Forum Discussion
How to stop conversation threads from automatically expanding in the inbox
I have my inbox grouped by conversation. It appears as one email header with an arrow on the left indicating that it is a conversation which is great.
The problem is that when I select the conversation, automatically my inbox expands showing every email in the conversation.
I dont want it to expand automatically. I want it to remain condensed until I tell it to expand. Is there anyway to do this? It is driving me crazy
6 Replies
Hi samsgc,
I am an independent advisor responding to Outlook questions.
Please confirm which Outlook application you use (Outlook Desktop, New Outlook, or Web). It will help me with investigating your issue.
In New Outlook and Outlook for the Web applications, messages Grouped Into Conversations are collapsed by default. When I expand it, my Preview text is displayed instead of the entire conversation which is what you are looking for. I could not recreate your issue. My conclusion is it is not the settings.
For Outlook Classic, I found an article, Unchecked behaviour of 'Always Expand Selected Conversation' is not working as intended dated February 2022 that explained it was a bug with the settings. The recommendation is to update to the latest version of Outlook. Check out the article, which offers a few more solutions.
If this article helps you, please mark this thread as the best response or like, which will assist others with the same question. There were a few folks who had the same issue.
/Teresa
#traccreations4e
Hi samsgc,
To prevent conversations from automatically expanding in your inbox and keep them condensed until you choose to expand them, you can make some adjustments:
- Outlook Desktop:1. Open Outlook and navigate to the "View" tab in the ribbon menu.
2. Look for the "View Settings" button and click on it.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select the "Group By" option.
4. Within the "Group By" settings, you'll find a checkbox labeled "Automatically group according to arrangement." Make sure to uncheck it.
5. Save the changes by clicking "OK" and close the dialog box.- Outlook on the Web:
1. Open Outlook on the web and access the "Settings" menu (represented by a gear icon) in the top-right corner.
2. On the Settings page, choose the "Mail" option and then select "Conversation view" under the "Layout" section.
3. Within the Conversation view settings, locate the checkbox that says "Show messages individually" and make sure it is not checked.
5. Save your changes to apply the new settings.
These steps should enable to prevent conversation threads from automatically expanding in your inbox. They will remain condensed until you manually choose to expand them.
Please click Mark as Best Response & Like if my post helped you to solve your issue.
This will help others to find the correct solution easily. It also closes the item.If the post was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Like.
Kindest regards,
Leon Pavesic
- thank you for the reply.
However, I do want the conversations grouped. I just dont want them to expand when i select them without selecting expand.Hi samsgc,
sorry for not undestanding your question properly.
You can use these settings to group your conversations and expand them manually:Open Outlook on your computer and ensure you are in your inbox view.
Look for the "View" tab in the menu ribbon at the top of the Outlook window and click on it.
Find the "Show as Conversations" within the "View" tab.
Click on the "Conversation Settings" button
A drop-down menu will appear with different options for conversation settings. Choose "Show Messages Individually" from the list.
Now, your conversations will still be grouped together in your inbox, but they won't automatically expand when you select them. You can manually expand a conversation by clicking on the arrow next to it when you want to view the entire thread.
Please click Mark as Best Response & Like if my post helped you to solve your issue.
This will help others to find the correct solution easily. It also closes the item.If the post was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Like.
Kindest regards,
Leon Pavesic
