Any Fix For Font & Spacing Issues in Outlook 2007?

[CatBlue]

Hello all, I hope my note finds you doing well. I have been using Outlook
2007 for about 3 months now and it has been a really tough road. Getting used
to all the changes in Microsoft Office 2007 has been a real kick in the head
(that bloody ribbon! But I digress). However, using Outlook 2007 is worst of
all and has been the bane of my existence.

I learned (through this brilliant forum) that I can get rid of double spaces
in my emails and signature by pressing Shift-Enter each time I start a new
paragraph. As you can imagine, having to do this EVERY TIME is seriously
irritating. Every expert says, "Well, just use Plain Text." Alas, then my
email is sent to the recipient without the nice, bold font I like (Arial
Rounded MT Bold, 11pt in navy) and the wingdings in my signature
(symbols/pictures just before my phone, fax, email) do not appear (they are
converted to parentheses or numbers).

I never had this problem in Outlook 2003. I clicked enter to start a new
paragraph and that is what happened; no extra spaces, no extra work doing
Shift-Enter. Additionally, 2003 had an option of always using the font I
liked to both send and receive messages. It did not matter what the sender
used as their font or signature; how I wanted to see my email would override
that. I cannot seem to make this stick in Outlook 2007. I get a message that
has different fonts and when I click reply, my message will sometimes use
their theme and font instead of my default. Sometimes when I click reply the
font becomes a microscopic 8pt or 9pt. Absolutely bewildering.

What changed between Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 to make sending email
such a bloody pain? Clearly I am missing something. If anyone has a
suggestion or format option that I have overlooked, please chime in.

I look forward to your suggestions, kind regards,
Cat

 

[CatBlue]

Hello Diane, thanks so much for your reply. Indeed, when I looked at my mail
format settings "Rely on CSS for font formatting" is already checked. I will
admit upfront that I have no idea what that means, and alas, it does not seem
to have any effect in correcting my issues.

Before I knew about using Shift-Enter, it was my recipients who saw the
double spaces in my emails. When I sent the mail, it always looked normal to
me, but then they would reply and I was dismayed to see how my email looked
when they got it (all the spaces). This is also how I found out that my
emails, which are sent as HTML, are sometimes converted to plain text when it
reaches other people's mailboxes. I send an email in my lovely fonts and cool
signature, but their reply showed that my message arrived as plain old Time
New Roman and the wingdings in my signature were just parentheses or numbers.
Blah.

You know what else is missing? In Outlook 2003 there used to be an option to
retrieve items you had deleted. You could click Tools and then choose
"Recover Deleted Items." I do not see that choice in Outlook 2007; is that
only available on an Exchange Server? We all have standalone PCs in my office
(Windows XP Professional, all the latest Service Packs installed).

I got off topic... Since I never had these spacing/font issues with 2003, is
this all due to Outlook 2007 using Word as the editor and I just have to lump
it? It is hard to fathom how an upgraded version could be so user-unfriendly,
so I wonder if there is a work around (some add-in or box I should check but
have not known about up to now.

Thanks for your advice, cheers
Cat

-------
:
outlook 2007 uses word as the editor and for rendering html. Whether outlook
uses your fonts depends on how the incoming message is created and you have
no control over it. changing the tools, options, mail format setting for use
css for font formatting might help.

Is the double spacing in your copy of the message or on the copies other
people get? (especially those who use browsers to read email)

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

Outlook Tips by email:
(e-mail address removed)


Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
(e-mail address removed)

** Please include your Outlook version, Account type, and Windows Version
when requesting assistance **

 

[Maldevane]

Follow these steps in order one by one...
Open a new message.
Click 'Format Text' in the tabs at the top.
Left click on 'Quick Styles' so that it drops down.
Right click on 'Normal' and choose modify.
Where it says 'Style for following paragraph' choose 'No Spacing'.
Then select the radio button below that says 'New documents based on this
template'.
Click the little format button near the bottom of the dialog window and
select 'Paragraph' from the drop down.
On that new window, make sure line spacing is set to single.
Make sure the Spacing -> After value is set to 0pt.
Ensure that there is a check in the box that says 'Don't ass space
between......'
Say OK to that window.
Say OK to the window under it.
Close that new message.
Start a new message and try some typing ... did that fix your problem?

 

[Handsome Prints]

Hi Maldevane,

I'm facing a similar issue with sending email to Gmail accounts. How would
your suggestion compare to checking the "Don't use HTML paragraph auto
spacing" options under Word->Tools->Options->Compatibility ?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Maldevane]

I'm not sure -- I don't see that option in Word 2007 -- but I've got my gmail
account set to send mail through Outlook 2007, and fixed it's spacing
problems the same way.

In the end, those two options might essentially solve the same problem:
extra space being added when it wasn't wanted.

--Mal

 

[AgilityMach]

I can't believe that Microsoft has allowed such a major glitch in its
Outlook 2007 software to remain unchecked. I had no idea why my emails
looked so weird when people sent them back to me with huge amounts of white
space between paragraphs. It doesn't look like that when it goes out,
obviously, and it's embarrassing to find out that it's being converted
somehow when the recipient receives it.
Anyway I have a question to Maldevane: How do you make the formatting
steps you suggest become default? Each time I open a new email message, the
formatting doesn't hold. It reverts back and I have to repeat all of the
stpes. I don't see an"Apply" button or "Save" button. The two "OK" buttons
you mention don't seem to retain the format changes, even though I click on
the box that says "New documents based on this template." Any suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[DAVEY]

Thank you, Maldevane, for your posting! I have tried everything ('cept this,
of course) in order to prevent all the unnecessary spacing around everything.
I have changed my settings in both OUTLQQK 2007 & Word 2007. This will
eliminate a lot of frustration now! Your posting also solved a problem I had
with font type and size.
Thanks, Davey

 

[outlook.fixer]

It is true that Shift+Enter is the only way to have proper line breaks
in Outlooks HTML editor, but you don't have to type them all manually!

Recently I created a script that remaps the Enter key to the Shift
+Enter combination, whenever the cursor is active within the HTML
editor of Outlook.

The script is free and can be downloaded from the following site:

http://www.fix-outlook-line-breaks.com/

It is based on AutoHotKey.

If you find this solution useful, please consider donating to the non-
profit organization listed on the page above. Thanks!

 

[rosey]

How do I do this for Outlook 2003? I have read so many posts both in Outlook
forum and word forum and even the notes I have found on how to change the
Normal Format style there is always some reason I can't complete - all I have
found was "you can't change it" which is hard for me to believe. This is the
first thread which seems to actually be relevant to solving this annoying
issue.
I appreciate assistance with this - Thank you!

 

[DCMetro]

Terrific response, thanks!

Follow these steps in order one by one...
Open a new message.
Click 'Format Text' in the tabs at the top.
Left click on 'Quick Styles' so that it drops down.
Right click on 'Normal' and choose modify.
Where it says 'Style for following paragraph' choose 'No Spacing'.
Then select the radio button below that says 'New documents based on this
template'.
Click the little format button near the bottom of the dialog window and
select 'Paragraph' from the drop down.
On that new window, make sure line spacing is set to single.
Make sure the Spacing -> After value is set to 0pt.
Ensure that there is a check in the box that says 'Don't ass space
between......'
Say OK to that window.
Say OK to the window under it.
Close that new message.
Start a new message and try some typing ... did that fix your problem?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Note that this only works on new messages, not replies.
See http://www.slipstick.com/problems/dblspace_html.htm for other methods
(none of which is perfect but some do work on replies too.)