Total Commander

I recently came across the Liberation Font Family while searching for a better Text Editor font. Of the dozens I tried it even beat out Vera Sans (Bitstream Vera's successor).

Liberation Mono has been such a good font for Editing that it has worked it's way into replacing my own custom font for TC's File LIst. It's sister, Liberation Sans, has found it's way into TC's Dialog Box setting.

Call me nuts, but I maximize my TC window only vertically, not horizontally (I have a widescreen display), so I like to use condensed fonts to see as much of the filename as possible.

I have yet to find a decent condensed monospaced font (PragmataPro looks promising, but it's expensive) optimized for ClearType, so I've started using proportional fonts in the file list - it actually doesn't seem a big disadvantage to me as TC's tabs make sure everything is reasonably aligned anyway.

I was very disappointed by the fact that MS's ClearType font family doesn't include any condensed font whatsoever, but was able to find a condensed version of Segoe on the web, which is what I use now at 11 pt - ClearType optimized and very readable in spite of its narrowness...

Still, anyone here know of a good condensed monospaced font?!

I use Trebuchet MS 12 Bold for the lists and the main window.

lucida sans unicode 10 (or 8 or 9, depending on the computer, monitor)

snap http://imagebin.org/137342

Back to Tahoma 8p, with SegoeUI there are to much space between fonts

Arial Narrow, 8 is the condensed font I use for years.
It' s quite readable, and allows to see much of the filenames.
CEUM

Tahoma, 8

 
MS Sans Serif, 10.

Segoe UI

I use Arial Unicode MS, 11, Bold.

9kvD38n6 wrote:Still, anyone here know of a good condensed monospaced font?!

Not sure how they look with ClearType, but here are the various (free) MonoSpaced fonts that I've kept on my system.

• Andale Mono
• Aurulent Sans Mono
• BPMono
• CPMono v07 Light
• Droid Sans Mono
• Envy Code R
• Everson Mono Latin 6
• Fontin Sans SC (not mono, but I like it)
• Inconsolata
• Liberation Mono
• LM Mono 10 [Set of 7 fonts]
• Luxi Mono
• Pigiarniq (not mono)

Some are best at 10-12pt and others even are decently readable at 8pt. Liberation Mono is one of the most readable I've come across when dropping it down to even 7.5 pt (in EmEditor).

In the file list I like a small size to see more names, and I can easily read Microsoft Sans serif 8 for file list in XP, with cleartype off.

After switching to Win 7 where cleartype is unavoidable, I use MS Sans Serif 8 for the file list. Since it's a screen font it doesn't use cleartype so it remains clear... I find it's the easiest to read if you can use that size.

After switching to Win 7 where cleartype is unavoidable

It is not unavoidable.

Try and run sysdm.cpl from the command line, click on the "Advanced" tab, and then on the "Settings" button. Then remove the checkmark from "Smooth edges of screen fonts".

You can also open "Control Panel" -> "All elements in control Panel" -> "System" -> "Advanced settings".

Or go through "Control Panel" -> "All Elements in Control Panel" -> "Screen" -> "Adjust ClearType Text" -> remove the checkmark at: "Enable ClearType" (you then have click "Next" and go through the adjustment sequence, to make the change stick).

ClearType and other font smoothing is one of the first things I turn off when at start a new computer.

If you disable ClearType in Windows 7, you might want to also disable that awfull Segoe UI font that Win7 uses as default a lot of places.

I tried that, but then, as you say, everything in Segoe UI looks awful. I changed some font settings, but MS office ignored them and used it anyway.

I even removed Segoe in the registry for installed fonts, and windows really complained. Maybe I'll try again.

I even removed Segoe in the registry for installed fonts

I haven't had problems with that, but If you do you can just substitute Segoe with for example Arial: