Try turning off the default stationery set in Tools | Options | Mail Format.

Signature
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx
> I’ve messed up by changing, by mistake, something so that now when I open up
> a new outgoing e-mail I am unable to enter any details in the massage content
> area. All I can see are faint grid squares. The only way that I am able to
> send e-mails is by opening up a template from choose form tab, I would like
> to go back to being able to automatically open an e-mail with my signature
> on.