When You Can’t Change Fonts in an Email- Here’s What You Can Do

Have you ever received an email that looks different from the original when you reply to it? It can be frustrating when the font settings get disabled, leaving your response in a default font. But don’t worry, there are still some solutions to make your email look the way you want it to.

Firstly, it’s crucial to understand why this happens. When you reply to an email, the formatting of the original message might not carry over due to the limitations of email software. This is especially true for font settings, as they are often not supported in email replies.

So, what can you do about it? Here are a few tips to help you retain some control over your email’s appearance:

1. Use rich text format: Instead of plain text, try composing your reply in rich text format. This will allow you to make basic formatting changes like bold or italics, but keep in mind that complex font changes might not work.
2. Adjust font settings before replying: If you know that the original email has specific font settings, you can manually change your font settings before replying. This way, your response will match the original message more closely.
3. Find a workaround: If changing font settings directly in your email software doesn’t work, you can try copying the text into a word processor or text editor, make the desired changes, and then copy it back into your email. This workaround can help you retain some control over the font and formatting.
4. Communicate clearly: If the font settings are not essential, focus on communicating your message clearly rather than worrying about the appearance. Sometimes the content matters more than the formatting.

Remember, email software and platforms can vary in their support for font settings in replies. While it can be frustrating when your font choices are restricted, knowing these workarounds can help you make the most of your replies and still communicate effectively.

Normally, your email program should let you customize the color, font, and other options for your message. But sometimes, when you try to reply or forward a message, the program won’t let you change the font settings.

This can happen if you’re using a program that adjusts its reply message format to match the sender’s preferences. The sender might use a format like plain text, which doesn’t allow any formatting.

This article will explain email formats in more detail and show you how to manually change the font settings.

Types of Email Formats

To understand what happens to your email font settings when you reply to someone, you should know that there are three different types of email formats. They are Rich Text Format, HTML, and plain text, and here is a quick explanation of each format:

1. HTML: This is usually the default format for emails. It’s the best format to use if you want to change fonts, colors, add bullets and numbers, and insert images, and so on.
2. Rich Text Format: This is an official format from Microsoft, and only the Microsoft Exchange Client and Microsoft Outlook can support it. You can use it to send messages to users who have this software.
3. Plain text: This is a universal format that works with all email tools. The downside is that it doesn’t support any font settings. You can’t make the text bold, change the colors or size, or use any other formatting options. You also can’t insert pictures into the text, although you can attach them to the email.

When you reply to or forward a message, you can choose which format to use. For example, if someone sends you a message in plain text, you can reply in Rich Text Format. However, the email may not necessarily arrive in the format you used when sending it. In other words, if you send an HTML message, the recipient’s email program may convert it to plain text.

Problems can arise if you set your email program to send messages in the received format. If you do this and then receive an email in plain text, your font settings will be disabled.

Some email tools automatically set the reply message format to match the format of the received email. Luckily, you can always change the format manually.

Changing the Message Format in Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook Web

Most newer tools like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook should have no problem switching between plain text and HTML formatting. Even if you receive the message in plain text, you can usually reply or forward it in HTML.

If you want to manually enable or disable plain text formatting, you should:

Hey, here’s what you need to do to change the message format in your online email software:

1. Open your online email software.

2. Click on the ‘Compose’ button.

3. Find the ‘More’ icon (three vertical dots) at the bottom-right side of the new email box, next to the toolbar, and click on it.

4. You can enable or disable ‘Plain text mode.’

Remember, this process is the same for most email clients.

Now, let’s talk about changing the message format in Microsoft Outlook:

If you have an older version like Outlook 2016, 2013, or 2010, you might encounter disabled font settings. This happens because older versions of Outlook automatically adjust replies to the original sender’s formatting. Not cool, right?

Don’t worry, there’s a solution. You have to manually change the message format for each email. Follow these simple steps:

1. Open Outlook.

2. Click on the ‘File’ tab at the top-left part of the screen.

3. Select ‘Options.’

4. Choose ‘Mail’ from the list on the left.

5. Look for the ‘Compose messages’ section.

6. From the dropdown menu next to ‘Compose messages in this format,’ choose ‘HTML.’

That’s it! Now you should be able to format your texts again.

But here’s something even better. If you want to avoid these formatting issues altogether, consider switching to newer versions of your email apps. This is especially helpful if you’re using older versions like Outlook 2010-2016. By updating to the latest versions, you’ll rarely encounter message formatting problems.

Oh, and if you’re interested, I came across this article on “The Best Mobdro Alternatives – 2019.” You might find it useful.

Keep in mind that there’s always a way to solve tech issues. As Marshall Greenhut shared in the comments, you can go to ‘Options,’ then ‘Theme and Fonts,’ and uncheck the “Pick a new font color when replying or forwarding” option. This should allow you to choose your own font colors when replying to emails.

Hope this helps!