Thunderbird: Changing the Font Size in your In Box

Thanks to Sandy Ball and Nikki Massaro Kauffman for this handy tip!

Thunderbird uses a default font size of “8” to display the messages in your In Box. You can easily increase the size of the font to create a larger display of the same messages. So if your eyes could use a break from small print, give this Tip a try:

1. Open any of these programs (NotePad, WordPad or DreamWeaver); then make a new file containing the text shown in red below. Then type “save as” and name your file: userChrome.css

/*
* Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
*/
@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* set default namespace to XUL */
/*
* Make all the default font sizes 20 pt:
*/
* {
font-size: 10pt !important
}

2. Next, go to C:\Documents and Settings\[yourusername]\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles
3. There, you'll find a folder with the ending ".default"; click on this folder
4. In the .default folder, create a new folder called chrome
5. Double click to open the chrome folder
6. Copy or move your newly created userChrome.css file into the chrome folder
7. Finally, open Thunderbird. Your messages will display in the revised font size

Hint: If the font size is too large or too small, you can use NotePad or WordPad to easily change the font size. Note that the file shown here conbtains "font-size: 10pt" ... you can simply increase or decrease the number as needed.