PSP2021 Font size randomly changes huge or small

[User10232023]

This happens to me on occasion and didn't see anything in my searches.
First this only affects PSP.
On same PC I have Irfanview, Krita, Inkscape, Gimp and their fonts sizes show up as expected.

Started editing a file and went to add text standard arial font last used 10pt, but it showed up about 42pt. (screenshot attached)
I took a screenshot to show text settings, after I selected text and changed font size to 8pt but it was still about 40pt huge.

So I opened the same .BMP file with irfanview and typed Hello at 16pt and that looked correct and screenshoted.
Pasted part of that irfanview screenshot into PSP to show both at viewing 1:1 = 100%
But then in PSP I typed "Irfanview" which looked like its maybe 5pt, selected and increased it to 16pt.

I'm stumped why PSP randomly changes font size and is (imo) inconsistent with font sizes even within same file and same editing session.
Is there a setting I messed up, or some "AI sizing helper" that I need to disable?

[Jean-Luc]

Both images must have the same number of PPI. Font size is relative to image resolution. If you work in pixels, this remains unchanged.

[User10232023]

Yes the images have the same PPI and I always work in pixels.
It is the same .bmp image, just opened in different programs.

I can't show the entire original image as I was adding note to clients drawing.
It doesn't happen all the time and rarely for the huge to tiny in same image, perhaps this time after I merged layers thats what made it go tiny maybe?

[Jean-Luc]

You said "I typed Hello at 16pt". 16pt=16 Points.
And now you say "I always work in pixels". ???

A screenshot doesn't have the same resolution as a file created in PSP:
Screenshot = 72PPI
File created in PSP = 200 or 300 PPI.
Do Image/Image Information/Image Information to see the Pixel Per Inch value.

[User10232023]

I wrote that to double check what you meant by "work in pixels", just in case you meant use fonts in pixel sizes.
NoI don't use fonts in pixels because most software I use involves printing so I know the size for print and for legibility when used in images.
When using JASC PSP7 and 9 for last 20 years they're font system was set to points and they viewed and printed as expected.

In DTP (desktop publishing) industry the ancient points system is still the standard with Pica being the 2nd most (imo) common system.
Font sizing abbreviations are displayed in most software including image editing which is great for relaying the sizing info in screenshots.
Here's 3 commonly mistaken abbreviations:
px = Pixels is unusual to see as default setting for fonts even in any image editing software today.
pc = Picas and pretty common at least for USA and UK printing industry.
pt = Points or PostScript, is often the default system for most software of any kind that I've seen, outside some industry programs like QuarkXPress.
As a result of using pt system since at least the 1980s I've come to expect fonts to display and print at same scale consistently and this is the one exception I've found I can't figure out why PSP2021.

The image I attached was my fault for trying to simplify things simple and trying to save things small to save file space and people's download times. (yup that old)
Since there is now a new forum I'll post there when it happens again.
And that next time I will just save a copy of the image and upload that instead of screenshots.
Thank you.

[Jean-Luc]

I understand your arguments very well. However, Paint Shop Pro (PSP) is different from other software on the market. The software you mention is indeed Desktop Publishing or similar software, which primarily works in vector format. PSP, on the other hand, has been a raster-based software since its creation. The text function in PSP has always been problematic because of this. There are differences in behavior between different versions as well as bugs. It is not excluded that some anomalies may be present in one version or another randomly. This might be what you have encountered.

However, I draw your attention to the resolution of the images used, which influences the size of the fonts. I suggest you perform the following test. Create an image of 500x250 pixels at 300PPI and another at 500x250 pixels at 150DPI. When displayed both at 100% on the screen, they will have the same size.

Now, enter a text of 16pt (or another value) in the 300PPI image. Enter the same text of 16pt in the 150PPI image. In the latter image, the text will be smaller.

Now, set the text in pixels in the Tool Options. Then enter the same text with the same pixel value in both images; this time the two texts will be the same size. This is how PSP operates.

[User10232023]

Tested that and that is the issue with Corel-era PSP.
Oddly this wasn't an issue for me using JASC-era PSP7 for previous 20 years.

So I looked at properties of the last image that gave me trouble and it is 600 dpi (colour 24/32-bit)
Looked at several other .tiff files and that client normally sends them at 200 dpi (grayscale 8-bit)

Thank you for explaining why this bug happens.