How to Change the Default Font in Outlook
If you change the font every time you write an email, stop. Set it once and every new message, reply and forward uses it. You can also make the text you read bigger without affecting what you send.
Quick reference
| Version | Where |
|---|---|
| New Outlook / web | Settings → Mail → Compose and reply → Message format |
| Classic Outlook | File → Options → Mail → Stationery and Fonts |
| Make received email bigger | Hold Ctrl and scroll, or Windows text size |
1. New Outlook and Outlook on the web
1. Click the Settings cog.
2. Go to Mail → Compose and reply.
3. Scroll to Message format.
4. Pick the font, size, colour and any bold or italic from the toolbar shown.
5. Click Save.
2. Go to Mail → Compose and reply.
3. Scroll to Message format.
4. Pick the font, size, colour and any bold or italic from the toolbar shown.
5. Click Save.
The sample text updates as you change it. This font is used for new messages and replies.
2. Classic Outlook
1. Click File → Options → Mail.
2. Click Stationery and Fonts…
3. You'll see three sections:
• New mail messages — click Font… and choose.
• Replying or forwarding messages — set this too, or your replies will use the old font.
• Composing and reading plain text messages — how plain-text emails look to you.
4. Click OK on each dialog.
2. Click Stationery and Fonts…
3. You'll see three sections:
• New mail messages — click Font… and choose.
• Replying or forwarding messages — set this too, or your replies will use the old font.
• Composing and reading plain text messages — how plain-text emails look to you.
4. Click OK on each dialog.
Under Replying or forwarding, you can also tick Mark my comments with and type your name — useful when you reply inline in a long email.
3. Choosing a font
Pick something the recipient is likely to have, or Outlook on their side will swap it for something else:
• Aptos — Microsoft's current default, clean and modern.
• Calibri — the previous default, safe everywhere.
• Arial or Segoe UI — plain and readable.
• Calibri — the previous default, safe everywhere.
• Arial or Segoe UI — plain and readable.
Size 11 or 12 suits most people. Avoid script fonts and bright colours in work email — they're hard to read and often look unprofessional on someone else's screen.
4. Received emails look tiny
Changing the default font doesn't change how incoming email looks — that's set by the sender. To make reading easier:
• Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel over the reading pane to zoom. In classic Outlook, click the zoom percentage at the bottom right and tick Remember my preference.
• Make all text bigger in Windows: Settings → Accessibility → Text size.
• New Outlook: Settings → General → Appearance lets you choose a larger Text size.
• Make all text bigger in Windows: Settings → Accessibility → Text size.
• New Outlook: Settings → General → Appearance lets you choose a larger Text size.
5. On your phone
The Outlook mobile app doesn't have a default compose font. It uses your phone's system font, and the recipient sees whatever their device uses. Make text bigger in your phone's Display or Accessibility settings.
Troubleshooting
My replies use a different font from new emails. In classic Outlook, set Replying or forwarding messages separately (section 2). In new Outlook, one setting covers both.
The font changes when I paste text. Pasted text keeps its own formatting. After pasting, select it and press Ctrl + Space to clear the formatting back to your default (classic Outlook), or use Paste → Keep Text Only.
My default didn't stick in new Outlook. Make sure you clicked Save at the bottom of the settings page. Settings are saved to your account, so they also apply to Outlook on the web.
Wrapping up
Set one readable font at size 11 or 12 for both new messages and replies, and use Ctrl + scroll when someone sends you something microscopic.
