STUPID OUTLOOK TRICKS
So, here we are with a nice high-resolution monitor and graphics card and Outlook 2000. No major changes in the interface, but with the resolution turned up to 1280 x 1024 the fonts on the folder list simply are too small for these "advanced" eyes to deal with.
There's no turning back, it would be like going from a nice house back to an apartment: can't dial back the resolution. So let's adjust the font.
Experience says in Outlook-ese what we wanted to do was make a change to "View." After considerable time and poking about in every parameter we made changes to columns, colors, fonts, conditional fonts (such as when the boss sends you an e-mail, it shows up in a bigger font and in red) and every sort of formatting.
The folders remain in their small font. No provision in this tool for their adjustment. Now we are stuck. The next step is to call in some experts. The corporate help desk said font adjustments were under View. We knew better, so we said a polite "No, thank you," and sent a message to the Experts-Exchange.
Here we have a bunch of, well, experts, who should know how to change the font of the folders. Nope. The only attempt at an answer we got suggested the control was under the View menu tree.
Now what? We stared at the screen -- nice resolution, but those folder fonts and those itty-bitty folder icons next to them ...
Wait a minute! Icons? A couple of clicks away, we were adjusting the desktop appearance. You right-click on the desktop, then select properties.
There's an "Appearance" tab. We selected the item "Icon" from the drop-down list and tweaked the font up to 9-point Verdana.
Now for the drum roll. We click "OK" and re-open Outlook. Presto! The folder font is now readable. Of course the font for every icon in the system is now the same size, but we can deal with that -- better similar than too small.
What's so bothering about all of this is Microsoft did not cross-reference the "Help" file. Not one word about folder fonts. So we will share the agony ... er ... experience, and now you can tweak away in Outlook like a champ.
(Comments? Questions? Send them to [email protected])
