How to Display Messages in a Larger Font in Mac OS X Mail

Mac Mail app shown running on macOS Sierra
Screen shot courtesy of Coyote Moon, Inc.
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated February 11, 2019

Are you the kind of person who needs to see the words of an email in a larger size for easier reading? Fortunately, Apple's Mac OS X Mail offers a nice way of displaying a message in a bigger font.

Display Messages in a Larger Font in Mac OS X Mail

To read an email in a larger font in Mac OS X Mail:

  1. Open the message in the preview pane.

  2. Press and hold Command and + (the plus key).

  3. Alternatively, you can select Format > Style > Bigger (Format > Font > Bigger in Mac OS X Mail 1.x) from the menu.

Return to a Smaller Font in OS X Mail

To go back to a smaller font in OS X Mail:

  1. Press and hold Command and - (the minus key).

Make Everything Bigger in Mac OS X

To see everything — including images, interface fonts and toolbars — enlarged in Mac OS X Mail:

  1. Press and hold the Command then Option then 8 keys to turn on OS X zoom.

  2. Press and hold Command then Option then + to zoom in.

    If OS X does not zoom, press Command Option 8 again to make sure the universal access feature is enabled.

  3. To zoom out, press and hold Command then Option then - (the minus key).

  4. To return to the original display, press Command Option 8.