Thunderbird 140 ESR has recently landed and I was keen to try it out. I’ve been on Betterbird for a while but was a tad bit curious to see what was new.
On a new profile, I see those same-old tiny, tiny fonts which Thunderbird ships by default. Getting fonts to display consistently in Thunderbird can be frustrating, but with the right configuration, it can be done. I eventually managed to change them to something reasonable and I’m sharing this guide so that I do not forget how to do this.
How to set fonts in Thunderbird for consistent e-mail display
Start by configuring your basic font preferences in Thunderbird’s main settings:
- Navigate to Settings > General and locate the Language & Fonts section
- Set your default font (the standard setting is “sans-serif 16”, which works well for most users)
Next, configure the advanced settings for different writing systems:
- Click the “Advanced” button in the Language & Fonts section
- In the drop-down menu at the top, select
Latin - Set the desired fonts and font-size settings
- Return to the drop-down menu and select
Other Writing Systems - Configure these settings to match exactly what was set for Latin
- Click OK to save the settings
This ensures consistency across all character sets.
I send all my e-mails as plain-text but if you send HTML e-mails, read on.
HTML Composition Settings in Thunderbird
If your e-mail account is configured to compose HTML messages, check and adjust one more setting:
- Go to Settings > Composition
- In the HTML Style section, set the font to Variable Width and Medium size
- Set the Sending Format to
automaticto ensure optimal compatibility.
The HTML Style settings (as above) should be default but good to check anyway.
With these font settings properly configured, your compose window will display text in your chosen font, and your sent folders will match your compose window.