I trust you have tried the usual: 1. restart computer 1b. trash mail preferences, .mac prefs & restart (first make note of all settings...) 2. repair file permissions & restart 3. clean font caches & restart 4. archive and install I had the same issue a while back, I am sure it was with in 10.3 - 10.4. I am on 10.4.8 now and have not had the problem at all in a while. I suspect one of the upgrades or the A&I I did a while back under late 10.3 or early 10.4 did the trick. Steve