Zoom Outlook 2010 and Save Your Eyes
Did you know you can zoom Outlook 2010 views of the body of e-mail messages, calendar entries, tasks, and contacts? You can and it is an easy way to reduce eyestrain from staring at the screen for hours. This is a super easy Outlook how to tip you can learn in just minutes.
Before we get into the how to, let’s look at an example of Outlook zoom in action.
Examples of Levels to Zoom Outlook
Zoom Outlook 100% (the default)
200%
The ability to zoom like this can be a huge benefit for anyone who has trouble reading the text on the screen. As always, there are a few things to be aware of when you use this feature.
If you look carefully at the two figures, you will notice that the text and image in the body of the message zoomed, but the Subject line didn’t. All the Outlook interface stuff related to the item, along with the Subject field and the like, remain the same size.
The body of a message, calendar entry, or task will zoom, as will the notes field of a contact. The menus and toolbars and buttons and anything else stay the same size regardless of how you zoom.
Additional things you need to know to be able to use zoom:
- The item you want to zoom must be open in its own window.
- The Zoom command appears in the Zoom group of the Message tab of the Ribbon for messages (the default tab when you open a message in its own window, and in default Ribbon tab of other items.
How to Zoom Outlook
Adjusting the zoom level is easy. Once you click the Zoom icon in the Ribbon, the “Zoom” dialog box shown below appears.
Just select the level of zoom you want to use from the available options. Whenever you select a zoom level, the Preview area changes to give you some idea of what text will look like if you use that zoom level.
Click OK to close the dialog box and apply the new zoom level. Your eyes will thank you.
From here you can:
Return to the Mail Tips page from this Zoom Outlook page.
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An easier way is the press the Ctrl key and roll the mouse wheel. This will work for HTML emails.
Sylvia,
Thanks for the great tip. I had no idea you could do this.
–Bill
This works great for each email after you open it and set the zoom. However, when you close the email and reopen it, you have to perform the zoom function all over again every time. Is there any way to set the zoom percentage as a default for every email? Also, is there a way to set the zoom for the preview panal?
Thanks.
Dennis,
The features you want were actually in the beta of Outlook 2010, but for some reason didn’t make it into the release version. As best I can discover, there is still no way to set either of these defaults.
I wish I had better news, I could use the same capabilities myself!
–Bill
Any updates on setting the default zoom such that every time I open an e-mail I do not have to change the zoom? Thanks!
Mike,
Here’s the information you need to make Zoom hold the settings you want: http://living-with-outlook-2010.com/outlook2010tips/2012/03/making-outlooks-zoom-better/
–Bill