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Atlas Engine ignores Cleartype and defaults to GrayScale #20462

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opened 2026-01-31 07:14:32 +00:00 by claunia · 4 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-31 07:14:32 +00:00
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Originally created by @qgates on GitHub (Sep 11, 2023).

Windows Terminal version

1.18.1462.0

Windows build number

10.0.19045.3324

Other Software

No response

Steps to reproduce

  • Enable ClearType AA
  • Use background transparency
  • Launch vim or any other application which fills the entire viewport with an opaque color

Expected Behavior

Cleartype antialising to be in effect.

Actual Behavior

Grayscale antialiasing is still in effect.

Launching with Atlas Engine disabled, Cleartype antialising works.

Originally created by @qgates on GitHub (Sep 11, 2023). ### Windows Terminal version 1.18.1462.0 ### Windows build number 10.0.19045.3324 ### Other Software _No response_ ### Steps to reproduce * Enable ClearType AA * Use background transparency * Launch `vim` or any other application which fills the entire viewport with an opaque color ### Expected Behavior Cleartype antialising to be in effect. ### Actual Behavior Grayscale antialiasing is still in effect. Launching with Atlas Engine disabled, Cleartype antialising works.
claunia added the Area-RenderingIssue-BugNeeds-Tag-FixProduct-Terminal labels 2026-01-31 07:14:33 +00:00
claunia commented 2026-01-31 07:14:34 +00:00
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@lhecker commented on GitHub (Sep 11, 2023):

ClearType doesn't work if you use background transparency of any kind (ClearType requires opaque backgrounds). Do you happen to use that?

@lhecker commented on GitHub (Sep 11, 2023): ClearType doesn't work if you use background transparency of any kind (ClearType requires opaque backgrounds). Do you happen to use that?
claunia commented 2026-01-31 07:14:34 +00:00
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@qgates commented on GitHub (Sep 12, 2023):

Thanks for clarifying. I do indeed have partial transparency on the terminal.

However, there is still an edge-case bug. With transparency on the terminal window, if I run vim with a non-transparent theme, ie. solid background filling the terminal window, then:

  • with AtlasEngine off, cleartype works but only while vim is running with solid background. The moment I quit vim cleartype reverts to grayscale
  • with AtlasEngine on, cleartype never works, even if an application (vim) has a solid background and fills the terminal screen

This edge-case discrepancy may or may not be acceptable.

@qgates commented on GitHub (Sep 12, 2023): Thanks for clarifying. I do indeed have partial transparency on the terminal. However, there is still an edge-case bug. With transparency on the terminal window, if I run vim with a non-transparent theme, ie. solid background filling the terminal window, then: - with AtlasEngine off, cleartype works but only while vim is running with solid background. The moment I quit vim cleartype reverts to grayscale - with AtlasEngine on, cleartype never works, even if an application (vim) has a solid background and fills the terminal screen This edge-case discrepancy may or may not be acceptable.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 07:14:35 +00:00
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@lhecker commented on GitHub (Sep 12, 2023):

Ah, thanks for clarifying this! I've updated the issue description. 🙂

Thinking about it, I'd like to not address this issue at the moment, even if I realize that this is an annoying issue, in particular at 100% display scale. AtlasEngine allows glyphs to "overhang" outside of their cells, and we intend to allow this for the margins/gutters around the terminal viewport as well. In other words, glyphs can then overhang into these transparent areas:
image

Making this work properly with ClearType would be rather annoying.

@lhecker commented on GitHub (Sep 12, 2023): Ah, thanks for clarifying this! I've updated the issue description. 🙂 Thinking about it, I'd like to not address this issue at the moment, even if I realize that this is an annoying issue, in particular at 100% display scale. AtlasEngine allows glyphs to "overhang" outside of their cells, and we intend to allow this for the margins/gutters around the terminal viewport as well. In other words, glyphs can then overhang into these transparent areas: ![image](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/assets/2256941/ce776fac-1799-4cc5-a5aa-501faa639b7e) Making this work properly with ClearType would be rather annoying.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 07:14:35 +00:00
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@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Sep 20, 2023):

Thanks for the feedback. We took some time to discuss this as a team. This issue has actually been around for a while and @zadjii-msft wrote up a conclusion on it here.

As such, we're closing this as "by design".

@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Sep 20, 2023): Thanks for the feedback. We took some time to discuss this as a team. This issue has actually been around for a while and @zadjii-msft wrote up a conclusion on it [here](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/5098#issuecomment-610451748). As such, we're closing this as "by design".
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Reference: starred/terminal#20462
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