Kodi is one of the most popular media centre solutions. However, unless you like to sit very close to the TV, the font sizes are a bit small. This article describes a simple procedure to improve legibility. It’s assumed that you are using the default Kodi skin, called “Estuary“. This article was updated 6th April 2020 and tested for Kodi 18.6.
The Kodi user interface is highly customizable, and there are many Internet pages explaining how it all works. But in this procedure, we will just make a few small changes. These instructions were originally written for OSMC running on a Raspberry Pi, but they work for stand alone Kodi too, and should also work for other hardware platforms.
Thought has not been designed to be used in 'ALL CAPS'. The best effects for headings and subheads are obtained with an initial upper case letter followed by lower case characters. If you are using upper and lower case then it is not necessary to use kerning. Click on the Start menu, got to Control Panel and then to Fonts. From the File menu, select Install New Font. Select the location where you save teh.ttf file, when it appears in the 'List of Fonts:' box, select it and click on OK. You can then go and delete the.ttf file from where you originally saved it. When you first install the software it is in 'trial mode'. This means it will stop working fully after a period of 14 days. To unlock it, you will need to purchase a license. This will email you a license name (email address) and code which will unlock the trial version.
Procedure
Increase Main Font Sizes
From your PC, login into the Pi with Putty (in Windows) or SSH (in Linux). Then, change to the Font.xml file as follows. (If you would rather just download a prepared file, skip the the next section entitled “Increase Main Font Sizes – Quick Way“).
Using your favourite editor, edit the file /usr/share/kodi/addons/skin.estuary/xml/Font.xml. For example, here I am using vi to edit the file. First, take a backup, using the cp command as shown.
Inside the file, near the top, are two definitions for “font12” and “font13“. Font13 is used to draw “label” type controls throughout the Kodi/OSMC user interface, including the text in the EPG grid and in many other places. Font12 controls the size of text in the EPG time line (near the top, showing the time of day horizontally), and smaller text in other places, eg Home page widgets.
How To Install A Font Font For Thought Windows 10
Recommendation: increase the size of font13 from 30 to a maximum of perhaps 38, depending on your personal preference. Change the size of font12 from 25 by anything up to 35. Bigger increases can displace other screen elements and make a mess.
Recommendation: also change the style of font 13 from “lighten” to “bold”. This makes EPG text really stand out.
Below, I have increased font12 from size 25 to 30, and font13 from 30 to 35. Font13 has also been emboldened, by changing its style from “lighten” to “bold“. These settings make the text nice and clear without displacing other elements in the UI.
To see the effect of your changes, restart Kodi/OSMC or reboot the Pi. Highlight the of/on button at the top left of the Kodi Home screen and select “Exit” (to restart Kodi) or “reboot” to reboot the Pi. Or you can simply reload the skin, if you have a button set up for that.
Improve Main Font Sizes – Quick Way
Download a copy of Font.xml with the changes already made:
To see the effect of your changes, restart Kodi/OSMC or reboot the Pi.
Improve TV Recordings Screen
These changes are useful if you are using Kodi or OSMC to watch and record live TV. (If you aren’t doing that but would like to, please see my accompanying procedure How to Watch and Record Live TV using a Raspberry Pi).
Two improvements are made. Firstly, the number of lines on the screen is increased, so that less scrolling is required to see your TV recordings. Secondly, the “free space” note at the bottom right of the screen is enlarged, and the accompanying indicator bar, which by default is only a couple of pixels wide, is broadened.
How To Install A Font Font For Thought Word
About 14 changes are made to the file. Instead of explaining each change here, the file has been uploaded to Github. Install it as follows:
If you are curious about the file modifications, check it with diff:
A Fonts
To see the effect of your changes, restart Kodi/OSMC or reboot the Pi.
END.