To make sure emails from important contacts stand out and do not go unnoticed, you can set up a rule that makes the email appear in a specific color or a specific size and type of font. For example, you can make emails from your boss appear in a larger font or have emails from family members all appear in red. To set up the way emails are displayed for Outlook 2016, Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2007:
For Outlook 2016:
- Go to the View tab
- Select View Settings
- Choose Conditional Formatting
- Click add
- Name your rule
- Click on Font and pick a color, style and size and click OK
- Click on Condition
- Type in the email address of the sender or senders you want to highlight. For multiple people, separate the email address with a semicolon.
For Outlook 2010:
- Go to View tab
- Select View Settings
- Choose Conditional Formatting
- Click Add
- Name your rule
- Click on Font and pick a color, style and size and click OK
- Click on Condition
- Type in the email address of the sender or senders you want to highlight. For multiple people, separate the email addresses with a semicolon.
For Outlook 2007:
- Go to the tools menu
- Select Organize, using colors
- Then choose specific colors for emails from specific people
- More advanced automatic settings for applying font type and size to emails can be added by selecting Automatic Formatting in the top right corner of the Using Colors screen.
- Click “Add” to create more rules
- When you’re finished creating your rule, important email will stand out.
Kantra, Suzanne. “Make Important Email Standout in Outlook with Color Coding” Techlicious February 2017