macOS Mail - Rich Text/HTML for outgoing messages

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macOS Mail - Rich Text/HTML for outgoing messages

I can see that this is an old complaint, as there are several threads about it all around the forums.

Why, WHY doesn't Mail.app allow you to choose an outgoing font for your emails? I understand about rich text vs. plain text and that there are those who choose to use plaintext email clients. I further understand that there is no guarantee that the recipient of an email will honour the font chosen during my compose.

HOWEVER. This system already works just fine across many, MANY different email clients! Why does Mail offer me a "Compose Font" separate from all other fonts (which, I assumed meant the outgoing font)???!

To those that are stuck on plaintext email only: what happens when those who use mutt receive a newsletter? Or a customer emails them photos, or a signature? A table?

this drives me crazy as otherwise Mail would be my app of choice. I'm stuck using Outlook and to be honest I'm going to have to stick to it.

/rant

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Feb 12, 2021 9:31 AM

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Answer 1

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VikingOSX

Community+ 2024

Level 10

111,749 points

Feb 12, 2021 10:02 AM in response to mcicconi

We are fellow users and only the Apple Mail product team knows the answer to product "why" questions. They do not participate in these public communities but you can send direct feedback to the Mail product team.

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Answer 2

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

116,036 points

Feb 12, 2021 12:09 PM in response to mcicconi

mcicconi wrote: Why does Mail offer me a "Compose Font" separate from all other fonts

I can't seem to find any "compose" font setting in my Mail. The "Composing" section of Mail preferences doesn't have anything for fonts (which is of course the problem).

Apple's own info about Mail's behavior is certainly misleading. The Help doc, e.g,

https://support.apple.com/en-bw/guide/mail/mlhlp1009/14.0/mac/11.0

has this in it, despite the fact that plain text is always the default:

"To use the same format for all of your messages, choose Mail > Preferences, click Composing, then choose a message format."

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Answer 3

mcicconi Author

Level 1

11 points

Feb 12, 2021 10:04 AM in response to VikingOSX

Hi Viking - understood that this is a user forum. I should have explicitly asked for help in my original post - was wondering if there are alternative ways to make Mail honour this outgoing font issue.

Also was hoping to add my voice to the fray as the old forum posts regarding this issue are locked out due to age - but the problem still exists.

Thanks

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Answer 4

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

116,036 points

Feb 12, 2021 10:36 AM in response to mcicconi

I assume you understand that there is no problem sending rich text using Apple Mail, it's just that you cannot make it do this by default, so you have to set things for each outgoing individually?

In the past I remember some users getting around the problem by having a signature in rich text and inputting their message content at the beginning to that to get the same font coded into the email body. I think there were also some apps in the App Store which tried to help. But I have not looked into these fixes for a long time, and normally just recommend Outlook instead.

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Answer 5

mcicconi Author

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11 points

Feb 12, 2021 12:13 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Yep this is what I was referring to - in Preferences there is a setting for Font in "Composing". But if the message isn't going to be sent with that font, it's a little confusing.

As you said, I'm sticking with Outlook for now (but that has a separate problem in that my iCloud contacts aren't easily accessed!) argh sometimes it's so frustrating

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Answer 6

mcicconi Author

Level 1

11 points

Feb 12, 2021 12:39 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

I'm sorry Tom - I was referring to the "Message font" option in the under the Fonts & Colors section of Preferences.

And I do see the section you've described regarding the Message Format: Rich Text which is under Composing.

In any case - I just want to send emails in Verdana as it matches all of our company fonts/stationary!

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Answer 7

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

116,036 points

Feb 12, 2021 12:36 PM in response to mcicconi

mcicconi wrote:

in Preferences there is a setting for Font in "Composing".

Could you post a screen shot of that? I don't seem to have any Font setting there, perhaps my install is not right...

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macOS Mail - Rich Text/HTML for outgoing messages

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