How Do I Change The Default Font In Outlook

Tired of the default Calibri font in your emails? Changing the default font in Microsoft Outlook is a quick way to make your messages easier to read, reflect your personal style, or match your company's branding. This guide walks you through setting a new default font for all your outgoing messages, including new emails, replies, and forwards. Following these steps ensures every email you send starts with the font settings you prefer, saving you time and creating a more consistent, professional appearance.

Fast Answer

Key setting path: File > Options > Mail > Stationery and Fonts...
What to change: Set fonts for 'New mail messages' and 'Replying or forwarding messages'.

5 Minutes Time needed

Easy Difficulty

Recipient Settings Watch out for

Before You Start

You will need the Microsoft Outlook desktop application installed on a Windows PC or a Mac. These instructions are specifically for the desktop version, not the Outlook.com web interface or the mobile apps, which have different settings.
Have an idea of the font family, size, and colour you want to use. For professional use, it's best to choose a font that is easy to read and widely available, such as Arial, Verdana, or Georgia.
No special permissions are needed, but if you are using a work computer, your IT department may have policies that prevent you from changing some settings.

Check first: The most important thing to remember is that your chosen font will only display correctly if the recipient has that same font installed on their computer. If they don't, their email client will substitute it with a default font, which might not look the way you intended.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open the Outlook Options Menu

First, you need to access the main settings area in Outlook. Open the Outlook application on your desktop. In the top-left corner of the window, click on the File tab. This will take you to the "backstage" view, where you manage your account, print, and access program options.

On the blue menu bar that appears on the left, look towards the bottom and click on Options. This will open the main "Outlook Options" pop-up window, which contains all the customisation settings for the application.

Navigate to the Mail Settings

The "Outlook Options" window has a list of categories on the left side. You need to find the section that controls how your emails are composed. Click on the Mail category from this list. This section contains settings related to message format, signatures, tracking, and more.

Once you are in the Mail section, look for a button labelled Stationery and Fonts.... It's usually located in the "Compose messages" area. Clicking this button will open a new window titled "Signatures and Stationery," where you can finally control your default fonts.

Change the Font for New Mail Messages

In the "Signatures and Stationery" window, make sure you are on the Personal Stationery tab. You will see several options for setting default fonts. The first one is for New mail messages. This setting controls the font for any brand-new email you compose.

Click the Font... button next to this option. A standard font selection dialogue box will appear. Here you can choose your desired Font (e.g., Arial), Font style (e.g., Regular, Italic, Bold), and Size (e.g., 11). You can also set a default font colour and add effects like underline, but it's best to stick to "Automatic" for colour unless you have a specific branding requirement. Click OK to confirm your choice.

Tip: Choose a font size between 10 and 12 points for the best readability on most screens. Overly decorative or script fonts can be hard to read and may appear unprofessional in a business context.

Set the Font for Replies and Forwards

Next, you'll want to set the font for messages you reply to or forward. Back in the "Personal Stationery" tab, look for the section labelled Replying or forwarding messages. By default, Outlook often uses a different colour (like blue) to distinguish your reply from the original message. You can control the font here in the same way.

Click the Font... button in this section. You can choose to use the same font as your new messages for consistency, or you can select a different style or colour. For example, many people keep their replies in a standard font but change the colour to blue or grey to clearly separate their text from the previous conversation thread. After making your selections, click OK.

Adjust the Font for Plain Text Messages

The final font setting is for Composing and reading plain text messages. Plain text emails are a simple format with no formatting at all—no bold, italics, or different fonts. This setting determines which font Outlook uses to *display* these plain text messages on your screen, and which font it uses when you compose one.

Click the Font... button for this option. You are generally best served by choosing a simple, monospaced font like Courier New or Consolas. These fonts give every character the same width, which makes plain text content like code snippets or data logs easier to read. Choose your font and click OK.

Save and Apply Your New Settings

Once you are happy with your font choices for new mail, replies, and plain text, you need to save the changes. In the "Signatures and Stationery" window, click the OK button at the bottom. This will close the window and take you back to the main "Outlook Options" window.

To finalise everything, you must also click OK on the "Outlook Options" window. If you close it using the 'X' in the corner, your changes may not be saved. Clicking OK applies the settings across the entire application.

Test Your New Default Font

The final step is to make sure everything works as expected. The best way to do this is to create a new email. Click the New Email button in the Outlook ribbon. The new message window should open with your chosen default font, size, and colour already selected.

To be thorough, send a test email to yourself or a colleague. Reply to that email to check that your "Replying or forwarding messages" font is also working correctly. This quick test confirms that your settings have been applied properly and will be used for all future emails.

Quick Reference

Situation	Use this setting	Why
Writing a brand-new email	New mail messages	This sets the base font for all your original communications, ensuring a consistent first impression.
Responding to an incoming email	Replying or forwarding messages	This helps distinguish your text from the original message, often by using a different colour.
Viewing an email with no formatting	Composing and reading plain text messages	This makes simple, unformatted emails legible by applying a clear font like Courier New for display.
Changing font for just one email	The formatting bar in the compose window	Use this for one-off changes without altering your global default settings for every other email.

Common Problems When You Change The Default Font In Outlook

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are a few common issues you might encounter and how to fix them.

Problem: The font changed for new emails, but not for replies.
Solution: This usually happens because you've only adjusted the "New mail messages" setting. You need to go back to File > Options > Mail > Stationery and Fonts... and specifically set the font for "Replying or forwarding messages" as well. They are two separate settings.
Problem: The person I emailed said my message appeared in Times New Roman.
Solution: This is the most common issue. You used a font that you have on your computer, but the recipient does not. Their email program automatically substituted it with a standard font they do have. To avoid this, stick to "web-safe" fonts like Arial, Verdana, Georgia, Helvetica, or Times New Roman, which are installed on nearly every computer.
Problem: My font settings are not saving or keep reverting.
Solution: If you're on a corporate network, your company's IT administrator may have set a Group Policy that enforces a standard company font and prevents user changes. In this case, you'll need to contact your IT support. If it's a personal computer, the issue could be a corrupted Outlook profile. Creating a new Outlook profile can often resolve persistent setting issues.
Problem: I'm on a Mac and can't find the "File > Options" menu.
Solution: The steps are different for Outlook for Mac. On a Mac, you need to go to the menu bar at the top of the screen and click Outlook > Preferences. From there, select Fonts. This will open a window where you can set the default fonts for new messages and replies, similar to the Windows version.

Advanced Tips for Managing Outlook Fonts

Once you've mastered the basics, you can use these tips to further refine your email presentation.

Match Your Signature Font: Your email signature is managed separately from your default font. After setting a new default, go to the Signatures tab (in the same "Signatures and Stationery" window) and edit your signature. Highlight the text and manually apply your new font to ensure your entire email, from start to finish, is consistent.
Use Themes for Coordinated Style: The "Theme" button on the "Personal Stationery" tab allows you to apply a pre-designed set of fonts, colours, and backgrounds. This can be a quick way to get a professional look without picking individual elements. You can even create and save your own themes if you frequently switch between different styles (e.g., one for internal communication and another for clients).
Prioritise Accessibility: When choosing a font, think about how easy it is for everyone to read. Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Verdana are often considered more legible on screens than serif fonts like Times New Roman. Ensure your font size is at least 11pt and that you use a dark font colour on a light background to provide strong contrast. Avoid using colour as the only way to convey information.
Force Plain Text for Simplicity: If you want to ensure maximum compatibility and care more about the message than the presentation, you can configure Outlook to read all standard mail in plain text. Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings... > Email Security and tick the box for "Read all standard mail in plain text." This will strip out all formatting from incoming emails, protecting you from potentially malicious HTML content and simplifying your inbox.

How Do I Change The Default Font In Outlook FAQ

How do I change the font size for just one email?

When you are composing an email, simply highlight the text you want to change. A formatting toolbar will appear (or you can use the one in the ribbon under the "Message" tab). You can change the font, size, colour, and style for that specific selection without affecting your default settings.

Can I set a different default font in the Outlook mobile app?

No, unfortunately, the Outlook mobile apps for iOS and Android do not currently support setting a default font. You have basic formatting options like bold and italics when composing a message, but the overall font is controlled by the app and cannot be changed by the user.

Why does my signature look like it has a different font?

Your email signature has its own independent font settings. When you create or edit a signature in Outlook, you must manually set the font for the signature text. It does not automatically inherit the default font you set for new messages. You'll need to edit your signature to match your new default font for a consistent look.

What is the best default font for professional emails?

The best fonts are ones that are clean, professional, and widely available. Excellent choices include Calibri (the modern Outlook default), Arial, Verdana, and Georgia. These are easy to read and are installed on almost all Windows and Mac computers, ensuring your emails look consistent for most recipients.

Final Checklist for Changing Your Outlook Font

Accessed the main settings via File > Options.
Navigated to the Mail category and clicked Stationery and Fonts....
Set a new default font for New mail messages.
Set a new default font for Replying or forwarding messages.
Checked the font setting for Composing and reading plain text messages.
Clicked OK in the "Signatures and Stationery" window to confirm.
Clicked OK in the "Outlook Options" window to save all changes.
Composed a new email to verify that the new font is active.
Sent a test email to yourself and replied to it to check both settings.