How to Format E-Mail Messages in Windows Mail - dummies

How to Format E-Mail Messages in Windows Mail

By Nancy C. Muir

With Windows Vista, you can format e-mail messages in Windows Mail in much the same way that you format in Microsoft Word. You can modify the fonts, size, tabs, and colors to give your message a distinctive look. Many people use these tools to express their personality or to create a formal document directly in a Windows Mail message, which allows them to bypass the process of creating the document in a word processor and then attaching it to the message.

  1. Create a new e-mail message or open a message and click Reply or Forward.

  2. Select the text that you want to format.

    Text selected for formatting.
    Text selected for formatting.

    Press Ctrl+A if you want to select all the text.

  3. Use any of the following options to change how the text looks.

    A variety of formats applied to an e-mail message.
    A variety of formats applied to an e-mail message.
    • Font drop-down list: Choose an font name from the drop-down list to apply it to the text.

    • Font Size drop-down list: Make your text stand out by making it larger or smaller.

    • Paragraph Style button: Apply a preset style, such as Heading 1 or Address.

    • Bold, Italic, and Underline buttons: Apply styles to selected text.

    • Font Color button: Display a color palette and click a color to apply it to selected text.

    • Formatting Numbers and Formatting Bullets buttons: Apply numbering order to lists or precede each item with a round bullet.

    • Increase Indentation and Decrease Indentation buttons: Indent that paragraph to the right or move (decrease) it to the left.

    • Align Left, Center, Align Right, and Justify buttons: Adjust how the outside edges of your paragraphs look and where they fall.

    • Insert Horizontal Line button: Add a line to your message.