There’s always a time when you need to set a default font within Outlook. Microsoft have made it really easy to set fonts for the rest of the office products but have seem to have missed Outlook from the list. So to set default fonts in Outlook follow the below:
- On a clean machine set up Outlook with the required Fonts, these is configured within Options > Mail > Stationary and Fonts
- Once you’ve configured the fonts, open a administrative Regedit.exe
- Navigate down the list to the following:
HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\MailSettings
- Export the MailSettings key
- To easily add into a Group Policy your need to convert the .REG file to a .XML file. This can be done by downloading a powershell script created by Malcolm and edited by 4sysops here. To run the script enter the correct paths:
.\RegToXML.ps1 c:\path\input.reg c:\path\output.xml
- Now you’ve got your XML file, copy the file to your machine which you are using to amend your group policies
- On the machine your using to amend your policies, right click on the .XML file you just moved. Select ‘Copy’ from the context menu
- Open you group policy and navigate to the following:
User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry
- Right click in the empty white space in the right hand pane and select ‘Paste’
- Confirm the action and your see the registry amendments import in
- Ensure you’ve linked your Group Policy to an OU
- Log on and the settings will be changed!
Thank you, this is very useful.
Thanks Malakipaa!
Hi Michael,
This article has helped me immensely so far during my IT traineeship, We actually had to change the Outlook font for all of our users recently during a re-brand project and my boss linked me your article. Thanks again, I feel really smart 😀
Thanks Sam!
Let me know if i can help with anything else and i’ll create a post for it.
How do you disable the font option for all users?
Thanks for commenting Sunstech.
If you link the policy to all users it will enforce the settings every time it does a group policy refresh.
If you want to disable users accessing the font options, have a look at this:
https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/email/disable-stationery-fonts-using-group-policy/
Hi
when i try to import the xml file into my GPO i am getting an error
The pasted document is invalid and will be ignored
Hi there,
This worked well for deploying the default font, thank you. However having some issues now with being able to change the default font for our Email Signatures since implementing this change.
Have you had any reports of this? or could think of why this started happening?
Hi Shanee,
Great that it worked!
Because its a preference and not a setting it has to be overwritten. It wont change unless the previous setting it replaced. Have you done that?
Hello,
Thanks for this it works really well, is it possible as well the change the colour of the font that is used ?
Hi and thanks for the comment.
Of course, if you set the colour you want first within Outlook before doing the export it should capture that colour.
If i can help, just let me know.
Yes I tested this and it keeps the colour indeed.
Many thanks for this doc it really makes things easier !