Make Yahoo! Mail Display Messages in a Larger Font

No need to strain your eyes trying to read that tiny text

Picture of a collection of antique wooden letters

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The tiny fonts that are so commonly used by email providers make it possible to pack a lot of information it very little space. Unfortunately, this downsized information is often difficult to decipher and digest. Fortunately, if you're a Yahoo! Mail or Yahoo! Mail Classic user, you can make the display bigger by default, which allows for easier reading and much less eye strain.

Make Yahoo! Mail Display Messages in a Larger Font

To read your emails in a larger font, you'll have to make some changes outside of Yahoo! Mail. Most web browsers can increase or magnify the size of the site displayed in the browser. You may see this option as a magnifying glass with a plus in the center of it in the address bar.

If you do not, you might need to go to the Settings menu to find the Zoom controls. Zoom controls allow you to make everything in the browser display larger. Of course, this change will also make everything on pages you visit other than Yahoo! Mail larger, as well.

Alternatively, you may be able to use the keyboard or mouse shortcuts to zoom in and out on in your browser display. To use the keyboard, click inside your browser window and then press and hold the Ctrl key while pressing the + (plus) or - (minus) key to zoom in and out. If you have a mouse that has a scrolling wheel, you can also hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard while you scroll the wheel to increase or decrease the size of the page. 

Create Yahoo! Mail Messages Using a Larger Font

To create emails in a larger font in Yahoo! Mail, you'll need to tweak a display setting.

  1. Start with your Yahoo! mail account open and select Settings in the upper-right corner.

    A screenshot of the location of the settings option in Yahoo! Mail.
  2. In the Settings menu that slides out from the right side of the page, select More Settings.

    A screenshot of the More Settings option in Yahoo! Mail
  3. On the Settings page that appears, select Writing Email.

    A screenshot of the Writing email option in Yahoo! Mail
  4. Use the drop-down menus below Default rich-text font to change the font type and size for the messages that you send.

    The Default rich text font options in Yahoo! Mail
  5. When you've finished making adjustments, select the Back to Inbox link to finish up.

    The Back to Inbox option in Yahoo! Mail

Change Yahoo! Mail Inbox Spacing

Another thing you can do to make reading your inbox more comfortable is to increase your inbox spacing. Increased spacing puts more white space between the messages, which is easier on your eyes.

  1. Open Yahoo! Mail and select Settings in the upper-right corner.

  2. Choose More Settings near the bottom of the menu.

    More Settings at the bottom of the Settings menu.
  3. Select Personalize Inbox in the left pane and under Inbox spacing choose Large. You can always set it back to Small or Medium if that's your preference.

    Inbox Spacing in Yahoo! Mail settings.

Yahoo! mail also has a Basic version. In the Basic version, you cannot control the size or type of font in any of your messages, even as you're creating them. You can still try zooming your browser windows to make things appear larger, but you can't change them.

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