Return Organize by Categories and Collapse/Expand All by Sorting method
I really do like the new design, but there are 2 fundamental features that made Outlook stand above all other email client and really make impractical to use the new Outlook at work for e-mail:
I would like to request that these 2 features ( or similar new version) be added:
- The Ability to organize by Categories
- Able to Collapse/expand all e-mails by the selected sorting method
The use of categories became irrelevant if you cannot organize or search emails by them, and if hundreds of e-mails every day, it is a nightmare not been able to collapse by the sorting method.
The focus Inbox does not replace those features.

15 comments
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Rach commented
Please add this feature, Outlook is kind of useless without this, especially for work.
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Tim Shay commented
Grouping by category (with collapse), and sorting by more than one field (in Windows, I used 1. descending priority and 2. descending date-received) is a big one for me in organizing my work. I get dozens (sometimes hundreds) of incoming messages a day, and routing them into groups + setting priorities via rules helps me keep up.
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Jen commented
Sort by category is critical to those of us that manage our inbox that way. And, being able to collapse a group of messages is also very helpful when you are trying to focus.
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Anonymous commented
Please bring back the sorting by category feature. I love the new version but I can't work with it unless this is solved.
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Anonymous commented
please add collapse. I like to be able to collapse Tuesday, Wednesday etc. but leave Friday expanded so I can isolate and only look at the email that came in on that day only.
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Joe Seagle commented
I categorize every email as it comes in on my Windows and Mac clients; then I view by category on Windows to block and tackle the e-mails. Now, on my Mac version, I can no longer view by category, so the new version is worthless to me until/unless this functionality is added to the Mac version.
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Richard Williams commented
Please add collapse groups. It is essential in making Outlook easy to use. Thanks
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Kelly Furbee commented
This is HUGE for me. I can not use the new version because of these two issues. I am very concerned that whenever we are forced to go to the new version this wont be fixed and it will be impossible for me to effectively and efficiently look through my saved emails.
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Abdul Ahmat commented
agree. Collapse/Expand All function is a big productivity and efficiency miss.
Please include version of the "old" format:
eg.
1. https://bit.ly/3p2hSew
2. https://bit.ly/3mWByOR -
Anonymous commented
I love the new L&F, but the loss of collapse all for Mal sorted by days is a huge productivity interrupter
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Emma Kennerley commented
I cannot use the new Outlook as it doesn't have Categories. It makes outlook unusable for me.
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CLT commented
I absolutely need to be able to sort my inbox by categories. The absence of this feature makes the new Outlook for Mac unusable for me.
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Ben Johnson commented
Yes! I really want the ability to sort and group by category as we could in the previous client. I use my school email for school and for my job at the school, so I categorize emails related to my job and leave everything else uncategorized. This helps me separate school and work. I can't easily filter out my work emails with this new client like I could in the old one. As this user shared, I would like the ability to group emails into categories again, and then collapse those groups with a carrot icon in the header.
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Nic commented
1. Just to be clear... we need to be able to easily collapse one grouping (on the header please, no right click).
2. And then we need the functionality to be able to Collapse ALL! (Probably a right-click - that's OK).
3. PLUS... you have copied the poor use of date grouping from Outlook for Windows. Outlook for Mac (old) would always show groupings for last seven days.
Now, on a Monday morning (when I desperately want to close last week, I only get "Today" and "Last week."
As someone who works professionally in both Windows and Mac clients (personally only Mac), I often use my Mac for Outlook on a Monday morning... but levitate back to Windows later in the week.
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Anonymous commented
I second this, especially being able to expand/collapse emails sent in a specific time period, for instance, collapse all emails sent this week so it's easier to find something I know I send further bac. Thanks!