Microsoft recently made Outlook for Mac free, a move that will certainly encourage adoption. If you’re using Outlook for Mac or considering making the switch, here’s how to customize the app’s mail views.
Microsoft Outlook has long been the de facto standard for business email client apps, and for good reason. The program is reliable, offers easy account setup, and generally eliminates many formatting issues and other potential issues that Microsoft-centric IT personnel or others might sometimes be tempted to attribute to the Mac’s native mail application. .
Beginning of March 2023, Microsoft has made the Outlook app for Mac free. Previously, a Microsoft 365 subscription or standalone license was required.
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How to get Outlook for Mac
The Microsoft Outlook app for Mac is easy to get. Just go to Mac App Store and download the program.
Once installed, associate your email account with the app. To add an email account to Outlook for Mac, open the program, click Tools in the menu bar, then select Accounts. In the Accounts window that appears, click the + icon (Figure A).
Figure A
Add email accounts to Outlook for Mac using the Accounts window.
Always versatile, Outlook for Mac allows you to link a variety of email accounts, including those powered by Microsoft Exchange, IMAP, Google, and Apple iCloud. A wizard for adding accounts (Figure B) is included to make the process easier.
Figure B
Outlook for Mac includes an Add Account wizard to help you connect email accounts.
After entering the email address and specifying the necessary account settings, Outlook for Mac adds the email account. The corresponding messages should then appear in the application.
How to customize Outlook for Mac
Microsoft’s Mac email client allows easy customization to display combinations. Figure C shows an option where My Day folders and sidebars are hidden to allow the reader to focus on the messages.
Figure C
Several display configurations and adjustments are available using Outlook for Mac. Here the sidebars are hidden so you can focus on the posts.
One of the best ways to navigate Outlook for Mac display layouts is to pause while hovering over various icons. After a while, as usual, the application will display the corresponding pop-up explanations. Using this method, you can do the following:
- Toggle the folder sidebar on and off in the left navigation pane.
- Hide and show the Notifications pane on the right side.
- Show more hidden items in the displayed list of icons, which allow you to delete, reply and forward messages.
- Share items using Teams.
- Send information to OneNote.
- Report suspicious phishing messages.
You can access other Outlook for Mac display configurations by clicking View in the menu bar. Options include hiding or disabling message previews and converting messages to Conversations view, where Outlook plays messages.
You can arrange the reading pane – the window where message content appears – on the right side of the screen. Some professionals prefer to place this pane at the bottom of the application. To change the location, click View then Reading Pane and specify Right, Below, or Hidden (to remove the Reading Pane entirely).
Outlook for Mac also offers a focused inbox. This feature, when enabled, separates emails between two tabs: one for Focused and another titled, perhaps inspiring, Other.
Messages deemed important are placed in the Priority tab, while information suspected of being less relevant is moved to the Other tab. To enable Focused Inbox, click View and select Enable Focused Inbox. To turn off the feature, click Enable Focused Inbox, which will remove the checkmark indicating that the feature is actively processing messages to the inbox and return the configuration to the traditional view.
The message preview is another easily added or removed item from the app’s messaging view. The image shown earlier in Figure C featured previews, which appear as a one-line message preview in each matching email, immediately below the respective subject line.
Although Outlook for Mac’s default toolbar works well, tweaks are easy to make and take, but momentarily to provide a convenient time saver throughout every workday. To adjust the toolbar, click View, then select Customize Toolbar. The toolbar customization window will appear (Figure D). Simply drag and drop the corresponding icon to add, remove and edit its locations in the email client.
Figure D
When the Customize toolbar is selected in Outlook for Mac, the icons appearing in the customization window gently wave to indicate that the application is in customization mode. Delete, Archive, Pin/Unpin, Undo, and Block are among the many options available for customization.
A few quick tweaks pay ongoing dividends
Outlook for Mac is a robust, reliable, and capable email client. Now that it’s free, even more Mac users can use the app for most email accounts or services. Taking the time to make a few tweaks or tweaks first helps ensure the tool matches personal preferences and aids productivity throughout each workday, so the corresponding quick time investment is well worth it. well the effort. In the worst case, if you determine that a view adjustment you entered isn’t working as expected, you can always roll back.
