How to Make Emails Stand Out With Colors in Outlook

Lee Stanton February 8, 2023

How many times have you received an email and forgotten about it? This can be a problem, especially if the email contains important information. Fortunately, Outlook enables you to color-code your emails and ensure you never miss them.

If you’re interested in learning how to make emails stand out with colors in Outlook, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll provide detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do so in different versions of Outlook.

How to Make Emails Stand Out With Colors in Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2021

If you’re using Outlook for Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2021, you’ll be happy to know color-coding your email is simple and quick. Here’s what you need to do to make your emails stand out:

Open Outlook and go to the View tab.
Choose “Current View.”
Press “View Settings.”
Select “Conditional Formatting.” It’s the second to last option.
Choose “Add” and name your rule. We recommend using “Colors” or something similar.
Select “Font,” choose the color, style, size, font, and effects, and press “Ok.”
Click on “Condition” and enter the email address you want to highlight. If you wish to enter several email addresses, separate them with a semicolon. You can also highlight emails based on keywords or choose one of the advanced options.
Select “Ok.”

Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2021 allow you to color-code emails based on the line in which your email address is. Here’s how to take advantage of this option:

When choosing the criteria in “Condition,” mark the checkbox next to “Where I am.”
Choose one of the three options: “the only person on the To line,” “on the To line with other people,” or “on the CC line with other people.”

If you want these settings for other email folders, follow these steps:

Go to the View tab.
Press “Change View.”
Select “Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders.”
Choose the folders where you want this formatting.

How to Make Emails Stand Out With Colors in Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016

Many people use older Outlook versions like Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016. Here’s how you can color-code your emails and ensure you never miss them in these versions:

Open Outlook and select the View tab.
Select “View Settings.”
Press “Conditional Formatting.”
Select “Add” and choose a name for the new rule. You can use “Color-coding” or something similar.
Choose “Font” and customize the color. You can also change the style, effects, font, or size. Once you’re done, select “Ok.”
Press “Condition” and enter the email address or the domain name you want to color-code. If you want to add multiple email addresses, ensure to separate them with a semicolon. You can also choose a keyword and highlight the emails that contain it. Another option is to mark the “Where I am” checkbox and highlight emails based on the position of your email address in the To or CC lines.
Click on “Ok” to save your settings.

If you want to use these settings for other email folders, follow the instructions below:

Select the View tab.
Choose “Change View.”
Press “Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders.”
Select the folder to which you want to apply these settings.

How to Make Emails Stand Out With Colors in Outlook 2010

If you’re still using Outlook 2010 and want to highlight certain emails with a color, here’s what you need to do:

Launch Outlook and go to the View tab.
Press “View Settings.”
Click on “Conditional Formatting.”
Choose “Add” and name your formatting rule. Use something you’ll remember like “Colors” or “Color formatting.”
Select the preferred color. You can also customize the style, font, effects, and size. Click “Ok” once you’re done.
Press “Condition.” Here you choose the color-coding criteria. For example, you can enter an email address and color-code all emails related to it. If you want to add more than one address, separate them with a semicolon. You can also filter out the emails based on a specific keyword. Press “Ok” to save your settings.

Tip: If you mark the “Where I am” checkbox, you can highlight emails based on your position in an email. You have three options: “the only person on the To line, “on the To line with other people,” and “on the CC line with other people.” Select the preferred option from the drop-down menu.

Bring a Pop of Color Into Your Outlook

In only a few steps, Outlook allows its users to color-code their emails using different criteria. Besides customizing the color, you can choose a desired font, size, style, and add various effects. Thanks to these settings, you can have peace of mind knowing an important email won’t go unnoticed.

Have you tried making your emails stand out in Outlook? Which criteria did you use and why? Tell us in the comments section below.