Provide a feature or an option to revert to the old Outlook user interface in Microsoft Outlook 2016 prior to being modernized.
Allow an option to revert to the old Outlook user interface in Microsoft Outlook, as the latest revision (today) has added a lot of white space(wasted as well as Reply, Reply All and Forward along with the Accept, Decline etc are in a different position and seems like too far to the right that I find unhelpful and uses valuable screen and are not user-adjustable. This had been shown in the "try the new features" button, but I for one turned it off as it was annoying - unfortunately you have pushed it on all users, business and home. It does not happen in "Mail" for Windows 10, so why tinker?
PETER
shared this idea
We have updated the user experience in Outlook for Windows after extensive customer research and validation. This is now the default experience for all Office 365 monthly channel subscribers. You can read more about all the details here, https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/outlook-blog/outlook-for-windows-rolls-out-its-simplified-user-experience/ba-p/653734.
The tools that are available to personalize the experience include: an option to Use Tighter Spacing on the View tab of the ribbon for those who prefer tighter visual density, as well a setting in Options to turn off yellow highlighting of flagged items in the message list and the Simplified Ribbon remains optional, and customizable.
126 comments
Comments are closed-
K Singh
commented
search is in the most ridiculous place. Try searching for something and a drop down menu covers your tool bar so you cant even select "from" , "subject", "has attachments", etc.
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Bob
commented
This new layout is terrible and way too much wasted space, the majority of people in our office hate this and all agree, who was looking for this change?!?
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Anonymous
commented
This is worse than just the addition of redundant white space, which I agree, is bad. But the removal of the email header's fields (From:, Subject:, etc.), which have been part of email for ~40 years, as well as the removal of a border in an incoming email between the email header and the text/body of the email, makes some incoming emails incomprehensible. I work in an industry where the subject of an email is often a person's name. Since this change, I cannot easily tell who the email is from (the missing "From:" field) versus who the email is about (the missing "Subject:") field.
We all know that tech companies hate email and wish they could kill it. It's based on standards that allows, say, someone on a Google email system being able to easily converse with someone on a Microsoft email system. But tech companies want to lock you in their own systems, so someone on an opposing system would have to switch to the tech company's system in order to communicate with you.
I agree with the posters who say this, removing basic email functionality such as From: and Subject: fields that have existed for decades, is one of the most bone-headed changes they have ever seen to Outlook. But I wonder if the purpose behind the change isn't simply to test making email less usable and pushing people to switch to more proprietary solutions. It's not going to happen. People instead will drop Outlook.
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Phillip Hinson
commented
Someone at Microsoft needs their head examined. This new UI is complete garbage and is extremely disruptive. I'd understand if this was a view option for low visual acuity users, but to force everyone to use this is completely tone deaf to the majority of the end users.
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Dov
commented
the older UI was much cleaner, I cn't seem to get used to the new UI. PLEASE give us an option to go back.
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Anonymous
commented
MS - Your UI team has clearly not received the underlying message with these half-fixes and hack-jobs.
#1. REMOVE. ALL. NEEDLESS. WHITE. SPACE.
#2. Allow us to scale the ribbon down while maintaining the same (if not more) functions with a single click. With tighter spacing and smaller scaling it could take 50% less vertical space as it does now
#3. Thicken the lines/backgrounds/contrast between significantly different UI elements.
#4. If there is room for a button that you've opted to instead hide behind a "..." menu, put that command on the screen. Adding needless clicks for the sake of looking pretty is just plain stupid.
#5. Allow us to highlight the background of email in the list by our categories.
#6. REMOVE. ALL. NEEDLESS. WHITE. SPACE.
#7. Completely remove the "backstage" behavior / UI that is the "File" menu.
#8. Stop hiding incredibly common functions behind multiple clicks.
#9. If you're going to update the UI, then update the ENTIRE UI. Way too often after the 2-4 clicks it takes to get somewhere, I end up in the original UI that has existed for a decade+ (ex: File > Print > Print Options). I shouldn't have to click through that many layers just to choose "Print 1st page only" or any other "custom" option like orientation and the like. You're already taking up THE WHOLE SCREEN, fill it!
#10. REMOVE. ALL. NEEDLESS. WHITE. SPACE.
#11. Stop trying to be data farming company and get back to making software -
Matt
commented
View > Use Tighter Spacing for a partial fix, but what we really need is a mode/style/option for those of us who know how to use software and don't need or want big clunky buttons and large icons.
Every single person I've heard from finds this update to be poor design, reducing productivity.
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Alexis
commented
I don't know anyone who enjoys this new format. I can see 1/3 less of my emails and less character text based off of this new format. Extremely disappointed and there is no way to revert back
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Remo
commented
Every time we getting an update the user interface is looking worse and worse and less user friendly as before. Come up with an option to change to the old tight user interface!!! All that white space is an absolute waste!!!
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UR
commented
Bring old interface back, the new one is un-workable. Also in this day & age it ought to be possible to use Categories on IMAP accounts.
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Eric Weatherhead
commented
Reverting would be preferred, but as suggested even a feature/option to use prior version would be helpful!
- The new "boxes" for Recipients/Subject/Meeting location just look incomplete
- Moving Reply/Pop Out to the opposite side will take a while to adjust and seems unnecessary
- I will certainly be using "tighter spacing", so we at least have that -
Samewi
commented
Revert back to previous user interface.
This new one is literary a joke! -
MD
commented
What have you done Microsoft. The amount of white space has gone from way too much to ...........ridiculous. Not everyone uses a 50" screen and when using a 15" notebook, I can'y even read email content as the Toolbars etc take up Wayyyyyyyyyyy too much space (over 75% of screen space). Do you ever check or ask the public before you release these awful changes? We now have to find an old version of O365 to install and disable updates. It's ridiculous.
Furthermore - You then insult us by including a "User Tighter Spacing" button on the already cluttered massive toolbar. All it does is offers to reduce the new silly size to a size that is still bigger than before latest update. Please please get rid of the awful wasted while space OR at least offer a compact mode to bring toolbars back to the size that was in Office 2010. Your design people need their heads seen to as I seriously think they design to annoy your clients! -
Terri
commented
Please revert back to old use interface.
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Michael Gorn
commented
You really need to listen to your customers and users and change it back.
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Anonymou
commented
Please allow rollback to old UI
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Anonymous
commented
Remove the meaningless white space as it now appears around From, To, Cc, Bcc, Subject etc. field.
The email / calendar invitation content is more important than blank empty pixels eating up the space on screen and forcing even a tiny bit longer emails to be scrolled.
Very annoying change to UI overall without even distantly imaginable logical reason.
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Katalin Varga
commented
Hey Microsoft, please take urgent steps to provide a feature to revert back to the old outlook layout This huge wasw of space is terrible. Has anyone tried it before the release? Please, please, act ASAP!!!
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Greg Julius
commented
This whole idea of increased white space is anathema across the board. One should always allow folks to chose their density settings. I hate the amount of space wasted all throughout the Win 10 experience and this is no exception
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Jenny MIchaelson
commented
I dislike everything about the new interface, particularly when scheduling meetings. I have to click and scroll far more than previously in order to accomplish the same things. I understand why some users may like larger font / space, but as someone who prefers the compact view of the previous interface, I would very much like to have at least the option to keep it as it was.
