19:59:13.563

Reputation: 367

The lowest setting for the console text is actually 1: while 8 is the minimum size you can select graphically (with a mouse), a smaller number can be entered manually (by typing it).

As for the system menu and title font, I believe these settings are controlled by the system and can be adjusted in Control Panel -> Display (on Windows 7), although I can't test this right now.

simlev

Posted 2017-02-25T19:59:13.563

Reputation: 3 184

Thanks... I concur about the min size... and also about the (in W10) Control Panel --> Appearance & Personalisation --> Change the text size only. BUT ... haHAH... (Micro$oft are never going to make it easy for us, and obviously never open up their codes to scrutiny and fair appraisal)... it turns out that if I set these settings to small values so that Cygwin BASH is reasonable, the headings of most other apps become so small as to be illegible. In other words, it appears that Cygwin BASH is taking the "normal" size (e.g. for window titles) and applying a multiplication factor. – mike rodent – 2017-02-25T23:26:30.583