Venting about Text Size

John Kaess
John Kaess Member Posts: 723 ✭✭✭
edited November 21 in English Forum

I've been using Logos since the mid 90's, and i have a substantially large library that i truly wish i could use on my 13" M4 iPad Pro. I've been requesting an increase in text size for YEARS, each time to be told that it certainly would be a doable change at some future point. Many years have gone by, and there has been no change.

Here's my concerns:

  • Text size when reading any resource, with the view settings maxed out is too small for study or reading. The Kindle app and the Books app both allow for larger (and for me) more readable text sizes than the Logos mobile app does.
  • The size of all the menu items, labels above resources and icon labels along the bottom of the app are incredibly small and unreadable for me

Apple, in it's display options and even more so in it's accessibility options, allows for an increased text size which ANY app can make use of if it is designed to do so. Because of this, i can read and use almost every single app on my iPad EXCEPT Logos.

Your user base is aging. That means the eyesight of your user base is getting worse. To continue to ignore the need to address this issue is short sighted, and frankly, it's very frustrating to those of us who have invested tens of thousands of dollars into our Logos libraries, but are unable to read or use them in the Logos Mobile App.

Am i alone in this frustration? Is this really such a tremendously difficult issue that Logos has been unable to do anything about it for the past 10 years? Is there a reason why other apps made for reading books on mobile devives are able to make the text sizes larger than Logos can? Is there a reason why Logos has designed their mobile app to not take advantage of the text size features available in the IOS and iPadOS operating systems which other apps make use of?

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Comments

  • John
    John Member Posts: 548 ✭✭

    In Desktop App

    Open settings and adjust "Content Scaling" and "Program Scaling".

    Each Resource window can also be adjusted independently in the options menu (three vertical dots) for that window.

    Lscale

    In iPadOS:

    1) Open the options menu (three vertical dots)

    2) Select "View Settings"

    Lscale2

    3) Use the Slider to adjust the text size

    Lscale3

  • John Kaess
    John Kaess Member Posts: 723 ✭✭✭

    This post is about the Mobile App, not the desktop app. I have no problem reading any resource on the desktop.

    In the mobile app, i have made those exact settings to the Max text size, which is still significantly smaller than the Kindle App or Books app can make the text. In addition, there is nothing which can be done for the text in the resource headings nor the bottom menu icons, nor any other text in the app.

  • John
    John Member Posts: 548 ✭✭

    This post is about the Mobile App, not the desktop app. I have no problem reading any resource on the desktop.

    The post shows how to do both. Did you have trouble seeing it all? [;)]

  • John Kaess
    John Kaess Member Posts: 723 ✭✭✭

    I edited my reply. My original post clearly notes that the view settings do not make the text sufficiently large which i have done. I know how to use the app. The problem is the app does not make the text as large as other apps, nor the headings, or menus.

  • John
    John Member Posts: 548 ✭✭

    nor the headings, or menus

    I see what you mean now. It appears to be hard coded into the program. The iPad, unlike the Mac, does not give as much control over display scaling so there is no good work-around. On iPadOS there is a ZOOM setting under "Display & Brightness", all the way at the bottom. My iPad Mini lacks this so I was unable to try it. Have you tried this setting?

    The only thing else I found that works is the ZOOM feature. It is found under accessibility / Zoom. It might not be so bad using this once you got used to it. You do a 3-finger double-tap to zoom or unzoom. I have an iPad Mini so its probably different, but I found 200% maximum zoom worked the best on the logos app.

    Problem is that you also have to scroll around on the screen to see what you want to see.

    Maybe someone at Logos will notice this thread and work on changing it.

    One other solution that I know would work is to use the web app. It has limitations of its own, but gives you a lot of control over the display.

  • John Kaess
    John Kaess Member Posts: 723 ✭✭✭

    I see what you mean now. It appears to be hard coded into the program. The iPad, unlike the Mac, does not give as much control over display scaling so there is no good work-around.

    iPadOS does have a system wide setting for text size adjustments under the accessibility options, which i have set so that almost every other app on my iPad is useable regarding text and menu size, but the app designer must choose to allow use of this setting into their app. Logos for some reason has not enabled this system setting to be used in the Logos Mobile App. If they would enable this, and then increase the text size in View Settings another few notches to match what the Kindle and Book apps do, then the app would be fully functional for users with poor eyesight.

    Your suggestion about using the Zoom feature does enable seeing smaller things, but is frustrating when trying to actually read a resource because you end up spending more time scrolling the screen around, back and forth and up and down, than you do actually reading.

    Thanks for your input.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 13,408 ✭✭✭

    Of course, I had to try out my Oasis (Kindle), and then my iPad Kindle. And then the Faithlife app.  That's interesting.  I know this sounds bad, but over the years, Faithlife and customer limitations have rarely been important to them. It's odd ... not just text size, but color contrast, etc. And apparently their primary market (aging guys, no offense). At church, you quickly get an earful, for any physical challenges. But always quiet at Faithlife.

    Added: I tried out the newer Scribe (large sceen). Sure enough, BIG letters.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • keith rogers
    keith rogers Member Posts: 1

    In the iPad settings, under "Display & Brightness," make sure you have "Larger Text" selected for "Display Zoom". I think that's the best you can do.

  • John Kaess
    John Kaess Member Posts: 723 ✭✭✭

    In the iPad settings, under "Display & Brightness," make sure you have "Larger Text" selected for "Display Zoom". I think that's the best you can do.

    I'm fully aware of how to enlarge text via ipad settings. I've made use of those settings as i stated earlier in this thread.

    Both the Apple Books and Kindle apps on the iPad allow for much larger text sizes than any of the Logos apps do. For some reason, Logos is choosing to not make use of the ability in the iPadOS API to have larger text sizes.