{"id":2031,"date":"2026-04-29T07:35:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/?p=2031"},"modified":"2026-03-28T05:25:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T05:25:46","slug":"how-to-use-applicationalwaysusecleartype-in-the-xlwings-api-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/how-to-use-applicationalwaysusecleartype-in-the-xlwings-api-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use Application.AlwaysUseClearType in the xlwings API way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Functionality<\/strong>
The Application.AlwaysUseClearType<\/code> property in Excel’s object model is a read\/write Boolean that controls whether ClearType font smoothing is used for all text within the Excel application window. ClearType is a Microsoft font rendering technology designed to improve text readability on LCD monitors. When enabled (True<\/code>), text appears smoother and potentially more legible, especially at smaller font sizes or on certain displays. When disabled (False<\/code>), Excel uses standard font rendering. This is an application-level setting, meaning it affects all open workbooks and persists across sessions unless changed. In xlwings, you can access and modify this property to programmatically manage the font rendering preference, which can be useful for ensuring consistent visual presentation in automated reports or when deploying Excel-based solutions across different user environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syntax<\/strong>
In xlwings, you access this property via the App<\/code> object, which represents the Excel application instance. The property is exposed as a simple attribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# Get the current value\ncurrent_setting = app.AlwaysUseClearType\n\n# Set a new value\napp.AlwaysUseClearType = new_value<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • app<\/code>: An xlwings App<\/code> object instance. Typically obtained via xw.App()<\/code> (for a new instance) or xw.apps<\/code> collection (for an existing instance).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • current_setting<\/code>: Returns a Python bool<\/code> (True<\/code> or False<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • new_value<\/code>: A Python bool<\/code> (True<\/code> or False<\/code>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    Remarks:<\/strong> This property corresponds directly to the Excel VBA Application.AlwaysUseClearType<\/code>. It is only available on Windows, as ClearType is a Windows-specific technology. Attempting to access it on macOS will raise an AttributeError<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Code Examples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Checking the Current Setting:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      import xlwings as xw\n\n# Connect to the active Excel instance\napp = xw.apps.active\n\n# Get the current ClearType setting\ncleartype_enabled = app.AlwaysUseClearType\nprint(f\"ClearType is currently enabled: {cleartype_enabled}\")<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Enabling ClearType Programmatically:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        import xlwings as xw\n\n# Start a new Excel instance (or use active)\napp = xw.App()\n\n# Ensure ClearType is turned on\napp.AlwaysUseClearType = True\nprint(\"ClearType has been enabled for this Excel session.\")\n\n# ... perform other automation tasks ...\n\napp.quit() # Close the instance<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. Conditional Toggle Based on Current State:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          import xlwings as xw\n\napp = xw.apps[0] # Access the first running Excel instance\n\nif not app.AlwaysUseClearType:\n    app.AlwaysUseClearType = True\n    print(\"ClearType was off and has now been enabled.\")\nelse:\n    print(\"ClearType was already enabled.\")<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          1. Integrating into a Larger Automation Script (with error handling for cross-platform compatibility):<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            import xlwings as xw\nimport sys\n\ndef configure_font_rendering(app_instance):\n\"\"\"Attempt to set ClearType on Windows.\"\"\"\nif sys.platform.startswith('win'):\n    try:\n        app_instance.AlwaysUseClearType = True\n        print(\"ClearType configured successfully.\")\n    except AttributeError as e:\n        print(f\"Could not set AlwaysUseClearType: {e}\")\nelse:\n    print(\"ClearType setting is only applicable on Windows. Skipping.\")\n\n# Usage\napp = xw.App(visible=True)\nconfigure_font_rendering(app)\n\n# Create a workbook and add some text\nwb = app.books.add()\nws = wb.sheets[0]\nws.range('A1').value = \"Text displayed with ClearType smoothing (if Windows).\"\n\nwb.save('report_with_cleartype.xlsx')\napp.quit()<\/code><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
            **Functionality**
            \nThe `Application.AlwaysUseClearType` property in Excel's object model is a read\/wr…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-xlwings-api-reference"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2031"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3104,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions\/3104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}