Skip to content

a11y(gui): user-adjustable text size for the panadapter frequency scale #3501

Description

@nigelfenton

Report origin: KN7K via Discord (2026-06-10), running v26.6.2 on a FLEX-8600 — "Can I make these fonts for frequencies bigger, how?" (screenshot showed the MHz tick labels on the ruler between spectrum and waterfall).

Current state: the label size is hardcoded — SpectrumWidget::drawFreqScale() sets f.setPointSize(8) with no setting behind it. Grid spacing is user-adjustable (#1390); label size is not. Today's only workarounds (OS display scaling, QT_SCALE_FACTOR) scale the entire UI, which is the wrong tool when only the small ruler text is the problem.

Ask: a Display-settings entry for frequency-scale text size (e.g. small/medium/large or 8–14 pt), applied in drawFreqScale().

Implementation note for whoever takes it: the scale strip height (FREQ_SCALE_H) is also fixed — it needs to derive from the font metrics, or larger text clips its ascenders in the fixed-height strip. The dBm scale on the right edge may deserve the same treatment for consistency.

Why now: fits the accessibility initiative just grounded in #3443 — ruler legibility is a core operator-facing WCAG item, and this is a small, contained first implementation of it.

Happy to pick this up as a PR if the approach gets a nod.

73, Nigel — G0JKN (report relayed from KN7K)

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    GUIUser interfaceenhancementImprovement to existing featuregood first issueGood for newcomersmaintainer-reviewRequires maintainer review before any action is takenspectrumPanadapter and waterfall

    Type

    No type

    Fields

    No fields configured for issues without a type.

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions