µVISION: Windows 10 editor, fonts out of focus

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Information in this knowledgebase article applies to:

• Windows 10
• MDK v5.16 or newer versions
• C51 v9.55 or newer versions
• C166 v7.56 or newer versions

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SYMPTOM

In the µVision editor window and other dialogues, the text of a source file appears fuzzy or blurry. How can I resolve this?

CAUSE

This issue occurs if Windows 10 attempts to scale the font in the editor of µVision, based on the OS display settings. The following is known to worsen the issue:

• Some virtualizations, such as VMWare Retina Resolution,
• UTF-8 or ANSI encodings, and
• Certain fonts, such as Courier New.

RESOLUTION

There are two ways to resolve issue:

• Directly configure the IDE to override OS scaling, or
• Turn Windows 10 scaling back to 100%.

The first method is recommended.

To configure the editor's display, directly:

1. Go to the installation of the µVision IDE. The default location is C:\Keil_v5.
2. Go to the UV4 folder, and right click on the file UV4.exe.
3. Goto Properties => Compatibility tab => Settings. Enable Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by: Application.

   Note: The other options, System or System (Enhanced), will
   not resolve the issue.
   

   Note: MDK-ARM users can also improve the visibility of the Pack Installer,
   by making the same modification to PackInstaller.exe
   

4. Close and re-open the IDE. Now, crisp text appears.

To modify Windows 10 scaling, first, close µVision.

Note: This approach will affect all applications.

Then right-click on your desktop background. Go to Display Settings => Scale and Layout => Change the size of text, apps, and other items. Select 100%. When this setting is not 100%, the OS attempts to scale multiple parts of µVision, which causes the main issue. Now, re-open the IDE.

WORKAROUND

If, for some reason, the above solutions are not available, there are workarounds for the µVision editor. Try using Courier font and a Korean or Japanese encoding, to lessen the effect.

STATUS

There are no plans to extend the IDE with high DPI scaling capabilities.

MORE INFORMATION

• Refer to Configuring the Editor in the µVision User's Guide.

SEE ALSO

• µVision: Changing Editor Font Type, Size, Color

Last Reviewed: Monday, December 21, 2020

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