Skip to main content

Our email CSS engine is open source. Give it a star on GitHub 

Emailens

text-shadow in Outlook Classic

Not supported text-shadow is not supported in Outlook Classic.

Works in 12 of 21 · not supported in 9

Which clients
Works
Outlook 365, Outlook Android, Apple Mail, Apple Mail iOS, Yahoo Mail iOS, Samsung Mail, Thunderbird, HEY Mail, Proton Mail, AOL Mail, Fastmail, Superhuman
Not supported
Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS, Outlook (New), Outlook Classic, Outlook iOS, Outlook for Mac, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mail Android

Your reader in Outlook Classic sees the email without text-shadow, even if it looks right where you tested it.

The fix for Outlook Classic

Use font-weight or border-bottom as alternatives to text-shadow

after
.glow {
  /* text-shadow is not supported in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo.
     Use font-weight or letter-spacing for emphasis instead. */
  font-weight: bold;
  letter-spacing: 0.5px;
}
Show the original
before
.glow {
  text-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5);
}

The checker needs a computer screen.

A free account opens all 21 clients and keeps your checks for 7 days. Create a free account →

What Outlook Classic does with text-shadow

The Emailens probe for text-shadow on 3 real installs counted as Outlook Classic, captured 14 Oct 2026. It shows the problem, not the fix. Where text-shadow is supported it shows: text with a red shadow.

Every account includes one free real-device check in classic Outlook, Outlook for Mac and Apple Mail, after you verify your email and run one preview, while this month's free capacity lasts. How real-device checks work →

@emailens/engine 0.18.22 on the original code

Outlook Classic does not support "text-shadow".

Your next question

Every feature in Outlook Classic · text-shadow in every client

Questions

How many email clients support text-shadow?
It works in 12 of 21, not supported in 9.
What do I use instead of text-shadow in Outlook Classic?
Use font-weight or border-bottom as alternatives to text-shadow.
Does text-shadow work in AOL Mail?
text-shadow works in AOL Mail. Closest to Outlook Classic: AOL Mail, which agrees on 206 of the 298 features both are tested on.

To see what else in your email Outlook Classic does not support, paste the whole email.

The checker needs a computer screen.

Real captures 14 Oct 2026 on 11 installs · caniemail (MIT) via @emailens/engine 0.18.22 · tested upstream 28 Feb 2019 · data last changed 10 Nov 2026 · Outlook (New) cells are the engine's mapping