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Common problems with fonts in Lacerte

by Intuit• Updated 2 months ago

For more Print & PDF resources, check out our Troubleshooting page for Print & PDF where you'll find answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Text appears small in Lacerte

Forms may display text and font misaligned or off size, but when printed they appear as expected. This includes but isn't limited to:

  • Clients, Detail, Forms tabs
  • Menu items at the top (Client, E-File, Print, etc.)
  • Views and Filters lists
  • Detail screens
  • Dialogue boxes partially cut off
  • Form(s) text misaligned or incorrect

Beginning in Windows 8.1 Microsoft implemented more advanced display scaling. Lacerte implemented this display scaling in Lacerte 2015. This alleviated most of the scaling issues, but if you still experience scaling issues:

Rename the w??tax.ini File

If the fonts looked fine earlier, then it may be that the configuration file for the program is damaged. Renaming this file will let Lacerte to generate a new copy:

  1. Close the impacted Lacerte program.
  2. Browse to the following folder: C:\USERS\\Appdata\Roaming\Lacerte\
  3. Rename the file W??Tax to W??tax-old.
    • ?? = Tax year
    • If file extensions are showing, it will end with .ini
  4. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Turn off Compatibility Settings

If you had previously attempted to resolve issues by enabling Compatibility mode these settings may need to be disabled.

  1. Close Lacerte
  2. Right-click the shortcut you use to open Lacerte
  3. Select Properties
  4. Select the Compatibility tab.
  5. Uncheck all of the following options:
    • Run this program in compatibility mode for
    • Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
    • Override high DPI scaling behavior
    • Run in 640x480 screen resolution
  6. Select Apply
  7. Select OK.
  8. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Enable Compatibility Settings

If the Windows display scaling is not set to 100% and there are any strange display effects, this setting essentially forces the program to use 100%. While this will make some fonts in the program smaller, it can fix other issues such as overlapping text or missing buttons.

  1. Close Lacerte
  2. Right-click the shortcut you use to open Lacerte
  3. Select Properties
  4. Select the Compatibility tab.
  5. Check the box labeled Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
    • If you see Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by:, Select System from the dropdown below.
  6. Select Apply
  7. Select OK.
  8. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Rename the w??tax.ini File

If the fonts looked fine earlier, then it may be that the configuration file for the program is damaged. Renaming this file will let Lacerte to generate a new copy:

  1. Close the impacted Lacerte program.
  2. Browse to the following folder: C:\USERS\\Appdata\Roaming\Lacerte\
  3. Rename the file W??Tax to W??tax-old.
    • ?? = Tax year
    • If file extensions are showing, it will end with .ini
  4. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Change Windows Text Size (DPI Scaling)

Lacerte Tax does not scale areas around text to match the text size, so increasing your text scaling beyond 100% will cause some text to be truncated or misaligned. It should be set to 100%.

  1. Close Lacerte and right-click an empty area of your Desktop.
  2. Select Screen Resolution and then Display at the top.
  3. Select 100 percent (Recommended)
  4. Select Adjust Resolution.
  5. Adjust the Resolution to a lower amount using the percent as a guideline. ForExample:
    • If the resolution was 3840 x 2400 at 200 percent, change the resolution to 1920 x 1200
    • Since the percentage is being halved, lowering the resolution by half will keep everything relatively the same size.
  6. Select Apply.
  7. Restart the computer when prompted
  8. After the restart, open Lacerte

Note: Setting this to anything other than 100% may cause other detrimental display related effects within Lacerte Tax with Windows Vista/7/8

Rename the w??tax.ini File

If the fonts looked fine earlier, then it may be that the configuration file for the program is damaged. Renaming this file will let Lacerte to generate a new copy:

  1. Close the impacted Lacerte program.
  2. Browse to the following folder: C:\USERS\\Appdata\Roaming\Lacerte\
  3. Rename the file W??Tax to W??tax-old.
    • ?? = Tax year
    • If file extensions are showing, it will end with .ini
  4. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Change Compatibility Settings

If the DPI Scaling in Solution 1 is not set to 100% and there are any strange display effects, this setting essentially forces the program to use 100%. While this will make some fonts in the program smaller, it can fix other issues such as overlapping text or missing buttons.

  1. Close Lacerte
  2. Right-click the shortcut you use to open Lacerte
  3. Select Properties
  4. Select the Compatibility tab.
  5. Check the box labeled Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
  6. Select Apply
  7. Select OK.
  8. Open Lacerte and make sure the issue is resolved

Forms are blank, or fonts appear incorrect

Most taxing authorities provide custom fonts that meet their specifications to reliably recreate their forms. When Lacerte needs to update one of these fonts, if the font is use the update will fail.

Restart your computer to free up any fonts locked in use, and then follow the steps below based on your version of Windows.

  1. Close Lacerte
  2. Navigate to C:\Lacerte\24tax\
  3. Highlight all the files ending in .ttf (TrueType font files).
  4. Right-click on any of the selected files and choose Install.
    • If you see a window stating that the font is already installed, choose Yes.
  5. Open Lacerte and make sure the Forms display correctly
  1. Close Lacerte Tax.
  2. From the Start menu, open the Control Panel.
  3. Open the Fonts icon.
  4. Go to the File menu and select Install New Fonts.
  5. In the Add Fonts window, browse to C:\Lacerte\??tax\ for the program year.
  6. Select the Select All option
  7. Select Install, Continue, or OK.
  8. Open Lacerte and make sure the Forms display correctly
Lacerte Tax 2023

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