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Use case or problem
I cannot zoom into a note or change the font size, which means I cannot read the notes.
Proposed solution
Be able of zooming into a note, or changing the size.
Current workaround (optional)
Change the operating system resolution or font. Or tweak the CSS of the theme. (how?)
I think it’s pretty simple to do by enabling the custom CSS option in settings. But for that to be useful for normal users, we need some really clear documentation with examples on how to do some of these basic preference adjustments. For example, I think general font size looks something like this.
/* normal text other than headings and code */
.cm-s-obsidian
{
font-size: 12px;
}
Sorry but using css to create simple text notes is a big turn-off for normal, non-tech users.
When I start to use any note taking app, I would like to focus on creating notes, not on searching the Internet for a way to change something so basic as font size.
Just create options in configuration, as it is for example in Stroll, which also uses markdown
Learning all these shortcuts to start simple editing is also a turn-off. Not that I can’t do that but come on - there are more pleasurable things in life. Even when I write this message there are editor icons available.
Software that is based on one of the greatest ideas of note taking should not turn off users just because from the start they need to learn tones of shortcuts and remember how to bold some text.
I don’t expect Obsidan to have a bunch of fancy editing features. It’s not meant to be a word processor bristling with typesetting functions. I get that. But I work on a 13-inch Macbook, and the font is just plain huge. The top-level header font size is big enough on my screen to be a New York Times headline announcing World War 3. I’d just like to be able to alter fonts and colors in specific contexts, like edit mode. The difference between edit and preview mode is so subtle that sometimes I start typing thinking I’m in edit mode, and nothing is happening. I’ve turned on vim line numbers to make it more obvious when I’m in edit mode, but it would be great if I could get a monospace font in edit mode so markdown tables are aligned while I’m editing them. Right now, that simple desire is like walking into a store to buy a fur coat, and being handed a bow & arrow (with an Obsidian tip ).
Conversely, I use obsidian on a 32 inch 8k monitor and the default font size and icons are too small to be usable.
We need a simple accessibility mechanism to change the size of everything proportionally. I don’t have the time to hunt down all the css mechanisms for that.
Not being able to change text size without zooming in the entire program is one thing that is holding me back from fully integrating or using it as much as I would like to
I would recommend to everyone struggling with custom fonts and font size issues to install @kepano 's excellent “Minimal” theme and its companion plugins “Minimal Theme Settings” and “Hider”.
The plugins allow you to set custom fonts and font sizes directly in Obsidian settings, without fussing with CSS.
+1 This user is exactly right. The fact that this software can’t even allow someone to change the font size without typing a bunch of css is a huge turnoff and basically makes it unusable in my eyes. I use font sizes and other editing features to differentiate different kinds of text such as different kinds of thoughts about my writing, notes, edits, and stuff like that. There is a real lack of editing features in obsidian which make it impossible for me to take up as a writer. It just doesn’t have what I need.
Have you tried installing one of the many community themes available under Settings > Appearance > Browse? These are pre-built CSS themes, many of which have different font sizes available for different header levels. As I mentioned above, the Minimal theme even has a companion plugin that lets you type in your own preferred font size.
After looking into what you suggested, it seems there is a slight misunderstanding. What you suggest changes the base font properties for all notes. What I’m looking for is a quick way to adjust the font size of a specific line of text or paragraph relative to the rest. Setting them as headers is not helpful either, because I don’t want to have to set a header and (worse) a fold at every line I want to adjust font size.
There is such tremendous value in being able to adjust font size on the fly for working as a writer and researcher. It helps keep track of things and keep everything on the same screen while allowing you to zoom out to different parts of text with your own eyes (or face, rather). It immensely expands the usability of screenspace. Of course, I could set it in HTML, but even that would require typing a butt ton of ugly code before anything I want to adjust. That’s a huge stick in the wheel in terms of workflow. Ok, so say I set some kind of quicktextpaste that converts a keystroke into this html code. I still have to do it at the beginning and end, and I’m still stuck with this ugly html wrapping my code. And most importantly, it doesn’t work until I switch to preview mode, which entirely defeats the purpose of changing the font size for individual lines and paragraphs in the first place. This is why I still do most of my work in Word and Google docs, and why obsidian has been frustrating me to no end.
I’m sort of hoping the typora-like mode on the roadmap will help with this, but then again I don’t know if it will render html live. If it does, then that’s something I can work with.
).