Mac 911

How to change your default font in macOS Mail

Q: I would like to permanently change the default font setting from “Helvetica 14pt” to “Helvetica Neue Light 14pt” in my mail application so that my messages appear as this one does.

— Mark Chayka

(Trust me that his message did arrive in 14-point Helvetica Neue Light.)

A: I suggested he change Mail preferences: in the Mail app, choose Mail → Preferences → Fonts & Colors, click the Select button next to the Message font item (which shows the currently set font and size), and then use the Fonts selector that appears to choose your new options. (You also need to be sure that in the Composing preferences you set Message Format to Rich Text, not Plain Text, or the font choice won’t be set.)

However, Mark