Weird System Font Issue, only one User Acc affected

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Created Apr ’17

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Hi there (I hope this is the correct space in this forum)

I have the weirdest font related issue with my computer that is bugging me for quite some time now. I initially believed it to be a Java/Eclipse issue, but now realized that it is system-wide. But let me start at the beginning.

I have an early 2011 MBP running macOS Sierra 10.12.4. The system had been updated all the way from its initial Snow Leopard system (no clean install). I am not a developer, but I do tinker a lot and am not afraid to use the terminal.

Now to the issue.

macOS's system font is San Francisco. I have not modified or changed it (with any of the various tools to change it to Lucida Grande for example). And the font is used (mostly) consistently with my user account. There are however certain circumstances when for no good reason, Lucida Grande is used instead. See for example my attached screenshot of VLC. Various different elements use Lucida Grande instead of SF. Various Java based apps, as well as the Eclipse IDE are affected as well. Eclipse for example detects for its various font settings .SF NS in one location, but generally only defaults to Lucida Grande.

It does get weirder though.

For testing purposes I created a new user acc on my machine. And, tada, no font issues. SF is used all the way. Java/Eclipse behave correctly. VLC and many others as well. Which let's me believe that is it not a system-wide issue with the system font, but somehow only a user account issue.

My goal with this post here is to try and understand what is going on and what may be causing it. I know I could simply try and migrate "my stuff" over to a new account and be done with it, but that wouldn't really answer the question as to what is going on.

Anyhow... does anyone have any idea... a pointer where to look at what to do maybe?

How can something on a user account level affect system fonts like this?

What I have done so far:

different user account → no issue
look thru ~/Library/ for anything old/un-needed/unusual and get rid of it
Validate Fonts and restore system default via Font Book
use the tool from https://github.com/HiKay/macOSLucidaGrande to force Lucida Grande... and then re-enable San Francisco

All has made no difference so far.

https://discussions.apple.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadImage/2-31650817-836016/747-466/VLC.png

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Answer 1

TheralSadurns OP

May ’17

I eventually found the answer myself. Not what had CAUSED things to be wrong... but at least what HAD been wrong.

Even though my problem is solved I still post the answer to it here... in case someone at some point down the road encounters a similar issue!

I couldn't really find an app that lists the default fonts set for macOS. I'm not a developer, but reading some things I found out that macOS doesn't just have SF or LucidaGrande etc. as ONE standard font... but like an entire CLASS of fonts for different purposes. The problem is... finding a way to LIST all of the currently used fonts.

I finally came across the app MacPilot ( http://www.koingosw.com/products/macpilot/ ) which in its advanced mode (button bottom right) has a "Fonts" section. Here... everything read default, which it should. Except for "System Font" where it read LucidaGrande instead. God knows why.

Even more handily... it lists the correct terminal command that is uses to set things straight. So that you won't have to buy the app in order to get the correct fonts back.

Which is:

$defaults delete NSGlobalDomain NSSystemFont

followed by a restart of the machine or

$killall SystemUIServer

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