Outlook Inbox view changed on its own and I can't change it back

Question

Outlook Inbox view changed on its own and I can't change it back

Daniel G 0

The panel of my outlook which usually shows a compact list of all my messages with information like sender, subject and the first line of the email changed suddenly without my input. It makes it impossible to preview the message and see the sender/subject without having to open up the email first. It just happened to my inbox, my other folders like sent and deleted still work fine. I've tried restarting the application, and resetting my view and this does not fix the problem.

Jay Tr 4,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-23T19:53:25.9833333+00:00

Hi @Daniel G,

Hope things are running smoothly on your end.

Following up on the support thread we've been working on. I hope the steps I shared in my previous answer resolve the issue you were facing. If you are still facing the same issue or need assistance with anything else, kindly respond to this email, and I will be happy to help.

We want to make sure everything is working as expected and that your experience remains uninterrupted.

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jay Tr 4,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-24T20:59:03.4633333+00:00

Hi @Daniel G,

I hope you're having a great day.

It’s been a pleasure working with you on this thread. I understand you may have other priorities at the moment, and I completely respect that.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have come across new challenges, feel free to let me know which steps you're currently stuck on. I’m here and happy to assist whenever it’s convenient for you.

Thank you again for your time and collaboration. I look forward to hearing from you whenever you're ready.

Warm regards,

1 answer

Your answer

Jay Tr 4,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-23T19:53:25.9833333+00:00

Hi @Daniel G,

Hope things are running smoothly on your end.

Following up on the support thread we've been working on. I hope the steps I shared in my previous answer resolve the issue you were facing. If you are still facing the same issue or need assistance with anything else, kindly respond to this email, and I will be happy to help.

We want to make sure everything is working as expected and that your experience remains uninterrupted.

Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jay Tr 4,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-24T20:59:03.4633333+00:00

Hi @Daniel G,

I hope you're having a great day.

It’s been a pleasure working with you on this thread. I understand you may have other priorities at the moment, and I completely respect that.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have come across new challenges, feel free to let me know which steps you're currently stuck on. I’m here and happy to assist whenever it’s convenient for you.

Thank you again for your time and collaboration. I look forward to hearing from you whenever you're ready.

Warm regards,

Answer 1

Hi @Daniel G,

Thank you for posting your question to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, I would recommend following the below steps to reset the Inbox view:

Reset the Inbox view specifically

Since “Reset View” didn’t work globally, try resetting just the Inbox via command line:

Close Outlook.
Press Win + R to open Run.
Type: outlook.exe /cleanviews

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Press Enter.

This resets all views to default and can fix folder-specific view issues.

Check the Compact/Message List Layout

Go to View → Change View → Compact.
Make sure Current View → Columns include From, Subject, and Received.

User's image

Make sure Preview Text is enabled:
- View → Message Preview → select 1 line or 2 lines.

User's image

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this. 

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. 

I'm looking forward to your reply.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Outlook Inbox view changed on its own and I can't change it back

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