Ranges, Java and HiDPI Screens

Ranges users have begun reporting that all the text on their installation of Ranges is impossibly small and are asking for a fix or workaround. In fact, these users have stumbled across a problem that the Java runtime (JRE) has with high DPI screens in the newer Windows versions.


We discovered this issue a couple of years ago on one of our own new HiDPI screens and failed to find a solution short of ditching Java and re-coding the Ranges front end in a different language, a task we did not relish. We kept quiet, expecting a cascade of complaints but interestingly no one mentioned it until yesterday when two UK users reported it at almost exactly the same time!

The very good news is that there is, or soon will be, a fix in the Java runtime. Java 9 is officially out in July 2017 but we have made Ranges display properly on Windows 10 HiDPI under a pre-release version. There may be other issues with a pre-release runtime but final testing finishes next week and it should now be essentially complete. If you are suffering from tiny text on your new Windows laptop, you may like to give this a go yourselves following the instructions below.

To download and install the Java 9 pre release, visit

https://jdk9.java.net/download/

, accept the licence agreement and chose the JRE (Java Runtime Environment), not the JDK (Development Kit), with the version of Windows you are running (most likely 64 bit).
While installing it may ask you to uninstall old versions. It is probably best to leave the latest Java 8 on there, in case you need to roll back.

A corresponding version of Ranges (will work with JRE 8 too) can be found as usual at

http://www.anatrack.com/download_ranges.php

It should install over the top of your current version; this will keep all licensing and data files.
As ever, do let us know if there are any issues with this version of Ranges 9. We will report any that are caused by Java to the authorities at Oracle.

In fact, if you do try this fix, please let us know either in the comments section below or via email.