When you print an e-mail message in either Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Outlook Express, the printed message is so small that it is unreadable.

Note This problem does not occur in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.

This problem occurs because the "Shrink to Fit" feature in Outlook 2003 or in Outlook Express is automatically enabled. Therefore, if the contents of the e-mail message are wider than the width of the paper, the size of the message is reduced to fit on the paper. If the size of the message is reduced too much, the printed message becomes so small that it is unreadable.

Notes

• This hotfix applies to any client that is using Internet Explorer.
• The hotfix is included in Internet Explorer for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Service pack information

Windows Vista

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Vista. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Windows XP

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for installing this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

For x86-based computers

For x64-based computers

For Itanium-based computers

To work around this problem, delete large images from the e-mail message. Or, insert spaces and new lines into the e-mail message to reduce the size of the message. Then, print the message again.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: After you apply this hotfix, you can configure the specifications of the "Scale to Fit" feature works in Outlook 2003 and in Outlook Express. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit.exe, and then click OK.
2. In Registry Editor, locate and then click one of the following registry keys:
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_STF_Scale_Min
   • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_STF_Scale_Min
3. For Outlook 2003, double-click Outlook.exe in the details pane, type 75 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
   
   Notes
   • You can type any number from 30 to 100. The number that you type represents the minimum scaling percentage that will be used by the "Shrink to Fit" feature. For example, when you type 75, the message will not be printed at any smaller than 75 percent of the original message size. 100 means that it will not shrink at all.
   • If the Outlook.exe value is missing, you must create it. To do this, follow these steps:
     1. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, type Outlook.exe, and then press ENTER.
     2. Make sure the base setting is set to decimal and not hexadecimal.
     3. Double-click Outlook.exe, type 75, and then click OK.
4. For Outlook Express in Microsoft Windows XP, double-click Msimn.exe in the details pane, type 75 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
   
   Notes
   • You can type any number from 30 to 100. The number that you type represents the minimum scaling percentage that will be used by the "Shrink to Fit" feature. For example, when you type 75, the message will not be printed at any smaller than 75 percent of the original size for the message. 100 means that it will not shrink at all.
   • If the Msimn.exe value is missing, you must create it. To do this, follow these steps:
     1. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, type Msimn.exe, and then press ENTER.
     2. Make sure the base setting is set to decimal and not hexadecimal.
     3. Double-click Msimn.exe, type 75, and then click OK.
5. For Microsoft Windows Mail in Windows Vista, double-click WinMail.exe, type 75 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
   
   Notes
   • You can type any number from 30 to 100. The number that you type represents the minimum scaling percentage that will be used by the "Shrink to Fit" feature. For example, when you type 75, the message will not be printed at any smaller than 75 percent of the original size for the message.
   • If the WinMail.exe value is missing, you must create it. To do this, follow these steps:
     1. On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, type WinMail.exe, and then press ENTER.
     2. Double-click WinMail.exe, type 75, and then click OK.
6. On the File menu, click Exit.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: