What's new in new Outlook for Windows
Applies To
New Outlook for Windows Outlook Web AppDecember 2024
Swipe in the message list
The Message List now supports Swipe from Left and Swipe from Right actions (for touch-screen devices). As a result, there have also been some minor organization changes for the hover actions (with your cursor).
You can customize your swipe actions by visiting the Swipe section of the Mail > Customize actions page of your Settings window.
Hide completed/past events in My Day pane
When "Today's" events have been completed, they will now be hidden from the Agenda view of your My Day pane.
OS time zone change detected
When you switch your time zone, a prompt will now appear, which allows you to restart Outlook and update the time zone.
November 2024
New modern themes
We've added four new modern themes, which bring more personalization and expressiveness to your inbox. Select Settings > General > Appearance > Modern themes to access themes.
Dismiss individual or all notifications in the Notifications pane
Dismiss a single notification by hovering over it and selecting Dismiss , or dismiss all notifications in the pane using Dismiss all at the top.
Enable/disable notifications for specific accounts on your device
You can now specify which accounts receive notifications and sounds on your device when you have more than one account set up. To access your notification settings, select Settings > General > Notifications. Select Expand to see additional settings.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
Copy conversations while offline
Copy message and copy conversation actions can now be performed when not connected to the internet, joining other available offline capabilities described here: Work offline in Outlook.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
Scope search suggestions to specific entities
You can now scope your search suggestions down to specific entities such as Files, People, Mail, etc. to sort through your suggestions more easily. You will be able to navigate from the suggestion directly to the entity tab in your search results.
September 2024
Send updates only to added or removed attendees
When updating meeting attendees, organizers will be prompted with an option to send updates only to added or removed attendees or to send updates to all attendees.
Learn more in Schedule a meeting or event in Outlook.
Meeting recap and meeting artifacts
Shortly after a meeting ends, meeting participants will automatically get a set of all the meeting artifacts in the calendar. These include the:
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Entry point to the meeting recap page
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Transcript
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Recording
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Any shared files
For users with access to intelligent meeting recap, they will also see the following highlights directly within Outlook:
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Number of speakers
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Number of name mentions
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Suggested tasks
Learn more in Meeting Recap with Outlook.
Improved readability and a combined availability view in the Scheduling assistant
The scheduling assistant view has been upgraded to provide you with better readability. We've improved the grid lines, availability view, and much more. We've also added a combined availability bar.
Navigate the Calendar grid via keyboard arrow keys
When focused on the calendar grid, you will be able to navigate the time slots on the calendar via left/right/up/down arrow keys in day, week, and work week views.
New policy to ensure primary account matches Windows sign-on identity
This new policy makes the Windows sign-in identity the primary account. This eases the setup process for new managed devices and guarantees that company policies will always be respected.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
August 2024
Share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint local files
When you are in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint apps and you want to share a file that is saved locally on your device (not stored in a cloud location), the new Outlook for Windows will show up as a share target and you will be able to easily share the file via email.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
Open attachments in desktop apps
Open attachments of all types in their respective desktop app by double clicking them.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
Sort and filter improvements
Sort and Filter will now be separate buttons in the Message List. This will make it easier to change the Sorted by and Filtered by values separately.
For more details on Sorting, see Sort email messages in Outlook.
Meeting Details in the Reading Pane
When a conversation in Mail is part of a meeting, the Reading Pane will have a new and improved Meeting Details card for a more efficient and modern RSVP flow.
"Go to folder" shortcut
When focused on the folder pane, you can now press CTRL + Y to quickly navigate to a folder. Simply press the first letter of the folder name to move focus directly to that folder.
For more details, see Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook.
Use the Alt key to bring up key tips
Use the Alt key to bring up key tips when using keyboard navigation. This behavior was previously Win + Alt.
July 2024
Offline support for your mail, calendar, and settings
The first set of offline capabilities in the new Outlook for Windows is now available, helping you stay productive even when you're not connected to the internet. Your mail, calendar events, contacts, and settings will be stored on your device, so you can view them even when you're offline. Additionally, you can perform key actions on your mail, such as flagging, moving, deleting, and composing messages.
Learn more in Work offline in Outlook.
This feature is not available in the Outlook on the web.
Copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) emails between folders using shortcuts
Using the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V shortcuts, you can quickly transfer emails to the desired folder. This allows you to streamline your workflow and enhance your productivity.
For more details, see Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook.
Follow your meetings
Follow is a new meeting response (RSVP) option that goes beyond the traditional Accept, Tentative, and Decline choices. It is geared towards individuals with high meeting loads and conflicting meetings each day. Follow is the ideal RSVP option for meetings you can't attend but still want to stay engaged and receive information about. Other attendees will be able to see if you are following a meeting.
Learn more in Follow a meeting in Outlook.
Search folders for People and Categories
Search folders are virtual folders that provide a view of all email items that match specific search criteria. We've introduced two new Search Folders:
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Categorized email search folders let you easily filter emails by assigned categories, enhancing inbox organization.
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Mail from specific people search folders let you automatically collect and organize emails from designated senders or contacts.
Learn about search in Use Search Folders to find messages or other Outlook items.