diff --git a/src/ui/FeedbackWindow.swift b/src/ui/FeedbackWindow.swift
index fdbd974e..83e2436a 100644
--- a/src/ui/FeedbackWindow.swift
+++ b/src/ui/FeedbackWindow.swift
@@ -28,20 +28,18 @@ class FeedbackWindow: NSWindow {
     private func setupView() {
         let appIcon = NSImageView(image: NSImage(named: "app-icon")!.resizedCopy(80, 80))
         appIcon.imageScaling = .scaleNone
-        let appText = NSStackView(views: [
+        let appText = StackView([
             BoldLabel(NSLocalizedString("Share improvement ideas, or report bugs", comment: "")),
             HyperlinkLabel(NSLocalizedString("View existing discussions", comment: ""), App.repository + "/issues"),
-        ])
-        appText.orientation = .vertical
-        appText.alignment = .left
+        ], .vertical)
         appText.spacing = GridView.interPadding / 2
         let header = NSStackView(views: [appIcon, appText])
         header.spacing = GridView.interPadding
         sendButton = NSButton(title: NSLocalizedString("Send", comment: ""), target: nil, action: #selector(sendCallback))
         sendButton.keyEquivalent = "\r"
         sendButton.isEnabled = false
-        let buttons = NSStackView(views: [
-            NSButton(title: NSLocalizedString("Cancel", comment: ""), target: nil, action: #selector(cancelCallback)),
+        let buttons = StackView([
+            NSButton(title: NSLocalizedString("Cancel", comment: ""), target: nil, action: #selector(cancel)),
             sendButton,
         ])
         buttons.spacing = GridView.interPadding
diff --git a/src/ui/generic-components/StackView.swift b/src/ui/generic-components/StackView.swift
index b2b226e9..f4957eeb 100644
--- a/src/ui/generic-components/StackView.swift
+++ b/src/ui/generic-components/StackView.swift
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ class StackView: NSStackView {
     convenience init(_ views: [NSView], _ orientation: NSUserInterfaceLayoutOrientation = .horizontal, top: CGFloat = 0, right: CGFloat = 0, bottom: CGFloat = 0, left: CGFloat = 0) {
         self.init(views: views)
         alignmentRectInsets_ = NSEdgeInsets(top: top, left: left, bottom: bottom, right: right)
-        alignment = orientation == .horizontal ? .firstBaseline : .left
+        alignment = orientation == .horizontal ? .firstBaseline : .leading
         // workaround: for some reason, horizontal stackviews with a RecorderControl have extra fittingSize.height
         if orientation == .horizontal && views.first(where: { $0 is CustomRecorderControl }) != nil {
             fit(fittingSize.width, fittingSize.height - 7)
diff --git a/src/ui/generic-components/text/TextArea.swift b/src/ui/generic-components/text/TextArea.swift
index 319693bd..b6293cc9 100644
--- a/src/ui/generic-components/text/TextArea.swift
+++ b/src/ui/generic-components/text/TextArea.swift
@@ -37,8 +37,10 @@ class TextFieldCell: NSTextFieldCell {
         stringValue = ""
         placeholderString = placeholder
         self.usesSingleLineMode = usesSingleLineMode
+        alignment = .natural // appkit bug: the docs say default is .natural but it's .left
     }
 
+    // add padding all around
     override func drawingRect(forBounds rect: NSRect) -> NSRect {
         return super.drawingRect(forBounds: NSMakeRect(
                 rect.origin.x + TextArea.padding,
diff --git a/src/ui/preferences-window/LabelAndControl.swift b/src/ui/preferences-window/LabelAndControl.swift
index 6b83b27a..54b13acb 100644
--- a/src/ui/preferences-window/LabelAndControl.swift
+++ b/src/ui/preferences-window/LabelAndControl.swift
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class LabelAndControl: NSObject {
 
     static func makeLabelWithSlider(_ labelText: String, _ rawName: String, _ minValue: Double, _ maxValue: Double, _ numberOfTickMarks: Int, _ allowsTickMarkValuesOnly: Bool, _ unitText: String = "") -> [NSView] {
         let value = Preferences.getString(rawName)!
-        let suffixText = value + " " + unitText
+        let suffixText = MeasurementFormatter().string(from: Measurement(value: Double(value)!, unit: Unit(symbol: unitText)))
         let slider = NSSlider()
         slider.minValue = minValue
         slider.maxValue = maxValue
diff --git a/src/ui/preferences-window/tabs/UpdatesTab.swift b/src/ui/preferences-window/tabs/UpdatesTab.swift
index 265456a6..3527aee7 100644
--- a/src/ui/preferences-window/tabs/UpdatesTab.swift
+++ b/src/ui/preferences-window/tabs/UpdatesTab.swift
@@ -22,9 +22,7 @@ class UpdatesTab: NSViewController, PreferencePane {
         periodicallyInstall.fit()
         let policyLabel = NSTextField(wrappingLabelWithString: NSLocalizedString("Updates policy:", comment: ""))
         policyLabel.isSelectable = false
-        let policies = NSStackView(views: [dontPeriodicallyCheck, periodicallyCheck, periodicallyInstall])
-        policies.alignment = .left
-        policies.orientation = .vertical
+        let policies = StackView([dontPeriodicallyCheck, periodicallyCheck, periodicallyInstall], .vertical)
         policies.spacing = GridView.interPadding / 2
         let grid = GridView([
             [policyLabel, policies],