📞 01223 214177 ✉️ karen@roem.co.uk
📞 01223 214177 ✉️ karen@roem.co.uk
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Unless stated otherwise this tip is written for Microsoft 365 desktop apps and Windows 11 users, but might also be useful in Office 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019.
Hello and welcome to the tip of the month July. Another one about Outlook, but it works in both the Classic version as well as the new Outlook, so don't switch off! ;)
When Microsoft released Outlook version 2010 they introduced the Conversation View. I don't know about you, but I never switched it on. Or perhaps I switched it off because I didn't like it?! Either way, I got used to it in the new Outlook and now have it switched on in both versions.
What is it and how can it help? Well, it groups all your emails that have the same subject, irrespective of where they are saved or when they were sent. So it'll help find that needle in a haystack!
When you switch it on you will see a tiny triangle on the left. When you click it...
... it will show all messages that have the same subject. New messages are automatically added to the top of the conversation underneath the header. Unread messages are shown in bold italics.
NOTE: The very top message is not a message, just the header, so when you click on it you won't see anything in the Reading Pane.
Since Outlook 2013 it's been switched on by default, but your IT department might have switched it off or you might want to give it another go. Here's how to switch it on:
Select View > Show as Conversations to group – or ungroup. It's a toggle!
And if – like me – you cannot bear the default setting I strongly recommend you click the Conversation Settings button and select Always Expand Selection Conversation.
Finally, as mentioned before, messages are sorted with the newest message on top. In Classic Outlook you cannot change this sort order. But you can in the new Outlook:
Another reason to use the new Outlook? Or at least have both open?!
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PS Want to Pick my Brain? Why not schedule an hour with me! Training doesn't have to be long or torturous to be effective. And remember, tip subscribers get a 10% discount. (This PS was inspired by Yvette Pearson who offers Borrow My Brain sessions to help with anything admin-related. Yvette runs her own consulting business and also writes "The Admin Wrap", a weekly newsletter packed with news, events, training, and much more, specifically for the UK Admin Community.)
Use the left arrow to collapse a conversation
Use the right arrow to expand a conversation