Change Nmap/Zenmap fonts on Windows

Application design is very important. The user-interface (UI) for applications should be clean and easy to read, and the font choices (while subject to personal preference) is critical. Some applications do a great job while others, especially apps that are designed for cross-platform use, tend to be hit or miss. Nmap, which is an excellent network diagnosis tool, is a great application but the choice of monospace font on the Windows platform (Courier New) is dismal. Fortunately, it’s easy to change this. Simply open the file pango.aliases (usually found in C:\Program Files\Nmap\zenmap\etc\pango\) and edit the line that reads

monospace = "courier new,courier monothai,mingliu,simsun, ...

Just add whatever font you want for the monospace font at the beginning of the quoted string. For example, to use Microsoft’s new open-type Consolas, simply change that line to read:

monospace = "consolas,courier new,courier monothai,mingliu,simsun, ...

Here is a sample of the default (with Courier New):

Here is a sample of the application using Consolas:

Finally, here is a sample using Lucida Console, my favorite:

Comments (3) »

1. Fyodor says:

   12/6/2008 at 2:44 am

   Good tip, but can you describe in more detail what you like better about Consolas compared to Courier new? I’m not a font guy, and from looking at the 2 screen shots it is not clear to me which one is superior. Consolas is clearly smaller, though you could get that effect by reducing the size of Courier New font.

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2. Toby Simmons says:

   12/6/2008 at 9:45 am

   Fyodor,

   Thanks for your comment. I’ve updated the post to include my preference on my laptop (where I made this post), Lucida Console. I think that Consolas and Lucida Console are much more readable than Courier New and are easier on the eyes.

   Consolas, according to Microsoft, was optimized specifically for ClearType font-smoothing, which allows it to keep it’s proportions closer to normal text than traditional monospaced fonts like Courier. Lucida Console also holds up well on the screen.

   I use Consolas at the office because it works very well with my larger screen (24-inch) and in higher resolution (1900×1680). On my laptop (where I made this post) I use Lucida Console, which is why I added the third sample above.

   Certainly personal preference comes into play. Someone might prefer a completely different font (Andale Mono?) and hopefully this post will tell them how to change it.

   Thanks again for your comment.

   Cheers,

   Toby

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3. Anonymous says:

   6/4/2023 at 7:18 am

   it didn’t work anymore, font type changed, but the size is still small

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