Is it possible to disable ClearType in Internet Explorer 9 Beta

Question

Is it possible to disable ClearType in IE9b?

I know about Options->Advanced->Multimedia->"Always use ClearType in HTML" option, but that doesn't solve my problem.

btw, besides all web sites that are rendered with cleartype within IE (with Window set not tu use CT), problem is Google-Talk chat window which uses trident web engine and renders blurry text.

Answer 1

It is possible with a hack. Someone at https://softwareninjas.kilnhg.com/Repo/Open-Source/Group/DWrite-dll-Wrapper wrote dll wrapper and it looks genuine to me. I wrote about it at http://nolovelust.com/post/IE-9-and-Clear-Type.aspx#id_b505b9ba-f4af-4116-89d6-41bedfcfd1b9

Answer 2

It isn't very clear from Microsoft how this will work. It is discussed here at length with many users/developers complaining about ClearType:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2010/11/03/sub-pixel-fonts-in-ie9.aspx

ClearType font rendering is used in all IE9 document modes; sub-pixel positioning is used only in IE9’s default standards mode. IE9’s compatibility modes—Quirks, 7, and 8—use whole-pixel text metrics.

You're not the only one to complain about the ClearType being worse in IE9 than it was in IE8: https://connect.microsoft.com/IE/feedback/details/542316/font-rendering-is-worse-in-ie9-than-ie8?wa=wsignin1.0

From what I see in the comments, Microsoft has not yet clarified how this will be user-toggled, and if it will be an option during setup that the user can turn on or off.