Help - My Outlook message text is microscopic!

     We all do it occasionally – hit a few errant keys in just the right combination that we unintentionally mess something up on our computer.  We usually do it so fast that we have little idea of what we’ve really done, but if we’re lucky, we remember just enough to help get us back to where we want to be.

     The other day an exasperated client left a voicemail, “Help, I can’t send any emails.  The text is microscopic!”  She was using Outlook 2007.  I found out she could actually create a message and send it, but she just couldn’t really see what she was typing.  When I received a test email from her, it showed up in the correct font and size.

     I had her check the default message and reply fonts under Tools/Options/Mail Format /Stationery and Fonts/Personal Stationery tab settings ( http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/change-the-default-font-or-text-color-for-e-mail-messages-HA010239585.aspx ).  They were all correct.  She remembered that “something happened” when she accidentally hit the ctrl key.

     A little internet research led me to a potential solution of opening a new message, placing the curser in the body and holding down the ctrl key while using the mouse scroll wheel to change the viewable text size ( http://www.msoutlook.info/question/67 ).  This worked for me, but my client uses a laptop with no mouse and therefore no scroll wheel.  I assume her laptop has some sort of mouse scroll function, but she did not know what it was. I figured there had to be an easier way.

     More research pointed me towards the solution I was looking for: Open Outlook 2007 application, click on a new or received email, click the "Format" tab. Click on the radio button corresponding to the percent size you want to "Zoom to" (http://www.ehow.com/how_6498234_change-zoom-outlook-2007.html).  Easy fix after all.

     We still don’t know what key combination she hit to change this in the first place, but knowing that it had something to do with the ctrl key led us to the solution.