# Changing IDE fonts

**URL:** <https://forum.arduino.cc/t/changing-ide-fonts/1028827>\
**Category:** IDE 1.x\
**Created:** [September 5, 2022, 11:01am UTC](https://forum.arduino.cc/t/changing-ide-fonts/1028827 "2022-09-05T11:01:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4

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**Author:** ![ptillisch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@ptillisch](https://forum.arduino.cc/u/ptillisch)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://forum.arduino.cc/t/changing-ide-fonts/1028827/4 "2022-09-05T11:39:17Z")

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Hi @jhaine

> [@jhaine](#):
>
> I can open it and edit , I can't save back to the same folder.

You'll be glad to learn that Arduino IDE 1.x supports the installation of themes to the sketchbook folder.

You have two options for installing themes to the sketchbook, direct installation or installation as "ZIP" files.

I'll provide instructions for both options below;

* * *

## Direct installation

This installation option is best if you are going to use a single custom theme.

1. Select **File \> Preferences** from the Arduino IDE menus.
2. Take note of the path shown in the " **Sketchbook location**" field.  
This is the path to your "sketchbook folder".
3. Click the Cancel button.
4. Select **File \> Quit** from the Arduino IDE menus.
5. Open the sketchbook folder in your file browser.  
If you are using Windows, this would be **File Explorer**.
6. Create a subfolder in your sketchbook folder named `theme`.
7. Put the theme directly into the `theme` folder you created.

The folder structure must look like this:

```plaintext
<sketchbook folder>
|_ theme
   |_ syntax
   | |_ etc...
   |_ theme.txt
   |_ etc...

```

* * *

## "ZIP" file installation

This installation option is best if you want to switch between multiple custom themes, or if you are using a pre-made theme that supports this installation method.  
The second option is to put the theme in a "ZIP" file, then put that in the `theme` subfolder of the sketchbook folder.

1. Select **File \> Preferences** from the Arduino IDE menus.
2. Take note of the path shown in the " **Sketchbook location**" field.  
This is the location of your "sketchbook folder".
3. Click the Cancel button.
4. Select **File \> Quit** from the Arduino IDE menus.
5. Open the sketchbook folder in your file browser.  
If you are using Windows, this would be **File Explorer**.
6. Create a subfolder in your sketchbook folder named `theme`.
7. Put the theme "ZIP" file directly into the `theme` folder you created.
8. Start the Arduino IDE.
9. Select **File \> Preferences** from the Arduino IDE menus.
10. Select the theme from the **File \> Preferences \> Theme** menu.
11. Select **File \> Quit** from the Arduino IDE menus.
12. Start the Arduino IDE.  
The theme you selected from the menu will now be active.

The folder and "ZIP" file structure must look like this:

```plaintext
<sketchbook folder>
|_ theme
   |_ MyCoolTheme.zip
      |_ syntax
      | |_ etc...
      |_ theme.txt
      |_ etc...

```

There is a sort of tricky thing about this installation option. The theme must be in the root of the "ZIP" file, **NOT** in a subfolder. Some "ZIP" utilities make that difficult or even impossible (especially the macOS one), but a Windows user won't have any difficulty:

1. Select all the files of the theme in Windows **File Explorer**.
2. Right click on the selected files.
3. Select **Send to \> Compressed (zipped) folder** from the context menu.

The awesome thing about this option is it allows you to have multiple themes installed (each in its own "ZIP" file). You can chose which one you prefer via the " **Theme**" menu of the Arduino IDE's **File \> Preferences** dialog. This menu will include the option to select the " **Default theme**", which is the one installed with the IDE.

Let's say you had two themes, one you wanted to show up in the **Theme** menu as "MyCoolTheme" and another you wanted to show up as "MyOtherCoolTheme", the folder structure should look like this:

```plaintext
<sketchbook folder>
|_ theme
   |_ MyCoolTheme.zip
   | |_ syntax
   | | |_ etc...
   | |_ theme.txt
   | |_ etc...
   |_ MyOtherCoolTheme.zip
      |_ syntax
      | |_ etc...
      |_ theme.txt
      |_ etc...

```

> [@jhaine](#):
>
> Is the latest IDO (2.0.x?) better in this respect?

For making bespoke modifications to the theme, no. Although it is possible to customize the theme (see [this post](https://forum.arduino.cc/t/personal-themes/1024606/2) for details), the Arduino IDE 2.x theme system requires you to install the custom theme to the Arduino IDE installation folder.

So if you are bound and determined to install the Arduino IDE to a location on your computer that has special security restrictions, even though doing that is completely optional since the IDE can be installed anywhere you like, then you won't find Arduino IDE 2.x to be friendly to customizing themes.

On the other hand, Arduino IDE comes with 5 different themes pre-installed, which can be selected from the **File \> Preferences** menu. So if one of those happens to meet your needs out of the box, you would be in luck.

> [@jhaine](#):
>
> From what I've read it doesn't open the serial monitor in a separate window

That is correct:

> <https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289>
>
> \### Describe the request
> 
> Allow \*\*Serial Monitor\*\* to be placed in a dedicated w…indow separate from the primary Arduino IDE window.
> 
> 🙂 It will be possible for the user to control the display location of the Serial Monitor separately from the primary Arduino IDE window according to their needs and preferences.
> 🙂 This will provide feature parity with the Arduino IDE 1.x Serial Monitor.
> 
> \### Describe the current behavior
> 
> Serial Monitor is a view in the bottom panel of the primary Arduino IDE window.
> 
> 🙁 It is not possible to move Serial Monitor to a separate screen in order to dedicate all space on the primary screen to the Arduino IDE editor.
> 
> \### Arduino IDE version
> 
> \#### Original report
> 
> 2.0.0-beta.4
> 
> \#### Last verified with
> 
> 2.0.1-snapshot-32d904c
> 
> \### Operating system
> 
> All
> 
> \### Operating system version
> 
> Any
> 
> \### Additional context
> 
> The requested "tear off" capability would probably make sense for other windows ("\*\*Output\*\*" view) too.
> 
> \<a name="workaround"\>\</a\>
> 
> \#### Workaround
> 
> 1. Select \*\*File \> New Sketch\*\* from the Arduino IDE menus.
> A new Arduino IDE window will open.
> 1. Select \*\*Tools \> Serial Monitor\*\* from the Arduino IDE menus.
> The "\*\*Serial Monitor\*\*" view will open in the bottom panel of the Arduino IDE window.
> 1. Hover the mouse pointer over the top border of the bottom panel.
> The mouse pointer will change into a resize icon.
> 1. Click and drag the border up until it reaches its maximum height.
> 
> You can now use that Arduino IDE window solely for Serial Monitor, switching back to the other Arduino IDE window to do sketch editing, compile, upload, etc. operations just as you would do with the Arduino IDE 1.x Serial Monitor.
> 
> \#### Additional requests
> 
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-810073157
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-813597014
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-850550857
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-983961342
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1006024396
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1034829176
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1068087883
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1195300991
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1247730828
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1247930105
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1257039691
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1382677544
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1399304977
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/289#issuecomment-1399421191
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/1799
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/1268
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/755
> \- https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues/2131
> \- https://www.facebook.com/official.arduino/posts/pfbid02x5KM54Gf7L56Tea79pLYVafrciYAGZrioedDVD6YFKEnJdsiNT3w6S2WinZtrAc9l?comment\_id=1395510504579311
> \- https://www.facebook.com/official.arduino/posts/pfbid02qWaAtdLM6Hz43h7BRiYLg3yAoDz4HXRw28tLpgc4d1rszqG5gjbbumA21cLcS2Vcl?comment\_id=996845494967736
> \- https://twitter.com/DevReliefFred/status/1696610597171773571
> \- https://twitter.com/PaulStoffregen/status/1658089036685410305
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/making-the-serial-console-a-dockable-screen-again/1079586
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/ide-2-0-3-undocking-serial-monitor/1063170
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-ide-usb-serial-terminal-issues/1049458/13
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/how-to-get-all-my-1-18-19-libraries-installed-in-2-0-1/1050248/3
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serialmonitor-74880-baud-rate-in-ide-2-0-1/1046886
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/windows-the-serial-monitor-window-needs-to-pop-out-please/1036538
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/using-v-2-0-serial-monitor-print/1034093
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-2-0-0-macos-unexpected-differences/1033549
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/2-0-keyboard-shortcuts-dont-work/1033105/11
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-ide-2-0-0-available-for-download/1031651/17
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/1
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/3
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/4
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/15
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/changing-ide-fonts/1028827
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-issues-hopefully-fixed-before-release/1026548
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-seperate-window/1022661/1
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-seperate-window/1022661/2
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-seperate-window/1022661/5
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/automatic-build-external-screen-for-serial/1013958
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-with-new-ide/1010684/10
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/ide-2-0-rc5-serial-monitor-problems/978293
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-characteristics-fail/943590
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/how-to-dock-serial-monitor/942477
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/how-to-dock-serial-monitor/942477/12
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/no-support-for-esp32-boards-manager-2-01/940115/5
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/first-impressions-and-comments/930873
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/missing-serial-monitor-and-serial-plotter/924262
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-2-0-has-too-many-problems/1100602
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-2-0-has-too-many-problems/1100602/13
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/missing-baud-rate-dropdown-v2-0-4-ide/1105972
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-2-04-stuck-in-splash-screen/1107587/11
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/16
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/17
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-double-window-problem/1112463
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/18
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/ide-2-1-i-am-not-happy/1142471
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/ide-2-serial-monitor/1146303
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-a-separate-window/1031455/26
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/i-miss-my-separate-serial-monitor-window/1163606
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/cannot-upload-to-ftdi-megas-only/1170683
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/your-reason-for-not-switching-to-the-2-x-ide/1176322
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/your-reason-for-not-switching-to-the-2-x-ide/1176322/23
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-in-separate-window-larger-font-etc/1204423
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/adios-ide-2-0-this-is-goodbye-forever/1031455/46
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/undock-serial-monitor/1237489
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/serial-monitor-not-in-separate-window-now/1299502/4
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/feeback-on-latest-2-x-ide-w-win11/1333594
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/critical-flaws-in-v2-ide/1335245
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/several-bugs-in-ide/1361018/11
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/path-error-linux-22-1/1393509/4
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/output-window-format/1406883
> 
> \#### Related
> 
> \- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/can-we-pin-the-serial-plotter-window-in-ide-2-x/1415954
> 
> \### Issue checklist
> 
> \- \[X\] I searched for previous requests in \[the issue tracker\](https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues?q=)
> \- \[X\] I verified the feature was still missing when using the latest \[nightly build\](https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide#nightly-builds)
> \- \[X\] My request contains all necessary details

The plans are to redesign the Serial Monitor to be a separate window, but for now it is an integrated part of the Arduino IDE 2.x window.

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_[View the full topic](https://forum.arduino.cc/t/changing-ide-fonts/1028827)._