Software & Apps MS Office How to Send a Plain Text Message in Outlook When your messages don't need fancy formatting, send text-only emails Share Pin Email Print MS Office Outlook Word Excel Powerpoint By Heinz Tschabitscher Writer A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. our editorial process Heinz Tschabitscher Updated February 03, 2020 You can send messages using rich HTML formatting that include images inline in Outlook. But not everybody wants to receive these types of emails. Instead, send plain text emails. Plain text emails don't include custom fonts and such, but you can be sure that everybody will find your messages perfectly legible. Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010, Outlook for Office 365, Outlook Online, and Outlook for Mac. Send a Plain Text Message in Outlook To compose and send an email using plain text in Outlook: Go to the Home tab and select New Email. Or, press Ctrl+N. In the message window, go to the Format Text tab. In the Format group, select Plain Text. You can also choose a default format for composing new messages in Outlook. A warning dialog box may appear with a note that some features in the message aren't supported by plain text email. Select Continue. Compose the message and select Send. Send a Plain Text Message in Outlook Online To send a plain text message in Outlook Online: Select New message. Select More Options (denoted by 3 dots), then choose Switch to plain text. You may get a warning about switching to Plain text. If so, select OK to continue. The formatting toolbar disappears from the message pane. Compose the message and select Send. Send a Plain Text Message in Outlook for Mac To deliver an email message that contains only plain text using Outlook for Mac: Click New Email. Or press Alt+⌘ (Command)+N. In the message window, go to the Options tab. In the Format Text group, turn off the HTML toggle to display Plain. If you are prompted to turn off HTML formatting, click Yes. Compose your message. Send the message.