Email is an integral component of many individuals’ daily workflows, and the ability to tailor your email experience to your preferences is paramount.
If adjusting the font size in Outlook 365 is what you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll provide step-by-step instructions on how to make those changes.
Some users of Microsoft Office 365’s Outlook have reported challenges with font display—finding the default font size too small, often due to various factors.
So, how does one modify the font size in the reading pane of Outlook?
Let’s delve into it.
You can easily change the font settings and follow the step-by-step guide.
Why change Font Size in Outlook?
Changing the font size in Outlook allows users to customize the appearance of their emails, making them more readable and visually appealing to recipients.
Adjusting font size can also improve accessibility for those with visual impairments, ensure that the content fits well within the email’s layout, and offer a more personalized touch to correspondence, thereby enhancing the overall communication experience for both the sender and the receiver.
Using Stationery and Fonts Section
Navigating through emails should be both efficient and visually comfortable.
One way to ensure clarity and personalize your email viewing experience in Outlook is by adjusting the font size using the “Stationery and Font” section.
Not only does this feature cater to your aesthetic preferences, but it also enhances readability, making sure you can sift through your emails with ease.
- Go to file >> Click Options >> Mail >> Stationary & fonts

A signature and Stationery dialog box appears, there are multiple options available in this section.

For a touch of personalization in professional communication, many users opt to modify the theme in Outlook Office 365, ensuring their emails appear more approachable to recipients.
You can either craft a custom theme following our step-by-step guide on “How to Change the Theme in Outlook” or, if you prefer a minimalist approach, simply select the “Theme” option followed by the “(No Theme)” choice to revert to the default view.
There are three main areas covering this topic.
- New Mail messages – While creating a new mail you can change your font, font size, and font style & your receiver can receive your new mail with the changed pattern.
- Replying or forwarding messages – Under these criteria, any changes made by you will be reflected whenever you respond or forward an email message.
- Composing and reading plain text messages changes how plain text messages appear to you only; plain text messages sent to others remain in plain text for the recipients.
How to Change Font Size in Outlook?
Click on the font (refer to the above image), complete font designing dialog box appears, you can check there are multiple options to change the font layout, font style, and font size, in addition to that font color, underline style & effects.

Select OK once you complete or customize your font design.
How to change the font size of incoming emails?
In the earlier portion of the article, changing the default font size of incoming messages for users having some visibility trouble, Microsoft Outlook reserved an option to easily enhance the text size of the font while opening the email message in your reading pane.
By default, outlook office 365, font setup is standard for the users, but as I said earlier, some of the users like to change and increase the font size in Outlook.

How To Zoom in Outlook Without Mouse?
Here dive directly into the step-by-step guide ~
- Step 1 – Open Outlook >> Select the folder >> Click to View Tab
- Step 2 – Click the view setting in the current view group

- Step 3 – Click Other settings>> Another setting dialog box appears.

- Column Font
- Row Font
- Message preview Font
All of them are by default text size 8, which is quite difficult for some users. You can easily change it by clicking on a specific button in front of the required setting.
For instance, I made the changes in all three of them and the snapshot below speaks for itself.

Now you can see all three (Column Font, Row Font, Message Preview Font) text size increases with this simple trick.
How to Apply the above changes to every folder?
Once you made changes or customized the font set in a specific folder and you want to fix the same changes in all the folders, here is the simple option available in MS Outlook.
- First, select the folder in which you have customized your view.
- Now Go to the View tab and select Change View >> Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders.

Finally, apply view dialog box appears, and you can select the folders in which you like to apply the same view rule in every folder.

Click OK.

Question How to reset the default view?
Answer – Simply Go to view >> Current View section and click reset view, all the customized view setting is automatically replaced with the default view setting.
Change Font Size For Calendar
As Office 365 users, we can easily increase the font size in our Outlook Calendar to better visualize events and appointments.
Open up your Outlook Calendar and navigate to the View tab. You’ll find it at the top of the window.
Once you’re there, locate the Current View group and select the View Settings option.
This will open a new window that allows you to modify multiple aspects of the calendar view, including font size.
Next, click on the Other Settings button to access the font settings.
Here, you will find options to change the fonts and their corresponding sizes for different calendar elements.
Simply use the available buttons to choose the font and size that suit your preferences. After you have made your selections, click on OK to apply the changes.
Now that you have adjusted the font size in your Outlook Calendar, you can enjoy improved readability and easier navigation through your appointments and events.
Remember that you can always revisit the font settings to further customize the calendar appearance according to your needs.
We hope this guide has helped you make the most of Outlook Calendar’s font customization options, and we encourage you to explore other features available in Office 365 to enhance your productivity and organization.
Change Font Size For Message List
We understand how important it is to have a comfortable reading experience in Outlook 365.
By changing the font size for the message list, we can enhance our email organization and visibility.
First and foremost, to change the font size for the message list in Outlook 365, let’s navigate to the View tab. From there, click on View Settings.
Once the View Settings window opens, click on Other Settings. This will bring up options to modify the font size for different parts of your Inbox.
For column headers in your Inbox, such as “From” and “Subject,” you can adjust the font size by clicking on the Column Font button.
Here, you’ll find options to change the font type, size, and style to your preference. You can make the desired adjustment and then click “OK.”
Similarly, to change the font size for message subject lines in your Inbox, click on the Row Font button.
Choose the preferred font type, size, and style, and confirm your selection by clicking “OK.”
Keep in mind that these changes apply to the folder you’re currently viewing.
You can follow the same steps for each folder you’d like to customize, ensuring a comfortable and effective reading experience throughout your Outlook 365 Inbox.
Change Font Size For Reading Pane
To increase the font size in the reading pane of Outlook 365, we can use the Zoom control located at the right bottom of the Outlook window.
If you have a mouse with a wheel control, click on the Reading Pane, press the Ctrl key, and roll the scroll wheel to adjust the size.
Rolling the wheel away from you makes the contents larger while rolling it towards you makes the contents smaller.
For a more permanent solution, navigate to the Outlook options by clicking on “File” in the top left corner.
From there, select “Options” and go to the “Mail” tab. You will find an option called “Reading Pane“, where you can access various settings related to the feature.
After opening the Reading Pane settings, you will see options such as “Mark items as read when viewed in the Reading Pane” and the duration before marking an email as read.
Adjust these settings according to your preference for a more personalized experience in Outlook 365.
Remember, while increasing the font size in the reading pane can be helpful for easier reading, it’s essential to find a balance between readability and fitting the content within the available space.
Feel free to experiment with zoom levels and settings to find the one that suits you best.
Change Font Size For Contacts
In Outlook 365, effectively managing your contacts is essential for smooth communication.
One way to enhance the visibility of your contacts is by increasing the font size.
First, it is important to understand that Outlook 365 generally adopts the display settings of your device.
To increase the font size of your contacts, consider changing the scaling settings on your computer.
For Windows users, you can do this by navigating to Start >> Settings >> Display settings >> Scaling.
Then, experiment with different scaling sizes to find the balance between making the address book easily readable and maintaining the right size for other texts.
For more details on how to do this, visit this Microsoft community answer.
For general font adjustments in Outlook 365, we recommend modifying the default font settings.
To do this, go to File >> Options >> Mail >> Stationery and Fonts.
In this section, you can choose the font styles you prefer for both composing new emails and replying to or forwarding messages.
This process will ensure that your chosen font style and size are applied consistently throughout Outlook 365.
For a step-by-step guide on changing the default font settings, check out this Microsoft Support tutorial.
The changes made to the display settings and default font in Outlook 365 should help improve the readability of your contact list and overall user experience.
Remember that personal preferences vary, so take the time to experiment with different font adjustments to find the optimal setup for your needs. Good luck!
Bonus Tip
Zoom in on the message – Opening a particular email and instead of raising the font size of all your folders or specific folder, you just want to instantly enlarge the specific email you are reading.
- Double-click on the email message >> Go to the message tab >> Click Zoom

- By default, standard visibility is 100%, and you can change it according to your comfort.
- Click OK and the content visibility change. Once you close that specific email your zoom-in changes get back to default.

Another option is a zoom slider in the bottom right corner.

Finally, with the universal rule CTRL+Mouse Scroll, you can simply zoom in and out per message.
Final Words
In conclusion, this task is easy. First, press Ctrl + to increase the font size. Then, press Ctrl + + to increase the size by twice. Finally, press Ctrl + – to decrease the font size. If you are having trouble, press Alt + Ctrl + -.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are a few important FAQs related to font size in Outlook:
Why might I want to change the font size in Outlook?
To enhance readability, improve accessibility for visually impaired individuals, fit content within an email’s layout, or personalize email correspondence.
How do I change the font size for an individual email?
Compose a new email or reply to an existing one, highlight the text you wish to change, and select the desired font size from the toolbar, or you can use zoom in option available at the bottom of the screen
Can I set a default font size for all my emails?
Yes.
Go to File >> Options >> Mail >> Stationery and Fonts, where you can set a default font size and style for new emails, replies, and forwards.
Will changing my font size affect how recipients view my email?
Generally, yes. The recipient will see the font size you set, but factors like their email client settings and screen resolution might slightly affect the display.
Does changing font size in emails affect the overall file size of the email?
While font size changes can slightly alter the email’s size, the difference is negligible and unlikely to affect email sending/receiving limits.
Is there a shortcut to increase or decrease font size quickly?
In some versions of Outlook, you can use shortcuts like Ctrl+[ and Ctrl+] to decrease and increase font size, respectively.
If I increase the font size, will it also increase the size of images or other attachments?
No. Changing the font size will only affect the text in your email, not images or other attachments.
Why does my font size look different when I view my email on a mobile device compared to a desktop?
Mobile devices and desktops have different screen resolutions and settings. Email clients on mobile devices might adjust font sizes for optimal readability on smaller screens.
How do I change font size in Outlook’s calendar, tasks, or notes?
Each section in Outlook might have its settings. Generally, you can go to the “View” tab and adjust font settings or use the “View Settings” option.
I changed the font size, but it’s not being applied. Why?
Ensure you’ve saved your settings. If problems persist, there might be overriding formatting applied or issues with the email template in use.
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