Adjust letter spacing for email text styles

Adjust letter spacing in Mail Designer 365 when a heading, label, or short text element needs more or less space between characters. Letter spacing can help create a distinctive text style, improve the visual balance of uppercase headings, or make compact typography easier to read.

Use the setting carefully: large changes can reduce readability, especially in body copy and on small screens. This guide explains how to select text, enter a precise spacing value, save the result in a text style, and test the finished email.

Select the text you want to change

1. Open the email design in Mail Designer 365.
2. Click inside the relevant text area.
3. Highlight the word, line, or paragraph whose spacing you want to adjust.
4. Open the Style tab.

Select only the text that should receive the new spacing. If the entire text area uses one style, you can select all of it. For a single emphasized phrase, limit the selection so surrounding copy keeps its existing appearance.

Enter a letter-spacing value

Scroll in the Style controls until you find Letter spacing. Enter a precise percentage value, or use the up and down arrows to compare small changes. Watch the selected text in the design while adjusting the value.

Start with a modest change. Headings may benefit from a little extra space, while body text usually needs tighter and more consistent spacing. Negative values bring characters closer together; positive values move them farther apart.

Choose spacing for the type of text

Uppercase headings often tolerate wider spacing because the individual letters have strong shapes. Short labels and buttons may also benefit from a subtle increase. Long paragraphs, narrow columns, and small text should usually stay close to the font’s default spacing.

Consider the font as well. A value that looks balanced with one typeface may appear too loose or too tight with another. Review the actual words used in the campaign rather than judging the style from placeholder text.

Save the setting in a text style

Mail Designer 365 saves the letter-spacing setting as part of the text style. This helps you reuse consistent typography across the email. When you apply that style to another text element, check that its different word length and container width still produce a good result.

If you need a style that is used only in the mobile version, see creating mobile-only text styles.

Check line breaks and layout width

Changing character spacing also changes the total width of the text. A heading may wrap to another line, a button label may no longer fit, or a paragraph may become taller. Check the surrounding layout after every significant adjustment.

Do not reduce font size solely to compensate for excessive spacing. A smaller spacing value or shorter wording usually preserves readability more effectively.

Preview desktop and smartphone versions

• Check headings and body copy at both layout widths.
• Look for unexpected line breaks or clipped text.
• Confirm that button labels remain centered and readable.
• Compare the visual hierarchy with nearby sections.
• Review text contrast as well as spacing.

Mobile layouts have less horizontal space, so a wide letter-spacing value can cause wrapping that does not appear on desktop. Make separate adjustments where the design workflow supports them.

Send a test email

Previewing in the editor is useful, but a test email shows how the typography renders in actual email clients. Open the message on a phone and desktop computer, then compare important headings, buttons, and paragraphs.

When the spacing looks consistent and the text remains easy to read, save the design and reuse the style where appropriate. Treat letter spacing as a refinement that supports the message rather than a decorative effect applied to every text element.

Paste and Match Style in Mail Designer 365

Paste and Match Style lets you insert copied text while using the formatting of the destination text area in Mail Designer 365. This is useful when the source comes from a website, document, note, or another app with fonts, sizes, colors, or spacing that do not belong in your email design.

The important distinction is that the command does not preserve the source formatting. It keeps the destination style. The words are inserted into the selected text area and adopt its existing typography, helping headings, body copy, and links remain consistent with the rest of the newsletter.

When to use Paste and Match Style

Use this command when the copied text contains formatting you do not want to bring into the email. For example, a blog post may use a different font and size, a word-processing document may contain hidden paragraph styling, or copied website text may include colors and links that conflict with the design.

If you are copying content between two Mail Designer 365 text areas and want the destination area to control the appearance, Paste and Match Style is also a useful choice. For complex content, paste one section at a time so you can review headings, paragraphs, lists, and links separately.

How to paste text and keep the destination style

1. Copy the text from the original document, webpage, note, or application.
2. In Mail Designer 365, select the destination text area and place the insertion point where the new text should appear.
3. Open the Edit menu.
4. Choose Paste and Match Style.
5. Review the pasted text and confirm that it uses the destination font, size, color, and paragraph styling.

What to check after pasting

• Confirm that paragraph breaks and list items appear in the intended order.
• Check bold, italic, and linked text instead of assuming every inline format should remain.
• Verify link destinations and remove any links copied unintentionally from the source.
• Review quotation marks, dashes, special characters, and nonbreaking spaces.
• Preview the text at desktop and mobile widths to catch awkward wrapping.

Source content may contain hidden characters or spacing even when its visible formatting has been replaced. If a paragraph still behaves unexpectedly, paste a smaller section, remove unnecessary line breaks, or type the affected characters again inside the destination text area.

Regular paste versus Paste and Match Style

A regular paste may retain some source formatting depending on the copied content and application. Paste and Match Style is intended for the opposite situation: you want the inserted words to follow the design already established in the destination text area. Choose the option that produces consistent typography and then inspect the result rather than relying on the command name alone.

When building a newsletter from several sources, define the text styles in Mail Designer 365 first. Create the heading and body areas you need, then paste content into the appropriate destination. This reduces manual cleanup and makes future editions easier to update.

Troubleshooting pasted text

If the pasted text does not match the surrounding content, confirm that you selected the correct destination text area before opening the Edit menu. If copied links or unexpected line breaks remain, edit them directly after pasting. For content with tables, columns, or other complex structure, rebuild the layout with Mail Designer 365 elements instead of trying to transfer the entire source as formatted text.

Before sending, read the pasted content once more and send a test email. Check the typography, link behavior, line breaks, accessibility, and mobile layout in the email clients your audience uses most.

Keeping destination styles consistent also makes later global design changes easier, because pasted paragraphs continue to follow the typography already defined for the campaign.