Disappearing Text Weirdness

petey · 08-22-2002, 10:07 PM

Parts of text disappears on pages. A few words here, a few words there. No pattern or predictability.

Web Hyperlinks seem especially vulnerable. They reappear when you mouse over them in a web browser, but it happens outside of browsers too. Smaller text seems more vulnerable.

---

Has anyone else experienced this??? I'd really like to know!

It's been driving me nuts since my clean install of Jaguar.

---

- it happens on other accounts on my machine.
- it occurs on accounts that don't have Silk installed.

i'm just starting to troubleshoot this, but my partially-baked theory is that it's a problem with Quartz smoothing in Carbon apps. I've seen it (only?) in either carbon apps like IE that do their own smoothing, or with other carbon apps like Eudora that I'm having Silk smooth.

hillpressguy · 08-22-2002, 10:21 PM

I too have experienced the same problem in Jaguar using IE 5.2.. haven't noticed it in any other programs as of yet.. (but I haven't really used them all.. ).. i thought it was just me! I hope it is just a Microsoft problem...

petey · 08-22-2002, 11:21 PM

i'm glad it's not just my machine. that means someone else will fix it.

microsoft is still one of the few developers using text smoothing in carbon, AFAIK.

----

it's definitely weird, though. and hard to pin down the symptoms. it seems so far that it doesn't affect larger text sizes. and maybe it's only sans-serif fonts? (but i'm really guessing on that one.)

i've seen it in IE, and a couple of carbon apps Silk is smoothing. but i haven't seen it in Word so far.

vickishome · 08-22-2002, 11:50 PM

If what you're all seeing is what I think you're seeing, then it's not Jag or font smoothing. Every now and then while using IE, a page will come up, and the fonts will suddenly disappear just as the page finishes drawing to the screen. Sometimes all of the fonts disappear, but not always. Many times headings will remain. Table borders, pictures, etc are all unaffected and display just fine. It only affects the fonts on the page.

I'm experiencing this on OS X 10.1.5 and IE 5.1 (which does not yet employ font smoothing). I am not running silk either.

What I have found is if I do Ctrl-A to "select all" the fonts come right back.

There is no rhyme or reason to predict when the fonts will disappear. It doesn't happen often - maybe once or twice a week.

Does this sound like the same disappearing font problem you're experiencing?

petey · 08-23-2002, 02:28 AM

vicki,

what you're talking about is a different problem (which i've also noticed.) that problem was a very minor issue compared to this one.

a couple of differences in the problem i'm describing:

- command-a does not make the text reappear
- it occurs outside of IE
- just a few lines or phrases disappear. other text on the page or in the window is fine
- it never happened before jaguar
- it happens all the time

petey · 08-25-2002, 11:26 PM

FWIW, i've started seeing the problem in MS Word as well.

anyone have any theories about what's going on here?

monkeypod · 08-26-2002, 10:03 AM

I've noticed this in Mozilla and Office X (though more rarely). Highlighting the invisible text causes it to reappear.

In Mozilla a similar problem sometimes happens on links. When you rollover a link some of the letters disappear, then reappear when you roll off and then back on again. Different letters each time. Very strange.

petey · 08-28-2002, 05:39 PM

this problem has been noted by several people on the Jaguar reader reports over at Macintouch.

the odd part is that they all have iBook Dual USB 500 machines. as it happens, that's the machine i have as well.

it seems very improbable that this has to do with that specific machine (or graphics card), but who knows?

so, are other folks having this trouble also on iBook Dual USB's?

monkeypod · 08-29-2002, 04:09 AM

mine is an iBook SE 466 (one USB), however I guess it has the same video card as the Dual.

As expected, when I turned off the text aliasing in word X the problem went away, and since I installed Mozilla 1.1 (upgraded from the Beta) I've not noticed anything perculiar on the same webpages that we're giving me issues before.

octavius · 11-01-2002, 09:43 PM

I have a Dual USB 700mhz iBook.. I get the "missing text problem" a lot too. I tried Font Smoothing ON and OFF... no change.. It still dissappears. It better not be an ibook problem. I paid good money for this machine.

Russ R. · 11-01-2002, 10:26 PM

I see this on my 500 MHz CRT iMac, as well as on my 500 MHz dual USB iBook.

JordanHighway · 11-02-2002, 01:00 PM

Is this what the "font dissapearing" problem looks like for you guys? This only seems to happen in my web browsers (I posted another topic about it too).

Example of Font Problem

petey · 11-02-2002, 06:11 PM

JordanHighway:

yes. that is exactly what it looks like.

---------

Russ R:

is that what you're seeing on your iMac?

the general consensus on a bunch of websites seems to be that it is an iBook only problem. so i'm interested that you're seeing it on an iMac.

JordanHighway · 11-02-2002, 06:20 PM

I am on a Blueberry 500MHz iMac and I am getting the text problem.

Russ R. · 11-02-2002, 06:51 PM

petey - yes, this is exactly what I'm seeing on my iMac. I only see it in my browsers (Mozilla, Chimera). Then again, I do not have Word or MS Office. It all started with Jaguar. It's just a minor bug; I can't say that I'm too concerned about it. But, I've also read other threads, and it's definitely not just an iBook bug.

octavius · 11-14-2002, 01:55 AM

At first, i started thinking it was the iBook video card or something.. (regardless if that is a practical idea or not) but then, on my G4 tower, I got the same problems. both of which have different video cards. any more news?

petey · 11-14-2002, 04:48 AM

one of the bug fixes listed for 10.2.2 *seems* to be about this problem.

and i haven't seen the issue since i upgraded to 10.2.2. but i wouldn't see the issue every day under 10.2.1. so i can't tell yet if it's a coincidence, or if it's been fixed.

08-22-2002, 10:07 PM	#1
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	Disappearing Text Weirdness Parts of text disappears on pages. A few words here, a few words there. No pattern or predictability. Web Hyperlinks seem especially vulnerable. They reappear when you mouse over them in a web browser, but it happens outside of browsers too. Smaller text seems more vulnerable. --- Has anyone else experienced this??? I'd really like to know! It's been driving me nuts since my clean install of Jaguar. --- - it happens on other accounts on my machine. - it occurs on accounts that don't have Silk installed. i'm just starting to troubleshoot this, but my partially-baked theory is that it's a problem with Quartz smoothing in Carbon apps. I've seen it (only?) in either carbon apps like IE that do their own smoothing, or with other carbon apps like Eudora that I'm having Silk smooth.

08-22-2002, 11:50 PM	#4
vickishome MVP Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,075	If what you're all seeing is what I think you're seeing, then it's not Jag or font smoothing. Every now and then while using IE, a page will come up, and the fonts will suddenly disappear just as the page finishes drawing to the screen. Sometimes all of the fonts disappear, but not always. Many times headings will remain. Table borders, pictures, etc are all unaffected and display just fine. It only affects the fonts on the page. I'm experiencing this on OS X 10.1.5 and IE 5.1 (which does not yet employ font smoothing). I am not running silk either. What I have found is if I do Ctrl-A to "select all" the fonts come right back. There is no rhyme or reason to predict when the fonts will disappear. It doesn't happen often - maybe once or twice a week. Does this sound like the same disappearing font problem you're experiencing? __________________ Vicki • 15" MacBook Pro 2.66GHz i7, Mavericks 10.9.1, 8GB RAM • iPad 4G WiFi 64GB • iPhone 5 64GB • 15" MacBook Pro 2.4GHz, Tiger 10.4, 4GB RAM • G5 Dual 2GHz, Panther 10.3, 1.5GB RAM • G4 Dual 1GHz, Tiger 10.4, 1.5GB RAM Using Macs since 1986!

08-28-2002, 05:39 PM	#8
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	iBook Dual USB Only??? this problem has been noted by several people on the Jaguar reader reports over at Macintouch. the odd part is that they all have iBook Dual USB 500 machines. as it happens, that's the machine i have as well. it seems very improbable that this has to do with that specific machine (or graphics card), but who knows? so, are other folks having this trouble also on iBook Dual USB's?

08-29-2002, 04:09 AM	#9
monkeypod Prospect Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 5	almost mine is an iBook SE 466 (one USB), however I guess it has the same video card as the Dual. As expected, when I turned off the text aliasing in word X the problem went away, and since I installed Mozilla 1.1 (upgraded from the Beta) I've not noticed anything perculiar on the same webpages that we're giving me issues before.

11-01-2002, 09:43 PM	#10
octavius Triple-A Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 59	damn I have a Dual USB 700mhz iBook.. I get the "missing text problem" a lot too. I tried Font Smoothing ON and OFF... no change.. It still dissappears. It better not be an ibook problem. I paid good money for this machine. __________________ ...and the soul still burns...

08-22-2002, 10:21 PM	#2
hillpressguy Prospect Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1	I too have experienced the same problem in Jaguar using IE 5.2.. haven't noticed it in any other programs as of yet.. (but I haven't really used them all.. ).. i thought it was just me! I hope it is just a Microsoft problem...

08-22-2002, 11:21 PM	#3
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	i'm glad it's not just my machine. that means someone else will fix it. microsoft is still one of the few developers using text smoothing in carbon, AFAIK. ---- it's definitely weird, though. and hard to pin down the symptoms. it seems so far that it doesn't affect larger text sizes. and maybe it's only sans-serif fonts? (but i'm really guessing on that one.) i've seen it in IE, and a couple of carbon apps Silk is smoothing. but i haven't seen it in Word so far.

08-23-2002, 02:28 AM	#5
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	vicki, what you're talking about is a different problem (which i've also noticed.) that problem was a very minor issue compared to this one. a couple of differences in the problem i'm describing: - command-a does not make the text reappear - it occurs outside of IE - just a few lines or phrases disappear. other text on the page or in the window is fine - it never happened before jaguar - it happens all the time

08-25-2002, 11:26 PM	#6
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	FWIW, i've started seeing the problem in MS Word as well. anyone have any theories about what's going on here?

08-26-2002, 10:03 AM	#7
monkeypod Prospect Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 5	I've noticed this in Mozilla and Office X (though more rarely). Highlighting the invisible text causes it to reappear. In Mozilla a similar problem sometimes happens on links. When you rollover a link some of the letters disappear, then reappear when you roll off and then back on again. Different letters each time. Very strange.

11-01-2002, 10:26 PM	#11
Russ R. Triple-A Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 212	Not just iBooks I see this on my 500 MHz CRT iMac, as well as on my 500 MHz dual USB iBook. __________________ "Now, you will see me one more time, if you do good. You'll see me... two more times, if you do bad."

11-02-2002, 01:00 PM	#12
JordanHighway Prospect Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 30	fonts dissapearing Is this what the "font dissapearing" problem looks like for you guys? This only seems to happen in my web browsers (I posted another topic about it too). Example of Font Problem

11-02-2002, 06:11 PM	#13
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	JordanHighway: yes. that is exactly what it looks like. --------- Russ R: is that what you're seeing on your iMac? the general consensus on a bunch of websites seems to be that it is an iBook only problem. so i'm interested that you're seeing it on an iMac.

11-02-2002, 06:20 PM	#14
JordanHighway Prospect Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 30	I am on a Blueberry 500MHz iMac and I am getting the text problem.

11-02-2002, 06:51 PM	#15
Russ R. Triple-A Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chicago, USA Posts: 212	Yup petey - yes, this is exactly what I'm seeing on my iMac. I only see it in my browsers (Mozilla, Chimera). Then again, I do not have Word or MS Office. It all started with Jaguar. It's just a minor bug; I can't say that I'm too concerned about it. But, I've also read other threads, and it's definitely not just an iBook bug. __________________ "Now, you will see me one more time, if you do good. You'll see me... two more times, if you do bad."

11-14-2002, 01:55 AM	#16
octavius Triple-A Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 59	ummm At first, i started thinking it was the iBook video card or something.. (regardless if that is a practical idea or not) but then, on my G4 tower, I got the same problems. both of which have different video cards. any more news? __________________ ...and the soul still burns...

11-14-2002, 04:48 AM	#17
petey All Star Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: peteyville Posts: 794	10.2.2 one of the bug fixes listed for 10.2.2 seems to be about this problem. and i haven't seen the issue since i upgraded to 10.2.2. but i wouldn't see the issue every day under 10.2.1. so i can't tell yet if it's a coincidence, or if it's been fixed.