Outlook Glitch Solved
Outlook Glitch Solved: a reader asks…
I use MS 365 with Outlook on my Windows 10 PC, and after a recent Windows Update notice that my applet list which usually sits below the list of favorites and folders on the left-side of Outlook is now a vertical bar to the left of the favorites and folders list. I’ve closed and reopened Outlook, restarted my computer and it’s still there. What can I do to fix this and put the applet list back where it was?
Yes, I believe it was part of the various batches of updates from Windows Update over the last month or so that introduced this little glitch. It’s annoying as all get-out, and Microsoft is pretty mum about neither acknowledging it nor publishing a fix. Fortunately, there is a simple way to fix this, thanks to the Microsoft Community of users who posted the fix online:
- Shut down Outlook.
- Start up Outlook in Safe mode, then shut it down.
- Start up Outlook in normal mode
Very quick and easy to do. If you’re not sure how to do step 2, here’s how:
On your Windows 10 taskbar you should see a search box “Type here to search”. Or you might just see a magnifying glass icon just to the right of the Windows Start Button (4-white-panes). Click the magnifying glass icon or the box and type:
Outlook.exe /safe
That will start up Outlook in safe mode. You’ll see the applet list is still on the left-side, but don’t worry. Just shut down Outlook and then start it up normally (using the icon on your taskbar, start menu or desktop). That’s it, simple and quick.
At some point, I imagine Microsoft will release another update that will fix this glitch, but there’s no need to wait, the above procedure will resolve the issue for you quickly and simply.
July 2022 Update: Outlook has removed this quick fix capability and once you’ve got the new Outlook interface enabled, you won’t be able to change it back. At some point I hope Microsoft issues a new fix for folks who prefer the icons at the bottom.
For the adventurous, there is a registry hack that will fix this, which I’ve put in a comment below.
Listen to a quick Digital Minute #302 of the skinny on how to put Outlook icons back at the bottom after they’ve been moved to the side:
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Ok readers, the registry hack that I’ve tried and works:
1. Close Outlook, and then open the registry editor and navigate to the following registry key…
2. Locate the “Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar” string value and set it to “false“.
If there isn’t a “Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar” string value in this registry key, create a new string value in this location called “Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar” and set the string value to “false“.
3. close the registry editor and re-open Outlook again. Your buttons should be back at the bottom.
Unless you are very comfortable working with the registry, please don’t try this as mistakes can seriously damage your operating system’s serviceability.
Thanks to LD Fix at answers.microsoft.com for this registry hack!
Update October 2024: The current version of Outlook has a setting that you can change to switch the location of the icons. Go to File>Options>Advanced and uncheck the checkbox that says “Show Apps in Outlook”. You’ll need to shut down and restart Outlook for the change to take place.
With the checkbox checked, the taskbar icons for Outlook are shown vertically on the left and include other Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, etc.). Uncheck that checkbox, click OK on the options menu and restart Outlook and the icons will revert back to their normal position horizontally underneath the Favorites and folder pane on the left-side of Outlook.