Forum Discussion
Is it possible to move the Search Box in Outlook to another position ?
Hello,
We found that the Search Box was moved into the title bar of our desktop Outlook 365. Is it possible to change its position ?
Cheers
Nope. Although they've gone through several iterations on this, so it might change in the future.
113 Replies
I completely agree this should be movable or moved. Not a great location as you cannot easily select the 'from' or other icons to narrow down your search from the bar. The advanced search is bit clunky as well.
- I am adding my personal disappointment in this very bad choice by the Development team. The search box on the title bar without the option for restoring the previous location is a bad choice and very disrespectful of the users' need. Pernille-Eskebo, please restore this capability
It looks like thousands of people have already requested this and Microsoft declined the request.
https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/322590-outlook-for-windows-desktop-application/suggestions/39046513-search-at-the-top-option#comments
So many complaints that they turned off the ability for more people to add theirs. That tells you something.
Would support the topic. The update is rather a bad change in UX. Here is what annoys me the most:
- extra click to get search fields visible. Moreover, sometimes it doesn't help (a bug), and to fix it, I have to restart the app
- if to search by 'fields', then I have to click 'Search' with a mouse because Enter doesn't work
- It just feels and looks worse than before
dlomakin, it actually gets worse. If one is connecting via Remote Desktop, then the RDP bar at the top of the screen *completely* obscures the Search bar.
Yes, it is certainly time for MSFT to nuke this UI disaster and start over.
The Changes in search options are quite a retrograde step.
Would be just fine if we can choose where to leave the search bar, rather than making such inconvenient upgradations.In the name of upgrade, we are being put to hardships ... such a waste of time !!!
Zidong_NIE One of the thing MS will likely argue about the change is that they did it to ALL applications within the MS office suite for consistency. It's in Word, Excel, PPt, etc. I personally to not consider that a valid excuse. Laziness should not be an excuse for poor decisions. I don't care if it works fine in Word or Excel. It doesn't work in Outlook, and that is all that should matter.
- Perhaps, but I note that both Word and PowerPoint have a dedicated switch in their Options entitled Collapse Search Box by Default. This eliminates the box in favor of a search icon, which can be reached with Alt+Q.
That 100% assuages my objections. Too bad that they did not add that option to Outlook. I think we can all agree that the search bar at the top for any of office products is a terrible location. Microsoft should not assume that because there hasn't been a upswell of complaints that it's OK.
Zidong_NIE Not a answer to your question. More of a supporting gripe. I hate the new location. I don't think Microsoft even ever tested it out. The thing blocks half of the ribbon. This is especially frustrating in Outlook where I use the ribbon buttons while searching my email. It in-effect made half of the buttons useless. I know I can work through the drop down to do the same things, but that isn't a solution. Please tell me how four clicks through a drop-down menu is an improvement over a single click on a ribbon button. Relocating it was is such a terrible, ill-conceived idea and I only took me 30 seconds to find the flaw. It's a step backwards. Change for the sake of change is NOT an improvement.
Zidong_NIE Please please say you found a fix. This just happened to me and it's the worst thing ever. Not only is it not intuitive, but I feel like the search functionality itself is limited. Nothing I search for is finidng it in my mailbox, and i've never had that problem before.
Jlehto82 The function is pretty good at finding items. It now has a drop down to choose where you want to search. The movement of the search box to the title bar is a problem as it is too close to the edge and the drop down obscures things that you may need to help with the search. Occasionally the search doesn't work but I think that happens to be an issue with how many files I have and it gets confused trying to look at items that are really old. I hope you find a fix for your issue.
This was a big mistake. I mean, having the search dropdown obscure the ribbon tools for searching? Seriously? What were they thinking?
- The new location is terrible. Please move back or provide means to customize.
