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Microsoft is experimenting with new icons for its software, and I wish this fan-made yellow icon was officially in the mix. Microsoft is working on new icons for several of its applications. Earlier this year, the tech giant sent a survey to select users asking for feedback on new icon designs. "At Microsoft, we're always striving to improve our products and create a user experience that truly resonates with you," read the email sent in April. "Today, we're excited to invite you to participate in a brief 15-minute survey that will help us better understand your preferences and opinions about our exploration of different iconography designs for Microsoft 365." That survey included potential new icons for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, OneNote, and Defender. Now, those who enjoy the new icons can download and use them, albeit unofficially. The new Microsoft 365 icons feature depth in their designs. (Image credit: Microsoft (via Reddit user jbgski)) The current Microsoft 365 icons have flat designs that are in line with current trends in the industry. (Image credit: Microsoft (via Reddit user jbgski)) Reddit user Thunder_Ruler0 cleaned up the leaked icons and created high-resolution versions of each of them. The resulting icons look clean, especially considering they're based on fuzzy source material and the artist created the upscaled versions in a couple of hours. Microsoft changed the Outlook logo from gold to blue with the release of Outlook 2013, but an artist has created a modern Outlook icon in the classic color. (Image credit: Thunder_Ruler0 via Reddit (icon based on design by Microsoft)) Thunder_Ruler0 shared a Google Drive folder with the icons in their Reddit post. I like the look of all the new icons, but the Outlook icon may gain the most attention. In addition to having a modern design, the Outlook icon is yellow. That would be a return to form since the Outlook icon was changed from yellow to blue over a decade ago. As far as I can tell, the new yellow Outlook icon is only a fan creation by Thunder_Ruler0. The survey sent out by Microsoft last month only showed a blue Outlook logo. Outlook 2013 introduced a blue logo for the app, marking a major shift from preceding versions of Outlook. Until that point, Outlook had a yellow logo that clearly differentiated it from other Microsoft services. Word, OneDrive, Yammer, Defender, and Outlook all have blue logos in 2025. Microsoft's icons differ in shape, but I would love to see more color variation across the Microsoft software suite. If you prefer the refreshed Outlook icon in blue, it is also available in Thunder_Ruler0's Google Drive folder. As for actually using the yellow Outlook icon, you may have more luck switching to it for Outlook (classic). The new Outlook is a store app, so customizing its icon is tricky. You can create a desktop shortcut for the app and change its icon through Properties, though I haven't had any luck getting the custom icon to appear in the Start menu. Which Outlook icon is your favorite? Let us know in the comments! Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

"Hot garbage". That is how IT admins and systems seem to feel about the New Outlook for Windows, and most Neowin readers tend to agree with that take. If you are wondering why users tend to feel that way, well, there are a multitude of reasons that include the lack of several key features like support for PST files and offline operations, among others. And with the forced way of doing things at Microsoft, including in the case of New Outlook (and not just on Windows 11), users have been further irked as switching in and out of the New Outlook and Classic has been difficult. However, Microsoft seems to finally get this. In a new entry on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal, the company has explained that this behaviour is changing, for the better. Following this change, users will be able to simultaneously use Classic Outlook without switching back from New Outlook. The company explains: The company has also shared a rollout timeline for the change and it starts this May and completes by July: Those who have access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal can find this new addition under ID MC1066342. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft has confirmed an Outlook Calendar issue wherein users who are using multiple calendars in Calendar view will see blank rendered sections. The company has confirmed that the problem first popped up in the recent Current Channel version 2501 (build 18429.20132). Microsoft says it is looking into the bug: For those affected by the issue, Microsoft has issued a simple workaround for the problem. The company says that scrolling up and down in the Calendar view should resolve the issue. Another trick that could work is to set the Zoom setting to lower than 100%. Hence, it may be some sort of rendering issue that is triggered, but can be worked around. Microsoft writes: You can find the support article here on Microsoft's website. On the topic of calendars, the company has confirmed another problem with the feature. When selecting time slots for setting up meetings, the incorrect option may get selected. Below, Microsoft describes the problem and its observations: You can view the official support article here on Microsoft's site. Aside from the Calendar bugs, Microsoft has also confirmed a newsletter-related problem on Classic Outlook. The tech giant has described the issue and has also provided a workaround for affected users: The support article for the above can be found here on Microsoft's website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of March): 1,357 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

The new Outlook can now generate themes based on weather and location, but only if you subscribe to Copilot Pro. What you need to know Microsoft is adding new AI-generated theme support to the new Outlook app on Windows and third-party platforms. However, the feature requires an active subscription to Copilot Pro, meaning you must pay to access the AI-generated themes. Outlook already has a basic selection of free themes. The new Outlook isn't great, that's just a fact of life. It's heavier and slower than the Windows Mail app it replaced, all while missing features and being less capable than the full Win32 Outlook that it will also eventually replace. Today, however, Microsoft has a big announcement. It's adding AI-generated themes to the new Outlook! AI-generated themes use Copilot to generate a design based on weather or locations. Microsoft says this new feature is designed to "make Outlook more beautiful and approachable." The new Outlook already had a selection of free themes, but these new AI-generated themes will take into account more dynamic aspects of your life, such as the current weather or where your location is currently set. "This personalization becomes magical when it evolves over time, considering your unique context or your own personal touch along the way. If you choose, you can make your Themes by Copilot dynamic by selecting how often you want it to update – every few hours, every day, weekly, or monthly," says Microsoft. No two AI-generated themes will be the same. New Outlook AI themes on Mac. (Image credit: Microsoft) It sounds like a cool idea on paper, but unfortunately, you will have to pay for it. AI-powered themes are part of Microsoft's Copilot Pro subscription, which costs $20 a month and includes access to Copilot in other Office apps such as Word, PowerPoint, and Teams. While it's nice to see Microsoft adding new surface-level features to the new Outlook, the app needs care in more critical areas. The new Outlook is still much slower and heavier than I'm used to for an email client, and it's also still quite buggy, with notifications that take forever to come in and offline support still not working properly. I've said it before, but I think the app is a sorry replacement for the Windows Mail & Calendar apps, and I wish Microsoft would go back and update those instead of pushing on with this new Outlook for Windows web app. The good news is that because the new Outlook is a web app, these new AI themes are cross-platform compatible, so you can set it on Windows, Mac, the web, Android, and iOS and iPadOS. via The Verge Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of October): 4,832 news posts RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Update: 5:08 pm Eastern time - The Microsoft 365 Status X page now says: Original story - If you are experiencing any issues with using your Microsoft Outlook email app today, you are not alone. The company has admitted there is a current issue with Outlook, but at the moment, there's no word on when it will be fixed. The Microsoft 365 Status X account posted a message earlier this morning stating that some people in Europe "may be experiencing crashing, not receiving emails or observing high memory usage when using the Outlook client." However, other users outside of Europe, including former Neowin editor Brad Sams, who lives in the US, have posted that they have been having problems with Outlook as well today. The last update on this problem was posted by Microsoft at 12:11 pm Eastern time. It stated: Ironically, Microsoft has been trying to add in new features in the Outlook app for Windows that would not require an internet connection. In September 2023, it announced that it had added support for accessing "Mail, calendar events, and contacts" that would be stored on your PC without the need for online connections. It also added a way to write emails offline on the app, along with the ability to "flag, move, and delete" emails. Earlier this week, the Microsoft 365 Roadmap added a new entry that stated Microsoft was working on a way for users to launch the new Outlook for Windows app without an online connection. That likely would come in handy today. This feature is supposed to roll out sometime later in October. We will update this post when this problem has been resolved. Source RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of September): 4,292 news posts

Microsoft is investigating an issue that triggers Outlook security alerts when trying to open .ICS calendar files after installing December 2023 Patch Tuesday Office security updates. Microsoft 365 users affected by this issue report seeing dialog boxes warning them that "Microsoft Office has identified a potential security concern" and that "This location may be unsafe" when double-clicking ICS files saved locally. "This behavior is not expected when opening .ICS files. This is a bug and will be addressed in a future update," Microsoft explains in this support document. The company also revealed that the security warning will be displayed after deploying a security update that patches the CVE-2023-35636 Microsoft Outlook information disclosure vulnerability. If left unpatched, the security flaw can be exploited by attackers to trick users of unpatched Outlook installations into opening maliciously crafted files to steal NTLM hashes (their obfuscated Windows credentials). The attackers can later use them to authenticate as the compromised user, gain access to sensitive data, or spread laterally on their network. Microsoft Outlook ICS security notice (Tim Benedict) Workaround available Until a resolution is available, Redmond shared a temporary fix for those impacted in the form of a registry key that would disable the security notice. However, once this workaround is deployed, it's also important to note that you'll stop receiving security prompts for all other potentially dangerous file types, not just ICS calendars. Those affected by this known issue have to add a new DWORD key with a value of '1' to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security (Group Policy registry path) Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Security (OCT registry path) Impacted customers can also disable the dialog by following the step-by-step instructions available in the 'Enable or disable hyperlink warning messages in Office programs' support document. Microsoft fixed another known Outlook issue earlier this month, causing desktop and mobile email clients to fail to connect when using Outlook.com accounts. In December, the company addressed two more bugs causing problems for users with lots of folders when sending emails and one more causing Outlook Desktop clients to crash when sending emails from Outlook.com accounts. Source

A new feature has been spotted on Microsoft 365 roadmap site. Key notes Microsoft Outlook introduces Newsletters feature for internal emails. Targeted release of Newsletters in April 2024, broader rollout in July. Recent Outlook updates include AI features, legacy email support, and improved folder organization. Microsoft’s new rejuvenation of its Outlook app has been quite interesting so far. Besides the obvious AI features through Copilot, Outlook is getting another important feature: Newsletters. As spotted in the Microsoft 365 roadmap site (Feature ID: 328282), the team over at Redmond is developing Newsletters that will allow you to create, send, and measure the effectiveness of your internal email newsletters. The Newsletters feature is scheduled to enter a targeted release phase in April 2024, with a broader rollout beginning in July 2024. It will then be available in both the new Outlook for Windows and the web. The Outlook app has been getting a few new features here and there in the past few weeks. Not too long ago, we reported that Microsoft is bringing native support for legacy email formats, a new context menu experience, and a new way to organize email folders. You can try the new Outlook here, or by updating the Outlook app on your Windows 11 desktops through Settings. Source

I've been using Microsoft's new Outlook email client for Windows 11 and Windows 10 for the last few months... and it sucks. I am one of the few people who genuinely enjoys the current built-in Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 and Windows 11. I think they look great, function well enough, and have (historically) been quite reliable. They're lightweight, fast, and compatible with almost any email service you can throw at it. So when I reported that Microsoft was planning to replace the Mail & Calendar apps with a new, unified web app based on Outlook.com back in 2021, I was a little worried. On one hand, Outlook.com is a functionally great website with lots of features that rival Gmail.com and other popular web-based email services. On the other hand, replacing a fast and lightweight native client with a web app almost always ends with an overall worse end-user experience, whether that be due to a lack of features, UI consistency issues, performance degradation, and more. With all that in mind, I decided to hold off on any judgment until I could try out the new app for myself. I was hopeful that it would be good. Bad news, it sucks Well, there it is. (Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft launched the new Outlook web app in preview last year, and I have been using it as a daily driver ever since. To be clear, Microsoft says the app is still in preview, but it's already automatically pinning the app on every Windows 11 user's Start menu, and the built-in Mail & Calendar apps are encouraging users to switch to the new client now. So even though Microsoft is hiding behind a "preview" banner, the company clearly thinks the app is good enough to push to the general population regardless. And because of this, I'm not waiting for a "final build" to share my thoughts on this app. In short, it's terrible. I hate it, and I want the old Mail & Calendar back. I genuinely think the new Outlook for Windows is the worst built-in OS email client of any OS platform on the market right now. Samsung Email is better than this. Gmail is better than this. Apple Mail is better than this. Why? Because all of those apps are built using native UI frameworks that integrate with the OSs they're built for. My first big issue with Outlook for Windows is just how much of a Windows app it doesn't look like. It feels like a website because it is. There are pretty much no ties to Windows, and it doesn't even attempt to blend in with Windows 11's design language. The window controls along the top aren't even aligned with the web buttons that are next to them. And it's not just how it looks that grinds my gears, but how it feels too. It just doesn't feel good to use. I can't really explain this problem, but clicking around on things like buttons and emails just doesn't feel responsive. There's a half-second wait between clicking on something and seeing the result of that click. Why? Not even kidding, running Outlook for Android via the Windows Subsystem for Android feels more responsive than running the Outlook for Windows app. It's a shame too that the web app doesn't work well with touchscreens, both the old Mail app and the Android app running on Windows are easier to use with touch. I also hate how the app doesn't have a unified inbox for multiple accounts, forcing you to switch between different inbox views to see all your emails if you're using more than one account. Also, having "empty inbox" and "mark all as read" right next to each other in the right-click menu on the Inbox folder is a bold choice. Reliability is out the window Outlook vs. Outlook on web (Image credit: Future) My second big issue is with performance. The app just takes too long to load. Why am I seeing a splash screen for more than a second? It should be taking me straight to my inbox instead of showing me a logo for long enough that it plays a cute little animation. Why is it taking so long? The old Windows Mail app launches at least a whole second or two faster than the new Outlook for Mail. Just because I was curious, running both Outlook for Windows and the old Mail app side by side, Task Manager reports that Outlook for Windows consumes around 373MB of RAM, whereas the old Mail app uses just 100MB of RAM. This is because web apps are inherently heavier and slower than native UWP apps. Typical RAM usage difference between Mail and Outlook (Image credit: Windows Central) Push notifications? Reliability is out the window. Sometimes, the new Outlook will send me a push notification for a recent email; sometimes, it won't. And if it does, it's almost always after the older Mail app has alerted me first. For whatever reason, push notifications are delayed in the new Outlook for Windows, likely because it's not a native Windows app, and when the app is closed, it's not able to constantly check for notifications, unlike the old Mail app. And even when those push notifications come in, clicking on one results in an experience, I can only describe as frustrating. I'll click the notification, the notification will disappear, and then literally nothing will happen on screen for at least a few seconds before Outlook decides to open and show my inbox... not the email that I clicked the notification for, but my general inbox. So, I manually clicked into the email that the notification popped for and began reading. After maybe 8 seconds in that email, the Outlook client pops open an additional window with the same email that I clicked on via the notification. So, ultimately, it's taking something like 10-15 seconds to open an email from a notification, and that doesn't even consider the delay between the email arriving in my inbox and the notification popping. I want the old app back The new Outlook will replace Mail eventually. (Image credit: Windows Central) These are just some of the top issues I have with the new Outlook for Windows. I don't enjoy using this app, not even a little bit. I can't imagine how people using classic Outlook for Windows are going to feel about this app when Microsoft ultimately forces it upon them, too. I know the app is branded as a preview, and Microsoft probably will get around to fixing some of these issues over time. But there's no fixing the fact that it's a web app that doesn't even attempt to make itself feel at home on Windows. It doesn't look or feel like a Windows app, and it's definitely not as fast or as lightweight as the old Windows Mail & Calendar apps. So, I'm going back to using Mail & Calendar for as long as they work on Windows. Microsoft intends to remove Mail & Calendar from the Microsoft Store later this year, but I'm hoping sideloading the apps will continue to work thereafter. Source

You might have seen some websites posting about Microsoft Edge being a requirement for the new Outlook app and how the latter stops working if you uninstall the browser. That is an interesting claim, especially in light of the recent Windows changes that made it possible to uninstall Microsoft Edge with a simple click. Interesting, but false. Windows 10 and 11 come with two versions of Microsoft Edge. One is the browser you use to surf the internet, and another one, called WebView2 Runtime, is hidden under the hood. Many apps require WebView2 to display web content, and Microsoft ships it with Windows by default to ensure all users have the necessary dependencies. The built-in runtime also makes life easier for developers since they can offload the burden of maintaining WebView2 to Microsoft. The upcoming Windows 11 "Moment 5" update, which should land later this month, will let users in the European Union uninstall Microsoft Edge with a simple click. And if you live outside the EU, you can do the same with the help of our handy guide. Uninstalling Microsoft Edge does not affect WebView2. In fact, you cannot uninstall it even with the latest EU-compliant changes. The new Outlook app, which many users call a glorified progressive web app, requires WebView2 to operate. You can check it by expanding its process in Task Manager. The only way to break it is to get rid of WebView2 Runtime, which is not a simple task. So there you have it. If you plan to delete Microsoft Edge after installing the next Windows 11 feature update, rest assured that doing so should not break any apps. By the way, if you do not like the new Outlook, you can go back to the old Mail app, which Microsoft recently allowed re-enabling. Source

Microsoft has confirmed that some Outlook.com users are experiencing issues with emails being blocked and marked as spam when trying to email Gmail accounts. This known issue only impacts users with Outlook.com country domains, according to a support document published by Redmond on Tuesday. Affected Outlook users are being told in follow-up emails from Gmail's servers that their messages were suspicious and have been stopped from reaching the recipient's inbox. "Remote server returned message detected as spam [..]. Gmail has detected that this message is likely suspicious due to the very low reputation of the sending domain. To best protect our users from spam, the message has been blocked," the replies from Gmail's mail server (mx.google.com) explain. Google's support website says that it's very likely that only a subset of these messages are being blocked because they have "a strong likelihood of being spam." Temporary fix available Until the Outlook.com Team can address this newly acknowledged issue, Microsoft advises impacted users to add an Outlook.com alias to their accounts and email Gmail contacts using that alias. Outlook aliases are additional email addresses associated with your Outlook.com account, and they use the same inbox, contact list, and account settings as your primary email address. Users can sign in to their Outlook.com accounts with any alias because they all use the same credentials. To add a fresh alias, click "Add an alias" and log in to your Microsoft account if required. Within the "Add an Alias" section, create a new Outlook.com email address and designate it as an alias or add an existing email address as an alias, then click "Add Alias." After creating the new Outlook.com alias, follow these instructions on how to send email from a different email address or change your primary alias. Google's new anti-spam guidelines While Microsoft didn't share the root cause behind Outlook.com emails getting tagged and blocked as spam, Google suggests Redmond should review its new bulk sender guidelines to improve Outlook email deliverability to Gmail accounts. Google is now blocking emails sent by bulk senders who don't follow stricter spam thresholds and authenticate their messages as required by new guidelines designed to strengthen defenses against spam and phishing attacks. "Starting in April 2024, we'll begin rejecting non-compliant traffic. Rejection will be gradual and will impact non-compliant traffic only," the company says in a recently updated support document. "We strongly recommend senders use the temporary failure enforcement period to make any changes required to become compliant." In June, Google will start enforcing these new requirements to block spam, phishing attempts, and malware from reaching its users' inboxes. Source

Microsoft has announced some new features it is adding to its various Outlook email apps for personal use for the month of May. One of the biggest new additions is support for Copilot in the Outlook mobile app for iOS and Android. Today's blog post announces that if you sign up for a Copilot Pro subscription at $20 a month, you will be able to access the Copilot generative AI assistant in the Outlook mobile apps. Copilot can be used to coach people on how to write an effective email or you can ask it to just create a draft from scratch based on a few text prompts. Microsoft has also announced that the classic Outlook for Windows app now supports the Copilot Summarize feature, which can make a brief summary of a long email thread. The classic Outlook app also supports Copilot coaching, and Microsoft plans to add the draft feature to the app in the coming months. In addition, Outlook for the web, the new Outlook for Windows app, and Outlook mobile apps now show the sender's name, their full email address, and the subject line of emails that are sent to the Junk Mail file. Microsoft stated: This improvement will be added to the Mac Outlook app later in May. Speaking of the Junk Mail file, all Outlook apps will now show a pop-up warning message when users check their Junk Mail section. It will inform them that links in those emails will not work unless the user specifically asks to visit those links. Finally, Microsoft has started rolling out support for IMAP accounts in the new Outlook for Windows app with support for POP email accounts to be added in the coming weeks. Source You're welcome

Because of our ever-expanding interconnectedness, email has become an essential part of our personal and professional life, whether we have a problem we need to solve or want to catch up with friends and family. As Outlook is one of the best email clients on the market, using a nice Outlook email signature can increase your professionalism considerably, which can, in turn, have wide-encompassing consequences on your personal and professional life. With the help of this article, you will learn how to create, add, and modify an Outlook email signature, giving you the ability to make a positive impression on your email contacts. Best practices for Email signatures How to Create an Outlook Email Signature How to add a signature in Outlook 365? How to Change Your Outlook Email Signature Customizing Signatures for Different Accounts Best practices for Email signatures To ensure the most-efficient email signature management and practice, there are a few elements that should be considered: Keep it short and visually appealing Include the necessary contact details To persuade readers to act, include a call-to-action (CTA) Make sure it works on mobile Use social media icons with links Respect the Outlook email signature image size (value lower than 650px width and a maximum of 10KB. When it comes to logo usage, a 100x100px size is recommended) Use separators and dividers For Outlook email signatures, the image size should remain within 650 pixels wide. If you don’t want to resize an image in email signature Outlook, ensure your image is no larger than 10KB. A logo size of 100 pixels wide and up to 100 pixels high is suitable for an Outlook email signature. Tip: If you want to gain access to the Signatures files for this email client, it is important to know where the Outlook email signature location is. To open that folder, press the Win + R key combination, and type the following path: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures Now that we’re up to date with the latest practices let’s dive into the steps you need to take. How to Create an Outlook Email Signature 1. Open the Outlook signature options Click the Message option from the top toolbar, and choose Signature > Signatures. Choose Mail from the left sidebar. The location of the option will vary depending if you are replying or creating a new email. Find the Compose Messages section, and click on Signatures. 2. Design a new signature and add contact information Note: You can also explore the Microsoft Outlook email signature templates for inspiration on this topic. Click New under the Select Signature to edit section, and type a name for your Signature. Create your Signature under the Edit Signaturesection. Be sure to use the options to change fonts, colours, and sizes, or use Word to customize your Signature by using the email signature gallery and then copy-pasting it in this text box. Complete the information required in the Choose default signature by adding an email account and when to automatically have the Signature appear (replies or forward emails). If you don’t want this activated, leave the (none) value set, and press OK. 3. Include a professional touch Add a logo or image to the Signature to have your email signature stand out from the crowd. Follow these steps to do so: Create a new message and choose Signature > Signatures. Choose the Signature you want to use from the Select Signature to Edit box. Please select the image icon, find your image, and select Insert to add it to the signature. Resize and crop your image to fit your desires by right-clicking the image and choosing Picture. You can modify its size by using the Size tab. Ensure to enable the Lock aspect ratio option to maintain the file proportions. After you’ve completed this process, click OK to save the changes. How to add a signature in Outlook 365? Whether you’re wondering how to automatically add a signature in Outlook 365 or if you want to use the signature occasionally, you can find more information below: Add signature automatically After creating it, you’ll want to ensure your email signature displays by default on each new email you write. Open the Signature options as described in Step 1. Under the Choose default signature section, use the drop-down and select the email you want to use it with. Choose the newly-created Signature, and click OK to save the settings. Add signature manually Open a new email message. Click Signature found on the Message tab. Choose the Signature you want to use from the drop-down menu. How to Change Your Outlook Email Signature Open the Signature Options by following the method in Step 1. Choose the Signature you want to edit from the list. Edit it by using the displayed options. Click Save to have the settings applied. Customizing Signatures for Different Accounts You can change the signatures for each Outlook email account if you have multiple setups. This lets you modify your signatures based on the email’s goal or the intended audience. Open Signature Options, and choose the email account you want to customize. Edit the respective Signature to suit your new needs. Click the OK button to save the changes. Repeat the same process for all the emails if you want to use more custom signatures. In conclusion, a robust email signature can help you build your business identity and encourage better communication. Your Outlook email signature can be easily created, added, and changed by following the instructions in this article. Keep your communication straightforward, professional, and constant across all platforms by following these tips. Source

Back in May of 2022, Microsoft began testing a new, redesigned, and revamped Outlook where the idea was to unify the app across all platforms, which is why it was often referred to as "One Outlook". The name of this project was named "Monarch". And by April of this year, Microsoft began rolling out the preview to the Current channel users as well. The "Try the New Outlook for Windows" toggle was still present which meant users still had the choice of whether they wanted to move to the revamped Outlook or if they wanted to continue using the Windows 32-bit version. With the latest Beta channel Windows 11 build, however, Microsoft has now begun pushing the New Outlook to Windows Insiders as well. Twitter user and Windows enthusiast PhantomOcean3 noticed that their Beta channel build 22631.2338 (KB5030305) automatically installed the new Outlook after a reboot: A poll was also conducted on Twitter by the same user and although very few people voted in this (only 26 at the time of writing), it looks like some of them, around ~15.5% also received the new Outlook client. In response to this, Brandon LeBlanc, the Senior Program Manager of the Windows Insider Program, confirmed that this was expected on, at least, some systems which means Microsoft might be testing the feature for an automatic installation with the Windows 11 23H2 feature update, though it will likely be a gradual rollout. This follows a recent report that suggested Microsoft 365 users would be automatically migrated to the new client starting August 2023. Microsoft has already confirmed that Windows 11 version 23H2 is arriving in Q4 of this year, and since the end of support for 21H2 is close to that, the company has said it will force-update PCs with the latter to Windows 11 22H2, though chances of that being 23H2 are also there. However, this could also mean that the company is testing the new Outlook for Windows 11 23H2 in general as it does aim to eventually replace the classic Outlook in about a year's time. Source

Many of us get an invite on our calendar that we have to decline for a variety of reasons. However, it's possible that before the event happens, we may get an opportunity to attend, or we simply want to reminded of the event even if we cannot attend. If you use Microsoft's Outlook calendar, that declined event currently no longer shows up. However, today Microsoft announced a new update coming to Outlook calendar users that will allow a declined event to remind in the virtual Outlook calendar. In a blog post, Microsoft stated: Once the Outlook update is released, users can go to Settings > Calendar > Events and invitations > Save declined events, and finally check the Show declined events in your calendar... option on. After that, any declined calendar events or meeting invitations will continue to show up on your Outlook calendar. This feature will also be visible in the classic Outlook for Windows app, along with Microsoft Teams, and third-party apps. Microsoft says this new feature will begin to roll out sometime in the second half of November for Outlook users. Calendar events that are sent via the new Outlook for Windows app, along with Outlook on the web, Outlook for Mac, Outlook for Android, Outlook for iOS, and Microsoft Teams will be preserved if the user declines. The only exception will be if a calendar invite is sent from the classic Outlook for Windows. If a user declines from that app, it will not be preserved in the calendar. Source

Users of Outlook's web app (OWA) are going to be losing a new organizing feature in the near future. Microsoft quietly announced that the calendar board view feature will be shutting down later in June. Microsoft added the notice about the feature going away on its support site back in May, according to Office365itpros.com. However, it wasn't noticed by many until today. The calendar board view feature first launched for Outlook on the web back in April 2021. It allowed users to use the email client's calendar to organize items like notes, to-do lists, and more into several different boards. Microsoft's support page states that once the feature is shut down, users won't be able to access their organized boards anymore and will be redirected to their normal Outlook calendar. The support page also added these notes for people who are still using the feature: Your content (calendars, emails, notes, tasks and files) will remain in your account and you can still access them using the respective apps. In Outlook settings (Privacy and data), you can export the metadata of your boards. This can be useful if you want to back up any links you had on your board for future reference. URLs to calendar boards will be redirected to a supported calendar view. Microsoft offered no explanation for why it was shutting down this feature. It's likely because it was not getting enough use by the many folks who access Outlook on the web. This feature is somewhat related to what was previously known as "Project Moca" which then got launched as Outlook Spaces in February 2021. Both were made for organizing items in Outlook on the web but with slightly different features. Even with this removal of the calendar board view, Microsoft has been busy adding some new calendar features for Outlook web users. In May, it announced that remote workers could use Outlook on the web's calendar to let others know both when they will be working and from where. This should help those workers with better communications with their bosses and clients. Microsoft is shutting down the calendar board view from Outlook on the web

If you are a macOS user, and you write and receive lots of emails, one of the best email clients is now available for you to use for free. Microsoft has just announced that its Outlook app for Mac is now free to download and use from the Mac App Store. Previously, macOS users had to sign up for a paid Microsoft 365 subscription in order to get access to Outlook, but that barrier has now been done away with. Microsoft says: Whether at home, work or school, Mac users everywhere can easily add Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo! or IMAP accounts in Outlook and experience the best mail and calendar app on macOS. The Outlook for Mac app complements Outlook for iOS – giving people a consistent, reliable, and powerful experience that brings the best-in-class experience of Outlook into the Apple ecosystem that so many love. The app itself has also received a makeover, and Microsoft says it's also been optimized to work well on Macs with "Apple Silicon" meaning the company's M1 and M2 in-house chips. Microsoft says those users can expect "snappy performance and faster sync speeds than previous versions" If you also use Outlook on your iPhone or iPad, you can use the Outlook Handoff feature so you can keep track of your emails from both devices and keep working where you left off when you switch between products. Microsoft says more features are in the works for the Outlook Mac client. Microsoft makes Outlook for Mac completely free to use

It's been almost 10 months since Microsoft first announced its new One Outlook client would start testing for members of the Office Insiders program. Now, it looks like the revamp of the email client will finally escape the testing phase and be made available to some more users. The Microsoft 365 Roadmap shows that Outlook for Windows users who have a Microsoft 365 subscription on the Current Channel will see a toggle in April to try out the preview of the new Outlook for Windows. Michael Reinders on Twitter posted up a note from Microsoft expanding that info, with Microsoft saying the toggle should be available for all Current Channel owners by late April. The note emphasizes that Microsoft 365 customers won't be forced to switch to the new Outlook, at least not yet. It will be available first for personal Microsoft accounts along with Microsoft Exchange Online accounts. The new One Outlook for Windows will allow for better integration with Microsoft Teams, along with revamps to its Calendar features, a way for Outlook to automatically pin an important email to the top, and lots more. Eventually, this app will completely replace the current Outlook app, but it looks like Microsoft wants some more feedback from Current Channel users who use the toggle to make the switch to the new app. The new Outlook client will roll out to more users in April but they still have a choice

Accessibility has been a theme of Windows 11 since right after it was first announced. That has extended to many of the company's Office apps. This week, Microsoft announced that Outlook for Windows will be getting an Accessibility ribbon. The new feature is similar to the one that was added in Excel and PowePoint editions of Windows. Microsoft's blog post states: The Accessibility ribbon brings together all the tools you need to make your message accessible in one place. It is contextual and appears at the same time as the Accessibility Checker pane. Users can bring up the new ribbon when they start writing an email by clicking on the Message option on top, and then clicking on the Check Accessibility icon. An alternative way is to search for "accessibility" in Outlook's Search bar. You can then pick Accessibility Checkerunder the Best Action selection. Finally, if you are writing an email that's labeled as "high importance" and there's a colour contrast issue in the email body, it will bring up the Review accessibility issues link in the MailTip. Right now the Outlook accessibility ribbon is available to members of the Office Insider program in the Beta channel with version 2304 (Build 16321.20000) or above. There's no word yet on the general availability date for this feature in Outlook. Microsoft adds Excel and PowerPoint's Accessibility ribbon to Outlook for Windows

Microsoft has fixed an issue where replies to Outlook email would fail with the error message saying "Cannot send this item". This would typically happen when the email contained long links in the body. Microsoft has explained that it's Safe Links feature would lead to the exceeding of the 2084 Outlook URL limit as it adds additional characters to the URL. On the support document describing the bug, Microsoft writes: Outlook will display the error 'Cannot send this item' when the 2084th character in a link is an escaped character. This situation can occur with long URLs and when processed with Safe Links. When Safe Links wraps the URL it exceeds the 2084 Outlook limit for URLs and the URL gets truncated. Other common symptoms with this issue include: URLs are truncated and when you click on them you may see a 404 Error. When you click on a link, Microsoft Defender may display an error message “The page that you are trying to access cannot be loaded” and “Due to an internal error, this web page could not be loaded. We recommend that you close this page.” The issue has been fixed the issue by increasing the URL limit by nearly four times from 2084 to 8192. This was addressed with Outlook Desktop build 16116.10000: This issue is fixed in Outlook Desktop build 16116.10000 and increases the URL limit from 2084 to 8192 characters. The Outlook Desktop fix is enabled at 100% of Current Channel as of April 4, 2023. Monthly Enterprise Channel will get the fix when it updates to Version 2302 (Build 16130.20218) and higher. You can find the official support article here. You can now send much longer links with Microsoft Outlook thanks to bug fix

Microsoft has introduced support for Profiles in Outlook for Mac. The option will let users with multiple email accounts work with a specific account in a distraction-free mode. The Redmond company made the Outlook for Mac free for all users last month, you may now use it without an Office license or a Microsoft 365 subscription. The change was announced alongside a revamped version of the email client. You can read about what's new in the native Apple Silicon app in our previous coverage. How to add Profiles in Outlook for Mac 1. Click on the Globe icon at the top of the sidebar. 2. It will open a pop-up that has the following options: Work, School, Family, Personal, Freelance, Finance, and Custom. 3. Select an option that fits your account's usage, and click on Next. 4. You will be asked to pick the email account to be associated with the profile. 5. Click on Done. You may notice that a new icon for your profile has been added below the Globe icon. Clicking on it will allow you to view your inbox and manage all mails without the clutter of notifications from your other accounts, i.e., all your other accounts are muted. The app will display badges to indicate unread items in your other profiles/accounts, so you don't miss the messages. Note: The feature is available in the new Outlook for Mac, and you must have two (or more) accounts added in the app. You can set up multiple profiles at once. For example, if you select Work and Personal options during the profile set up process, Outlook for Mac will prompt you to select the email account for each profile. There are no limits to the amount of profiles that you can have. To edit the preferences, click on Profiles > Manage Profiles. Users can switch between Outlook profiles by clicking on the specific icon on the sidebar. For a faster way, you may use the Control + Tab hotkey. Microsoft says that it has integrated support for Siri Shortcuts in the Outlook app, so you can use it to switch to a specific profile automatically. e.g. You may set Focus Filters to switch to your work profile in the morning, and enable your personal profile account in the evening on a daily basis. Outlook for Mac has some customization options that you can tweak to set a different appearance for each profile. The options include setting the light theme or dark theme, or let the app follow the system's theme. The app's theme colour can also be changed, though there are only a handful of options to choose from. Images via: Microsoft Profiles in Outlook for Mac are currently available for Insiders who are on the app version 16.70 (Build 23021201) or above. The feature is being rolled to users slowly, so it may not be readily available for you. Even though the Mac version of the email client is now free, you cannot enroll into the Insider Program without a Microsoft 365 subscription. Hopefully, the company will let free users test early builds of the app in the future. Download Microsoft Outlook for Mac from the App Store. Microsoft adds support for Profiles in Outlook for Mac

Microsoft introduced the ability to react to Outlook emails last year but it now wants to make the necessary adjustment to it to give senders more control over reactions functionality. Microsoft is currently working on a new feature for Outlook that will let the senders decide if they want receivers to react to certain emails. Microsoft's "suite of improvements" for Outlook includes giving the senders the option to disallow senders from reacting to emails. Senders will be able to make this change before hitting the Send button on Outlook. Admins can also decide which emails are eligible to get reactions and which are not. Microsoft is targeting to release this capability across all major platforms where Outlook is supported. As per Microsoft 365 roadmap, it will be available for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and the web. However, it will be a targeted release, with Microsoft 365 Insiders getting it before everyone else. "Disallow Reactions on an email" is expected to be generally available in June this year. June will be an exciting month for Outlook users as more useful features are lined up to be released during that time. One of the changes includes the ability to set flexible working hours in Outlook, which is also expected to arrive in June. But before that happens, Outlook users will finally be able to update their profile cards with pronouns, coming next month. Which upcoming Outlook feature(s) excite(s) you the most? Let us know in the comments. Microsoft Outlook will soon prevent you from sending reactions on some mails

A group of Outlook users has run into email sending and receiving issues since February 2023. The issue is linked to a change that Microsoft announced some time ago and came into effect on February 1, 2023 in a staged rollout. Basically, what Microsoft did was add Outlook attachments data to the available storage space on OneDrive. The change meant, for some users at last, that they suddenly found that they had exceeded their available storage quota. Microsoft customers who sign-up for a free Microsoft Account get 5 gigabytes of storage space. Grandfathered account may have access to more, for instance 15 gigabytes, the previous limit, or more thanks to certain promotions in the past that rewarded participants with additional permanent storage space. Microsoft confirmed the change on this support page. There, the company notes that "starting February 1, 2023, cloud storage used across Microsoft 365 apps and services will include Outlook.com attachments data and OneDrive data". Consequently, the update "may reduce how much cloud storage you have available to use with your OneDrive". Microsoft customers who go over the capacity will have their ability to send and receive emails in Outlook.com disrupted. Microsoft claims that these changes ensure that it offers "the best experience", without explaining how that change is beneficial to customers. Reports from affected Microsoft customers, here and here, confirm that many have been caught off guard. Some may not have gotten the memo that Outlook data counts against the available cloud storage quota of their Microsoft account. Affected users have only three options to deal with the issue: Buy additional storage space by upgrading to a higher tier OneDrive or Microsoft 365 plan. Remove attachments and other large data from Outlook to free up space and get used storage below the quota. Outlook emails may also be downloaded first to the local system, or archived using Mailstore Home or other email archiving solutions. Switch to another email provider. Microsoft's calculation, probably, is that many customers may not have the desired to go through their emails to remove large attachments to restore the ability to send and receive files. Upgrading to a paid plan resolves the issue immediately. Switching to another email provider is even more complex, as it may require changing email addresses at services and sites, and informing contacts about the change. The web-based version of Outlook has a filter that is useful when it comes to finding emails with attachments. To use it, open the main Outlook website and select Filter > Has Files. This displays only emails with file attachments. There is also a Filters listing, which may be even more useful, as it lists file attachments exclusively. To access it, select the Files icon of the left sidebar in Outlook. Outlook lists all file attachments in a list. Filters are provided to filter by type or date. The one thing that is missing is to filter by size. Closing Words Five gigabytes of email storage is not really much, especially if it is shared with OneDrive. Microsoft has been pushing OneDrive on Windows 10 and 11, and if used, may also use up storage. Cloud is lucrative for companies and many attempt to push these offerings. Microsoft's strategy is to promote its cloud storage service OneDrive and Microsoft 365 in Windows, and to make changes to existing products that impact users negatively. This is done to get a portion of these users to sign-up for paid cloud storage services. Microsoft squeezing Outlook users into buying cloud storage

The new Outlook for Windows app has been in a public preview for nearly a year, as Microsoft continues to add new features to the email client. Today, Microsoft announced that the preview version of Outlook for Windows is finally starting to add support for third-party email accounts. In a blog post, Microsoft said that they are starting third-party support with the obvious choice: Google's Gmail. In addition, Outlook for Windows users can also get support for Google Calendar and Contacts in the app, which is something that the older Outlook client could not support. It added: Soon, we will also add support for Yahoo and iCloud, as well as the ability to connect your mailbox through IMAP. It’s our intention that every person be able to access all of their emails – in one spot – on any Windows 10 or Windows 11 device. Users can start adding their Gmail account just by choosing the Add account option at the bottom of the folder pane. They can also do the same thing by going to Accounts, then selecting Email accounts, followed by Settings to input their Gmail account. Presumable that will also be the case when the other third-party email accounts are supported. Microsoft has added even more features to the Outlook for Windows preview version. They include: Rich editing, spelling, and auto complete suggestions powered by Microsoft Editor. The ability to send emails with polls to help make decisions quicker. (Work and School accounts only) Delay the delivery of an email for up to 10 seconds so you have a chance to “undo” sending – always an excellent feature if you have a typo or accidentally forgot someone on an email – or just want to make a few quick changes. The ability to join a Skype or Teams call directly from the new Outlook for Windows. The ability to pin important emails to the top of your inbox – helping ensure you don’t forget to follow up on those most important messages. The ability to add multiple shared calendars Supporting multiple time zones Adding daily weather in Calendar view The ability to track packages and check in to flights directly from your Inbox. Reminders about important messages that still need a reply. Search folders for quick and easy access to all of your emails. The ability to customize your email density and views. Microsoft is also working on some upcoming features which include Numerous  visual updates and personalization options so you can create your preferred email experience. We’re giving our calendar surface a fresh new look with bolder colours and better readability. Whether you’re scanning your day or organizing your month, your calendar will look beautiful. Offline support so you can get things done and access content even when not connected to the Internet. Native ICS file type support. If you have yet to try out the new version of Outlook for Windows, you can open the current version and simply toggle on  Try the new Outlook  in the upper right-hand corner of the app. Outlook for Windows preview adds support for Gmail accounts, with more to be added soon

Last week, we reported how Microsoft wants to declutter users' Outlook inboxes, but that's not the only feature the software giant is working on. According to Microsoft 365 Roadmap page, the company is working on two more useful capabilities for Outlook users with an aim to bring them to the public eye in the next couple of months. As per the Microsoft 365 Roadmap page, Microsoft is working on a way for users to "quickly access To Do, Org Explorer, Yammer Communities, and Bookings directly inside Outlook." For better customization, the company will also let users pin preferred Outlook and Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft Outlook for web currently gives users the option to open Microsoft 365 apps, but you don't get your To Do lists inside Outlook. For that, you need to open Microsoft To Do from Outlook, which is equivalent to going to the Microsoft To Do web client. But with deeper integration with Microsoft 365 apps, accessing things like your To Do list will be a lot quicker and more convenient when you're using Outlook. Microsoft 365 apps integration for the Outlook web client will be available in July. The page also mentions another useful new Outlook feature. Outlook for Android will soon give users to option to save files from their emails to their configured cloud storage accounts, which include OneDrive for Business. This feature is also in the development phase and will be available next month. Which of the aforementioned features are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section. Source: Microsoft 365 Roadmap Microsoft Outlook to get some useful new features in the next couple of months

Microsoft has released Office Insider Preview Build 15313.20000 for Insiders in the Beta Channel. The latest Office Insider Build, however, doesn’t include any new features and changes. Instead, the update comes with some noteworthy fixes for bugs found in Excel, Outlook, and Word. You can read the complete official changelog to know more about the fixes. Changelog A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft released many new features for Office Insiders on Windows. Some of the exciting features it introduced were the voice dictation feature in OneNote, a more optimized Microsoft Excel, and more. Recently, Microsoft Office also added the ability to get gather five million responses on a single form. You can read more about what’s new in the update here. Microsoft releases a new Office update every week for Beta Channel subscribers on Windows, adding new features and changes. Microsoft is also expected to release a new Office Insider Build next week. We’ll keep you updated if we find anything interesting in the update. To update the Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build to the latest version, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now. Microsoft releases Office Insider Preview Build 15313.20000