WHY WHY WHY is OUTLOOK CHANGING ALL MY FONTS when SENDING NOW, TOO!!!! GRRRRRR I hate APTOS

Set the outgoing font separately for new messages, replies/forwards, and plain-text messages; if paragraph spacing still returns in every new email, escalate it as a persistent Classic Outlook configuration problem rather than repeatedly correcting each message.

Stop Aptos in outgoing messages

1. In Classic Outlook, select File → Options → Mail.
2. Under Compose messages, select Stationery and Fonts.
3. On Personal Stationery, configure all three sections:
   • New mail messages → Font
   • Replying or forwarding messages → Font
   • Composing and reading plain text messages → Font
4. Choose the font, style, and size you want in each section.
5. Select OK three times.

New messages and replies/forwards have independent settings, so changing only one does not affect the other. These settings normally let you change the default outgoing font; if they revert to Aptos after being saved, something else is overriding the configuration. ^1^

Remove the extra paragraph spacing

For the message currently being composed:

1. Click in the message body and press Ctrl+A.
2. Press Alt+O, P, G to open Paragraph → Indents and Spacing.
3. Set:
   • Before: 0 pt
   • After: 0 pt
   • Line spacing: Single
4. Select OK.

Microsoft documents these paragraph controls for Classic Outlook, but this procedure changes the selected text in the current message; it does not establish a supported global default for every future message. ^2^

As a temporary workaround, use Shift+Enter when you want a simple line break. Regular Enter starts a new paragraph, which can carry space-before/after formatting. Shift+Enter has also been reported as a workaround for unwanted style changes in Classic Outlook composition, but it is not a permanent repair for this exact issue. ^3^

Received messages

Received HTML email normally retains formatting supplied by its sender. Check these two display-related cases:

• Everything is merely too large: click the percentage beside the Zoom slider in the Reading Pane, choose the preferred percentage, select Remember my preference, and click OK. ^1^
• Messages are displayed as plain text: the Composing and reading plain text messages font configured above controls their local appearance. It cannot restore the sender’s bold, italics, fonts, or other HTML formatting if plain text is being enforced. A useful check is whether affected messages can display bold or italic text; if none can, plain-text enforcement is a possibility. ^4^

If the problem is spacing between letters, rather than extra space before and after paragraphs, open an affected message and check View → Immersive Reader → Text Spacing. Turn Text Spacing off and close Immersive Reader. ^5^

If every new message still reverts

Since Safe Mode has already been tested, do not repeat it. Ask the Microsoft 365 administrator or Microsoft Support to investigate an Outlook configuration, update, or policy override. Provide:

• Outlook version and build
• Microsoft 365 update channel
• Whether the message format is HTML, Rich Text, or Plain Text
• Screenshots of Stationery and Fonts and the Paragraph dialog
• A test sent to yourself, showing whether formatting changes before Send, after Send in Sent Items, or only when received
• Whether the behavior occurs in Outlook on the web as well as Classic Outlook

That comparison identifies whether the change occurs in the local editor, during sending, or only while displaying the received message.

References

1. Classic Outlook(#tab/classic-outlook)
2. Use a screen reader to change the indentation and spacing options in ...
3. Outlook Classic Issues composing an email - Microsoft Q&A
4. Reading Pane fonts are strange (Outlook classic for Windows) - Microsoft Q&A
5. Resetting Outlook font spacing - Microsoft Q&A