Poll: What is your favorite font size when working?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 22, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is your favorite font size when working?".

This poll was originally submitted by Heinrich Pesch. View the poll results »



 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:20
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
10 to 12 Jan 22, 2019

That's what most of my jobs come in. I never change the source font because I don't want to have to mess with reformatting it. I know that some people do change it. I'd much rather blow it up temporarily.

The problem with smaller fonts is that they are usually reduced to make it possible to squeeze in more text. If I blow it up enough to see it, then the right-hand margin is off-screen so it's hard to read the text.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Jennifer Forbes
Gudrun Maydorn (X)
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
10 to 12 Jan 22, 2019

As long as it's legible, I don't really mind. Sometimes I might change the font to one I prefer while working, then change it back into whatever the client wants/expects at the end of the process.

Jennifer Forbes
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
From the valley of the dinosaurs Jan 22, 2019

I favour 11-12 point because I'm one of those dinosaurs who prints out every translation for the final check.

I've tried doing it on-screen but it's not the same. You can't run a finger/pen/ruler down each language to keep your place.

(I know modern CAT tools divide it into easily navigable multi-coloured chunks, but that segmentation is also why I avoid them.)

I'm convinced checking on paper is better for your eyes too, which outweighs any environmental d
... See more
I favour 11-12 point because I'm one of those dinosaurs who prints out every translation for the final check.

I've tried doing it on-screen but it's not the same. You can't run a finger/pen/ruler down each language to keep your place.

(I know modern CAT tools divide it into easily navigable multi-coloured chunks, but that segmentation is also why I avoid them.)

I'm convinced checking on paper is better for your eyes too, which outweighs any environmental downside.
Collapse


Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Kevin Clayton, PhD
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Isabelle Neely
 
Dmitry Novikov
Dmitry Novikov  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:20
Member (2012)
French to Russian
+ ...
10 to 12 Jan 22, 2019

But it actually depends on the font. For Arial 10 is enough, for Times 12 is the minimum.

 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:20
Italian to English
Another dinosaur here! Jan 22, 2019

Chris S wrote:

I favour 11-12 point because I'm one of those dinosaurs who prints out every translation for the final check.



Checking on paper also allows you to catch errors you risk missing on screen. I always print mine too.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Isabelle Neely
 
Jan Truper
Jan Truper  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:20
Member (2016)
English to German
Ebrima 13.8 Jan 22, 2019

After futzing around with different fonts and sizes for years, I am currently using Ebrima size 13.8 in memoQ, on a sizable monitor with a distance of 80 cm from my eyes.

Plus, I have the font color in memoQ set to pink ... but when working in memoQ, I have the colors of my computer inverted, so I'm actually looking at green font on black background.



setup2


Amir Arzani
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:20
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
10 - 12 Jan 22, 2019

It also depends on the fond, e. g. Monoscript Corsiva requires at least 24pt. I don't change the font size, but simply enlarge the document. Once the translation and proofreading are completed, I restore it to its original fond size.

Ricki Farn
 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 10:20
English to German
Zoom in Jan 22, 2019

I like zooming in big, because German words love to hide errors at the very end (aka inflections), and the brain reads what it wants to read.

Apparently, I have set my font size in Trados to 16, going by the settings.


Nadia Silva Castro
Noni Gilbert Riley
 
Rebecca Garber
Rebecca Garber  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:20
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
This is why zoom exists on computers Jan 22, 2019

I don't care what size the font is. I change the zoom to suit my mood and energy level.
I deliver in 12 point fonts. But since it's all on a computer screen, the actual size of what I'm reading is moot.


Jaime Oriard
Ricki Farn
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:20
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Funny questions Jan 22, 2019

Some polls are really funny.
We don't choose the size of the font. We keep the same font as the original document, as well as the formats. We don't change the original formats according to our prefences.

Other than that, we use the zoom, as suggested by other colleagues.


Jennifer Forbes
Gudrun Maydorn (X)
 


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Poll: What is your favorite font size when working?






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