Again problem with HiDPI display

[Olo]

Dear forum users,
I know similar problems have already been described, but I haven’t found an answer or a solution. The problem is that in KiCad on Linux some fonts are too small. I am using KDE with a desktop scaling factor of 1.5 on a 4K display. Some fields, e.g. for editing symbol properties, have a very small font that I cannot enlarge in any way. Can anything be done about it? Will it look like this in the new version of KiCad 6?
I am using KiCad 5.1.10 on Linux Manjaro KDE.

[craftyjon]

@Olo

Will it look like this in the new version of KiCad 6?

I don’t know, because I don’t have KDE with a 4K display and a scaling factor other than 1, but you could install the nightly and report back if it is different!

Unfortunately, I’m guessing that many things will be the same, because on Linux we cannot make use of all the fixes that are in the wxWidgets 3.1 branch for HiDPI (most Linux distributions will not ship 3.1 because it is an “unstable” release series). Most of the HiDPI problems are with wxWidgets itself, not KiCad.

[Olo]

Thank you for the answer.
I was so afraid that this is a wsWidgets problem and cannot be easily corrected. I saw KiCad 6 on Linux Mint Cinnamon with font zoom enabled and the problem was visible too. So I have to wait for the wsWidgets update.
Best regards.

[jmk]

@Olo

Will it look like this in the new version of KiCad 6?

I use Mint Cinnamon.
The Symbol Properties box in “soon” 6 is 1.25 times 5.1.10.

[Sprig]

@Olo

The problem is that in KiCad on Linux some fonts are too small. I am using KDE with a desktop scaling factor of 1.5 on a 4K display.

I would try a Live-Boot of Ubuntu Mate. In the Control Center there is a tool called MATE Tweak, and a setting for windows to be HiDPI.

I don’t have the issue that you described.

[Olo]

below you can see a similar window from KiCad 5.99, Linux Mint Cinnamon with 1.5 scaled fonts. It probably doesn’t differ much from the previous picture.

[Olo]

I prefer KDE because it has probably the best desktop scaling. And on a 4K monitor, it is difficult for me to work on smaller scales.

[craftyjon]

On Linux, the only options I know of are to obtain wxWidgets 3.1 and build KiCad against it, or else to us the FlatPak of KiCad nightly (which distributes wx 3.1).

[Sprig]

Here is a screen grab using Ubuntu Mate on a 4K TV with HiDPI set:

Note: The “viewing monitor” is incorrectly reporting the size as 32"; in reality it is 42/43". The text is nearly impossibly small to read at normal viewing distance with HiDPI set to regular. With HiDPI selected things look scaled similar to a 1080p resolution.

[Olo]

Thanks for all the answers. Probably after version 6.0 is released I will try to compile KiCad with wsWidgets 3.1. I’ve never compiled KiCad, but I might be able to do it with some help.