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How do I increase the font size in Android

I often do not have my glasses and cannot read the screen without them. On WinMo there was a setting to change the default text size. Does such a setting exist in Android?

anyone? 10chars

There is a new app today in the market for *rooted* phones only, called Font Size.
It is still in beta and you'll need to have a good backup first in case of problems. I am running a rooted Nexus one and although it rebooted twice in a row after installation, it now works perfectly.

If you are running a rom with spares parts you can change it with that.
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

Mdawg112 said:
If you are running a rom with spares parts you can change it with that.
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or... You can download spare parts from the market. LOL.

Or you can just pinch and zoom ...

peadarog said:
There is a new app today in the market for *rooted* phones only, called Font Size.
It is still in beta and you'll need to have a good backup first in case of problems. I am running a rooted Nexus one and although it rebooted twice in a row after installation, it now works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was searching for something like rhis and worked fine.
Cheers.

sms text size works pretty good, its free and in the market

Or if your rooted and feel comfortable changing things. You can go into the build file ( which is a text file you can view through ES File Explorer and give the App super user abilities ( which you HAVE to change in the settings of the app as when the app boots it's already given those permissions. You need to give it permission to overwrite files ) Go to the System Folder which is located on the phone not the SD Card. Once viewing the build file.. in the middle of the text file you'll see 160 DPI is the default value, just under that are two values ( both stock at 160 ) and you change those. If you go to 180 everything on the phone becomes bigger or 140 and things become smaller ( Apps, text, everything ) then follows the instructions after which is to reboot the phone...all settings will take place.
Just do NOT change anything else in the build file.

font size
How do i get to the build file? is it in an app or in my 4G.

font size
Hi,
Found the build file and changed from 160 DPI to 180 DPI but when I reboot it does not overwrite the change. How do I get the change to stick.

jmascia said:
Hi,
Found the build file and changed from 160 DPI to 180 DPI but when I reboot it does not overwrite the change. How do I get the change to stick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attach your build.prop here and I'll take a look at it.
You might need to rename it to .txt or put it in a .zip

jmascia said:
Hi,
Found the build file and changed from 160 DPI to 180 DPI but when I reboot it does not overwrite the change. How do I get the change to stick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you editing build.prop?
Also your rom must support DPI changes, not all of them do, which rom is this?
Once you change that number it should NOT get overwritten.
Spare parts will change menu font size, but won't stick after your screen rotates. If you have rotation off you should be fine. Otherwise the CM community is trying to get that option in spare parts to work, but it's not cooperating. Editing build.prop is probably the best bet.

ROM??? this is way out of my league. I tried spare parts but was unclear how to increase fonts. it seemed to only increase font in one menu screen.
not sure how to attach build prop.

DPI changes not just the font, but everything, like if your font gets bigger, so do your icons, menus, etc. That does work if you want that result. If you want to change ONLY your system font size and nothing else, you can go read this info, and change it this way:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=990853

I need to change the size of the font in my contacts for EVO 4G

jmascia said:
I need to change the size of the font in my contacts for EVO 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're running CM7 there should be an option for changing contact text size. I've never used it, but I know it's there.
You should also be asking this in their forum btw
Sent from my Android using Tapatalk

Doesn't anybody else think it's pretty bad this option isn't available by default on Android? Not everybody wants to root their phones. Not everybody knows a 3rd party app for this exists (and it doesn't even seem to work globally for all text to begin with).
Definite downside, in my opinion.

JaSauders said:
Doesn't anybody else think it's pretty bad this option isn't available by default on Android? Not everybody wants to root their phones. Not everybody knows a 3rd party app for this exists (and it doesn't even seem to work globally for all text to begin with).
Definite downside, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talk to or email google about it. Actually, I believe there's a request for it somewhere on the aosp features page (something like that) you can star the issue and try to get more people to join it. Maybe google will look into it...
At least that's a better option than wishing constantly and not taking action
Sent from my Android using Tapatalk

Use Spare Parts named app from market. It can directly make bigger your all fonts + no root.

[GUIDE] Edit your build.prop (Root Explorer - ES File Explorer) for LCD density

This guide was originally just for LCD density tweaks but it is also a good guide on how to edit your build.prop file using two methods (one paid app one free app). For a great list of other configuration settings you can work with head over to this thread.
Super Build.prop Tweaks
With our qHD resolutions we have the ability to easily read very small text or see small images clearly. Take that to the next step and decrease your LCD density and you can make things even smaller on the screen while still being clear and legible. Here is how you do it.
You WILL need to be S-OFF and permanently rooted. Click here for ikhzter's excellent guide for obtaining S-OFF and root. AND ALWAYS DO CLOCKWORK BACKUPS!
Spareparts is recommended. Get it here from the market. It's not needed for just editing your build.prop but it's handy for any Sensation owner.
You will also need a file explorer application that allows you R/W access. I use Root Explorer. It's not free but cheap and probably the best one out there. ES File Explorer is free and it supports R/W and root level access but it's a beta function. It does seem to work fine. Both options will require superuser access so allow it if you get the prompt. When you load the application you should see a message at the bottom "xxx has been granted superuser permission".
Root Explorer Method
Step 1: Open Root Explorer ("allow" superuser if first time loading) and you should be at the root partition. / Scroll down and select "system". You should now be located in /system.
Step 2: Select the "Mount R/W" button at the top. The "r/o" to the left of the button should change to "r/w".
Step 3: Long press build.prop and "Open in Text Editor".
Step 4: Scroll about half way down and find the line "ro.sf.lcd_density=240". Change it to a value you like 167/180/200/220. (I'm using 187 right now).
Step 5: Select the "menu" button on your phone and then select "Save Changes". Root Explorer will make a nice build.prop.bak backup for you.
Step 6: Open the Spare Parts application and make sure "Compatibility Mode" is unchecked.
Step 7: Reboot your phone.
ES File Explorer Method
Step 1: Open ES File Explorer and select your "menu" button on your phone then select "settings". Scroll down and check "Root Explorer" and select "yes" for the experimental feature. Superuser will pop up so "allow" it and check "remember". Check "Mount File System". Select your "back" button on your phone.
Step 2: You should be at the sdcard partition. /sdcard Select the sdcard image in the top left and it should change to a home image. You should now be at root. / Scroll down and select "system". You should now be located in /system.
Step 3: Press build.prop and select "ES Note Editor".
Step 4: Scroll about half way down and find the line "ro.sf.lcd_density=240". Change it to a value you like 167/180/200/220. (I'm using 187 right now).
Step 5: Select the "menu" button on your phone and then select "save".
Step 6: Open the Spare Parts application and make sure "Compatibility Mode" is unchecked.
Step 7: Reboot your phone.
If you changed to something like 167 or 180 you should easily see the change as many things are now much smaller. If you don't like the results you can try changing to a different value. Just reboot after each change. BE VERY CAREFUL trying a very low value. 167 is probably too small so try that first if you want to be extreme. I have tested 167/180/200/220. They all work but some things might seem a little weird. Still testing mine and seeing what I like best.
-Testing Update-
Looks like Sense related stuff can have issues. I've had the Sense launcher not work at all for me, but work after factory reset with LCD density still changed. Some Sense pieces scale and some don't but still work. If you use the Sense launcher LCD density changes might produce odd results.
Non-Sense (not HTC created) related things like alternative launchers or lockscreens, apps, etc work great so far. This guide will become more relevant after ROMs like CM or MiUi come out.
If you mess up your build.prop and can not get into Android read here:
In a command prompt:
- adb pull /system/build.prop
- edit the file
- save the file
- adb shell mount -o remount rw /system
- adb reboot

you can do this but allot of people want easy so just use LCD Density in the market

RANDYRKELLY said:
you can do this but allot of people want easy so just use LCD Density in the market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you fully reboot or pull the battery it doesn't stay. The app that does it permanently for you costs money. This way is free and sticks after reboots and battery pulls.
-Edit-
Just tested LCD density and it doesn't even work at all for me. Won't change it.

digiholic said:
If you fully reboot or pull the battery it doesn't stay. The app that does it permanently for you costs money. This way is free and sticks after reboots and battery pulls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your correct on that, but we all know how noobs r

I followed the steps for the root explorer but im stuck at the t-mobile logo. my phone boots into h-boot and recovery but wont go past boot screen. anyway i can get past this without factory reseting?

this was one of the big reasons i wanted root. i used to use 167 on my hd2..tried 167 on my sensation and it kill my lock ring graphics on m-deejay's new rom..im using 200 now and it is plenty small...like mcdonalds "im loving it"

Fantastic and easy guide, my sensation looks great on 180, some small issues with scaling on some aspects ie sim unlock usable but main keyboard scales ok.
Thanks
edit 200-210 looks sexier

jyabor91 said:
I followed the steps for the root explorer but im stuck at the t-mobile logo. my phone boots into h-boot and recovery but wont go past boot screen. anyway i can get past this without factory reseting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pull the battery and boot again. I've seen this before too.
Unless... you tried that. Then I would wonder if you editing something else by accident in the prop file? Did you do a recovery backup recently?
b14ckd34th said:
this was one of the big reasons i wanted root. i used to use 167 on my hd2..tried 167 on my sensation and it kill my lock ring graphics on m-deejay's new rom..im using 200 now and it is plenty small...like mcdonalds "im loving it"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works on the stock lockscreen at 167.
kloopk said:
Fantastic and easy guide, my sensation looks great on 180, some small issues with scaling on some aspects ie sim unlock usable but main keyboard scales ok.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Sense mail client for my work Exchange does not work at 180 or lower... grrr... email page blank.

jyabor91 said:
I followed the steps for the root explorer but im stuck at the t-mobile logo. my phone boots into h-boot and recovery but wont go past boot screen. anyway i can get past this without factory reseting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its a problem in HTC Sense , i Installed ADW launcher and boots fine. Try installing a different launcher before changing LCD density.

Thanks... need to reflash becouse of this
Phone stuck at htc logo screen

Has anyone tried INCREASING density, perhaps to 260ish? I actually want things to appear larger on the screen... I'm sure that's not the popular preference but it's mine

I don't understand Step 6. Where is that Spare Parts application?

Stuck at bootannimation..Never installed sparepats

lp1527 said:
Has anyone tried INCREASING density, perhaps to 260ish? I actually want things to appear larger on the screen... I'm sure that's not the popular preference but it's mine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it works fine, increased it to 300, but didn't like it. Also for people who are stuck at boot animation, do you have stock HTC sense launcher? Seems if the display density is low then it refuses to load. Here's what happened to me.
1. Changed density as OP
2. Stuck at boot animation
3. Plugged in to my PC and the USB option menu showed up, showing it had booted
4. Installed ADW and set that to default launcher to see if that would work.
5. It did!
That's how i fixed it.

I forgot spareparts isn't automatically installed. You can get it off the market. I'll edit the OP.
I did a factory reset and Sense was working for me at 187. Launcher and everything. I'm finding that LCD density tweaks work best when we are not using Sense related stuff. Lame I know... just one more reason Sense will push me to CM or MiUi.

190 works for me..Looks Really Nice

Just changing it to 220 works fine using stock HTC sense on sensation, looks better and the only weird thing is the sim unlock keypad is smaller than the screen and not centered ...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a (S-Off mwahahaha) using XDA Premium App

Lcd density changer on the market. Worked well on my n1.
I've found ADW EX to be great. Running 5x5 grid, larger icons and tweaked font size.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA Premium App

I tried 187 and 220 and the only glitch I notice is in the message app. Upon closer inspection, on my messages, there is a weird graphic that's darker.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

Hgaara said:
I tried 187 and 220 and the only glitch I notice is in the message app. Upon closer inspection, on my messages, there is a weird graphic that's darker.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
anyone can fix the dialpad glitch after changing the density?

[Q] Words With Friends?

I'm currently running CM7 and everytime I launch WwF, I get a force close before the main screen. I just get the app wallpaper.
On the stock ROM, it would run just fine. Is this a problem with CM7? Or did I do something wrong in the flashing process? Everything else runs fine and doesn't force close on me, by the way.
And yes, I've tried uninstalling and rebooting.
Does it force close for anyone else on CM7? Or is it just me?

Fc's for me too
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium

For some reason you have to change the LCD Density to 180. It will work then. So will LogMeIn Ignition.

lincoln131 said:
For some reason you have to change the LCD Density to 180. It will work then. So will LogMeIn Ignition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this done?

lincoln131 said:
For some reason you have to change the LCD Density to 180. It will work then. So will LogMeIn Ignition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's really weird. Thanks though!
PSUBALL10 said:
How is this done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need an app like Root Explorer or something that gives you access to the /system folder. Then you've gotta edit your build.prop
The line that says
Code:
ro.sf.lcd_density=160
Change the 160 to 180. Save changes, reboot, and you're good!

Also if you search lcd density on the Market you will find a free app that can do this.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

theholyfork said:
You need an app like Root Explorer or something that gives you access to the /system folder. Then you've gotta edit your build.prop
The line that says
Code:
ro.sf.lcd_density=160
Change the 160 to 180. Save changes, reboot, and you're good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that helps. Does changing the LCD density to 180 have any negative effects on the Fire?

PSUBALL10 said:
Thanks, that helps. Does changing the LCD density to 180 have any negative effects on the Fire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the market app, and I've not seen any negative effects. If you take it up to 200, some things don't look right, but 180 seems perfect.

[Q] Gingerbread style on Honeycomb

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/20/...n-gingerbread-interface-enabled-by-h/?m=false
This is old news but I was wondering if anyone got this to work. I really hate the taskbar on honeycomb and usually go without it by using HoneyBar but the obvious drawback is that I have to guess at notifications or bring it back up. I tried it but it would not work for me.
The taskbar wasn't as annoying on the 10.1 but now it just feels downright intrusive to the screen. I tried StatusBar+ but that was even worse than the stock taskbar.
Maybe I'm alone on this...
US Wifi version 16gb stock, no kernals, rooted
Edit: I know I can use ADW or Go Launcher and already do. I just want that 2.x style notification bar back.

yes i believe this works on all honeycomb. just change your lcd denisty. there are apps that can do it or you can manually edit build.prop.

I guessed as much but the video was far too fuzzy to make out which file LCD density is changed from in Root Explorer.
I tried Blade Buddy and LCDDensity from Market to get around that but no dice when set to 170 as in the video. I might have been doing it wrong however. Do you know what value is necessary to switch to the 2.x style?
And thank you for confirming that bit of information. Weird as it sounds I would rather be wrong and dumb than have the option of 2.x style left unopen to me.
Edit: Sorry my bad. Can't read. I'll try editing build.prop immediately. Although I still am unsure as to the optimal value but I will give 170 a twirl again.
Edit: I can't seem to change it. I tried editing build.prop in /system but it told me it was a read only file. So I tried opening it in text editor inside Root Explorer but when I checked afterwards it was still set to 160.

I used LCD density and changed it to 171 (using killall), and it worked for me. I'm using adw ex as my launcher.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

theundeadelvis said:
I used LCD density and changed it to 171 (using killall), and it worked for me. I'm using adw ex as my launcher.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got it to work but the oddest thing was that I had no notification bar at the top. Talk about a mixture of joy and rage...
Edit: The reason for no notification bar on top was my usage of Go Launcher EX as my default. I will miss using it but it appears stock and ADW EX do have the notification bar enabled so I have no choice but to switch. Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it.
Edit: Thank you again for all your help but does your notification bar work properly? I can't seem to get Google Talk/Gmail/Email alerts through it. I also cannot open anything in Settings.

Just tested email and i the notification worked.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk

Browser, gmail and notifications all force close on me.It's really disheartening. Did you change anything afterwards? Market also force closes

Strange, all i did was set it to 171 dpi. Nothing else, stock kernel, using adw ex.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk

theundeadelvis said:
Strange, all i did was set it to 171 dpi. Nothing else, stock kernel, using adw ex.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess my usual amount of divine favor just made sure my situation was in accordance with the alignment of the stars.
Thank you for all your help on this. I guess I'll just have to deal with it or try a factory reset and then try again. That might be the best option.
Edit: Everything now works except Settings and Gmail

[Q] LCD Density on ICS

Anyone had any luck changing the LCD density on the ICS leak? I tried it using LCD Modder Pro and it resulted in a soft brick.

SolsticeZero said:
Anyone had any luck changing the LCD density on the ICS leak? I tried it using LCD Modder Pro and it resulted in a soft brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying LCD Resolution, it says it needs busybox installed.
I go to the market and try to get an installer for busybox, and apparently market is broken for me - I can't download anything from it. Updates work fine, but can't get anything new.

I've been unsuccessful in getting the LCD resolution to change. I tried LCD Resolution with no change (no soft brick though). Also tried modifying the build.prop directly, that resulted in a soft brick.

I resolved my market broken issue (just reinstalled ICS through odin).
Going to try it after my nandroid backup is done. Fingers crossed!
EDIT:
On further thought and some googling, a lot of the LCD density changing apps on the market have disclaimers about it not working on certain devices, or ICS. So I would actually be surprised if the ways of doing it on 2.3.5 will work on 4.0+
EDIT:
Alright, gave it a shot. It won't work. In fact, some of the icons appear larger. Didn't break my phone at all though, just a quick reboot and it was back to normal. I'm going to keep trying different ways.

anyone have any luck with changing ICS density yet? cannot stand how big everything is!!!

dac1227 said:
anyone have any luck with changing ICS density yet? cannot stand how big everything is!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been able to get it yet..
I'm hoping that once the custom ROMs start rolling out I'll be able to figure it out. I'm good at getting into those and changing things, but I'm bad at manipulating just my phone.
---------- Post added at 11:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
Yeah editing the build file just gave me a soft brick as well.. bummer.
EDIT:
I tried adding a new line to the build.prop - My phone appeared to soft brick, and when I was trying to boot it into CWM it somehow booted up. But nothing had changed. Weird..
Also the apps on the market that claim to work with ICS don't for me.
Also, I heard that the Galaxy S II folks had this weird issue of there being TWO LINES that you needed to change... but from what I could tell (I looked over the file very carefully) there is only that one line.

i got the lcd density to change, use rom toolbox pro and changed it to 200 in the build tweaks section

mjwhirly said:
i got the lcd density to change, use rom toolbox pro and changed it to 200 in the build tweaks section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WORKED. Going to check it with 160 (what I used). Excellent find man, thanks!!
EDIT: Ah my phone is so beautiful now. Works perfectly, now if I can only figure out how the app is getting the job done.. haha

That worked perfectly. I was trying to change it for hours. Thanks! I am using 160 too. Looks great, better than with Gingerbread!

What exactly does changing this do?

This changes the resolution of your screen.
ROM Toolbox did the trick, thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA

mjwhirly said:
i got the lcd density to change, use rom toolbox pro and changed it to 200 in the build tweaks section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, thank you. Saved me! I did not want to revert back to GB, but do not enjoy a senior friendly UI either!

Ok, I tried this and not sure what is going on.
When I do, the icons get smaller, but instead of using all the screen realestate, I have a large section of unused space that I can't do anything with.
What am I missing or what am I doing wrong?

After you've changed the density, you'll want to change the number of columns/rows of your launcher to make use of the extra space.

Awesome! Rooted up my skyrocket on ICS! First root for me on my first android! And just got my skyrocket yesterday!
I changed mine to 200, it's way better this way. I did it through the rom toolbox as suggested.
There is a small lag though going back to the home screen, are you guys experience this as well?
Any suggestions on fixing the dial pad? I've done some searching and it seems most of the fixes aren't for us.. yet.

Ripclaw25 said:
After you've changed the density, you'll want to change the number of columns/rows of your launcher to make use of the extra space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do I make that change? I'm looking through Rom Manager and can't find that option.

nest75068 said:
Where do I make that change? I'm looking through Rom Manager and can't find that option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You change it in your launcher settings. I'd highly recommend Nova launcher. It acts like the AOSP ICS launcher (with the widgets section integrated into the app drawer). By default the desktop space is 4 rows by 4 columns, but you can change this. I'm experimenting with what works for me with a 160 density.

Horvaticus said:
You change it in your launcher settings. I'd highly recommend Nova launcher. It acts like the AOSP ICS launcher (with the widgets section integrated into the app drawer). By default the desktop space is 4 rows by 4 columns, but you can change this. I'm experimenting with what works for me with a 160 density.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that helped, now how do I create folders in Nova launcher? Can't figure this out for the life of me.
EDIT:
Nevermind, figured it out, it's like the iOS way of creating folders. Just drag and drop 1 app onto another.

Hmm, noticed that the disagree didn't resize either. Can anyone recommend a good dialer?

Exdialer is great.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium