When programming, developers try to find a good coding environment configuration. Font customization is an important aspect of creating a comfortable and efficient environment. A well-chosen font can improve readability, reduce eye strain, and enhance your overall experience using our IDE (our eyes will thank us after spending so many hours in front of the screen).
Visual Studio provides several options for font customization, including the ability to change font size and style. Check how to customize your Visual Studio font settings and improve your coding experience!
How to Change Font size and style in Visual Studio
Go to Tools > Options > Environment > Fonts and Colors
In the Fonts and Colors options, select the text element you want to change the size for (e.g., Text Editor, Output Window).
You most likely want to change the style of the text editor so that option is selected by default.
Use the drop-down menu to select the desired font size.
💡Recommendation: Adjust the font size taking into account the size of your monitor and the distance from your eyes to it or use codingfont.
Click Apply and then OK to save your changes.
What are ligatures?
In typography, ligatures are used to improve the appearance of text and to prevent certain characters from colliding with one another. For example, the letters “f” and “i” can be combined into a single ligature to prevent the dot of the “i” from colliding with the crossbar of the “f.”
In programming, ligatures can make code more readable and easier on the eyes, especially when using certain character combinations such as -> or =>. This is because ligatures can prevent characters from colliding with one another and improve the overall appearance of the code.
Best Visual Studio Fonts
There are developers who, since they first installed Visual Studio, have gotten used to the default font of the IDE and have therefore never changed it again.
On the other hand there are developers (a minority but I know a few) who change fonts from time to time to test new fonts.
If you are one of those who has the default font or simply want to try other fonts, I recommend Codingfont. In the form of a game, you will have to choose the font that you like the most between the two that it shows you. After several choices it will tell you which is your ideal font!
If you don’t have time right now or want to know popular and most used fonts, keep reading.
Popular font choices among developers
If we talk about the ideal font type for programming, we should choose Monospace: every character takes up the same amount of horizontal space, resulting in a uniform appearance across text. This is in contrast to proportional fonts, in which characters take up different amounts of space depending on their width.
Consolas
This font has been around for quite some time now. It’s still very popular among developers because this font has been used by Microsoft for a long time, so I’m sure you know this font well (unless you use MacOs or Linux).
It was designed by Lucas de Groot and it was originally created for use in Visual Studio development environment, and it has since become a popular font for programming and other technical uses.
The great thing about Consolas is its support for programming ligatures.
Consolas ligature test:
An example is O (letter) and 0 (number). The number has slash making it easy to distinguish from the letter.
Cascadia Mono
Cascadia Mono is a great option. Why? Because it is the default Visual Studio 2022 font, that’s why it is in the top of the most popular fonts. Most of the developers have not changed it. It is a good font, they have not had the need to look for a better font.
It draws inspiration from the Fira Code and Inconsolata fonts, as well as from traditional monospace typefaces
Cascadia Mono ligature test:
When compared to Consolas, Cascadia Mono has tighter proportions, heavier weights and sharper curves, making it an ideal choice for coding. In this case Cascadia Mono differentiates the 0 (zeros) from the letters O with a dot in the center.
Fira Code
Fira Code is a free and open source monospaced font designed by Nikita Prokopov. It is derived from the Fira Mono font family and was created to improve the legibility of the code.
It includes several ligatures, such as =+ for the equals sign and greater than/less than symbols, as well as various punctuation marks which look better, especially in a monospaced font.
When compared to Consolas and Cascadia Mono, Fira Code is a more condensed typeface, but it still retains good readability at smaller sizes.
Fira Code ligature test:
I recommend consulting FiraCode on GitHub to see the large number of features per programming language that this source has.
JetBrains Mono
JetBrains Mono is a new open source typeface created specifically for developers. It was designed by the JetBrains team to provide maximum legibility and readability while still maintaining a professional look.
JetBrains is an industry-leading software development company, known for creating powerful and reliable IDEs, languages and services.
JetBrains Mono also has ligatures and symbols. Additionally, JetBrains Mono offers more alternative characters and multiple weights, allowing users to customize their text even further than Consolas or Cascadia Mono.
JetBrains ligature test:
Droid Sans
Droid Sans is a typeface designed by Google for use on the Android platform. It is specially designed to make code easier to read, and its clean lines provide an attractive look that makes it suitable for both programming and general text-based applications.
Its character shapes are optimized for legibility and it provides support for a range of additional features, including multiple weights and italics.
Droid Sans ligature test:
When compared to Fira Code and JetBrains Mono, Droid Sans Mono is more conservative in its design, with less emphasis on ligatures and symbols. However, it still offers the same high readability at small sizes.
The font you choose for your Visual Studio environment can have a significant impact on your coding experience. You can also customize the theme of your IDE. I can tell you that there are many good themes already created that you just have to install and that’s it!
Top comments (1)
For me, an important test is how differentiable are lowercase L and the numeral 1? Lots of monospace fonts (and I prefer monospace for coding) make them the same.
l vs 1