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Visual Studio
VS 2003+

Visual Studio Font and Colour Schemes

The standard fonts and colours presented by Visual Studio are acceptable but some find that the Courier typeface is difficult to read or that the contrast between black text and white background is harsh. Luckily, the fonts and colours can be changed.

Changing Fonts and Colours

When Visual Studio is first installed, a set of default colours and fonts is applied to the various text styles that can be displayed. The standard font is "Courier New", a monospaced typeface with characters that are similar to those produced by standard typewriters. Monospaced fonts are useful because they are easy to align vertically on the screen or when printed. However, some developers like the more natural look of a proportionally spaced font or prefer monospaced text of another typeface. Similarly, the standard black text on a white background is acceptable to many but some users complain of eyestrain and prefer to use more subtle or darker themes.

The fonts and colours can be changed using Visual Studio's standard settings. If you are using Visual Studio 2005 or a newer version, you can export your preferences to a file and transfer the settings between computers. To access the required settings, choose "Options" from the "Tools" menu. When the Options dialog box is visible, select "Fonts and Colors" from the tree on the left.

There are a large number of items for which the fonts and colours may be modified. The initial settings, pictured below, allow you to select the styles for items that are displayed in the text editor. To modify individual items, select the style that you wish to change from the Display items list box and then choose your preferred font and colour options. You will find that some items are linked. For example, the Font for all items must be the same. You will also find that some items include only a background colour and no foreground colour can be selected.

You can also change the styles displayed in other windows, such as the output window and the locals window. To access the appropriate options, select the desired item from the "Show settings for:" drop-down list.

Visual Studio Fonts and Colors Settings

30 January 2010