Mail Text and Signature Fonts - Apple Mail

[chemenger]

i think i solved the problem..here are the steps:

1. create a new signature

2. send out a test email and you should see the problem

3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36

4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13

5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13

6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature

7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!

This worked for me. Thanks

 

[uberfu]

ALL THOSE FOLKS IN THIS THREAD (going all the way back to 2010) complaining that the EMAIL FORMATTING is only there for the benefit of the person setting the formatting....

Explain how someone using M$ Outlook (on Windoze) can send out an eMail and have the formatting retained when I open it in Apple Mail ??

The logic you all are using FAILS. I get eMails all the time with fluffy lettering and colorful formatting big and small - live text formatted by mostly Windoze Users who think it's "cute".

winovermac's solution from Page 1 does not work - extra effort and if you log into a Web version of Outlook Mail the formatting is stripped. Which this follows the same principle as wrap the content area in a pre-formatted font and size - just like most of the other "solutions" here.

BUT none of them matter if someone using any form of Outlook (Client or Web) opens the Message and the text looks messed up / huge / or otherwise sloppy.

AND all these people using winovermac's or gilbertlau's (or whoever has another variation of this) solutions have you bothered testing the resulting Mail in some Client other than Mail or Gmail ?

Point is test it in something that is NOT Mac friendly.

AND Yeah - it's pretty sad that Apple goes out of its way to streamline everything about its System to interact with Microsoft's products and maintain a "mac" experience and continuously fails on this point.

But this is not the place to complain directly to Apple.

 

[msbailey521]

i think i solved the problem..here are the steps:

1. create a new signature

2. send out a test email and you should see the problem

3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36

4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13

5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13

6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature

7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!

I followed these instructions to solve the problem previously mentioned concerning font showing up HUGE on receiver's end. It worked for that problem, but now the image I used of our company logo is acting weird. First, it said "Missing Plug-In" and then after deleting it and restarting Mail, it just shows up as an icon and not an image. The only thing I did was what is mentioned above, nothing else...Help!

 

[HarryPot]

I'm really desperate about this problem.

I can't believe such an important application has such a big flaw. It's really driving me crazy.


OK, this worked:

1. create a new signature

2. send out a test email and you should see the problem

3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36

4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13

5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13

6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature

7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!

by the way, do not check the box "always match my default message font"

 

[daemonsy]

How to solve the signature problem

Hi guys,

This is my Google first hit and the solution above doesn't work for me in Lion =(

I registered for my Mac Rumours account to post this link, in hope it'll help other users.

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/10530/mail-signature-changes-font-size-when-sent-to-gmail

Mail signature's display property keeps getting set to medium, which causes most mail clients to perceive as bigger text.

If you enabled Safari's developer features, you can actually use it to add in pictures and other HTML formatting, then save it back as a webarchive. Kinda neat!

 

[tonyedwards]

Any updates?

I've been struggling with this for a while

 

[propower]

I ran headlong into this when I sent out 10 really important marketing packages in email........ I had no clue that the email changed fonts and sizes in the body of the email and had huge fonts randomly from where I copy and pasted links! Made me look like a third grader! And I had no clue it was happening!!!!!

Horrid bug in the program. It is so integrated we can't not use it.

This part of Apple sucks!

 

[jolo]

The fix to Mac mail font woes...

This is a very old problem, unfortunately the top few hits in Google don't seem to give the right answer. Instead of trying ugly, 10+ step hacks, I recommend this other thread:

http://www.mactalk.com.au/14/41386-mail-font-issue.html

Short version - Mac Mail will always try to send your message as plain text, even when you tell it to use rich text, unless it sees there is really something that requires rich text or HTML. So you format your outgoing message in what you think is a nice font, but the recipient (using Outlook on a PC, Gmail, whatever) gets all or part of your message in plain text instead. That recipient's email program will then display the plain text parts of that message in their own default font, which you cannot control. This leads to your message font appearing too small, too big, and/or mismatched between email body and signature.

So what's the solution? You can either stick to plain text to ensure consistency, or else trick Mail into sending the whole message as HTML. For ex, put an empty line at the beginning of your formatted signature that contains an invisible bold space, then just type your email body into that blank line. Mail thinks your whole message is just one long signature and sends the whole thing formatted. See the URL above for more details.

 

[Azathoth]

Grr, I've been hit by this as well.

The problem is that it's a completely hidden issue for the sender, but makes you look like a 3rd grade computer user to the outside world :-s FFS Apple should fix this...

A very dissappointed small business-owner

 

[babbaman]

Worked for me

i think i solved the problem..here are the steps:

1. create a new signature

2. send out a test email and you should see the problem

3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36

4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13

5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13

6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature

7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!

Worked for me. Never thought it would work coz it sounds so random but I have it a shot and it works. FInally it looks good!! including Facebook logs and link.

 

[Rebecca341]

I found that the huge font thing happened whenever I used Rich Text. I switched to plain text and it's not an issue anymore. Not optimal, but there you have it.

 

[savar]

Grr, I've been hit by this as well.

The problem is that it's a completely hidden issue for the sender, but makes you look like a 3rd grade computer user to the outside world :-s FFS Apple should fix this...

A very dissappointed small business-owner

Agree 100%. I just noticed this for the first time... I can't believe I've been sending e-mails like this for years. I finally found this thread on MR -- my good old hangout -- only to find that half of the posts are mocking. I use my Mac for work! And it makes me look like an idiot to the 95% of people I communicate with who are using Outlook.

Apple is famous for "it just works" -- and this is an obvious, glaring example of something that appears to work but does not.

 

[mkerscaven]

Thanks you gilbertlau

by the way, do not check the box "always match my default message font"

Thanks very much #gilbertlau.

It works perfectly for me, my emails are now professional ready :
1. create a new signature
2. send out a test email and you should see the problem
3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36
4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13
5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13
6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature
by the way, do not check the box "always match my default message font"
7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!


Regards,

Marc

 

[manskybook]

Nerd Reply

Count me as one of the nerds who "downplay" the problem. First - recognize that, though you may assume that all email is standardized, the actual situation is that email sent by one person through their email client may be received by the same exact client in exactly the same format, and each client (app) displays email differently. How someone views your email depends on both the receivers' email client, and on their email server (and only lastly on your formatting). Unfortunately (for you, as the user) how you format your email may appear differently in each of multiple email clients, and on different email servers. This includes web-based email such as Gmail which displays even HTML differently from "web-standard" HTML (and CSS).

There is a cottage industry of people providing fairly consistent (though not bulletproof) HTML email from small businesses addressed to their customers. If you are a small business owner complaining about how Apple Mail formats your individual emails (or bulk emails), you are the tip of very large iceberg of people frustrated with how their email appears to the sendees. If you wish to have a "professional" look to your individual email (whether you use Apple Mail, or any other email client [app]), you can do your own testing, use your IT staff to test your message, or outsource the problem. If you think Apple Mail is the problem, then (I suggest) the problem is really yours, and you must take the time, or spend the money, to make your email "professional". There is always going to be some significant subset of your customer base that sees your email in ugly fonts and widely varying sizes.

If you want formatted email, hire someone who can deliver a relatively consistent image. Otherwise, Plain Text is very effective and has its own specific standards of emphasis and formatting. It is the most used and understood email format; even with fairly sophisticated email messages, email that degrades gracefully to text is the most effective.

(Remember: one of the settings in Apple Mail allows you to decline all inline images, ostensibly to reduce SPAM. People like me enable that, and see your email without formatting and without images. If you can't reach me, you can't reach the majority, however. You can ADD formatting and images, but your basic message should be accessible to all.)

 

[sydtehkid]

Found a fix that works, for versions up to Mac OS X 10.8

i share the sentiments of both those who do and don't necessarily care about email/typeface formatting.

i am personally a huge fan of apple mail, but many of the people i work with use Outlook. i hate how emails come through somewhat unprofessionally with outlook because of the incompatibilities between apple mail and outlook.

i have found a fix, in the form of a plug-in that you can install and will then be added to your preferences bar in apple mail. i have tested it by sending emails from my apple mail to people with different versions of Outlook (2007, 2010, 2013). it works!!

as i said, this is compatibile with versions of OS X up to 10.8 (Mountain Lion)

information, video instructions, and link to compile or download the plug-in can be found here: http://www.artsassistance.com/apple-mail-font-size-problem-workaround-for-outlook-recipients/