Outlook 2007/2010 reading pane: how to set zoom?

Question

I know we're able to use Ctrl+Mouse Wheel to zoom in and out, but is there a way of permanently setting the default zoom for the reading pane?

Answer 1

This looks to be linked to the DPI settings on your computer as well as the zoom level set in Outlook.

One thing could be to change the text size on the emails -

Customize the font size for Plain Text messages
For Plain Text you can modify the display font via
- Outlook 2007 and previous Tools-> Options…-> tab Mail Format-> button Stationery and Fonts (or just Fonts… in previous versions of Outlook)
- Outlook 2010 File-> Options-> section Mail-> button Stationery and Fonts

Source

Answer 2

I am shocked that there isn't a better answer for Outlook 2010 on Windows 7, so I will be checking back. What I settled on is pretty poor: using the "Make it easier to read what's on your screen" feature in Windows 7 and setting an overall magnification to 125%. Unfortunately, you have to log off and log back in in order to see the effect, which makes it a pain to experiment.

This feature is accessed in Windows 7 by right-clicking on the desktop, selecting "Screen resolution", and then clicking "Make text and other items larger or smaller" near the bottom. There is also an option to "Set custom text size (DPI)", but I didn't take the time to try it out. You can also access this dialog by typing "Make it easier to read" into the control panel search.

I tried 150%, but this caused unacceptable degradation to fonts in certain programs, such as MATLAB. At 125%, I am unhappy with some of the effects, but it is a fair balance to be able to read my email without zooming on every message. On the other hand it is a big downside to overcome deficiencies in one app, so I think I may just switch to this mode when I have a lot of email to read and then switch back - despite logging off and on twice!