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Computer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -- Outlook:  Changing The View

The default view of Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 has changed considerably compared to the older Microsoft Office 2002. The following steps will change the view to look similar to how it looked before.

When you open Microsoft Outlook, you will receive the following new Outlook view.

Figure 12.4.a - Default View for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

Figure 12.4.a - Default View for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

The following are two (2) alternative Views to personalize your Outlook with instructions on how to configure the view.

View 1 shows the Folders List as the main view. This is the closest we could come up with that looks like the Microsoft Office 2002 Outlook version.

View 2 shows the Favorite Folders and All Mail Folders view. In addition to the default folders under Favorites, you can add others and delete the ones you don’t want. The Unread Mail and For Follow Up folders come in handy as they filter out the unread messages and any flagged messages you have in your inbox.

These views are strictly optional.

View 1 - Folders List:

Figure 12.4.b – Folders List – All Folders View

Figure 12.4.b – Folders List – All Folders View
  1. Click on [ View ] -> [ Reading Pane ] -> [ Bottom ]. Your view will change as shown in the following Figure.
  2. Click on [ Go ] -> [ Folder List ].
  3. You can also move the Mail, Calendar, Contact, etc. bars down so they are shown as small icons. This will lengthen the view of the Folder List. Place the cursor on the dots above the Mail folder, press down on the left mouse button and drag down until all folders are shown as a small icon. Refer to the above screen print.

View 2 – Favorite and Mail Folders:

Figure 12.4.c – Similar View of Microsoft Outlook 2002

Figure 12.4.c – Similar View of Microsoft Outlook 2002
  1. Click on [ View ] -> [ Reading Pane ] -> [ Bottom ]. Your view will change as shown in the following Figure.
  2. You can also move the Mail, Calendar, Contact, etc. bars down so they are shown as small icons. This will lengthen the view of the Folder List. Place the cursor on the dots above the Mail folder, press down on the left mouse button and drag down until all folders are shown as a small icon. Refer to the above screen print.
  3. To delete folders under the Favorite Folders, right click on the folder name, then click [ Remove from Favorite Folders ].
  4. To add a folder to the Favorites List, under All Mail Folders, right click on the folder to be added, then click on [ Add to Favorite Folders ].
  5. To change to a different folder (i.e. Contacts, Notes, etc.), click on the small icon at the bottom of the left hand screen.

To Display Email In Groups

Try using arrangements to organize your Inbox. An arrangement is a predefined grouping and sorting order for messages. For example, you can arrange your messages by conversation so that they are grouped by message subject or "thread." The threads are sorted by date, and the messages within each thread are sorted based on who replied to whom and when.

Below is an example of email shown in Groups by Date.

Figure 12.4.d – Arranging Email in Groups by Date

Figure 12.4.d – Arranging Email in Groups by Date
  1. Click on [View] -> [Arrange By]
  2. Make sure you have a checkmark next to [Date] and [Show in Groups]

The following is a list of descriptions of the predefined arrangements.

Outlook provides 13 predefined, standard arrangements that you can choose from. They are available from the View menu.

Attachments
This arrangement groups messages into two groups (With Attachments and No Attachments) and sorts by the received date.

Categories
This arrangement groups messages by categories and sorts by the received date.

Conversation
This arrangement groups messages by message subject or thread. The sorting order of items (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.) in the threads is based on who replied to whom, and the sorting order of the groups is by date. When a new message is received, the entire conversation that it is a part of moves to the top of the message list. By default, only unread and flagged messages are displayed. You can see all messages in the conversation by clicking the arrow next to the conversation heading. To help you keep track of the conversation or e-mail message thread, messages are indented to show who replied to whom and when they replied.

Date
This arrangement groups and sorts messages by date. This is the default arrangement, and your view is simplified by hiding unnecessary details. For example, messages received today show the time only. Messages from yesterday show the day and time, and messages that are older than a week show you more detailed date information.

E-mail Account
This arrangement groups messages by e-mail accounts and sorts by the received date.

Flag
This arrangement groups messages by flag color and sorts by the received date. This arrangement shows only messages that you have flagged. Any message flagged by someone else (the message sender) is displayed in the Unflagged group.

Folder
This arrangement groups messages alphabetically by folder names and sorts by the received date. This arrangement is available only in a Search Folder (Search Folders: Virtual folders that contain views of all e-mail items matching specific search criteria. The items remain stored in one or more Outlook folders.).

From
This arrangement groups messages by names on the From line and sorts by the received date.

Importance
This arrangement groups messages by Importance (High, Normal, and Low) and sorts by the received date.

Size
This arrangement groups messages into the following five categories and then sorts the messages by size:
Enormous (> 5 MB)
Huge (1-5 MB)
Large (100 - 500 KB)
Medium (25-100 KB)
Small (10-25 KB)
Tiny (< 10 KB)
Very Large (500 KB - 1 MB)

Subject
This arrangement groups messages alphabetically by subject and sorts them by the received date.

To
This arrangement groups messages by the name on the To line and sorts them by the received date.

Type
This arrangement groups messages by item (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.) type and sorts by received date. For example, all e-mail messages are in one group, meeting requests are in another, and task requests in a third.
 

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