Font settings in Thunderbird

UNDER CONSTRUCTION...
(please don't categorize this page yet)

This article provides an overview of the various font/character settings in Thunderbird, which are often a source of confusion for new users. Broadly speaking, font settings can apply to three things in Thunderbird: message display, message composition, and the Thunderbird user-interface. See the "Terminology" section below for more information on key font-related terms used in the Thunderbird menus and dialogs.

(This article does not cover other aspects of message display and composition, such as text wrapping, background colors or images.)

Message display

This refers to what messages look like when you view them. Changing the message display settings will not affect your outgoing messages in any way. For instance, if you set Thunderbird to display messages in Verdana font, size 24 (pixels), this does not mean that your outgoing messages will be sent in the same font and same size by default. (One exception: beginning with Thunderbird 1.5, the setting for character encoding for outgoing mail now appears in a panel inside the Display settings dialog.)

Settings via the Options/Preferences dialog

Accessed via "Tools -> Options -> Display".

• Formatting ("Tools -> Options -> Display -> Formatting") : plain text and HTML options
  • Wrapping problems in Compose window if you use a variable width font such as Verdana for your standard monospace (fixed width) font [1]
• Character encoding (for message display, labelled "Incoming")
• Proportional and monospace (i.e., same as variable width and fixed width)
  • Switching between Serif and Sans-serif for Proportional display seems to be broken in 1.5 (works only when composing), but maybe that's only me [2]

Other message display settings

• "View -> Text Size -> Increase / Decrease / Normal": select "Increase" or "Decrease" to temporarily display the text in a larger or smaller size. Thsi display size will reset to normal the next time you start up Thunderbird.
• "View -> Message Body As -> Original HTML / Simple HTML / Plain Text": the "Simple HTML" choice seems to display the message without any HTML formatting except bold and italics.
• Signatures are normally displayed in gray rather than black. Advanced users can set a different display color as described here.

Message composition

This refers to the font/character settings that you use in messages that you compose and send to others.

Setting your standard preferences

• For each account, do you normally want to compose in HTML or plain-text?
• Your standard HTML font settings, for when you do compose in HTML mode, via the "HTML Options" button:
  • Font: Note that "Variable width" actually doesn't do anything to the text in the message body (leaves the font unspecified); "Fixed width" encloses the selected text in <tt> tags.
  • Size: The use of small-medium-large for font sizes. Why not "absolute" size like points instead? (frequent Q)
  • Color: if you must...
• Outgoing character encoding: as noted above, this is accessed via "Tools -> Options -> Display".
• "Send Options" for text format (if you compose in HTML mode it doesn't mean you have to send in HTML)

Per-message settings

Things you can change on the fly when composing, to override your standard font preferences.

• Switch HTML/plain-text on a per-message basis
• Font, in Compose window. As noted above, "Variable width" actually doesn't do anything to the text in the message body (leaves the font unspecified); "Fixed width" encloses the selected text in <tt> tags.
• Character encoding (via "Options -> Character Encoding")

• sigs (take this out?)

Thunderbird user-interface

This refers to the font settings that are used in the menus, folder pane, message-list pane, and other parts of the Thunderbird user-interface.

Terminology

Key terms that appear in the Thunderbird menus and dialogs in relation to font/character settings:

• Text format:
  • plain text
  • HTML
• Character width:
  • variable width (proportional): e.g., an "i" or an "l" is slimmer than an "O" or a "w"
  • fixed width (monospace): all characters are the same width (visual examples) (and yes, TB uses both sets of terms [3])
• Font style:
  • serif
  • sans-serif
• Font size:
  • pixels
  • small-medium-large (in HTML options; note the absence of points)
• Character encoding (can apply to both display and composition)

Related articles

• Plain text e-mail
• Default HTML font for new messages
• some of the articles in Visual customizations

External links

Wikipedia articles:

• Typeface (fonts)
• Pixel
• Point (in typography)