How To Set The Default Zoom Level Of Outlook Reading Pane

If you want to automatically zoom in when reading email in the Outlook reading pane, you can set the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane. In this blog post, I’ll demonstrate how you can set the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane so you don’t have to manually zoom in every time.

How to set the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane

  1. In Outlook, double click an email to open the reading pane
  2. Click Zoom on the ribbon
  3. Choose your zoom percentage
  4. Check Remember my preference
  5. Click OK

We’ve also created a video that walks through the steps in this blog post. If you’d like to give that video a watch, here it is:

Here’s a step-by-step guide with screenshots where I demonstrate the process I’ve outlined above to set the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane.


How to set the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane (step-by-step)

If you want to permanently zoom in on the Outlook reading pane, here’s the process you need to follow.

  1. Open the Outlook desktop app
  2. Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane
  3. Click Zoom on the ribbon
  4. Choose your zoom percentage
  5. Click Remember my preference
  6. Click OK

Boomerang – Email management

Calendar scheduling and email productivity tool for Outlook.

To make it easier to follow the process, I’ve included screenshots for each step below.

  • Open Outlook

Open up the Outlook application on your computer. You can only follow this step-by-step guide for the desktop version of Outlook. If you are using the web-based version of Outlook, you have to use your browser’s zoom feature instead.

  • Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane

Double click on any email in your inbox. It doesn’t matter which one. We just need to open up an email in the reading pane to adjust the zoom level.

  • Click Zoom on the ribbon

Once the email opens up in the bigger reading pane, select Zoom on the ribbon. I’ve highlighted it in the screenshot above so you know exactly where to click.

  • Choose your zoom percentage

There are 3 default ‘Zoom to’ settings available:

  • 200%
  • 100%
  • 75%

Choose one of these options, or alternatively, type a number of your choice into the Percent box.

Personally, I think 200% is too much. Somewhere between 125 – 150% zoom is usually enough. However, test out the settings available and pick the one that suits your requirements best.

  • Click Remember my preference

After you’ve picked a zoom percentage that you’re happy with, you’ll need to click Remember my preference.

If you select Remember my preference, Outlook will always zoom to whatever percentage you choose when you open an email in the reading pane.

If you don’t select Remember my preference, you will have to set the zoom percentage every single time you open up an email.

  • Click OK

Once you’ve chosen a zoom percentage and selected Remember my preference, click OK. The change you’ve made will then be reflected on all your emails as you will see on the before and after example below.

As you can see, the text is now much larger and easier to read versus the size it was previously.

All your emails will zoom in to the percentage you have chosen, regardless of whether you open them up in the reading pane or just read them in the preview reading pane.

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How to stop the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane from changing

Are you having the problem where you change the zoom level in Outlook, but it keeps changing back to the default zoom percentage whenever you close and reopen the application?

Following the steps outlined here, you can stop the zoom level from changing in Outlook by modifying the default zoom percentage.

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane
  3. Click Zoom on the ribbon
  4. Choose your zoom percentage
  5. Click Remember my preference
  6. Click OK
  • Open Outlook

Open up the Outlook application on your computer. You can only follow this step-by-step guide for the desktop version of Outlook. If you are using the web-based version of Outlook, you have to use your browser’s zoom feature instead.

When you open up Outlook, there is a feature in the bottom right that lets you change the zoom level on the fly [as seen in the screenshot below]. The problem with using this feature is that it’s temporary — it doesn’t change the zoom percentage permanently.

To permanently change the zoom level in Outlook — preventing the zoom level from changing in the future — follow the steps outlined below. I’ve included screenshots to demonstrate how you complete each step too!

  • Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane

Double click on any email in your inbox. It doesn’t matter which one. We just need to open up an email in the reading pane to adjust the zoom level.

  • Click Zoom on the ribbon

Once the email opens up in the bigger reading pane, select Zoom on the ribbon. I’ve highlighted it in the screenshot above so you know exactly where to click.

  • Choose your zoom percentage

There are 3 default ‘Zoom to’ settings available:

  • 200%
  • 100%
  • 75%

Choose one of these options, or alternatively, type a number of your choice into the Percent box.

Personally, I think 200% is too much. Somewhere between 125 – 150% zoom is usually enough. However, test out the settings available and pick the one that suits your requirements best.

  • Click Remember my preference

After you’ve picked a zoom percentage that you’re happy with, you’ll need to click Remember my preference.

If you select Remember my preference, Outlook will always zoom to whatever percentage you choose when you open an email in the reading pane.

If you don’t select Remember my preference, you will have to set the zoom percentage every single time you open up an email or Outlook.

  • Click OK

Once you’ve chosen a zoom percentage and selected Remember my preference, click OK. The change you’ve made will then be reflected on all your emails as you will see on the before and after example below.

As you can see, the text is now much larger and easier to read versus the size it was previously.

All your emails will zoom in to the percentage you have chosen, regardless of whether you open them up in the reading pane or just read them in the preview reading pane.

Because you selected Remember my preference, you won’t have to adjust your zoom when you close & reopen Outlook. The zoom will be saved at the percentage you choose, while you can still use the zoom function in the bottom left to modify it manually.

How to reset the default zoom level of the Outlook reading pane?

If you’ve accidentally zoomed in on Outlook, you might be wondering how you get your Outlook email screen back to its normal size! This is fairly easy, depending on why your Outlook is zoomed in.

If you manually zoomed in, follow these steps:

  • Open Outlook
  • Use the zoom slider to alter the zoom percentage to a suitable level

If your Outlook is zooming in too much by default [i.e., when you initially open the application or click on an email], follow these steps:

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane
  3. Click Zoom on the ribbon
  4. Choose your zoom percentage
  5. Click Remember my preference
  6. Click OK

Reset the zoom on your Outlook reading pane by using the zoom slider

If you manually zoomed in, it’s super easy to get your Outlook reading pane back to the default zoom percentage.

  • Open Outlook
  • Use the zoom slider to alter the zoom percentage to a suitable level

Once you’ve opened Outlook, look at the bottom right of the Outlook application — just above the task bar. You’ll see a zoom slider with a percentage next to it. It should be identical to the image below.

You can use this slider to adjust the size of the content in the reading pane. If the content in the reading pane is too large, use this slider to reduce the zoom to 100% [the default Outlook setting].

If you did this and your emails are still automatically zooming in when you click on them or relaunch Outlook, you’ll need to adjust your default zoom following the steps outlined below.

Reset the zoom on your Outlook reading pane by changing the default zoom percentage

  • Double click on an email to open it in the reading pane

Double click on any email in your inbox. It doesn’t matter which one. We just need to open up an email in the reading pane to adjust the zoom level.

  • Click Zoom on the ribbon

Once the email opens up in the bigger reading pane, select Zoom on the ribbon. I’ve highlighted it in the screenshot above so you know exactly where to click.

  • Choose your zoom percentage

Select the zoom percentage of your choice. The default zoom percentage is 100%.

  • Click Remember my preference

After you’ve picked a zoom percentage that you’re happy with, you’ll need to click Remember my preference.

If you select Remember my preference, Outlook will always zoom to whatever percentage you choose when you open an email in the reading pane.

If you don’t select Remember my preference, you will have to set the zoom percentage every single time you open up an email or Outlook.

  • Click OK

And voila! Your Outlook reading pane will display content at the size you select here, even when you relaunch the app.


Thankyou for reading. Hopefully this blog post has helped you to adjust your Outlook zoom. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you need some more help!

Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell has been the Operations manager at telecoms and MSP Optionbox for more than 4 years. He has played a crucial role in the company, from marketing to helpdesk, and ensures that the IT requirements of over 300 clients are continuously met. With his innate passion for technology and troubleshooting and a particular interest in Apple products, Jack now delivers the most comprehensive tech guides to make your life easier. You can connect with Jack on LinkedIn.

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