Tiny Font When Writing Emails in Outlook? Quick Fix

You open a new email or hit Reply in Outlook, and the text is so small you can barely read it. The font size says 11 or 12, but it looks like 4. Other emails look fine. It's only the message you're writing.

The text is tiny while writing an email

Good news: your font didn't change. The zoom level did. It's usually from pressing Ctrl while scrolling the mouse wheel, or pinching on a touchpad.

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Fix 1: Zoom Back In With Ctrl and Your Mouse

1. Click inside the email you're writing.

2. Hold down Ctrl and roll the mouse wheel forward to zoom in, or back to zoom out.

3. The zoom changes 10% at a time. Stop when the text looks normal, usually at 100%.

On a laptop touchpad, hold Ctrl and spread two fingers apart to zoom in.

Back to normal

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Fix 2: Set the Zoom So It Sticks

If every new email opens tiny again, set the zoom and tell Outlook to remember it. In classic Outlook:

1. Open a new email.

2. On the Message tab, click Zoom. (It may also be under the Format Text tab.)

3. Choose 100% and tick Remember my preference.

4. Click OK.

New emails and replies will now open at that size.

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Fix 3: Check the Reading Pane Zoom

If the emails you're reading look small too, check the zoom slider at the bottom-right corner of the Outlook window. Drag it back to 100%.

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Everything Looks Small?

If text is small in every program, not just Outlook, it's your Windows display setting. Go to Settings > System > Display and set Scale to the recommended value.

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Still Stuck?

If Outlook still isn't displaying email correctly, IT-Tech can connect remotely and fix it.

Book a remote support session and we'll get you sorted out.