Monthly Archives: September 2014

Looking for a fix for the problem of italic fonts displaying as standard in Google Chrome browser?

You will have been Googling, tweaking your settings, and adjusting stuff that wasnt broke before. And you have still drawn a blank, right?

Whatever you do, Google Chrome still resolutely displays all fonts on most websites in a dreadful italic font.

Read on……..

If like me, you eschewed the buggy Internet Explorer ages ago, you will have become a Chrome devotee. Not much goes wrong with Chrome, but this is a bug, and one I found how to fix. Of course, as they say, your mileage may vary, but this has worked for everyone I know who has tried it.

Google Chrome typically updates itself, the version I found giving me problems is the latest version 37.0.2062.103 that self-updated. One day it was fine, next morning, all italics! Grrr.

The problem you have on your machine is caused because of a clash between Chrome and a programme called “Pressreader” distributed by Newspaper Direct, Inc. If you have that programme installed, which as far as I can tell is a little plugin that helps you read online newspapers – the fault lies in the way that programme defines fonts somehow that gets Chrome upset.

So there is a little download programme here that is the fix.

download

That comes straight from the pressreader.com site. You download and install it (takes seconds).

Close Chrome, open Chrome again and the problem should be fixed.

I will note that this isn’t my programme, I didn’t write it, I don’t host it, and if you think it may be virus-laden and from a dodgy source, scan it or do whatever you need to do with it to convince yourself its safe. All I can tell you is that it fixed my Chrome italic issue in moments.

If this fixes your Chrome italic issue, please use the comments box below to say so, or if you know a better fix, post that too.

It may be the case that this hasn’t fixed your Chrome italic issue.

If you have that pressreader programme, you could try deleting it and see if that works.

One thing I tried was a system restore to take my machine back a few days. That worked too in that it reversed the Chrome update, but it also made all my saved passwords disappear and auto-log ins not work. SO I updated Chrome and the issue came back (hence I knew what to look for).

If all else fails, you may need to use another browser until the next Chrome update. But please do not use the buggy Internet Explorer.

Firefox works, although I am not a huge fan of it for no particular reason.

One I do like is a Russian one called Yandex. Its basically Russia’s answer to Google Chrome. You can find it >>here<<. Certain aspects of it default to Russian the first few times you use it, but toggle them back to English with the bar and it soon remembers, and will only work in English from then on. Its a great browser that you will see borrows more than a little from Chrome. In my opinion, its a tad faster. For those who don't know who or what Yandex is, there is a Wikipedia page on the browser >>here<<. If you have any comments, you are welcome to use the comment box below. Continue reading →