diff --git a/simopt/GUI.py b/simopt/GUI.py
index aed104a5..526256d1 100644
--- a/simopt/GUI.py
+++ b/simopt/GUI.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ def main() -> None:
     root = GUIMaster()
     root.title("SimOpt Library Graphical User Interface")
     root.pack_propagate(False)
+    root.tk.call("tk", "scaling", 1.0)
 
     # Parse command line
     log_level = logging.INFO
diff --git a/simopt/experiment_base.py b/simopt/experiment_base.py
index 9fa1335c..a20c0def 100644
--- a/simopt/experiment_base.py
+++ b/simopt/experiment_base.py
@@ -202,12 +202,22 @@ def create_design_list_from_table(design_table: DataFrame) -> list[dict[str, Any
     # Creates dictonary of table to convert values to proper datatypes.
     dp_dict = design_table.to_dict(orient="list")
 
-    # NOTE: the str cast for the factor name shouldn't be necessary, but it tells the
-    # typing system that the dict keys are definitely strings and not just hashable.
-    return [
-        {str(factor): literal_eval(str(dp_dict[factor][dp])) for factor in dp_dict}
-        for dp in range(len(design_table))
-    ]
+    # TODO: this is a hack to get the data type of the factors back.
+    design_list = []
+    for dp in range(len(design_table)):
+        config = {}
+        for factor in dp_dict:
+            key = str(factor)
+            raw_value = str(dp_dict[factor][dp])
+            try:
+                value = literal_eval(raw_value)
+            except ValueError:
+                # This exception handles the case where the value is a string.
+                value = raw_value
+            config[key] = value
+        design_list.append(config)
+
+    return design_list
 
 
 def create_design(
diff --git a/simopt/gui/main_menu.py b/simopt/gui/main_menu.py
index 9c3e3907..62c70423 100644
--- a/simopt/gui/main_menu.py
+++ b/simopt/gui/main_menu.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from simopt.gui.new_experiment_window import NewExperimentWindow
 from simopt.gui.toplevel_custom import Toplevel
 
-FONT_SCALE: Final[float] = 1.5
+FONT_SCALE: Final[float] = 1
 
 
 class MainMenuWindow(Toplevel):
diff --git a/simopt/gui/new_experiment_window.py b/simopt/gui/new_experiment_window.py
index 7b4696ed..e3ff5b73 100644
--- a/simopt/gui/new_experiment_window.py
+++ b/simopt/gui/new_experiment_window.py
@@ -1647,6 +1647,13 @@ def __show_data_farming_core(
             for factor in model_specifications:
                 specifications[factor] = model_specifications[factor]
         # Convert the specifications to a dictionary of DFFactor objects
+
+        # TODO: This is a hack to remove the step_type and search_direction factors 
+        # because str type is not currently supported in the GUI.
+        if isinstance(base_object, Solver) and base_object.class_name_abbr == "FCSA":
+            del specifications["step_type"]
+            del specifications["search_direction"]
+
         self.factor_dict = spec_dict_to_df_dict(specifications)
 
         # Add all the column headers
@@ -2355,7 +2362,7 @@ def __log_results_gui(self, experiment_name: str) -> None:
         self.__update_experiment_label(experiment_name, "Logging")
         # Try to log the experiment
         try:
-            self.post_normalize(experiment_name)
+            self.log_results(experiment_name)
             # If successful, update the label and button
             self.__update_experiment_label(experiment_name, "Logged")
             self.__update_action_button(experiment_name, "All Steps\nComplete")
diff --git a/simopt/solvers/fcsa.py b/simopt/solvers/fcsa.py
index 81231927..1adbb2be 100644
--- a/simopt/solvers/fcsa.py
+++ b/simopt/solvers/fcsa.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 D. J. Eckman, S. G. Henderson, and S. Shashaani
 """
 
-from typing import Annotated, ClassVar, Literal
+from typing import Annotated, ClassVar
 
 import cvxpy as cp
 import numpy as np
@@ -44,7 +44,9 @@ class FCSAConfig(SolverConfig):
         ),
     ]
     step_type: Annotated[
-        Literal["const", "decay"],
+        # TODO: change back when the old GUI is removed
+        # Literal["const", "decay"],
+        str,
         Field(default="const", description="constant or decaying step size?"),
     ]
     step_mult: Annotated[
@@ -60,7 +62,9 @@ class FCSAConfig(SolverConfig):
         Field(default=0.01, ge=0, description="tolerance function"),
     ]
     search_direction: Annotated[
-        Literal["FCSA", "CSA-N", "CSA"],
+        # TODO: change back when the old GUI is removed
+        # Literal["FCSA", "CSA-N", "CSA"],
+        str,
         Field(
             default="FCSA",
             description=(