Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts

by Vlad on 29/03/2009

Ever wonder why everything just looks a little bit better on a Mac? That’s because Apple OS X uses a different font rendering technology than Windows. That can easily be changed though, and there’s a little program that can do it with ease.

Now before I open up this can of worms, people each have their preference, and we can argue for days about which one is better. Personally, I like the way the OS X looks. GDI++, a Japanese application, does just that. It takes just about 5mb of memory and sits in your task tray, rendering everything on your system in GDI++ instead of ClearType (the typical windows font rendering tool). And when you disable it, it just puts everything back to the way it was. It’s really easy to activate, and gets rid of jaggy fonts. Below is a before and after screenshot taken of craigslist with and without GDI++ enabled:

Before

gdi_disabled

After

gdi_enabled
Here are some instructions on how to get this working on your computer:

  1. Download GDI++.
  2. Extract this ZIP file in any directory, for example:
    C:\gdi
  3. Double-click the file:
    gditray.exe
  4. Now, your task bar you can note a “G”, like the image:
    howto-image3
  5. Double-click it, it should start glowing green:
    howto-image4
  6. Enjoy this beautiful font-smoothing.

Originally found at Estevao Mascarenhas.

There are 83 comments in this article:

  1. 30/03/2009McColley.net » Blog Archive » GDI++ Adds OS X Font Rendering to Windows [Downloads] says:

    [...] XP users should make sure to install the Powerpoint viewer to get Vista’s better fonts on XP. Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts [digital [...]

  2. 30/03/2009Pak-Kei says:

    This experiment concludes that Windows’ font look better at smaller sizes, which is exactly what ClearType is good at. OSX had to adjust its fallacy of anti-aliasing by making the text of the whole system bigger.

    Thanks for the tool nevertheless. I’m sure people who like to dress their Windows like a Mac will be happy.

  3. 30/03/2009Victor Vasconcelos says:

    I’ll have to go on and say that ClearType is waay easier on the eyes. But Mac’s fonts are way more sexy, too.

  4. 30/03/2009Simon says:

    I think the osx rendering is a lot better, that text stands out more, its softer smoother. Give it a day of use and then turn it off, you’ll soon go back.

  5. 30/03/2009Graeme says:

    Works well on Windows 7 too. Some of the kerning at small font sizes is pretty poor, but I’ll give it a try for a day or two anyway. Thanks!

  6. 30/03/2009fejorca says:

    Tryed in vista home premium sp1 x64 with windows classic theme and it sucks! it looks really promising but it needs more work, cheers.

  7. 30/03/2009Vlad says:

    I think at first it’s pretty painful for the eyes, but after a day of using it I got really used to it.

    I keep switching back and forth. When I see large print using Georgia, I cringe at Windows font rendering. But when it comes to tiny Arial, it’s fine. The GDI++ seems to be vice versa.

  8. 30/03/2009GDI++ Adds OS X Font Rendering to Windows [Downloads] | Reviews Manual says:

    [...] attain trusty to install the Powerpoint viewer to intend Vista’s meliorate fonts on XP. Make Windows fonts countenance as uncreased as Mac OS X fonts [digital [...]

  9. 30/03/2009links for 2009-03-30 - graemef.com says:

    [...] Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts Ever wonder why everything just looks a little bit better on a Mac? That’s because Apple OS X uses a different font rendering technology than Windows. That can easily be changed though, and there’s a little program that can do it with ease. (tags: fonts windows utilities) [...]

  10. 30/03/2009r.müntinga says:

    wow thanks! nice one..

  11. 30/03/2009Malinthe says:

    I was waiting for something like this :D

  12. 30/03/2009vedang says:

    Thanks!

  13. 31/03/2009asmodeus says:

    Are there any settings to tweak antialiasing strenght?

  14. 31/03/2009Grzglo Tech Blog says:

    Antyaliasing z Mac OS X do Windows…

    Antyaliasing (ang. anti-aliasing) – zespół technik w informatyce służących zmniejszeniu błędów zniekształceniowych aliasing, powstających przy reprezentacji obrazu lub sygnału o wysokiej rozdzielczości w rozdzielczości mniejszej.

    W[…..

  15. 31/03/2009Grzglo Tech Blog says:

    Antyaliasing w stylu Mac OS X pod Windows…

    Antyaliasing (ang. anti-aliasing) – zespół technik w informatyce służących zmniejszeniu błędów zniekształceniowych aliasing, powstających przy reprezentacji obrazu lub sygnału o wysokiej rozdzielczości w rozdzielczości mniejszej.

    W[…..

  16. 31/03/2009Erik Lundmark says:

    “Could not load gdi++.dll” – Not missing any files, I’ve tried re-dl’ing it several times, and I’m unzipping it with 7z.
    What am I doing wrong?

  17. 31/03/2009GDI++ Adds OS X Font Rendering to Windows [Downloads] | Smartlogix Technologies says:

    [...] XP users should make sure to install the Powerpoint viewer to get Vista’s better fonts on XP. Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts [digital [...]

  18. 31/03/2009Online pe paine | Marius Sescu says:

    [...] Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts [...]

  19. 31/03/2009Manuel says:

    I like it, but the kerning of the letter “w” is quite more expanded than it needs to be.

    It looks like “w e” insted of “we”

  20. 31/03/2009Fei Long says:

    This is an old version of GDI++. If you get the latest version, you can tweak the antialiasing settings quite a bit, though you will likely have to do a lot of experimentation to get something you like.

  21. 31/03/2009McKack says:

    This works great for me, especially good-looking at medium setting (中) No kerning problems so far. Got some major problems in Firefox when I tried the latest version, so sticking with this one.

  22. 31/03/2009Vlad says:

    @Fei Long, I knew I saw a new version somewhere, but I remember it required hacking up some files and overwriting stuff in the directory. After I did that I remember some of the options not being easy to access. I’ll see if I can combine the new GDI++ source files with the ones I have and update the ZIP file.

  23. 31/03/2009Vlad says:

    @Erik Lundmark, I don’t know why it’s not loading. Is the DLL present? What OS are you on? Vista/XP/2000/7?

  24. 6/04/2009kompuntu says:

    I’m getting the same message as Eric there: Could not load gdi++.dll
    I’m on XP Pro SP2 (it actually worked earlier today on my work PC which is also XP Pro SP2).
    I disabled the guard function on my Avira AV. Same result. DLL is there. Files are fine.
    Do you need some sort of a debug log? Is there a way to produce one?

  25. 7/04/2009davidope says:

    thank you so much. that is that thing I was waiting for. the biggest improvement of my windows experience i can remember;)

  26. 10/04/2009Anonymous says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU.

  27. 15/04/2009GDI++ cambia el modo de “rasterizar” los fonts en Windows « Luisferfranco’s Weblog says:

    [...] Vía: Lifehacker vía Digital Parsimony [...]

  28. 28/04/2009Jesse says:

    Is it just me, or does the top one look better? If you want AA enabled fonts on your browser, just download Safari for Windows.

  29. 27/05/2009GARY0 says:

    You are not alone in thinking the top one is better. The only reason anyone would not think the top one was better is if they spent half their lives reading only screens that look like the bottom one.

    There is some objective proof that that the Windows font smoothing algorithm Clear Type is easier to read. Which one can be read at a greater distance. The simple test is put on your glasses if you need and set a Windows machine running Clear Type next to the newest Mac you can get. Run equally small font in say the same web page same DPI etc (Both must be LCD screens).

    I love my mac but I can move at least two feet further away than I can read my Mac and still easily read my windows / Clear Type screen.

    Proof two is simple look at letters such as lower case l llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
    On a Mac about 60 % of them will look fuzzy and gray while some will look really sharp. Now do the same on a windows screen running Clear Type. Every one will look the same very sharp.

    Some Mac enthusiasts bring up an argument which is completely in error. They say windows fonts are meant to look good on screen and Mac fonts are meant to look like the printed page. The truth is all font smoothing systems windows or Mac are meant to make a low res device, monitors are 72 to 120DPI, look more like a high res device print 600 to 1200+ DPI. Its plain simple truth Clear Type wins that contest by a landslide.

  30. 27/05/2009Vlad says:

    This is really a function over form argument. I definitely agree with you on the fact that you can read ClearType further away, but that isn’t the point. I rarely stand 15 feet away from my MacBook. I also notice GDI++ renders a bit differently than Apple’s closed-source font rendering, as well as the program having slightly different results on different operating systems.

  31. 6/06/2009syockit says:

    While the memory footprint is little, expect heavy processor load. I’ve it for a while on my little tablet PC, and it really gets sluggish after opening more than 2-3 windows. But for latest dual core processors, maybe the load becomes insignificant.

    gdi++ really makes a difference on Japanese display. The default cleartype looks horrible due to inconsistencies in stroke width.

  32. 11/06/2009generalpp10 says:

    I’m also getting the “Could not load gdi++.dll” message, I’m on xp sp3, can anyone help?

  33. 4/07/2009mfarooqi says:

    great man.. nice.. i like it..
    i had been looking for the font used in mac as flash scripting.. i found that.. but it was not exactly looking like, as it looks in mac… then i got realized… there must be some rendering differnece.. as in safari, or IE, and FF happends…
    .. great me..
    lovely.

  34. 17/07/2009Apathy Online » Blog Archive » Make Windows Fonts Readable with gdi++ says:

    [...] on Windows (Safari uses the MacOS font technology). That is, until about a month ago, when I read this post about gdi++. I use gdi++ under Windows now, and am not forced to use Safari at all anymore. Now I am back to [...]

  35. 28/07/2009ApoApostolov: Интересно: Make Windows fonts look as s.. - edno23.com says:

    [...] Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts | digital parsimony http://vladg.com/2009/03/make-windows-fonts-l…s-x-fonts/ в Любими преди 1 минута edno23.com Начало контакти [...]

  36. 8/08/2009George Jetson says:

    Is there a way to disable font smoothing on the titlebar? I’ve followed every guide out there but Windows insists on using its own rendering for the titlebar, taskbar, and parts of the control panel.

  37. 9/08/2009Hola PO! » GDI++ trae a Windows el renderizado de fuentes de Mac OS X says:

    [...] | Marcando diferencias > Digital Parsimony Enlace | [...]

  38. 9/08/2009GDI++ trae a Windows el renderizado de fuentes de Mac OS X : Blogografia says:

    [...] | Marcando diferencias > Digital Parsimony Enlace | [...]

  39. 9/08/2009GDI++ trae a Windows el renderizado de fuentes de Mac OS X | Moova! News on the Move says:

    [...] | Marcando diferencias > Digital Parsimony Enlace | [...]

  40. 10/08/2009Maya Lab » Blog Archive » GDI++ trae a Windows el renderizado de fuentes de Mac OS X says:

    [...] Marcando diferencias, Digital Parsimony y Genbeta Enlace: [...]

  41. 13/08/2009Josh says:

    I hate to bust your bubble, but there is no need for GDI++ font smoother. In Windows XP, just right click the desktop, select properties -> appearance -> effects -> and change the drop down menu for “Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts:” change from Standard to ClearType.

    I’ve compared the two, and the Windows ClearType is better than the GDI++ font. The GDI++ font crams the letters in a bit, and the Windows ClearType gives them slightly more spacing, making it easier on the eyes and easier to read fonts. Now you can have the smooth font without having to run 3rd party software in the background!

  42. 13/08/2009Josh says:

    also, if you want to custom tweak your Windows ClearType font, download the ClearType tuner PowerToy: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

    i prefer to use the smoothest and boldest options. but use whatever you like!

  43. 18/09/2009GDI++ trae a Windows el renderizado de fuentes de Mac OS X | Ricón de Ocio says:

    [...] Vía | Marcando diferencias > Digital Parsimony [...]

  44. 1/10/2009Wayne Dupree says:

    When I install this on my work computer it’s fine. When I get home and installed it no programs seem to want to open while it’s active. Is there a fix for this. I am running Windows XP, SP3.

  45. 1/10/2009Josh says:

    dont use this program at all. just enable ClearType font in Windows display settings under the Appearance tab. it’s smoother and better looking than GDI and unlike GDI you dont have to run extra software in the background. why run extra 3rd party software in the background when it doesn’t look as good as how windows’ option does? no reason to use this anymore fellas.

  46. 5/10/2009revuooooooooos of theeeeeeeeengs says:

    [...] http://vladg.com/2009/03/make-windows-fonts-look-as-smooth-as-mac-os-x-fonts/ [...]

  47. 25/10/2009Laink says:

    Awesome, thanks :O

  48. 19/11/2009eX.A.K.R. says:

    I think we need a 64-bit version of this – I’m trying this out and only the fonts in 32-bit applications are being smoothed.

    Keep up the good work here, though.

  49. 28/11/2009¿Fuentes en Windows tan suaves como en Mac OS X? Con GDI++, es posible. says:

    [...] digital parsomony: Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts [...]

  50. 30/11/2009Ameya says:

    Not quite there yet, but definitely an awesome effort !!!!

  51. 8/12/2009matt says:

    great program but doesn’t affect all the places eg menu line, context menus are not anti-aliased. I hope the next version will be fine. In the other hand i wonder why microsoft doesn’t support different antialiasing modes. they have stolen from mac os a lot already, so maybe one little thing more … ;P more usefull than stupid gadgets that doesn’t even properly sometimes

  52. 31/12/2009Hadee says:

    I’m getting the same message:

    GDI++ Controller
    Could not load gdi++.dll

    Any suggestions?

  53. 13/01/2010Få smoothe fonter på Windows (som på Mac) — mattisaas.no says:

    [...] er hentet fra digital posimony. Stikkord: cleartype, font, gdi, mac, smooth, tekst, typo, windows Skrevet 13. januar 2010 kl. [...]

  54. 14/01/2010Windows lettertypes zo smooth maken als Mac OS X dat doet | WordPress Dimensie says:

    [...] meer informatie en download link ga je naar: Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts op Digital Parsimony. Deel en bookmark [...]

  55. 26/01/2010brent says:

    for me, when I do all the steps from 1 – 4… my G doesn’t turn green when I double click it. It says when I mouse gover over it, “GDI++ is halt”

  56. 27/01/2010Typekit and Apple Font Rendering on Windows « Hamagudi says:

    [...] (the particular executable is called ‘gditray.exe’). You can read more on the utility here. Here is what the rendering looks like with GDI++ enabled and disabled on [...]

  57. 7/03/2010kadajawi says:

    @GARY0: No. The MacOS X and GDI++ font renderer is trying to make the fonts as they were supposed to look like. ClearType tries to squeeze the fonts around until they work on screen. It’s a different philosophy. I prefer Apple’s philosophy, and since I switched to GDI++ fonts look so beautiful it makes me want to read a lot on screen.

    You can experiment with the GDI++ settings a lot, like adjust the amount of hinting (beating the fonts into shape for the screen) you want. Just experiment with it. And no, you can not achieve the same effect with ClearType or any tool for ClearType, because Microsoft follows a different philosophy.

  58. 31/03/2010spk2629 says:

    Yeah, whatever, it would be nice if:
    A.) It would work,
    B.) There were instructions,
    C.) Those instructions were in $%&*ing English.

    Solution: Revo Uninstaller!!!

  59. 11/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! : Test Drive says:

    [...] GDI++ [...]

  60. 11/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! | ModCool says:

    [...] GDI++ [...]

  61. 11/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! | Tech News Ninja says:

    [...] GDI++ [...]

  62. 11/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! « AccessTech News says:

    [...] GDI++ [...]

  63. 11/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! « The BAT Channel says:

    [...] GDI++ [...]

  64. 11/05/2010Mike says:

    Doesn’t do anything when I double click on it (I’m using Windows 7 64bit).

  65. 12/05/2010¿Fuentes en Windows tan suaves como en Mac OS X? Con GDI++, es posible. | fernastro.com says:

    [...] digital parsomony: Make Windows fonts look as smooth as Mac OS X fonts etiquetas: fuentes, tipografia, windows Comparte esta entrada: [...]

  66. 28/05/2010Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows! | TechFreq News=- says:

    [...] GDI++ Prefer the look of fonts on OSX versus Windows’ Cleartype rendering?  There’s one way to adjust that and it won’t cost you the price of a brand-new operating system. Grab the freeware application GDI++ and run it. A little icon pops up in the corner of your system tray. Double-click it to activate it, turning the icon green, and your screen’s fonts will be rendered in–what else–GDI++ instead of Cleartype. Double-click the icon again to deactivate the new rendering and return to Windows’ default look. [...]

  67. 1/06/2010kim says:

    Doesn’t do anything when I double click on it (I’m using Windows 7 64bit). me too…

  68. 27/06/2010Shinji says:

    Before finding this website & software, I was seriously thinking to purchase the macbook just because of fonts I like to work with. Now I don’t wast my money to sell my Lenovo laptop and buy apple . . . thank you so much for saving my life!! (Just one thing concerned – I use the Vista 32 bit and this program is working well, but the “G” icon on the tasktray looks blue, not green. I don’t think it matters though . . . :)

  69. 27/07/2010malean says:

    Doesn’t this Doesn’t that… why should it? If your that interested and boy you are. Lets not pretend if you had bought your macbook it would of been a better summer.

  70. 26/09/2010Vivek says:

    Superb.. thanks alot for the creators of this useful piece of software.. now the text looks so smooth and soothing.. :)

  71. 15/10/2010Lala says:

    LOL it took you 7 minutes to double click the icon..

  72. 16/10/2010ZeDestructor says:

    For all us 64-bit users out there:

    The ezgdi and gdipp projects aim to port GDI++ to 64-bit. So far progress is good: both are functional and relatively stable.

    I personally use ezgdi since it does font scaling better even though it has issues with some applications. :(

  73. 17/10/2010Will says:

    I’m using 64bit version of Windows here. Here are some comparison screenshots:

    http://imgur.com/a/4Zrvv

    First is windows 7 standard, second with gdi++ enabled.

  74. 6/11/2010someguy says:

    Why do so many mac users wear glasses? Because the font rendering is so terrible.

  75. 5/01/2011masminant says:

    thanks brather its cool freeware – (http://forfatih.blogspot.com/)

  76. 15/01/2011PMW says:

    Nice effort. I run both Snow Leopard and Win 7. My experience has always been that Macs just look better. The text looks smooth and cool. Windows fonts look jagged. After reading the comments about the two, I’ve tested the two. I can read Windows fonts easier from a distance–they’re clearer. Mac fonts look mushy or cloudy. With ClearType, even enlarged fonts look good. Small ones are much easier to read than small Mac fonts. When I expand the Mac screen with zoom (ctrl+wheel) the fonts are much smoother and nice than say the little program ZoomIt for Windows. It’s not ZoomIt, it’s a cool app, but it’s just expanding Windows more pixelated fonts.
    Like so many things with Mac vs. Win it seems to come down to preference, habit and even devotion!
    My current opinion is that while Mac fonts may look cooler, they are harder to read–harder on the eyes. Much what others have said.
    Thanks for the effort on GDI++.

  77. 13/02/2011Marc says:

    I always enable this and it applies perfectly to all my fonts, but the one problem that I always have is that websites I access using Google Chrome aren’t smoothed out. However, when I use Firefox, they are smoothed out.. does anyone know why this is? Also, the font to the toolbar, tabs, etc. on Google Chrome *is* smoothed out, just not the text on the websites. I’m using Windows XP. I’d greatly appreciate if someone could give me a solution.

  78. 13/02/2011George says:

    Excellent tool. Must have for me, especially when writting lines and lines of code. Started looking for a better looking font the minute i tried developing in Ubuntu and realized how much better the fonts looks (traditionally a Windows developed). Using Consolas now makes sense (Inconsolatas as well).

    Also, Chrome doesn’t always render smoothed fonts as it attempts to do it’s own font rendering (as does Safari)

  79. 6/03/2011M says:

    UGH, THIS IS AWESOME! THANK YOU!!!

  80. 25/03/2011Chris says:

    It would have been better if only it worked on Firefox 4.

  81. 17/06/2011Una introducción breve a la nueva Caja de Música (en serio, breve) | La caja de música says:

    [...] descarga y ejecuta GDI++, un pequeño programa para Windows 2000, xp, Vista y 7 que mejora la calidad de las fuentes en [...]

  82. 7/10/2011[share] Membuat Font Windows Lebih Tajam « farezaa says:

    [...] silahkan download disini, GRATIS buat anda semua pengunjung blog saya :p KLIK GDI++ Mangstab [...]

  83. 2/11/2011Trevor Ray says:

    Chrome no longer supports GDIPP.
    Now looks funky.

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