How to Apply a Colored Font to Unread Messages in Your Microsoft Outlook Inbox

See Microsoft Outlook: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

One of the ways to organize your messages in Outlook is to apply colors to message fonts; you first create color categories and then assign them to messages. You can choose from some default categories, such as unread mail, or set the formatting yourself. To apply a colored font to unread messages, follow these 10 steps.

This feature works the same in all modern versions of Microsoft Outlook: 2010, 2013, and 2016.

  1. In your Inbox, from the Ribbon, select the View tab.
  2. In the Current View group, select View Settings. View Settings
  3. In the Advanced View Settings dialog box, select Conditional Formatting. Conditional Formatting
  4. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, select Unread messages. Unread Messages
  5. Select Font. Font Button
  6. In the Font dialog box, select a color for the email font from the Color drop-down list. Color List
  7. Click OK. Click OK
  8. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, click OK. Conditional Formatting Dialog Box
  9. In the Advanced View Settings dialog box, click OK. Advanced View Settings Dialog Box
  10. Your Inbox will now display unread messages in the font color you selected, making them stand out. Inbox Example