Keep it simple.
Email isn't for emojis & bright colors. Keep it clean and simple. There's too much noise everywhere else in the world.
I use my personal email to communicate with friends and family. I don't need to be entertained and over stimulated by gimmicks. I just want to send a message and easily find the ones I've received.

First off, I want to thank each and everyone of you for using Outlook.com and for taking the time to provide feedback on the new experience.
I know that a few different topics got merged down into this suggestion, so I wanted to offer some broad guidance on how you might configure the new experience to get it to look more like what you want.
Lets start off with the feedback about not wanting the bright colored circles, emojis, and joyful animations. All of these can be disabled. Click on the gear in the top right hand corner, this will load the quick setting pane. From here first disable the Sender Photos. This removes the colored circles with initials.
Then continue to scroll down and select view all Options. In this options page select Compose and Reply. In this page look for Joyful animations. turning this off will eliminate the animations that pop up when you see words like Congrats, or Happy Birthday!
Finally I wanted to offer some tips for folks that don’t like the reading pane or conversation view. Again back on the main page click the gear in the top right. On this quick settings pane you might try disabling the different options. Start with Reading Pane. This will put your mail back into the traditional single line view and when you click on the message it opens in the full screen.
Secondly you might try disabling conversation view if you don’t like everything in a merged format.
Hope this helps, and please keep the feedback coming!
Thanks
David Los
62 comments
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RKJ commented
Fix what already exists before creating more things that don't work properly.
No thanks on the canned response. -
Anonymous commented
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid - Why are you putting all sort of features in Outlook that are not wanted, and make it difficult to use
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Brenda Lee Reed commented
How did you make this version so difficult? You know, change is not always progress and I'd gladly go for fewer graphics and sliding menus and "options" and focus-nonfocus lists and just have back the simple early versions that WORKED.
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Anonymous commented
I think you should be to make it simply same gmail.
I don't like your system, Because it's very hard. -
Tolabur commented
If it aint broke dont fix it until you are sure its idiot proof. Then watch some really ***** it up/
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goodperson9 commented
I have had enough of this nonsense. Simply to Send, Block any of the simple basic necesseties are stupifyingly ridiculous.
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Chris commented
Too many things are visible in the main page. I like to keep it simple.
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Anonymous commented
All too busy with colour coding etc....plain and simple is easier without all the notations
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M AT MSN DOT COM commented
"bright colored circles, emojis, and joyful animations" This is the type of junk that we can "disable" but shouldn't be here in the first place. There are dozens of useful features that have been removed-abandoned-lost...just so ridiculous things like this can be added. In the mean time:
Searches do not function properly.
Safe senders list cannot be edited.
Rules do not work that use to work.
Messages in "Deleted Items" cannot be deleted.
and on and on....
Thank God I now have bright colored circles, emojis, and joyful animations. -
eaglewings22 commented
(1) the little flag & pinned icons are too hard to tell apart now--too much rectangle/square essence... bring back the old shapes.
(2) the locations of icons across the top need to be as previous version...these new ones are not convenient & too easy to hit the wrong one (and, "new message" should be with the others across the top, like it used to be, not off by itself at the top of the left-hand column)
(3) Have the option to choose: to have or NOT HAVE "Favorites" (at top of "folders column" on the left) it's redundant & takes up too much space!
(4) similar to #3 -- have option to have or NOT HAVE "top priority" at top of inbox list of emails... that, too, is redundant, confusing, takes up space!
(5) Have option (to toggle back & forth at will) for Flagged &/or Pinned messages EACH be in their own separate folders (appropriately named), with the ability to move as a group, or individually; as well the option: to have only flagged -or- only pinned -or- both flagged & pinned at the top of the email list, including choice to group flagged & pinned separately or flagged & pinned co-mingled by date order) -OR- flagged &/or pinned intermingled (in date order) among all emails.
(6) PLEASE....STOP "fixing" what ain't "broke" !!! Bring back the SIMPLICITY & ease & functionality of hotmail... for those wanting more bells & whistles &/or "linked operations", provide an additional choice of a "free upgrade", & for those who want the "ultimate" one stop shop that can do EVERYTHING, have the choice of "premium features" upgrade. -
Anonymous commented
The new layout is too busy. Please make an option to keep a more simple layout so it's easier to read. Simple is better.
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Anonymous commented
I took the advice, based on your recent mailing, to turn off certain things to make the outlook experience be more like the old version and while it helped some, it's still too cluttered/dense, with unnecessary symbols and lines, whereas the old version was open, clean and simple looking (a pleasure to work with). The outlook now looks like the inferior yahoo, which I tried to get away from. A word of advice: SIMPLE IS BETTER. ALWAYS.
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amntn commented
Updates are awful. Took simple things and added steps to make it take longer.
Why is the block icon not on top?
Why have to take an extra step to block? Where is the sign out icon?
Getting multiple emails from junk
and phishing sites. Could go on but will just end with, Keep it simple. -
marshagor commented
If I click on the gear on the upper right and want to disable something, I can't, because only the left side of the pane appears on the screen. For example, "Reading Pane" appears, but the means of disabling it doesn't.
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Anonymous commented
Why is this marked as completed? It isn't.
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Anonymous commented
The color scheme is not simple enough - I setup my gmail account on Outlook.com because of gmail's update - the color density is horrible and makes you strain your eyes to stay focused. I also prefer speed and functionality to appearance - a good layout means it's simple to use, not colorful.
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perth1992 commented
This "new" arrangement is a complete mess. Who ever thought it out should be sacked. Everything is doubled, why?2 inboxes, 2 draft boxes, 2 archive boxes ??????
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michaelwells commented
new changes are horrible, too many clicks to do same thing as B4, too much nonsense. u guys seem to think more is better. it isnt.KISS: keep it simple stupid. ive had this account 4 many years. now may leave 4 gmail...mw
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Judith Bannister-Norris commented
I'm not real good getting around the computer, not on it every day and you are making it harder all of the time for me to do e-mail at all. I want to be able to got through my mail to see what I want to read, delete or keep. It has be come too frustrating for me. Thanks
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SephyFan commented
This version of Outlook is clunky, visually unappealing and to use it I have to turn off several features or else it's a clustered mess that's hard to navigate. Even then it is hard to navigate. The older and more simplistic versions of Outlook/hotmail were better, easier to use, better looking and over all more appealing.