Estimated Time to Fix: 3 minutes

Summary

This article guides you through fixing issues where Outlook emails lose their formatting, send as plain text without images, or display with broken layouts.

Symptoms

• When you compose an email, all text formatting buttons (bold, colors, fonts) are greyed out.
• Emails you send or receive strip out all images, logos, and links.
• The email looks like a wall of plain text with no structure.

Before You Start

• None required.

Instructions

1. Change the Message Format to HTML (Classic Outlook)

Plain text strips formatting, images, and signatures — switching the message back to HTML restores all three.

1. Open Outlook and click New Email.
2. In the new message window, click the Format Text tab at the top.
3. Look for the Format section and click HTML.
4. The text formatting options should immediately become available, allowing you to use bold text, colors, and insert images.
5. If this message formats correctly but the next new email opens as plain text again, Outlook's default compose format is still set to plain text. Continue to Step 2.

2. Set HTML as the Default Format

Setting the default stops the problem returning on the next message you write.

1. From the main Outlook window, click File in the top left corner, then click Options.
2. Click Mail on the left side of the Options menu.
3. Look for the section titled Compose messages.
4. Ensure the dropdown for Compose messages in this format is set to HTML.
5. Click OK to save the changes.
6. If the mail you send now looks right but the mail arriving in your inbox is still stripped bare, a separate setting is flattening what you receive. Continue to Step 3.

3. Check for Plain Text Reply Settings

A separate setting strips formatting from mail you receive, even when your own messages look right.

1. While still in File > Options > Mail, scroll down to the Replies and forwards section.
2. Uncheck the box that says Read all standard mail in plain text (if you were having trouble viewing incoming emails).
3. Click OK.
4. If that box was already unchecked and incoming mail is still unstyled, the same setting is also held in the Trust Center — open File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Email Security and clear it there. Continue to Step 4.

4. Verify Success

Open a new message and confirm your signature and the formatting tools are both back.

1. Click New Email and verify that your signature images appear correctly and that you can use the text formatting tools.
2. If the signature images are still missing or the formatting buttons are still greyed out, raise a ticket saying which Outlook you use (Classic or New), that Compose messages in this format is already set to HTML, and whether the same message composes correctly in Outlook on the web.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

If your emails look fine on your computer but the recipient complains about broken formatting, the issue might be on their end (their email client is forcing plain text).

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
Pasting text changes the font unexpectedly	Paste options	When pasting into Outlook, click the small clipboard icon that appears and select Keep Source Formatting or Merge Formatting.
All incoming emails look like plain text	Trust Center settings	Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Email Security and uncheck "Read all standard mail in plain text".

Related Articles

• How to Fix Outlook AutoComplete Not Working or Suggesting Wrong Emails
• How to Use Search Operators in Outlook and Gmail

Did this solve your problem?