How to Fix Greyed Out Formatting Options in Classic Version Outlook Replies

Annie Wan — Sat, 09 May 2026 05:27:49 +0000

When replying to certain emails (especially those sent from mobile devices), Outlook (old/classic version) may disable all formatting tools. In this state, the "Format Text" toolbar is greyed out, and rich-text templates are converted to plain text automatically.

This happens because Outlook inherits the sender's Plain Text format by default.

Solution

To restore formatting options and templates, follow these steps:

Select the reply window in Outlook.
Navigate to the Format Text tab on the top ribbon.
On the far right side, click the three dots (...) (More commands).
Select Message Format (or "Format") and choose HTML.

Once switched to HTML, all formatting tools, colors, and templates will be re-enabled immediately.

DEV Community: Annie Wan

How to Fix Greyed Out Formatting Options in Classic Version Outlook Replies