Settings window too large in Python IDLE 3.8

Question

I am trying to increase the font size of my code on IDLE 3.8. For this I go on IDLE->Preferences->Fonts/Tabs and change from there. But the length of my settings window is by default quite large so the OK/Apply buttons are not visible and I can't save any changes to the font size.

Is there a way I can either reduce the size of window or any alternate way to increase font? I am using macOS version 10.13.6.

Answer 1

3.8 is over 5 years old. I had the same problem on my macBook Air. So I added a new page to the settings dialog and rearranged things to make the dialog shorter. If you cannot upgrade to 3.11 or 3.12, here are 2 things you can do.

1. In not already, move the dock to one side instead of top/bottom to have more vertical room. I did this on my macBook Air.

2. Start Terminal in your home directory. Enter ls -a to confirm the presence of .idlerc. cd .idlerc. ls and find config-main.cfg. Edit that file. If nothing else, enter idle3 config-main.cfg. Change the font-size there. Be careful not to add noise to the file. Save.

Answer 2

I just opened IDLE 3.10 on Windows and everything works well. I looked at the IDLE Doc from the Help menu and it says this:

Configure IDLE: Open a configuration dialog and change preferences for the following: fonts, indentation, keybindings, text color themes, startup windows and size, additional help sources, and extensions. On macOS, open the configuration dialog by selecting Preferences in the application menu. For more details, see Setting preferences under Help and preferences.

However, I'm curious to know why you'd prefer IDLE. There are many great text editors out there for Python. VSCode is a great choice for experienced users whilst Sublime Text is Beginner friendly.