New Outlook: Shadow contacts not stored in Outlook.com, no sync/export and missing Birthday calendar
I’m reporting a reproducible data‑integrity issue in the New Outlook for Windows that affects Outlook.com contact storage and synchronization. 🔍 Summary When a contact is created in the New Outlook, the client appears to save it successfully. However, the resulting contact is not stored in the user’s Outlook.com account as a normal cloud contact. Instead, it becomes what I would describe as a local “shadow contact” in the New Outlook cache. ⚠️ Observable Behavior • The contact appears in Outlook.com → People, but does not show “Stored in: Outlook” • The contact does not appear in Outlook.com CSV exports • The contact does not sync to mobile devices connected to the same account • The contact does not populate the Outlook.com Birthday calendar • The contact is lost if the New Outlook app is reinstalled or its local store is cleared 🧪 Steps to Reproduce 1. Open the New Outlook for Windows 2. Create a new contact and add a birthday 3. Save the contact 4. Open Outlook.com → People 5. Locate the contact — it will appear, but the “Stored in: Outlook” field is missing 6. Export contacts from Outlook.com (CSV) — the contact will not be present 7. Check a mobile device configured with the same Microsoft account — the contact will not be present 8. Check the Outlook.com Birthday calendar — the birthday will not appear 9. Reinstall the New Outlook app — the contact will be gone ✅ Expected Behavior • Contacts created in the New Outlook should be stored as first‑class Outlook.com contacts • They should appear with a proper “Stored in: Outlook” location • They should sync across devices, export via Outlook.com, and populate the Birthday calendar ❌ Actual Behavior • Contacts created in the New Outlook are effectively “shadow contacts” stored in a local cache • They look normal in the New Outlook UI, but they are incomplete, non‑synchronizing objects from the service’s perspective 📉 Impact • Silent data loss risk for users who assume contacts are in Outlook.com when they are not • Inconsistent contact and birthday data across devices and services • Split contact store model: • Real Outlook.com contacts • Local shadow contacts created by New Outlook 📎 What I’ve Already Done • Submitted feedback through the New Outlook (Help → Feedback → Report a Problem) • Submitted a detailed report via the Windows Feedback Hub • Contacted Microsoft Support, who advised that escalation must occur via Feedback 📣 Request I’m posting this here to document the issue publicly and to ask: • Can anyone from the Outlook / Exchange / Outlook.com team confirm this behavior? • Can other users reproduce this with the steps above? Given the data‑integrity implications, I’m hoping this can be brought to the attention of the relevant engineering team. Any confirmation, additional data points, or official guidance would be appreciated.New Outlook: Creating Rules for CC: and Sent Items (Workaround solution)
Many users have said they miss one of Outlook Classic's features: the ability to create rules for sent items. One popular use is automatically moving a Sent item to a designated folder, reducing the time it takes to handle email. Currently, rules in New Outlook manage received messages in the Inbox. This blog provides details. New Outlook Limitations: Outgoing Message Rules » TRACCreations4E I am happy to share that I have finally come up with a workaround to add a copy of the message you sent to a folder of your choice. Yes, the original message will remain in the Sent folder, but you don't have to move it manually. This method should hold you over until Microsoft rolls out the functionality for "Sent rules," which has not been added to the roadmap. Watch the full tutorial to discover how you can: Setup your email Use hashtags in your signature line Set up an automatic rule Blog Post: New Outlook Sent Email Rules: Here’s the Workaround Video: https://youtu.be/guOjz5lHJEY?si=un6jp2afgO-3PAhg Remember, this is a workaround solution. I am also waiting patiently for the Sent Rules functionality. If you find this information helpful, please mark it as the best response to assist others with the same question. /Teresa #traccreations4e 6/11/2024Significant changes to the New Outlook Calendar Event User Interface
In October 2025, the New Outlook Calendar Event was redesigned to incorporate Copilot, leading to a complete user interface makeover. Many icons were rearranged. This blog post includes a screenshot, icon placement, and descriptions. New Outlook Scheduling Gets a Makeover - Copilot Chat Joins #traccreations4e-p25 10/29/2025Outlook Offline Phase I: Available Features
Updated November 18, 2025. The following are some of the key features introduced in Outlook Offline Phase I: Offline Email Access: Users can read, reply to, and compose new emails offline. These actions will be synchronized once the user reconnects to the Internet. Calendar Management: Users can create, edit, and delete calendar events while offline.. Contact Access: Access to contacts is available offline, allowing users to look up contact information. Synchronization: Any offline changes, such as sending emails, updating calendar events, or modifying contact information, will automatically synchronize once the internet connection is restored. Unsupported Features While Outlook Offline Phase I brings a host of new functionalities, it is important to note that not all features are supported in the offline mode - yet. I recommend downloading the updated list of supported and unsupported features to ensure you have the most up-to-date information on what is supported and what is not. Video: https://youtu.be/qzHfnlfhuEw Visit Website: Microsoft Outlook's Offline: Features Availability » TRACCreations4E
Emails Showing with Black backgrounds while NOT in dark mode?
New to the discussion forum but couldn't find anything about this online that wasn't years old already. We're using new outlook and there are emails that we've been getting (both tests of our own email campaigns and outside emails) that have been forced to use a black background regardless if it's on light/dark mode. It's odd and our emails aren't showing up correctly. If there is a way to fix it - would love to know. They only seem to appear correctly in the web browser version of outlook. I'm looking into ways to force our emails to show up the same in both light and dark mode but thought I'd ask if there was a fix just in case.New Outlook: Users Say It's Broken—Microsoft response.
I had the opportunity to interview Caitlin Hart, the Principal Product Manager for New Outlook, where I asked the challenging questions of frustrated New Outlook users, IT Consultants, and IT developers. We talked about: Is the New Outlook just a wrapper for the web version? Why didn’t Microsoft recreate Classic Outlook from scratch? Why are users forced to switch to the New Outlook app? Why are some users still resistant to adopting the New Outlook? When will New Outlook meet the needs of power users? How is Microsoft encouraging VBA developers to stay ahead? And more Watch the video for Caitlin's responses. Video: https://youtu.be/5WYjmzrOZI8 #traccreations4e-p25 4/26/2025The New Outlook seems to have lost a feature
Does anyone know how to get a default set (like we used to have) to automatically get a BCC of all email sent and replied to? I am using the client on my laptop and the IOS App on my iPhone. I am interested in knowing how to get this feature back. It used to be a setting - which is no longer available. I've tried creating rules and quick steps - neither has worked.Outlook for Mac event hard limit hiding events with a '+' in all views
Since a recent update, Outlook for Mac now rolls up events into a plus(+) button on Day, Three Day, Working Week and Month views. What this means is that despite having plenty of space to show events, they're hidden behind another button. I have a very busy calendar and mostly use the month view - I have a portrait monitor particularly used for the calendar at the office which is now totally useless because all the real estate that aspect creates is wasted. I don't understand what added value the + button brings when there is space to be used and I have tried and failed to find something I can configure to change it! Month View Example - Seems to have a 7 event hard limit Day View Example - Hard limit of three for all day events I would also love love love the ability to scroll through months in month view - for example, in the last two weeks of a month I want to be viewing the next 4-5 weeks not two weeks in the past I don't care about and only two weeks into the future. Seems like an easy ask?
