Forum Discussion

Copper Contributor

Oct 02, 2023

keeping subfolders in a specific order

Hello! I'm looking for a solution to an issue in a shared inbox. We have a folder containing a few hundred subfolders. Each subfolder has a name, and their name starts with a number. We want to kee...

Victor_Ivanidze

Bronze Contributor

Oct 04, 2023

Hi 514Andy.

you wrote:
(right-clicking on the folder and choosing "Sort Subfolders A to Z does not fix the issue as it just rearranges the folder temporarily, and it can't file the subfolder in order of numbers correctly).

Let's suppose a script or an add-in will simulate right-clicking on the folder and choosing "Sort Subfolders A to Z" programmatically every minute while the root folder is selected. Does it fit your requirements?

514Andy

Copper Contributor

Oct 18, 2023

Thank you for your help Victor. Unfortunately, I have over 500 subfolders in that folder, and the simple action of clicking on Sort Subfolders A to Z, sends Outlook in an unresponsive mode. Then, hours later, the subfolders move into place. The biggest issue is that I constantly save emails or open emails in those folders, so the folders move as soon as I do.

mike-in-texas
Copper Contributor
Jun 10, 2024
514AndyI know this is an older thread, but I ran across it while I was looking for a solution to my own Outlook folder sorting issue. One thing that may (or may not) be affecting your incorrect folder sort is the numbering system you use at the beginning of each sub-folder name. If you have over 500 folders, then I believe you will need to have each folder begin with a 3-digit numberr in order to get the A-Z sort correctly from a numerical perspective; for example, folder "1 Subfolder Name" will need to actually be "001 Subfolder Name"; if you ever anticipate having over 1000 subfolders (!), then you might as well rename these now with 4-digits ("0001"...).

Of course, this may not stop Outlook from pushing the folders with mail or the folders you last used to the top of the list, but if you do resort them manually, you will definitely need to consider that Outlook won't see "1" and "001" as the same.