SpaceClav
asked on
Icons look fuzzy, blurred, terrible in MS Office 2003
I have just installed MS Office 2003. It's a clean install, not an upgrade, right after fresh install of Windows XP Pro with SP1 and all security patches after SP1.
The problem is that all icons in the whole MS Office suite look just awful: fuzzy and blurred, as if they were just enlarged 16x16 icons. This is most evident when I switch to large icons, but even the small ones are terrible.
I have uploaded the screenshots to ilustrate my problem. The screen shots are from Outlook, but as I mentioned, the problem is the same in all MS Office apps. You can have a look at the images here: http://yellowshark.republika.pl/
I have searched the Internet for some screenshots of MS Office 2003 and I see, that the icons look nice on others' people machines :)
I have read somewhere, that MS Office 2003 uses windows' Themes to display its toolbars. So I have enabled the Themes service (which I usually switch off). I have also switched to 16bit color mode and back to 32bit to make sure icons in cache would be replaced with the right ones (I found that suggestion somewhere). As you can guess, all that didn't help. My icons still look BAD.
If that's of any importance I have Radeon 9600XT graphics card, and Catalyst 4.4 drivers.
The problem is that all icons in the whole MS Office suite look just awful: fuzzy and blurred, as if they were just enlarged 16x16 icons. This is most evident when I switch to large icons, but even the small ones are terrible.
I have uploaded the screenshots to ilustrate my problem. The screen shots are from Outlook, but as I mentioned, the problem is the same in all MS Office apps. You can have a look at the images here: http://yellowshark.republika.pl/
I have searched the Internet for some screenshots of MS Office 2003 and I see, that the icons look nice on others' people machines :)
I have read somewhere, that MS Office 2003 uses windows' Themes to display its toolbars. So I have enabled the Themes service (which I usually switch off). I have also switched to 16bit color mode and back to 32bit to make sure icons in cache would be replaced with the right ones (I found that suggestion somewhere). As you can guess, all that didn't help. My icons still look BAD.
If that's of any importance I have Radeon 9600XT graphics card, and Catalyst 4.4 drivers.
What is your Screen Resolution set at? You may want to try some different settings and see if that helps. Right click on any blank area on your desktop, go to Properties, Screen Resolution and try some different resolutions (higher). See if this makes a difference.
ASKER
Thanks for your comment ...
My current res is 1600x1200, 32bit, 85Hz. Any higher and my monitor won't apprieciate it :)
Changing to lower res doesn't help. Well, I could set 96dpi fonts if I lower the resolution (which would cure the icons), but I would miss the higher res. And at 1600x1200 I really need 120dpi to be able to read it. My monitor is 19".
My current res is 1600x1200, 32bit, 85Hz. Any higher and my monitor won't apprieciate it :)
Changing to lower res doesn't help. Well, I could set 96dpi fonts if I lower the resolution (which would cure the icons), but I would miss the higher res. And at 1600x1200 I really need 120dpi to be able to read it. My monitor is 19".
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Yes SpaceClav - you can go here and ask for a refund
https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/
Glad you got it worked out.
https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/
Glad you got it worked out.
SpaceClav,
Points refunded and question saved as PAQ.
byundt--Office TA Page Editor
Points refunded and question saved as PAQ.
byundt--Office TA Page Editor
ASKER
Thank you very much.
BTW, I'm back to Office XP.
BTW, I'm back to Office XP.
ASKER
If I select Large Icons in MS Office 2003 settings (under Customize) the icons look nasty whatever dpi I have (both 96 and 120).
So it seems that standard icons were designed for 96dpi fonts, and these icons get scaled whenever they should be displayed larger - so if I select Large Icons or change my dpi settings. But I don't think that's the way it should be. Shoudn't there be few sets of icons embeded in Office files to fit different sizes, like 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48 or what have you?
I also have reinstalled Windows XP, this time without even switching off the Themes service in a first place. I have also stayed with the default blue theme of Windows XP (which I don't like). Then I have installed this MS Office 2003 again with everything on defaults. The problem with the nasty looking icons remains!
Any ideas?